Kayak Fishing

I don't know if it's laziness or what but for some reason I keep going smaller and smaller in my boats rather than up in size. Starting with a 19' center console, then a 13' Whaler (awesome little boat), I'm now down to a 9' Hobie Mirage Sport.

Hobie Mirage Sport

I've never been in a Kayak before but was looking for a way to fish the many different kinds of waters in Florida with a minimum of fuss (I live on a barrier Island so have the ocean on one side and rivers/canals on the other). Having 3 younger children takes up most of my free time so I needed to be able to get on and off the water for a few hours whenever a window of opportunity presented itself. I happened upon an article online that reviewed fishing in an inflatable Kayak so that's where I started my search, which then led to sit on top Kayaks, and then to the Hobie Mirage Drive.

The only local Hobie dealer with a fishing model was over an hour away so I put off going and looking at it and did more reading. Boy, searching on "kayak fishing" turns up a treasure trove of online goodies. I was really starting to see the possibilities for customization, and this made me want one even more. But driving a couple hours to go 'look' at one was still going to be difficult.

Luckily I happened upon a post talking about the differences in the two models (fishing and regular), and the fact that Hobie separated the two between different types of dealers. So, back to the Hobie website and search for a 'regular' Hobie dealer... yep, there was one right down the road, and they had the Sport in stock.

So I'm now the proud owner of a sand colored Hobie Mirage Sport.

My maiden voyage was literally on the way home from the dealer, a quick launch from a sandbar and I was floating in 10" of water for my very first time ever in a Kayak! I had already read about the flutter kick with the drive unit in shallow water so all was good. This was easy. It was very well behaved, did not seem tipsy to me at all. Was easy to get in and out of, had a great turning radius, was easy to peddle, was dry... I was a happy customer.

I've since had it out fishing 3 times in the last two weeks and am really enjoying it. I've stocked up on the proper safety equipment and am in the process of getting everything properly arranged for fishing (and making leashes). I've done some self rescue practice in the pool and feel confident with that. I plan on spending quite a bit more time in the river before trying the surf, but that is something I do want to eventually get to.