Classic Outback vs Pro Angler question, hopefully a unique and challenging case...

[absentx]

Hey all,

Love the forum, been reading and casually posting for years. Not a coastal/sea fishermen, but today I come for some needed craft advice. I reside in the great state of Wisconsin, but consider this forum a gold standard for kayak fishing knowledge and opinion.

I have been in a Hobie Mirage Outback since 2009. Just happened to check one out a dealership in 09 and fell in love, my Wife and I bought two of them.

In 2015 we sold the 2009's and upgraded to the at the time brand new 2015 models with the greatly improved seats. Amazing crafts...they are what we currently have. Mine is a finely honed craft set up to the T for my style of fishing.

However - nearly six years into ownership I have realized a few things and wanted to reach out for some advice.

I long was on the Outback side of the Outback VS Pro Angler argument, but that is mainly because my Outback has served me well, but I am starting to realize that I might need to take a step back and make a more unbiased evaluation of the two crafts.

Okay, let me get to the point and set the stage for my usage:

• 90% of my usage is at our cabin which is 300 miles from my permanent residence. I fish locally maybe once a year...very rarely.

• Most of the time if I am using our Outbacks, I am trailering them somewhere and I put them in directly at a landing or muscle them with the wheely cart to a good put in location.

• The main use for my Outback other than our cabin or other travel/expedition based weekend trips is a once a year, ten day river camping trip that involves carrying heavy loads on each man's boat. This trip is only possible because two or three guys who attend bring canoes and are able to take much extra weight. I strap a Yeti 45 or 50 to the back of my Outback plus all my camping gear under deck etc and I am significantly weighed down

• Further, this trip is on a shallow, fast moving river. While the incidents of ratable rapids are few, when they do occur, they can flip or screw up any craft, especially one loaded for ten days of camping. My buddy has a Mirage Oasis and it kind of handles like a missle in the River, but I always tell him that my Outback handles more like a tank in the current. I find it takes a combination of paddle and rudder to keep the nose of the Outback under control in a swift river. When I have my rudder down, my buddy with the Oasis says I am "cheapening the experience" I tell him "you don't know how loose the nose of this thing is!!"

So - given my use case, would a 12 or 14 foot PA perhaps be a better boat? Portability is of low concern since I use a trailer 90 percent of the time anyways. Further, when at our cabin and not on the ten day river trip, I just keep the kayak at the dock in the water ready to go fishing at any time.

Also - considered the new Outback last year, but I don't like the reduction in size of the front hatch...hard enough to shove tent, sleeping bag etc into the 2015, don't need a smaller front hatch!

I want to be more helpful on the River trip by being able to carry more things, so a bigger more stable boat would help, but I also have no idea how a PA would perform in shallow river with some rocky rapids. Assume if it was a PA 12 I would max out at 500 pounds and if it was a PA 14 I would max out the 600 pound rating!

90% of the time, I find my Outback glides through the rapids wonderfully with only use of the rudder. I did however pick a bad line on our most recent trip and had hit a nasty craft-eating rock and had a real eye opening near flip incident.

Any and all feedback appreciated!