Fly Yakking!

[SuperFlyGuy]

Just picked up 2 kayaks. One Tandem kayak for the girlfriend and a small AdvancedFrame inflatable for my solo outings.

Took the inflatable out to Nat0ma by Will0w Creek for some bass and panfish action after work. Inflation was easy, took about 10 minutes.
The kayak tracked unbelievably well for an inflatable. With nice firm strokes I was able to pick up good speed and cover lots of bassy water. I love that I was able to access very shallow water that was inaccessible to bank fisherman and too shallow for any traditional boat. Stability was great. I was actually even able to get up on my knees and retreive a fly lodged in the tip of the kayak without tipping over. And no, it didn't deflate, although I DID take the pump out with me just in case.
:P

The fish part:

Caught about a dozen or so small 8-10 inch bass and a handfull of bluegill with small poppers and damsel nymphs. The 3wt was great for this, as I wasn't chucking bird sized flies. But I wish I did bring my 6 weight as I did see some enormous shadows, I would say 4-5 pounders. They were'nt interested in my small offerings. The kayak didn't spook the fish at all. I was catching them 10 feet away from the boat.


Had a nice relaxing night and paddled in right before the park closed at 9.
Deflated my kayak, folded it up and threw it in the trunk. No tying down, no cinching, no nothing. Love it. Perfect for those "right after work" trips.

Will post a picture later.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Very cool.....

I think we could all have a kayak. They are very unique. You can get into some very interesting places with one.

I have looked at the inflatables. I think they would be great for RVing too.
I hear people take them on the airlines with them to places like Alaska, Florida and Texas.

[Hairstacker]

Deflated my kayak, folded it up and threw it in the trunk. No tying down, no cinching, no nothing. Love it.

That's one of the coolest aspects, isn't it? I really like that portable aspect and the fact you can launch it just about anywhere for free. A lot of inflatable kayaks are light enough to carry them with one arm while scrambling down a bankside, while using the paddle in the other arm as a staff to steady your descent.

Sounds like you had a very fun session.

[SuperFlyGuy]

Picture as promised...


Bill: Yeah these things are great. They fold into the size of a large duffel bag. I haven't though of taking it on a plane. Maybe I can use this on my next cabo trip? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........

Mike: I know what you mean about the portability. I just leave it in my trunk.... haha.. hmm maybe Ill go yak fishing........... today?

[Hairstacker]

Wow, that looks like a really nice one. I've been using the Coleman Sport Kayaks for a number of years now. They're light and inexpensive (Wal Mart used to sell them for $59.99 with a paddle), although they only last 2 - 3 seasons of hard use. Unfortunately, it seems Coleman no longer makes them, and I've had to resort to eBay, where they're now going for about $100. (In fact, I just bought another one last night. ) This is what they look like (although they're much sturdier than they look in photos):



Mike Newman on this board refers to mine as a "plastic pool lounger."

You may want to re-consider permanently storing yours in your car trunk. I was doing that and, although extremely convenient, I got the impression the temperature extremes in the car trunk was accelerating degradation of the plastic over time. Maybe it's different with yours, though, as yours looks much sturdier and obviously of much, much higher quality.

[Adam Grace]

Since most plastics and polyurethane types of materials do not react well with high heat, I would not recommend storing your boat in your trunk. If you do not want your boat to age faster than it should I would only load your boat in the trunk when you are going fishing, unless the temperatures are much cooler, basically anytime other than summer.