I don't have a PA, but I have a Freedom Hawk 12 and a Freedom Hawk Pathfinder being outfitted by Stephen of Bass Yaks. FH's have a lean/lift bar similiar to the PA's H Bar.
I mainly fly fish, and I remember when my Dad taught me how to fly fish 62 years ago, warning me, "Fly lines will get caught on anything that sticks up where you are casting, in the water or in the boat."
Decades have proved that my Dad was and is still correct.
That has not been a problem with my FH 12 and the bar. I put the bar up before starting and leave it up till I get back. I have a fly rod holder on it and my portable GPS is often on the bar, and sometimes I hang a stripping basket from or my Sage Typhoon gear bag on the bar. So the bar serves to keep gear close by and off the floor and possible water. I have put a jacket on it if the temps warm up or if it cools up to take off the bar and put on.
I can drop the bar if I need to. So far I haven't had to
The other stand up bars on the market have a lot of stuff under/around them and in the water. With my luck using one of them, I would hook a good size Striper, Salmon/Steelhead and get the fish near me. Then, when it saw me trying to get it, it would go ballistic, sound, jump and surge around the kayak/me and wrap a $120 fly line around the supporting gear. There should be no problem with Hobie' bar or Freedom Hawks's bar.
Hobie appears to have done a good job researching this, and their stand up H bar should be an excellent added feature.
Just remember what Tom has posted. Don't let the stand up bar become a lever and do a physics lesson on you and turn your boat over if you lean hard to one side on the bar.
Re physics and the length of the lever. When I fly fish in a yak or our Jon Boat, I use the shorter Switch Rods, and for Christmas I got a salt water 6.5' spinning rod/combo. Later I will try one of the shorter switch fly rods from a fly rod maker friend of mine.
Most fishers should be pleased and happy with Hobie's H Bar.
sa pro angler wrote:
Need some education
I fish the PA aiming for big mean redfish who run all over the landscape once hooked. How can this H-Bar not be in the way of fish fighting?
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