Versatility of the Coosa FD

I want to write about something I have not had the chance to discuss this year because I have been swamped with tournaments and traveling.

Why I decided to get the FD and the versatility it has for me.

The Coosa FD is a pedal drive kayak that has been an absolute blessing for me this year in the different bodies of water I have fished.

Lakes:
This is why I got my kayak in the first place. I fish a lot on big lakes throughout the southeast. It can cover water on Pickwick to get to ledges, pull my drive up to get to the grass mats on Guntersville or cover miles of shoreline on Kentucky Lake beating the banks finding fish that are ran from the carp.
If I decide to fish all grass mats and do not need my drive.. A simple 5 minutes of unscrewing my lower unit and I have a free deck where I can flip and punch the mats.
Huge wake is no problem. I do not have any issue fishing big wake on lakes because the stability of the Coosa FD is top notch. During the Hobie Open day 2, I was forced to push myself to the limits with 2-4 foot rollers. What I really found was I could use my pedals as an advantage to attack the mega-school of fish I found in heavy wake. I was able to pedal up and use the wind and my rudder/drive to keep my baits in the strike zone much longer than a friend of mine that fished with me. It single handedly helped me get a 4th place finish during a time I thought I made a huge mistake fishing heavy wake.

Rivers:
I think my FD is important for river fishing for me because of the versatility of pedaling upstream. In a lot of my trips I have to go solo so I have to pedal up stream to fish and float back down. With fishing the Cumberland River locally, I do not have the amount of “riverbassin” type of rivers near my house as other locations in TN. I can go upstream fish pools and go back down to take out.
(See the next point)

Rivers x2:
I say x2 because I am talking about the “river bassin” type of water. The moving shallower rivers juicy looking stuff with shoals, gravel bars, etc.
I have found that my FD performs well here just as much as the lakes. If I am pedaling upstream and smack a tree limb I do not see, my drive pops up then I proceed to paddle through it to the spot I am working too.
When I am wading through the shallower water to get back to the deep pools, it is reassuring that I do not need to work about too much drag behind it.

Portaging around/over shoals:
When I push to the extremes sometimes I have to find the most remote put ins. The furthest to date I had to drag my Coosa Fd to a put in is a 1/4 mile down a path to get to the back of a creek. I decided when I found this spot I would take all my gear down to the water and drag my kayak down the path. It was not fun to do but I got it done.
Portaging can be tricky because of the size of the FD, but I haven’t found something yet I could not portage over yet.

If you are reading this and do not have a Jackson Coosa FD, go find your local dealer and demo one. Our kayak may be the missing piece to your fishing adventures.

As always thanks for reading and I hope to see you on the water soon!

-Anthony