New Adventure Toy

[mightymike]

I've wanted a fishing kayak for a while and picked up a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 16i with the angler package. Tried it out yesterday for the first time and I am very happy with it. The 16' length is long, but I wanted to be able to camp out of it for two or three days and think the extra storage is worth the bigger size. Future plans are a favorite mountain river (smallmouth/trout) and lots of trips to the North Carolina Outer Banks(redfish/trout/flounder). One small bass yesterday, saw one bald eagle, two dozen wild turkeys and no other people!

 

[rvrfish]

That is a sweet Kayak!

A while back I bought a Scrambler XT that I fish out of in our local kelp beds. It is like paddling a log. I’m not to motivated to paddle very far… My friend has a Wilderness systems kayak it paddles so much better!

You have got to love small bass fishing on top water baits. I’ll try to send some pictures of some west coast fish. (they are on my work computer)

I hope the next fish picture you post is of a big striped bass caught from your yak!

Best of luck with your new toy.

Matt

 

[kcowyo]

Nice smallie. Man, they put up a fun fight!

Nice looking 'Yak too. You up in the hills near Lenoir or Waynesville?

 

[mightymike]

I'm actually in the Piedmont, about 40 miles East of Charlotte. The picture is at Falls Reservoir, in the Yadkin River chain. We usually fish the mountains a couple of times a year and float the South Toe River which is about 75 miles west of Lenior. Last weeked were were up there and in the general store they had a picture of a 540 lb. black bear that had been killed along the S. Toe River in October of 2006. I've heard of bears in the NC swamps getting that big, but that is a huge bear for our mountains. I'll have to make sure I keep fishing with friends that I can outrun!

 

[navara-au]

Nice looking kayak mate.

Hope you dont mind me tagging along on this thread but I'm looking at buying a fishing kayak as well around the 13" mark.
I live within a half a mile of a large bay and will be using it mainly there, as well as rivers, creeks and when the conditions are good more open water.
I would like any advise anyone could give me, although I'm completely new to Kayaking, Ive been involved in numerous water sports all my life.

Here a few photos of the style I'm looking at.

 

[mightymike]

Great to hear from you Down Under! I haven't had my kayak long enough to comment too much, but I think the designs you are looking at would be great. If you are going to be on open water often (you mentioned a large bay) I would get a rudder. I think it makes a huge difference. It looks like the kayak in your pictures also has room for a couple of rod holders. I'd mount one near where the depth finder is to use for casting and two mounted behind the seat, angled outward so you can troll with them and they are easy to reach.

Keep us up to date and post a pic of the first fish you catch!

 

[navara-au]

Well I guess I own it now, I was bidding on E-bay for it and won(damn good price to). It has 3 flush mount rod holders one just in front of the seat and 2 rear. It also has 3 hatches. It would be better if it had a rudder, but will see if I can get an aftermarket one if needed . Will probably get a better back support.
But apart from that I think it will suit me well. I found a couple of Aussie kayak fishing forums and found that model to be very popular. Its a called a Perception Swing and is purpose built for fishing.
Here's some links to the forums, there are some great ideas and setups there worth checking out.
http://www.akff.net/forum/
http://kfdu.com.au/forum/

Now I'll have to pick it up and give it a go, will let you know how it performs.

 

[mightymike]

Sweet! Don't forget some fish pics!

 

[navara-au]

Sweet! Don't forget some fish pics!

Well I caught my first yak (starting to learn the lingo) fish today. After dropping a couple, I bought on board a Squire (juvenile snapper). Its just over the legal size of 14" and made a nice lunch for me. I caught it on a small reef about a half a mile off the coast.

I'm quite surprised how easy the yak is to paddle, maneuver and fish out off.

 

[mightymike]

Good deal! It looks like you have a beauiful spot to use your kayak. I really enjoy fishing, and for me, fishing out of a kayak is slower paced, more enjoyable activity.

If you catch any monsters, make sure you show the rest of us.