Opinion on the Hobie Mirage iS9 inflatable?

[mountainpete]

Hi,

Looking for opinions on the Hobie Mirage iS9 inflatable boat. Anyone have experience with it as a fly fishing boat?

I'm looking to sell both my Mad River Canoe and my fly fishing pontoon boat and replacing it with an inflatable kayak with some sort of foot propelled drive.

Why? Can't take a canoe and RTT so my canoe has mostly stayed stored in the ceiling of my garage for over 5 years. The pontoon, while stable and quick, isn't in tune with my casting rhythm. It seems every time I'm on a school of fish I get a single cast before I drift away. I could add an electric motor, but calculating my power requirements it just won't work to charge while remote.

Use: Mostly in mountain lakes flyfishing for trout. It will likely only see coastal waters once or twice in it's lifetime. I'm not a rough weather fisherman - I like calm lakes.

Requirements: Inflatable, tough, stable, pedal drive of some sort, 10 feet or less, carrying capacity of (people and gear) of around 300 lbs or less.

Any thoughts on the Hobie or the Mirage drive are appreciated.

Pete

 

[Yellowkayak]

Pete I don't have that inflatable model but I do own two Hobie Adventure and one Hobie Outback. You just can't beat hands-free fishing with the Hobies. i fly fish from mine. Only difference is that model you can deflate and it packs into a large bag and you can throw it in you vehicle. The material is pretty thick and well built so you should not have a problem with the flies poking holes in it. Also they are pretty stable to stand up and fly fish. Its just eh price of these thing that gets me. We got DRASTIC discounts back in 2006 from the place we bought them.....they have gone up alot sense then. Having it all store in a large bag and tossing it into the back of your vehicle is a plus to some folks that don't want to rig their vehicle with a rack system to haul a hard shell yak around.

JJ

 

[mountainpete]

Thanks JJ - that helps.

Inflatable is the only way for me right now - I wanted to go with a hardshell, but it's tough to carry a 10 ft kayak and a RTT. Too much up top.

Pete