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PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2011 9:29 am 
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I'm considering an Outback for getting to and from some fishing areas on a tidal river with stong tidal impacts and wind.

I live in Napa, Ca and the Napa River is just minutes away from one put in and 15 minutes from one and 10 minutes from a new put in, after the first week of June.

The close put in and new one are on the upper river which in late spring and summer can have a lot of submerged trees and low water. The good news is the protection from small hills around on both sides of the river from our windy days. This is not really a place for a Hobie with a rudder and a mirage unit with the lower water and stuff in the water. My Freedom Hawk works well in this area, and I can use the tide to go up stream from the close put in and float back with outgoing tide. I use the Paddlejack from Paddle Logic to support my paddle because of my bad shoulder, and I can handle a 2-4 hour session with a leisure return. I can fly fish from my Freedom Hawk in this part of the river for small mouth bass, trout and smaller stripers. Fly fishing and Mirage units are not a good combo in this part of the river.

The area south of town where the launch area would enable me to get to some good striper fishing with spinning/casting rods has strong tidal impacts and wind most days. The target fishing area is about 1.5 miles down stream or a mile upstream. There is no way that I could get back with my Freedom Hawk, and my Oasis is too much for me re getting it on and off trailers and messing around with loading up the front with ballast, even with the simple water bag ballast trick. Also, the Freedom Hawks aren’t that great on windy and even mild choppy rivers/lakes.

I was wondering how the Outback handles tides and wind. I had planned on a Sport but with their decrease in load weight/capacity, that is not an option. I have a Ridgeline pickup, and the Revolution is too long for it, even with a load extender which handles the Freedom Hawk 12 or an Outback, very well and easy. An Outback can be stored on top of my 13’ Jon Boat’s seats and locked in for safety when I'm not using it. I can back up my Ridgeline between our Malone trailer with our Oasis and the Jon boat. Then make a fairly easy off load and load of the Outback to the Ridge Line and load extender to or from the Jon Boat. There would be minimal lifting as an Outback in the bed and on the load extender would slid off and on with minimal effort.

Also, I would like to use the Outback on a couple of local lakes. With the wind factor to get back to the launch sites, that makes the Freedom Hawk dicey .

We have the SideKick amas for our Oasis. So I can buy another cross bar and holder for the Outback to make it even more stable. We have the heavy duty kayak roller for our Oasis, and it will work well with an Outback.


Last but not least, on some of the lakes, I would like to have my 80 pound grandson on the back of the Outback setting on a cooler so he can enjoy the rides and cast his spinning rod. He is becoming an very good and patient fisher.

So would the Outback be a good option for these specific needs and conditions?

Thanks

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Last edited by Grampa Spey on Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:59 am 
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After not hearing from anyone on my post re Outback handing tides, wind and ?, I did a search.

:idea: Maybe the best Hobie Mirage for my needs, might be the Outfitter used as single.

The Outfitter is not that much longer than the Outback or my Freedom Hawk and weighs in about the same as my Freedom Hawk. So it should fit in the back of my Ridgeline with my load extender for to and from the launch sites.

It will fit on top of my Jon Boat for quick on/off's and for storage.

Since I own an Oasis, I don't need any Mirage units, paddles, seats etc. The basic striped down Outfitter will work. Now I need to find a dealer who will sell me the basic Outfitter.

Last but not least as my Grandson gets older and is able to go fishing, he can replace the ballast in the front.

This reply is what started me to think about the Outfitter versus an Outback. -scallywag- thanks for your excellent reply, photo and review of using an Outfitter as a solo kayak:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=18760&p=92310#p92310

I would appreciate feedback and comments from others who use the Outfitter as a Solo Fishing Yak/platform.

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 7:29 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:55 pm
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Location: New Gretna, New Jersey
I'm an Outback guy, most of my fishing is done in tidal current areas, Great Bay, NJ is my home water. As a fisherman first and Kayak-er 2nd, I have more room, more stability and more built in features than other Hobie models. As far as current goes the Outback cruises at 3.5 mph with the turbo fins and while going out Atlantic City inlet I make way at 1.2 mph against a 3-4 mph current. While fishing I work the soft side of the current lines and have an easy time of holding on a spot or moving up to the next spot. Wind slows me down more than current. I regularly fish in 15-18 mph winds on open water and up to 30mph gusts up river. Seems like you are primarily a fly fisher and I understand how your striping line might get involved with the foot pedals. While fly fishing from a mirage drive kayak there is seldom a need for me to make casts beyond 30 feet. My 9 1/2 foot 9wt Kilwell reaches this distance with ease and not a lot of line in my lap. I am also sitting so my shoulder gets tired with excessive heave haul false casting. The Outback is the best all around fishing Kayak IMO, Tangles an backlashes are on me.

I rode an Outfitter once and was able to stand up and paddle/ pole with ease through flats areas. Was real nice. For solo use I did experience more wind effects, was a pretty quick drift. The wind was 25mph steady. That's all I know, and it didn't take long to tell you...Ar ar

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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2011 8:18 am 
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Your area may be a little tougher to get to and back out of than mine. However, when the winds start to jet under and past the Golden Gate Bridge, they are often very strong up here. Our tidal impacts can be big depending on the time of the year and the moon phase.

My Freedom Hawk is very stable with the stabilizer pontoons in the wide open position, but with my crippled shoulder and rotator cuff, I would never be able to get safely to and from the fishing areas. In some of the fishing areas, there is protection from the wind from an hour before and hour after high tide. I still have to get there and back.

We have a lot of new flats areas due to the massive flood control work the past few years. The only way you could fish these areas would be in a kayak to standup and pole or standup paddle into, around and out. My Freedom Hawk 12 would be great, except I probably couldn't get back to the launch site due to winds/currents.

I use a 10' 6" 6 wt Switch Rod or a 11' 9 wt Switch Rod from my Freedom Hawk. I can stand up and use the deck, my chair/seat or coil the shooting line in my hand. In spite being able to cast 60-70+ feet, most of the time, I only need a simple roll cast and shoot a rod length of running/shooting line while standing.

Sitting in an Outback/Outfitter with a Mirage unit sticking up and around the floor creates an impossible situation.

My sons and wife for Christmas last year, gave me what they call Dark Side gear, some nice spinning and casting rods which will work in an Outback or Outfitter.

I would prefer to two handed fly cast, but if I can't, I have no problem using spinning or casting gear.

A lurker on the Spey sites and here, suggested that I buy one of the newer collapsible catch and release nets with the new rubber netting and put the net over the Mirage unit. Then, the running line would just lay on top of the net and not get tangled in the Mirage pedals. This might be a simple and low cost way to get by. Of course I would be limited to sitting unless I could safely stand up like in the Freedom Hawk.

Thanks for the feedback. I will probably go for the Outfitter since the cost would be about the same since I have 2 Mirage units, 2 paddles and 2 of every thing else, that came with our Oasis.

The Outback or Outfitter should work well with my needs. The Outfitter would enable me to carry more gear and eventually my Grandson, when his parents allow him. He and his sister would like to shoot carp with their bows from the front our Kayaks. They could do that in the Oasis as well as an Outfitter.

Spinfisherbob wrote:
I'm an Outback guy, most of my fishing is done in tidal current areas, Great Bay, NJ is my home water. As a fisherman first and Kayak-er 2nd, I have more room, more stability and more built in features than other Hobie models. As far as current goes the Outback cruises at 3.5 mph with the turbo fins and while going out Atlantic City inlet I make way at 1.2 mph against a 3-4 mph current. While fishing I work the soft side of the current lines and have an easy time of holding on a spot or moving up to the next spot. Wind slows me down more than current. I regularly fish in 15-18 mph winds on open water and up to 30mph gusts up river. Seems like you are primarily a fly fisher and I understand how your striping line might get involved with the foot pedals. While fly fishing from a mirage drive kayak there is seldom a need for me to make casts beyond 30 feet. My 9 1/2 foot 9wt Kilwell reaches this distance with ease and not a lot of line in my lap. I am also sitting so my shoulder gets tired with excessive heave haul false casting. The Outback is the best all around fishing Kayak IMO, Tangles an backlashes are on me.

I rode an Outfitter once and was able to stand up and paddle/ pole with ease through flats areas. Was real nice. For solo use I did experience more wind effects, was a pretty quick drift. The wind was 25mph steady. That's all I know, and it didn't take long to tell you...Ar ar

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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2011 7:38 pm 
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Location: New Gretna, New Jersey
You are going to have a lot of fun, pushing the kidz bow fishing..best of luck. Stay Healthy and safe

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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2011 11:01 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:46 pm
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Location: Escondido
Grampa Spey wrote:
I was wondering how the Outback handles tides and wind.
It all sounds good, except the part about winds and tides. When you later described them like this...
Quote:
when the winds start to jet under and past the Golden Gate Bridge, they are often very strong up here. Our tidal impacts can be big depending on the time of the year and the moon phase.
...there could be a concern with any of the "tray" series (ie: flat bottomed Sport, Outback and Outfitter) Hobies if you're actually planning to be out in these conditions.

For example, The picture below shows a Sport running against some rather aggressive local winds. These boats have a lot of exposed frontal area and you're going to get slowed down a lot. They all pound heavily in chop and can spit lots of water which ends up showering you and your Grandson in no time. The water and wind can be pretty chilly there in the Bay area, giving you a nasty wind chill, making for a very difficult and uncomfortable situation. The Adventure, new Oasis and Revo can all handle this situation much better; this boat had to be turned around after going nowhere fast and throwing buckets of 51 degree water in 45 degree air on the poor victim who sat in the seat:
Image

Quote:
I have a Ridgeline pickup, and the Revolution is too long for it...
Doesn't the Ridgeline have a 5' bed? I think you can handle a Revo or your Oasis with a bed extender if you're careful about your turns. Here's a 16' Adventure (yellow boat) sitting on a 6' bed with standard bed extender (padded with bubble wrap). There are no ill effects that I am aware of.
Image

Of course, you have to be comfortable with your load. Just something to think about. 8)


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PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2011 7:01 am 
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One good thing about our winds when they come into the Golden Gate and surge up north, my return trips would be with the wind to my back. Lake fishing would be planned so that the afternoon winds again would be to my back.

Wouldn't the Outfitter be reasonably stable with the winds come from the stern?

Last but not least, the Grandson wouldn't be taken to the rough wind area. We would be downtown or in the marinas's areas with most of the wind sheltered or on lakes before the wind came up, and again returning with the wind to our back.

Thanks as usual for your feedback.

Roadrunner wrote:
Grampa Spey wrote:
I was wondering how the Outback handles tides and wind.
It all sounds good, except the part about winds and tides. When you later described them like this...
Quote:
when the winds start to jet under and past the Golden Gate Bridge, they are often very strong up here. Our tidal impacts can be big depending on the time of the year and the moon phase.
...there could be a concern with any of the "tray" series (ie: flat bottomed Sport, Outback and Outfitter) Hobies if you're actually planning to be out in these conditions.

For example, The picture below shows a Sport running against some rather aggressive local winds. These boats have a lot of exposed frontal area and you're going to get slowed down a lot. They all pound heavily in chop and can spit lots of water which ends up showering you and your Grandson in no time. The water and wind can be pretty chilly there in the Bay area, giving you a nasty wind chill, making for a very difficult and uncomfortable situation. The Adventure, new Oasis and Revo can all handle this situation much better; this boat had to be turned around after going nowhere fast and throwing buckets of 51 degree water in 45 degree air on the poor victim who sat in the seat:
Image

Quote:
I have a Ridgeline pickup, and the Revolution is too long for it...
Doesn't the Ridgeline have a 5' bed? I think you can handle a Revo or your Oasis with a bed extender if you're careful about your turns. Here's a 16' Adventure (yellow boat) sitting on a 6' bed with standard bed extender (padded with bubble wrap). There are no ill effects that I am aware of.
Image

Of course, you have to be comfortable with your load. Just something to think about. 8)

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PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2011 6:12 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:46 pm
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Location: Escondido
Grampa Spey wrote:
Wouldn't the Outfitter be reasonably stable with the winds come from the stern?
I think so. It's a smart sailor who plans his trips around tides and weather. :wink:


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PostPosted: Tue May 31, 2011 6:51 am 
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I will be putting bubble wrap on the cross bar of my load extender before my next trip with it.

Do you put your yak bottoms on top of anything in the bed of your pickup?

Most of my trips will be about 15 minutes to and from the launch site. If I take the yak to Bodega Bay or Lake Berryessa the one way trip would be about an hour.

"Here's a 16' Adventure (yellow boat) sitting on a 6' bed with standard bed extender (padded with bubble wrap). There are no ill effects that I am aware of."

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