Jackson Kayak "Mayfly" Hot

I just spent 4 days in the new Jackson Kayak “Mayfly.” The first thing I noticed about the Mayfly is the extremely low side profile. This really helped in the wind and keeps the kayak from getting blown about. It will make for extremely easy deep water reentry as well (I will test that on purpose when the water warms up). The very next thing I noticed is the open deck. I mean this is a beautiful, flat, wide open expanse of real estate with a huge standing area.
That wide deck allows me to move my feet around more when standing so I am not “locked” into a certain stance. This made for MUCH more comfort throughout the day since I could shuffle my feet and change positions regularly. The stability is almost dock like allowing me to turn and fish sideways or cast in just about any position. It was easy to get the Mayfly up to speed and keep it there and tracking was excellent. I am not sure how many miles we paddled over 4 days of our trip but it was a pile of them. I wish I knew how many that were paddled standing up because I am positive I set a personal record for me.
The new footrest is comfortable and since I am short legged there was enough room in front of it to put my camera bag. There is a generous amount of room behind the seat as well and that is where my other camera sat through the trip. My Jkrate sat in the tank well and between it and the 2 flush mount rod holders I had plenty of spots for rods. The 2 fly rod stagers were awesome; I had a 9’ 10WT rod in one and an 8’ 8WT in the other. They were easily removed and replaced on the water and most importantly safe and secure.
The new hatch covers are very nice; easy to open and access and very tight sealing. There is a gear pan in the bow hatch for small stuff and I was very impressed with it. No more chasing small stuff through the hull of my boat! The small fly box holders on the sides are a neat feature. I will not be using them for fly boxes but now I have a place for those never ending bags of soft plastics that usually litter my deck. It will keep them at arm’s length and out of the way.
I really can’t say enough how impressed I am with this kayak. The combined attributes of stability, paddle-ability and comfort added to a vessel that handles any kind of gear an angler could hope for is just a dream come true to me. I have already seen it with fly gear and conventional gear and it won’t be long before I will be breaking the bow out as well. The Mayfly has far surpassed my hopes and expectations and this is just my first week in it.