Ultimate Kayak Fishing: Electric Kayaks - Ultimate Kayak Fishing

There seems to me kayak evolution is causing a bit of controversy. The pure original kayak was a crude thing made of bones, sticks and animal skins being propelled with whatever was available that would push water. Kayaking has come a long way since then.

I for one don't like it one little bit. I want to go back to the good old days when there were NO wooden stick built boats, no fiberglass, no carbon fiber, no kevlar, no rotomolded plastic, no fancy ergonomic energy enhancing paddles. I might add that rods, reels, slugo plastics, metal Deadly Dicks. good grief those tubes with worms, and hooks made of metal and sharpened with lazers SUCK too. I think that we should only be using hooks made of bone and crude wooden spears with stones and bones tied on the end with rawhide strips.

My point in all of the above is that everything, including kayak fishing, evolves. With each evolutionary step there are always people in favor of taking the step and others opposing it. I don't think that anyone here wants to go back to where the original kayak fishermen were. Purism in each of our minds would be the point where we started. That may be paddles, pedals or if you are starting now electrics may not appear to be polluting the sport.

I remember when the Hobie Mirage Drive first came on the scene, most of the folks that I fished with, myself included, resisted the change. We soon realized that it gave us a real fishing advantage and changed over. Hobie pedal drive owners are now outfishing the paddle guys. I offer the results of the 2009 J Bay tournament to back up that fact. Every category except 1 was won by a fisherman in a pedal drive Hobie. Will an electric drive give the same advantage over the pedal drives that they give over the paddle drives? I don't know BUT if they do, I predict that you will be seeing the same kind of change over that we are now seeing from paddles to pedals.

I have reached a point in my life where paddle and pedal drive kayaks just aren't a possibility, arthritic knees and an aging back have seen to that. I really miss kayak fishing but now with electrics coming on the scene I can see myself enjoying kayak fishing again. I will purchase an electric when I find the one that is right for me, right now I'm looking at a Hobie PA with a Bassyak conversion. I will be kayak fishing again.

Don,

Good to hear. We miss you on the water!

Of course once you buy and electric, we won't be able to keep up with you.

Gary G

Don,

I agree with you. Back to basic would be a skin and bone kayak so based on that nobody fishing is a true basic kayak angler. I remember last year I went back to basic for me "fishing without a fish finder and GPS".

So a class 65 and over or with a handicap that prevents paddling or pedaling should have the ability to fish the Rodeo. We had it set that way for Mikey Bluefish and we are fishing for the fun of it.

You let me know when we can go looking for the pants to match the shirt you already have on the trophy wall.

Nils

So the question I must ask, with regards to the shootout, is where does the line get drawn?

A motor propelled vessel is, in the eyes of CT regulations, a boat. In other words, you need to register it, have navigation lights, etc. So if we allow motor propelled vessels in the Rodeo, how do we define it? What makes the Rodeo a "kayak" tournament? Right now, the tourney rules define a "legal" boat as any self propelled vessel (paraphrasing here).

Don't get me wrong, I have no opposition to rigging a kayak any damn way you please. God knows I will rig mine any way I feel like. I think the new OK design is pretty damn cool. I'm gonna stick with my (unregistered) pedal boat for a while, but I really admire the OK designers.

Ultimately, the Rodeo and the rest of this site is (for me) just about making new friends and having fun on and off the water. I do believe it would be good to maintain the inclusive attitude that I have always found here.

At what point does a kayak cease to be a kayak? 20ish years ago a kayak was pretty simple to describe. It's a tube pointed on each end and the driver sat in a hole in the middle with a stick, flat on both ends, in his hands. "Then along came Jones" with a SOT, and the description changed to include "also can look like a thick surfboard pointed on both ends and the driver sits in a dent on the top". Then "Jones" decides to put pedals and flippers on the damn thing and again the definition changes. Just when you think all is well in yakland "Jones" puts another bug in the mix and convinces Hobie engineers to cut the points off the ends, make the thick board a whole bunch wider (and heavier) then redesign the bottom to be a catamaran and the top to look like an aircraft carrier. We aren't even starting to get comfortable with that concept and this "Jones guy" informs the major players that there are some enterprising freelancers modifying their boats with electric motors. WHOOO! STOP! cry the big boys "We can't have the little guys make a buck modifying our boats" Now they're all scrambling to get their electric versions into the dealer showrooms and our cash out of our pockets.

Where is this all going? I don't know, but I'm thrilled. I know that one of these new boats is going to get me back on the water in a "kayak" type boat fishing the way I enjoy most. I'm going to be able to share the evening waters again with great friends. I missed that so much when arthritis and an aging back forced me to give up my Tarpon 160i.

Look out fishes there will be hoards of fishing experienced old farts in kayaks coming after you.

Don't panic that I'm back kayaking in an electric boat as I'm not a competitive fisherman. I won't be lobbying to get any tournament rules changed to include me and my electric in any of the contests. If I get the urge to compete I'll organize an all electric mosquito fleet tournament. NO paddles or pedals allowed.

Don, I for one can't wait to kayak fish with you some day...

The world of kayaks has been changing over the years, due to the advancement of computer programs which assist in designing more stable and/ or faster hulls.. as well as the development of new and better composite and plastic materials to make the boats stronger, lighter, and faster (sometimes all three, sometimes not). For those of you who saw my Hop on Top Kayak made 15 years ago, this was a really revolutionary design back then in rudderless design.

Kayak fishing is a booming segment of both the fishing and kayak world.. that being said we're going to see an explosion of design and new accessories. And the baby boom generation is aging, with all the complaints that our DonO has listed. It's going to be a natural for the companies to come up with things to help older boomers who have the cash to keep themselves on the water.

Right now, I'm a paddler. I love paddling and enjoy trying out new composite paddles and trying to push my own envelope. It's fun and very healthy. Some day I might have to move to a Hobie or electric-powered kayak due to injury or the eventual stamina I might lose from being an older kayaker. Hey, I'm grateful to these companies and it's heartening to see the wide variety of styles and options which might be there for all of us when we need to make the move.

For the Rodeo, I think let's consider allowing electrics especially for those over 65, or with a handicapped plaque.

Not an AARP card though, because those jerks send invites out WAY WAY TOO EARLY. *cough*

And DonO, I hope you kick butt at the next Rodeo. I was really sad to leave King Cove every day and you weren't with us.

DonO has a good point. At what point does a kayak cease to be a kayak?
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kayak

http://dictionary.re...om/browse/kayak


"a small boat resembling this, made commercially of a variety of materials and used in sports."

No mention of pedals or electric motor....