Heritage Redfish 12 Review

Let's rename it the "Florida Trifecta 12"

An ad man as well as a fisherman, I always liked the Heritage Redfish ad that showed a close-up of a redfish tailing in shallow water and a headline that read, "Get closer to the ones you love." So I was delighted to be able to borrow a bright orange Heritage Redfish 12 Angler over Easter weekend and take it for spin. Would it live up to its name? Would the Redfish catch redfish?

In the two hour-long fishing jaunts I took in and around the mouth of a certain bayou, which shall go unnamed, I was able to catch not only a redfish but also a nice speckled trout and a flounder–the trifecta, the Florida inshore slam! The redfish, by the way, was as big a 27-incher as I ever caught (see photo above). The other two fish would each fill a plate nicely.

So, was it the kayak? Well, it was certainly a better haul than I usually get. So why not give the boat some credit? Just the name alone probably adds some good karma.

The keys to the catch, though, were:

• The water: the tide was in, which often means the fish are too.

• The bait: I used Berkley Gulp 3-inch shrimp in "penny" to catch all three fish.

• The retrieve: The water in early April is still very chilly, and the fish move slowly. So I used a slow retrieve with some wrist twitches to keep things interesting. I learned about the slow winter retrieve from Eric Holstman's blog. Eric is a fishing guide out of Pensacola who never seems to miss his objective–finding and catching redfish.
  

• The luck: good.

You'd think the most exciting moment would be catching the redfish, but the trout won this category, hands down. Sure, redfish fight better than trout, while they are underwater. Once you get a trout into the boat, though, all bets are off. My trout got out of my hand and flipped all over that boat. I grabbed it, started to dehook it, and lost it again overboard. So I reeled it in a second time and just managed to subdue it as the hook fell out by itself. Whew!

Redfish, in contrast, seem to be pretty much done by the time you get them aboard. No fish strikes or fights better. But as long as you keep a little pressure on them, they can be downright gentlemanly on board.

But, I digress.

The Redfish 12 is very similar to my Perception Caster 12.5 (recently replaced in the Perception line-up by the Search 13). There's a nice bow hatch forward and the standard cargo deck in the back. The model I borrowed didn't have the six-inch hatch on the bridge behind the seat, but I would recommend you getting it. There is an amazing amount of room inside the hull of a sit-on-top, and I use this location on my Caster to store bottles of water and some food when I go kayak camping. Just secure mesh bags to hold your stores so they don't go rolling to places you can't get to.

My Caster has an additional hatch in front of the seat, which is a great place to stow a camera, a snack, etc. The Heritage doesn't have this but there seems to be more flat cockpit floor, which helps in other ways, such as allowing you to keep a fairly large tackle box where it's handy.

The paddling characteristics are pretty good for a fishing platform, and the boat, again, felt very much like my own. I think the bow rode a bit higher, which is good. One of the few complaints I have about the Caster is, the low bow lets chop come right over it.

The only quality problem I saw with the Heritage was that the tracks for the foot pegs were riveted at the ends but not in the middle, so the tracks we're bowed a bit and didn't lie flush against the walls of the cockpit. This didn't cause a problem, but it looked as if there could be undue stress on the rivets over time. Perhaps this was simply a peculiarity of this particular boat.

The real star of the Redfish was the seat–quite simply the most comfortable SOT seat I have ever used. They call it the DVC Seating System. The letters stand for Drains, Vents, and Cushions, and it seemed to do all three. The part that got the highest marks from me, though, was the high, supportive back. If you are looking at the Heritage, which comes with the seat, and something else that doesn't come with a seat, be sure you understand that this seat is probably worth $100 all by itself.

The Heritage Redfish 12 Angler seems to list for about $900 although I found it online for $735. If you want to use this boat for distance paddling, you'll want to add the optional rudder. It'll come in handy for running twisty rivers, too. A rudder is a great aid in navigating the rapids and turns which can so often spin a rudderless boat sideways to the current.

You also have the option of spending less on a non-angler version of the Redfish and simply adding rod holders, yourself. As long as you've got that six inch hatch for access, installing the flush holders is easy using stainless screws and nuts. I did it on my Caster. If you don't have the hatch, you'll need to use rivets. Just be sure you use holders that are sealed at the bottom or seal them yourself with epoxy putty.

Over all, I think the Redfish 12 is a very good choice. And, as I proved, it can live up to its name.


HERITAGE REDFISH 12
Specs
Length: 12' 3" (368cm)
Width: 30" (76cm)
Depth: 12” (30cm)
Kayak Weight: 65 lbs. (29kg)
Cockpit Length: 53” (135cm)
Cockpit Width: 18.5” (47cm)
Bow Hatch Length: 16” (41cm)
Bow Hatch Width: 11.25” (29cm)
Stern Well Length: 33” (84cm)
Stern Well Width: 18” (46cm)
Capacity: 350 lbs. (159kg)