Old Town Old Town Sportsman 106
A rock-solid, stand-and-fish stable platform for protected water that trades speed, glide, and dryness for that stability.
Best for: Beginner-to-intermediate anglers fishing ponds, lakes, bays, and slow rivers who prioritize standing stability and fishability over distance paddling — and who can manage a 77 lb hull or use a cart.
The good
- Exceptional primary and standing stability at 34.5 in wide — multiple reviewers describe standing and moving around 'like a dock,' which makes it ideal for sight-casting and fly fishing
- Genuinely angler-focused deck: open standing platform, accessory tracks, rod and gear storage, and a comfortable removable Element-frame seat that gets praise for all-day comfort
- Strong, durable single-layer polyethylene hull — owners report bouncing off rocks and sliding over oyster shells without damage
- Tracks better than expected for a stubby 10'6" hull thanks to the double-U hull design, holding a line reasonably in mild wind and current
The bad
- Poor glide and slow once you stop paddling — reviewers note it 'slows quickly' and 'each extra knot feels increasingly expensive,' so it lags longer kayaks on distance paddles
- Weathercocks in crosswind — the big bow and wide, tall sides catch wind, making open-water paddles into a breeze taxing
- Wet ride in chop — the bow sits low (about a foot of clearance) and 1-2 ft chop will break over the front and pool water in the boat
- At 77 lb it is right at the edge of a one-person solo carry/load; most owners need a cart for anything beyond a short distance
The Sportsman 106 (which shares its hull with the older Topwater 106) is one of the most stable short fishing kayaks you can buy, and that's exactly what it's built for — standing, casting, and working a small body of water, not covering miles. The honest tradeoff is physics: the same wide, flat, tall-sided hull that makes it feel like a dock also makes it slow, wind-catching, and wet in chop, and at 77 lb it's heavy for the size class. Note that most published 'reviews' actually cover the pedal-drive PDL version; complaints here are drawn from the paddle hull and its Topwater 106 twin, and owner-review depth on the bare paddle model specifically is thin, so the speed/wind notes lean on professional reviewers more than a large owner sample.