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Ron_Perry
Junior Nomad
Posts: 77
Registered: 9-21-2005
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Mood: yearning for baja
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Kayaking 101
I'm ready! After 38 years, two inflatables (12 and 14 ft), and five or six power boats (16 to 26 ft.), I'm ready to start paddling. I've checked out
Craigs List, E-bay, Pro Bass's Offshore Anglers, and some California's kayak clubs for an education.
I intend to use a kayak in the Pacific in Northern California for abalone diving, fishing the Pacific in Baja, and the Sea of Cortez,....my
favorite. Been running a boat since age 15, with a Captain License, near coastal-25 tons, for about 15 years.
Looking for advice, and I have some questions Nomads might be able to answer.
For one person, is a 60 pound kayak too heavy?
Does it need a rudder for the open ocean?
Rod holder seem to be a must. Right?
How fast, and how long can a paddler troll? For Sierra, or other reef fish.
What are the better brand names? The brands to skip.
I am a complete, super fit burro, what is the range for a day trip?
What about length for one person, 16ft?
How much money? $1000-$1400, for a used kayak, equipped?
I'm excited to get started, what am I missing? Beside good sense?
Thanks for the help, Ron
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grmpb
Nomad
Posts: 103
Registered: 5-24-2009
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i am using a hobie outback with the mirage drive. it is 12.1 ft. 63 lbs. with the pedal drive it leaves your hands free for fishing. they have other
models too. hobie.com. 2 to 3 hrs trolling is about my average. other brands are ocean kayak, malibu. etc. check out big waters edge forum for a lot
more info.
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DavidT
Nomad
Posts: 494
Registered: 4-9-2005
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http://www.bigwatersedge.com/
Fish porn, great advice on kayaks and fishing gear.
David
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
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roadhog
Nomad
Posts: 105
Registered: 10-29-2009
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Sea kayaking is somewhat like hang gliding. Do you enjoy jumping off a 400' cliff ?
And the west coast water is cold. Northern California, maybe 3/4 hour immersion without a $4-700 dry suit before you die. Then there's the surf, tide
rips and swells...
Once you go out, you have to come back in.
Where were you planning to put the fish ?
Google: Sea Kayak, Sea Kayaking...
$2-3000 minimum ?
Move to the Keys. No fish but the water is warm.
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roadhog
Nomad
Posts: 105
Registered: 10-29-2009
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That’s datakoll’s law in action: add money to web information produces zero information.
The website’s say ‘wanna have some fun’ ? Sure, we can bag 4 foot rattlesnakes in south Georgia.
try http://www.seakayakermag.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&a...
and search to: University of Sea Kayaking
And read: The coastal kayaker's manual: a complete guide to skills, gear, and sea sense
Randel Washburne - 1998 - 256 pages
Sea Kayaker’s back issues cover rescue scenarios worth reading. Don’t miss Matt Broze on bad judgement.
I was at the San Juan’s last summer. Broze stories are repeated every day: not with fatalities but that’s not caws their not trying.
The subject has great depth. Sea Kayaking is technologically advanced eons old primitive travel.
A lot of expertise, information and equipment.
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roadhog
Nomad
Posts: 105
Registered: 10-29-2009
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one more: all the trips here ,trips there, to exotic pago pago, Kearney NJ...
there is a motor boat following them !
with warm food, cold beer, exotic dancers, first aid...
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djh
Senior Nomad
Posts: 936
Registered: 1-2-2005
Location: Earth mostly. Loreto, N. ID, Big Island
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mellow fellow, plays a yellow cello...
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| Quote: | Originally posted by roadhog
Sea kayaking is somewhat like hang gliding. Do you enjoy jumping off a 400' cliff ?
And the west coast water is cold. Northern California, maybe 3/4 hour immersion without a $4-700 dry suit before you die. Then there's the surf, tide
rips and swells...
Once you go out, you have to come back in.
Where were you planning to put the fish ?
Google: Sea Kayak, Sea Kayaking...
$2-3000 minimum ?
Move to the Keys. No fish but the water is warm. |
Its all just stuff and some numbers.
A day spent sailing isn\'t deducted from one\'s life.
Peace, Love, and Music
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djh
Senior Nomad
Posts: 936
Registered: 1-2-2005
Location: Earth mostly. Loreto, N. ID, Big Island
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mellow fellow, plays a yellow cello...
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| Quote: | Originally posted by roadhog
Sea kayaking is somewhat like hang gliding. Do you enjoy jumping off a 400' cliff ?
And the west coast water is cold. Northern California, maybe 3/4 hour immersion without a $4-700 dry suit before you die. Then there's the surf, tide
rips and swells...
Once you go out, you have to come back in.
Where were you planning to put the fish ?
Google: Sea Kayak, Sea Kayaking...
$2-3000 minimum ?
Move to the Keys. No fish but the water is warm. |
WORTHLESS post... general, biased, and judgemental. Sea Kayaking is like ANYthing else.... Become informed, prepared, equipped, and experienced, and
it is a wonderful experience ~ and not just in "the Keys".... I have been kayaking for over 30 years, and I still LOVE it.
PS roadhog.... perhaps you can offer more useful advice on something that YOU have personal experience and expertise with ?
[Edited on 2-28-2010 by djh]
Its all just stuff and some numbers.
A day spent sailing isn\'t deducted from one\'s life.
Peace, Love, and Music
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BajaDanD
Senior Nomad
Posts: 745
Registered: 8-30-2003
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try this website
http://www.kayakfishing.com/
I have an Ocean Kayak Prowler 15and1/2 ft. and a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 16Ft Both are sit on tops both have flush mount rod holders I have a fish
finder that mounts on either one a live bait tank for the Prowler. I fish in No. Cal So. Cal and Baja
When the waters cold I use a wetsuit.
I always wear a PDF when Im kayaking in the ocean. Never know what can happen.
I also bring a Marine hand held radio and a GPS
Ive been way off shore when fog rolled in.
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ElFaro
Nomad
Posts: 231
Registered: 9-16-2007
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Hi Ron...
My wife and I have been kayaking in Baja for the last 15 years and myself for the last 20 yrs. We are in our middle 50's. Here's some items I'd like
to impart that you may find helpful.
Assuming you are looking for a "sit-on-top" kayak...we use the Ocean Kayak brand. We have had Ocean Kayaks since 1990 and really like them. Hobie's
foot pedal drive system is their main selling point but there are issues with that system as well...the big one is cost. You can buy 2 Ocean Kayaks
for the price of 1 Hobie with the pedal drive. You have to ask yourself how much the pedal drive system buys you for the added cost.
In my opinion you will spend a minimum 50 percent more than the kayak for ancillary equipment needed to rig, transport, and deploy you Kayak if you
want the Kayak to work for you rather than fighting your kayak. You don't necessarily need top of the line gear but please...don't go cheap on
critical items. Some examples...
A light carbon fiber paddle is key. Figure paying $150 plus for a good paddle. Cheap paddles are heavy and can work against you. You end up
unnecessarily tired after struggling with a budget paddle.
Back supported seat...another key item...get a good seat that supports your back or you will regret it. Figure $100-200. Many come with a handy rear
pocket.
Kayak transport trolley wheels for getting your rigged kayak from vehicle to launch site...we bought our transport wheels from C-TUG out of New
Zealand. Great set of wheels that go under the kayak and is held by a strap over and around the kayak. About $150.
Vehicle racks...ours are Thule racks and I installed an "outrigger" on each rack that slides in and out of the rack tube opposite to each other.
Makes loading and unloading kayaks easy. Before I had to pick up the entire kayak and slide it onto the rack...now I just pick up one end and slide
it onto the outrigger and pick up the other end to put it on the rack and then slide the kayak in place. Racks are $250 ?.
I own the "Ocean Kayak 'Prowler Big Game'" model. It is 12.5' and is designed for fishing. Lots of working surfaces, tie cleats, tackle and gear
storage. Before they stopped production I purchased 3 of the "Bristol Bay" portable live well bags designed by Jim Sammons of La Jolla Kayak fishing
for Shimano. This bag turns any kayak into an instant fishing machine in my opinion. It functions as a live bait well, vertical rod/net holders,
tackle box, fish hold, and its all portable.
I also carry a wrist GPS, compass, and PFD vest...very helpful for marking "honey holes", checking drift currents, marking waypoints and tracks for
later reference and navigating in foggy or night conditions. Hope some of these items help.
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Ron_Perry
Junior Nomad
Posts: 77
Registered: 9-21-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: yearning for baja
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Super cool help!
Thanks for the reply's. Any pictures of this livewell, and how many gallons can it hold? I would get a paddle type kayak, as I am looking for upper
body workout. I wonder what the range of a kayak is when paddling? What about a rudder? Do you need a model with a rudder? Thanks again, Ron
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grmpb
Nomad
Posts: 103
Registered: 5-24-2009
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all the yackers that have come through here that have sit on tops and non pedal drive have not been equiped with rudders.
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ron_Perry
Thanks for the reply's. Any pictures of this livewell, and how many gallons can it hold? I would get a paddle type kayak, as I am looking for upper
body workout. I wonder what the range of a kayak is when paddling? What about a rudder? Do you need a model with a rudder? Thanks again, Ron
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Also check out bait tubes, you can make them with ordinary plumbing parts and you don't need any battery or
pump. Sometimes I'll paddle 10 miles or more in a day of kayak fishing.
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Mike99km
Nomad
Posts: 178
Registered: 5-23-2007
Location: San Dimas and ? in baja
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The rudder makes it a lot easier to manage the boat on a long paddle, I use a W/S tarpon 16ft and tried a bunch of boats before I went with it. The
rule is the longer the boat the easier to paddle, less stable. The shorter boats are wider and more stable with less glide. The distance you
will paddle is dependent on you, your kayak, the tide and the wind. I know people who want out on a offshore day and made shore 8 hours and 10 miles
away. They were happy to make it in at all. OOPS!
ELFaro and BajaDanD offer good advice, I made milk create with tubes so that I could rent and barrow different kayaks and see how they worked for me.
The reason you like a kayak is all up to you. There are paddling leg straps that make a huge difference when you're going a long way or through the
surf.
Take a lesson on paddling through the surf, a 2 ft wave can can put you in the water.
Get involved with a club or the plastic navy web site they're people that have gone through what you are about too.
They have boats to try
You live the life you settle for.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W. C. Fields.
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El Jefe
Super Nomad
Posts: 1027
Registered: 10-27-2003
Location: South East Cape
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I know from experience that the Hobie with foot pedal system works fine most of the time, but it is no good in kelp. So northern cal kayaking on one
would be sketchy. Same holds for a rudder unless you have an easy way to kick it up from the c-ckpit. I've been through many styles and have come back
to he simple Ocean Kayak with no moving parts. Its like a Tupperware boat. Can't hurt it unless you try really hard.
No b-tchin\' in the Baja.
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BajaDanD
Senior Nomad
Posts: 745
Registered: 8-30-2003
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I made my live bait tank out of a plastic tote from home depot. It fits in the well in the back of my Prowler runs off of 6 or 12 volt.
If you plan on paddling any distance the longer the better.
DanD
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taoswheat
Junior Nomad
Posts: 73
Registered: 11-29-2007
Location: Taos, NM USA
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I have had a Hobie Outback with Mirage Drive for two years now. Have made four month long trips to San Carlos (Guaymas) and have put many miles on it
fishing. I am old and worn out, but I can go about 3-4 hours of steady trolling in relatively easy seas. This will get me out about 3-4 miles and
back plus some close in bottom fishing. For fishing, I prefer the pedal power and rudder as it frees my arms for fishing. I use two Hobie rod
holders for trolling.
The outback is about 70 pounds and I handle it by myself. To ease the strain getting it up to the SUV roof, I made a roller attachment that attaches
to the trailer hitch and allows me to push it onto the roof without much lifting. Wheels for getting to the water are a must also.
[Edited on 2-28-2010 by taoswheat]
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Don Alley
Super Nomad
Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
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I have a Cobra Fish 'n Dive that I bought used. It's big, wide, and slow. But it is very stable and has a dry seat, great for colder water fishing. I
have two flush mount rod holders and one center holder. I use an Eagle GPS/Sonar combo. No rudder.
Paula's WS is a faster, easier paddle but your butt gets wet.
I've not used a Hobie but I've seen them and I want one. But they are pricey.
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ElFaro
Nomad
Posts: 231
Registered: 9-16-2007
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ron_Perry
Thanks for the reply's. Any pictures of this livewell, and how many gallons can it hold? I would get a paddle type kayak, as I am looking for upper
body workout. I wonder what the range of a kayak is when paddling? What about a rudder? Do you need a model with a rudder? Thanks again, Ron
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The portable live well bags (6 gal.) were produced by Shimano and were $120 in their catalogue. They shipped about 500 to Shimano in Irvine in late
2008 just as the economy tanked. At the Fred Hall show in Spring 2009 they were trying to get rid of them for $35/ea. I couldn't pass them up
because they were in part specifically designed for the Ocean Kayak Prowler "Big Game" model to fit in the back hold and leave room for a tackle box.
I bought 3 of them and outfitted one of them for my kayak and the others are in storage until I get the pump and plumbing parts.
BTW...rudder, cables, and parts run about $250. Not the most critical item for me at this time.
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roadhog
Nomad
Posts: 105
Registered: 10-29-2009
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I disagree. Read Matt Broze. New comers enthusiasm overlook the ‘practice’s’ realities.
In small paddle boating, just ‘doing it’ leaves you banging on a drum when you could be playing the violin.
I assume playing the fishing kayak is better fishing than beating on it.
http://www.nrsweb.com/
http://www.rei.com/
http://www.campmor.com/
http://www.cdkayak.com/
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