Fishing Kayaks Review 2007

Emotion Mojo Angler

Best on the Bayou
EMOTION MOJO ANGLER
($699, www.emotionkayaks.com)
L: 12 ft., 4 in., W: 31 in., 52 lbs.
capacity: 250-325

The Emotion Mojo Angler raised eyebrows all around with its pinched ends, bulging 31-inch waist and high seat. A removable center console slides along a ridge at the front of the cockpit, locking into place with a hand screw. Housing molded-in recesses for a GPS or radio, water bottle, and tackle storage, with a Scotty rod-holder perched on top, the boat feels more spacious and open without it. Tall gunwales keep water out for a bone-dry ride but forget about dangling your feet or sitting sidesaddle. A pair of full-sized flushmounts sits behind the Mojo’s seat with little hull space for mounting additional rod holders—custom rigability is only fair.

In the surging Mexican waters, the Mojo’s high seat made it squirrelly and unsure. This boat would feel right at home on the bayou, where the water is flat and its pointed ends could sweep through tightly choked mangrove channels that would fence out other rides.

Kudos: compact design for narrow spaces
Gripes: flushmounts too close to seat, forward hatch buried under bungees

Speed: **
Maneuverability: ***
Stability: **
Comfort: ***
Fishability: *** (rigging **)

The name says it all: big. Ocean Kayak’s newest Prowler is a buff, chunky beast that bulled its way through the coastal slop. Paddling the nearly three-foot-wide craft against a smoking current, even the mountain man in our crew faced a real workout. Cargo capacity is tops—we didn’t come close to pushing its limits. Ocean Kayak even designed the deck to facilitate standing, though in the bumpy Pacific, we didn’t dare. Maneuverability is adequate but not quick—the bow and stern are slightly flared to deflect splash and lift the boat over swells. The Big Game comes with two flushmounts and acres of deck space for more. A front scupper cleverly doubles as a mounting point for a fish-finder transducer. A unique below-deck shelf is hiding beneath the bow hatch—that’s a battery tray. The center console provides secure, easy-to-reach storage beneath a removable lid that also makes a convenient mounting spot. There’s even room for an optional rectangular hatch just in front of the seat.

Ocean Kayak Prowler Big Game

Kudos: novel rigging features place it tops in the fishability category
Gripes: noisy, heavy, slow, too wide to straddle

Speed: **
Maneuverability: ***
Stability: *****
Comfort: ****
Fishability: ***** (rigging *****)

Like a chromed-up hot rod at the drive-in, the Search 15 looks fast standing still. One long-distance yellowtail chaser paddled the 15-foot glider over the horizon and brought back a stringer stacked with tasty lingcod and rockfish. Thoughtful refinements include handy storage pockets on either side of the cockpit, self-retracting carry handles, and a cut-out in the tankwell to hold an included tackle flat. A bungee cord spans the deck forward of the bow hatch. Tuck a rod tip here then strap down the butt end with a paddle keeper to secure the rod for safer surf transit. With room for a fishfinder and rod holders up front, rigging options are good. Quiet and quick, with minimal splash, the slightly raked bow chews up swell and chop. The rounded hull is stable with some wiggle to it—experienced paddlers will naturally lean and edge the boat but first-timers may feel wobbly until they log some water time. For such a long boat, maneuverability is about as good as expected—you can get there with sweep turns but you’ll get there faster with the optional rudder. The seat is comfortable and the cockpit nearly dry.

Perception Search 15

Kudos: high performance with head-turning good looks.
Gripes: soft bow hatch cover difficult to reseat, cockpit hatch very small, uncomfortable footpegs.

Speed: ****
Maneuverability: ** (*** with rudder)
Stability: ***
Comfort: ****
Fishability: **** (rigging ****)

The Ride is back, and it’s practically a new boat. Still built on its popular, stable pontoon-style hull, its new fishing deck is straight from the popular Tarpon line. The team’s weekend warrior was particularly impressed with the wide, high capacity kayak aimed at anglers wanting more stability and lift. After slipping yet another calico bass between long yellow kelp fronds, he paused just long enough to give his assessment: fishes well, very stable but doesn’t paddle like a barge. The buoyant, rockered hull pleases the eye and probably won’t win any races, but confidently handled the sloppy stuff. The optional rudder improves turning responsiveness though the craft handles well without it. The ride is dry and the seating position elevated but not unduly high—the stock seatback holds a mesh pocket and is nicely padded; the cockpit is comfortable and roomy. The test model came with a Scotty rod holder on the console and a pair of flushmounts behind the seat—there’s plenty of room for more, custom rigging is a snap. Like the Search, the Ride 135 has a cut-out in the tankwell for a tackle flat, plus a bungee system for stashing rods.

Wilderness Systems Ride 135

Kudos: high capacity but not ponderous
Gripes: small, rigid footpegs, dinky cockpit hatch, soft hatch cover up front inferior to hard-shell designs

Speed: ***
Maneuverability: *** (**** with rudder)
Stability: *****
Comfort: ****
Fishability: **** (rigging ****)

words by Eric Cameron
photo by Dave Cameron
Freedom Hawk 14
($2,000, www.freedomhawkkayaks.com)
L: 13 ft., 10 in. W: 30 in., 85 lbs.
capacity: 400 lbs.

Dave Cameron loved kayaking into the surf and skinny waters that anglers on the shore could only dream about, but something was missing. He wanted to stand and sight-cast to favorite quarry like pike, bass, carp and redfish. Cameron, a design engineer, began working on a solution. A year ago, he unveiled it: The Freedom Hawk 14.

Freedom Hawk 14

It looks like an ordinary sit-on-top fishing kayak, until you get to the stern. Then it looks like nothing you’ve seen before. The back four feet of the Freedom Hawk is comprised of two hinged outriggers. By lifting two levers, the paddler can switch from conventional kayak paddling mode to a stable, Y-shaped fishing platform. With sponsons deployed, the angler can stand on the reinforced floor and cast from a platform that’s virtually impossible to capsize. He can even lean against the big, inverted U-shaped casting brace in the middle of the boat; it’s also a place to mount rodholders, a stripping basket for fly line and electronics like a GPS and fishfinder. The boat comes with two flushmount rod holders behind the cockpit, a 12-foot pushpole, small stowage spaces in the sponsons, a bow anchor boom, and adjustable foot braces.

In a two-day Florida fish hunt, the Freedom Hawk proved speedy enough for a sit-on-top, but slower than the Wilderness Systems Pamlico 14 I’ve fished from for two years. It tracked well and turned reasonably. A deep cockpit and low, straight sheer makes for a wet ride when paddling in 18-inch chop, but no wetter than some other popular fishing sit-on-top kayaks. The Freedom Hawk is a heavyweight at 85 pounds, but it also breaks down for transport--the 10-foot, 65-pound main section and the two smaller 10-pound sponsons stow easily in the bed of a full-size pickup. Cameron is also planning a16-foot Freedom Hawk with an upswept bow for bigger water that should be available next year.