Hobie Passport 10.5: how I rigged my new pedal kayak for fishing & on the water review.

Описание: The Hobie Passport 10.5 is 320 centimeters long, it’s about 86 centimeters wide so you’ve got plenty of stability.
Weigth is under 30 kilos and it carries a very impressive amount of 147 kilos.
The kayak comes with an aluminum paddle which I normally use in shallow water.
The edition of my kayak is that of 2020 which includes the basic pedals that is the Mirage Drive Classic. The 2021 edition is equipped as standard with the Miragedrive GT Kick-up fins pedals which have a protection system of the fins, which retract in case they find obstacles in their passage.
The Passport features a recessed hull space which helps protect the fins from catching on debris or rocks in the shallows or while beaching. The fins are completely hidden underneath the hull.
The 8” Twist-n-Seal Hatch provides extra storage, so you can put in either the Hobie deep gear bucket or alternatively the 8 inch bait bucket.
It has a easy-to-use steering system with the twist-and-stow kick-up rudder, lifted up and down manually.
On the left mounting track I put Railblaza ports to attach the fish-finder and its transducer.
The transducer is attached to the Railblaza KAYAK & DINGHY TRANSDUCER ARM XL, which in turn is connected to the Railblaza TRACLOADER SIDEPORT, which is mounted on the track. This system allows you not to make holes in the kayak to pass the cables, not to weigh down the kayak by fixing the transducer to the hull, and to be able to move fishfinder, transducer, and battery from one kayak to another.
The Garmin Striker 4 Plus fishfinder is placed on the Railblaza FISH FINDER MOUNT R-LOCK S which is connected to the Railblaza SWING ARM R-LOCK an arm that moves the fishfinder away from the Railblaza MINIPORT TRACMOUNT mounted on the track to which it is connected.
The HOOKLESS MAP POCKET is a useful accessory to contain the Powery Max PX5 battery of the fishfinder. This is a waterproof, rechargeable 12V lithium-ion battery with a power of 5 Amps, enough to power the fishfinder for about 18 hours.
On the right hand side there is another HOOKLESS MAP POCKET accessory holder, also optional, and the Railblaza Rod Tube swiveling rod holder, that is held in place by a Railblaza MINIPORT TRACMOUNT which is mounted on the right track.
In the front cargo area, there is also a master port to mount other accessories like an action cam.
The rear cargo area is prepared for mounting a second 8” Twist-n-Seal hatch to provide extra storage. This allows a second access to the inside of the kayak to store equipment and eventually eliminate the water that can enter the hull.
And finally, on the right side there is a useful molded in rod holder, also optional, right next to the raised seat.
This is a service rod holder within reach, very useful for placing the rod and being able to perform all those interventions that require the use of both hands, such as unhooking a fish, changing a jig, redoing a rig or a knot .
The Passport 10.5 is Hobie's entry level kayak, but despite the affordable price the build quality is excellent.
The hull itself is built for stability making it the perfect platform to fish in a seated or standing position.
The lightweight Passport 10.5 is easy to store and easy to move. Weigth is under 30 kilos for a very easy car topping.
The compact size allows you to load it on any car without having to apply the protruding load sign.
Although a maximum speed of 8 km/h can be achieved, this cannot be maintained because of the great effort this short and wide kayak takes. This is definitely not a fast kayak to go a long way.
The Mirage Drive Classic is a nice easy smooth simple cost-effective drive that locks easily into place with the click and go system.
To go faster you can replace the standard fins with Turbo Fins, which are longer.
Spinning in a seated or standing position is one of fishing techniques that can be done with this kayak.
Drifting techniques like bottom fishing, fishing for cuttlefish or sabiki fishing are ideal too.
Vertical Jigging, slow pitch jigging, ligth jigging, kabura, inchicku, tenya, tai rubber are all techniques that can be perfectly performed on a kayak like this.
Dead bait trolling can successfully be performed too.
But the technique that finds its maximum expression from a kayak of this kind is certainly live bait trolling, which requires very low cruising speeds, and therefore not tiring.
Last thing to consider is the guarantee, the reliability, the assistance and the availability of spare parts that is provided by Hobie through its official dealers.