Fish N' Chips:
It has been a long time away from kayak fishing for me. I tore my shoulder more than two years ago at work, finally got surgery 7 months ago, and finally feel I am getting to the point of getting back to kayak fishing again.
I still have my 16’ Hobie Adventure. I recently got a new truck to haul our trailer and am exploring the hauling options. I used to have a Tacoma and used a hullivator to get my Adventure on top. Now my Ram 2500 is almost 2’ taller and flares out at the sides making the hullavator unusable. With my shoulder I can not lift it that extra two feet onto the hullavator, and they hit the side of the truck. My Adventure is around 97lbs.
I am considering going back to a paddle yak to save weight and work on building my shoulder strength back up, although I am little torn going back to a paddle as I like the pedal for fishing. Considered a revo 13 but still too heavy I fear, at least for now.
I have been looking at the Tarpon 140 and the Eddyline Caribbean 14. About 68 lbs for the Tarpon and 50 for the Eddyline. This would make loading so much easier, and a bit more manageable but still long enough for the salt. Price is about $1000 difference between them.
What are some thoughts and reviews on these? Any other Hobbie owners go back to paddle?
Use will be lakes, ponds and lots of ocean. I do a lot of rock fishing and crabbing. Not a whole lot of salmon trolling.
I did find I was able to get the Adventure loaded earlier today by sliding it up from the rear of the truck onto the racks and then flipping it over onto the rails, but its still heavy and awkward. My shoulder is yelling at me for it, but at least I know I can do it if needed. I would put it in the bed of the truck with my hitch extender, except I need to haul the camp trailer at times
I appreciate any input! Thanks, Matt
PorkchopXpress:
Ive gone pedal to paddle. I had planned on still using my Hobie but I find that I almost rarely use it. The ease and convenience of the lighter weight and less gear to load is pretty nice. Plus I enjoy paddling, I find it kinda enhances the whole kayak fishing experience. Ive only fished off a Tarpon once and it was an awesome fishing platform, but I wouldn't say that it was much lighter than my Revo. Really fun to paddle though. I own an Eddyline Sandpiper and it is a great kayak. They seem really well crafted and it only ways around 40#s I think. The Caribbean looks really nice. I would love to own one. I found my eddyline to be very comfortable as well. Currently my main ride is a Stealth, can't say enough good things about it, but if youre mainly fishing lakes its a little overkill. They did just come out with a Fusion 350 though...
Mark L:
I started out with a peddle kayak but the weight was too much for me so I sold it and bought the Caribbean. It is super easy to move around will go up to 2.3 mph with no effort, and faster with effort. I set it up with a Torqeedo motor but haven’t used it so far this year in order to get some exercise. My only gripe is that with a heavy tail wind it is a struggle to go straight. I wish I had ordered with the optional rudder. Eddyline came out with a new one with the camp style seat but they did away with the small storage container that I’m not sure I could do without.
I’ve been out in the ocean, and bays many times, and even in less than favorable conditions I always felt secure.
Good luck with your search.
RacinRob:
The Tarpon 140 is really good in the ocean. I am sure the Eddyline is good too, but have not been on one in the ocean. I think the Tarpon has a little wider tank and cockpit. The Tarpon is really good for surf launching. A lot of the members here have had the Eddyline in the past so hopefully some will give some advice.
Fish N' Chips:
My current system uses the small deck hatch in front of the seat for my tackle storage. No longer having that on the Eddyline may be an issue. I do try to be a minimalist on the kayak but its a struggle, lol.
How well does the Eddyline material hold up to surf launches in the sand and rocks? I have been happy with the abuse my rotomolded kayaks have endured.