I have owned and paddled more yaks than I care to admit. All are used only for fishing the protected bays of Southwest Louisiana. I started out on a Prowler 13 many years ago. I am now 68 years old, fit, and an enthusiastic yak fisherman. I just got a bit tired of loading the old P13 by myself in the bed of my Tacoma. So, I bought a new Trident 11 as the weight was about the same, but the Trident is two and a half feet shorter than the old P13. That almost always means an easier lift and load. I was mistaken.
The Trident has an absolutely wonderful rod pod and the new OK scupper valves are worth their weight in gold. Unfortunately, my experience with the Trident begins with this. Because of the somewhat blunt bow lifting and carrying it to the truck is like holding a very heavy suitcase out at arms length. Lifting the stern is no better.
Once in the water the boat does not track very well. Yes, I am a very experienced paddler and I know that 99 percent of poor tracking is the way it is paddled. The Trident does not track very well period. I would compare its speed to paddling a pig uphill. My Tarpon 100 is much faster. No matter how hard you paddle you cannot approach theoretical hull speed. You paddle mildly or with vigor and you go the same speed. This was very disappointing.
On the good side I can say the Trident is very stable and handles chop very well indeed. The OK factory seat that comes on the Trident 11 should be tossed in the trash upon purchase and a decent and thicker seat installed. Otherwise your butt is almost always sitting in water even with scupper plugs.
As always the OK yaks are of excellent construction and quality. I cannot fault OK on that point. I just found the Trident 11 a very big disappoint in the loading, handling, and paddling categories. If you are not looking for great speed nor are you looking for lazer like tracking, the Trident 11 is an excellent fishing yak. It was just not my cup of tea so to speak. I went back to my old Prowler 13 and rediscovered what a fine fishing yak it truly is even if it does not have a lawn chair for a seat or a rod pod.
Last, if you purchase or have any OK yak look into acquiring the Scupper Valves they recently came out with. They are just dandy. I must add that my youthful yak fishing buddy thinks the Trident 11 is superb in every way which is understandable as I gave it to him to replace his Pelican yak. Experienced yak fishermen and fisherwomen will understand.
