Cambridge Kayaks Marlin Pro Fishing Kayak

Having been out on my Marlin Pro kayak twice in the past week or so I can say I’m very happy with its performance as a kayak for serious fresh water fishing.
It’s stable (I’m 5’11 and 75kg), fast and easy to operate. It is quite heavy, but is liftable from floor to roof rack on my own.
The pedal system is fantastic for trolling, and for covering a large area. There is a slight design flaw with the rudder control which means it cannot be fully pushed to the right when the chair is fitted as the chair gets in the way. It’s easily fixed by tightening the cord on the rudder slightly which allows for more movement from a smaller turn of the handle.
The kayak has plenty of storage, more than enough for several large lure boxes of big pike lures, a couple of rods and a net, with room in the front hatch for lunch, jackets and any extras.
The single wheel comes in very handy, but if you’re taking longer walk to launch sites I would look into a trolley (I know I am).
One thing to note is access to the hull is limited to the small circular hatch so if you want to fit a “through-hull” transducer then doing so may prove a little tricky.
Also apart from 1 rod holder attachment there is no other way to attach other accessories such as a fish finder head unit without drilling your own holes and fitting after market parts from companies like Railblaza. For myself this isn’t an issue as I will just attach my own, and it was explained to me before purchasing so doesn’t warrant giving it any less stars.
Communication and service from Richard at Cambridge Kayaks was brilliant, delivery was easy and it came well packed.
For the price being considerably cheaper than other kayaks it is well worth it. For myself it’s a 5 star purchase.

It came well packaged
Great starter kayak very stable and comfortable.

The chair is comfortable, there's more than enough rod holders, plenty of storage, and that drag wheel really comes in handy! On top of that you get a pedal drive system, so the price is unrivaled, 10/10 on that front really! Their service is fantastic too!

The downside (for sea angling) though, if the weather changes suddenly and you get caught in a headwind, this kayak makes very little forward momentum for the amount of effort exerted into the pedals (300-500 metres in an hour, which can be scary knowing if you catch your breath for a moment, you lose that progress). You need to use the paddles in this situation too, but in a little swell combined with wind, it doesn't take much to capsize with this kayak, so you'll find yourself using the paddles to stabilize more instead. Someone more experienced or with more body strength may not struggle quite so much in this kayak, but that low price is attractive for beginners. If you're using it as a sea kayak, conditions in which other counterparts to this kayak will cruise through, might be an emergency for you (even close in).

This kayak is fast and absolutely perfect for calm water or small swells with no wind, so for a lake or canal kayak, this gets 5 stars anyday of the week, or even tight to the shore if you go in a group and take a tow rope as backup. Though if you want it for fishing a little more than 200 or 300 metres out, I wouldn't recommend it, there are faster and more stable 10ft kayaks out there. Cambridge Kayak's Sailfish 12ft I imagine would be better suited. A saving grace for it though, is there are motors you can find to slot into the pedal hole, so if you find yourself in a sudden change of wind or swell, you have additional backup.

It’s been 30years since I paddled alongside my son but a paddle board session reignited my love of being on the water so I bought this new-fangled pedal kayak. It arrived on time, well wrapped and delivered by two guys without fuss. Good looking kayak but no helpful tips or instructions so just had to go for it. More info would have helped, maybe. Especially on how to maintain the propulsion paddle/pedal system.
Been out in it three times now and it’s really stable, moves easily with the pedals and I tend to use the paddle for extra power as well as steering. Don’t really bother with rudder but it’s probably useful if just paddling while taking photos or fishing. It really attracts attention from riverside spectators who’ve photoed it more than I would like probably due to it being a cheery blue colour. Longest paddle was four hours on the Wear at Durham and my bum was bit numb after that but the seat is pretty comfortable and supportive once properly adjusted. Access from public landing stage near rowing club behind racecourse, pay by phone car park. Also paddled on the Tees near the barrage but it’s a bit wide n windy there even though there’s easy access from the water sports centre. Yesterday was again on R Tees at Yarm but access is lousy. A friendly paddler passing by showed where and how to launch next to sewage station but it’s a bit steep and muddy. Got in ok and had a lovely peaceful paddle to Aislaby and back managing disembarkation without falling in (bonus!) and hauled the boat up the steepish bank thanks to a stout strap on rear (the boats not mine!)
All in all I’m really pleased with this kayak. Already had several enjoyable trips and people on the water are really friendly. The only downside is weight, at 33kg it can be awkward to manoeuvre alone especially where there are gates and fences blocking access. Have developed a system using old towels to slide it up onto roof bars but someone suggested using an attachable roller that could be useful.
Carpe firm!

This is an addition to my previous review that I posted shortly after buying. Over the last few weeks, I have used my pedal kayak a lot. It helps that I live close to the river and also that it fits quite easily into the back of my car, a Ford Galaxy. Anyway, I've now had a lot more pedaling experience and can confirm my initial assessment was correct, it's brilliant. I've found that it has a natural speed of about 3.5mph that is easy to maintain for ages with not much effort. Flat out, I've managed about 5 but then my legs seemed to catch fire so not worth the bother. Whether the local paddle kayakers are a bit feeble around here, I wouldn't know but they just can't begin to keep up with my pedal version over any sort of distance. One thing you have to get used to is lots of questions from everyone who sees it, they seem fascinated by the ease with which it slips through the water. Just remember you can't pedal backwards - which I wondered might be a problem. It's not, and I soon learnt to use the included paddle for tight manoeuvres, also for setting off from close to the riverbank if the depth wasn't sufficient for the pedal fins to clear.
The kayak is stable and easy to set up. The seat is comfortable for a couple of hours but after that, my bum complains. I've kept an eye on the pedal mechanism and tightened bolts a couple of times. The rubber fins have a few scars where I have scraped the rocks on the river bottom but the kayak came with spare ones which I haven't needed to replace yet. It gets a lot of use as it is surprisingly enjoyable. One small modification I have made is to remove the black 'boot lid' cover on the front storage area as for some reason, it is really heavy and I didn't need it. It makes a useful difference when carrying it from car to water and the rear in-built roller makes it simple. There is central waterproof storage area ideal for phones and car keys which is easy to access.
My friend has a genuine Hobie version and that is definitely made to a nicer standard. But the Hobie costs hugely more money. I reckon the Cambridge Kayak version does a most excellent job and would thoroughly recommend it.