OffShore Ocean Pedal Kayak Options???
 

Looking for a pedal kayak that can handle some offshore fishing opportunities along the SoCal coast: La Jolla, Newport, Long Beach. This will be my first kayak purchase so I would appreciate any help or advice!

For my personal situation a 11.5 ft kayak is ideal but I'm not sure if that length can handles swells offshore or have enough stability. For example, would the FeelFree Lure 11.5 V2 with OverDrive be a suitable kayak for offshore? Thanks in advance for the advice!

I am using a Hobie Passport 12 with mirage drive and I'm loving it. Wasn't ready to double my budget for an Outback at the time, but I feel like I got a lot of kayak for the money. I've been regularly taking mine offshore about 2-3 miles out of Dana Point in a good variety of conditions. It's super stable and so far I only get wet when I'm in strong headwinds with significant chop or swell. It does have its limitations that I'm sure are not issues on the Outback or Pro angler, like less storage space. But I've been adding upgrades and stuff a lot, which to me is part of the fun. I honestly know nothing about FeelFree kayaks, but I'm still very new to the kayak fishing world. With your budget, you might want to look at the Hobie Outback or Compass. Or you can do what I did and go with the Passport and with money left over, add on things like a fish finder/GPS, livewell, rod holders, kill bag, etc. But I'd say hit up OEX and do a few demos and see what feels good. Before I got my Passport, I was looking at a used kayak from OEX in Sunset Beach, but after demoing that and a few other new kayaks, I felt the Passport 12 was a much better fit and I still don't regret it! Some day I may upgrade to a PA or Outback, but for now, there's really no reason to. Having a ton of fun, catching(and releasing) a ton of fish. And that's what I got this thing for in the first place!

Also, transportation and ease of handling are big factors. The Passport is light and super easy to load and unload from my truck. Sure a heavier kayak would not be significantly more difficult to load into the bed of a truck, but if you're going to be putting it up on roof racks or something, weight and proportions are a much bigger deal.

I think the general consensus is that anything under 12' can be a little challenging offshore. That being said, Ive seen guys rip 30 pound yt on a malibu mini X. So really I think it is more about the volume (displacement) of the kayak relative to your body weight and weight of the gear you are bringing. Hull shape has a lot to do with the seaworthiness as well. Hope that helps.