Help choosing my first Fishing Kayak.

[tinkatinka]

Hello to forum users, I have just registered and am looking to venture out onto the water to broaden my fishing experience.
My thoughts are to purchase a solo sit on kayak for use on slow moving rivers and medium sized lakes.
I drive a VW Transporter van which will accommodate a kayak no longer than
11foot (inside the van).
My budget is around £500, any help and advice pointing me in the right direction will be very much appreciated.

[frosty]

Hi bud I got the feel free moken 10 nice little yak,stable and plenty of fishing room,a slow yak but most 10-11 ft yaks will be slow but good for rivers lakes.

[Deleted]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

For a first yak and your budget, a used yak is probably your best bet.

As Frosty said, the Moken 10 is a very stable yak. Large capacity for a shorter yak. A new one wouldn't be much over budget too. (Would still recommend used though). I had one for a short while, but it was far too slow for my liking.

I have a Trident 11 which my son now uses. For an 11' kayak it is pretty quick compared to something like a Moken 10 (I had both of these at the same time and the Trident 11 was easily the best of the 2 IMO). It is probably a few inches over 11' so you would have to check. Used one's don't come up for sale too often though.

My mate has a Tarpon 100 which seems ok. Well laid out and a very comfy seat. I only Had a short paddle on it and it's a bit bit more tippy than the Trident 11 in my opinion, but still a nice little yak.

If you could rig some bars or a rack for your van, you would obviously have a lot more better options to choose from for a fishing yak?

I'm sure you will get some more advice but thats the advice I can give you based on kayaks I have actually used. Hope it helps and feel free to ask anymore questions.

Ian

[philpot]

Welcome aboard matey

Right a quick overview of the kayaks mentioned above.

Moken 10.
A good little kayak which has a superb seat however for a number of adults, it has to be exchanged for a thinner seat as we can unbalance the kayak making it very tippy. Layout is good for the angler but it is a slow design.

Trident 11.
Always sought after s/h as they are expensive. Very good fishing layout but the seat I find to be not so good. Certainly much quicker than the Moken and an enjoyable kayak to paddle.

Tarpon 10.
This is like taking your arm chair on the water, the best seat in it's class by far which means you can sit in comfort all day. Nice to paddle with a good fishing layout and would be at the top of my own listing.

There are others like Galaxy kayaks which are very popular due to their price point and represent superb value for money. I still have a Cruz in the garage but to be honest if you are 12.5st or less, great but if like me you are built for comfort rather than speed, weight is an issue with water coming in via the rear tank well. I am not knocking this little fella as it is a cracking kayak but be aware of the weight aspect.

We have a saying, 'try before you buy' because what is a great kayak to one person doesn't mean it is for others. Layout on deck might have more appeal to some and so on. It is well worth trying one out to make sure you are happy with it otherwise it won't get used and just stay in the garage.

If you say where you live, there may well be someone on here who can offer a test paddle to you.

Phil

[Izzetafox]

Welcome to the forum mate.

I cannot add anything to the excellent advice already given.

Where are you based there may be someone local to you who can let you have a try in their kayak or give some guidance.

Terry

[Deleted]

Well if you are not too far away from Hull I would be willing to let you have a paddle on my Trident 11. With notice I may even be able to borrow my friends Tarpon 100? There is every chance he would be willing to sell it as it never gets used?

Ian

[tinkatinka]

Guys, sound advice coming in here.
I am based in South Cheshire so if anybody is local I would welcome a paddle.
FYI, I am 6 foot tall and weigh in at just under 13 stone.
I guess fishing trips on the water would typically only be 3-4 hours at a time.
Having checked over a few kayaks so far I keep going back to the Galaxy Cruz.
It seems to be very good price at £275 for what you get.
Given the above personal statistics will the Cruz work or am I missing something here ?

[Deleted]

A friend of mine has a Galaxy Cruz type kayak. I say type as a few use the same/similar hull I think?

He is as tall as you and at least a stone heavier and it copes with him fine. He did much prefer the day he spent afloat on my Trident 11 though.

Personally I would go with a 2nd hand yak from one of the more reputable manufacturers. The Galaxy will get you afloat though!

Ian

[Pieman]

Welcome to kayak angling a great sport .Just to put in my twopence worth . I started on an ocean kayak trident 11.i have used it for years for both bass fishing on the sea and pike fishing on the broads . In my opinion it's a great kayak . It's not too heavy to lift onto car,it's a very stable fishing structure, it also has lots of room for storing your gear although there are larger faster yaks out there it does everything I ask of it and its reliability is proven (so even if sea roughs up a little I still feel confident paddling )
I now have two t11s and think they are the dogs 🐶
Hope this helps
Pieman
Ps as name suggest I am a stocky (fat) chap and I spend at least five hours paddling (pink chit provided) but t11 gives me plenty of room (even for pies)

[Deleted]

What you will find, and I am sure most will agree, is that you will either love kayak fishing, or find that it's not for you.

I think most will also agree that if you love it, your first kayak is highly unlikely to be your last.

This is why I recommend buying a used kayak, because love or hate it, it is unlikely to be long before you will be looking to sell it because it's either not for you, or more likely that you want something better. I am on my 5th kayak in about 4 years. The fact I have bought used has always allowed me to recoup most, if not all of my money on the ones I have sold (tight northern git).

Ian

[Izzetafox]

As Ian says most buyers are onto their second kayak within 6 months. This is not always a bad thing.
You don't want to spend a grand on the kayak and probably as much again with drysuit, fish finder etc and then find you don't like fishing from a kayak.

This is where the phrase "try before you buy" is so relevant.

There is a two day event at Esthwaite Water in a fortnight. There should be 40+ guys there and a big range of kayaks. If it's not too far for you it would be worth a trip up. The guys in this sport are very generous with their time and advice. A couple of hours there chatting with the ads could save you a lot of money and you will see first hand the best ways too set up a kayak.

If you are on Facebook try: www.facebook.com/EsthwaiteKayakGrandSlam/?ref=br_rs

Have a word with the organiser Mike Taylor. He is a really nice guy who I am sure will point you in the right direction to chat with some lads.

Terry

[greygoose]

As everyone above has said try , but don,t think if everything is not instantly easy ,you can't take all the tackle your used to, you get bum ache ! and lots of other little things feel awkward that its not for you. you will have to refine the way you fish and the amount of tackle you take, meeting up with others and seeing how they do it will put you on the right path to happy yak fishing , don,t think you have to do as you might of read others do instantly ,let it develop in you own way ,what suits you ,and you I,m sure you will love it , and if not you will have learnt all about it and broadend your angling knowledge .

[tinkatinka]

A lot of sound advice guys.
Interesting to read the comments about upgrading the kayak in such a short space of time once you become hooked on the sport, I have spent some time researching the models you all recommend.
That said I have decided to play safe and start cautiously to "test the water " so to speak by going for a Galaxy Cruz.
Once again thank you all for the advice, I look forward to posting my experiences.

[Izzetafox]

Good Luck.

[boesman]

My son has a Galaxy Cruz, he loves it. Just tighten up all the screws regularly, ours seem to vibrate loose every now and then.

[tinkatinka]

Should take delivery tomorrow, I will keep you all updated.
I will check the tightness of the screws and feed back on the overall quality of the kayak.

[tinkatinka]

Got a message from Galaxy Saying the kayak will be delivered between 9am and 6pm, arrived at 7:25am 👍
Unpacked, screws tightened (some loose), fishfinder fitted and off to try it out.

[tinkatinka]

Went out yesterday armed with rod and lures on Winsford Flash.
Kayak very stable, relatively easy to manoeuvre but needed to anchor it in order to fish in comfort.
So, my question is what sort of anchor and what size should I get ?
Any advice please-------

[Deleted]

Firstly you will be better off fitting an anchor trolley system. Easy enough to fit.

I find a mud anchor of around 2.5kg is ample for most of my fresh water needs. I bought a cheap kettle bell (training weight) from Aldi when they had some in. They only had pink ones but I am in touch with my feminine side lol. I think Philpot might have put me onto that one?

A baker brush anchor (tree anchor) from AGM is a handy piece of kit too! www.agmdiscountfishing.co.uk/baker-brush-anchor-kayaksboats-p-268.html?osCsid=bu9m8tqvuf06011f2c12fh70s1

Ian

[andyk]

I started on a Galaxy Cruz, not a bad kayak to start on but very slow. I went out with Frosty when I had it and was really having to paddle hard to keep up.
I think I was less than six months and got myself a 2nd hand Prowler.
Try some shop demo models and any other yaks you can get your hands on and see what you like then try and get a 2nd hand one. Most of them come with everything you need. I got my Prowler with pretty much everything, even a tin or hammerite all for £550.

[tinkatinka]

Lazyboy1912,
What is an anchor trolley system ?

[Deleted]

May 18, 2017 6:56:30 GMT tinkatinka said:

Lazyboy1912,
What is an anchor trolley system ?

Basically it is 2 pulleys, one to the stern and one to the bow of the kayak. A loop of paracord running through the pulleys with a ring attached. A cleat is generally attached near to your seat so the cord can be fastened off. You are then able to move an anchor/mud weight to the front or back of the kayak. You can buy a kit with everything you need for under £25. Search anchor trolley kit on eBay. Plenty of videos on youtube. See link below for an idea! In conjunction with rivets its advisable to use some silicone sealer!

youtu.be/SyseldPCmLo

Ian

In addition to anchors/mud weights, if you are going to fish open still waters, then a drogue is a good option for slow drifts!

[gbthejoiner]

Have a look at Terry's article here as well coarsekayakfishing.proboards.com/thread/196/fatyak-kaafu-review