Kraken Chronicles- First sessions&Impressions

When I first saw the Kraken with my own eyes, I knew that this kayak has a lot of surprises in store. I arrived early to the Paddle Expo trade show, got to the JK booth and there it was. I started fiddling with the accessories that come with it, prepared the kayak for the show, and I already started thinking how I am gonna outfit it for my sea adventures.

Little did I know at that time that the Kraken is going to be more than suitable for my freshwater fishing. Especially for situations that ask for a fast kayak and capacity. In the Kraken Chronicles series I am going to confront the Kraken with my style of fishing and see how it does. This autumn, the Kraken will have to prove itself on big rivers with strong currents and big dams. Next year I will let it into the environment it was designed for, the sea in Norway, Spain, UK and France.

SPEED

In the first sessions there were a few things that I wanted to test right away. First was the speed. I have paddled most JK kayaks. The kraken feels notably faster than Cuda 14. I would say that it is even a bit faster than the Kilroy, but it takes longer to get it going.

The travel speed can be maintained without much force, the Kraken has a lot of glide and once you get some 4-6 power strokes in it just glides effortlessly. I tested it on a fast flowing river and even against the current it performed great.

ACCESS TO GEAR

Second thing I needed to test was how can I access all the gear that comes with the Kraken. There is the plano box and the JKrate, a total of 7 rod holders behind the seat and 1 on a RAM Screwball… impressive.

I found out that I can access all that is behind the seat well even if I leave my legs in the boat. By far the coolest accessory that comes with the Kraken are the Plano tackleboxes, no more rust on my jigs!!

Even the rod holders on the JKrate are withing easy reach even when I keep my feet on the footpegs

When I sit side-saddle it is a piece of cake to access all that is inside the Plano box and JKrate. There is more than enough storage room for anybody. Even the rear of the tankwell can be accessed with no problems.

 

I also tested the straddle position, felt comfortable, the handles on the sides were not in the way. The test of changing the trim of the Kraken went smoothly too. easy to adjust on the water.

STABILITY

Now comes the real surprise with the Kraken… it has heaps of stability. The secondary stability feels incredible. Although this is by no means meant to be a kayak for standup fishing it is actually very easy to get up even from the low position of the seat. I felt really confident fishing from it. I would compare it to Cuda 14 stability, more secondary stability, less primary stability. What?? You say…  Well primary stability means the way the kayak wobbles to left and right. Seconday stability is the point where the tilt of the kayak reaches the point of most stability.

So Kraken has more initial wobble than Cuda 14, but once tilted to the side it is super stable, I would say Kilroy stable in secondary stability. Tony Lee did a great job, a very fast and comfortable kayak that can take you far across the lake or up the river… and once you get there, you can SUP fish it 🙂 good thing is that if you m0ve the seat back you actually have a flat surface to stand on and move your feet.

Kraken feels much like the Cuda 14 when getting up or down on the seat.

One of my perches from the first session, caught standing up.

Nice zander from a strong current river.

 

CONCLUSION

I feel that the Kraken is a kayak for advanced anglers. I have not tested it on the sea yet, but with its accessories and speed it is surely a great upgrade for those that are looking for a super comfortable paddler’s kayak to paddle huge distances.

Surprisingly, the Kraken does seem like a great kayak for those that prefer stand up fishing. Most of my fishing is about changing spots, which are usually very far from one another, sometimes miles away… I always fished from the Big tuna, because it was good for standing up and I was willing to paddle a slower boat in order to be able to SUP fish it once I get to my spot. The Kraken offers much more speed and still is a decent kayak for standing up so I feel it might be a great choice for people who paddle long distances and still wanna be able to stand up and fish their hot spot.

When you already have experience with stand up fishing from boats such as Coosa, Cuda 14 or Kilroy, and you are looking for a much faster kayak, the Kraken will bring you more capacity, speed and very decent secondary stability for your fishing.

 

More about the Kraken coming soon. Next story from the Kraken Chronicle will be from a big lake, where I will confront the kayak with standup fishing in windy conditions.

 

Keep paddling

jan