kayak advice

[island guy]

I've been trying to pull the trigger on moving from my canoe to a kayak. Here's the skinny. I enjoy hitting the local river to do a bit of fishing and sights. I'm not as young and agile as I once was but can still get out in the canoe for a few hours with no problem. Any advice as to a stable kayak that would meet my sightseeing and fishing needs? Length? What price to expect?

Thanks for any advice.

[Green 'eyes!]

IMO - go with a lighter kayak if you aren't in the best shape or getting up there in age. Look at kayakfishingstuff.com for a ton of information, reviews, articles, and forums. There's enough info there to give you a complete run down. Good luck.

[swamptiger]

My advice is to keep the canoe at least until you are certain you will use the kayak more than the canoe. I have a kayak and two canoes, and I usually take one of the canoes if I plan to go fishing - I have a 14' canoe with a 40" beam that I set up for rowing and this is my choice for a fishing rig on small lakes and rivers unless it involves a lot of portaging or packing - then I will take my 40# kayak.

If I just want to paddle around, sometimes I will take the kayak too.. My kayak is a Mainstream Sound sit inside type.

[aabs]

I purchased a Sea Eagle explorer this year and really like it for fishing and river floating. Did not look at regular hard shelled Kayaks since I find fishing from them a little unstable. The Explorer is an inflatable Kayak is nice from a transport and is very stable on the water even in very rough water.

[NCLaker]

A friend has a Hobie kayak that he uses for fishing. He uses a 12' model. It is a sit on top style with seems to be a better option for fishing out of. Check out their site - they got a bunch of options and I think they come standard with pole holders. They even have a live well option.

The most unique feature is that it has a pedal/flipper system were you use your feet to propel it. Leaving your hands free to do your fishing thing. I guess they work great - easy to use and moves it at a pretty good clip.

[Chode2235]

The hobies are great, but also expensive. There are a number of kayaks that will work for you. Probably around the 12 -14 foot range. I love the kayak as it is much more comfortable than the canoe, handles better with one person, manuvers better, and can be set up a lot how you want it.

Those rotomolded kayaks are durable, but a bit heavy. I very much prefer a kayak over most canoes. Some of the better solo canoes can compete with the kayak (wehnona vegabond), but unless you need to carry a lot of gear the kayak is a better choice for most situation. Especially if you want to paddle upstream.