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[Hiker]

I am finally thinking to settle for an inexpensive but at least decent inflatable for now, to use it for lake fishing. Two makes which I found the mostly advertised, or eye catching, are Sevylor and Intex. As I have no experience with inflatables, was wandering if anybody did use these or could me give advice in what direction to go, what to look for, what questions to ask, ... All the help would be very appreciated.

[BwiBwi]

I got a Zodiac Mark 2 which is very good for lake. But a little bit heavy though

[DragonSpeed]

Intex Seahawk II - OK if you like rowing a lot.
I think Sevylor is the Fishhunter.  You can mount an electric motor on it.  Nice for trolling.

Disclosure: I own a Seahawk (10ft) and like it, except for the paddling like a mad fool when the wind is blowing the wrong way

[WestEast]

Yesterday evening, I tried out my kayak with a home-built rod-holder, on Buntzen Lake. I usually use a belly-float on this lake, but find that it takes too long to get to my favoured sides.... also the wind keeps pushing me backwards!

My kayak weighs 35lbs and is easy to load/unload. Probably quicker to prepare than an uninflated belly-boat.

So with the kayak and a fly, I gently trolled around. First thing I realized was how 'tippy' I felt whilst working a cast. Then I got a hook-up and pulled in a 12-incher. Well, almost. Between balancing the kayak and the oar, trying to grab my net, and positioning the rod - I lost it at my fingertips. The instability was definitely unnerving... so I have to rethink my options.

Back home, started flipping through some old kayak catalogues and came across a category of "Fishing Kayaks". These have a wider waist, rod holders, lots of tackle slots, but most were sit-on-top. They are relatively light (50lbs) and the more expensive ones had foot paddles too. But I can't say I've seen any on BC lakes.

What are the benefits of this fishing machine vs. a plain ol' 10ft dinghy... or an inflatable ? Anyone have one of these kayaks ?

[Hiker]

Thanks Guys.

That is a good note DragonSpeed - paddling a lot. Not really thought that it would be too much of an effort, but now have to consider it as well. Though I have seen that sokme new Intex Excursion boats could be mounted with a motor, so I guess that would help.

Anybody else with a comment? I believe there must be mre people visiting this site who had/have these boats.

[lucky]

 I have a 9' necky kayak, its considered a recreational kayak, and I use it alot for fishing. Have even used it to set crab traps. Mine is more stable than an ocean kayak but still takes some getting used to. I find it great for fishing because its light easy to carry and fairly fast on the water. As far as landing fish, as long as you keep yourself low and dont forget you are in a kayak its pretty easy, I have only had problems once while in front of the cap I hooked a mudshark nearly 4 feet, since he was almost half as long at the kayak I had to paddle with one arm to shore so I could beach the kayak and properly land the fish.