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Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 4:38 pm
by bsmith26
Well after much research, the two kayaks I am considering buying is the Jackson Kayak Coosa Elite, and the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140. I’m going to try to paddle both before making the purchase, but until then maybe you guys could help. I will be using the kayak for 50% touring up and down the Colorado River, and 50% fishing Matagorda Bays. The Coosa seems to have much more bells and whistles including a elevated seat, but I am worried about it being suitable for long trips (tracking, speed, wind handling, etc) due to the large front end and the seat being elevated causing more drag in the wind. Can anyone weigh in that has spent some time in both?

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:15 pm
by Tombo
Can't install a rudder on the Coosa, and you need to consider where warranty work will be performed.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:50 pm
by BigSteveSA
I don't hav experience with either boat, but I do have experience with the Colorado River...and it won't be long before you trade in that "50% touring the Colorado" for the more desirable "50% Fishing the Colorado River" :lol:

Good Luck with the new purchase.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:37 pm
by Reefmike
Don't know anything about the Coosa but I can tell you I have spent 10+ hrs. on several occasions on my Tarpon 120. The Tarpon seat is the reason I bought one.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:00 am
by Texas80
Tarpon all the way!!!!!!!

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:04 am
by RedWolf
Haven't been in either, but I believe the Coos'a seat has a high and low position. Talk to elementfiftyfour on here, he has a Coosa. And about every 5th person on here has a Tarpon or experience with a Tarpon.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:16 am
by bsmith26
Redwolf I agree the Tarpon seems to be one of the most "tried and true" kayaks out there, which is why I am leaning towards it, but the Coosa is just so darn cool! But driving all the way to Austin for repair work would not be too cool.Redwolf I agree the Tarpon seems to be one of the most "tried and true" kayaks out there, which is why I am leaning towards it, but the Coosa is just so darn cool! But driving all the way to Austin for repair work would not be too cool.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:41 am
by eweberdc
Not familiar with the Coosa, but I've done a few 24 mile trips on the Colorado in Tarpons. The new seats are fantastic.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:43 am
by tbeak
bsmith26 wrote:Redwolf I agree the Tarpon seems to be one of the most "tried and true" kayaks out there, which is why I am leaning towards it, but the Coosa is just so darn cool! But driving all the way to Austin for repair work would not be too cool.Redwolf I agree the Tarpon seems to be one of the most "tried and true" kayaks out there, which is why I am leaning towards it, but the Coosa is just so darn cool! But driving all the way to Austin for repair work would not be too cool.
the response was so nice you had to post it twice :clap:

I have a Tarpon 140 and i relaly do love it. That being said Tarpons are the only ones i have ever paddled

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:46 am
by bsmith26
I apologize for my RainMan like qualities... :lol:

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:09 pm
by DSmithla
bsmith26 wrote:Well after much research, the two kayaks I am considering buying is the Jackson Kayak Coosa Elite, and the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140. I’m going to try to paddle both before making the purchase, but until then maybe you guys could help. I will be using the kayak for 50% touring up and down the Colorado River, and 50% fishing Matagorda Bays. The Coosa seems to have much more bells and whistles including a elevated seat, but I am worried about it being suitable for long trips (tracking, speed, wind handling, etc) due to the large front end and the seat being elevated causing more drag in the wind. Can anyone weigh in that has spent some time in both?

Just to muddy the waters a bit, you might look at the Perception Pescador. Word is that it's the older Tarpon hull (back when it was 28" wide). You can find it in big box stores like West Marine, and Academy Sports (I think). For $500, it's a good looking boat.

eta: Just peeked online, it's $550.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:10 am
by Reefmike
DSmithla wrote:Just to muddy the waters a bit, you might look at the Perception Pescador. Word is that it's the older Tarpon hull (back when it was 28" wide). You can find it in big box stores like West Marine, and Academy Sports (I think). For $500, it's a good looking boat.

eta: Just peeked online, it's $550.
While it is the old style Tarpon hull, it does not have the Phase III seat like the new Tarpon.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 9:16 am
by DSmithla
Reefmike wrote:
DSmithla wrote:Just to muddy the waters a bit, you might look at the Perception Pescador. Word is that it's the older Tarpon hull (back when it was 28" wide). You can find it in big box stores like West Marine, and Academy Sports (I think). For $500, it's a good looking boat.

eta: Just peeked online, it's $550.
While it is the old style Tarpon hull, it does not have the Phase III seat like the new Tarpon.

That's a good point. Wouldn't have thought much about it, but I've been paddling an Ultimate, and yes, a good seat does make a world of difference.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:05 pm
by TG Canoes and Kayaks
Considering the places you're paddling, go with the T-140. The Coosa was designed from the ground up to be a river yak, not a flat water yak. It has an upswept, bulbous front end for bouncing over waves and rapids. It's only 11.5 feet, so it doesn't like to track in open water either. The Coosa seat is quite nice, but when you're buying a yak, you're buying the hull. It's like saying "I want a car I can drive on the twisties in the Arkansas Ozarks," and then buying a Buick because the seats are super cushy. Look at it this way: the Coosa seat better be more comfortable because you'll be spending 33% more time in it just trying to get to your fishing spots.

The T-140 has a low profile, straight line keel, and is significantly faster and more efficient. It is quite possibly the top of the line fishing yak for flat water. If you're looking for comparable yaks, look at the OK Trident 15 and the Native Watercraft Manta Ray 14.

But don't take my word for it. Go test drive both yaks back-to-back and you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:29 pm
by bsmith26
TG thanks for the information!

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:22 pm
by pershing
I own a T-120 and tested a Coosa. I have to agree with the feedback so far. Tarpon is faster, hatches are awesome and the seat is comfy and dry. But I have to give credit to the coosa, the chain grove is sweet, the high seat is nice but less stable but where it sold me on was the deck space, my legs were happy (Im 6' 290#). So did I get the coosa, no, stayed with my Tarpon, but there is talk of a longer Coosa and who knows what will happen when I test that baby. Hope this helps some.

- Pershing

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:47 pm
by elementfiftyfour
As everyone has already mentioned you will definitely get where you are going much faster with the Tarpon. It is and will probably be known for a long time as one of the best fishing yaks available so I won't even try to say that it has flaws compared to the Coosa. I can, however, tell you everything you want to know about the Coosa. As for tracking and speed, I have taken my Coosa out on multiple occasions for 5 or more miles round trip and still lived to tell the tale but I'm fairly young and in reasonably good shape. It may take a bit longer but with enough effort I was able to keep up with the guys in the Hobies. They could of course fish while I was paddling but that is another situation all together. The Coosa is definitely an awesome yak though and has versatility on both the rivers and open flats. There are also a lot of well thought out features like the high/low seat, the tackle storage under the seat, the rod and paddle stagers, the low profile flush mount rod holders and the drag chain recess that make it stand out. And as you have probably noticed, the seat is extremely comfortable. But once you get your sea legs you will find yourself standing pretty much all the time that you aren't actually en-route to another fishing hole. With a long enough paddle you can actually just paddle around while standing and get yourself some really good view of the surroundings.

So essentially all I can tell you for now is that if you want to sacrifice a bit of speed on the open flats you can gain a lot of stability and other fisherman friendly comforts. I have heard rumor of the 14' Coosa throughout the forums but nothing from Jackson specifically. Maybe someone can point me to that article or press release. If you wanted a rudder, then you could easily customize an off the shelf rudder system to fit the back of the Coosa. I actually made one from scratch in my machine shop. It works as a rudder but I didn't go as far as to get the foot controls so I don't use it. But to be honest, I haven't really felt that I missed much by not having a rudder.

If you want you can check out my rigging thread on the BCKFC forum and look at all the pics on my photobucket page. They might give you some more insight to your decision.

http://www.bckfc.org/showthread.php?303 ... -the-Coosa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck, and I'm sure no matter what kayak you finally decide on you will not regret it.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:42 pm
by Zebco
I think you just might need 2 boats!

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:18 pm
by jlazcano
bsmith26 wrote:Well after much research, the two kayaks I am considering buying is the Jackson Kayak Coosa Elite, and the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140. I’m going to try to paddle both before making the purchase, but until then maybe you guys could help. I will be using the kayak for 50% touring up and down the Colorado River, and 50% fishing Matagorda Bays. The Coosa seems to have much more bells and whistles including a elevated seat, but I am worried about it being suitable for long trips (tracking, speed, wind handling, etc) due to the large front end and the seat being elevated causing more drag in the wind. Can anyone weigh in that has spent some time in both?
I tell you what my friend, i actually own both kayaks, so if you want to make a little trip to freeport area we can take them out and fish both. As a matter of fact i have 5 kayaks and they are all different and use them for different purposes. I use the coosa for "quick" trips and i can lift and load myself. (I actually have the Tarpon 160) The tarpon, if i dont have someone with me to load, it can be tricky. I also can stand in the Coosa no problem now (after a learning curve) and i would personally feel the same doing so in the tarpon. I will however, take the tarpon over the coosa in a heart beat if i need to take longer paddles. Hope this helps.

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:00 am
by bsmith26
I went with the Tarpon 140, with rudder. It's sitting in my living room right now (the wifey is not happy about that). Thanks for all the feedback!

Re: Coosa VS Tarpon

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:26 am
by Mojo227
Congrats!Will be in the market for a new boat myself very soon I hope.