best Kayak for small lake Large Mouth Fishing

Question
I would like to know your opinions on what I should look for in a Kayak for small lake Large Mouth Fishing. I have been bass fishing for 20 years in bass boats, but I want to get back to "nature" and be on smaller less pressured lakes.

Your opinions on the best boat and how to rig it would be very helpful. If you have any knowledge on the Hobie Mirage Outback SUV would be great. To me it looks like a great fishing boat, but it is expensive at $1,400. I would rather spend $700-$800 and rig out the yak with a depth finder and other stuff.

You thoughts would be great.

Thanks in advance.


Answer
Getting back to nature??? It almost sounds like you want to fish from a log raft with a tin can as a reel (well, I do that too - at least the tin can reel part). If you go forward with Kayak Fishing, you are going to find that a kayak is the most technologically advanced piece of equipment that a fisherman can get (in the form of pure simplicity) and you are going to be extremely frustrated any time you are stuck in a bass boat with one of your friends.

I do need some more info about the area you are going to fish. I fish anything from small creeks, canals and rivers to ponds and wind swept plains reservoirs. My area necessitates an ocean capable sit in or sit on top. High winds make a sit in a little less wet of an option. Ocean sit ins are typically longer, much more slender, and the fastest yet "stable" hull you can get. This is the boat design I choose for my fishing.

If you plan on fishing small sheltered ponds or just waiting for the perfect day, any rec boat will do. But if you want a boat that can do anything, an open ocean kayak is the best option. Yes you will be paying around $1400 for the boat, but the boat is like a shoe for you body; standing around in clogs is fine but jogging in them is not really a good idea.

Hobie makes a good boat and I was very curious when they came out with their pedal/fin system. It would be great for trolling but may be a liability in shallow water where a kayak is most advantageous. I have pulled some huge bass out of ponds, creeks and backwaters of reservoirs while half perched on top of a partially submerged log that would seem like it would have ripped that fin system right off of a Hobie. But then again I really don't know too much about those fins (maybe you can take them off from inside the boat).

A kayak is also the only boat that can move through thick weed mats like they were not even there. This is another one of my favorite places to find summertime bass. Belly boaters can't even get in there without getting stuck. Yes you can ram a bass boat into the weeds (I am talking thick stuff that you could almost walk on), then spend 20 minutes getting out, but with a smooth hull of a kayak you can glide over the top of the weeds and move freely at any time (and quietly). This may be another consideration of why not to get that pedal system.

My chief requirement for any fishing kayak is the addition of a foot controlled rudder. This device becomes your electric trolling motor of sorts. With a slight breeze, you can work a depth contour without ever touching the paddle. These retractable rudders can even be left down in the shallows or weeds as long as you don't need to back up. If you do, just pull the cord and the rudder is out of the water.

Here is a link to the people who know sit on tops the best. They have to since some of them regularly catch sharks from them.

http://www.yakfishing.com/board/

Send me more info about your area and I will give you some more detail.