Fishing Victoria Forum

Hey all

Recently i've been getting keen on kayak fishing. Kayaking is something i've done all my life and I love it, but only recently have I considered kayak fishing. Over the last year or so i've been hiring sit on tops and taken a couple lessons periodically to improve my skills, and I reckon nows the time i'm ready to commit to the hobby.

My budget is $700-$900 for a good, stable entry level kayak. Desired length is 12-14ft, preferably with a comfy seat and decent amounts of storage, on the lighter side would be nice and it needs to be rooftopable.
Ive found this one online from freak sports, and i'd like a second opinion
- https://www.freaksports.com.au/product/ ... r-package/
My only concern with that one is that i've seen the same model around on different sites and it seems like one of those cheap mass-manufactured ebay kayaks, and I haven't heard of freak sports before.
I've looked around on the forum and seen the wavedance kingfisher as a highly recommended model as well, so i'm considering that as well.

As usual all advice and tips are greatly appreciated

cheers

croe

Freaksports is a decent company. I've dealt with them a few times. They stock kayaks from some well regarded brands like Jackson, Wilderness Systems and Perception, but I'm not sure about their cheaper ones.

Brett was flogging his kingfisher here recently. It looked like it came with a bunch of **** so you'd get more bang for your buck getting that one than buying one new.

Brett's looks like a really good deal and in your range. Id buy it but the bank account has been taking a fair few hits the last few months with life stuff so can't grab it unfortunately.

Ok Croe first and foremost I have to say #freebugatti
Secondly you won't regret getting a kayak they are great fun I have a hobie outback and use it in enclosed waters but it's cost is a little above your stated budget.

Where do you plan on using the kayak? The freaksports kayak in the link would be ok in sheltered waterways I wouldn't be game using it were it could get too choppy or theres a lot of current though. Theres other dedicated kayak anglers who can help more than I though so ill leave it up to them to provide more details.

#freebugatti

Good topic, I'm thinking to upgrade my kayak too to something better. Keen to hear from fellow members.

Yeah Brett's kayak kinda well setup, good for the price. Good idea to get second hand with all the extras already there.

rb85 how's hobie outback? Good enough and no need for the more expensive hobie pro angler?

What sort of fishing do you like doing?
Streams/rivers with lures ?
What sort of fish would you be looking to chase?
Sit on or sit in kayak?

Paddle or peddle? ( at that price stay away from
Cheap peddle kayaks)

Just some questions I asked my self before I bought my outback.

Seb85 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:46 pm

rb85 how's hobie outback? Good enough and no need for the more expensive hobie pro angler?

Seb85 it’s a fantastic fishing kayak. Mine is a basic setup with the only addition replacing the round hatch with a rectangular one. The mirage drive 180 allows me to manoeuvre around narrow areas and off snags when hooked up. Enough space to carry lures and a few rods I have no sounder yet.

Can’t compare it to the PA but as I got a boat the outback is just for extra fun well worth the investment.
#freebugatti

rb85 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:34 pm

Ok Croe first and foremost I have to say #freebugatti
Secondly you won't regret getting a kayak they are great fun I have a hobie outback and use it in enclosed waters but it's cost is a little above your stated budget.

Where do you plan on using the kayak? The freaksports kayak in the link would be ok in sheltered waterways I wouldn't be game using it were it could get too choppy or theres a lot of current though. Theres other dedicated kayak anglers who can help more than I though so ill leave it up to them to provide more details.

#freebugatti

Planning to use in PPB and probably a couple river/estuary systems when I go camping. Wouldn't dare take it offshore, i'm no where near experienced enough, that kayak does not look up for it, nor do I have the gear to tackle that kind of outing. WPB probably has too much current and i'm not familiar enough with it to be comfortable. I've hired a hobie outback and they're certainly a lot of fun, but out of my budget and bloody heavy too. I'd mainly be fishing with plastics for flatties, salmon and pinkies and maybe try my hand at baitfishing for snapper and gummies.

You don’t have to buy a new one.
I bought a second hand 2015 model and things worked out real well for me.
The prices should have dropped even further now that they released the new model.
May be worth saving up for one.

croe04 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:06 pm

My budget is $700-$900 for a good, stable entry level kayak. Desired length is 12-14ft, preferably with a comfy seat and decent amounts of storage, on the lighter side would be nice and it needs to be rooftopable.
Ive found this one online from freak sports, and i'd like a second opinion
- https://www.freaksports.com.au/product/ ... r-package/
My only concern with that one is that i've seen the same model around on different sites and it seems like one of those cheap mass-manufactured ebay kayaks, and I haven't heard of freak sports before.
I've looked around on the forum and seen the wavedance kingfisher as a highly recommended model as well, so i'm considering that as well.

croe

First as a long time Kayak fisho I can tell you it is a great way to fish - I don't know the kayak you are looking at ( the Torpedo 13 ) but you are on the right track with the length -
any kayak you wont to use on the bays should be at least 3.6 meters long and this boat is close to 4 meters
I'm not sold on the high seat most of these newer designs have it cuts down stability so the manufacturers normally have to make them wider to get this back - this adds both weight and drag - both are less desirable

it's always worth looking at the second hand market as well as new as in a lot of cases you will get quite good bang for your buck

if you are thinking about a kingfisher ( I started out with one by the way ) look a Bretts boat for example - $ 700 - $ 750 and the extras -- a sounder -some rod holders and stainless mount for them - a paddle all extras you dont have to buy on top of your new yak
the Kingfisher is an older design but a good starter boat for most places - I use to paddle mine 20 km in a day on Westernport if needed and fished both bays with it

and there are other examples of S/H kayaks that come with extras - as a starter kayak it's a great way to go

I now use longer narrower craft ( also more expensive ) and no I don't use a Hobie much preferring to paddle as It suits my needs just as well and better in a lot of cases

if you lock at the LHS top thats my old Kingfisher I haven't upgraded my pic for a while