First Yak help!
 

Fought the urge to not get one for a good decade. Now it got me and needing help where to look with all these on the market.

Main use will be back bays and local lakes (though with more experience I might try a flat ocean). I'd like to use a pedal but it will easily get weeded up so paddle is fine.

I do plan on installing a fish finder/GPS combo as well which quite a few models don't seem to have a place for.

Striped bass, largemouth, trout, fluke will be the primary species if that helps.

I'm trying to stay below 1500 or even 1000 if possible.

Happy holidays and thank you all!

I should add that I am brand new to kayaking, no experience at all
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Lots of research being done I keep running into the same kayak being mentioned, the Ocean Kayak Prowler 13, fits my price range but do you guy's have any experience with this model even though it's old and not a Hobie?
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No ones talking so I will.

The honest answer from me is this - buy a hobie. I have been kayak fishing since the mid 90's when I built a Chesapeake light craft, then I bought a redfish 14 and finally a hobie revolution.
The hobie can quadrupole your range, you can constantly fish because you don't have to hold a paddle.. the reasons go on and on. Look for a used one and you might get lucky and find one for less than a new standard kayak costs.
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I'd second the Hobie recommendation, I love mine and my son just bought a used but mint 2012 Hobie Revolution for $1200 including rod holders, depth finder and chart plotter. I do a lot of casting while moving and the other obvious advantage if you do a lot of trolling, is you can have a rod in your hand while you are covering water.

I have a bad lower back, so I purposely went wide enough to be able to stand up safely and fish, which I do 50% of the time in my PA14. Its so nice to stand and fish for a while to get the blood moving and take some pressure off my back for a while. The other advantage I have with that larger kayak, is the forward locker with drop in watertight tub with some frozen water bottles and bag of ice, will keep my limit of sea bass, fluke or tog cold until I get them home.

I wish the new reversible drive was available last year when I bought mine, it would be so nice to be able to drive the kayak in reverse with a flip of a switch instead of physically pulling the drive and turning 180 degrees and placing it back in the yak. I might give some serious thought to upgrading to one as that IMHO is a great feature.

Yes the reverse function was the only weak point in the design. Such a cool machine
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Appreciate the input

I really have no interest in standing up or trolling, but I figured there had to be some other yaks that weren't hobies that still could handle my needs.

Guess I need to rob a bank (though it being Christmas soon I doubt there is much in them right now)!

There are probably a lot of kayaks that would suit a first time buyer, I just had some specific needs due to my age and my back. You can get some decent buys on used ones, for example this ad.

http://www.newenglandkayakfishing.co...like-new.25579

I am also a huge Hobie advocate... I have a Revolution 13 that has served me well in both salt and fresh and it cannot be beat for serious striper fishing... I have taken mine on several 10 plus mile outings over the course of 5-6 hours on the water. Thet offer great storage, unmatched speed, and reasonable comfort.

If you are patient one will turn up on your local Craigs List. There are people like myself who plan to upgrade to the Hobie newer seat design which requires buying a newer one.

BTW.. the 2017 Hobies come with a a new drive that allows for reverse. It can be used with older Hobie hulls

Well I did it! Went to a local dealer and now am a proud kayak owner! Looked at the Hobies, Ocean Kayaks, and some other brands as well.

Got the Ocean Trident 13 Angler on a big time discount. Some hobies were in my price range but I just fell in love with the Trident. My knees just won't handle the pedaling so that took a lot out of the picture. Didn't care much for the Quest. The owner of the shop was a diehard Hobie himself and really walked me through it all.

Now the main thing I'm concerned about is storage! No garage, it'll be outside on some milk crates or some wood but I'd like it to be sealed (with the gardens around we get a lot of things that like to make nests and hives).

What do you guys use to store your yaks in? Been looking at covers and those things are pricey.