Kayak Koz

It seems HUGE when I'm wheeling it around and put it into the lake. But once I get out there on open water I feel very, very tiny. At the same time I'm thankful for its size and stability.

My kayak came with rod bungee clips for the rod holders behind my seat.

This was only my second time out on my Seastream Angler pedal kayak, and with my comfort level with the craft on the water improving I decided to cover a lot more water today in search of largemouth bass. The weather had called for fairly calm winds today, but that was a lie. It was blowing a consistent 9-10 mph with gusts up to 16 mph. Despite the wind, it didn't take me long to cover the nearly two miles to an inlet that I wanted to check out. I'm not going to lie, open water with the wind, waves, and lakes is still a little unnerving, but this kayak is really stable. I keep just outside the dock lines for most of my journey, then cut across open water when I need to get to the other side. I took a detour and fished a dam and a bridge for a while but didn't sniff a strike. There were pontoon boats out in the middle of the lake fishing for stripers, but with the wind and the waves I didn't feel like joining them amidst the boat traffic and the knuckleheads on jet skis. I got to the inlet and fished the docks on the way in, but didn't sniff a strike. I found some submerged tree branches and fished those as well but still no luck. When I got near the back of the cove the water calmed a bit and I attacked the shadows under the overhanging trees and shrubs with a Senko and almost immediately landed one just under 2.5 pounds. I ended up catching another one about the same size in that same area, then decided to head back and try the docks again. But the wind started picking up more and I had to use the restroom, so I headed back in. All told I covered over 4 miles, and it really didn't require a ton of effort. When I see my nav point in the distance my first reaction has been to pedal fast to cover all of that open water, but I soon realized the slow and steady is a lot better than getting winded and having to rest for 30 seconds. Although I still need to find a way to make a few seat adjustments (higher and closer), I really, really like this kayak. I'm also getting better at positioning the craft and making occasional micro adjustments to the rudder while fishing. But that rudder and jogging the pedals certainly makes it easy to drift and fish. The only complaint I have is it doesn't fit on the trolley that well and I have to navigate a steep hill to bring it to and from my hotel to the lake. But I have an idea to have it sit better on the trolley. Here are a few pictures from my day out today. Obviously, the pedal drive was out of the kayak when I took the picture of it on land. I had brought it up to my office first.

That's one thing I haven't done yet - take my empty kayak out to a safe area, roll it over, and try and flip it back and climb in again. I just need to have a spotter handy in case something goes wrong.

At first I had no intention of adding electronics to my kayak, but after one day on the lake I decided otherwise. Almost all of my previous fishing has been bank fishing and the majority of that on lagoons. Not now kayaking out on a big lake has changed my mind. There's a ton to explore and I think the electronics can help me with that. I suppose I could plot spots on Google Maps, but I think using a fish finder should make narrowing down some spots easier. Maybe between now and the time I decide to pull the trigger on that gear my mind will change. I'm due out on the lake for most of the day today and I plan to cover a lot of water. We'll see how that goes.

But what was the underlying reason for your upgrade? I don't see the need for a bigger screen on a 12 foot kayak. Space is at a premium, and a larger screen means there's a greater chance I'm going to bang into it or get caught up on it with something. With my pedal drive, the unit needs to go on the side rails. If I built a dashboard it would be beyond the pedals and too far away. As long as I can see fish and have a plotter and GPS I don't see the need for a bigger or more expensive unit. For me it's the same reason why I limit myself to spending $150 on a new rod or reel. Sure, a $350 rod or reel is nice, but my $150 rods and reels get the job done.

He appears to be a very close relative of the Bait Monkey. So I'm really enjoying my Seastream Angler 120 pedal drive kayak and got to thinking about adding some simple electronics to the watercraft. The Lowrance hook2-4x GPS looks like a great deal for my needs at just over $100. But then I start putting everything together: Ram transducer arm mount, 2 Uni-Track V2 Accessory Mounts, RAM Track Ball Double Ball Mount for the Lowrance, battery, battery box, and a Lowrance Sun Cover and now I'm up to over $300. Of course that's small potatoes compared to owning a bass boat. But on the other hand, I can't haul the kayak with my car (I store it at my hotel on the lake), so soon I'll also be on the hook for a new SUV and the rooftop transport system. The spending is never going to end, it it? I'm just glad I was only bit by the Kayak Monkey and not the Boat Monkey.

I've seen MLF tournaments where the leader catches 60 pounds one day while other guys end the day with a big fat zero. That should tell you what's important.

For those that don't know, Seastream kayaks are a division of Feel Free kayaks. This kayak was delivered 11 days ago and due to being busy at work and then three straight days of rain, today was the first day I had a chance to put this on the water. It has been really frustrating because the kayak has been sitting in one of the meeting rooms at my hotel and we literally sit on the shore of Lake Oconee. But today was a sunny day and the hotel was slow for a change so I wrapped it up at 4 pm. The first order of business was strapping the kayak to the ABN universal kayak carrier that I purchased. Let me be the one to tell you, it's not universal. The hull is a pontoon style design and between it's width and then taper on both the bow and stern I had a heck of a time trying to find a good way to strap it up. Either the strap slipped because of the severe taper or it wasn't long enough where the hull was parallel. I ended up running the strap through the rear scupper holes, but it still wanted to roll of the cart. I'm going to have to make an add on modification to provide more transport stability. Transport stability was crucial, because I had to maneuver the kayak out of the meeting room, down the hall, around a corner in the lobby, out the front door and then around the building and down a steep (20+ degree), winding concrete path down to the lake. The kayak and pedal drive alone on this 12' 3" kayak are about 120 pounds. Luckily, I made it down without incident. For now my kayak is pretty much bare bones. There was plenty of room in the back for a milk crate and I could probably fit a small cooler back there as well. I brought two medium, BPS utility boxes and they easily fit under the seat. I stored the kayak trolley behind my seat. There's plenty of storage in the bow as well, but I didn't use it. Frankly, with the pedal drive between me and the bow it would be a pain to access anything up there while out on the water. We have a seawall at the back of the hotel, and although it's rocky I launched from there. Obviously, the pedal drive was up and out of the water when I launched. I paddled out a bit and deployed the drive. You really have to slam it down to get it in place, and then I locked the drive. I immediately realized my seat was too far forward. Unless you put the kayak up on blocks you can't really test the seat and pedal position until you get in the water. The seat has fixed positions, so you can't make micro adjustments to find the perfect fit. I imagine that feature can be found on more expensive pedal kayaks. For me, this turned out to be a negative. The first and second stops were too close, and at the third stop my leg was fully extended on the pedal out position. Like on a bike, full extension is not ideal over the long haul or for efficiency of power. I may have to add a little sticky padding, but a further seat adjustment might help. More on that later. But the good news is that I was hopping around on the kayak in the wind and chop to adjust the seat and I didn't dump it and roll over. It's a stable watercraft. The wind was blowing about 8-9 mph and there were stronger gusts. The water was a bit choppy at times and that had me a bit worried since I'm only moderately experienced with paddle kayaks and this was my maiden voyage on any pedal kayak. I was also worried that the wind would make it a trying day on the water. But my worries were all for naught. This craft was unbelievably stable through the chop and moderate boat wakes and unlike being on a paddle kayak on a windy day, the Seastream made it easy to fish in the wind. After engaging the drive, the first thing I did was test the rudder and the turning radius. I've read some people complaining about the turning radius of their pedal kayaks, but I had no issue with sharp turns. Granted, you can't pivot on a dime like you can with a paddle kayak, but the Seastream has instant reverse so on the times that I drifted to close to a dock to turn I could easily backpedal and navigate out of there, even in the wind. One thing that was frustrating was that anytime I had to turn full starboard I had to lift the side seat strap out of the way. I also felt the seat could be a little higher. But as I found out later this evening, the seat is height adjustable. I did not realize that. Raising the seat should address those issues and a third issue I had today. That third issue came from the pedal position. As I mentioned earlier, my legs extended too far on the out stroke. But this third issue came when I was jogging the kayak as my legs were parallel to the hull on that out stroke. Having to constantly jog in the wind it felt like I had to keep my legs in the air all of the time and that got uncomfortable. But when I raise the seat it will be more of a down stroke than an out stroke and that should fix that issue as well. It should allow me to move the seat up one notch and I may not have to add padding to the pedals. Rookie mistake on my part with the seat height. Anyway, after getting the pedal position a bit better and testing the rudder I headed out of the cove towards open water. I immediately noticed that I could really zip along with that pedal drive. Even against the wind I never felt I was fighting the current. The only thing that slowed me down was when I got winded when trying to go all out for a while. But I covered half a mile in no time at all. The next step was testing the fishability of the watercraft. At first it was a bit challenging fishing in the wind, especially with a moving bait. Jogging the pedals worked to an extent, but I also needed to work the rudder to try and hold the bow. As the day progressed I got better and better at nailing that initial rudder setting to keep the bow pointed in the right direction as I drifted. In the 2+ hours I was out there, the fishing was lousy. I landed one small striped bass and that was it. But again, I didn't travel far because it was late in the day and my first time on this craft. On Saturday I plan to spend most of the day on the water and cover a lot of the lake in my area. Conclusions First off, I am not associated with Feel Free or Seastream and I definitely have not received compensation for writing about this kayak. In fact, I'd venture to say that the Seastream / Feel Free team doesn't even know I'm alive. I'm just an old guy that wanted a pedal kayak and this one fit my budget and it's a good looking kayak. But id the Feel Free folks ended up sending me some swag I wouldn't ship it back ?? But because my only prior kayak experience was renting paddle kayaks I was extremely worried that I may have dropped a decent amount of money on something that I ended up not liking and it would end up on eBay. I'm not worrying anymore. I really, really like this kayak. The seat was an issue today, but as I mentioned I missed the ability to adjust the height. I'll make the adjustment next time out. The seat was very comfortable, so that's a plus. The rod holders in back of the seat were plenty deep for my long handled baitcasters, and they were easy to reach. I appreciate they added the safety clips just in case they fall out of the holders, but unless you dump the kayak I don't see that happening. There are two spots to lay down rods and there are rod tip protectors if you want to bring four rods on board. Can you stand up on it? Yes. I stood up when I pulled up to our dock and placed the pedal drive on the dock before I pulled the kayak out of the water. However, with my seat in the near forward position I worry about barking my shins on the pedal drive if I'm standing up. Plus, it was a bit choppy and it was my first time out so I didn't stand up and fish. I'll give that a try at a later time. I don't like that there is no dry storage. I didn't bring my phone with me because I haven't purchased a dry bag with me (that's why there are no pictures from today on the water in this post). I don't like that I could not get it to seat flat on the kayak cart and there was not a good position to strap it to the cart. I'll have to make a modification to the cart. I worry about trying a scupper hole cart with a kayak that weighs 100+ pounds. I don't like that there's no built in cup or bottle holder to keep a drink handy. I do like that it has a UNI track system built in and I don't have to drill holes in the kayak to mount one. I plan to get some electronics at a later point, but there's no specialized, recessed spot on the hull for a transducer so I'll need one of those swing arm attachments for a transducer. Everything else about this kayak I really, really like - especially the price. You can buy it on the Seastream site for $1,539 but I got it on one of the many other websites out there for only $1,399 plus shipping. They also sell replacement parts on the Seastream website should anything break. I'm sure there are better - and more - expensive - pedal kayaks out there. But I also wouldn't consider this to be an entry level pedal kayak. I read a lot of reviews on pedal kayaks in the $1,300 - $2,300 price range and they all seem to have a decent amount of concerns about quality or complaints on the operation of the craft. I just see that with this one nor did I experience it. I'm sure as I use it more there will be things that were different, but I sincerely doubt that I will have buyer's remorse. I'm pretty frugal and I was worried about dropping a chunk of change one something that was marginal or finding out I didn't like it. But even with the not so ideal conditions on the water today and having to learn the ropes of a pedal kayak I'm very happy. It was easy to fish in those conditions. The kayak was quick and navigated well. I covered a ton of water today and two things struck me when I came ashore - I wasn't wet and I wasn't worn out after 2+ hours of pedaling. However, pushing the kayak back up that long, steep hill and putting it away was brutal. THAT tired me out. I wanted to lock it up out back of the hotel (and take the pedal drive, seat, and rudder with me), but after 20+ years in the hotel industry I don't trust leaving it out there with guests. Bottom line - if you're thinking of getting a pedal kayak you need to consider this one. If you live in the Lake Oconee and want to check out mine just let me know.

When I lived in SC I had the same two girls at Sport Clips cut my hair for over 10 years. When I moved here to boondocks GA earlier in the year and needed a haircut I drove 35 minutes to go to a Great Clips since the nearest Sport Clips was an hour away. It was an OK haircut but not worth the drive. So when I needed my haircut a few weeks ago I found a local barber that had good online reviews and a recent feature article in the local newspaper. How bad could it be? Bad, Really bad. The guy was about 118 years old and needed a walker to move around a little bit. But no worries, he elderly. Then he cut my hair. He left the sideburns ragged, the cut was uneven on both sides, and one side of my head had a jagged line. My part was also in a new place. I'm in my late 50's and he gave me what looked like a little boy's haircut, and not in a good way. Holy cow that was a bad haircut. I guess I'll be making that 35 minute drive again...

OK, it's getting a bit pathetic. As of Monday I'll have had the kayak for a week and I still haven't put it in the water yet. Between moving into a new house and having a busy hotel all week I haven't had the time or the energy. I was finally supposed to have a day off today but work got in the way. Now we're supposed to have thunderstorms for the next three days and when it clears up on Thursday I've got meetings all day. So maybe, just maybe, I'll get to get on the water by Friday. Talk about frustrating...

I once had a turtle hit a bait with treble hooks and he got hooked in both the top and bottom of his mouth. It took me about half an hour to get the hooks out, mainly because he kept pulling back into his shell. I had to play tug of war long enough to tire him out.

A long, long time ago back in college the ladies confused me with Michael J. Fox. One of my buddies caught wind of that and started telling them he was my half brother. Needless to say, there were certain fringe benefits that came along with that story.

The old Powerbaits were some of my go to baits for trailers. I tried the same ones with MaxScent and my catch rate plummeted. Needless to say, I'm not a fan.

I find it interesting that so many recommend not starting off with braid. I tried mono and flouro when I started with a baitcaster and I found it much easier to learn with braid. That being said, it was 50 pound braid. 20 pound braid would be much harder to learn to cast with. In fact, if your bird's nest and that 20 pound braided line comes to a sudden stop your going to be watching your lure fly off to the horizon. I recently tried the 12# Yozuri hybrid and it was OK, but after casting and reeling all day it didn't lay down consistently on the reel. My go to braid is 40#, although I will ise 50$ if I'm fishing around heavier vegetation.

I ended up buying an ABN Universal Kayak carrier. I just moved in to a new house and there's too much going on between that and work at my hotel to set up my workshop. Heck, I've had my kayak for 5 days and I still haven't put it in the water yet. Hopefully I can find some time tomorrow afternoon.

Nice job on the table! I enjoy woodworking and has posted some of my projects here on BR, but I haven't built anything for a while. Since last October I've been "homeless". When my father passed in October I put my stuff in storage and moved back to the SC Lowcountry to take care of my stepmother through the holidays. In January I took a new job running a hotel in GA, and since then lived in the hotel while trying to find a place to live. Between being busy at work and the housing crunch here in rural GA it was impossible to find a place. But I finally found a rental place the other week and moved in a few days ago. There's no garage or shop, but there is a screened in porch where I put my tools for now. I have a few projects in mind and hope to get back to it soon. But the price of wood has skyrocketed, plus my new pedal kayak came in 5 days ago and I STILL have not had it on the water yet. Soon...

... I didn't get a chance to put it in the water! On Sunday I made an 8 hour round trip driving a 26 foot UHaul from Georgia to SC and back and in between loaded the truck. Then starting this morning I unloaded the truck at my new place. BTW, this 57 year old ran circles around my hulking 15 year old son when it came to unloading! Why unloading I got word the Seastream Angler 120 PD kayak had arrived at my hotel. As soon as I got back to the hotel I got sucked in be goings on at the property and finally found some time to unpack it and set it up. Feel Free / Seastream did a great job with the packaging. Not only did they use styrofoam and foam padding, but the entire thing was wrapped in a heavy canvas like cloth. It didn't have a single scratch or dent. It's definitely a nice looking kayak and was easy to put together, even with the limited instructions. Some of the things I like that it came with paddle holders and it came with rod clips just in case your fishing rod falls into the water. It also has tracks already mounted for when I decide to add a fish finder. The seat seams very comfortable, but time will tell. I set it up in one of our meeting rooms, but now I have to haul it out back to the lake down a steep, windy, concrete path. I'm also worried about leaving it locked up down by the lake, even if I remove the rudder, seat, and pedal drive. We've had some idiot guests lately. I really need to find a kayak cart, but everywhere I look they are on back order. Lugging it back up that steep hill - even with a cart - is going to be a pain. After all of that moving, driving, loading, and unloading I was just too tired to hit the water this evening. But I hope to find time to take it out on the water tomorrow, But I have a lot of work to do and I have to unpack all of my belongings. Anyway, it's a great looking kayak. I'll post my review of it once I get it out on the water.

The reason that I want a pedal kayak with instant reverse over a standard kayak is that I think it will be easier to fish from. When I fish from a standard kayak I spend way too much time paddling and position correcting unless I'm anchored down. With a pedal kayak (with instant reverse) I should be able to jog the watercraft to stay in position and be able to fish at the same time.

When I was bank fishing the lagoons where I lived in SC I fished them like I was in a boat and using a trolling motor. I'd start with the likely or proven spots and if nothing hit I'd cover the less likely spots then move on to the next lagoon. I had 100+ fishable lagoons in my area and I saw no reason to stick around if nothing was biting. I would walk for miles covering lagoons. But now I live on a lake and my new pedal kayak gets delivered this week. I have no idea of what kind of angler I'm going to be in a watercraft. But it will be an interesting learning experience.

From their website: "Feelfree's products are designed by a team of designers from New Zealand to the USA and are manufactured in our very own factory in Thailand."

I found this on my hard drive today and it was a photo that I had forgotten about. This was 9 or 10 years ago and was the first fish my son ever caught - a tiny bass that he snagged through the eye. It's hard to believe he was that small and that cute. Today, Matt is a 6' 2", 170 lb brooding teenager with a mop of hair that makes him look like one of The Beatles.

It's an actual brick and mortar store out of North Carolina. I received the shipping notifications today from both UPS (shipping the pedal drive) and Old Dominion Freight (the kayak itself) and these are coming directly from the Feel Free factory in North Carolina. Feel Free also emailed me the shipping warranty today.

I'm pretty handy with things. Somewhere in the Everything Else section of this forum you can see posts of the woodworking projects I have done. So I don't mind the DIY, but some of the ones you purchase allow for them to be taken apart quickly and stowed on the kayak instead of hiking back to your vehicle.

Seastream is actually owned by Feel Free kayaks.