Attention all Yakkers!

[kriso]

Hey fellas,

Im about to a yak looking at spending up to $2000. So i would like to know what should i look for in a yak. what a handy things to buy once i have one. I will be hitting the dams and would like to know what rods have you found good for bass and toga and easy to use in a yak. basicly anything you experienced guys think a newbie should know when buying/using these things.

Cheers guysB)

[Bommie]

Kriso a pair of gloves to stop blisters:) I forgot mine yesterday and must of paddle around for about 8 hours, blisters aarghh

[fishyman]

or get a hobie

[pcsolutionman]

mate try and get a hobie, you wont regret it. haveing your hands free for fishing is absolutley brilliant. there is no way I would go back to a paddle yak for the purpose of fishing. if your only looking at hitting the dams and creeks id look at the hobie outback its a fishing machine

http://www.hobiecat.com.au/kayaking/outback.html

Things to have

1. 2 adjustable scotty rod holders mounted up front for trolling

2. lip grippers

3. I like rods long enough t reach around the bow 7 foot is a good length

4. get a quality reel with a sealed drag, this is very important it stops your drag stuffing up when wet

I will add more as I remember

Mate join akff.net theres loads of info, rigged boats etc etc

Lee

[kriso]

i have joined just waiting for my account to be activated. i will be doin a bit in the brissie river as well does that make any difference to your advice? also im lookin at paddling to drop a few kilos as well.

[pcsolutionman]

nah the outback can handle offshore not a problem, You still get a good workout peddling its like riding a big in top gear on a flat road. so if your out fishing for 5 or 6 hours you burn some calories

Lee

[James W]

hobie;)

[pcsolutionman]

u still got yours for sale jimmy?

Lee

[kriso]

whats the price of a hobie these days

[pcsolutionman]

new outback is $2200, comes with a few extras.

Lee

[James W]

pcsolutionman wrote:

u still got yours for sale jimmy?

Lee

ummm...no....dad talked me out of it....gunna give her a whirl tomorrow accually

[pcsolutionman]

wicked, bet it was hard to talk you out of it NOT, where u headed?

Lee

[James W]

just up burpengary creek....havent yakked it before

[pcsolutionman]

me either, let us know how u go

Lee

[James W]

yer mate...will do:)

[kriso]

how are they for storage if you catch something good

[pcsolutionman]

what size fish are we talking? best bet is to have a small esky on the back or a soft cool bag

Lee

[kriso]

nice squire and stuff that if ever catch any but mainly squire size. have you any photos of your setup?

[pcsolutionman]

nice squire and fish that size can be stored in a wet towel with a cold ice brick in the front hatch no problems

heres a few pics of my setup. mine is the hobie adventure 16 feet long and kinny its built for offshore and speed.

this pic shows the colour sounder and gps mounted on a ram mount and 2 scotty adjustable rod holders on 6.5" extentions to clear my legs while peddling

[img size=499]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb161/pcsolutionman/kayak%20pics/pa240017-web.jpg

and a pic in action

[img size=499]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb161/pcsolutionman/stanley%20river/27-11-07/imgp1592-web.jpg

Lee

[kriso]

she looks pretty nice , how much did that set you back if you dont mind me asking

[pcsolutionman]

second picture fixed

let me see

the adventure was $2400 (fisherman pack with trolley, tackle trays etc)

rod holder with extentions and ram mount for sounder and GPS $100

colour sounder $400

GPS $225

so $3125 + all up

but you could get a basic outback and fit it with a few rod holders for a lot less, a sounder and gps can be added at will

Lee

[fishyman]

i have a hobie outback and i would never go back infact my dad is buying another

if you can afford it get a hobie you will be impressed.

i have taken my yak out into moretan bay about 2 or 3k's off tangalooma and it was remarkably dry.

lip grips are a handy thing to have whilst on a yak aswell

[kriso]

it will all come down to getting the best package for my money from what you guys said the hobbie looks like a serious contender.

[pcsolutionman]

this is from akff

second hand outback $1195 :woohoo: :woohoo:

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12995&p=139094&hilit=outback#p139094:woohoo:

[Angus]

Hey Kriso,

The Profisher (The one Brian won in the BRC) will retail @ approx $1700. Let me know if you want to check one out.

Cheers.

Angus

[Bommie]

yeah good set up, also WayneD has a well set up yak and catches heaps of bass:)

[WayneD]

Yes I do have a good setup on my Espri but, if I had the money I would definately go for a Hobie. I bought the Espri as a good starting yak but as soon as I can afford to upgrade I will be getting a Hobie. I would love the hands free paddling.

Make sure you have a look in the Rigged Kayaks section on AKFF to see all the great setups on there.

[Brian D]

pcsolutionman wrote:

mate try and get a hobie, you wont regret it. haveing your hands free for fishing is absolutley brilliant. there is no way I would go back to a paddle yak for the purpose of fishing. if your only looking at hitting the dams and creeks id look at the hobie outback its a fishing machine

http://www.hobiecat.com.au/kayaking/outback.html

Things to have

1. 2 adjustable scotty rod holders mounted up front for trolling

2. lip grippers

3. I like rods long enough t reach around the bow 7 foot is a good length

4. get a quality reel with a sealed drag, this is very important it stops your drag stuffing up when wet

I will add more as I remember

Mate join akff.net theres loads of info, rigged boats etc etc

Lee

Problem here Lee is that the peddles stop the shallow water passing, like the Albert in places is only about 6".

[Feral]

mate try and get a hobie,

Lee

Yeah I have its called fishin'!

[kriso]

i have decided against the hobie for one main reason i have dodgy ankles long story short i dont have full movement in them also a shit knee. so will be going paddle power. (bloody footy)

[Feral]

I'd be the same, (footballer knees!) but I'd still think about it and taking a paddle for my main propulsion, (If you can afford the extra loot), just being able to do a bit of foot work while playing a fish would be great!

[pcsolutionman]

Brian D wrote:

Problem here Lee is that the peddles stop the shallow water passing, like the Albert in places is only about 6".

hey brian you can take the mirrage drive out and paddle ;) and you dont need the full length of the fin to propel yourself forward, the fins will flutter up against the hull:laugh: ;)

Lee

[kriso]

yeah for the money extra for something that i would only mainly use while fighting the fish i think my money would be better spent on a few xtras for the profisher

[pcsolutionman]

yeh well if you have leg problems then a paddle craft might be better.

a few to check out

Viking Pro Fisher

Viking Espri

Viking Tempo

Viking Prowler

OK Prowler 13

OK Elite 4.5

Hobie Quest (paddle yak)

Perception Swing

these are all yaks that if I were in your position I would at least have a look at. try and have a test paddle of a few if you can. and dont just get a yak because it feels stable straight away, you get used to a yaks stability very quickly, look for a yak that you can fit out to suit your needs best. There is 2 types of stability

1. primary stability (stability when at rest)

2. Secondary Stability (stability underway)

as a general rule yaks with greater primary stability are slower and take more effort to paddle, but they are more stable at rest, this will seem like a good thing at first but even the most unstable yak feels very stable after a couple of trips.

hope this helps a little without over complicating thing

Lee

[username_taken]

The Viking Pro Fisher looks the goods! If I hadn't gotten Lee's old Kayak, I'd be getting one for sure.

[Brian D]

Agile

Lee - thanks for the info about the peddles, I sort thought Hobbies would have thought of everything.

Kriso - Here's an old surfers point of view.

As you know I have the Profish and I am getting a Nemo as a 2nd yak for 2 reasons.

1. I am trying to get my wife involved with my life and we would like to explore waterways together (or so she says from the lounge room), so I need another yak. The Nemo is a similar version to the Espri but a little less expensive.

2. Why not get another Profish? Both the Espri and the Nemo have advantages over the Profish and the PF has advantages over the Nemo.

From experience the Profish (compared to nemo or espri)paddles faster and is better for open water spaces like open ocean, Brissy river, Moreton bay, large dams like Somerset, Awoonga.

The Profish is very stable and easy to get going. However it requires more turning cycle then the Espri and Nemo because it is longer.

The Espri/Nemo is better for narrow water such as the Albert River and getting in tight with the overhanging branches and Lilly pads. This is still a stable craft but is more agile then the PF.

Another point - the PF is 30kg and longer and I find it a little difficult to load onto the car roof single handed. The Espri and Nemo are about 20kg and shorter which makes for easier loading and unloading.

Sorry about the longness of story but which ever way you go you will have to compromise on the opposite use. So which is the style that you will be doing most? Where will you be fishing?

If you plan to paddle to straddie or Awoonga then go the profish, if you just want to paddle inland waterways and dams like Lenthals go the Espri.

[faulked]

hey brian if theres a rudder available for the profish get it it will really help with turning circle if it has one ill go back to sleep:)

[Dan23]

faulked wrote:

hey brian if theres a rudder available for the profish get it it will really help with turning circle if it has one ill go back to sleep:)

I dunno about the profish but the hobies have a little thing you turn with your hand that adjusts the rudder. That's how you steer with the peddle powered yaks I think. I doubt any peddle powered models could turn as hard as just hard sticking a hand paddle though but hand paddling and fishing is really annoying.

[kriso]

Brian D wrote:

Agile

Lee - thanks for the info about the peddles, I sort thought Hobbies would have thought of everything.

Kriso - Here's an old surfers point of view.

As you know I have the Profish and I am getting a Nemo as a 2nd yak for 2 reasons.

1. I am trying to get my wife involved with my life and we would like to explore waterways together (or so she says from the lounge room), so I need another yak. The Nemo is a similar version to the Espri but a little less expensive.

2. Why not get another Profish? Both the Espri and the Nemo have advantages over the Profish and the PF has advantages over the Nemo.

From experience the Profish (compared to nemo or espri)paddles faster and is better for open water spaces like open ocean, Brissy river, Moreton bay, large dams like Somerset, Awoonga.

The Profish is very stable and easy to get going. However it requires more turning cycle then the Espri and Nemo because it is longer.

The Espri/Nemo is better for narrow water such as the Albert River and getting in tight with the overhanging branches and Lilly pads. This is still a stable craft but is more agile then the PF.

Another point - the PF is 30kg and longer and I find it a little difficult to load onto the car roof single handed. The Espri and Nemo are about 20kg and shorter which makes for easier loading and unloading.

Sorry about the longness of story but which ever way you go you will have to compromise on the opposite use. So which is the style that you will be doing most? Where will you be fishing?

If you plan to paddle to straddie or Awoonga then go the profish, if you just want to paddle inland waterways and dams like Lenthals go the Espri.

Im doinf the same as you brian, buying a nice rig that can handle the open stuff for me and a little one for the misses to get around on.

[Brian D]

faulked wrote:

hey brian if theres a rudder available for the profish get it it will really help with turning circle if it has one ill go back to sleep:)

Hey Jayson, Yes it has a rudder which is usefull in big areas (if it is enguaged) but when it comes to narrow turning spaces the profish is long.

ie the other day I cast my lure into a overhanging tree and I couldn't get the profish under the tree head on so I went in sideways, then my other rod got caught up and I ended in a real mess. If, at the time I was in a espri I could have done a quick tail turn and backed in. I used to tail turn by leaning back, diggin the tail and and spinning on a paddle. Can't do this in a profish - it's too stable with a long tail. Rudder is no help here.

This is not having a go at the profish because if things were reversed I would rather be in a profish then a espri fighting a head wind coming home up river.

A bit like sports car V's 4 wheele drive, there is always a compromise.