The Perfect Fishing Kayak

Thats the Question....If you could build your own SOT Fishing kayak, What would that look like for yourself and what would you want to see on it?     From the Mold on up...

For me, the X-Factor is as close to perfect as it could be.  It is not very fast, but fast enough for most of the fishing that I do.  I don't seem to have a problem keeping up with other people.  It is very heavy too.  Other than that I love everything about this kayak.  The footwells are perfect.  There are a ton of mounting surfaces for accessories.  It is VERY stable.  The tankwell is huge.  The hatches are awesome, with a large one beetween the legs , a large angled hatch behind the seats for stowing rods on the water, and a huge front hatch that I can fit my medium sized net in.  The ride is totally dry.  I never sit in water at all and my footwells are always dry.  The weight capacity is enormous and I can even carry another person in the tankwell in an emergency.  It is very comfortable to sit in all day.  So if you could make an X-Factor faster and lighter without sacraficing any of the other things that I love about it that would be the perfect kayak for me.  I am sure everyone will have a different answer because everyone favors different characteristics in their kayaks.  It seems like a lot of other people consider weight and speed two of the most important things.  I am really anxious to see what the new X-factor SD looks like.  With the rapid growth of this sport I would expect to see a lot more good fishing kayak designs come out in the next few years.

The X-Factor does look like a mean machine, I am leaning towards that one as my " Paddle " Kayak, I'll have to look into the " SD ", have not heard of that one.....Thanks....Danglin

The PERFECT FISHING KAYAK for me would a mix of these brands....the speed of the Tarpon 160,the deck space of the Prowler 15 and the easy access hatch of the Cobra Marauder     

With the added deck space, would that compromise the speed because of the added width? I guess it's about redesigning the 160 deck, I wonder if a deeper hull would give you the extra space for storage and such???

.....the storage I'd like to see for the "future" kayaks would only be for storing a couple of rods and reels - and easily accessible. The hatch shouldn't really be that wide. For example, the Marauders hatch can be made narrower than it is now and it would leave enough room for larger legs and feet. This would also mean that you can make the Marauder's width a lot smaller for better speed and tracking.....

IMO: The problem is that most kayak manufacturers think that ALL kayak fishermen launch from boat launches or beaches where the swells are small....or even Marinas / Harbors that are protected by the breakwalls. It maybe true in So Cal....but not always the case here in Nor Cal. We need kayaks where we can easily store our gear (rods,reel and tackle) so we can  launch and land on big surf days without worrying about losing stuff. It's really simple logic  The fact is that I don't mind rolling on the surf - I've had my share (all at Linda Mar ) but I always had to depend on another yaker to help me store my gear in my front hatch (P15) cause I could not reach it. (I would not even dream of trying to open a hatch in the open ocean when the conditions are bumpy - imagine getting tipped over by a rouge wave with your hatch open )

speed, deck space and accessible storage = is that asking too much?? 

...and besides, you can only get better with the surf landing (and launching) if you keep going at it 

just my 2 cents....

Great stuff there, you would think these kayak manufactures would be tripping over themselves to find out what we think, what could be the problem. Maybe we should build the ultimate NCKA fishing kayak and quit our jobs...Danglin

Great stuff there, you would think these kayak manufactures would be tripping over themselves to find out what we think, what could be the problem. Maybe we should build the ultimate NCKA fishing kayak and quit our jobs...Danglin

brother, believe me = I've been trying to convince Bill to give me ALL his money  so we (NCKA) can get the ball rolling and build the ultimate fishing platform 
We can name the kayak "SLAYER" 

   " No Try,  Only Do... "  qoute from "Yoda"  Empire Strikes Back.................Danglin

   " No Try,  Only Do... "  qoute from "Yoda"  Empire Strikes Back.................Danglin

classic 

I really like the light weight of my Scrambler but it does not have any internal storage that is useful for rod storage etc.  So I would say I want a light boat (light enough to carry by my self, and with gear no more than two trips to the launch) that includes some internal storage with large enough hatches to accomodate rods and reels.

USS Enterprise

Haven't found it yet. Like my Prowler 15 and the Cobra Marauder both for different reasons and disliek both also. I am leanign back ot the Prowler htese days--Maruader is better for bigger people I think but the storage layout is far superior to the Prowler. But the Prowler is somewhat faster and handles more like a sea kayak.

I have the feeling a Macski Kingfisher or a Kaskazi Dorado or the Seda Revenge though the Macski surfs real well and that's important to me. If I could ever try one--perhaps this Winter.

Outback Adventures in San Jose and Marin is now carrying the X-Factor by Malibu Kayaks.  We must say that the X-Factor is a pretty sweet fishing kayak capable of being rigged to the hilt.  It has ample room for all of your gear, a huge front hatch that flops open and closed without wrestling on a rubber hatch, big rectangular hatches and one that can even be fitted with a live well.  It may not be considered kayaking, but Malibu Kayaks also makes a trolling motor mount for this boat.  The X-Factor is big and totally stable, and we feel that it paddles nicer than the Prowler Big Game.  It's also longer and lighter than the Big Game.  This thing can even be loaded with up to 6 flush mounted rod holders!  Come rent a X-Factor from us and see why this kayak is quickly gaining respect in the kayak fishing community. http://www.outbackadventures.com

I think the perfect fishing kayak would look and perform nothing like a sea-kayak. Your just not going to get that. If you want to to sea-kayak and surf, they make a better boat for that. We're looking primarily for a floating fishing platform. Were looking for freedom from bank fisherman, and pier fisherman, and sportboat fisherman. We want all of our bells and whistles and we want them handy. Guys may gripe about it but weight is really not an issue other than car-topping. Kayak speed is relative to your boat dimensions but it mostly has to do with your conditioning. The wider the boat and the more freeboard the more stable and better suited for rough water. The Malibu X-factor Dominates and for northern California waters it's a primo choice.