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Appreciate the feedback about working with Bixpy. Glad to hear it was all a positive experience. How did you end up installing your Bixpy on your Hobie? Did you use the fin drive area, or did you opt for a different mount?

@@thekayakanglersresource ..I did not attach it to the rudder. I used the Bixpy mount made for the Hobie Compass. It is pinned stationary on the rod and turning is still with the rudder. You can put it on or take it off in seconds. The top mount stays on the Compass. Hope this helps.

Jackson makes great kayaks and the Take Two is in another edition that would be worthy of this list. We tended to focus on the kayaks we have experience with, but we are a fan of every Jackson kayak we have tried. Our list is definitely not the be all, end all and we love hearing feedback. Do you own a Jackson Take Two? If so, what has your experience with it been like for paddling and have you fished from it? How stable is it in your opinion?

Thank you for the kind words! Building a following can be a grind. We have a niche sport, but we love talking fishing kayaks. Any topics you would like to see discussed? We love feedback and definitely want to put out content that is relevant to anglers of all abilities.

Great question. You are correct, a newer model is coming out so the older life jackets are being discounted. Typically the changes are small. In this case, it may be a small change to the pockets on the lifejacket and some different colors may be available. The overall design will be quite similar though. If you are wanting the smallest possible footprint of a lifejacket you should check out our full video: th-cam.com/video/w-_Wacc7xH0/w-d-xo.html. In particular check out this PFD, ecofishingshop.com/products/nrs-matik-inflatable-pfd. There are manual and automatic inflatable PFDs and both would be a good option for not interfering with your sitting style.

That is unfortunate that you had this experience with the Pro Angler. This is not the normal case we have seen with our customers and fellow anglers. Did you contact Hobie directly to check on your warranty? Obviously we are not sure of when you made your purchase or what warranty you may or may not have had, but but needing to replace the MirageDrive three separate times seems highly unusual. Perhaps the terrain you mentioned is the main culprit, but still frustrating.

This is where this topic gets a bit more complicated. Bigger anglers (height or weight) need the added capacity and space that typically only comes with getting a larger fishing kayak (both length and width). With the added size comes an added cost. Many budget kayaks have lower weight capacities because they keep costs down by using less materials (shorter, narrower). Options become much more limited. Here are a few more we didn't talk about in this podcast: ecofishingshop.com/products/nucanoe-u10-fishing-kayak and ecofishingshop.com/products/feelfree-lure-13-5-fishing-kayak.

Thank you for sharing! It is awesome hearing from actual anglers with experience with some of these rigs we talked about. There are definitely others out there, but these are some of our favorites. We have never heard a bad thing about the Recons. Congrats on the weight loss as well. More room for gear and accessories now?

@@thekayakanglersresource ABSOLUTELY!

This is one of the only criticisms we hear from Old Town owners - no ability to swap or upgrade drive systems. According to Bixpy's website, their only adapter is indeed the Power-pole style adapter.

First, we are really sorry to hear about your dad's passing. Losing anyone is tough, but a parent is especially hard. We love that you want to honor your dad by reigniting something you both did together. What a great tradition to carry on in his honor. You are definitely honing in on a select group of kayaks. We are going to throw multiple options your way and explain each a bit. Keep in mind when you are looking at a kayak's weight capacity, you need to take into account the generalized "70%" rule which basically means take the max listed capacity and the real usable capacity is 70% of that. You can go over that amount, but you'll feel more "tippy" and be at a higher risk of capsizing. We will start with a few Vanhunks kayaks. The advantage of these is they are stable, come with a lot of features at a lower budget and also have the ability to add a pedal drive later if you want to upgrade them. However, the Pike and the Shad's biggest drawback would be the kayak hull shape makes them a bit tougher to paddle. They are pontoon-style, so they are really stable, but take more effort to paddle only. Here is the Vanhunks lineup. If you are hoping to stay under 11ft, you will want to look at the Pike, Shad and Zambezi: ecofishingshop.com/collections/vanhunks-boarding. Other kayaks to consider: Old Town Topwater 106: ecofishingshop.com/products/old-town-topwater-106-fishing-kayak Old Town Sportsman 106: ecofishingshop.com/products/old-town-sportsman-106-fishing-kayak-1 - This model lists the usable capacity for you NuCanoe Frontier 10 - ecofishingshop.com/products/nucanoe-frontier-10-fishing-kayak-package NuCanoe U10 (Brand new in 2024) - ecofishingshop.com/products/nucanoe-u10-fishing-kayak All of these kayaks are great options. If you are committed to paddling, the Old Town and NuCanoe options are superior to the Vanhunks options because they are much easier to paddle. The NuCanoe lineup has the highest capacity and the most deck space. NuCanoes are really unique in that they are blank canvases that can be customized any way you want. You can add motors or even a pedal drive later on as well. They have an elevated seat, a wide open cockpit and tons of accessory tracks to add whatever you want. They are really efficient to paddle as well. Old Town is one of the most trusted brands on the market and the Sportsman 106 PDL (pedal) is one of most frequently purchased fishing kayaks on the market. Let us know if you have any other questions. These are the kayaks we'd recommend, but they are not the only ones out there. Take a look at these and let us know what you think. If nothing looks like what you are looking for - let us know and we can throw a few more your way. Just think about where you want to fish (what water will you be on), how you want to fish (sitting, standing, or both) and if you'd ever want to upgrade it with a pedal drive in the future (Vanhunks and NuCanoe allow for this) or a motor (almost any kayak now can have a motor mounted).

The Recon 120 would be a great option. It has a capacity of 450lbs. Just be mindful of how much gear you are packing. That would be a great kayak to start paddling and be able to add a pedal drive later on down the road.

To get your true capacity, take the manufacture’s stated capacity - the weight of the boat itself. Recons capacity is 450 boat’s weight is stated as 95 so true capacity is 355 lbs.

This clip is more general about paddling specific life jackets. In this case, we were discussing the NRS Chinook life jacket. It has a higher back and lower profile sides that leave room for paddling as well as space for a sit-on-top chair in the back. An added bonus of a paddling specific angling PFD is they have tackle and gear pouches like a fishing vest.

We understand that some of that footage may not match the description perfectly - but we are using footage that we have available from our past projects. And to be completely forthright, we wanted to remain respectful rather than seeking out individuals to "star" in this particular podcast. It is a delicate balance in this situation on a topic that some may find offensive. However, the stats on the kayak remain unchanged - the 3 Waters Kayak is still a great fit for a larger angler. The angler in the 3 Waters kayak is over 6' tall as well. Thank you for watching!

The Lynx is a great platform. Light, agile and fast. It is easy to transport as well. We bet the fins FLY on your kayak. Do you fish with a lot of gear, or are you pretty stripped down? We are curious how you find the storage space for tournament fishing!

It is a great feature if it is used as it is intended. If you take the wheel on rough terrain or on rugged trails, it will wear down and break much quicker than using it on launches and smooth/soft terrain. As a keel guard while in the water, same concept applies in that if you scrape bottom that is soft or even a sunk tree (depending on how fast you are moving of course), it should be fun. But smash into a large rock and you could damage it (much like a kayak itself for that matter). This is a bit of a "grey" answer, but it is a cool feature if used properly.

That's awesome! What a rig to have in your arsenal when traveling. How is your battery life and how long do you use on the water between charges? That is always a question many anglers try to get a grasp on before adding a motor.

I have yet to run the battery down. Just joy riding at top speed for over an hour and still had three of six bars. So far the battery has been no problem. The only issue I have encountered is due to the motor being mounted beneath the kayak maneuvering in shallow waters can be a problem.

In this episode, we commented on kayaks that we have available to us so that if anyone showed interested we could help them in more detail. Obviously, they are not the only ones out there! This is why we tried breaking down some of things a big & tall angler should look for (so they could apply it to brands/models beyond what we shared): Width, weight capacity and swivel seat. The Native Titan is large platform and has a weight capacity of 500lbs. It would be another great fit based on the traits we talked about above. Ultimately, it comes down to a few factors like budget, weight capacity and if you want a pedal drive of some sort. It's not that we slighted Native, we just didn't want to record for 5 hours!

You can definitely tell when you are past the point of the weight limit. You can feel really unstable and the kayak will ride too low, won't respond as well. If you don't mind us asking, what were you riding in and on what kind of water?

@@thekayakanglersresource it was a lost creek angler/ mako riot 12. was on a very calm lake. max weight is 475 I think. with just me in it, it rode wonderfully.

The dynamics change a lot with a little extra weight, but also the movement of another individual or animal. It is like a tandem bicycle, you have to have some trust with the rider you are sharing your vessel with!

This may sound like a vague answer, but it isn't intended to. The Old Town Predator/BigWater PDL is a great platform - fast and agile for it's size. Like we mentioned, the Predator became the BigWater. And, by its name, it shines in bigger open water - it can cut through waves really well. The Old Town pedal system is also one of the best, but one if its only flaws is not having a kick-up feature like a few other models (Jackson kayaks in particular). So to get back to your concerns. Standing in the BigWater can be a bit trickier in general. It is a narrower kayak with a more traditional v-shaped hull. V-shaped hulls are typically more stable while moving than while at rest in comparison to a tri-hull or pontoon-style hull. The BigWater does have pretty good secondary stability, which is the point past that shakiness where it grabs hold again before tipping all the way - but this can be unsettling and you can start to get that rocking back & forth feeling. There is not much you can do about the shallow water with the pedal drive other than anticipating it and lifting the pedal drive up beforehand. The not tracking straight can be frustrating, but the Predator/BigWater should track relatively well - sometimes it can be as simple as the rudder not being straight, but it is not a perfect science and can be affected by weight distribution as well. The really hard thing about your particular situation is there is no one kayak that is perfect for every type of water. Jackson kayaks are kind of known as the go-to river kayak, but they aren't the only one. We talk about them at 15:55 and 29:20. Long-winded answer without giving the perfect answer to all of your issues. But, in short, it can be a slightly difficult kayak to stand in and is really meant for big open water with waves. It can definitely work as a river kayak, but you need to pay attention and manually raise the drive if you can before encountering shallow water.

These kayaks are definitely not the only ones out there that work. Really, it comes down to the weight capacity and length (for taller people). More width is a bonus as well. Length doesn't mean more stability, but it does mean a bit more cockpit space and the ability to cut through waves a bit better. The kayaks we featured all had pedal drives of some sort as well, but if you don't want a pedal drive, you can save a bit of money by getting the non-pedal versions of a few of these models as well.

Amazing the accessories you can throw on it as well!

We are working on getting as many as we can. We are always trying to expand, so one step at a time! Appreciate you watching and the feedback, it is always useful to hear what people are looking for.

We are constantly working on getting more brands and models into our lineup. Feedback is always helpful as well, as the more requests we get, the better!

Great to hear @reeltimecapt. What kind of situations do you use it most or find it most helpful?

@@thekayakanglersresource - I fish with freinds who have powered kayaks, like the old town 12 102 with minn kota, and we cover up to 10 miles per day fishing. We also fish kayak tournaments. At age 60+, my legs are not was young as they used to be, so I use my Bixpy K-1 like a pedal assit. It works well, and I also can use it for trolling which leaves my hands and feet free to tend rods, and rig. I can run it as hard as I want , and with pedal assist it seems I never go below 1/2 battery. Top speed when I need it is 4.5 mph on my setup.

So are we! The K Craft is a really intriguing kayak. Can't wait to see what people do with them.

I have the K Craft and Lite Tackle 2, the K Craft is absolutely fantastic in rivers and smaller lakes, really impressed with it. Both kayaks I have are well built and really nice to paddle.

Our boundary line is the horseshoe bend ramp. Kyle said he would explain that in the meeting.

@jameshaeberle5447 yeah I saw that. I'm probably not gonna go that far up anyway.

Drew’s point was that there are always new trends and it can get overwhelming when you are on things like social media. These were just examples, but what Drew was trying to get across was focus on the techniques that fit your style and perfect them and to add new techniques as you need them. Don’t get bogged down by all of the content you can come across.

Thanks for the feedback! Motors can be a bit overwhelming, just reach out with specific questions for best fit and setup for your specific kayak.

This is a great comment and a lesson for all of us. Everyone is guilty of throwing the life jacket over the chair behind them, us included, but you never know when that one time is going to happen. Especially on the river. Did you have your gear secured? This is another overlooked thing by many kayakers. Thousands in gear can be lost if not properly stored.

TWO!? Which two are you running?

@@thekayakanglersresourceEvery once in awhile I like to put the NK180 on with the Motorguide!

Appreciate it! Let us know if you have any topics you think would be helpful. We've found not every topic can be glamorous, but some of these small details can change your entire experience on the water.

It is crazy how much you can think you have done your research, found the perfect kayak right up until you set foot in it and realize it isn't for you. They are big investments. If you can't get in one the best thing you can do is go to places where people have used them so you can get honest feedback. This is another reason we started our online kayak community:www.kayakanglersresource.com/. You can ask honest questions and get real experiences vs. just what a salesman is telling you.