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Kayak Fishing

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Pontoons brother... PONTOONS!!!!

Pontoon Boat - Inflatable - Fish

69774_h_6.jpg


Sooooo much better than kayaks. Swivel seats, storage compartments, cooler, cup holders, 3 different pole holders, etc. They are even river rated to a Class 1. Also comes with a mount for small engines.

Like I said in the Steelers thread... Go through Costco and get them for around $300.
So. What you are doing is leaving the frame together in storage and just inflating the pontoons at the water when you put in for a dip, correct?
 

FaCe-LeE-uS

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So. What you are doing is leaving the frame together in storage and just inflating the pontoons at the water when you put in for a dip, correct?
Yep. You can collapse it as far as you want by disassembling it, but its not worth it. I strap the frame to the rack on top of my truck or toss it in the trailer.
 

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Been watching KBF (Kayak Bass Fishing) with Chad Hoover on YouTube. Great show. 3 seasons so far I believe. He goes around with his kayak fishing different waters around the country.

Seems like Yak Angling is getting pretty big. A lot of activity on the bass resource boards with kayak fishing.

Of course there is the pontoon option as well... still leaning toward the kayak. Probably because of the popularity breeding options etc.
 

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Decided on a boat. I'm going with the Jackson Big Rig.

Big Rig

Should be able to pretty much get up and walk around on it. I'll probably outfit it with a Torquedo electric motor as well for the larger lakes but paddle when I'm floating the Kiski. Seems like the best option. Not sure what I'll get my son. He'll have to pick one out himself. Probably another Jackson since we have a dealer right down the road.

Now to wait for a good deal/sale to come along. That $1600 price tag gives me hives. Especially when the motor is going to cost the same as the boat. Ugh. I can't afford this hobby.
 

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Well, my previous post was inaccurate. I didn't decide on a boat at that point. I didn't decide on a boat until this past December actually. A couple of months ago. Picked up two Kaku Kayak Voodoo (One in Orange Crush and one in Key Lime Camo).

kaku-voodoo.jpg


voodoo.jpg


13' Long
35" Wide
450LB Capacity
$1199.00 EA

Haven't had them out on the water yet since the fucking water is hard up this way and will be for a couple more months but they are impressive boats. At least in watching the videos and reviews. I have one sitting on my wet bar in the game room and the other on some bar-stools haha. Not sure if they count as kayaks. More like a fishing skiff. They have a reputation for being insanely stable. I've seen 300lb guys standing on the chair while casting and the boat doesn't even know they're there. I imagine I'll still fall off though haha.

Still might by a regular boat, probably a pontoon if I do. But we'll see. Maybe these are all we'll need.
 

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Gotta say too, Kevin Hawkins, the owner of Kaku Kayak is about as good of a dude as you'll ever deal with. I'm such an obsessive compulsive ass (2 years to pick a boat) that I've actually had several phone conversations with him discussing their abilities etc. He's very PRESENT with his company. You call and more than likely he answers the phone. And it's not a mom-and-pops shop type deal. They make and sell a lot of kayaks. No idea how he finds the time to do it. Great guy. Great company. Can't wait to actually try the boats out.
 

MAIZEandBLUE09

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Well, my previous post was inaccurate. I didn't decide on a boat at that point. I didn't decide on a boat until this past December actually. A couple of months ago. Picked up two Kaku Kayak Voodoo (One in Orange Crush and one in Key Lime Camo).

kaku-voodoo.jpg


voodoo.jpg


13' Long
35" Wide
450LB Capacity
$1199.00 EA

Haven't had them out on the water yet since the fucking water is hard up this way and will be for a couple more months but they are impressive boats. At least in watching the videos and reviews. I have one sitting on my wet bar in the game room and the other on some bar-stools haha. Not sure if they count as kayaks. More like a fishing skiff. They have a reputation for being insanely stable. I've seen 300lb guys standing on the chair while casting and the boat doesn't even know they're there. I imagine I'll still fall off though haha.

Still might by a regular boat, probably a pontoon if I do. But we'll see. Maybe these are all we'll need.
Weird! it's like a kayak/paddleboard hybrid. Haven't seen anything like that before. I love the new shit they're coming up with for fishing. Just in the last 20 years the kayak industry has exploded. Can you mount a motor on that thing?
 

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Weird! it's like a kayak/paddleboard hybrid. Haven't seen anything like that before. I love the new shit they're coming up with for fishing. Just in the last 20 years the kayak industry has exploded. Can you mount a motor on that thing?
Owner calls it a "Deck Yak". Says he made the haul a kayak for handling and the top a SUP for the open floorplan. Clutter stresses me out and after seeing this design I fell in love with it lol.

The back end has (5) power pole mounts (you can see them in the picture, the black plates on the rear of the boat) which a lot of new motor mounts adopted as a pattern. You can mount two power poles (which would cost more than the fucking boat) and a motor and still have two star boards left for other mounting. I probably plan on keeping it manual power for now though.

The owner has approved up to 3.5hp gas for it (I think) and pretty much any electric motor.

The kayak fishing thing realyl has exploded. Even in the two years I've been researching (see dragging feet). It's just huge now and some of these designs are amazing.
 
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MAIZEandBLUE09

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Owner calls it a "Deck Yak". Says he made the haul a kayak for handling and the top a SUP for the open floorplan. Clutter stresses me out and after seeing this design I fell in love with it lol.

The back end has (5) power pole mounts (you can see them in the picture, the black plates on the rear of the boat) which a lot of new motor mounts adopted as a pattern. You can mount two power poles (which would cost more than the fucking boat) and a motor and still have two star boards left for other mounting. I probably plan on keeping it manual power for now though.

The owner has approved up to 3.5hp gas for it (I think) and pretty much any electric motor.

The kayak fishing thing realyl has exploded. Even in the two years I've been researching (see dragging feet). It's just huge now and some of these designs are amazing.
3.5 is the same as my inflatable takes. They sell some really garbage motors that are like 2 stroke weed wackers that are that power; if you want to get a decent motor that HP, it will (again) basically cost what the boat does. Which is why I went with an electric.
 

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3.5 is the same as my inflatable takes. They sell some really garbage motors that are like 2 stroke weed wackers that are that power; if you want to get a decent motor that HP, it will (again) basically cost what the boat does. Which is why I went with an electric.
I have zero interest in adding a gas motor. I'm not really interested in adding a motor at all right now, even electric. Part of the appeal of these things is the simplicity of the whole thing. Hooking a trailered boat up to the truck and launching it and pulling it out and maintaining it... ugh. That's why I sold my last boat. Hoping these yaks will provide me what I need and I can avoid that whole mess.

I don't even want to add a fish finder right now. I don't want a bunch of things to attach to the deck before I launch. My plan is to toss these in the back of the truck with my paddle and pfd, grab a couple rods and my crate and head out. I wanna park the truck and be on the water in under 15 minutes lol.

Clutter stresses me out too. Simple and clean.
 

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Few more weeks and it's go time...

Bass should be in pre-spawn mode mid-April around here.
 

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Might get the boats out this weekend depending on the temperature because apparently "hypothermia is real" and not just something wives make up to keep their husbands off the water. Was driving past the Saltsburg launch on the Kiski and saw some yak anglers launching on Saturday. Looked like a couple of FeelFree Lures.

Most water around here should be in the 55 degree range so bass should be pre-spawn right now. Still getting some cold nights so I don't expect they'll be far from their deeper haunts.

Holy balls it's been a long winter. Thank ye' gods for spring!
 

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I've had the Voodoo's out a half dozen times or so. First off, these things are as stable as anything. They also paddle well (efficient) and track great (go straight when you stop). I've settled on putting the milk crate I built (that has a lid with sides on it to hold stuff) in front of me since I have the open deck. Works very well. Everything is right there. I even threw some bungees across it and use it as a rod holder/stager. Couldn't be more happy. I think most people would be able to not only stand on these, but stand and fish. It's not a parlor trick. They really are that stable.

My son is huge. 6-2" and around 300lb. He's the starting defensive tackle for his high school football team. He might even be 6-3" now. Well, he was goofing off and leaned clean over the side. Head and shoulders over the side of the yak. Boat tipped a little to that side and he slid off into the water. Boat didn't flip. It just tilted enough that the goober lost his balance. Someone with less weight would have a hard time even getting it to tilt that far I think.

Already thinking about adding a fishfinder and motor but also hate the idea of making this less simple. Fishfinder would help in lakes but I fish mostly shallow rivers and creeks. I like moving water. The motor would expand my range on lakes too but again... I like the moving water. The problem is it won't stop fucking raining so I've been hitting lakes a lot.

Need to decide what I'm doing for an anchor. The wind can be a bitch.

I need to post some real pictures here. Problem is the ones I've taken have turned out to be shit. And even at that, fucking shutterfly isn't taking my uploads right now or rather they are putting them somewhere I can't access them online. I'll get them up though. These things are cool as hell.
 

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upload_2019-5-22_14-42-4.jpeg
Got one pic uploaded somehow. Let’s see if this shows up...
 

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MAIZEandBLUE09

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I've had the Voodoo's out a half dozen times or so. First off, these things are as stable as anything. They also paddle well (efficient) and track great (go straight when you stop). I've settled on putting the milk crate I built (that has a lid with sides on it to hold stuff) in front of me since I have the open deck. Works very well. Everything is right there. I even threw some bungees across it and use it as a rod holder/stager. Couldn't be more happy. I think most people would be able to not only stand on these, but stand and fish. It's not a parlor trick. They really are that stable.

My son is huge. 6-2" and around 300lb. He's the starting defensive tackle for his high school football team. He might even be 6-3" now. Well, he was goofing off and leaned clean over the side. Head and shoulders over the side of the yak. Boat tipped a little to that side and he slid off into the water. Boat didn't flip. It just tilted enough that the goober lost his balance. Someone with less weight would have a hard time even getting it to tilt that far I think.

Already thinking about adding a fishfinder and motor but also hate the idea of making this less simple. Fishfinder would help in lakes but I fish mostly shallow rivers and creeks. I like moving water. The motor would expand my range on lakes too but again... I like the moving water. The problem is it won't stop fucking raining so I've been hitting lakes a lot.

Need to decide what I'm doing for an anchor. The wind can be a bitch.

I need to post some real pictures here. Problem is the ones I've taken have turned out to be shit. And even at that, fucking shutterfly isn't taking my uploads right now or rather they are putting them somewhere I can't access them online. I'll get them up though. These things are cool as hell.

I'm thinking I'm going to get me one of these; Garmin striker 4 portable units:

Link

No drilling, just suction cup the transducer to the bottom of the boat and go.

(Side note; the link was for amazon but somehow this site like blocks amazon links and shoots you to Walmart instead? Super weird).
 

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I'm thinking I'm going to get me one of these; Garmin striker 4 portable units:

Link

No drilling, just suction cup the transducer to the bottom of the boat and go.

(Side note; the link was for amazon but somehow this site like blocks amazon links and shoots you to Walmart instead? Super weird).
Ah. A portable deal. I thought about that too. I'm just not sure what I want in a fishfinder man. What seems most useful for me is Navionics capable, side imaging, and the ability to map. Which puts units at roughly the cost the damned boat lol. Maybe I'll just get something like that until I get the nerve to spend on what I want.
 

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Damn rain has the river all washed out.

Think these can handle whitewater? :D
 

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I'm thinking I'm going to get me one of these; Garmin striker 4 portable units:

Link

No drilling, just suction cup the transducer to the bottom of the boat and go.

(Side note; the link was for amazon but somehow this site like blocks amazon links and shoots you to Walmart instead? Super weird).
MAIZE, have you looked into the Deeper Sonar? I always thought it was "kinda cool" but also kind of hokey. Chad Hoover just did a video on it and brought up some great points. He's a fan. Likes it better than the cheaper (sub $400 units) sonars. Says it's accurate and works well. Not a gimmick.

One thing he pointed out that I hadn't thought of has really gotten my attention. Throwing it out and letting it float down stream in current before you move into an area. Mind blown. Am I crazy or does that sound pretty valuable to a river fisherman? Looks like the Setup for the Pro+ is about $220 but that's everything you need. Unless you want the boat mount. That's another $70.
 
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