[Tom123]

Hi

I have recently been doing a bit of fishing off a dodgy waveski and am obviously looking for an upgrade. If anyone could please tell me a few options.

I am 15 and 5ish foot tall and 40kg at the moment so something that suits my size e.g. not a wide or heavy yak. I am fairly experienced at paddling and have paddled K1s and surf skis. I would use it in rivers and in the ocean, so something suitable for these conditions would be good. I would prefer something with some speed as it is several kms to where I like to fish. Something with a bit of storage would also be good. I would also ideally like to use it in bream tournaments in a few years also.

I have been looking at the Tarpon 120/140 and Prowler 13 because these seem alright. Any recomendations for these / others?

 

[TheFishinMusician]

Welcome Tom,
Either of those boats would be a worthy choice for what you propose.
Best advice I can give you is to update your location details in the user profile so others know where you are @, then you can make yourself known to members in your area.
The next step is to then test paddle as many boats as you can & see what feels good.
Given you've paddled skis perhaps a piece of south africian glass might suit you also.

 

[Tom123]

Thanks for your input,

I have looked into fibreglass skis and they do seem really good. I have been looking at the Stealth Splash and similar. My only concerns are that there might not be enough storage, and it might not be very suitable for bream fishing etc. If this isn't the case please let me know.

 

[Salty Dog]

Hey Tom,

For the Splash range, I don't know how much access you get to the hull from the hatch in between your legs. DennisT would be able to tell you for sure. If you do get pretty decent access to the hull, could be ideal for you being light & good paddlers. You do get a shallow tankwell on the back that you could put an insulated bag on too, but probably not suitable for catching monsters.

If you decide that a Splash is something you might be interested in, there is a 2nd hand Splash 550 being sold through the guys that sell Stealth kayaks at the moment. It isn't as light as the 470 but at 21Kgs, it's not too bad. As you are only a young guy & there isn't much to you yet, would suggest that you try & lift any kayak that you are going to buy over your head if you are going to have to cartop it on your own at any stage, especially seeing as some kayak manufacturers under-rate the weight of their kayaks, (not Stealth to my knowledge).
http://kayakspecialists.com.au/used-and-hire/used-kayaks/item/72-used-splash-550

This might be suitable for you too. Has a large fish hatch, so could catch some monsters on this:
http://kayakspecialists.com.au/kayak-fishing/the-profisha-range/item/33-profisha-475

If you need to go through rough surf, this might suit you. It's not going to be as fast as the other Stealths I already listed but it pretty much designed for going through the rough stuff:
http://kayakspecialists.com.au/kayak-fishing/the-supalite-range/item/4-the-supalite-range

The advantage with the fibreglass kayaks is more speed for less weight. As for whether they are suitable for bream fishing, depends on where you launch from & where you fish for them. If it's all rocks & oysters, then perhaps plastic is more suitable. If it's sand, dirt/mud launches & you don't crash into things, then glass is no problem.

You might want to think about what sort of fishing you are going to be doing most of the time so that you can try & work out what kayak is best for you. If it's mostly offshore or where you are going to need to cover fair distance, then glass sounds pretty suitable for you. If it's poking around skinny water with oyster leases & rocks, then not so much.

If you decide that glass might be for you, you should get in touch with Dennis & organise a test paddle. If you are in Queensland, should be easy to organise. If you are in Sydney, I know that Dennis used to have some stock here. Don't know about the other major cities, but can't hurt to ask.

As you can tell, I am a fan of glass & pretty much haven't paddled my plastic fantastic since getting my Fisha 550. Don't let me sway you though. Have a think about what you really want to do, what your budget is & then get out there & test a few. Sounds like you are an epxerienced paddler, so shouldn't be hard for you to work out what you want.

Good luck with it whatever you choose.

 

[dru]

Stealth evolution 435. Try here for a bargain:
http://www.stealthkayaksaustralia.com.au/

Don't go 5m + for now

Otherwise any plastic SOT At 4.3m

 

[Scott]

If lure fishing for bream is something you are going to do a lot of i would have a look at a Hobie Revo 13. They are a do everything OK boat except surf launch. You have the mirage drive for bream fishing and still serious offshore ability. They have been used to catch everything from bream to marlin. For a pure offshore boat or for something that is fun to paddle the Stealths are hard to beat.

 

[Tom123]

I think that I will mostly fish for bream, so in that view a hobie would be good, as you said. An issue I have with these boats is the weight, as a 17kg stealth would be much easier to carry around, plus i am used to paddle kayaks. Also there don't seem to be that many hobies around in WA second hand? at least not the revo. Although there is a mirage drive hobie on gumtree for cheaper than the stealth i am looking at though. If you think that bream fishing plus basically any river/beach would not be ideal in a stealth and would be so much easier in a plastic, please let me know. I know that a glass is not as good as a plastic for bream, but will the weight and speed make up for this? At the moment I am looking at a stealth splash 470 with a modified larger hatch on gumtree.

 

[dru]

Estuary environment tends to mean more manoeuvoring and bumping into things. Longer tends to be more of a challenge moving in and around things. Plastic takes the bumps better. Especially if those bumps are oysters etc. Getting your rod tip caught up in mangrove branches can be annoying too if you didnt manage avoiding the overhead snags as you close in on the underwater snag where the fish are.

BUT glass works fine here and in shore. Plastic works fine in both too.

Most fishing yaks are going to be close to 25kg, quite a bit more if kitted up to go fishing. You will probably need a trolly. All you need then is a system for getting the yak on the roof. Once sorted the hobie will be fine. They are popular and well marketed so dont expect a bargain second hand. Hands free is a boon to estuary fishing.

The hobie will offer more pimping opportunities than the Stealth. The Stealth opens up in shore and a fantastic paddle seperience. Make a checklist of what is important then compare the two. They are pretty different yaks so one should stand out as better and should be quite clear I would think.

 

[Dave73]

RTM Disco.

Cheap, seaworthy, pretty light for a plastic SOT & fast. I'm biased, as I've got one.
Storage & rod holders is pretty crap, i've added a mezzanine floor to mine.

 

[Tom123]

Thanks for all your help. In the end I have ended up with the stealth splash 470. I think that, after a test paddle, it suits me and the kinds of fishing that I will be doing.

 

[Dave73]

Hats off to you fella! Made a decision in 4 days, from research to purchase.
You'll be out there paddling & catching fish when others will still be pondering kayak weights, lengths and colours.

Nice choice by the way ;-)

 

[dru]

It's an awesome yak. Enjoy!

And welcome to the exclusive list of is earning Stealth owners. ;-)

 

[Salty Dog]

Excellent choice Tom. I'm sure you're going to enjoy it mate.

 

[lawnmower]

Good choice Tom 123
Going through the same process at the moment. Moving away from the roto plastic machines because of their weight off water. Good plastic boats are well designed and are easy to fit out but after a while one makes the odd excuse not to do the trip probably because of the weight transfer onto the said roof space.Learning that age has some real effects.
Have just purchased a Fisha 470 still in the bubble wrap. Looking forward to the first trip and then the modifications to make it me. Will post some pics as purchased.
Good luck with your Fisha and keep us informed
Cheers. Lawnmower. NZ