Carlisle
I don’t have any Carlisle kayak paddles, but I have some Carlisle oars and canoe paddles and think they’re OK. I have read good reports on Carlisle paddles. You may want to check the Buyer’s Guide on this site.
$100 is a fair budget and you should be able to find something that you like for that price.
The Day Tripper is a good first paddle.
I’ve looked at it as a second paddle, I’ve got an Aquabound with carbon shaft and plastic blades, a good combintation for the kind of use I put it to. Its much lighter than the Day Tripper, but when compared to Carlisle’s fiberglass paddles, the Day Tripper seems lighter to me. Get the Day Tripper to get out on the water, get a better paddle later and keep the Day Tripper for a reserve.
Hope I’m not
too late, but let me throw another boat into the mix. Liquid Logic’s new Manta Ray 12 & 14. Awesome boats! For me, the Tarpons track better, but I like the Manta Ray’s slightly better maneuverability.
not too late
hey man… i still have not bought a boat…
thanks for the input…
i actually got to pick up a day tripper today at a local shop… i did not like it… the middle section wobbled too much…
there was actually a cheaper paddle from the same company called seasense that seemed nicer to me… it was about the same weight and did not wobble in the middle
The SeaSense is an ok first paddle.
Some say its noisy, but at my local sporting goods shop, its $21, the Day Tripper is $9 more. It seems that the curve cut out at the bottom causes a slurping sound.
hey
I have paddled the boats you mentioned and have owned a Ride and now own a Tarpon. The ride is stable, but its also slower then the tarpon 160, much slower! It also makes an annoying hull slap noise, even if you are not paddling the boats hull design turns small chop into a slapping sound. If you actually want to paddle to the fish the Tarpon 160 is the way to go. Like I said on another post. If you don’t want to paddle then any big chunk of plastic will do… heck I used to use an old sunfish sail boat with out the sail.
Swedge, your’re tough. Of couse, don’t
imagine that sunfish would be any more difficult than a jon boat. I’ll paddle an hour or so to the fishing area I pick out that day, more if exploring, does that qualify as paddling? My Loon 138 does fine and is faster than many SOT’s
Tarpon
Initial stability is overrated on a fishing Kayak IMO. Like someone else pointed out, you can throw your legs over the side of the Tarpon to reach in the tankwell or to just stretch your legs, because the secondary stability is extremely good. You’ll get used to the initial feeling of being tipsy when you realize it stops far short of tipping.
The other side is it will be faster and easier to paddle than the kayaks with good initial stability.
stability
I know from experience that the width and length has nothing to do with the stability for diffrent people. I have a Mars by Ocean Kayak and I can stand in it compared to the Tarpon 140 a lot better. it is 13.5 long and 29" wide. It also will sail throught the water like a jet and manauver far better than any I have tried they dont sell this anymore since this year, but if you can find one they are great. I am 5’6" and 190lbs. Its in the cut of the chines and your own stability that counts.
Well, I have a drifter
and so does my wife. Neither of us could EVER be called small persons, and we fish the Gulf of Mexico out of Mobile, AL. In all kinds of conditions. We went with the drifter simply because it FELT better than anything else we could find to try. Total payload helped in making our decisions as well. And, we are very happy in our decisions. As for tracking, yeah, they tend to wander a bit, but try putting in the rudder option. Makes a HUGE difference.
wajdi