I am buying 1st kayak for fishing and would appreciate any advice or ■■■■■■■■ on some of the models I am looking at. I am 5’10" and weigh between 225 to 230 so I figure I need at the least 11’ or longer. The kayaks I am looking at are Native Watercraft - Manta Ray or Redfish, Ocean Kayak Trident or Tetra Angler, Emotion Grand Slam Angler, Feel Free Moken, Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 or Ride 115, & Hobie Quest. I plan on using it on the lakes and in the creeks and rivers and in the bay and maybe Ocean. Any info would be great. Thanks
All those boats are nice…good luck! I don’t own any of those particular models, but whetever you get, try to do some test-paddles on some before you purchase.
–elgeebee–
WS Ride 135
Where will you use it most? Why, because I would paddle at least 2, maybe 3 different boats for the 4 types of water you listed.
A Ride 115 is an excellent creek and river boat; it’s not the best choice for long paddles on open water - so not a good lake and ocean boat.
The Tarpon 120 does everything pretty well, but isn’t the “best” boat for any of those waters. again a good river and creek boat and good for a couple of miles on a paddling day. I wouldn’t want to fight wind and tide in a T120.
The Manta and Redfish are comparable to the Tarpon 120, so is the Trident unless you step up to the 15 foot model. Once you go up to 15 feet, it’s a better distance boat, but not as forgiving in the creeks and rivers.
Think about where you’ll use it most and we can help steer you in the right direction.
Also, the Canoe and kayak festival is coming up in April and you can paddle nearly everything on your list.
Who’s Ready for a Sleigh Ride? www.KayakFishSC.com
I am also new at kayaking. I’m 6"2 and 230, so I wanted a large enough kayak to accommodate me. I went back and forth on the Manta Ray and the Ride 115. I decided to buy the Ride 115 because it has more storage capacity, more hatches, a 500 lb weight capacity and much more legroom to move my legs around or to bend them.
Yesterday I took it out for its maiden voyage (5 hours) on a 55 acre lake. 55 degrees with a 10 mph breeze. My observations are/were that the Ride 115 was fantastic. It has lots of room, very stable & comfortable, tracked very well and paddling was effortless for this 54 new kayak owner. I do not know how well it will handle on rivers and the ocean, but the Ride 115 was a smashing success on the lake. I certainly recommend the Ride 115.
Last weekend I test paddled the Wilderness Ride 11.5 and the Jackson CUDA. This was on a small lake of about 20 acres but it was a very windy. Under those conditions both boats paddled about the same but I really liked the seat system on the CUDA. I felt like I could move around in the cockpit a bit easier and standing AND SITTING BACK DOWN was much easier in the CUDA.
18 scout cc
quote:
Originally posted by coosaw rickI felt like I could move around in the cockpit a bit easier and standing AND SITTING BACK DOWN was much easier in the CUDA
Who sells the CUDA locally?
5151,
I got mine from Naturally Outdoors in Florence, S. C.
Rick
18 scout cc
quote:
Originally posted by 5151quote:
Originally posted by coosaw rickI felt like I could move around in the cockpit a bit easier and standing AND SITTING BACK DOWN was much easier in the CUDA
Who sells the CUDA locally?
stay tuned…
Annoy a Liberal, Work Hard and Be Happy!
I’ve got a redfish that I plan to put on craiglist soon for 350$. PM me if your interested in trying it out.
That redfish is a good boat and has some serious mojo dripping off it
Dave what kind of time frame we talking