Bill. Welcome to the club.  I live near San Antonio and I have a 12 ft kayak rigged for fishing (even has a mount for my trolling motor). If you are ever in the area, give me a call or text at 210-383-7044 or e-mail to wfetech@2fastmail.com

Bill Fetech

welcome Bill, my name is Paul I live in okc ok but still fish tx. I also fish out of kayaks ( love it ) my # 405 740-9578 with a day or two notice I could be there.

Guys,
I gave up a year ago with my quest to get a kayak fishing boat.  I know nothing about kayaks and did not find it helpful talking with the Bass Pro people in Grapevine.  What would you recommend for a person who is not a kayaker but would love to get started?

I would recommend getting a sit on and not a sit in kayak. A good site is kayakfishing.com

I had mine rigged with two rod holders behind the seat and a scootie mount in front of the seat. I would say to get at least an 11 ft single seat.

I hope this helps. You can always give me a call at 830-535-4763.

Bill Fetech

Greetings Jack:
Paddling.net is a great place to go to look at reviews by owners on various kayaks. That website plus just talking to folks is the best info I can give you. Craig’s List is a great source to look for used kayaks. Myself, I have 4 kayaks. An Ocean Kayak Big Game and a Trident 11. Both are great stable platforms. I also have a Hobie Sport Mirage drive and my latest and most favorite addition is a Hobie Pro Angler 12. The more I go out in that boat the more I love it. It’s a lot of coins to shell out (new), but in my opinion well worth the investment; plus they hold resale value. If you have any questions feel free to call or text me at 817 881-8830.

Paul:It was great talking to you the other day and yes I look forward to meeting at one of the lakes with you.

Bill: I have you number(s) and I’ll be in touch. I noticed you listed 2 numbers….?

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your advice and offers of assistance.  Most of the time I fish by myself and it just seems the best way to go but I want to be sure I don’t sink a lot of $s into something I will not use.

Bill:  there was an article in BASS magazine several years ago about adding a trolling motor to a kayak using the rob holders usually installed just behind the seat.  using two PCV pipes placed in those rod holders,use a 2X6 to mark the locations to place u-bolts to clamp the 2x6 to the PVC.  Extend one side of the 2x6 about 18” past the kayak hull - this will be used to mount a small trolling motor.  I then added 4 sections of PVC to the 2x6 to hold 4 rods.  Since the kayak I purchased had a large compartment in the back, that is were I placed the battery (make sure it is on the opposite side from the motor to balance the weight and strap it down). 

I also purchased a kayak with an integrated rudder and foot steering so I can just turn the motor on and use the foot controls to steer.

If you are interested in a picture of this set-up, let me know.

Bill Fetech

Hi Jack,,It depends on if fishing out of the kayak is your main goal if so, then the Hobie pro angler cant be beat. I dont know where you live but I would be willing to hook up and fish with you and bring my kayaks, so that you could take a good test drive before you spend the money.

Paul Bryan okc 405-740-9578

Thanks Paul.  I am in the DFW area.  If that would be possible I would love to take you up on it.
Jack
972-393-2630

Hey Jack… By the looks of your phone number you live close by. If you want to, I have several kayaks we could take out for you to try. We could even do some fishing if you’d like.  I have also noticed that in the area several kayak vendors in the area are beginning to have demo days to test their kayaks. You can find a few on Craig’s list.
Bill Buchanan
817 881-8830