what should you look for when considering sit on tops used priamrily for fishing?
any make/models better than others?
Hey,
Many variables. If you have to travel long distances to get to where you want to fish, get something that is fast. If you are not in a hurry, go for stability. If you carry a bunch of gear, go for carrying capacity. I like my Tarpon. I have it rigged with a milk crate and rod holders. I am going to rig it with a couple of flush mounts behind the seat (it is set up for it). It is a bit heavy at 63 to 65 pounds. If you are an old man like me, you might have to do some rigging, i.e. a cart, etc. Two of the more popular fishing yaks are the Scupper Pro TW from Ocean Pacific and the Tarpon from Wilderness Systems. Try before you buy!!
“Fishing and catching are two different things. Fishing is what I love; catching is a bonus.”–Papa, 1979
I can only tell you about my own experience and the reasons I ended up selecting an Ocean Kayak Drifter for fishing. First, I looked on every bulletin board I could find related to kayak fishing (www.stripersonline.com, www.texaskayakfisherman.com, www.yakfishing.com and www.kayakfishing.com among others). It didn’t take long to realize that the most popular boats were the Cobra, Ocean Kayak or Wilderness Systems sit-on-tops. From that point, I narrowed it down based on the kind of fishing I intended to do. In my mind, paddling long distances wasn’t really a consideration. I knew I’d be happy cruising around a few creeks and small bays, so I didn’t need a boat with the length and speed of a Wilderness Tarpon, Cobra Explorer or Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro - three extremely popular fishing kayaks. I also wanted a shorter boat to be able to maneuver through some of the smaller creeks. At 12.6", the Drifter fit that bill.
The main consideration for my first kayak was stability and the ability, at least in very calm waters, to stand up for short periods of time and sight fish with fly or spinning gear. By now, I was pretty much committed to either a Cobra Fish N Dive (the aircraft carrier of sit on tops), the Drifter (good speed in a stable boat) or the Wilderness Ride (quality boat known for some hull slap in short chop). To be perfectly honest, if I could have found either one of these boats at a good price used, I’d have purchased it. When that wasn’t the case, I simply looked at what was available locally and settled on the Drifter. I haven’t been disappointed. It’s relatively quick and roomy, and has the stability to allow me to stand in calm conditions, although not confidently.
There’s plenty of information out there and plenty of opinions on the subject. A couple of new boats have been getting some attention among fisherman too. Check these out: http://www.kayaksfactorydirect.com/explorer.html and http://www.hobiecat.com/kayak/models_outback.html
Hope that helps.