first fishing kayak

i am new to kayak fishing and looking to chose a kayak. i am 6'1" and 200#. i have done a lot of fishing from boats and have done some kayak surfing but never fished from a kayak. i am mostly a salt water guy and would mainly fish the bay and coast. i just test paddled a tarpon 140 and a x-factor and liked the x-factor better because of the stability and dry ride. do you think this would be a good match, or is there any thing else i should be looking at?       thanks for your comments,   gene

Hey Gene

Welcome! Both kayaks you mention, tarpon 140 and x-factor are quality. Check out the Ocean Kayak P15 Trident and even the P13 Trident before you pull the trigger. Your best bet is to test paddle before you buy to find just the right one for you.  Once you find the right kayak, take a paddle/safety course. Then, get ready for the madness

Good Luck
Ben

Its all about what works for you.  Test out a few at the dock and ask lots of questions.  After you buy then you get to pimp and thats were the fun begains. Find a paddle buddy and stay safe

First of all, welcome to the forum beluga. My advice to you would be, take your
time on selecting a proper kayak for you. Definitely paddle as much as you can.
I have the hobie outback and now I am wishing to have gotten the Revolution
instead for speed rather than stability of the outback. My next boat will be the
trident 13 primarily for ocean fishing. I just love the rod pod feature on it. Good
luck to you on your selection and hope to see you on the water soon.

Jedmo

I second the OK T13. (I LOVE MINE) I had a Scrambler XT as my first ride. Try at least a few. I am impatient as the next guy so I know how you feel. This may not be the best advice, but used yak's (fishing ones) seem to sell like crazy. So if you do get one and decide to upgrade or get something different in a few years you should be able to sell it for just a minor loss....Again, this ain't the best advice but it may give you some comfort. 

Oh and welcome and see ya on the water!

thanks for the tips guys.  i guess i should try a trident and see how it compares. i have read a lot of talk about the x-factor being heavy but it seems like most kayaks in the 14' range are about 60lb's. am i missing something? as to boat fishing, i have a boston whaler 23outrage with twin 150 e-tec's. i set it up mostly to fish for salmon and you know what is happening with that. the future of rockfishing also does not look good with the restrictions they are in the process of developing. for what it costs to run a boat like that the fishing opportunities may not justify it. at least a kayak will not have a166 gallon gas tank.        gene 

You may want to check this out on craigslist
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/boa/1024334576.html

I'm with bluekayak, after you settle on what you want to paddle....think long and extra hard about what you want to carry when you fish in it.

If you want to see true insanity take a look at some of the forums from down south-- you'll see 4 or 5 rods, bait tanks, all kinds of crap...

KISS never meant so much

Sierra Trading Post sent me a 25% off coupon (good for one day only) and they allowed it's use on kayaks. Sweet deals as they have the P15's in Angler and non angler for $616. and $650. or so and then take 25% off that makes it a deal. Shipping is $125. to your door, but no sales tax. They also have the Tarpon 160's for under $600. too.

Sierra Trading Post sent me a 25% off coupon (good for one day only) and they allowed it's use on kayaks.

Apparently the codes they send out in Email are sometimes usable a second time.  You can find deals like these from coupon code websites and share with your friends too! 

yah likely they are reusable, most eCom and ERP systems don't create unique codes for promotions like that, you'd end up with too long a code and too many codes...and somehow you've got to keep track of all those things. They likely do time out though