kayaks

[notimlmit]

I've actually done some looking on the dealers list and one notified me that shipping and handling was $275.00, so I said no thanks to that. Like I said before Gander M. is suppossed to carry elie and do have the 120 style and advertise the 100 but says they are out of stock for an unknown time. Guess I'll wait them out, it's not like I'm in a rush for it anyway. And yes I know some of the other yaks are good ones but this one has caught my interest above the others and that's what I'll wait on. Just like deer hunting, you see and know a nice buck is running the property, you wait on a chance at him or nothing. So far it's nothing, but I have plenty of patience.

 

[nutcase]

I have an Elie Horizon 130, but haven't had a chance to test it out yet,

 

[TedB]

Check out d&d outfitters in cincy. He has a seconds list on his website. You'll save money even if you have to drive to get it. Also, I wouldn't even look at much less than a wilderness or ocean brand. Especially if you are going to use it on moving water. Moving water will eat through a cheap boat quick. And anything that uses the same mold as the pelican I wouldn't touch with a stick. Might be fine for ponds but I wouldn't use it in most of the places I kayak. They have pelicans at dicks, very cheap plastic, thin too.

 

[rcurry]

Home waters for me are the Green River (upper river before it goes into the Green River Lake & the river after it comes out the spillway), the Green River Lake itself, Lake Cumberland and the Cumberland River below the dam and Russell Creek located in Adair County. I’m located between the two lakes/rivers and bounce from one to the other.

I’m planning on venturing out of my home area waterways this summer and go further down stream than I have in the past years on both rivers.

 

[smashdn]

For all you guys with yaks, what rivers and creeks are your home waters?

West Fork of Drakes Creek. Both the creek proper and the resevoir. Barren River. And did the Nolin and Green from the Nolin tailwaters to Houchens Ferry not too long ago. When Barren gets up I will put in at Peter creek and paddle the backwaters in the fields.

rcurry,

When I was going to Lindsey I did a fair amount of fishing in Russel Creek. Always heard bad things about the water quality but caught decent Ky's and a few smallies in it. I would park down past the fairgrounds at what looked like the local Pa(o)rking spot and fish from there down to the steep bank downstream where the creek turns.

 

[cornbread]

This kayak fishing looks like it might ge fun. How about the Emotion Stealth? Any good?

 

[notimlmit]

I've never done any yet but I do realize one would be sitting close to the water and that would be different by itself. I done a ton of walking through some really grown up bottoms this year and I'm thinking the yak thing would be so much better and allow me to get to fish more places that I normally can't because of limbs and weeds along the banks. I know the paddling will be a new thing to get used to and keeping the yak in position also. I have checked out several yaks that others have told me about but will still try to get the elie. It has triple ram x material where as some of the others are only one layered. My only concern is by it being so tough it may actually crack during extreme cold conditons. All I know is it will sure beat the heck out of walking the one mile plus trips through mud and undergrowth. And yes I already have places picked to make my haul a shorter one to put in closer to the right water level places so I don't have to wear my arms out paddling.

 

[rcurry]

When I was going to Lindsey I did a fair amount of fishing in Russel Creek. Always heard bad things about the water quality but caught decent Ky's and a few smallies in it. I would park down past the fairgrounds at what looked like the local Pa(o)rking spot and fish from there down to the steep bank downstream where the creek turns.

The Russell Creek inside the city limits of Columbia is a good little afternoon paddle. Sometimes I put in at the Highway East 80 Bridge and go to the Highway 206 Bridge (the area you’re referring to). That little trip is about 2 miles and you do drag butt when the water level is low. From that point on to the next take out I have used is a longer haul. I pass under 3 additional bridges and take out on Highway 767 for almost a 6 mile “in town” paddle.
The water quality is another matter… and I just don’t like to think about it. (I don’t do anything with the water other than paddle and wade in it.) The creek is handy especially if I take non swimmers out that don’t like big water.
Did you ever venture up to the Snake Creek Ramp off of Highway 206 on the Green River?

 

[Xi Bowhunter]

Thanks guys, I have tried several places by phone today with Duhams being one. They have the pelican castaway 100 which is the same mold as the elie 100. I rather would get the elie because of better material and have been told some of the pelicans have had leak problems which I definetly don't need if I'm out on the water during the cooler winter months. I have found other web sites that carry what I'm looking for but the BBB ggives them all an F rating and I don't want to risk that. I'm willing to drive a good distance if I have to just to get this particular brand. I will keep waiting and watching and thanks for your help.

Don't be afraid of the Pelican kayaks. I have owned 2 of them, a Persuit(sp?) 100 and my current Castaway 116. Both were great kayaks, and a good price too.

They redesigned some of the parts on the Castaway that were causing problems, (scupper welds, leaky front hatch, and rod holder issue) and I will say it is a solid kayak.

If you search a lot of kayak forums, you will see that a lot of guys use them down south to fish for reds and trout, and they even take them into open ocean waters.

I use mine on a lot of rivers and creeks, and it has always worked well for me. I weigh a little more than your average guy, so I had to get some scupper plugs because mine let a little water in through the scupper holes, but it wasn't anything a few nerf foam balls from wal-mart couldn't fix.

 

[Pat]

Pelican

I will stick with my advice. Buy a canoe. Whatever you do don't buy pelican. You can't buy a cheaper kayak than pelican. Piece of junk. I don't consider them real kayaks. There canoes are even worst. I own two sit on tops. Both perception. One is for whitewater. Fishing sucks from a kayak. Maybe in the ocean. The reason you get wet is not because you are sitting close to water but because there are holes in the seat to drain water. Your butt will be wet. These kayaks are a fad. BUY a CANOE. You might not take my advice but you will come around to my way of thinking.

 

[notimlmit]

I thought you had a kayak XI, remember a year or so ago you posting something about fixing one up to fish from. As far as the pelicans, even a guy at gander mountain told me to be warry of them. I'm thinking like you that without a dought several are sold every year and yes there will be some that have a defect to some extent while others love theirs. Anything, no matter what will have a lemon from time to time. Like I said earlier, I can find locally the pelican 100 castaway which is the mold type I really like, it's just the elie copied that mold for their 100 but has extra layers of material. All I heard about the pelicans were they were cheaper material and leaked to which the company would not resond to and it kinda steared me away. I'm like you and not planning on doing any white water running, just small creeks, rivers and some backwater areas to fish.

 

[Gixxerjoe04]

a good local forum dealing with kayak fishing is yakangler.com they're really helpfull

 

[notimlmit]

I've owned a bass tracker boat and a scamper two man boat. I know fishing from a yak will be alot different and willing to accept that. The canoe would be better equipped for such outtings I'm sure and no dought keep one dryer. I want something lighter than I can throw around easily by myself and pack a fairly short distance to water. I will plug all the drain holes to keep water out until I'm just playing around for fun. My stratigy for the creeks is to get to a good spot and post close to the bank where I can stand up securely and fish, not all the places I go to fish are that easy from high banks or weed growth. Besides you guys would probably get a laugh out of me if you saw me on the creeks fishing just from some of the positions I have to get in sometimes, everything from crawling through weeds/brush only to be able to fish from a crouched position and flip cast to actually climbing out on limbs. I'm not your typical weekend warrior, that's why I usally bring home fish where others don't, not that I'm a better fisherman just I go to the extreme.

 

[smashdn]

The water quality is another matter…

That was what I was told too. I don't see it as one of the fish consumption advisories but heard plenty of talk of its dubious water quality. I was supposed to do a tissue assay of some different types of fish for a chemisty class to determine if there were elevated levels of different chemicals in the fish. I transferred to WKU instead.

Did you ever venture up to the Snake Creek Ramp off of Highway 206 on the Green River?

I spent most of my winter when the lake was down around the Holmes Bend area building brush piles. I did alot of walking and exploring. I made it up to a ramp way up the river that looked as though it was just downstream from an island. Not sure if that is the one you are talking about. It has been a long time since I have been over that way. Went back to a few of those brush piles and caught some fish when I had a day off in the spring.

Last time I was up there I was duck hunting with a friend of mine in the moist soil units way up river.

 

[Xi Bowhunter]

I will stick with my advice. Buy a canoe. Whatever you do don't buy pelican. You can't buy a cheaper kayak than pelican. Piece of junk. I don't consider them real kayaks. There canoes are even worst. I own two sit on tops. Both perception. One is for whitewater. Fishing sucks from a kayak. Maybe in the ocean. The reason you get wet is not because you are sitting close to water but because there are holes in the seat to drain water. Your butt will be wet. These kayaks are a fad. BUY a CANOE. You might not take my advice but you will come around to my way of thinking.

Funny, my POS Pelican has always stayed afloat, and I've caught more fish than I can remember from it. Weird....

I thought you had a kayak XI, remember a year or so ago you posting something about fixing one up to fish from. As far as the pelicans, even a guy at gander mountain told me to be warry of them. I'm thinking like you that without a dought several are sold every year and yes there will be some that have a defect to some extent while others love theirs. Anything, no matter what will have a lemon from time to time. Like I said earlier, I can find locally the pelican 100 castaway which is the mold type I really like, it's just the elie copied that mold for their 100 but has extra layers of material. All I heard about the pelicans were they were cheaper material and leaked to which the company would not resond to and it kinda steared me away. I'm like you and not planning on doing any white water running, just small creeks, rivers and some backwater areas to fish.

I say buy what you like. I think a lot of the older modle Castaways had problems, but they were redesigned, so they may have gotten the problems fixed. At least that has been my experience. I hope you enjoy whatever you decide to buy, just be sure to post some pics when you do buy one.

I took my Pelican 100 on several trips on a river with class 2 rapids, and it handeled it just fine. But SOT kayaks are not made for whitewater, and I don't plan on taking the Castaway down any rapids any time soon.