New and looking for a good starter ocean kayak!

Hey, I'm James Davis. Im from Napa County and looking to get into kayak fishing. looking for a good starter ocean kayak, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

WTTM!! I don't know what your budget is but a Hobie Revolution is where it's at!! You'll never look back.

If you would rather paddle than peddle, the Ocean Kayak Trident 13 is hard to beat for a solid general purpose fishing kayak.

I like the tridents 13 also. If the hobies are not within reach $ wise.

Demo! Call Headwaters in Lodi (Dan and his Team are grwat). Drive to Lodi boathouse and try as much as you can. Headwaters will have good sale on Saturday.

Welcome! The question of which kayak is perhaps the tricky part although a "short" list will be easy enough for you to come up with.The beauty of demoing is you get to make your own assesment. Just because you demo dosent mean you cant solicit advise too.You will also need some safety gear. A wet or dry suit, Pfd, marine radio, wistle, and compass, GPS fish finder, ect.The search function is helpful for frequently asked questions. How big are you, how much gear do you plan on carrying? If you haven't had much chance to check out other peoples set ups then Maybe you could be a spectator at the Albion Event next month. Be safe, have fun, see you on the water.
-Amos

Welcome to NCKA James 

Also, what is more desirable Peddling or Paddling?

Amos, I am 6'2' 220

Hi James, You are tall enough that leg room is a consideration depending on your build. Sounds like a Trident 15 or WS Tarpon 160 would be good fits not to mention the bigger SOT kayaks made by Jackson, Malibu, Feelfree, Eddyline and others. Peddle kayaks are hands free for fishing and cruise at speed well for trolling others consider paddling to be more satisfactory. If I were looking at Hobies it would probably be the Revo 13, but there again others will have other ideas, benefit from their experience, it surpasses mine.
be seeing you, Amos the SuperVato

We're about the same size. I really like the T15, WS 160, and own a Malibu X13. I'd choose the WS for speed, OK for gear storage/accessibility, and X13 as a good balance between price, storage, speed, stability. Not the hugest fan of the front hatch, but I'm a diver using the generic version. On the fishing version the front hatch can be used as a livewell.

I am 6' love my OK prowler 13 had it for about four years. Just got the WS 160 dang heavy, kinda leaky, hella long ....love it anyways but not a good starter kayak. Go with the Ok Trident or a 4.3 if you have the extra cash. Try em out and pay attention to how the seat feels, I still like the light weight seat on the Prowler more than the phase 3 WS seat...go figure.

How do peddle kayaks do with waves? is there any downfalls to having peddles instead of paddles??

Pedals will free up your hands to fish.  Downfall is water depth requirements so no shallow water or shallow river use of the pedal drives.  Pedal vs paddle for speed, endurance, etc .... don't open that line of discussion   It's a "sensitive" matter around here

How do peddle kayaks do with waves? is there any downfalls to having peddles instead of paddles??

There is one major downfall to pedals, no way to brace to prevent a capsizing with mirage drive if a wave hits you sideways.

One of the biggest downfalls to owning a Hobie...is having to deal with the misguided jealousy that paddle-only elitists often express...hahaha