Ric Burnley
Hobie’s Mirage Drive Eclipse makes it easy to get into SUP fishing.

Hobie leads the pedal boat market, but they don’t forget about their paddle fans. The Quest is a favorite for fishermen looking for a light and compact boat that is quick to get on the water. This year, they’ve updated the Quest 11 and 13 to use the new Vantage CT seating system found on their pedal boats. I melt into the Vantage CT seat’s mesh back and pan that combine breathable comfort and form-fitting support. A composite frame keeps the seat light. My lower back loves the lumbar adjustment and forward edge that adjusts up to three inches to relieve stress and fatigue on long trips. The seat back reclines and, like all Vantage seats, it can be removed to make the coolest and most comfortable camp chair. Hobie redesigned the Quest seatwell to accomodate the Vantage CT seat keeping the angler low while still elevated off the deck. I’m glad Hobie’s paddle fans can now get one of the most comfortable frame seats on the water.

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Hobie added the Vantage CT seat to their Quest paddle boats. Now everyone can be comfortable.

Earlier this year, Hobie came out with one of the wildest paddleboard on the market. The new Mirage Eclipse is 10’6″-long and 33.5″ inches with an agressive nose and hull design to make it a speedy and efficient sporty board. The board is also offered in a 12-foot/38-inch wide model that would offer more room for fishing. The Eclipse is built out of an epoxy material so it weighs in at 54 pounds (58 for the 12-footer). Hobie brought their Mirage drive to a paddleboard with an ingenious pedal system that runs two Mirage fins flapping under the board. An aluminum alloy handlebar system makes it easy to stand and balance on the board. Hand levers on the handlebars control a rudder that turns the Mirage Eclipse on a dime. Remove the Mirage Drive and handlebars and the Mirage Eclipse turns into a great standard paddleboard.

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Pedals and a handlebar make this performance SUP easy to use.

So, does it work? We tested the MD Eclipse at Pinewood Reservoir during Outdoor Retailer’s Demo Day. Kicking the pedals moves the board at a surprising speed and direction control is responsive and tight. All parts move easily and the mechanism is tight without any play or lost energy. The pedals are easy to operate and provide a good workout. Adding the handlebar makes the board stable enough for anyone to get on and pedal away. While we were on the beach, we asked Hobie fishing pro Morgan Promnitz about the fishing capabilities. He loves the MD Eclipse for after work fishing sessions because it is quick to assemble and easy to load. The handlebars offer an easy place to add rod holders and he straps an H-Crate on the tail to hold gear. Unlike a traditional SUP, there’s no need to drop the rod to pick up the paddle; a rod holder on the handlebars makes it easy to go from pedalling to fishing.

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Special Mirage Drive blades push the SUP faster than you could paddle.

 

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Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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