Wilderness Systems Pungo 100 and Pamlico 100 (Guest Review)
by Jeff "Yakfish" Little

Last year I instructed three anglers who owned a Wilderness Systems Pungo. While performing many of the maneuver exercises, these anglers seemed to be at a disadvantage compared to other students with more rounded hull kayaks. While performing eddy turns, the Pungo would careen across the eddy and into the bank or swift water on the other side. Students in other kayaks could easily perform the quick about face, once inside the eddy. Upon trying to peel out of the eddy, most Pungo owners required half the width of the river to make the turn. I had made up my mind about the Pungo.

So when Harry Longerbeam with Wilderness Systems contacted me about helping him promote kayak fishing from Wilderness Systems kayaks, I had to express my dislike for the manufacturer's best selling kayak. I explained to him that I thought that it was a great boat for flat water fishing, but could not maneuver well enough in current. After looking at Wilderness System's website, and seeing the newly redesigned Pungo, I agreed to take it for a float.

I actually borrowed two models, the Pungo 100, and the Pamlico 100. My wife, Jessica, and I test drove each of the models on a swift river that had just returned to near normal levels following minor flooding. Jessica's usual kayak is an Old Town Otter. My usual kayak is a Perception Axess. These two round hulled kayaks were our benchmarks. The Pungo 100 and the Pamlico 100 appear to be very similar to each other. Hull design is the major feature that differentiates the two models.

The hull design of the new Pungo is more rounded compared to the old Pungo design. The shorter 10 foot length of the Pungo 100 also helped the new design move closer towards being an ideal river fishing kayak. As far as the turning responsiveness, it fits somewhere in between the old Pungo, and the Otter or Axess. Jessica commented that "You don't really have to worry about staying in a straight line." I felt that it took more effort to peel out or eddy turn the Pungo 100 compared to the Axess, but it was possible with good technique. The turning responsiveness is adequate for beginners in Class 1 water, or intermediates in Class 2 water.

The Pamlico 100's hull design is more suited for rivers. The keel line is less pronounced compared to the Pungo 100. This allows the angler to turn in less time, using a smaller area of the river. However, there is a trade off with this maneuverability. The Pungo 100 advanced upstream in current much easier than the Pamlico 100. The Pungo 100 also required less correction when the wind pushed across the water.

Both kayaks feature a rear hatch. Having never owned a kayak with a hatch, I was pleased with being able to get to my lunch without beaching the kayak, getting out, then sliding the seat forward.

The cockpits on both boats are very large. I initially thought that this may be a problem when installing a rod holder. The rod would be positioned so far forward, that you would need to slide forward off of the seat in order to reach it. The two demo boats did not have rod holders, so I was forced to just lay the rod at the top of the cockpit. This actually worked quite well. The large cockpits also made getting in and out of these kayaks effortless. I would feel somewhat nervous about taking a kayak with such a large open cockpit through Class 3 water. Most kayak anglers know their limits, and know when to portage.

The seats on both boats feature Phase 3 seat design. This design allows the angler to adjust the height of the foam backrest, as well as the height of the front pad of the seat. Three other useful features that are not stock items on all recreational kayaks are the drain plug, foot pegs, and deck rigging.

One modification that I would make to both boats would be to attach some sort of padding to the rim of the cockpit. The bare plastic rim alerted any nearby fish with a loud thumping noise when I set the paddle across it. The paddle also slid across the rim surface too easily when a fish was on the line, and the wind was pushing against the paddle blades. Gluing some padding or spacers to the cockpit rim would remedy this problem.

Both boats retail for $479.00. Nylon skirts are available for both kayaks. Wilderness Systems realizes that more people are getting into kayak fishing. These two new kayak designs are evidence of that.

Wilderness Systems Web Site