Show off your kayak

[jettman96]

I've seen quite a few forum members mention that they fly fish from their kayak. So, i figured we could share some pics and info about our kayaks.

Personally, I paddle a Native Ultimate FX12 (Lime Green... you CAN'T miss it)

I love the seat and the fairly unobstructed floor for stripping line and it's super stable (although I'm a bit top heavy for standing up in it).

 

[Rip Tide]

I've been fishing out of a kayak for a good long time now. 20 years?
Probably the single best fishing related purchase that I ever made

 

[dakotakid]

My ride is a Native Slayer, which I thoroughly enjoy. Like your Native Ultimate, it has a flat open floor which is great for fly fishing.

 

[goat trail]

My 'yak is nothing fancy but it gets the job done! As Riptide said, this is probably the best fishing related purchase I've ever made.

And not just for fishin! We used to paddle to good cliffs, toss a line with a weight down to make sure of a good depth, climb up, and jump down!

My pics of the yak aren't the greatest but it's a very basic model. Not the most comfortable, pretty beat up, but the fish don't mind

 

[mcnerney]

Jettman96: Great idea for a thread, I'm loving all these great looking yaks!

 

[fenix84]

Cool pics everyone, Kayaks are cool but I never feel safe inside. For some reason I cant fish sitting down.

 

[Rip Tide]

Kayaks are cool but I never feel safe inside. For some reason I cant fish sitting down

Never once have I been in my kayak without wearing my PFD
But I mostly use it for fishing the salt and I've been out in swells in the open ocean that were over my head.
While I can't say that was relaxing, there was nothing to panic about either.
You bob like a cork.

As for fishing while seated. It gets easier with a little practice.

 

[dakotakid]

Cool pics everyone, Kayaks are cool but I never feel safe inside. For some reason I cant fish sitting down.

Agree 100% with Rip Tide. Safety isn't an issue if you use a SOT (sit-on-top) kayak and always wear a life vest. The SOT kayaks bob like a cork and can't be sunk.

I also found it a bit more difficult to fly fish out of a kayak. For one thing, you have to be even more conscious of line management. In other words, the area you are stripping line into has to be clear. So open, flat-bottom kayaks are a plus, while pedal propulsion systems are a problem.

 

[acorad]

I have a 11' Hobie Revolution with the pedal drive. The pedals don't interfere at all with my line. However the pedal drive does allow me to easily hold position in the wind and current and fish at the same time.

Andy

 

[dragon11]

We bought our kayaks right when winter started.

This is the family on them in our garage, minus our second dog:



Another view of the Nucanoe Frontier 12, on the right:



We can't wait until spring. My wife already likes to fish, but with the new kayaks, my daughter is excited about it also.

 

[horsehead]

My boat, a Native Ultimate 14.5, in her element. I absolutely love everything about this kayak. It's about as bare bones as it gets interior wise, since I only fly fish I don't have to worry about rigging, rod holders, tackle box storage, etc. etc. The seat is incredibly comfortable, and I can stand all day and fish. Moving water, still water, rough water, it seems to really do it all well, as long as you keep your head about you and don't do anything stupid.

 

[jettman96]

Cool pics everyone, Kayaks are cool but I never feel safe inside. For some reason I cant fish sitting down.

Many of the fishing kayaks are VERY stable these days. A lot of people can stand up in theirs and fish. I'm a bit too top heavy for that personally.

Fly fishing while sitting is definitely a challenge but I enjoy the low maintenance and portability of my kayak... And when you get hooked into a good sized fish and go for a "sleigh ride" it's even more fun!


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---------- Post added at 09:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 AM ----------

My boat, a Native Ultimate 14.5, in her element. I absolutely love everything about this kayak. It's about as bare bones as it gets interior wise, since I only fly fish I don't have to worry about rigging, rod holders, tackle box storage, etc. etc. The seat is incredibly comfortable, and I can stand all day and fish. Moving water, still water, rough water, it seems to really do it all well, as long as you keep your head about you and don't do anything stupid.

You've got good tastes in kayaks LOL. I've been a huge fan of the Ultimates for a long time!

I run pretty barebones as well. I switched over from a 14ft Jackson Cuda to the Ultimate FX12 about a year ago and I use my Ultimate a lot more than I used my Cuda. We also have an Ultimate 14.5 that was my wife's first kayak it was nice because it had the solo/tandem option before my daughter was big enough to paddle her own. We then got my wife an Ultimate 12 basic.

Long story, short... I've got a Cuda 14 and Ultimate 14.5 for sale LOL

Our current fleet...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rip Tide]

Kayak Fly Fishing Skills #2 – Build a Better Back Cast | NuCanoe

In general, the back cast is the energy-storing phase of the cast. Most of the power should be applied here. By stopping the rod very briskly in the upright position, you will be sending the line directly behind you with the line unrolling at head-level. Once the line straightens completely the forward stroke begins. Practice your back cast by placing a lawn chair behind you at 30 feet. Now, sit on the ground and make a series of back casts , making sure that the line hits the chair before it touches the ground. If the back cast straightens out at head-level behind you, it should straighten out at head-level in front as well.

 

[horsehead]

Dang Jettman! That's quite the fleet you have there. I'm fairly confident in saying you're not too top heavy for the ultimate. It just takes some getting used to. I'm 6'1" and 285 and I stand all the time, even in moving rivers.

I've been considering a Coosa for a couple years now, as I've gradually moved away from lake fishing and find myself always between the banks of small to medium rivers. But it's so hard to pull the trigger when the ultimate has served me so well...

 

[Ard]

Nice boats all around, I don't have one like the ones you guys have posted but what I have are kayaks and I might as well use them to keep the thread going. I would love to have a big water kayak, one of those touring boats. I guess I always thought it would be cool to travel along the coast here using one of them. Honestly, Alaska is so big that I also took notice to the motorized kayaks back in 2005. That was when I first saw one but I never saw many of them. They aren't perfect but they are what I will call an interesting recreational toy. I've adapted to using mine for both personal use and for taking other people out also. One of these years I'm going to take a trip using one of them. I'm thinking of running the coastline from Whittier to Seward or getting a ferry to Kodiak then a water taxi to take me and the boat somewhere on the west side where there are no roads.

I don't have a bunch of pictures but did take some on a 68 mile trip last August that have the boats in the shots. We were able to transport 2 men - one dog - 2 coolers - 2 tents with sleeping bags and mats - as well as all our tackle and extra rods etc.

The kayaks are great. You can float and paddle to your hearts content or you can throttle up and move about 9 mph upstream and 14 downstream. They have a contained 7.3 HP Subaru motor in an engine compartment that powers an impeller that produces a jet thrust. Once you get past the fact that they make noise they are pretty cool.









The cockpits are large enough for a guy my size - a cooler - a bunch of tackle and a 90 pound German Shepherd too.

 

[indianayakfish]

 

[horsehead]

Jameson,

How do you like the Coosa for fly fishing? I've been thinking about getting one since I'm finding myself on rivers more and more lately, and the Ultimate is a bit long and tracks a bit too well to really be considered maneuverable when it counts.

 

[indianayakfish]

Jameson,

How do you like the Coosa for fly fishing? I've been thinking about getting one since I'm finding myself on rivers more and more lately, and the Ultimate is a bit long and tracks a bit too well to really be considered maneuverable when it counts.

The model I had last year was the Coosa HD which is quite a bit different than the old standard Coosa which is still made by Jackson. The two are night and day, so if you're looking at upgrading, look hard at the HD model. Quite a bit of price difference but the HD is a much better kayak in my opinion. It handles just as well on moving water, is MUCH more stable and has a lot better features. Biggest downfall of the HD or most sit on top kayaks are the weight. But I carry my kayaks in the back of my pick up truck and don't car top them, so that's not an issue with me. That all being said, for this year I switched back over to the Jackson Kilroy. It paddles just a little easier for me than the Coosa HD and is lighter weight for those times I have to carry it down to the river. Biggest thing is I like the Kilroy more for duck hunting than the HD so that was a deciding factor as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Jackson Kilroy, Coosa HD or the Big Rig depending on the water you fish if you're a fly fisherman. All three are great kayaks. I can easily stand in any of those three models, which isn't an easy feat as I'm 6' tall, 250 pounds and about as coordinated as a three legged musk ox. If you're looking at the standard Coosa, that's a great model as well for river fishing, just don't plan on standing up in it unless you're super coordinated and have great balance. But if you can cast a fly rod while sitting down, then even the standard Coosa would work for you in the rivers.

Here's a look at the Coosa HD that I wrote up for a website some friends and I created/run. Might give you a better idea. Keep in mind this write up was done on the 2015 model Coosa HD and not the 2016. A few features have been added and a few have been taken away. Check the Jackson website for more info. Let me know if you have any other questions about the HD or any of the Jackson models. I fish on their kayak fishing team and would be glad to help.

A Glance at the 2015 Jackson Kayak Coosa HD… – The Trailing Hook Journal

 

[slob4u]

This picture is a few years old. It still looks the same except for a couple added mounts for rods & GoPro. When I fly fish from it, no other rods come out with me. It's a 12.6' Emotion Mojo Angler.

 

[jettman96]

Nice boats all around, I don't have one like the ones you guys have posted but what I have are kayaks and I might as well use them to keep the thread going. I would love to have a big water kayak, one of those touring boats. I guess I always thought it would be cool to travel along the coast here using one of them. Honestly, Alaska is so big that I also took notice to the motorized kayaks back in 2005. That was when I first saw one but I never saw many of them. They aren't perfect but they are what I will call an interesting recreational toy. I've adapted to using mine for both personal use and for taking other people out also. One of these years I'm going to take a trip using one of them. I'm thinking of running the coastline from Whittier to Seward or getting a ferry to Kodiak then a water taxi to take me and the boat somewhere on the west side where there are no roads.

I don't have a bunch of pictures but did take some on a 68 mile trip last August that have the boats in the shots. We were able to transport 2 men - one dog - 2 coolers - 2 tents with sleeping bags and mats - as well as all our tackle and extra rods etc.

The kayaks are great. You can float and paddle to your hearts content or you can throttle up and move about 9 mph upstream and 14 downstream. They have a contained 7.3 HP Subaru motor in an engine compartment that powers an impeller that produces a jet thrust. Once you get past the fact that they make noise they are pretty cool.

HardyReels,

Those things look cool! I would love to try one out but half the reason I love my kayak is the simplicity of the maintenance. No battery to tend, no gas/oil to worry about. But those things are COOL!

I lived up in AK for 5 years and had friends that ran jet boats on the Susitna River so I can definitely understand how those kayaks would be advantageous in those rocky rivers.