Hobie Pro Angler 17T (Tandem) Fishing Kayak W/ Trailer & Accessories

PLEASE WATCH THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO of the kayak and all it's accessories PLEASE WATCH THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO to see my storage solution for the kayak This is a Hobie Cat Pro Angler 17T, a formidable two-man kayak that’s built with serious fishing in mind. This is a difficult toy for me to part with. I had dreams of making memories with my boys on the water and spent a great deal of time accessorizing and customizing it. If you click on the link referenced in the video description, you’ll see a bunch more hours invested in building a creative storage solution. Unfortunately, the city cited me for code violation, and I was forced to take down my carport, leaving me nowhere to store the kayak.

So, with just 3 times in the water, I’m regrettably selling everything together. I’ll go over some of the main features of the kayak, which are better learned on Hobie’s website (https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-pro-angler-17/), but will highlight a few of my customizations—the adapted trailering solution, a Raymarine fish finder with custom-built battery box, and a unique rod holder that allows you to bring several rods out with you while keeping them out of the way and the deck clear. At the bow of the kayak, there’s a storage compartment that lashes down with quick pull bungees. Inside, you can store gear that will stay dry. Some folks pull the white liner out of the cutout and wrap it with insulation, which turns the bin into a fish locker or a place to keep lunch and drinks cold.

I keep an emergency horn, the dock line, bungee dock tethers, and lifejackets here. The kayak is driven by Hobie’s legendary Mirage drive fitted with turbo flippers. These things are surprisingly efficient and downright fast with two people pedaling. They just pop into the ports in the hull and lock in with two simple throws. The kayak comes with rod storage tubes on each side of the bow and stern with triple hooks that fasten to the H-rails.

These rod tubes will hold 12 fishing rods, but I found they took up precious deck space. This is what had me searching for other solutions (thanks, YouTube). More on that later. There are H-rail mounted tackle bins, which can be simply repositioned or even flipped to the outside of the boat, preserving deck space. The kayak has 3 hatches on the deck, all of which are well suited to tackle storage.

A twist of the hatch lock opens the door and conveniently presents Plano tackle boxes right where you want them. I ordered a bunch of extra boxes—some with hooks, weights, and swivels, some with soft plastics or crankbaits, some with trout gear, some for the ocean (I never did make it to the ocean, however). On one side, I’ve got Hobie H-rail accessories to hold my paddle out of the way until it’s needed. It’s simple to deploy and store. I used an H-Rail accessory plate and cut a small section of a cutting board to create a bait cutting station.

This can be moved wherever you like in the boat. I invested in a Raymarine Dragonfly 7” fish finder with CHIRP downvision, sonar, and navigation. The CHIRP technology renders beautiful, photo-like images of the bottom contour. I prefer this to the red/blue/yellow sonar display I’ve always found tricky to interpret. I purchased the Navionics map chipset which has the loads of lakes and coastal waters mapped with bottom contour.

I got a Pelican waterproof case and modified the camera foam inside to safely store the display unit when not in use. I’ve neatly wired the scupper transducer and mounted the fish finder on the H-rail with a Ram mount, which allows you to swivel, adjust, and tilt the display in any direction. To power the fish finder, I built a battery box that’s completely waterproof and very simple to use. It stores in one of the 3 hatches in the deck. I built the box to include an illuminated on/off switch, USB ports so you can charge your phone or GoPro cameras, a cigarette lighter adapter for a flood light or other accessory, and even a volt meter so you can monitor battery levels.

A fully charged battery will run the fish finder for about 15 hours. When it’s time to recharge the battery, simply connect it to the LiPo battery charger—the same kind you’d use to charge a remote control car battery. Despite how it might look, it’s super easy. At the back of the kayak, there are more rod tubes molded into the hull. I bought Hobie’s anchor kit and added a float to the line.

I also added chain above the anchor to help it deploy properly. I also purchased and installed Hobie’s anchor trolley kit, which allows you to change anchor point along the side of the kayak, which can be helpful in wind or current. There’s rudder control from all 3 seating positions (in the center, when you’re out alone, and at each end when you’ve got someone with you in the boat). There are pull cords for both the rudder and the skeg in two locations on the boat. Here’s another tackle bin with tray and adjustable bungees.

I bought this rescue step for the kayak, which can be simply deployed in the event you fall out or capsize (something I found very difficult to do even when trying to deliberately capsize). Simply pull on the handle, and a webbing step comes out to help you back in. It can also be used to help right the boat if it’s capsized. I found it easy to right the boat without this aftermarket safety device, but better safe than sorry. I put a 36” fish tape inside the gunwales.

At the stern, Hobie has put two missile launcher style rod holders, which work well, but I removed them and built a custom rod rack with PVC tubing. It’ll hold up to 8 rods, but I use one for a landing net and one for a gaff. I flared the mouths of each tube by heating the PVC with a torch and shoving a wine bottle down it. Then primed and painted it black. I notched the tubes at the bottom to secure rods in their tubes with bungee balls.

I built two of the rod holders with cotter pins, which allow you to rotate and secure the tubes outward. In this position, they act like outriggers and allow you to troll with two rods spread wide. There are two drain plugs at the stern, where I tie the trailering flag when transporting the kayak. The kayak comes with two seats, both fully adjustable. A twist of one arm will recline or bring the back upright.

The other adjusts the angle of the seat. The front seat can be removed and rotated 180 degrees so the front passenger can face the rear passenger, creating a bit more of a social experience. In this position, the front passenger can still pedal to help propel the kayak. Lastly, the seats can be completely removed and used on shore for lunch or a break from the water. Given its size, it’s not practical to throw this kayak on top of your car.

It needs to be trailered. Hobie makes a trailer for this purpose, but the reason I chose the Yakima Rack n Roll trailer is because its aluminum (no corrosion), and most importantly—it collapses and stores upright to save space. I modified the trailer by first upgrading the stock shocks on the trailer with Yakima’s heavy duty (orange versus blue) shocks. I then replaced the hollow steel tubes cross members with solid stainless steel bar stock. There is zero flex to these things!

I then used stainless steel hardware—u-bolts, washers, and nylock nuts—to attach galvanized steel unistrut. The unistrut bears 3” schedule 40 rigid conduit wrapped in marine grade carpet. I spaced the conduit to coincide with the channels on the bottom of the kayak, which distributes the weight of the vessel across a broader area to prevent deforming the hull. The kayak slides on very easily. I’ve got loads of accessories, a list of which will scroll at the end of this video, but some of them include life jackets for both passengers.

One features a safety whistle and an emergency beacon in a zippered pocket), anodized aluminum fishing plyers with replaceable carbide cutter blades and Holdz-it anti-corrosion sheath, and a braided line scissors, both mounted to self-retracting zingers. I’ve got a telescoping rubber landing net. I also have a telescoping gaff, both of which fit nicely in the PVC rod rack at the stern. I built up two Danielson rubberized steel crab traps, which sadly were never used. I outfitted them with 2 lbs lead balls on each corner, lead wire on each door, lead core line to keep the rope from floating and getting caught in boat props, float buoys, wire bait cages, and glowing bait canisters.

Crab season opens on November 4th, folks! I’ve got a ton of accessories—crab gauge, fish bat, lip gripper scale, GoPro mounting kit with ram ball accessories, H-rail clamp accessories for rod storage, mounting plates, emergency flag, dry storage bag and dual chambered paddle float, an unused Oneil shorty wetsuit, brand new booties, cleats, battery charger, manuals, receipts, instructions, a Model-specific dolly—everything you need to operate and enjoy this tandem fishing machine. The Hobie H-Crate organized storage holds 4 rods vertically in the corner slots and has endless configuration options. As aforementioned, this rig has only been in the water 3 times—the Sacramento river for shad fishing, bass fishing on Pine Mountain Lake, and Huntington Lake trout fishing. It’s never been in the ocean and has been stored in the gable of my carport (see video referenced in the video description).

I would prefer to sell everything together (rods excluded). Feel free to call or email with any questions. Thanks for your interest and for watching.