I am about to buy a new kayak to use for fishing the local trout water. Have made up my mind to the Wilderness Systems Aspire-Pungo 125 or the Dagger Katana. I need to be ably to get in and out in waders and a lot of the time it is very shallow. My Old Town Tripper gets stuck some times also and is too hard to run by myself. I also want to use the kayak for yakpacking 100 mile rivers in Missouri. Almost no white water .
You posted this in the “advice” board. There are people here that fish. But perhaps this is a fishing question and could be handled by the folks that fish a lot which you could find in the “fishing” forum just a few boards away…somewhere…we’re all a little lost here lately.
Personally…I ain’t wearing waders in a kayak. I’d use my solo canoe. Local waters and 100 mile trips are two different things. However a Pungo 125 is one of those big cockpit rec boats much like a canoe for float ability and self rescue. But you could likely wear waders in that boat. Packing it with camping gear for a 100 mile trip might be a trick. Think like a back packer. I’d still take my solo canoe for that.
Solo canoes are often kayak dimensions and light weight. They often have a kayak seat near the deck/floor and most always , at least around here, are paddled with double bladed paddles.
Which would help with your tripper to use a double bladed paddle.
I don’t know myself about how much gear you need for the 100 mile trip - how heavy or light the gear would have to be. But something like a pack canoe could definitely be packed for it much more easily than a boat that was never designed with that in mind, like the Pungo.
More important, if you find that you have to unpack and carry gear and boat for some distance, the Pungo is heavy and unwieldy while a pack canoe is designed properly to make that easy. The Tripper, being a tandem canoe, is going to hand you issues in that area that the pack canoe fixes.
If you are concerned abut scratches I can understand the impulse towards something like the Pungo. I am just thinking that the first time you get into a situation where water is unexpectedly low and some carrying is involved you will start thinking about how to use it as a planter.
Look at the hull shape of the boats. The Pungo has a v hull which is HORRIBLE for shallow water!
Both kayaks that you are considering will get stuck in super shallow water more easily than your Tripper. The Tripper has a bigger bottom and holds 1100 pounds while the kayaks have small bottoms and hold around 400 pounds so they sink deeper in the water than a Tripper with the same load. If you sit alone in the stern seat in your Tripper then getting towards the middle will help you avoid getting stuck.
There was a time I used the tripper by myself but no more. I just turned 66 and it is to much by myself. I just want to be able to go short distances and get out to fish and then move on down to the next place wearing waders cause the water is cold. I used to just wade for a long way wearing my back pack with enough gear for a few days and a couple rods. Stop to fish and then go to the next place. Not any more. As far as gear for 100 miles we go 25 miles a day and don’t need that much gear. We also use to backpack. Thanks for the help.
Have you considered a SOT? I fish a lot from both a Pungo 120 and a Tarpon 120. The Pungo is great for flat water without much current, but the Tarpon which has a flat bottom floats a little shallower and is much more maneuverable than the Pungo. Also the Tarpon is much easier to get on and off when creek fishing and the water/mud/sand is in the foot-well were it easy to deal with. The down side is the Tarpons are heavier and the new ones are 31" wide (Mine is 28) making them a little more stable but slower.
Not intrested in a sot. Want to use it all year if I can get some clothes to keep me warm and dry enough. That is another subject.