Getting Started ...

Hi All,

I have gone sea kayaking a few times, both in Mexico and locally in the Bay Area (both SOT and SINKs), but I have never gone kayak fishing.  Currently, I frequently go out fishing off the rocks looking for rockfish mainly.  I also hang out on the pierfishing.com site.  My handle there is swrockguy.  At any rate, the reason I am posting on this site is because I am very interested in getting into kayak fishing and could use a lot of advice.

Of course, the first thing I need to do is decide on a kayak.  I have been searching the web quite a bit looking at a variety of kayaks.  There seem to be a lot of choices so I am hoping to get some advice so I can start narrowing them down.  Now, my guess is that I am going to get a lot of different opinions of what kayaks I should look at.  In the hope of narrowing the numbers a bit here is what I am interested in with regards to a kayak.

Mostly, I envision myself fishing off the coast for rockfish, lingcod and other such fish.  This means that I need to be able to launch of rocky beaches and the like.  I live in san mateo county and I have a two door Honda Civic which I would like to use to transport the kayak to various launch points.  The lighter the kayak the better, and I am willing to pay a few extra dollars if that is what it takes.  I would also like to be able to use the kayak on local lakes and reservoirs to fish for trout and the like. 

There are a few kayaks that I have seen that seem like they might work for me, but they may not be appropriate as a first fishing kayak.  Currently, I am considering the CD Altura (which is discontinued but still available at some retailers), the RTM Midway, the OK trident 13 and the OK scupper pro.  Any thoughts about these choices or any suggestions for other kayaks that I should be considering would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks all!

Welcome aboard bink!  What is you height and weight?  With these info, it'll help narrow down the choices somewhat due to the kayak carrying capacity.

Welcome to the Madness!  

If you get a lackluster response to this it's because you represent something akin to "Groundhog Day"...

You might try searching the site for "kayak advice" or similar phrases...

Good luck and have fun - be sure to take pictures, and be ready to meet dozens of guys who seem like long-lost brothers.  

Welcome to the Madness!  

If you get a lackluster response to this it's because you represent something akin to "Groundhog Day"...

You might try searching the site for "kayak advice" or similar phrases...

Good luck and have fun - be sure to take pictures, and be ready to meet dozens of guys who seem like long-lost brothers.  

I love you man

Sailfish: In terms of my height and weight, I'm 6'0 tall and 200 lbs.

Black Ab: Yes, I realize that.  I have done a few searches through the site and some of my current choices are based on those searches.  Hoping to get a little more information however, especially regarding the Altura as there is not that much information out there.

Thanks All!

  

I don't have first hand experience with the Altura but the Trident 13 should handle your weight with easy (400+ lb load capacity) and many guys here own and love it!

I bought a big heavy slow boat its stable as all hell but I wish I had a sleek peddler also, my 2cents
Good luck and welcome

Brian G (a moderator on the site) is the Current Designs man (at least I think he is). I haven't seen many CD boats on the water (fishing wise). Both OK's you mention are good all around boats. The T13 has a few more fishing specific bells and whistles. The Scupper Pro is a good paddling boat and a long time fave of many on this board. Your size isn't an issue with either boat.

You mentioned launching over rocks (which is quite common) Aren't the CD boat a fiberglass type of construction? If so, I know I would cringe and hearing that scrape over a pile of rip rap. The OK's (and most others) are the roto molded poly which can take a beating and come back for more.

I would shoot Brian G. PM. Everyone here is happy to help with specific questions but a 'which boat' type of question seems to come up on a weekly basis, hence the...."try the search feature" comment.

Welcome to the madness!!!!!

Brian G (a moderator on the site) is the Current Designs man (at least I think he is).

Yes he is.

Whatever you decide, make sure you test drive before purchasing.

Michael

OK boats, always my reccomendation.  haha


Scupper pro=fast but less stable
t13= one of the best al-around fishing uyaks, stable, fast enough, great deck layout
consider the Prowler 13.... fast and stable, and much lighter than the T13

Allen

As far as carrying on a civic, several members do that, 13 ft on a civic, seems like not a prob, MalibuTwo did for a longtime, drop him a note for more info,

Someone also mentioned a Yaris not too long ago, but I didn't see a pic.

Welcome

Hi Bink! Another PFIC defector….j/k.
Good Luck with the kayak (re)search. Seems like there are some good deals out there right now: both new and used.   
Everybody has their own list of priorities when buying a kayak. For me, it goes something like: cost--quality--paddl-ability--features--weight--comfort--deck layout--modification potential--transportability--color--mojo--etc. (btw: mojo can’t be measured lol)
Although, it is probably hard to prioritize that stuff beforehand. I just sorta bought the first good deal that came along and went from there. It was an old OK Drifter (bought used from someone on this site). I learned soon thereafter that my preconceived list of priorities was out of order…I thought I wanted a stable platform because I feared falling off my yak into the ocean. But it turned out that stability is somewhat of a non-issue for me. [Remember, stability is something you can learn; whereas your kayak cannot learn to be faster]

I haven’t heard much about the Altura except that Yakhopper had one and it looked like a great boat. But if you plan to do commando launches off beaches and over rocks, you should definitely look into the feasibility of fiberglass. I’m not making any sort of judgement on it—just saying I’ve heard it can be problematic when dragged over rocks.
The T13 is a great boat for ocean fishing. Especially considering the ability to easily stow rods below deck, via the Rodpod, for surf launches/landings. I really like this type of feature and it’s one of the reasons why I have a T15 and a T140 (can stash rods inside the hull via the new larger & angled center hatch). The T13 has a great deck layout and the potential for mods is unlimited. I also really appreciate the scupper-compatible transducer feature—no more goop/pool-noodle/Vaseline and accurate temp readings. It is very stable, too.
The Scupper Pro is a great paddler. Very fast and sleek. And it’s also lighter than most ocean-worthy yaks, which makes it easier to transport, store, and carry/wheel. The deck layout doesn’t offer as many features as the Trident, but sometimes less = better. Especially if you’re planning to do commando launches. If you are considering a Scupper Pro, then you should also consider the Prowler 13/15.

Transporting a yak on a Civic is not an issue. My buddy Jeff used to transport a very heavy/bulky OK Aegean tandem on his ’96 Civic coupe no problem. Now he has a couple T140s, and the Civi is still in effect. 

From your reports on the other site, I’d surmise that you already have the gear & technique to catch plenty of rockies. So the next thing to do is get a yak and start paying more attention to the ocean dynamics: swell height/direction/period, wind speed/direction/affect on swell, tides, currents, which launches are safe during given conditions, etc. Eventually you’ll be able to interpret the ocean conditions more accurately…but that only comes w/experience. Hit me up if you have specific Qs. If it was still rockfish season, I’d say Let’s Go! But it is sorta off-season and the seas are pretty big right now.
PK 

Hi Bink,

I've heard nothing but good things about the yaks you've mentioned. I chose a Wilderness T160 because it seemed to have the best balance between speed and stability. I *do* have rod pod envy  , but it's not a big issue. The 09 model is supposed to be faster yet and have a hatch that competes with the rod pod, but I haven't seen/paddled one yet.

I'm a newb and have been in some modestly sloppy ocean water over the past year and felt very safe. And paddling that yak 2-3 miles to your spot is not an issue. A couple guys here have older models of these for sale, ready to fish, for great prices (~$600?). I'd buy one of them if I knew what to do with the second one but really, you couldn't go wrong.

I'm told OK hulls are slightly softer, and I've heard (here) Wilderness has been a little flaky getting their orders out, but otherwise both makes seem to be great choices.

Ben

Hi All,

Thank you for the warm welcome and the advice that has been given.  I am indeed looking forward to getting on to purchasing my kayak and getting out on the water.  Does anyone have any recommendations for places that I can go to so that I can shop for and demo some of the kayaks I am interested in?  I went into Aquansports the other day and was told that they have a boat house where you can sign up for 20.00 to try out what ever kayaks that they have there.  Has anyone gone there to demo boats?

Sin Coast, great to see you here, I hear there are some other pierfishing.com folks over here as well.  I purposefully chose to start looking for kayaks in the off season so I would have some time to get used to kayak fishing in the calmer waters of the bay and some of our inland lakes and reservoirs before the rockfish season starts.  It would be great to get together for a rockfish outing later next year once I have everything worked out.

Thanks All!

Michael