New to Kayaks and Kayak Fishing

A few years ago I got a deal on two Old Town Loon 12 foot kayaks.  Since I got them, I've only taken them out once.  Mainly because I didn't have a way to transport them.  I have a Van with a Yakima rack and am working on getting the saddles to carry them.  Before I invest too much money, I have a few questions:

Are these kayaks worth setting up for the ocean?  I bought a couple surface mount pole holders, but haven't mounted them yet.  Trying to decide if I should sell them both and just buy something that will be more of a fishing kayak than a recreational kayak. Looking to go out of Half Moon Bay for crabs, salmon, stripers, and rockfish. 

The kayaks are sit in.  I'm noticing that a lot of people seem to like the sit on tops.  Is that just a matter of preference or is there more to it than that?

I was thinking of making an outrigger for stability and also transporting crab pots.  How will the outrigger affect the kayak in the ocean swells?

I'll start with these questions and hope you all have some good input.  I'd like to say hello to everyone and hope to see some of you out on the ocean soon.  If anyone has any used kayak saddles they're not using, I'd be interested in taking them off your hands so I can get these things wet.  I have been researching this sport and have a pretty good idea of the gear I'll need and understand that before venturing out into the ocean, I'll need to get out and practice in a safer environment first. 

Thanks in advance.

Talk to the F.O.G.'s about Ocean Fishing, but I believe that most use a sit on top type kayak because it won't swamp if a wave crests over it, not only that most of the real prepared guys fill the insides of their sit on tops with lightweight floatation items (swim noodles are popular) so that if their sit on tops leak,,, they still float.

Fishing in a lake is one thing, but the Ocean is where you need to bring your A-game, and hedge your bets.

Welcome! 

You can just put the kayaks upside down on the racks with no saddles. A lot of guys do it that way.  I would not go in the ocean with hose.

Welcome!
I was trying to see what your Loon 12 kayaks looked like - if I found the right pic, there are no front or rear hatches, which could be a safety issue out on the big blue. Ideally, you want a boat that is at least 14 ft long with both front and rear hatches.

I have an OT Dirigo sit-inside with only a rear hatch, and although I love to fish with it out on lakes, I could not take it out safely for Crab Fest. I ended up using a 14 ft Eddyline Caribbean that Headwater's let me try out. Not only was it stable in winds that eventually caused the coast guard to order boaters off the water, it was easy to set crab pots with! I even used it to learn self-rescues the day before 

Everyone will give you some great advice, but go take a look to see what is out there specifically for kayak fishing before you invest in lots of moola in boats you mind not end up being able to use out on the ocean. From what I have seen, most people like the Hobies, Eddylines, and Jacksons.

-Cherie

Lots of places offer free demo's too, don't make my mistake and buy a kayak without demo'ing it!! (of course I can make you a deal on a great gently-used wilderness systems Tarpon 160  )

I kind of got the feeling after doing some research that the Loon's probably wouldn't be ideal for ocean fishing.  I think it's time to put them up for sale.  I guess you can't overcome the limitations of the kayak.  I would rather start with the right kayak and not spend a bunch of money trying to make the wrong kayak work. 

Back to the drawing board, so to speak.  Thanks for your input. 

A lotta folks here use the Ocean Kayak tridents, wilderness systems tarpons (so there are usually a few used ones for sale) and if money isn't an issue Hobie makes really great boats. Of course that is just the tip of the iceberg to what will work (I am dying to try a raptor!) again, test drive, test drive, test drive!

Welcome aboard and good lucks in your kayak search MegaLou.

+1 on the "test as many as you can". Paddle as many boats as you can until you find the one you like best. You can often find some good deals on used demo boats.

Then, it's all about outfitting and getting what you want on the kayak to make it work for what/where you want to fish. It's very exciting!

-Cherie