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Back to the serious, LOL.

 

My primary kayak is the 11.5 foot Dagger Black Water.

 

When I go to Cabela's I lust after one of those hybrid sit on tops with a chair and gear and stuff. Then I think why I sold the canoe and got a kayak in the first place. Simplicity and weight.

 

My kayak you sit inside. I have a skirt that is great in cold weather or with waves. It keeps water out of the kayak.

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I have an inflatable pontoon from Creek Company. It's an in-expensive, entry level. The seat didn't swivel but I was able to add a swivel boat seat. The anchor mount also doubles as a motor mount for an electric motor. Only had a motor on it once, was indifferent about it.

 

It does nicely on ponds and in the creeks and rivers around us. If you take it on a float trip with a group you will spend most of your time trying to keep up. Just not as fast as a canoe or kayak.

 

So I have been looking at kayaks for a while. Based on the expierence of individuals in our club I am leaning towards a sit on. We had one gentleman just getting into flyfishing purchase a sit in. One day he got caught up in a down fall and almost didn't get out of it. He sold everything he had related to flyfishing. Scared him that bad.

 

We have another gentleman start with a float tube and move to a sit on. He can be a klutz and as fallen off of it on three occasions. At least when you fall off you can get away.

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I carry a trolling motor in my canoe every time now, whether I need it or not. Got caught by unexpected wind once and nearly didn't make it back to the dock.

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I have three yaks. two sit in and one sot. I love them all for different reasons. the two sit-ins are 8" and 10" respectively the Sot is a Hobbie 10" with a pedal drive system. the other two are a promotional Budweiser and a walmart special that was give to me. i use the hobbie mostly to fish in the bay and on calm days the ocean. the other two i use for the rivers and lakes by me. each has its good points and each has it's not so fantastic points. I suggest you find a dealer that will let you try out whatever you are looking for it to be, and what you find necessary. i can not emphasis it enough, you get what you pay for. as for sitting and casting: it takes practice but once you get the hang of it, you will find yourself concentrating more on where you can go and when will you go.

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Look into the Feelfree Lure 11.5 kayak. Super stable but not very fast. I flyfish standing and sitting. The seat is the best I have seen/sat in so far. There is good storage and the standing area is really big, not much for your fly line to catch on. Test drive before you buy. Better yet rent one for the day and fish out if it to make sure.

Good luck.

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Dave Scadden, at North Fork Outdoors, has a new line of inflatable kayaks that look pretty good. They have a floor that is basically a SUP, so you can stand, or sit, and the center of the boat doesn't sag under your weight, like older inflatables did. He's got videos on his site, so check them out.

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Look into the Feelfree Lure 11.5 kayak. Super stable but not very fast. I flyfish standing and sitting. The seat is the best I have seen/sat in so far. There is good storage and the standing area is really big, not much for your fly line to catch on. Test drive before you buy. Better yet rent one for the day and fish out if it to make sure.

Good luck.

That is a sweet boat! Love the adjustable-height seat.

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www.jacksonkayak.com For fly fishing, check out the Kilroy, the Coosa HD (not the standard Coosa) and especially the Big Rig. The Big Rig is super stable. I have owned both the Kilroy and the Coosa HD and have settled on the Kilroy. All of them have the high/low seating, come ready to fish (includes rod holders and such) and are built right in Tennessee.

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Responding to WVUontheFLY's post above (sorry, the "quote" function doesn't work on my work computer for some reason):

 

First, for those who may not be familiar with the acronym, SUP stands for Stand-Up Paddleboard--picture an oversized surfboard on which you stand and paddle.

 

I've seen several people fishing from these in still water, but I've never seen one on a river. I'm sure the marketing types are working on a "made for fishing" version right now, if it's not already out there.

 

I can see the appeal of the SUP from a standing/stability viewpoint--after all, they're made to be stood upon. I can also see their appeal from a budget point of view--although I've seen some that rivaled some fishing kayaks in price.

 

I'm curious as to how SUP users deal with certain things related to actual fishing, though...for example:

 

1. No sides/gunwales--how do you secure your gear and keep it from falling in the water? Do they have some kind of clips or cleats or something that you can at least attach a bungee cord to?

 

2. No Dry Storage - I can't imagine there's any way to keep anything dry. It would only take a wave a couple of inches high to send water onto the deck, wetting everything touching the deck.

 

3. No seats -- I'm sure you can sit down on one, but you'd be planting your rear end directly on the deck, no more than an inch or two above water level. Even if you had a cushion or something to sit on, it would be wet (see #2) and would offer no back support. For me, that would mean a serious case of what my father-in-law calls "Conkus of the Bonkus" (aka sore butt) by the end of a day's fishing. smile.png

 

This is not meant as a criticism--everybody has their preferences and good reasons for them, and whatever gets one out on the water is the "right" choice for that person. As I said before, I've just seen the SUPs being used as fishing platforms before, and was curious about them.

 

Cheers,

Bryon

 

ADDENDUM / EDIT: Well don't I feel like the uniformed bumpkin...apparently the SUP as a fly fishing-specific platform is already well-established. These things are pretty cool, I have to say. To see some, and to get the answers to some of the questions I just posted (see above), check out www.suponthefly.com

 

To start I feel more comfortable and stable standing on my paddle board than I do in/on most kayaks. As far as storage and not losing equipment, I use a cooler as a dry storage unit since it has water tight seals and it doubles as a seat. For all the gear I want/need on hand I wear a hip pack with a dozen or so flies in it, with leaders, pliers, and other tools within it. My board has a bungee system to hold down stuff, in my case my cooler/seat. Then for an anchor in moving water I just carry paracord on me and then find a suitable rock to use as my anchor. I really don't trust and dry hatches on any watercraft. But exactly as it has been stated to each their own and different strokes for different folks

 

The other folks trying to say if you are sitting and casting flies and they hit the water and you are casting wrong. I openly wish for you to teach me how to cast my 12-18" heavily wind-resistant flies and sink-tip lines 70' without hitting the water. If I were throwing my carp or smallmouth flies it would be no problem but my super hefty musky flies are a different story.

 

Hey easternfly have you made any decisions or narrowed the field yet?

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I may stay with my pontoon and look for ideas to modify it.

 

Kevin

Do a search for bass tournaments using inflatables. I have seen some wicked mods. Mounts for depth finders, lazy susans converted to rod racks. Awesome.

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