Coosa HD Initial Impressions: Jackson Kayak recently released the highly anticipated Coosa HD. The Coosa HD has been touted as the next generation of the Jackson Coosa, the first fishing kayak ever produced by Jackson in 2011. With such anticipation comes high expectations. I can tell you from my initial outings with the Coosa HD, this kayak is everything I hoped it would be and has exceeded my expectations. First of all, the Coosa HD is a roomy ride which is a very welcomed thing to a big guy like me. The additional space when compared to the original Coosa makes for an even more comfortable paddling and fishing experience. In addition to the extra space, the new Jackson Kayak Elite Seat 3.0 that the HD comes equipped with provides additional storage in the form of under-seat pockets. These pockets will hold a Plano 3600 series box on either side and still leave room on the deck of the kayak under the seat. This improvement will help keep your tackle more organized and out of your way.
Speaking of the Elite Seat 3.0, it provides continued improvement over the previous Elite Seats. A more contoured shape leads to an even higher level of comfort. The fabric is also more breathable which should feel great once those hot summer days are upon us. Another thing I noticed about the new seat fabric is that it is much quieter than previous versions making no noise when shifting around in the seat. Once again, the Elite Seat is equipped with a lumbar support, now provided by Thermarest. I found this lumbar support to make quite a difference in the comfort level just as it did on last year’s Jackson Kayak models. One of the things I really enjoy about paddling Jackson Kayaks is the little things that they incorporate into their fishing kayaks that make your time on the water that much more enjoyable. These features come as a result of Jackson’s willingness to listen to their customers and promotional staff members when they offer suggestions on how to make their kayaks even better. With the Coosa HD, I noticed two such features. The first is the pulls that come on the front hatch and rod keeper bungees. These make it so much easier to un-hook and re-hook these cords, even with gloves on your hands. I also really like the line spooling option that is built into the “Coosa Console”. This is a big plus to kayak fishermen since many of us use braided line on our reels and vary our leader line to fit varying fishing types that we might engage in. We can now have our leader material right in front of us literally at our fingertips. Kudos to Jackson Kayak for these touches that make their kayaks second to none.
No fishing kayak, no matter how great the features are is worth much if it is not a pleasure to paddle. The Coosa HD certainly doesn’t disappoint in this area. On the day I took the Coosa HD for its maiden voyage, the conditions were definitely less than ideal. The sustained winds were 10-15 miles per hour with gusts in excess of 20 mph. I was more than pleased with the paddling performance of the Coosa HD under these circumstances. It did not matter if I was paddling perpendicular to the wind or directly into it. The Coosa HD handled it all quite admirably.
Another very important consideration for a fishing kayak is stability. I am happy to report that the Coosa HD exceeded my expectations. I would compare the stability of the HD to that of the Big Tuna and probably only exceeded by the Superfishal and Big Rig in the Jackson Kayak offerings. I am a big guy at 6’1” and around 275 pounds. Athletic is not a word that is typically used in a sentence containing my name. However, I was able to stand in the Coosa HD and cast with no problems whatsoever even with the wind situation I described earlier. I would think anyone that has been able to stand in other kayaks will be very pleased with the stability of the Coosa HD. If you are currently in the market for a fishing kayak, I highly recommend that you put the Coosa HD on your “need to try-out” list. If you are an original Coosa owner, I think you will be pleased with the Coosa HD. If you would like to take a test paddle of the HD, the folks at Caney Fork Outdoors in Silver Point, Tennessee would be happy to accommodate you. Just give them a call them in advance at (931) 858-5222 to schedule a demo. CFO is the Jackson Kayak Superstore for Tennessee and always has a great selection of colors in the entire Jackson Kayak line. Also, stay tuned to the Caney Fork Outdoors blog as I am planning on doing a comparison between the Coosa HD and the Original Coosa for those interested.