| Hobie Sport Fisherman Kayak | | Print | |
| Thursday, 03 May 2007 | ||||
Small, nimble, perfect for kayak fishing rivers, estuaries, lakes and bays One rod & SP lure, a Hobie Sport and 10 fish Once on the water, however, it soon became apparent that my small, lightweight Nancy-boy frame (65kg) just wasn’t quite enough weight to have it sit at water level properly, making for a stable, yet ‘tippy’ ride. Continually correcting for trajectory diversion caused by this constant tipping made me quickly decide that perhaps the 2006 Outback just wasn’t right for me.  Hobie Sport profile Suffice to say, my next outing was much more comfortable and although more limited in space, it didn’t take me long to accommodate everything I needed to carry. Some obvious advantages of the Sport quickly became apparent to me. Firstly, with a hull weight of 20.4kg (that’s 45lbs for old school guys), the 7kg reduction in weight was instantly noticeable. Not only did this make it easier to get the yak onto my roof racks (I did say I was a Nancy Boy), it also made it easier to drag its trolley wheels through deep beach sands.  Hobie Sport front On the issue of speed, I have to admit to being nicely surprised at what the Sport was capable of doing. Not only do I seem to have few problems keeping up with faster models such as the Adventurer (perhaps I was pushing harder), I have traveled some notably long distances in the Sport (35km being my longest leg) and then doing it all again the following day. I’ve also been able to push it through some serious strong currents, such as the outgoing tide at the heads of Port Phillip Bay (Victoria) and Western Port, Phillip Island. Traveling against the current in the Yarra river was easier than I would have guessed as well. There are two stand out features of Hobie fishing kayaks, both of which are present on the Sport. The most obvious (at a distance at least) is the inclusion of the Mirage drive pedal-powered propulasion system. The Sport comes standard with the regular Mirage fins and for most users these will be more than adequate. They’re easy to push along and propel the yak with and surprisingly easy to maintain (Innox is your friend). At second glance, a few other fishing orientated features become obvious as well. These include the 4 molded storage trays, which I’ve used for short-term storage of lures, jigs, knives, snacks and more. Two rear molded rod holders come standard and on certain (perhaps not all makes) also come equipped with a forward mounted Scotty rod holder. Despite it’s small size, there is plenty of on-deck storage space at the rear (with criss-cross bungee cords for lashing down bulky items. To date, I’ve used this area to store an ice box as well as dry bag with water proof jacket and camera. Unfortunately I’ve haven’t had to use this space to store a large gummy or snapper yet, but I could if need arose. The Hobie Sport also features two sealed hatches for internal storage – an 8” hatch just in front of the seat and a 6” hatch up front. All told there’s ample storage space for most uses, although a little creativity would need to be employed for a 3-day camping trip. If you’re not familiar with Hobie mirage driven pedal-powered kayaks, you might be wondering how the yak is steered if the feet are busy pedaling. The answer comes in the form of a simple hand operated lever – turning it left swings the boat left and visa versa. The system works nicely, but users are well advised to make sure the cord running from lever to rudder is even and taught. At the end of the day, the Hobie Sport turned out to be almost everything I wanted it to be. Yes, it did provide a highly suitable fishing platform for me to use and I lost count of the amount of fish it accounted for within the very first month of use. Yes, I did find it to be far superior to any other yak I’d previously fished from. And yes, it would allow me to travel faster and further with less effort (compared to conventional yaks). I say almost because as surprisingly capable as it is, I’m not quite sure I’d trust it on a distant offshore adventure in unknown waters and I can see myself in that situation. A slightly longer yak would cut through water better and provide that little extra storage space for kayak camping (which appeals to me greatly). At the time of writing I’m aware that several improvements to the 2007 Hobie Sport have been introduced. Likewise, the same is true of the Outback. With regards to the latter, the design now better accommodates lighter weights and sits in the water more appropriately when loaded with less than 70kg. For that reason, I was forced to sell off my sport to help pay for it’s bigger, bolder brother: the 2007 Hobie Outback. My good friend Steve (who also owns a Hobie Outfitter) didn't waste any time taking it off my hands (pictured below). Just because I’m going the way of the Outback doesn’t mean you should. It really is a matter of horses for courses. The quality is the same, so it’s a really a metter of which suits your needs better. For me it was a very fine line.  Steve Walton onto what we think was a Gummy shark    
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