Old Town Sportsman Autopilot 136 Fishing Kayak

Used my Kayak for the 1st time yesterday. First cast and I hooked up with a striped bass. (One of many for the day) The kayak was very stable and the spot lock on the trolling motor was a game changer. Can’t wait to get back out

I purchase 2 autopilot 136 gray ghosts from ECO Fishing Shop. Delivery was about 2 weeks. Sales personnel were perfect. We took them out on Lake of the Ozarks, and they performed great. There is so much room on the kayak and yes you can stand fish. The spot lock is not perfect by any means. I would hit the spot lock button and the next thing I knew I was 15 to 20 feet off the mark, but the motor was still going as if it were on the same spot (it was not windy at all, and we were in a cove). Overall, I am happy with the kayaks just need to pay attention when on spot lock. By the way these kayaks are HEAVY. You definitely need a trailer for loading and launching into the water. I would recommend the Sasquatch mount as well from ECO Fishing Shop.

The kayak is amazing. I was coming from a 22’ boat and was afraid that this could not handle choppy waters. To my surprise it handled its self on Lake Norman in a white cap chop. Never once did I feel un safe. It’s very large and heavy singeing a trailer for it is a must have. Eco fishing did a great job with handling the order and getting it to me with out issue.

Top of the line, but it worth it

Great price, EcoFishing Shop! Very happy with the kayak. It is quite large and heavy, and very stable even in choppy waters. It goes about 4 mph which feels like the perfect speed. Easy to set up and get using. Easy to get in and out of, and to stand up in.

All I was hoping for, very pleased

This is exactly what I’ve been heading toward and hoping for. Heavy? Yes, for sure. I use a wet launch trailer so that doesn’t concern me. I thought my last kayak was stable. Compared to this, that yak was like balancing on a log. This is by far the most stable kayak I have ever been on. I can stand and fish, bend down to pick up something, kneel and reach in the front or back for gear and snacks with no problems. Some things that need improvement: the tracks are flimsy. Come on Old Town…do better. The back tank well has no grips and needs some. The front hatch needs to be a bit bigger for my needs.

This boat is really impressive. I’m a die hard Ocean Kayak Trident 13 fan. I used to punch through the breakers and fish offshore in the gulf 3-5 miles out. Now, I’m more of an inshore salt and fresh guy. This boat excels at that type of environment. It’s very maneuverable. It tracks straight and handles wind and reasonable chop extremely well. I stand almost all the time I’m fishing. I feel protected by the boat in rough conditions. The pairing of the trolling motor and the hull design is very very good. In high winds (gusts at 25-30), I can easily go 15-20 miles on one 100ah lithium battery. Its weight doesn’t lend itself to being hauled in a lifted truck bed or car topping it. I’m sure both can be done, but on average, most would find it difficult. I recommend buying a FishTX trailer with it. The two together make getting on the water very easy and allows me to go more often and with less planning. Great boat overall!

Used it for two days almost non-stop from daylight till dark. No problems at all.
Eco Fishing Shop is awesome to do business with. Great bunch of people. Customer service is super.

Eco fishing NOT SO MUCH. I don’t do reviews but after this bout, I feel inclined to do so. Evidently this company doesn’t stock anything, they are a middleman for their products. After spending $11,000 with this company buying to old town, sportsman’s auto pilot and two batteries and two kayak carriers, my kayaks arrived a month and a half later. I wrote to the company on several occasions, telling them that this was absolutely unacceptable. I did have two employees reply to me, but their reply was unacceptable as well. It appears that you use a company called fragilepac. Maybe Igo Fishing is not so bad but their shipping company is absolutely horrible. Every review our read said that the kayaks always showed up early. Well clearly not the case with mine. I received an email from someone at eco-fishing. That stated the kayak was already in transit so there was nothing they could do. My wife then ordered an additional battery for a third kayak that we bought from Dick’s Sporting Goods and was delivered in three days. She called about the battery and eco-fishing stated that they did not have the batteries that they were being shipped directly from Dakota, of course, another item that has not arrived yet, and was ordered two weeks ago. Dick’s Sporting Goods has these items in stock, including the kayaks that you can drive to the store and pick them up. Waiting a month and a half for the kayaks was absolutely insane. I will not deal with Eco Fishing again.

Great customer service and support. They are patient and answer all questions. Even the stupid ones!

i love the stability of the kayak ,its super comfy and the trolling motor works great . the problem i have is the weight . i beach launch and land and i can hardly drag it up the beach. i can bearly load it in my truck and have to drag it up the beach with my truck useing straps . i'm a builder and lift heavy things for a living ! the other thing i dont like about it is the location for the transceiver install . it defiantly does not work for beach docking . i had to install it on the motor and have to unscrew it everytime i remove the motor , which is everytime i launch and dock it . It would also be nice if there was a port for the power cord from the fish finder to the battery. i had to drill holes in my kayak the 1st day ! apart from that i love the kayak .

It's been great

Exceeded my expectations. Definitely worth the money. It arrived quicker than I expected. I would 100% recommend this kayak to anyone who loves kayak fishing.

I have had it on the water 3 times now. Nothing but fantastic, love the spot lock and no more anchor lines!! Very stable and takes rough water pretty well.
Now the BUTs found out from Minn Kota that they made the motor exclusively for Old Town. There is no owner's manual to show you parts or maintenance. In fact, there are no parts available for this motor. BUT they can sell you a whole new unit. Had I known this before ordering it would have been a deal breaker.
The shipping...Paid 75.00 to have the Kayak wrapped in cardboard and plastic. When it was delivered UNANOUNCED 7 days early, there was no cardboard just plastic. I am happy that it did come undamaged and 7 days early. BUT had I not been home my dogs would not have allowed it to be unloaded. To break down your star system Kayak 9 stars. Minn Kota without parts or manual 2 stars. shipping 1 star. BUT spot lock 10 stars

The setup was easy, including installation of a Garmin Echomap 7sv and transducer. It's heavy and can be a bit awkward to load / unload, but it's all worth it. Just be sure to get a good set of wheels or some other plan to make it more manageable for you to cart around.

The AP 136 is a real joy to use in every aspect. You'll spend way less time trying to get your kayak position lined up for the best cast, which just means more time actually fishing. If you're looking for the best out there, you found it.

This kayak is awesome! It's a huge upgrade from my old kayak not only because this one has a Minn Kota motor with spot lock but also because I can stand up on this thing without worrying about it tipping over. It's also really nice having 4 flush mounted rod holders. These ones are really nice too they have a loop so you can attach rod leashes if you want to. The tank well is huge! You could easily fit a full sized cooler in there. The rudder is a game changer for me as well. I had my battery die and had to paddle with a paddle that's to short. I was able to one side paddle to make it work and the rudder kept me strait. I also like that the stern has a place to mount a shallow water anchor system. it also has a hole on each side for that you could run an anchor rope through and manually pull it up and drop it down. I also really like having a huge open deck! You have tons of room for gear plus it has those cutouts for pliers and things. I bought Old Town scupper valves for mine and they work pretty good to keep water out. It does come with one scupper valve under the seat where the battery box goes. The motor is great, I can go about 4.3 mph with me (240lbs) and all of my gear. Spot lock works good plus you can save you spots. You can also save your course which will be very nice for me because I live on a canal that connects to the lake I fish so I can program my path so I can troll on my way out without messing with controls unless I see another boat coming. I really love the seat too. I could sit in this thing all day and when I get out I don't feel like I've never walked before like my other kayak. Overall I think you get your bang for your buck in this kayak. The price tag may seem high but go look up the motor alone (different set up of course) on Minn Kota's web site then go look up other brand fishing kayaks and tell me it's not a steal. Also this boat came wrapped in thick plastic then cardboard then a thinner plastic. Not a scratch!

Only been out once in it. But was what I expected, don't know why some complain about tackle storage. There is plenty of room in front of you for a rather large box. That would be easy access to access. Can't wait to get back out on the lake.

Awesome kayak!!! This thing is unbelievable. I will keep this forever. I had an Old Town PDL before buying the Autopilot. No comparison. If you can afford it, buy it. You won't be sorry. Buying from Eco Fishing was perfect. Great price, shipping and boat showed up early and in perfect condition.

What a trouble free purchase. The kayak arrived in perfect condition. Now just got to wait for the ice to melt off the lakes. Will definitely do more business with you!!! Thanks

panheadrider55@gmail.com
My autopilot 136 is exactly what I was looking to get. My biggest problem with it is the certificate of ownership, it needed to be notorized and was not filled out in my name so went through a bunch of hoops to get it taken care of, and still have to go through the wildlife agency because of it! Not to happy about that! Not going to buy another one at any cost too much B.S. that was not told to me prior.

Just need to find out how to get a bill of sale and the hull # in order to register it

Kayaks arrived in the Pacific Northwest without issues! However, since we received them in Oct. they have not been in the water.

I just received the kayak but being the end of October here in Colorado I would be able to put it on the water until May so until then don’t know much about it.

Love this kayak, gives me more time for fishing and less time hassling around with my pole and paddles. Eco Fishing has done an excellent job at answering all questions and customer service is the best.