[jad2t]

I know you see us all the time mentioning HOOK1 and there's a reason for that. I can't say enough of how great the crew is over there. Knowledgeable, friendly, and won't pressure you into buying the more expensive yak. They'll discuss what kind of fishing you'll be doing and tell you what model(s) work best. They'll even drive you out to Old Hickory with a kayak you want to demo and let you paddle/fish from it for a few hours.

I did that and within an hour I knew I wanted to buy my Ride 115. The only downside to the Tarpon over the Ride or Lure is stability. Not that it isn't stable, but you won't have quite the standing capability on that one as you will in the Lure or Ride. I stand in my Ride and fish about 90% of the time I'm in it. You won't worry at all about flipping it.

As far as Jacksons go, I think they're a bit pricey. They're great kayaks, no doubt about it, but they're expensive. If you can find a used one somewhere, definitely look into it. Craigslist is good place to check. Another downside to them is the only place I know of that sells them is in Cookeville and they'll charge you 50 bucks to demo one. That immediately turned me away. Car dealerships don't charge you to test drive a car so why pay to test paddle a kayak?

However, several of the anglers that show up to the kayak tournaments fish out of Jackson yaks so maybe come one night, meet a bunch of us, and if you get there before or after the event I'm sure they'll let you take their yak out for a quick paddle. I'll let you paddle mine around if you want.