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Recently I picked up a kayak for use in tournament situations (Both fresh and salt), after considering the options of portability, usability versus manoeuvrability and a million odds and end usages it was decided a Hobie Pro Angler would be a better option that the choice I had been pondering on for a few months. At first an Outback seemed like the logical choice, it was nimble and pack ready and served me well in the inaugural Hobie ABT series. However, the more I thought about what I required and where it would be used the more I fell in love with the idea of taking a bare bones Pro Angler and thinking of ways to tweak and enhance my own performance from a kayak.
My needs revolved around casting access, trolling ability, buoyancy and capacity. While fishing bream tournaments may be as easy as a couple of rods, some lures and a net one must not forget the 30kgs of water in a live well located behind the seat. My Hobie Quest works well enough in a live well scenario but when aiming to cover large amounts of water easily I found paddling took too much energy to maintain over long periods of time. The Outback I used during the QLD ABT rounds earlier this year was great, pedalled well with the extra weight and provided a greater deck layout.
Freshwater Tournaments I enter involve catch, photograph, release or gut, gill and weigh (Species dependant) and have no real restrictions. The field is made up mainly large boats decked out with casting platforms and downriggers offering their fisherman the best of both worlds. The Pro Angler offers the chance of a kayaking parallel, the large flat hull deck space provides enough stability to stand and pepper casts while the forward mounting options are suited perfectly for trolling rods horizontally. There is also significant room to upgrade to more advance options like downriggers, GPS mounts or additional ram style holders.
Basically for Bream tournaments (Example – Hobie ABT Bream series) I need the front of the yak free for casting , to the point of 270 degree access available at all times. For freshwater tournaments (Example - Snowy Mountain Trout Festival) I need the rear of the yak free for trolling, allowing line travel over the rear of the yak when arcing and turning. Sure a combination of the above works well in many different scenarios but this was not the reason I had a pro Angler in mind. Any kayak can be over pimped to offer the best of both worlds (And anything in between) but the fact that these yaks can be used minimally to greater effect is a godsend.
The sheer multitude of features available straight off the factory / showroom floor without being an optional extra also helped firm a decision. Its well publicised turning circle, casting platform, below deck rod storage, mirage drive (Turbo fin equipped), built in tackle tray system, comfortable seat and flat hull bottom design places in more in a functional punt category. Many other kayaks provide confines that can be limiting to forward facing cockpit restriction, this I found to be a hindrance when competing for long periods of time. Being comfortable in your surroundings and housing leaves time for tackle refinement on the water and a more solid state of mind.
To the right in the menu bar are some videos via the youtube.com feature I made of a basic install and the reasons behind them, it’s really just a beginner’s guide to how a simple setup approach will have specific benefits. The Hobie Mirage Pro Angler will really excel in a variety of situations and is already the kayak of choice for the Hobie ABT Kayak Fishing Series. Only time will tell if this is the kayak for you, paralleling peoples views and opinions and viewing them in action will entice and provide suffice. All information provided above should be taken with a grain of salt and is offered as my opinion only. I look forward to competing in the rest of the ABT series and enjoying the Pro Angler beyond tournament state of affairs.
