Hobie Pro Angler

[gramps50]

They are great lake yaks. I wouldn't want one on an ozark river. I know lots of guys use them in the marsh...and carry gorilla tape to repair the fins...very easily damaged from oyster rash. Even if you tuck them up under the hull they'll still be exposed to rocks and gravel. They are a barge to paddle and heavy to load. But you should demo...b/c I don't really know what you want in a yak.

Another alternative is a Native slayer propel...13 or 10 ft. The 10 ft is lighter and less $$, but I'm not sure the capacity...you may need the 13ft. You'll still drag but the propel system can be lifted up out of the water while still attached....nice to have it out of the way but still attached to the yak (from memory Hobie doesn't do that...it disconnects and lifts out). 2 people in my family have the 13 ft's an dlove them. They paddle well enough to take down a river and the propel is awesome ...it can go in reverse!

All the videos I saw on the Hobie they were in a lake. The Mirage drive lifts from inside the yak, not sure how heavy it would be to lift while sitting down.

The Native Slayer Propel 13 is real interesting looking yak, the fact that it will back up is really cool. From what I can find they run about $2500 for the basic model, the you can add the accessories you want. Thanks for the tip Plastic-worm from what I saw I like it better than the Hobie. According to Native The Alpine Shop in Kirkwood is a dealer but they are not listed on their web site. Might have to run by there next week and check.

[Plastic_worm]

I've been eyeballing kayaks recently. The Ascend fishing kayaks look pretty good, but they're relatively heavy compared to a solo canoe. I don't want to trailer a boat, so light weight is better for me.

Yeah, those ascends are heavy and a lot of work to paddle. If you like the idea of a solo canoe, you might look at a native ultimate basic. Basically a solo canoe with a great seat (camp and boating) for the same price as an ascend and around 50lbs.

[Plastic_worm]

All the videos I saw on the Hobie they were in a lake. The Mirage drive lifts from inside the yak, not sure how heavy it would be to lift while sitting down.

The Native Slayer Propel 13 is real interesting looking yak, the fact that it will back up is really cool. From what I can find they run about $2500 for the basic model, the you can add the accessories you want. Thanks for the tip Plastic-worm from what I saw I like it better than the Hobie. According to Native The Alpine Shop in Kirkwood is a dealer but they are not listed on their web site. Might have to run by there next week and check.I posted

I posted 2 hobie videos to my blog a few months ago. Shows the PA and outback on CC and the white...probably worth watching if you're thinking about a hobie.

http://looknfishy.blogspot.com/2014/11/hobie-video-featuring-white-river.html

http://looknfishy.blogspot.com/2014/11/hobie-video-featuring-my-favorite.html

[JustFishin4Fun]

Wilderness systems ride 115x is the way to go

[Smallieguy87]

If you like hobie they have a nice kayak for smaller rivers and streams called the quest ( you can get 11' or 13' in length) they can be had around 1150ish maybe less if you know where to look. There's tons of good kayaks for rivers and streams far below what you would pay for that particular hobie.