unfortunately, i should have waited and purchased the Freedom Hawk Pathfinder, which is probably more suited to the majority of fishing i do: inshore, saltwater fly fishing.
the Freedom Hawk kayak is ideal for stand up sight fishing ,and perfect for any sort of flats fishing as the hull is pretty flat. unfortunately, that means that it is dreadfully slow. i'm a pretty novice kayaker so i'm sure my paddling technique is affecting my speed, but come on! i used to row crew, and i have a pretty good idea of what it takes to get efficient paddling (i.e. how the paddle should enter and exit the water). so chasing blitzing fish and birds can be somewhat frustrating because by the time i get to where i want to be, the fish and birds have moved on. i thought about getting a Hobie Pro Angler or Native Ultimate Propel 12 kayak with built in pedals, but that can provide additional headaches when it comes to fly line management. plus, i wanted a kayak that was built for stand up fishing.
i also thought about getting a Diablo SUP, but opted for the Freedom Hawk because of the built-in, support bar. being able to lean up against this bar for balance has been invaluable. the LIS can get a bit choppy and there have been countless times i would have fell in the 60 degree water if it wasn't for the bar. in retrospect, i should have purchased the 14' model instead of the 12' because i could definitely use the extra glide and stability.
the Freedom Hawk 12 model has an attachment where you can mount a trolling motor. that's a great feature, but the amount of maximum thrust is 30-40, which is slightly less that i would want for the LIS.
anyways, i'm brainstorming ideas for how to rig up the kayak. i'm thinking about getting a LineLair Fly Line Stripping Mat so i don't have to worry about my fly line getting everywhere and not take up too much room/weight on the deck.
anybody have any good ideas as to how to rig my kayak?
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