kayak recommendations

[arrowit]

Can one of you veterans recommend a kayak for me. I am using it solely for fishing & want something no more than 50 lbs. I'll be paddling the smaller lakes on the edge of the BWCA. I just can't deciede on a brand to purchase.

[Chode2235]

I am big kayak guy, but I recommend a great lightweight solo canoe for going in to the BWCA. You can carry a lot more gear.

[DT10 Guy]

I have a Heritage Featherlite 9.5 and it is great. Super light, less then 40lbs. I have had to portage it on multiple river runs and I have no problem carrying all of my gear in it and pulling it along the trail.

DT10

[yakfisher]

If you plan to portage go with a canoe. Otherwise check out the comfy seats in the Old Town Dirigo's and Cayuga's I also think Necky uses the same seats. They are cushy and sweet.

[reelemin]

Crow wing yaks - made in Brainard for fishing - love mine - check out the topic "rigged kayak" a bit further down on this forum.

[arrowit]

Got a quote on a Dirigo today...I think that may be the route to go...

[arrowit]

The prople I've talked to say to do the sit in style yak. What's your opinion? Looking at your location (both of them)I am using them in the exact same areas.

[Green 'eyes!]

sit on top is safest for fishing.

I tested a crow wing yak, and it did not track very well. As soon as I stopped paddling I "spun out" to the right side. Very strange.

[yakfisher]

There is nothing unsafe about fishing from a sit inside kayak. Sit on tops can be more convenient if you like to get in and out of the boat to wade. Just make sure you get a recreational or a rec touring kayak. A straight touring kayak is very long and skinny and designed to travel great distances. Recreational kayaks are wider and feel more stable, similar to the stability you would feel if you were sitting on the bottom of a canoe. Sit on tops are great for the summer but in the cooler months with cooler water temps a sit on top will offer little protection from the elements where as you can get spray skirt to fit your kayak if you are sitting inside it. Both types have advantages and disadvantages, but safety is not one of them. If I could afford another kayak, I would be checking out the Hobie kayaks with the foot peddles.

[Green 'eyes!]

To say there is "nothing unsafe about fishing from a sit inside kayak" is irresponsible. A spray skirt doesn't prevent water from filling up your sit inside yak if it capsizes. A sit on top you flip it over and climb back in.

I lost a friend in Canada who was trapped and, probably, confused in his sit inside yak with spray skirt.

[yakfisher]

And a waist belt won't stop waders from filling up. I never said that a spray skirt would keep a boat from capsizing, I said that it would help protect from the elements.

I'm sorry you lost a friend in an unfortunate accident, but that doesn't make a sit inside any less safe than a sit on top.

If you are out in conditions that will fill up a sit inside kayak then you probably shouldn't be out in a sit on top either. Unfortunately people die every year in unfortunate accidents but to generalize and say that one boat is better than another because some random accident happened is irresponsible as well.

Make sure when you go out wear your life jacket have a throw rope, a hand pump and make sure that the conditions do not exceed your abilities.

[sparcebag]

Well my spray skirt keeps all water out even when I practice my rolls! I owned a sit on top but it was on the ocean and for surfing,If there was no cord attached to it and me it at times was a LONG swim to get to it.I fish smaller creeks and the Mn. river out here and I'd never even consider a SOT just for the reason its moving water and I dont want to chase it! My SIS I roll it and its always with me,I dont roll it unless I'm playin but if the time came I'd rather not be driving down stream looking for a yak.

Greeneyes if ya ever saw or used a skirt you'd know its fastened to your chest,waist and it easily releases from yak gunnel! its only held by a elastic band for safety reasons and a safety release if ya cant complete a roll.

[johnmn]

A sit on top kayak may not be safer, but easier if you fish because if you do dump it you can get back on it right away. These kayak will not hold water in them. I dumped a sit in kayak the first time I got in one and filled it half full of water and didn't have a way of getting the water back out. I had to pull it on shore than dump out the water which was a major pain.

[newpike]

My 2 cents here. Between the two, I prefer the sit inside kayak although I recently bought a canoe for another option. We are talking about fishing and I like to know that in a sit inside, I am better protected from the elements. Also for gear, I like the fact that I am not likely to drop or lose items with such a large cavity. I have never had problems rolling it and if we are talking rolling and skirts, this is a whole different bird. If mine should flip, I can either bail or roll it back. A sit on top, you and all your gear fly. Sit ins also float when flooded because of the internal floatation. It would be interesting to see the difference between the two types as far as center-of-gravity. Good luck

[lip_ripper]

The newer SOT's have scupper plugs to drain any unwanted water out of them. Use either rubber stoppers or scupper plugs to plug the holes and if/ when you get water in, than just pull them and the water drains. As far as keeping you gear in a SOT, many have bungees you can strap stuff down with and leashes to secure anything to the craft. Mine also has two dry storages and a front storage with a bungeed lid to keep things secure.

I also added rod holders, anchor system, fish locator and paddle leashes.

Basic difference I feel,

Sot's

More room to fish

Easier to enter and exit

Good one's are self bailing

Sik's

Drier ride

Better in rough water

Take a few out for a test ride before you buy.

[Green 'eyes!]

Nothing wrong with a SIK, I just don't want to pump for an hour if it rolls. That, and the aforementioned reason: it just isn't for me. But hey, if we're fishin from a kayak, then we're fishin like no one else.

[say_der]

I have a Crow Wing, it tracks very straight. I wonder if something was wrong with the one mentioned before that it would "spin out."

While I agree that neither one is safer than the other, a SOT does offer a little easier self recovery if you end up out of it.

I have enough ways to keep everything strapped down to my Crow Wing that if I rolled it I wouldn't lose any equipment at all. This can be true for any kayak. It's all how you set them up. Rod leashes and bungies that hold your stuff are typically pretty cheap insurance.

[Cyberfish]

And a waist belt won't stop waders from filling up. I never said that a spray skirt would keep a boat from capsizing, I said that it would help protect from the elements.

I'm sorry you lost a friend in an unfortunate accident, but that doesn't make a sit inside any less safe than a sit on top.

If you are out in conditions that will fill up a sit inside kayak then you probably shouldn't be out in a sit on top either. Unfortunately people die every year in unfortunate accidents but to generalize and say that one boat is better than another because some random accident happened is irresponsible as well.

Make sure when you go out wear your life jacket have a throw rope, a hand pump and make sure that the conditions do not exceed your abilities.

Good advice yakfisher!

Neither kind are totally safe. Whatever Kayak you use, make sure to practise self rescue skills in the summer when the water is warm too!

[Cyberfish]

I have a Crow Wing, it tracks very straight.

I have enough ways to keep everything strapped down to my Crow Wing that if I rolled it I wouldn't lose any equipment at all. This can be true for any kayak. It's all how you set them up. Rod leashes and bungies that hold your stuff are typically pretty cheap insurance.

Ya, I learned that the hard way!

[Bullwinkled]

I purchased a Crow Wing Kayak SOT in 2007, they had just come out with a new one which tracked much better, I know because I tried them both. I use it on the Mississipi. I like it because I can carry a small cooler my tackle bag two rods, small anchor and my GPS. Naturally EVERYTHING is strapped down or attached to my person, If it was to dump me, in goes the anchor to hold it in place. It has scupper holes, a decent seat. It is not for paddling miles in the BWCA, works great for river fishing.