Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 Pro Kayak Review

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The Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 Pro is a beast. I tested this boat on a 6-mile fishing trip, standing, pedaling, and accessorizing the kayak to see what it can do—and I was impressed. If the name Sportsman PDL 120 Pro sounds familiar, that’s because it’s been in the Old Town lineup for some time. But this year Old Town completely redesigned the top half of this kayak and re-released it. The new model features horizontal rod tubes, a deeper and wider tankwell and cockpit, pre-set grommets for mounting motors and anchors, and more. The seat’s mounting system is different, too. Basically, everything from the water line up is different—and better. Here’s a closer look at the redesigned Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 Pro.

Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 Pro

Pros

Super stable boat
Awesome layout with ample storage
Pre-set through-hull ports for wiring and rigging
Pre-set holes for mounting motors and shallow water anchors
Sturdy PDL Drive pedal system
150 inches of track
Adjustable rail-mounted seat

Cons

EVA Foam on the pedals wears quickly
Water can get in the front deck depending on weight distribution
Price you pay to still have to pedal

Buy At old town

Specs

Length: 12 feet
Width: 36 inches
Propulsion: Pedal
Assembled Weight: 131 pounds
Total Weight Capacity: 565 pounds
Usable Weight Capacity: 420 pounds

Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 Pro Overview

The top half of this boat has been completely redesigned with thinner walls and deeper wells to create more room for storage and operating space. The Sportsman PDL 120 Pro has a combined 150 inches of track, pre-cut through-hull wiring ports, pre-set holes for mounting motors and shallow water anchors, and three access hatches to get down into the hull. That means you can modify this boat however you want. Plus, the front hatch is twice as big as the previous design, and there are four horizontal rod tubes.

Old Town also redesigned the seat so the angler sits higher and has a better paddling angle. The seat sits on adjustable tracks, so you can slide it forward or back for a custom fit. Four knobs beneath the seat can be loosened and tightened from the seated position, so you can adjust the seat even on the water. A large rudder at the rear of the boat deploys with a lever to the right of the angler and is controlled with a knob to the left. Overall, the seating and controls are top-notch. The Sportsman PDL 120 Pro retails for $3,599.

Angler holds up catfish and bass — The author holds up two fish while testing the Sportsman PDL 120 Pro. (Photo/Shaye Baker)

Test Results

I tested the Sportsman PDL 120 Pro on Thurlow Reservoir while targeting bass and catfish. I laid my bass rods in the rod tubes, with the reels to the sides of the seat. I put my tackle under the seat, my phone and keys in the little waterproof hatch on top of the PDL Drive console, and a large cooler and 14 floats in the rear tankwell.

I peddled about 6 miles during that trip, targeting bass for the first 5 hours. I liked being able to control the boat relatively hands-free with the PDL Drive while still actively fishing. I had to turn the rudder control knob, of course, when moving from spot to spot. But while fishing, I found I could backpedal if I drifted too far forward, and I could stop or correct myself when needed. The PDL Drive let me cover significantly more water than my traditional paddle kayak.

I stood up a couple of times and found the boat extremely stable in both scenarios. I was also really impressed with how sturdy and powerful the PDL Drive is. I could scoot along pretty well with this pedal drive system, and it didn’t rock back and forth like some others I’ve tried in the past. Towards the end of the trip, I baited up 14 floats and tossed them in the lake to try to catch catfish. That ended up being the most fun I had all day. As the floats started bobbing, I chased them down with the PDL Drive, giggling as I got close. I landed three solid fish and tossed them in the cooler to clean up for a buddy.

What really impressed me was how sturdy this boat is. I weigh 260 pounds, and leaning over to grab something out of the water is enough to topple many kayaks. But even when I stretched as far as I could to grab the float, the Old Town PDL 120 Pro didn’t budge, with the top of the gunwale staying several inches above the water. And, using the rudder and control knob, I was able to slip right up within inches of the floats, once I got the hang of it.

The Minn Kota Terrova trolling motor installed on the front of the Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 Pro. (Photo/Shaye Baker)

Installing Minn Kota Kayak Terrova Trolling Motor

Installing the Minn Kota Kayak Terrova trolling motor on the Old Town 120 PDL Pro elevated this boat to an entirely different class of vessel—quite literally, since I had to register it at the courthouse after adding the motor. But practically speaking, the troller put this boat into a whole other league. While I’m not the biggest fan of installation projects like this, I found some great tutorial videos on Old Town’s website and dove in headfirst.

Mounting the motor itself was super easy, with pre-set mounting hardware built into the bow, specifically for the Kayak Terrova. Just line the Quick Release MKA-21 Bracket up and screw in the four bolts. This bracket is sold separately, but I recommend it so that you can take the motor on and off when loading the boat, to lighten the load. It’s also good to have it so you can detach the motor and set it in the truck or hotel room when on the road.

With the motor mounted, I bought a 6-gauge marine wire to run the length of the boat from the trolling motor to the battery—I put the battery in the stern to disperse the weight. The kit includes an optional relay board you can use to add a safety switch. I highly recommend doing this, even though it’s a little bit of a headache. The safety switch acts like the kill switch on an outboard motor and stops the Terrova instantly should you fall off.

After installing the safety switch near the seat and connecting all the appropriate wires to the relay, I was ready to hook up the battery, pair the motor to the included Micro Remote, and test it out. To test the motor, I took the boat to a local lake on a windy day. It blew 15 miles per hour, sustained throughout most of the day—the type of day I just wouldn’t have fished from a kayak if all I had was a paddle. Even the pedal drive would have been brutal. But with the motor, I could set a course into the wind and set my speed using the AutoPilot feature, or hit Spot-Lock and sit in place while I fished a point, brushpile, or dock. I even used the AutoPilot feature to slowly drift backward in strong current under the dam; I plowed my way upstream with the motor on high, then pointed my motor into the current, set it to about 40 percent, and slowly drifted backward to where I could fish without the motor raging at full bore.

The Terrova is phenomenal, plain and simple. It was a bit of a headache to install, but if I can do it, you can too. Stowing and deploying can be a bit cumbersome at first. I saw people use a rope around the shaft to lower the motor slowly and raise it back up, so I did that, and it worked well. I found my paddle to be the best tool in the boat for pushing the locking deploy/stow lever to send the motor out or lift it back up. The Lift-Assist feature also helps with deployment and stowing.

Final Thoughts

All things considered, the redesigned Old Town PDL 120 Pro is a great boat. It’s sturdy, has a fantastic layout, and the PDL Drive system is top-notch. If you’re into accessories, you can trick this boat out a hundred different ways. Stability is my biggest concern when kayak fishing, and this boat is among the most stable I’ve ever set foot in. I really value a good seat and seat positioning, too. The higher seat and better angle make it much easier to stand, stay seated longer, and fish all day. Being able to slide it forward and backward to find the sweet spot for pedaling was great, too. The bottom line is that the redesigned PDL 120 Pro is more comfortable, stable, and better equipped—which means more time on the water and more fish in the net.

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