Full Review of Old Town Sportsman PDL 106 Kayak

 

Here is my Old Town Sportsman PDL at the
boat ramp ready to go.  It is simply a fishing 
machine.

I’ve been fishing from my Old Town Sportsman PDL 106 kayak for well over a month now.  I’ve been out about 10 times for a total of roughly 40 hours of fishing. With that experience under my belt, I feel that I can now do a full review of this kayak.

I’ll be doing a number of topics and giving each topic a grade (A, B, C etc.):

From a fishing perspective- Once you fish from one of these you will never go back to a paddle kayak again. The hands free operation of the kayak is simply fantastic for fishing.  You can be pedaling slowly and fishing at the same time.  No time is wasted. Trolling is also a breeze. All steering is done by a rudder that is controlled by a knob by your seat. This pedal kayak is a fishing machine! Grade-A

The pedal drive propels the kayak.  Pedal in
one direction and you go forward.  Reverse
direction and you go in reverse. The reverse is
a necessity.

Pedal drive- The drive on this kayak runs by pedaling like you would pedal a bike. The pedal moves a propellor under the kayak to move you forward by pedaling in a clockwise motion.  Move your feet the other way and you move in reverse. I nearly bought a less expensive Hobie kayak that only had forward movement.  I’m glad I didn’t since I find myself constantly using the reverse to reposition myself or to back out of low water situations.  People ask me what it’s like to pedal this kayak.  It is like riding a bike up a gentle hill.  You will feel some resistance. Since I ride a bike just about every day, it was a smooth transition for me. Those not in great shape my find it a bit difficult at first.  I can also move much faster in this kayak than I can in a paddle one. Grade- A

Features-  I love the features on this kayak.  It was like a fisherman designed it. It’s got three rod holders in great locations.  The gear tracks on both sides hold my trolling rod holder and camera boom.  There are hatches in the front and back that hold some tools and a first aide kit in a dry bag. The hatches have somewhat tight covers that do not allow water to come in. The paddle holder works great since a paddle is needed to launch from low water and to come back in shallow water. There is also a well in the back with bungee cords that holds my crate. If you are into adding a depth finder/fish finder, there is a mount already set up on the bottom. The rudder is lowered and lifted by a lever on the right side.  Steering is done by a lever on the left side. There are also indentations on both side of the kayak held with a rubber mesh that holds my pliers and gripper and extra plugs.  A plug box fits under the seat. There is even a drink holder built into the hull! Grade- A

My Scotty trolling rod holder fits in the gear 
track on the kayak. The kayak is loaded
with features fishermen will love.

Seat- The seat is mesh and padded. It is so comfortable, it is like sitting on a living room chair.  It is fully adjustable and can be removed when transporting (I don’t). Grade- A

Stability-  So, so stable compared to other kayaks. In fact, I frequently stand up on the padded floor to fish in calm water.  No problems. This kayak might be short, but it is 36 inches wide which adds greatly to the stability. Grade- A

Handling in calm water- At 10 ft., 6 inches, this kayak was basically made to fish freshwater lakes and ponds and protected saltwater areas like harbors and bays. In calm water with winds under 15 miles an hour and in current free locations it handles and moves really well. Grade- A

Handling in rough and choppy water- Not so good.  The bow on this kayak sits low with only about a foot of clearance from the water.  If you are moving in choppy conditions (1 to 2 foot chop) you will get a lot of water coming into the kayak.  It drains fast but when you see gallons of water coming at you, it’s a bit unnerving. In addition, it does not steer real well when you are getting tossed about. I’ve learned to not go out in 15 to 20 mile per hour winds and in very choppy conditions.  Hey, it was not made for this. I do not plan to use this kayak in the wide open ocean. If you want a kayak to go out in bigger water, think about the Salty PDL 120 or the Sportsman Big Water 132. Grade- C

Weight- Yes, it is heavy.  Any double hulled kayak is heavy. This one weighs 76 lbs. without the drive. The drive weighs another 18 lbs., but is not in the kayak when transporting. I’m sure bigger, younger and stronger people can lift this onto the roof of their vehicles.  I can not.  I have to rely on a cart ( Malone Wide Track ATB) to get to the water as well as into and out of my garage.  I might also back it up to a boat ramp and just lower it into the water. By the way, the Malone Kayak Cart is a perfect fit for this kayak. The kayak fits very nicely in the back of my Toyota Tacoma Pickup truck that has a 6 foot bed. Grade- B

I would highly recommend the Old Town Sportsman PDL 106 kayak to anyone looking for a 10 ft., 6 inch kayak to use for fishing in protected areas, bays and harbors. For fishing, the pedal drive is a gamechanger!

Simply fantastic for fishing calm, protected areas. Highly recommended!

Holiday Weekend Outlook- Big Bass, Big Blues and Schoolies

 

Jon has been on a big fish roll all week from the
kayak.  Look for big fish to be near schools
of menhaden.

Fishing has really turned in a positive direction in the last few days.  Its been a fantastic week for the Pickering Team with big stripers, big blues and loads of schoolies.

I fished the last five days.  I went twice in the kayak and three times from shore.  In the kayak I landed over 30 big blues that went 5 to 12 lbs. They were all caught on Rebel Jumpin Minnows.  It was loaded in the low water location I fished in the Bay.  From shore I also fished the Bay, and in three evenings, I landed over 30 schoolies on Zoom flukes fished off a jighead. The current bluefish action is historic for May and something we have not seen in decades.  There's lots of them and they are big. Schoolies are around in good numbers but you have to look to find them.

My son Jon fished the last five days in the kayak. He landed over 30 stripers.  Of those thirty, he had a

The fishing for big blues continues
to be epic for May.  Lots of them
around especially for boaters and
kayakers.

whopping 20 fish between 28 and 42 inches. So, there are good numbers of big ones around if you can find them.  Many of the larger stripers are around schools of menhaden that have moved into the Bay in good numbers.  Jon got most of his fish plugging with a large wooden spook-like plug.

My son Ben fished one day at an old college hotspot along the oceanfront.  He landed a couple of decent sized sized schoolies on a topwater plug.  So, yes there are bass to be had along the oceanfront but you might have to play the tides, wind and surf conditions to find them.

Take your choice. Lots of option this holiday weekend along the RI shoreline.

Photo of the Day....."Big Blues Still Going Strong"

 

Another outing in the kayak, another big evening for big blues. The
historic spring run continues!

Blues on the Rampage from Shore and Kayak

 

Lots of big blues from shore. They
are in the Bay and along the
oceanfront.,

They are everywhere.  The bluefish have made the most memorable May appearance in the Bay and along the oceanfront in the last ten years. No one could have predicted that this would happen since the blues seemed to be on the downswing in recent years.  But, they are here in 2021, and they have been on the rampage.

I fished from shore several evenings this week and came away with big numbers of bluefish.  They were mostly hitting small pencil poppers that I used to punch into the wind.  Those shore blues were running 6 to 10 lbs.  

Today I got out in the kayak and while it took a while to find

Big time action from the
 kayak tonight.

them, once found, it was non-stop action. These were running the same size as those fish from shore.  All of my fish from the yak took a Rebel Jumpin' Minnow. I was reminded once again how difficult it is to land a big blue from the kayak.  My strategy has always been to try to tire them out, get them close to the kayak and grab them with the Boga Grip.  Once grabbed and secure I use my Van Staal pliers to unhook them. Sounds easy but it's not. 

How long these big blues will stick around is anyone's guess. But, for now, they are here and ready to provide anglers with some drag screaming action.

Photo of the Day.....Blue Dog on the Jumpin' Minnow

 

They are around in big numbers right now. Bluefish from 6 to 10
lbs. have taken over the Bay and the oceanfront.

Bluefish Take Over

 In a surprise twist, the bluefish have arrived in BIG numbers.  In many areas of the oceanfront as well as the Bay, they have driven the stripers out and taken over. They are big and they are aggressive.

Last evening I was out from shore in the Bay in a well known striper haunt. I didn't find any stripers but, the place was crawling with marauding bluefish.  Using a Jumpin' Minnow, I landed 10 of them from 6 to 10 lbs. In the last hour I fished, I had a hit or a fish on every single cast. At one point I even saw fish breaking here and there in front of me.  Many of the blues I landed were puking up squid, a sure sign that the squid are around the lower Bay in numbers.

The bluefish generally make a run into Narragansett Bay every spring in late May for about two weeks. This, however, is earlier than expected.  In addition, we usually see small bluefish in the 2 to 4 lb. range.  These are much bigger than expected.

On the negative side of all this, the striper fishing for the most part continues to be way off. It was fair at best to begin with, but I fear this will only make is worse. Geez, these blues are big enough to eat the schoolies that have been around!

From the Kayak Today!

One of the beauties of my Old Town Sportsman PDL kayak
is that I can stand up and cast in calm water. Great to stretch the
legs. The stability for a 10 ft. 6 in. kayak is amazing!

 

One of many taken today from the kayak. Beautiful day to be out
on the water!

As Mays go, A Disappointment

 

For me, the bright spot has been 
kayak fishing in May.  Shore fishing
has been below expectations for May.

May is supposed to be the big spring month of striped bass fishing here in RI.  It has not been so far.

April started off gang busters with massive numbers of smaller stripers (10 to 18 inches) around.  Everyone expected the bigger fish to follow in May as they always have.  It has not happened. We all expected to huge numbers of fall schoolies in the 20 to 26 inch range to return as hefty schoolies and slot limit keepers in May. Hasn't happened yet.

I thank my lucky stars for that pedal kayak I bought.  That has been the bright spot for me with big numbers of schoolies and occasional larger schoolies and even slots.  But, I am getting them all in one general area. Shore fishing has been a struggle.  In the last couple of weeks, my best night was 5 schoolies. There have also been several nights with one lone fish. I've been mostly fishing the Bay.

I'm not buying the cold water theories for the lack of better fish. This week saw good numbers of bluefish along the oceanfront.  If blues are around, the water can't be that cold!

Photo of the Day....."First Keeper from the Yak"

 

Got the first keeper from my Old Town Sportsman PDL kayak
tonight.  It was a mix of lots of smaller ones, some mid size fish and
a couple of keepers!

Finesse Game from the Kayak

 

The white Finesse Fish fished
weightless did the trick today
on some fussy schoolies.

I went out this afternoon and evening in my Old Town Pedal kayak and found a pile of fish.  But, finding is one thing, catching is another. I started off my outing casting the Rebel Jumpin' Minnow, a hot plug in the early going in the past.  I had follow after follow and whirl after whirl but no takers.  The dead calm conditions did not help. So, I went to my bag of finesse tricks. In the past we have done really well from the boat and kayak with fussy fish using a large Zoom fluke or Lunker City Finesse Fish. I put on a white Finesse Fish on a swimbait hook (note, no weight).  This weightless offering swims in a darting, natural motion with subtle pulls of the rod tip and a slow retrieve. Fussy fish usually will attack it when nothing else works.  It worked to a charm this evening with these fussy schoolies.  I ended up getting good numbers of schoolies in the 16 to 24 inch range, better than what I have been finding from shore all week.  My son, Jon, also fished from the kayak earlier in the day.  He ended up with big numbers of schoolies, but also had three slot limit keepers. So, yes, there are some keeper fish around if you can find them.

The fish today were generally decent sized schoolies
in the 16 to 24 inch range.  My son, Jon, also had some
slot limit keepers earlier in the day. All the fish were
caught from the kayak.

In a Lull

 
We are in an unusual early May lull right now. Between myself, my son Jon and my friends we have been out in force along the oceanfront and the Bay, from shore and from the kayak, since the weekend. No one that I know of had any big catches this weekend.  It seems that those millions of small ones that were around the oceanfront in April have moved on.

Here's a schoolie over 20 inches 
that I caught recently from the Bay.
Most of April's schoolies have been 
very small.

I have been looking in the Bay for the last three days. I was guessing the big numbers of fish moved into the Bay, but it's been only fair action for me.  Yesterday I fished an upper Bay location from shore and landed 5 schoolies.  Today I went out in the kayak in a "sure bet" location.  I got only 5 small ones.  So, I'm not exactly killing it.  

So far the size of the fish has been a major disappointment.  Most of the stripers are 10 to 16 inches, real small stuff. In the month of April, I landed almost 400 stripers, yet only 12 fish were in the 20 to 26 inch range. That tells you what we are dealing with.

I feel that the larger schoolies and slot limit keepers are coming. Last year mid May was red hot for larger schoolies and slots. Think about this....we had astronomical numbers of 20 to 25 inch schoolies last fall. They should be back this year (I hope).