Posted on May 31, 2020

John offered a demo of his Stealth Profisha 575, a boat I had been interested in ever since I saw one at Headwaters in Lodi back in 2014. This was not your typical 10 minute demo paddle on a calm lake or slough off the deck of a kayak store. No, it was a test in real condition, some fishing action was about to ensue, and this opportunity was too good to pass it up.

We met just past 5 o'clock at Moss Landing. John owns two boats, a Fisha 500 and a Profisha 575. Both boats are stunningly beautiful and either one would have been a fantastic ride for the day but the 575 is really most comparable to my sea kayaking background.

For any sea kayaker worth his or her salt stability is never a question when paddling a fishing kayak. They are all very stable from my vantage point. The things that interested me most were seat ergonomics, speed & maneuverability and overall fishability and it takes a good amount of seat time to properly evaluate that.

We set up and paddled out to Mulligan Hill, about 6 miles west of Moss Landing. The ocean laid flat, just a few wind ripples disturbing the water's surface. The Profisha is over 18 feet long and has a nice glide. As far as speed goes I mostly traveled between 4 and 5 mph. The Profisha may have a small speed advantage over my Aquanaut but if so it wouldn't be by much.

The fishability of the Profisha rates much higher over my sea kayak since you can bring fishing rods and comfortably keep them in four different flush mounts on the rear deck where they don't interfere with paddling.

Greatest enhancements over the Aquanaut

• live bait well supports my favorite style of fishing
• rudder control is nice for trolling and staying on course
• separation of paddler and catch

Greatest flaws with the Profisha

• transducer mount options remain unsatisfactory (as it was on my Evo 465)
• rudder looks vulnerable to rocky shores

On land the Profisha is heavier and more difficult to handle than my current expedition kayak. Especially the rudder requires great care. However, many of my launches have sandy shores (Moss Landing, HMB, Bolinas, Rockaway, Ferry Point, Encinal, Albion, Shelter Cove) and the Profisha would probably draw me to these locations. For rocky shorelines I would still prefer any of my sea kayaks.

The Profisha, despite its length, is still quite maneuverable and turns well enough upwind. Seat ergonimics are good but on this trip my knee position felt too high and would need to be adjusted by moving the foot pedals forward.

The Profisha feels quite loose. The rudder conrols are very sensitive and I'm not used to it which causes oversteering. Also, when compared to a sea kayak, the seating position is quite a bit higher which contributes to the loose feeling. If you want maximum control the sea kayak is hard to beat. The Stealth ski offers a good compromise between comfort and control and would be easy to remount should one land in the water inadvertently. The higher seat position also allows for a better view into the water column and offers a dryer ride in calm conditions.

The overall comfort of the 575 was good. We went on a 10 hour expedition and it took less effort than I usually would expend for this type of distance.

John realized how much I like mackerel and donated one of his. The beer also came out of John's fishing net (he's just really good a trolling). Thanks, John for sharing a great experience!

Overall I rate the Profisha a 7/10. A transducer mount and retractable rudder would increase the score to at least an 8/10.