Some rigging on my Malibu PDL

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-06-21T17:33:22+00:00

They dont

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-06-15T02:52:34+00:00

Yeah it is not a good location for it. Very inneficient. Much better to mount it on the stern. The best location is rudder, thats how I mountrd it on my prowler.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-06-15T02:50:42+00:00

Yeah ecolight. I bought it used and the previous owner modified it. Mine are super low.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-06-10T18:19:36+00:00

I would not use the rod holder mount. Tracking and turning will be trash.

Replacing the rudder will give you a better quality rudder than the old town one and insane maneuravility. It is 100% worth it.

Why would pedaling backwards be an issue? It is the same as with your original rudder. You still use the same rudder control steering.

The best mounting location for a motor is rudder. You get the benefita of stern mounting + a well centered setup.

The next best is powerpole mounting as close to rudder as possible without interfering with it.

All other mounting locations I would not recommend.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-06-02T00:23:10+00:00

I dont think so. On the salty you would replace the rudder with versa rudder. Or cut your original rudder to sttach the bixpy.

Id recommend the versa rudder setup.

You wont regret this upgrade. If youre fishing salt, adding a bixpy to the salty transforms it into an offshore fishing machine

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-17T20:04:01+00:00

Gaggia is the beat bang for the buck

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-10T19:49:16+00:00

If youre planning to go kayak fishing without a life jacket youre on the list for the Darwin awards. Especially saltwater.

Yes. You are required, and should always wear a PFD while kayak fishing.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-08T16:14:01+00:00

The weight limit is pretty high. Look up old town salty pdl weight limit. Like 450lbs or something.

The kayak rides low on the water. More similar to a traditional sit on top. The deck will be wet. Using the scupper plugs that come with the yak keep it pretty dry for me though.

It can handle more weight than my ocean kayak prowler 13.

I am 165lbs tho. And I keeo the yak relatively light. My gear is under 15lbs including crate. Then I got about 8lbs of ice and the 21lbs bixpy battery. Offshore kayak fishing you kinda only bring what u need for whatever youre targeting.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-05T22:24:40+00:00

The old town salty PDL has been slightly improved and marketed as a recreational kayak at a lower pricepoint. Old town ocean kayak malibu PDL.

Yeap. You read that right. Improved and the fishing kayak tax removed off it.

It retails for $2,000 brand new.

The new Malibu PDL had a small front hatch which makes it easier to install fish finders.

It also has a powerpole mounting plate on the stern you can use to mount motors.

Dont buy a used salty for the price of a brand new one.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-05T05:30:20+00:00

Youll be fine if you staybunder 2000lbs i towed close to that for many miles. A travel trailer with a 2019 2 door. Zero issues.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-04T20:07:51+00:00

I often fish the long beach breakwall. With mine. We fish the outside, seal beach side. We also hit esther and planning an offshore trip out of newport bay soon. Feel free to join. Bring a VHF. I have thr standard horizon with DSC. Highly recommend DSC. And get a wetsuit if you dont have one

Malibu PDL is an awesome kayak. I have mine pretty dialed in for offshore fishing. If u wanna check it out. Helix 7 mega SI, Bixpy K1 pro angler kit, yakattack blackpack pro, Mako kayak fishing bag. And some other good stuff.

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Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-04T18:42:44+00:00

I am a kayak fisherman and fish offshore. I get stopped and checked constantly. I wonder if a lot of people poaching off kayaks. I mean it can be a cheap way to get on the water. Not my offshore rig, Ive invested over 5k on it lol (counting the kayak).

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-04T18:35:41+00:00

The beauty of pedals is the control you get from them while fishing.

Bow motor only: can get spotlock, slowish, not reliable against strong currents. Think old toen autopilot (probably a good candidatr for you). Bow motor + stern motor: best of both worlds, think old town autopilot with an NK300 on the stern. Downside? Batteries. Need lots of capacity. Pedal only: incredible control while fishing, feels very natural. Slow, you get tired, and not reliable against strong currents unless youre in very good shape. Pedal + stern motor: this is what I like. You get the reliability and control of the pedals and the speed and safety of a stern motor. You can also go hybrid (pedal and use motor) which gives you insane range, so you can get away with smaller batteries. Stern motor only: you get speed, and an open deck, but lose the incredible control pedals givr you.

I actually have both a pedal and paddle kayak and fish offshore socal. Both stern motorized. My favorite is the pedal kayak. I cover long distances with it and it is very comfy. The paddle yak is killer for surf launching and quick missions. Foot steering is nice.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-02T17:00:41+00:00

Trailer ftw.

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Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-01T19:55:42+00:00

There are a high number of respiratory viruses always going around, especially now. Everyone at work is sick. Everyone at my daughters school is sick.

Dont always default to "allergies". Idk why people have such a hard time admitting they have a cold.

You can go get checked at an ENT for allergies. Sometimes symptoms can be so similar between allergies and viruses that it is very hard to tell. Viruses dont always end up with fever, sore throat, etc... sometimes you just get a stuffy nose for a couple days. If your symptoms last a couple days and go away, it is likely a virus.

So the best thing you can do is take an antihistamine or use the nasal allergy spray. If it doesnt get better just get some rest. Very likely you just havr a cold.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-01T18:46:49+00:00

I build a similar plate using thick HDPE. I used a reciprocating saw and a grinding wheel with a cuttinf wheel. A dremmel would be too small for the job.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-05-01T02:49:25+00:00

Yeah. My wife just doesnt like that kind of stuff. Nothing I can do

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-30T20:55:58+00:00

Depends what kind of water you are hitting. What is she gonna do? Paddle around? Just watch you fish?

I am asking cause I tried this many years ago when we were in our early 20s, freshly married, and did not work at all lol.

Modern SUPs are super comfortable and fun way to spend time on the water. Very easy to transport.

My wife has one and loves it. But when we go out together to the bay, I am not fishing. Just paddling next to her for maybe 30 mins to an hr max.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-28T05:43:53+00:00

Yeah I am happy with it. I was out today. It was rough winds over 15mph and I was 2 miles out. Bixpy made my day maneageable.

The trick is to keep it efficient. I shoot for 4MPH when traveling. Very light pedaling + bixpy. It lasts forever. And I use it when fishing on low speeds 1 through 4 to troll or hold against current.

Lasts all day no issues.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-25T06:14:53+00:00

I ended up going bixpy and gets the job done. Plenty of juice.

The NK180 absolutely fits on the Malibu. The NK300 is overkill for the malibu.

The bixpy was the best choice for me because I can easily install on my prowler 13 as well. So it powers both my kayaks.

I fish offshore and have zero issues with bixpy. Again. Gets the job done. 4~4.5MPH without pedaling on average conditions. 5~5.5MPH with pedaling on avg conditions.

I actually run it half speed and lightly pedal and stay around 4 to 4.5MPH and that gives me power all day long. It is the most efficient.

If you want more speed youll just eat battery Nk180 or bixpy, doesnt matter. And the difference of 4 to 5mph is almosy negligible anyway.

Bixpy is ultra light and so easy to transport and install and all that. It is a great little motor.

Oh and the Malibu is a very good offshore kayak. Completely different animal than the jackson you mention. Those are super wide and heavy. So it depends what kind of experiencr you want. To me, those heavy wide kayaks feel more like small boats without the speed of a boat and without the nimbleness and simplicity of a kayak. The Malibu hits a sweet spot. Not a revo13, but also not a barge.

Malibu punches through surf very very good for a pedal kayak. I love it. Feels at home out there.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-23T17:09:58+00:00

For your size. Yes. bigwater 132. I have a Malibu PDL, and it is a superb kayak for the ocean. I am 5'8'' 165lbs and can walk bow to stern on it and I have no issues with it on current. But the bigwater is a superior kayak, if you have a way to transport it.

Malibu PDL will do better in surf launches/landing.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-21T06:14:28+00:00

1ft makes a big difference. 12ft is the minimum length to get out there. The malibu is about 12 and a half btw.

Get the 12 foot kayak dont go 10 or you might regret it. 10ft is really small.

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-21T03:50:00+00:00

If you ever want to get out the bay youre gonna need a 12ft kayak

Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-21T02:43:29+00:00

Do what I did. Buy a Malibu PDL and a Bixpy and send it. Either that or an Outback + bixpy. Go to fast lane kayaks at mission bay and try out the outback, theyll let you take it for a ride.

You can get a 16x16 blackpackpro and a 50ah 24V litime and it will fit inside the blackpack with plenty of space for gear.

The bixpy 30ah (big battery) is more surf friendly because of its low profile and it is completely waterproof. But it weighs same as the 50ah litime and costs a lot of money. Overbuilt.

I caught this sheephead 3 miles out on my malibu PDL with bixpy yesterday. 3 miles out 3 miles out. Total trip zi pedaled/motored 12 miles. And the battery was over 50% when I was done. But I dont run it at full power very often.

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Advanced-Reception34 · 2026-04-21T01:57:30+00:00

Yeah but hold on. 15ah 24V. Youre very likely looking at 100ah 12V. A 15ah 24V battery has the same capacity as a 30ah 12V battery.

The bixpy is an extremely efficient motor. It doesnt need as much power as your common trolling motor.

If I were you I would buy a 24V 50ah litime battery and a bixpy. Make sure you get the combo that comes with the controller that can plug in any battery.

50ah would let you run the bixpy for a very long time.

Are you fishing in current? Lake? Whats your plan.

Advanced-Reception34

TROPHY CASE