Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro TW Kayak Fishing Review

Review by John "EagleEye" Pawlak

I've lived and fished in Southern California since 1976. I'm six feet four inches tall and weigh 225 pounds and have been kayak fishing for ten years ' eight of which from the Scupper Pro TW. After consulting with Dennis Spike and Jim Sammons, I purchase my first kayak, from Ed Gillet at his paddle shop in Mission Bay "Southwest Kayaks". Before my kayak I did most of my fishing from an 18 foot skiff so I knew there was places at the Point Loma & La Jolla kelp beds that I wanted to kayak fish. Spike, Sammons and Gillot were unanimous in their recommendation of the SPTW for a paddler my size and who wanted to fish near shore. Of course I test paddled over a dozen different models before I accepted the expert's advice.

The SPTW was my first kayak and until I completely replaced it last year with a Cobra Expedition I was very pleased with its performance while fishing in the bays and near shore. That's not to say that the SPTW is perfect and that I ever stopped or ever will stop searching for a better kayak. Wherever there is a published demo day, I'm sure to be seen. In all those years of test paddling, I never found another kayak that convinced me to switch. The SPTW is as easy to paddle/ fast as all but one other plastic boat on the water. It's got good rocker and therefore is easy to turn in the surf or around tight structure. The huge front hatch is as big as any around, holding my electronics, rods, reels and gear for high surf launches & landings at unprotected beaches. I was able to fight and land several sharks weighing up to 50+ pounds and several double-digit Yellowtails have been fought and landed from my SPTW. Together we have completed years of Paddling and Fishing Adventures up and down the coastline and in all that time the SPTW has always been able to run with the best of them. Not only was it able to tour along with the other popular offshore fishing kayaks that dared make the long runs but it, at times, appeared to play with the other kayaks. Fishing shallow and then deep, lagging well behind the group, then catching up and overtaking the leaders.

The things I don't like about the SPTW are few. It always seemed to take on water. I don't know if it was mostly through the rivets or the hatches but there was always some and sometimes a lot of water that needed to be sponged out of the hull throughout the day. Compared to other fishing kayaks, the SPTW is a WET ride and holds a lot of water in the tank well and cockpit which includes the molded in foot wells. Most of the time the seat is a little too low for my liking and I took to sitting on a boat cushion for the added height and dryer ride. The SPTW takes diligence to keep it tracking and gliding in a straight line.

While there have been many new models introduced since I purchased my first SPTW, if I could only own one kayak or if I had to have one kayak for all occasions I might very well still be paddling an Ocean Kayaks Scupper Pro TW today.

Kurt Schindler bendo on a yellowtail.