WS Tarpon 14 or ???

[NightTide]

I'm in the market for a fishing yak. So far I'm leaning towards the Tarpon. Any others that I should consider. I'll be fishing Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay. TIA

[LEFTUS]

The Tarpon140 is a good all around fishing yak.Fast and stable.At 14' its easily handled getting in the water and on to the racks.A good choice for a new yakker.I have the 160i.At 16' it's a little more trouble to load and a little less stable,but makes up for this with speed.It's better suited for a more experienced paddler.The Wilderness Pungo's are also good fishing yaks for sit insides.Try to demo a few before you buy.Good Luck and Welcome to the Darkside! Lefty

[NightTide]

Thanks Lefty.

Is it possible to stand in any of these yaks to fly cast?

[LEFTUS]

Some guys put outriggers on the backs for stability to site cast to fish.Without them the answer would be no.At 28"wide not really a good idea with the Tarpons.A Malibu Extreme or an Emotion Fisherman would allow you to stand without outriggers.Lefty

[Noel]

...but those kayaks have no where near the speed that the Tarpon pulls, so you'd be trading the need for outriggers for the need for an outboard motor.

I sent you a PM - you should take a trip down route 1.

[Noel]

And I just realized I sent my PM to Leftus, which makes me (#$119)

[dlangan]

I have a Pungo 140 which I really like and my son a Dagger Element. We were just on the Cape for a week and spent every morning fishing a tidal river for schoolies, then when the sun came up were running and gunning packs of bluefish.

The bottom line is I would be careful not to underestimate the value of speed or easy in/out when selecting a yak. We seem to always travel further than we planned and are jumping in/out on sand bars.

A friend of ours has a tarpon 120 - nice yak. The number of yak choices are interesting/fun/frustrating. Although it's hard to go wrong with any of the popular yaks on this board, you will no doubt have your own preferences. Invest as much time trying yaks and talking to folks as you can spare before buying.

Just be warned. You'll get a lot more use out of the kayak than you are imagining...

[Todd Benedict]

My 2 cents worth.

I have a Pungo 12ft. angler pkg. Love it, only thing I would condiser changing next time is a jump up to a 14 ft. model.

Ixsnay on the standup snay !.

I use my yay more than I ever imagined I would also.!!

[MatthewP]

I have a tarpon 160 and have no issues with stability. I definitely wouldn't stand on it, but for paddling and casting from a seated position, it offers what I consider pretty good stability (esp. when compared with more traditional sea kayaks). It's a bit heavy - but great storage. Once in the water, I've heard it said that the 160 is a faster boat than the 140 (haven't paddled a tarpon 140, so I can't offer a qualified opinion). Great boat. don't get to fish it nearly as often as I'd like.

[LEFTUS]

Matthew I have the 160i and agree it's a very fast yak.I've paddled the 140 a number of times and feel it's better suited for a novice yakker.The 140 has better initial stability than the 160i.Lefty

[bluewatr]

My .02

Get the Tarpon 160. You won't regret it. BUT, are you flyfishing? Make sure you can get the rod tip over the bow in case the fish runs from one side of the yak to the other. This is especially true for tunoids. The battle can get real dangerous and crazy real quick! And you also risk breaking a fly rod.

[otter]

My Humble Take:

I don't know anyone who claims to regularly stand up in a Tarpon or OK prowler w/o outriggers. But, they are both great fly fishing yaks and as the others have said, they are very fast. Watch the weight capacity of the T140, I was told that at 250 I would sink it, or a least have a wet butt. The OK prowler 15 and especially the 13 have really high wt capacities.

If you've gotta stand up, get the Malibu X-factor. Yes its huge, but it moves well for its size and is incredibly stable. The tarpons and prowlers will smoke you though. A great compromise for speed and stability is the Heritage Marquesa/Redfish. It is pretty fast, and some claim to stand in it. Very high wt capacity as well. Lots of folks here on the Gulf Coast are lovin' those boats. This boat also has a large flat work area between your legs which is great fo handling fish or riggin up. It is a little shy on dry storage, but I'm willing to give that up for a boat the will keep my big caboose high and dry. --127-3-

[WeeHooker]

I reciently got a Tarpon 140 Angler. It is my first SOT. At 195,#, I need to use golf balls in the scuppers to stay dry. It has good speed and decient stability. I like it well enough but personally preffer my Loon 138 as an all round yak though. Better stability & speed with less weight. Tradeoff is in ease of entry/exit. No one boat is perfect.