Jackson Coosa or Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120?

[marvinlee718]

Which one should I get for mainly freshwater fishing uses? Any feedback on either one of them? I'm leaning more on to the Coosa because it has more fishing features, but the Tarpon 120 is easier to upgrade and modify. I need your help to decide.

[Katron]

Before anybody can answer with insightful information some questions need to be asked first.

1: what kind of water are you fishing? Salt, lakes, rivers, etc?

2: how much do you weigh?

3: how much space do you need?

4: how important is stability or speed to you?

[marvinlee718]

1. Small lakes and rivers, and maybe ponds
2.Around 130. I'm not a adult I'm in middle school
3. I need a decent amount space. Not too much, not to little.
4. Stability is more important to me than speed.

[Scott F]

I wish I'd had $1,000 to spend on a kayak when I was in middle school.

[marvinlee718]

I've been saving up for a LONG time.

[MidTNKayakAngler]

They are both great kayaks, I have two Coosa's and one Tarpon 120. The Tarpon 120 is a more versitile kayak. As I feel comfortable on it while in the ocean, rivers, and lakes in many different kinds of conditions. But the Coosa's seat is one of the most comfortable, and having the ability to sit high or low is great, and the ability to stand easily is nice also.

The Coosa is much heavier so if you have to carry it, or car top it, it will be more difficult than the T120. The Coosa is more effected by the wind because it sits higher in the water, and the initial stability is much less so it feels wobbly especailly while standing. The Tarpon is a faster kayak and tracks better, while paddling the Coosa it does a walk the dog type thing where the nose goes back and forth while the Tarpon is a straight paddler. I have not done any mods to the T120 because the Slide Trax rails allow me to mount whatever I want without drilling holes.

I can't say one is better than the other.

[marvinlee718]

Which is more stable to stand while fishing? Also can't you use like a anchor or like a stake out pole to stop the wind issue with the Coosa? Is it easy to mount like fish finders/GPS and other accessories on the Coosa?

[Katron]

I would recommend the Ride 115 with those requirements.

[MiniVan]

I work at Austin Canoe and kayak and i get this question all the time. There are only basically a few options for standing unless you are 100lb and have super balance.

1. Hobie pro angler 14 or 12
2. WS Ride 135 or 115
3. Diablo adios or chupacabra. These are new on the market but at 38" wide Youll be able to do jumping jacks in it. It also comes with the jerry seat option and actually paddles and tracks quite well. Its not the fastest boast on the market but it is stable as a rock!!!! It is a hybrid stand up paddleboard/kayak. With the optional skeg it scoots nicely and it you have to TRY VERY hard to tip it over. Consider all and try to rent or borrow before you buy. IF you have any other questions, feel free to pm or ask here. Hope this helps. None of the tarpon series are built well for standing.
4. Forget the Jackson. We dropped Jackson because they simply arent built for fishing. They are primarily a whitewater/playboat company and they sent us some demos. They track horribly and they are simply not well thought out and there are have been many issues with manufacturing defects. If you check out some of the other kayaking forums, many are for sale after being bought for only 2 months. That should tell you something right there. Good luck.

[MidTNKayakAngler]

I wouldn't consider the Tarpon 120 something that would be used to stand and fish from. I can stand briefly in one, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[ecu daniel 14]

x2 on the Ride 115.

sounds perfect for what your looking for.

[BigRick]

4. Forget the Jackson. We dropped Jackson because they simply arent built for fishing. They are primarily a whitewater/playboat company and they sent us some demos. They track horribly and they are simply not well thought out and there are have been many issues with manufacturing defects. If you check out some of the other kayaking forums, many are for sale after being bought for only 2 months. That should tell you something right there. Good luck.

Pick any boat you want. I'll paddle the Coosa and run circles around you on the river. I think a lot of guys who primarily fish rivers would tend to agree.

[ltcavhorn]

I own 2 Coosas and have had no issues whatsoever with these Kayaks and they are super easy to stand in and I also have not found many complaints that the poster at ACK mentioned.

It is best on a river but I dont believe their have been many issues with Jackson Kayaks and they stand behind their boats.

If you want an open water boat then demo a Cuda and make an informed decision and not one based on one comment on this board.

I know several people in Texas that own Coosas and they all rave about this boat for rivers....Jackson makes a great product.

Also...Im 6'4 230 and can stand with ease in a Coosa and its very hard to tip it over...Very stable

My son is 5'11 150 and 14 years old and he can dance in this thing without falling in...Demo the boats you are interested in but I guarantee the Coosa would work awesome if you want rivers and small lakes

[fishdog]

Between the two you mentioned, I'd go with the Tarpon. It's just more versatile and definitely tracks better than the Coosa. I own 5 fishing kayaks--Coosa, Ultimate, Commander, Tarpon, and the Adios. I like them all and believe they are all great boats. If I'm going to be on a big stream or small river, I usually take the Coosa. If I'm going on a big, slow moving river, or any other body of water, the Coosa stays in the garage. It's a great boat with nice fishing features, but it is simply the worst tracking boat I have. That doesn't matter much on small rivers where I'm mainly floating and fishing while dragging an anchor chain. But when there is going to be even a moderate amount of paddling involved, I'm just personally more comfortable in the Tarpon than the Coosa.

Either way you decide, you'll have a nice fishing craft that will bring you a lot of enjoyment.

[Katron]

I paddle a FeelFree Moken 12 and often wish that I had the ability to stand and fish. You can stand in it no doubt (though I am light >165) but fishing while standing just does not work. The speed of these boats though I just absolutely love; since being able to paddle to the other side of a 400+ acre lake is important to me, I just can't justify losing all that speed and tracking with a bigger wider boat. I almost never fish rivers as all the good ones around me are packed with walleye fisherman or just no good for anything but catfish. Eventually I want to get me a 14' or even 16' for the bigger lakes, but that probably won't be for awhile. The Diablo Adios is one boat that I would seriously entertain though if I needed standing capacity and manuverablity, but the price is steep.