New Jackson Kilroy! Review

Dan at Headwaters was kind enough to let me demo a Kilroy last Saturday (for free, thanks Dan). Took it out to Lake Berryessa for some trout fishing with my buddy Mike. After paddling it for 5 minutes I tested out its stability and stood up with absolutely no problem. I was able to paddle and cast like I had been fishing out of it for years. I had a Cuda 12 before, which is also pretty stable but the Kilroy was a dream in comparison. My buddy Mike had never been kayak fishing before and after a few hours on my Trident 13, I let him paddle the Kilroy. Not a huge surprise that he didn't want to give me back the Kilroy. He ended up fishing the rest of the day on it the bastard! The way I see it, this might get him closer to the madness and maybe he'll buy one for himself.

So needless to say, I was sold after that trip to Berryessa. Immediately after returning the demo and telling Dan how much I loved it, I picked out a Yellow Jacket color Kilroy still wrapped in the shipping plastic to take home with me. I took this out the very next day to the Port with 2 additional first timers. This time nobody touched the Kilroy but me!

Why I bought a Kilroy:

-Stability, i was able to stand up on it front the very beginning from the low seating position. In the high seating position you don't even need the stand asisst handle to get up! Storage access was easy front, back, and sides. Casting standing up was also very easy.

-Comfort, I already knew how comfy the Jackson seat was from owning a Cuda before. Now Jackson has a lumbar cushion that makes it that much more comfortable. Being able to stand up and stretch on long fishing trips is awesome.

-Storage, Storage, Storage! Storage in the front, rod storage on the inside walls, storage under the seat, behind the seat, pretty much everywhere! The best thing is that you can get to your stored items from the comfort of your seat. No need to side saddle, weird twisting or balancing acts.

-Ready to Fish, comes with two gear tracks in the front and two in the back. That opens a lot of posibilities with rod holders, camera mounts (GoPro mount comes with it) etc, etc. Comes with a Ram 2007 rod holder and a Ram Tube Jr. My favorite feature is hard deck that comes with it. Its a like a dashboard with places to bugee stuff to, removable hook foam for leaders and lures, rod stagers and an opening to insert a full size tackle box into. 

-Speed, it kept up with my Trident 13. Even my pal Mike was surprised how fast it was after he raced me to the boat launch in it (I won the race, no big deal).

So far no complaints on this other than weight. Jacksons are heavy but I found that the weight was a little more evenly distributed on this kayak. It didn't feel odd picking it up. Plus it comes with hard handles vs the soft ones my old Cuda had, which makes the weight easy to move around.

Anyway, i hope this helps anyone that is interested in the Kilroy. A good choice for lakes and rivers. I'm keeping my Trident 13 for ocean and anything else. Its an all around good kayak and I still love it.

Glad you like your new Kilroy. I was sold after paddling one for 5 minutes too.

Sweet yak  trailer what size is it I'm lookin for one for camping

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Kilroy!
First thing I did in mine was stand up I don't think I was even 10 feet from where I launched needless to say I love my Kilroy

Great review, Thanks.  I really like the SIK for freshwater and just wish I had a bit more balance

Sweet yak  trailer what size is it I'm lookin for one for camping

its a 4x8 harbor freight trailer with a thule rack.