The Coosa FD, A Quick Review

I’ve had the opportunity to own a CoosaFD now for 5 months. I enjoyed every second of fishing, paddling, and pedalling from it. Here’s a little review from my experience with the boat and its awesome pedal drive.

Lets break this down in two parts:

Aesthetics and layout.
This boat is sleek looking, from the moment I unwrapped it from its factory packaging, to this day with its fine layer of fish slime after each journey, to other dings and dents it has acquired from its many outings. (I’m not gentle on my equipment by any means. ) The well thought out deck space and layout of track for accessories is amazing and provides an endless array of setup options for most any aftermarket equipment you may think of, from fishfinders to anchors to rod holders and so on. The large well behind the seat allows for most any crate to fit. It fits my Jackson J krate low with room to spare and attaches easily with the bungee provided. The front scuppers were built for mounting transducers and works great for any homemade or aftermarket mount you can think of. Packing for a multiday trip is easy, with its mass amount of hull access and high weight rating. You can tell the layout was well thought out and built for the angler. Its super balanced and easy to transport with the aid of a kayak carte.

Fishability and Maneuverability
This is most important to me. Ultimately this kayak lets me become a better fisherman. It has room to grow with me as my skills improve and my locations get sketchier and harder to access. I can stand and sight fish with ease, watching the pike in the shallow weeds and getting my bait close is some of the fishing I enjoy the most. Jigging in choppy, wavy, rough water was handled with ease. I’ve taken this boat in super skinny water, large deep bodies of water, down simple rapids and swifts, all on the high seat setting and felt stable and comfortable. Its dual rudder control lets you switch hands for fishing and peddling allowing you to fish either side with ease and switch it up whenever youd like.

The pedal drive allows for easy hands-free fishing whether slow trolling or casting my way downriver. The bump up prop has been used many times. Especially when the river current drives you into the shallows, having the bump up and easy lever deployment makes this a non-issue for me. A quick push off shore normally has me fishing without a paddle for the entirety of my trip.

I thoroughly enjoy my CoosaFD and look forward too many more years on the water peddling and fishing my heart out. I recommend you get yourself into one for a demo.
If you’re in Alberta, check out Aquabatics Calagry!

– Andrew Watt