Wilderness Systems Ride Kayak Review

When I started kayak fishing a while back, the Wilderness Systems Ride Kayak was unknown to me. My first purchase was a Pelican Castaway 11.5 foot fishing kayak. First and foremost, this is not about reporting on a "better" kayak than that one, just one better suited to my size and fishing style. After taking a good ten hour trout fishing trip down the White River below Beaver Lake Dam in north Arkansas, I decided I needed a bigger, more stable and comfortable kayak. Not that the Pelican didn't do great. It was easy to maneuver and good to fish with one rod from. It did an admirable job. But, I needed a straighter tracking, larger kayak that I could turn around in if need be, without turning over. So, I began to shop for large fishing kayaks.

Like everything else today, if you look online for your answer to a query, you'll receive a massive information overload. It used to be difficult to make decisions because we had to search hard and long for information. Now, one click of a mouse and the decision is made near impossible by the masses of information available. And the search for kayaks was no different. But during my online quest, I ran across Wilderness Systems Kayaks. Taking a look at their products, I came across a boat called the "Ride". The ride was available as a standard or fishing package with recessed and raised adjustable rod holders. Like nearly all of the Wilderness Systems Kayaks, it was available with or without a rudder and regardless, was rudder-ready. Now the Ride was one of many that overloaded my senses with minutiae that confused and left me shaking my head. Pelican, Wilderness, Heritage, Ocean, Hobie.....and on and on the choices went. But my attention kept coming back to the Wilderness Systems Ride Kayak.

In making this search, my criteria was that the boat had to be between 13 - 14 feet long, must be at least 30" wide, and had to have both rear carry space as well as front sealed storage. What is interesting about kayaks and makes a search like mine more difficult is the fact that most kayaks are manufactured with tapering demensions as they get longer. In other words, commonly, a 12 foot kayak that is 31" wide, going to a 13 foot model, is 29" wide or some similar dimension adjustments. So, commonly, the longer they get, the narrower they get which I find to be bizarre. And that's standard. I found very few that kept the same beam dimensions when they got longer.

Here's what I got for my money. The Wilderness Systems Ride Kayak model name is the Ride 135. The fishing package is the Ride 135 Angler. Mine was the Ride 135. The length is 13 feet, 4 inches, with a beam that is 32 inches wide. The width and stability gives it a good carry capacity of 400 pounds. The sit-on-top cockpit length is 54 inches and the generous beam allows for cockpit width of a roomy 21.5 inches. As expected in a boat this size it's not light for carry at 61 pounds, but not unmanagable for carrying a few yards for an average size man. But for porting any distance a rear carry cart is recommended. Actually, it will be forced on you because you just can't carry it very far. That 61 pounds spread out over 13 feet is awfully heavy and awkward to walk far with. Dragging or rolling is the option for distance.

My next trip out in it was to Lake Hinkle, a 980 acre tree and stump filled lake near Waldron, Arkansas. I stayed in the Wilderness Ride for 6 and a half hours without exiting. Extremely comfortable, stable, just what I had hoped it would be.

The Wilderness Systems Ride Kayak worked the way it was supposed to. Big, stable, smooth, roomy and comfortable. Part of my hesitation to buy the Ride was the maneuverability that I would trade off for the stability of the tunnel hull kayak. And it was as expected, but what I accepted as a reasonable trade off for me. After having been in my 11.5 foot Pelican with smooth curved hull that would turn on a dime with the stroke of the paddle, the four or five deep digs to turn the Ride are a significant trade off in effort to turn the big boat around. But for the ability to move around, not worry about tipping if I take a deep breath and knowing that I can move and reach from one end of the kayak to the other while on the water, was worth the trade for me. All this not to mention that when maneuvering on moving water the big stable, tunnel hull will resist tipping much more effectively than a smooth hull.

Since I didn't buy the fishing package, the first thing I had to do when I got the Wilderness Ride home from the store was rig it out. So, off I went to Academy Sports and Lowes to get kayak items and hardware that would turn my boat into a custom fishing machine, just right for me.

First I wanted to be able to effectively anchor from the bow of the kayak without having to use a trolly. Because my friend Marty has a Heritage Kayak with a very simple anchor system, I opted to create one like it with a minimum of time and hardware. All that was necessary was to attach an "eye" to the top of the bow section of the kayak, run the anchor rope through it from front to rear and and tie it off at the cockpit. Instant anchor system. When you pull the anchor up and tie it off, it rides on the side of the bow, out of the water. Ready to anchor - untie the rope at the cockpit, let it down, tie it off. For the life of me, I don't understand why all the complicated, time consuming rigs are discussed online and you virtually never see this one. I guess it's just too simple. Because you know, if it's too complicated, you can't be considered a genius for doing it or writing about it.

Next were the rod holders that are, of course, critical on a fishing kayak. And since I had the basic Wilderness Ride 135, I had some work to do. I first considered, without any thought of an alternative, installing tube recessed rear rod holders. This would have required drilling two very large holes behind the cockpit to insert the tubes in. Installation would have required waterproofing the seal and multiple holes for hardware. After standing and agonizing for an hour about this, I decided there was a much better solution that would not require any large holes in the yak and would serve better as useful holders. I purchased three Scotty, deck mounted, adjustable rod holders, two for spinning/bait casting rods, and one for fly rods. All holders were interchangable with all bases so all could be mounted on any base. The first one was mounted in the standard location in the cockpit, in front of, and within reach of the paddler.

Finally a few extra eyes here and there (you can't hardly install too many of these on a kayak) for convenient tying off of nets, paddles, stringers or whatever, and some scupper hole plugs and I was done. By the way, don't go buy scupper hole covers. The cost about $10 for a couple of plastic plugs. My kayak has scupper holes. That would be $30. Instead, buy some practice foam golf balls for a few bucks for a couple dozen. They fit perfectly and you'll have some left over. These keep the inside of my kayak bone dry for about $2.  Done.

In summary: Some people like to do leisurely paddling in their kayak and go for both stability and ease of handling in shorter, wider kayaks. Some people like speed and go for medium length, light, narrow yaks. Some people go for the long, slim, fast touring models for long multi-day trips. Some like the thrill of short, highly maneuverable white water kayaks. I like to fish, not paddle. If it weren't for fishing, I wouldn't paddle the length of my small front yard for fun. But the combination of paddling and fishing together has just gotten into my blood irreversibly. And since fishing is the name of the game for me, the big, stable, Wilderness Systems Ride Kayak is the solution for what has become one of my favorite activities on earth. Try it. You'll like it.

Here's to your good fishing ~ Mark Rogers