HookInMouth

That is great info. Really. I'm gonna throw that in my back pocket and save it for when the wife isn't looking... Did you talk to Kevin or Jacinda? Good people down there. My Voodoo shipped without the bolts to attach the seat. Got a personal call from Kevin apologizing and sent them out the same day. Also told me to save his cell number in case I need anything else. Told me to text/call him if I have any questions. A different kind of company.

Hahaha. Right. I'm a huge Kaku guy. Big fan. But there are lots of great yaks out there. Some really good companies. Compare them all. Find the one that "calls to you". And of course, demo if you can.

I have very little experience with other boats so it's hard to compare for me. I've never personally paddled a Wahoo but I've done A LOT of homework on them. Talked to Kevin. Talked to dealers. So take this with a grain of salt. From what I gather: 1. The Voodoo is more stable (but the Wahoo is a very stable boat) 2. The Wahoo is faster. It is known as one of the quickest "fishing" kayaks to paddle. 3. The Wahoo is intended for rougher water while the Voodoo is intended for calmer water. The Voodoo handles "waves" and rough water (getting beat around in some rapids) just fine. I mainly paddle rivers and streams but they are what most would call "lazy rivers". Very little white water. I've had it in what would probably be considered class II though. Where it doesn't do as well is having to change directions quickly. Rougher water I wouldn't worry too much about, but if the streams you are looking to fish have a lot of rocks sticking up out of the water (these are the enemy, if you are going to flip a Voodoo a rock is probably involved) the Wahoo might be the better choice. Other than it being harder to turn (it tracks great, wants to go straight for you) the only other issue I can think of is in really rough water when you are getting beat around side by side, sometimes it's hard staying on the seat. Unless you ride up on a rock you aren't flipping the Voodoo, but you can slide off that high seat. The seat has a very dense and thick foam. Very comfortable but under it is a sheet of aluminum. You don't "sink" into it like a conventional kayak seat. It really is comfortable. But it's reinforced so you can stand on the seat and sight fish. IMHO the Voodoo paddles great for what it is; a large ultra-stable kayak with a high seat meant for fishing. If you are paddling miles on flat water the Wahoo is going to paddle better as it's known as a fast kayak. Both kayaks track great. I think if you are picking between the two you are picking between the Voodoo's ultra-stability and high seat versus the Wahoo's quickness and ability to cut through chop (due to the aggressive bow shape). The downside of the Wahoo is just the "average" framed kayak seat which offers no height adjustments. It's I believe 5-6" off the deck. The Voodoo is 10" off the deck and 24" if you are sitting on the back perch. Big difference. Even fishing moving water primarily (small rivers and large creeks), I don't regret picking the Voodoo over the Wahoo. But my waters don't require more than the Voodoo. Yours might. I've been thinking a lot about adding two YakGadget QuickMount Shallow Water Anchors to the side power pole plates. What's crazy is if I do that I still have THREE power pole mounts left to play with lol. The Zulu looks to be a cross between the Voodoo and the Wahoo. There's not a ton out there on it yet though. But it looks like you might give up a "little" stability and gain a little "speed" and "maneuverability". It's probably better suited for rougher water than the Voodoo is to be honest. If I was shopping now, knowing what waters I fish, I would probably pick the Zulu. But again, I'm not selling my Voodoo to do it. I love that boat.

Also Re; Jon Boat... If you drive the price point up on a kayak adding motors, electronics, and shallow water anchors I imagine if you went the jon route you'd do the same. It's not like someone who would own a decked out kayak would just leave a jon as is.

A big reason I have so little interest in pedal kayaks is the waters I fish. Generally speaking pedal yaks aren't very user friendly to the shallow water river/creek fishermen. Also want to second the Nucanoe recommendation. While I ended up with Kaku (without regrets), the F12 and Pursuit were right there when I was shopping. If I would have known how much I liked fishing moving water I might have even gone that route. Who knows.

Take this with a grain of salt because I don't have a lot of experience with other boats, especially on moving water. I mainly fish small shallow rivers and creeks with my Kaku Voodoo. The Voodoo handles it. I can't compare to other boats but I've had the Voodoo in some rough water (class II) and made it through fine. What I will say is that the Voodoo tracks great but as a result, doesn't turn the quickest. The Voodoo can handle rough water fine, but where it lacks is turning quickly and avoiding rocks. So, anything above a class II I would be more comfortable in the Wahoo which was made for a little rougher water. The waters I fish mostly (Kiskiminetas River, Loyalhanna Creek, Clarion River) aren't bad enough to force me out of that awesome Voodoo seat haha. I will say that the Zulu is a cross between the Wahoo and the Voodoo. It looks to have the Voodoo deck and rear-hull but the Wahoo bow and front part of the hull (design wise)? It looks like it would handle faster water better than the Voodoo but probably not quite as good as the Wahoo.

It's all fishin' man. Whatever works for each of us. I do think a lot of my preference comes from the fact that I don't fish areas a boat can get into (outside of maybe those jet boats). I've been obsessed with shallow rivers rolling through the middle of nowhere. I think if I was a lake guy I might have a different opinion. Probably not, haha, but maybe.

Very good. The owners and designer Kevin Hawkins likes to over build. Just look at the seat on the Voodoo/Zulu. A 400lb man could sit on the top perch/back rest with no issue lol. Can't think of another kayak that can make that claim haha. But seriously, I think Kaku is a quality name and belong with the other quality names out there. Kaku, Hobie, Jackson, Old Town, Feel Free, Nucanoe, they all build good stuff. I just like the Kaku designs best. How mid-west are you? We talkin Ohio? If you can make it to Pittsburgh area one day I could hook you up on a Voodoo. Might be able to wrangle a Wahoo for you to check out too. I know a local guy. I wasn't even close lol. Hell, most days the wait at the boat ramp was longer than it takes to pull a yak out of the bed of my truck and push it into the water.

I feel you man. I had a boat for years. Sold it because I was annoyed with the maintenance and the trouble of transporting it and launching etc. Just seemed like such a hassle. A hassle that I quickly forgot once I was on the water, but a hassle none the less. A few years ago I started thinking about getting back into it and buying another boat. Visited some dealers. Came close to buying one (Lowe). Really though, in the back of my mind I just didn't want to add the upkeep. And I wanted something that I could get to the water quick, on the spur of the moment after work on a summer night. So I bowed out and figured I would think on it some more. Thinking on it got me looking at kayak fishing. The simplicity. It spoke to me. Bought two Kaku Voodoo (because of the seat) and it floored me. I couldn't believe what I was missing all these years. Kinda jerked me off that I waited till my 40's to get into it. It's another world. It's become an obsession.

I'm not a PDL guy at all but I am a Kaku guy. Have you considered their new PDL? The Kaku Zulu is 12.7 feet long and 35 inches wide with a weight capacity of 500lbs. It's modled after the Voodoo and the Wahoo. I have the Voodoo and it's stable enough for my 300lb defensive lineman son to stand on it. There are a few good videos about the Zulu on YouTube now if you want to check it out. The boat is $1350 and the drive is $650. Kaku is a quality product and the customer service is as good as any in the industry. You can even call Kevin (the owner) and talk to him personally about your needs and concerns. Just something to think about.

Keep in mind, I'm a minimalist in everything, not just fishing. Clutter stresses me out. I fish shallow rivers from a Kaku Voodoo. I keep a crate (homemade with a lid made from another crate) in front of me because I can with the open deck design. The top of the crate also doubles as a work area/table top. Inside the crate I carry 4 3700 boxes with one of those boxes having a mixture of what I "think" I'll use that day. All tools are attached/kept in my PFD (Chinook). I take two rods with me. One MHF baitcaster and one MF spinning. Last season I secured them with a bungee to the top of my crate facing forward. This year I'm adding two Omega Pro Rod holders to secure them. Sometimes I take a cooler strapped behind my seat for longer days. That's all I take. Nothing else really. No anchors even. Though I'm considering adding a couple YakGadget QuickMount Anchors. If they don't stress me out by adding clutter haha.

^^^ Right. I've come to know that even the most stable kayak can be problematic to some people when standing. Balance is a huge deal. Some people can do it all day in a regular kayak and some will struggle in a Frontier 12. And there's a difference between standing up in one and fishing from one.

I believe sitting on the lower part of the seat it's about 11" off the deck and around 20" on the perch. The 260cm feels right. It's funny. I don't at all think of the Voodoo as a SUP. I know it's a hybrid and I probably should. But it paddles and handles like a kayak. A really stable kayak with a big open deck and a high seat.

I have only kayak fished late-spring through early-fall so above 60*. I usually go in a pair of shorts or swimming trunks and a t-shirt (under my PFD) with old sneakers. I plan on buying a pair of dedicated water shoes this year. I usually plan on getting wet though. Getting in and out of the kayak, wade fishing (I'm almost 100% shallow river fishing). I've never used scupper plugs and water doesn't really come up through the scupper holes in my Kaku Voodoo. I do get wet from my paddle though. I've heard that I'm paddling wrong or using the wrong length paddle (260cm) if that happens. Might be.

Ordered two Kaku Voodoo, two bending Branches Angler Ace paddles, two Chinnok PFDs, and 2 Visicarbon Pro last year. They listed all in stock. They were only able to fill (1) Voodoo and the (2) PFD. They weren't even able to tell me when the other stuff would be in stock (their website still listed the items as in stock and available for some day shipping). I ended up getting the stuff they couldn't ship locally (well, a 3 hour drive). They did offer me free shipping and their customer service was pleasant to deal with. YRC was the delivery. They rescheduled multiple times (and I was trying to take off work to receive) and we finally had to call and get them to commit to a date. Kayak arrived well wrapped and undamaged. I know the above sounds like I'm unhappy but the price was great and other than their continued practice of selling things that they don't have in stock, it wasn't that bad. If I could have bought locally I would have though. I like to support the local stores. Sadly though, Kaku doesn't have a dealer inside of 3 hours from me and it seemed to make sense at the time. I wasn't interested in anything other than Kaku so my options were limited.

So. Haven't got to fish it yet but I find myself picking this Expride up and just smiling like an idiot. Light weight, great action, looks as good as anything on the market IMHO. They did a lot of little things right. The fit and finish on it is simply fantastic. Love that hard/soft feeling reel seat. Just... wow. Can't wait to fish it. Pairs real well with the new Stradic FL. Thanks for all the advice in this thread gentlemen.

19" Kiskiminetas River in Western PA.

That's a fantastic deal. Nice work!

That's a great deal. Used? The Stradic FL is SMOOTH. I picked one up a month or so ago for $199 @ Bass Pro Shops. Just grabbed a 7'M Expride A to pair with it on black friday. It's going to be my do-all spinning setup on the yak this coming year.

Thanks for all the advice gentlemen. I bought the 7’ M Expride this morning at tackle warehouse. FYI. The 20% off Didn’t show up in my cart or even when I submitted the order. It did reflect in the email though so Shimano is included in this sale but it just can’t be advertised. Paid $225. I love Tackle Friday.

That is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thank you so much.

When you get your video up let me know. There isn't much on these rods that I can find other than Shimano Promo videos. You think the 7' Medium would work well for ned rigs? Really not sure what I will end up doing more of between the ned and wacky/weightless senko so I'm trying to plan for both and with limited space on the kayak I really need one rod to do both. Thanks for the reply.

Not that we need another "vs" thread but i simply can't make up my mind here. Looking to add one spinning rod. I fish from a kayak and I'm looking for a rod that will mainly fish ned rigs and weightless senkos. No experience with the Expride but have a Dobyns Fury that punches above it's weight class and I'm very happy with it for what I paid. Something about the Expride calls to me though. Love the looks and love what I've heard about it (can't get my hands on one locally). I've heard great things about it sensitivity and that's probably paramount with these techniques. No experience with rods in this price range. Looking to take advantage of black friday sales. I've read every thread here involving these two as well as the rod selection guides and I'm still up in the air. Would be looking at the XP 702SF and the EX2610ML (Both medium light, fast action) and I would be pairing it with a 2500 Stradic FL.

As far as the $700 kayak range, you're going to be limited. If that's a hard number I would check out the new Perception Outlaw 11.5. It's not out yet (I think it's supposed to hit the market in the next month or two) but it looks promising for a budget fishing kayak. Just shy of 12ft. Perception is a quality brand. Perception Outlaw 11.5

I don't know man. Smallies love logs... and whopper ploppers.