Kayak recommendation

K

KGStine

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Dec 9, 2014
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I am just about ready to pull the trigger on my first kayak. I'm thinking about a Nucanoe Frontier 12, with the 360 degree Pinnacle seat. My primary use will be on the Susquehanna for bass and in Southwest Florida in canals and inshore for snook, trout and reds. I like the stability and the flexibility of the swivel seat. I also tried the Native Slayer 12, which seems slightly easier to paddle, but not nearly as stable. I do not expect to go on long paddling excursions. I will normally be fishing alone, and will have to load and unload on my mid-sized suv (Mitsubishi Outlander). I am 68 and in fair physical condition.

Am I making a big mistake? Your thoughts, recommendations and concerns will be apperciated.

 
I haven't paddled the NuCanoe Frontier 12 yet but it sure likes very stable craft that would great to fish from.

My issue with it and most sit on top designs is their weight. At 77 lbs its not going to be that easy to load and and un-load on a vehicle roof... you'll be much happier transporting it with a small trailer...

I have a 16 foot Royalex Canoe that weighs in at 65 lbs i rarely use since it a PIA to load on the SUV roof solo.

good luck in your search
 
Ditto the weight/roof concern.

50lb / 10' is a lot more manageable for solo roof loading.

i have a boat at a nominal 65lb and 10' (it is fat/wide) and this was critical for me being able to solo load it on the roof of the minivan:


Inno kayak lifter
 
I've been looking too (don't tell the wife!), and at 63 the weight is one of the first things I look at. Same with my music equipment; I play out fairly often and weight was a huge part of my choices.
 
I have a Wilderness Pungo 120 and love it. Relatively light, very stable, and easy to fish out of.
 
I own an Old Town Predator MX for fishing the Susquehanna. I love it and have ZERO regrets! It is sort of heavy BUT all the stable able to stand in kayaks are on the heavier side. For some reason Nucanoes are very hard to find. No one I know owns one. I know a lot of people with Old Town Predators, Wilderness System Rides and ATAKs, Jackson Coosas, FeelFree Lures, Ascends, a few with Hobie's, etc but no one with Nucanoes. I know someone on here though sells Nucanoes...I think its Sandfly.
 
I owned a few kayaks over the years, and from my experience, most are too heavy to fish by yourself (and I'm 6'2", 200lbs, and athletic). The best bet in my opinion is to find a 12-13' canoe. A Royalex one is going to weigh in around 40-50lbs, and a Kevlar one will probably weigh in around 28 or so. You can fish easier from one, add outriggers easily so that you can stand without concern, carry more gear (like water and food and dry clothes and two rods), and they are considerably easier to get on top of a car (because of the yoke). Until I got my driftboat this season, I was using a 15' Royalex canoe for ages. It weighs in at under 55 lbs, and I've never had a problem standing in it, even through Class I and II rapids. My kayaks were a 12' Dagger (about 55 lbs), and a 12' Freedom Hawk (which was fantastic, just too damn heavy at 70+lbs). If you're not going to be in the open ocean, I'd go with a canoe. They're considerably more comfortable and modifiable, as well.
 
SurfCowboyXX wrote:
I owned a few kayaks over the years, and from my experience, most are too heavy to fish by yourself (and I'm 6'2", 200lbs, and athletic). The best bet in my opinion is to find a 12-13' canoe. A Royalex one is going to weigh in around 40-50lbs, and a Kevlar one will probably weigh in around 28 or so. You can fish easier from one, add outriggers easily so that you can stand without concern, carry more gear (like water and food and dry clothes and two rods), and they are considerably easier to get on top of a car (because of the yoke). Until I got my driftboat this season, I was using a 15' Royalex canoe for ages. It weighs in at under 55 lbs, and I've never had a problem standing in it, even through Class I and II rapids. My kayaks were a 12' Dagger (about 55 lbs), and a 12' Freedom Hawk (which was fantastic, just too damn heavy at 70+lbs). If you're not going to be in the open ocean, I'd go with a canoe. They're considerably more comfortable and modifiable, as well.
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Some wise advice here. ^

I love my yaks but weight matters, esp if you have an SUV. Over the years, I've transitioned mainly to fishing from canoes rather than yaks.
 
You keep that kayak out of our fishing streams. Everybody knows public waters are for fly fishermen ONLY!

Didn't you read http://www.paflyfish.com/forums/Open-Forums/Paflyfish-General-Forum/Kayak-Rant/2,42221.html

Sheesh! Next thing you know someone will want to spin fish in our water...
 
+1 on the Canoe suggestions

The Old Town Discovery 119 (approx $750 to $900) or Dick's Sporting Goods version of it called the Old Town Guide 119 ($549) both made with Three Layer Polyethylene construction might be a good option if want a fairly manageable 12 foot solo only canoe that is advertised to weigh in at just under 50lbs.

The Old Town Pack 12 solo canoe in Royalex material is rumored to weigh in at 33lbs but since Royalex is no longer manufactured most Canoes in Royalex material builds are selling for well above list price if you can find them at all. There are still a few of these around for $1699.

Use your own scale as advertised weights are always suspect... and never trust the capacity stated by the manufacturer... they can rate it at whatever capacity them want.. there are no standards that they are required to follow.

Plenty of used canoes options on Craigslist...

Happy Shopping
 
Sounds like you guys need to hit the weight room . Weights are deffinitely a cheaper alternative. I recomend a dumbell or kettelbell overhead press to build up the muscles in your shoulders. I'm vertically challenged and never had a issue with getting my kayak on or off the roof of my car. :hammer:
 
I currently own 5 kayaks, bought some for my grandchildren. I am 72 and fly fished from the 10 foot sit on top this past Monday. My fist kayak was a sit in Old town Loon 120. This is a great sit in kayak.

Lately my choice is a sit on top 10 foot I purchased for $169 retail.

My mistake I the past has been to load too much stuff in the kayak. This past Monday I had 2 fly boxes, 2 bottles of water, and the fly rod. I enjoyed the day.
 
I currently own 5 kayaks, bought some for my grandchildren. I am 72 and fly fished from the 10 foot sit on top this past Monday. My fist kayak was a sit in Old town Loon 120. This is a great sit in kayak.

Lately my choice is a sit on top 10 foot I purchased for $169 retail.

My mistake I the past has been to load too much stuff in the kayak. This past Monday I had 2 fly boxes, 2 bottles of water, and the fly rod. I enjoyed the day.
 
Wow!! Thanks for the responses. I thought my mind was made up and was looking for confirmation. I guess I need to look at canoes. I did load a Frontier 10 on my car without trouble, but did not try the 12 since it's only 15 lbs heavier. The main thing I like about the Nucanoe is the elevated seat that swivels and has a lounge chair feel. It also has great stability.

I have been working with Blue Mountain Outfitters, instead of calling them today to order, I called to arrange to try out some canoes. They have been great to work with, the only drawback is they are paddlers, not fishermen.

Uncle Shorty, whether I decide on a canoe or kayak, you won't see me on your Texas streams.

Thanks.
 
I have a 12 ft frontier nucanoe, I love it !!! very stable, able to stand and cast with the casting bar , in fast water.. lots of room for gear, and numerous accessories to make it fit your needs, rod holders that attach to the casting bar ,and the ability to put a trolling motor or a 2.5 hp motor is an advantage.........now your not going to win any races with it ,speed is what you give up for stability, ...it is on the heavy side 75-80 lbs , so putting it up on a roof rack can be interesting, I bought a left over 2015 with the fly fishing package for 1650.00.....also the 360 pinnacle seat is like a lazy boy
 
I just bought a nucanoe frontier 12 after months of debating. I also got their rowing system, which I am really excited to try. I've had a native watercraft kayak for years, and I've loved it. It was perfect for rivers in pennsylvania, but I moved to the south where the mountains are a bit higher and the rivers are a bit more challenging. You need to be able to paddle Class I-III to cover the river stretches that you want to hit down here. The nucanoe is self bailing, which makes it a lot less stressful to paddle through standing waves. I haven't had a chance to hit any more challenging water yet, but so far I'm excited about the nucanoe. It's a great design.
 
Like Fredrick said...hit the gym! Quite honestly I do this and have exercises I do just for my kayak fishing (deep squats to get up and down out of my seat). Also ditch the SUV and get a pickup truck! I have little issue loading my kayak into the back of my pickup...or get a small trailer. With my Predator MX I have a fish finder, able to cary 6 rods, small cooler, more tackle then most people own. In the hull storage area I can put a small tent, sleeping bag, and everything else I need for a weekend of camping. You also have more control and fishing options with a kayak over a canoe. With ability to use anchor trolleys you can anchor or slow down the drift of the kayak and position yourself for better casting or approach to fish. I take my kayak in places I would never be able to take a canoe. The kayak is much more maneuverable. You can sneek into eddies, row backwards and beach the back end so you can fish a hole, turn it around on a dime with 2 or 3 strokes. A quality kayak is a lot more precise of a fishing tool then a canoe.
 
I'm 6'2", 200lbs, a former football player and alpine mountaineer. I'm 43 years old and can still bench better than 315, and I'd bet I can still deadlift better than 350 and squat better than 350. I "hit the weight room" yesterday. Fred knows this and is just being silly. I'm betting the man asking this question isn't as big, as strong, or as young as I am, and I'm convinced a kayak is just too damn much work for the result. A kayak weighs more, holds less, and is slower than a canoe (all things equal, a longer centerline is going to be faster--I used to use a kayak paddle with my canoe all the time and could roast most kayakers). A kayak is harder to carry and harder to load and unload. You have to sit on the very bottom of the kayak, where with the canoe, you can have a comfortable seat. The only advantage to a kayak is if you are in very open water, where the wind could conceivably either send you out to sea or pin you against the far bank of a big lake. Outside of less wind resistance, there is just no advantage. Try anchoring a kayak in the way you can a canoe. It just doesn't work as well. Too many tradeoffs.
 
SurfCowboyXX wrote:
I'm 6'2", 200lbs, a former football player and alpine mountaineer. I'm 43 years old and can still bench better than 315, and I'd bet I can still deadlift better than 350 and squat better than 350. I "hit the weight room" yesterday. Fred knows this and is just being silly. I'm betting the man asking this question isn't as big, as strong, or as young as I am, and I'm convinced a kayak is just too damn much work for the result. A kayak weighs more, holds less, and is slower than a canoe (all things equal, a longer centerline is going to be faster--I used to use a kayak paddle with my canoe all the time and could roast most kayakers). A kayak is harder to carry and harder to load and unload. You have to sit on the very bottom of the kayak, where with the canoe, you can have a comfortable seat. The only advantage to a kayak is if you are in very open water, where the wind could conceivably either send you out to sea or pin you against the far bank of a big lake. Outside of less wind resistance, there is just no advantage. Try anchoring a kayak in the way you can a canoe. It just doesn't work as well. Too many tradeoffs.
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I used to compete in some powerlifting competitions so the weight has never been a factor to me either lol...but besides that fact, I'm thinking you haven't been in a good kayak lately. You will not find a better seat for sitting all day then in these $1000+ sit on top kayaks (no sitting on the bottom in these things!). You said that a kayak is slower than a canoe and to me that is an advantage for fishing opportunities in a river. I often slow the kayak down in current even more with the drag chain so I can hit all the holes along the way and do not bypass any water that might hold a fish. A canoe floating down a river is just going way too fast for maximum fishing presentations a lot of times. Also not quite sure what you are saying about anchoring a canoe compared to a kayak. With an anchor trolley I can position the anchor system where ever along the kayak I want. If I want to anchor from the bow or the stern I just move it along the trolley. I have a trolley on both sides of my kayak where I can do precise anchoring with a 3 pound anchor on one side at the stern and then place my drag chain at the bow on the other side or vice versa. I even have trolling rigs that I can place out on both sides and row to cover more water in certain situations. The only advantages I really see a canoe having is that they are lighter in weight and yes they are slightly fasters.
 
The canoe is just faster to paddle. They all can be slowed down just the same (just keep adding weight). Sometimes you need to get off the water (read: lightning) or out of the way double quick, or you need to get to the takeout and you have miles left to travel.

The anchoring advantage is more of a safety advantage. Like slowing a small boat down, anchoring one isn't the issue. The possibility of water coming over your bow, stern, or side can certainly be an issue, and if it starts, you've got to be quick with the sharp knife to the anchor rope.

You can run an anchor trolley on a canoe, but there's really no need. You just set the anchor up at the bow or stern with eyelets running the seat amidships with a cleat to tie off on. Because it's a canoe, you can move all over the boat and cast in any direction if you wish.

The seating is where it's really at. It's the difference between sitting on the floor or sitting on an ottoman. I'm too tall to sit on the floor anymore. Sciatica complicates this.

I look at canoes/kayaks the way I look at knives. There is precious little you can do with a small knife that you can't do with a big one, but the converse is definitely not true. The kayak is a more specialized tool with a smaller window of advantages than a canoe. I wasted a few seasons and probably a few hundred bucks coming to that conclusion. I started with a canoe in 1992 and fished it exclusively until around 2003 or so, when I got the Dagger SOT to fish the salt. I also used the Dagger on the rivers, but there was no advantage relative to the extra weight, so I went back to the open boat. Because I wanted to stand up, I switched the Dagger for the 12' ultralight (HA!) Freedom Hawk, which was an awesome platform to fish from, but a beast to carry and paddle. I sold them and kept the canoe, and it made my life easier and more simple. It's a bit more of a handful in a seriously strong wind, but that's its only disadvantage. It even draws (considerably) less water than the kayaks.


 
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