Hobie input...

[THE DARKHORSE]

Originally Posted by FISHIONADO

I hope my posts haven't come across as anti-Hobie. I actually own two of them, the Outback and the Sport. I really like them for certain applications. My 12 year old would not be able to paddle out to the "spot" , but on calm days he can pedal the Sport out there no problem. I love the Outback for the bays but not for the open ocean. My Outback takes on water through the rudder cable holes in rough conditions, not enough to be unsafe, just a hassle to have to drain it after a trip. Not hating, just sharing an informed owners opinion.

The nice people at Hobie/Fastlane Sailing Center gave me an opportunity to try every craft Hobie has to offer. Each vessel had great distinctly different features that made for a challenging descision. I made my descision 100% based on finishing out WCW on top. The local pattern has been set for over two months concerning catching local Yellowtail. On "sunny days" with little to no cloud cover the schools of Yellowtail (with numbers of 15 giant homeguards all above #30, to huge schools of fish in the #18-#25 class numbering around a 100 fish each) have been fairly easy to find while "sight fishing." I chose the Hobie Outback, at the confusion of the Hobie people as it's the least popular model of the three.
I would like to say how impressed I was with this kayak in open ocean conditions (as it's all I fish). I took it out with confidence logging over ten miles a day in some really nasty conditions. The most impressive thing about the "mirage drive" is how it handles the worst possible conditions. Being that the mirage system fins are always underwater there is never a glitch in ability to create speed. I found that you can go incredibly fast in ridiculous wind and chop. Being a 12' long and wide vessel you may take a little spray coming over the bow when "flying" along in big whacky swell with heavy wind, but the stability is equally great. Thus my descision to finish out WCW in this incredibly stable vessel. The Hobie Outback allows you to perch up on your knees with confidence or even stand up in calm conditions. This lighting difference from sitting down to up on your knees is "night and day". The difference between seeing all the fish swimming by laughing at you and consistently giving yourself an excellent shot. Even if you don't land that iron in the right spot and spook the school, you will atleast see Yellowtail in their natural environment like never before (a magical experience in it's self). As far as bringing in #50+ fish, don't worry, I had no problem and still beat everyone to the launch while drinking my celebratory cold one.