Budget kayak: Tamarac with mods, or Boss 12, or...

[Pam And Jim]

I have $500 to spend on a fishing yak. Been looking at the Tamarac 100 forever and always thought I'd go that route and do a few mods to it. But, I was at Academy yesterday and saw the Boss 12 on sale for $499, and it's got me intrigued. From what I've seen, the reviews are favorable and it seems like a good bang for the buck. Plus, I like that you can stand it in, whereas I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable doing that in the Tamarac. I'll be fishing mostly in small ponds, but it'll also pull double duty as a recreational yak when we all go out as a family. When we do that, the wife will likely take mine and the daughter and I will go in whatever tandem we end up getting. What would y'all do?  Is there another $500 option you'd recommend?

[Pam And Jim]

I should also probably add that I'll be transporting them in my F150 with a 5.5' bed.

[SHC286]

As someone who bought a pretty nice $500 kayak, and already looking to upgrade, I'd actually recommend saving a bit more and raising your budget to about $700.

You'd be surprised the sort of comfort and options that extra $200 will get, and I'm here to tell you those options will make the whole thing more enjoyable and fulfilling.

I've already decided this is going to be my next one.

[apiazza]

This is a debate that seems to happen a lot in some of the kayak fishing facebook groups.

Many say buy your second kayak first, some say start cheap.

It really depends on what you want to get out of your experience. If you plan to fish a lot I would look to spend the extra few bucks to get something more comfortable an more suited to your needs. You can also shop used and probably get a pretty good yak for around that.

If you just want to do the occasional trip in it for an hour or 2 without much concern for anything other than enjoying nature, the cheaper kayak will certainly do just fine. I've heard some good things about the Boss. I would go that route of the two for the better seat and extra length.

I bought a perception pescador pro 100 as my first. Its a decent yak, but I'm looking to upgrade to pedal drive to make fishing easier.

[Pam And Jim]

Thank you all for you input. To be honest, I don't know how much I'll actually use it. For me personally, I'd probably fish in it once a week for a few hours at most. Then, when we all go out as a family, my wife will take mine and I'll take the kiddo in whatever tandem we end up getting. One thing I've been reading a lot if that the bigger nicer kayaks (like the Boss) tend to get heavy. I don't want something that is going to be a pain to load and unload and turns into a chore. So, I'm leaning toward starting cheap and simple and going from there. If in a year or two I feel the need to upgrade, I will. I found one that I really like, which seems like a bit of an upgrade from the Tamarack, but is on sale now for only $50 more, that's the Lifetime Teton Angler. But, it's only sold at Dicks and seems to be out of stock everywhere near me.

[SHC286]

That does look like a very nice kayak for its price. That seat is going to be a life saver.

[apiazza]

I almost bought a teton. And thought about it again to have a second around.

I keep my fishing crate, anchor and sonar battery in my yak pretty much at all times. I load it into the back of my truck without much effort. Picking up a cart makes life a lot easier.

There seems to be a bit of a revival in the fishing sit-in kayaks. You can consider that route as they are typically MUCH lighter than sit on top. They also tend to paddle easier.

[Deadeye]

A little more than your $500 budget is the Pelican Catch 10. That is the one I'm looking at.

Wide enough to be very stable and enough that it is made so you can stand to fish if you want. Has sort of a Pontoon look to the rear part.

Stability is the most important factor for me. I do not want a Yak that gets tippy for anything especially while casting.

Just another thought

[SHC286]

Personally I'd go for rotomolded unless it's going to specifically be a light duty kayak. I'd be happy to have that pelican if I had a large pond or lived on a lake where I'd just be fishing the banks nearby. But otherwise, I'd like the durability and rigidity of a roto hull. Yeah they weigh more, but they can take a beating. Like when your sister launches it from the roof of her Expedition on the highway.