Kayaking, Diving, Skiing, & Surfing Forum. - Hobie Quest for Fishing?

Does anyone have feedback on using a Hobie Quest for fishing? Most of my use will be on the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter, FL and near Hobe Sound. Some use in the lower end of the Indian River is also likely. These are calm, shallow, protected waters with short 2 - 5 mile typical travel distances. I am 5'10" and 175 lbs, barely on the ugly side of 50 and in pretty good shape. Is the Quest a good way to go, or should I just drop the extra $900 and go for an Adventure? I am coming out of a home built 38 lb. 17.5' fiberglass traditional sit in kayak (Pygmy Coho), so quiet operation and relatively high paddling performance are important to me. I want to move to a fairly stable SOT kayak since dumping my Coho with fishing gear on board not would not be fun. The Hobies seem to have some of the strongest reviews on the market and seem like a good brand to buy. Thanks.

I owned a Quest for a while. Hurricane Katrina took it from me. It's a great kayak. It has an awesome layout to include the best hatch in the business. It paddles well, is fast, stable and manueverable. It really needs a rudder to behave properly. If you have the money for a Revolution, GET ONE. Hands free fishing is awesome. This past weekend I went speckled trout fishing. There were times I had two fish on while slow trolling. I reeled in one fish while I fought the other by continuing to pedal. You MUST get the ST fins. The standard fins aren't worth having.

I picked up a Hobie Quest yesterday after spending most of the day paddling different types of kakaks. It has a nice blend of comfort, speed, and stability. The boat seems to track pretty well in calm water, however I have read several reviews that say a rudder is necessary in heavier wind conditions. I guess I'm in for a learning experience, although the waters I paddle are so protected it may not be too much of a problem.

The mirage drive kayaks look like an interesting idea. I like paddling as an upper body excercise and a bicycle for the legs. The mirage looks great for fishing though. Thank you for the feedback.

Congrats on the Quest. It is my favorite paddle yak.

A++ on the trolling. First day fishing on the boat and I got hit 2X on a short test run. Seems like the fish like a really slow troll.

I fish out of a Quest and it does the job wonderfully...best of luck.

a friend let me use their quest for 3 months and i spent loads of time fishing on it. it is a great platform for less complicated fishing. i also found it to be a pretty decent machine to get into shallow area