The Prowler comes set up for a 6″ hatch. I was told by a friend that he was able to put an 8″ hatch in there. That same friend then sent me a link where Johnny Ceviche put the 8″ hatch in. So yesterday, I took advantage of the 50 degree temperature we had outside and outfitted my own Prowler with one.

Part of the outfitting was to put an 8″ hatch in. It fits perfectly and I highly reccomend it. This hatch is only an inch smaller then the one in the Cobras. It has a bag and will allow the setup of an internal pulley system. In addition, it gives great access and it’ll be easy to put a different rudder system in rather than the Ocean Kayak one which is cheap but expensive to buy. The Feathercraft that Emotion uses will work perfectly and is much nicer.

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Are you confused about which fishing kayak and what type to buy? All of us who fish out of kayaks have gone through this initial confusion and made a decision. I. like everyone else, had to eventually make a decision and purchase a kayak to become a kayak fisherman. You will to.

The first fishing kayak I owned I used 3 times and then sold it. I knew within the first 5 minutes that it wouldn’t be the right fishing kayak for me and the type of fishing I planned on doing. I’ve met several fisherman who made mistakes and either lost a substantial amount of money or wound up not fish from their kayaks at all. That’s a shame because fishing from a kayak is such an incredible way to fish. It has given many people some fantastic and memorable experiences.

The gentleman I purchased the kayak from wasn’t a fisherman so he didn’t know or understand the requirements of a fisherman let alone the needs of someone fishing from a kayak. He designs great kayaks but his perspective is that of a paddler and is very different than mine. This usually happens when you go to a kayak shop to purchase a kayak for fishing. The sales people are clueless. The sales person is either a distance paddler or a white water enthusiast. They don’t fish and are really no help in making a selection. They usually recommend a short Sit In Kayak (SIK). Considerably more fisherman are choosing Sit On Top (SOT) designs because they’re more versatile. They allow the fisherman to fish many different environments and only someone who fishes from a kayak would understand this. Fisherman use kayaks for a purpose these sales people seldom if ever do. They fish…

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Seeing as how I’ve been bitten by the Kayak Fishing bug I felt the need to go ahead and purchase a purpose-built fishing kayak for myself. After doing a lot of research on some ‘yak fishing forums and asking around, I decided on an Ocean Kayak Prowler 13. Not content to leave it “as is”, I have begun what I’m calling Project Prowler.

Project Prowler is something that I’ll be working on between now and the start of the new fishing season. I’ll be making some big changes to the stock prowler. From Outriggers to improve the stability when I inevitably stand up to adding rod holders and a trolling motor mount, I’m hoping to create the ultimate fishing kayak that will be able to handle both fresh and saltwater. Stay tuned for regular updates on how the project is coming along.