Canoe/Kayak Hybrids

[TransientAngler]

It looks like there are a few members on here that fish from canoes. The canoeing culture is one that is rich in history but until just recently hadn't evolved much. There are a few companies that have taken the canoe to a new level and approached the various deficits that the traditional canoe had.
Nucanoe - is a hybrid Canoe/Kayak that allows for the angler to make some modifications. Stand without worry and have a lot of comfort. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OHumGNJixc

A little more expensive unit is the Native watercraft version. These guys went all out and have a few units that address both hands free fishing and weight. As most canoes are somewhat heavy and a bugger to trip between lakes on a portage. The Native watercraft is like 30 lbs. Super light, adaptable and made for rigging options like gps, fish finders and multiple rod holders. Pretty wicked stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozK-EBcWWSc

[cbiegel]

Those do look nice. My plan was to get an Ocean Kayak but these look pretty good.

[TransientAngler]

Ocean Kayaks are great kayaks. There are many advantages to the sit on top kayaks. Let me know what your weight is and main fishing style. Also what areas do you fish most often and I can recommend a couple good models.

[jwm]

That nucanoe would be sweet on the toronto islands.

[TransientAngler]

Here is the kayak I am getting shortly. They are a new company and they are breaking out into Canada.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-1nq7m97lo
I do alot of fly casting and I like to stand up and site fish. These yaks arent the greatest for bigger water but I think in a lot of conditions it will be sweet. Any small body of water it would work wicked.

[cbiegel]

The kayak I've been looking at is the Trident 13  Angler or the Prowler 13T Angler though I'm not really sure of the difference.

I weigh around 195 lb and plan to fish both saltwater for striped bass and freshwater in mostly ponds/lakes.

[TransientAngler]

The T13 stands for trident. They are the same. They are a great first boat. I used one for a few weeks this summer and loved the boat. I owned the T15 for a few years when they first came out and enjoyed that boat as well. Great for ocean fishing, fast and stable. I am close to your weight and 5'11'. This is a very good choice for a boat. Our tournament in Windsor, Ontario is giving away an Ocean Kayak Torque if you can make it to the event. Prize will be drawn as part of entry rather that the first place winner. The thing I like most about the T13 is that you get a great mix of the stability(you can stand) and the speed with all the rigging options you could want. And they modified the middle rod pod hatch to be more water tight and user friendly without having to mod it out yourself.

[jwm]

We've posted about the WaveWalk kayaks in the past, I've never been in one, but judging by the design and videos I've seen they look pretty rock solid.

http://www.wavewalk.com/

TransientAngler, can you give me more information about the tournament. I don't know if I'd be able to participate, but I would love to come take photos and cover the event.

[TransientAngler]

I just posted up the links in another post. It would be great if you wanted to show up and take some media! We will have some assigned launches that are up and down the Detroit River and some will be the more popular ones as I am giving out some marked maps for folks that are from TO and outside areas. The Detroit river has some great fishing that time of year. I dont expect this year to be giant but 2012 is going to get big :) as we are getting more help from the US kayak angler population to make the event real big.
Wave walk is not a bad boat for short little paddles. It is not designed for paddling any distance, trolling in rough water or anything that is outside of just casting really. Good for site fishing and likely would be perfect for your TO Isles. But if you bounce out to fish the browns in the harbor or something that is technical you wont be to excited about that boat.

[TransientAngler]

The issue of stand up fishing from kayaks is met by a few different companies. Forgetting about the yakanoos we have the Sit on Top kayaks that are doing this. Wavewalk, Coosa and Freedomhawk. Fredomhawk http://www.freedomhawkkayaks.com/ is a bit more friendly than the Wavewalk previously discussed. It is basically a kayak with built in outriggers or stabilizers. So you can still get the performance of a good paddling hull while not sacrificing to much. These kayaks are basically there so that guys that fish one style 90% of the time have a kayak that fits the bill. The kayak industry is like the boat industry that way or it seems to be evolving in that direction. You can get the best of both Worlds though if you invest in products that allow for this.
There are paddling products that are easily mounted to let you stand up and fish and then easily retract to get full paddling ability. Here is an example pic. 381 sorry I dont have a better one. I will try and find some of me last summer fishing with this product. But you get the jist of it anyways.
Most anglers want to try different stuff and In different conditions. I like trolling 90 foot of water with downriggers for lakers in the mid summer and sometimes in bigger waves. Or flycasting rivers.
Either which way you go you should water test your kayak before you give it a go and spend the dough. There are a few local dealers to you that I know personally and they have awesome hookups for free boat testing. If anyone ever wants to go test demos they can give their kayak dealers a shout and most of them hold demo days once a week down at cherry beach and near there.