A couple of months ago, I blogged about being scammed when I was looking to purchase a fishing kayak. After that incident, I continued to look for a kayak I could afford and had sufficient weight capacity for me and my equipment. Eeventually, I found one for sale locally on Facebook Marketplace. It is a Perception Pescador Sport (Perception Kayaks | USA & Canada | Kayaks for Recreation, Fishing, Touring & More) which has a weight capacity of 325 pounds. I looked at it and handled it before buying. It cost me $400.00, which is more than I initially wanted to spend, but was within my budget. It also weighs just over 50 pounds, which I can carry for short distances. The price also included the paddle and an extra rod holder, though I still had to purchase a personal flotation device (life vest) and leashes for my paddle and rods.
In the six weeks since the purchase, I have had the kayak out twice. The first time out, I took it to Quail Lake, a small local reservoir inside the city limits. The purpose of the trip was to see if I could physically use the kayak. Could I get into it? Could I get out of it? Could I paddle it and move around the lake? Could I fish from it? I discovered I could get into it, but I had to get wet. When I initially got in and paddled, it seemed very unstable. However, I could soon balance properly and paddled around the lake. Paddling is much easier than I expected and after over an hour on the lake, I didn’t get sore. I tried fishing briefly, throwing lures without catching fish. Then, I tried trolling by throwing a lure out and leaving it to trail behind the kayak while I paddled around the lake. I wasn’t really paying attention to my rod when something hit the lure so hard; it broke my line. I think I had my rod holder positioned incorrectly, which didn’t allow the rod to flex properly, and I also had the spool locked. But it was encouraging to get a bite.
After an hour or an hour and a half on the lake, I returned to the boat ramp. It is much harder getting out of the kayak, especially with my old legs, but I managed without getting too wet. Overall, I was happy with the way the kayak handled on the water, especially since I didn’t turn it over. I could load and unload it and carry it the short distance from the bank to the truck, so I planned an actual fishing trip for my next outing.
Before the second outing, I watched several YouTube videos with instructions for entering and exiting the sit-on-top kayak. At first, I wanted to go to one of the North slope reservoirs on Pikes Peak, since they were close with a mostly paved road. But I changed my mind and went to Rampart Reservoir. Rampart has a boat ramp so I could take the truck right to the water didn’t need to carry the kayak very far. Getting into the kayak was easier than on the first outing, and I was more stable at the outset. Unfortunately, there was a light wind blowing, which made the kayak more difficult to steer. I had learned how to adjust the rod holder and tried trolling around. Because of the wind, I did not go far from the boat ramp area. While trolling, I had a bite. Again, it was very hard, but my line did not break. My rod flexed, and I did not have the reel locked, but the reel spun in reverse, creating a bird’s nest of line. By the time I got it untangled, there was no fish.
I still have more to learn about trolling. As the wind came up, I stayed in the cove near the boat ramp and tried different lures without success. I also learned it is difficult to reach behind the seat to get tackle or other objects from the rear of the kayak. I spent an hour and a half or two hours on the lake before deciding the wind was getting too strong. When I got back to shore, I still had a hard time getting out of the kayak
Though I didn’t catch any fish, I considered it a successful outing. When I got home, I joined the Colorado kayak fishing Facebook group. I posted I tried fishing from the kayak, but it was much harder than it appears on YouTube. I got a lot of encouragement from the group to keep trying and even some suggestions on types of lures to try.
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