As you might have guessed it, this article is about some important things you should know before purchasing a Jackson Kayak Liska. First off, the Liska is a very stable kayak and it would take me some effort to get it to flip over. Honestly, I really think that I would fall from the deck before overturning the boat under normal non-life threatening conditions out on the water. Let’s get right to my least favorite part of the boat, and trust me, this is not much of a problem. The only thing that I really don’t like is that the lower portion of the bow is not raised very much. What encounter due to this is when I come to a shallow spot or go to portage, sometimes the lower portion of the bow will stop all momentum abruptly versus sliding over or onto the object that caused the hard stop. Ok, I know that this shape in the bow really aids in tracking and overall speed, so not a bad trade off most of the time.

The cockpit area is my favorite part of the Liska, and obviously if you don’t like the area you are working in, you really need a different boat. The seat adjusts front to back and you can do this while in the seated position and has a high and low position as you would expect from a Jackson Kayak. With the seat positioned to the back the bow will raise making the craft more maneuverable. When the seat is moved to the forward most position the bow runs deeper in the water causing improved tracking and speed.

The Liska has some great storage features such as the huge hinged front hatch that I have managed to get 6 fishing rods placed in. If you decide to place your rods inside the hull do make sure to be aware of where your rod guides are as you can easily break one or more off on the hatch rim or scupper towers. You can add the 5.5” Day Hatch to the stern for a bit more storage and have access to the inside of the stern. By adding the Day Hatch Kit it will also allow you to access rudder tubes or cable if you ever want to add a rudder. The tank well is very large in comparison to most kayaks made by JK, and it will hold up to a 35 quart Orion cooler too. Make sure to adjust the seat trim more to the front after loading your cooler down, especially if you are covering long distances on open water.

All in all the Liska performs great on open water and holds its own on moving water such as larger creeks and rivers. The Liska should be easy for most people to stand and cast in and floats in very shallow water like most boats make by Jackson Kayak. If you want to try out a Liska make sure to reach out to your local Jackson Kayak dealer, they should have a demo model to paddle.