Old Town AutoPilot 136 Kayak: An Expert Review

The Old Town AutoPilot 136 Kayak is arguably the most spacious, comfortable, and out-of-the-box, ready to blow your mind kayak available on the market today. The AutoPilot 136 is the biggest, most roomy, and most stable kayak that Old Town currently manufactures. It’s also fast, versatile, and customizable, making it the top choice for those who want to truly buy into kayak fishing. The options are limitless and the waters boundless. Let’s take a closer look at why the Old Town AutoPilot 136 Kayak is king of the kayaking hill.

Old Town AutoPilot 136 Kayak: The Perfect Fishing Kayak

As Old Town’s largest kayak, you’d hope that part of what you get in a 13’ 6” kayak is space. In this category, the AutoPilot 136 delivers in a big way. The deck, covered with gripping foam, has enough room to quite literally kick your feet up while the 45lb thrust MinnKota trolling motor does the work. In terms of practicality, the deck space allows the easy management of tools, tackle, and, hopefully, large fish. You won’t feel crowded or burdened by trying to re-organize your deck area every time you change lures or handle a fish. If you want to keep a tackle box easily available on deck, there’s ample room up near the trolling motor. Want to have your rain jacket on hand in case of a quick summer shower? Set it in the space at your feet. Tools can be stored between the gunnel and the pedal track, keeping the deck clear for what is probably the most beneficial part of all this foot space- standing to fish. Whether you’re in freshwater pitching a jig at some brush for largemouth and want leverage for a hookset, or in the saltwater needing a good angle to effectively give action to a large plug, standing is going to make your life easier. Kayak fishing is reaching new heights each year, and the ease with which you can stand and fish in the AutoPilot 136 is one of those advantages that was before only a dream for kayak fishermen. 

The AutoPilot 136 Has More Than Enough Room For Your Gear And Then Some!

A key to kayak fishing success in both fresh and saltwater is the ability to bring enough gear to adjust tactics when necessary. It is always better to have and not need than need and not have. There’s no shame in looking like a porcupine out there with six or seven rods and a big old tackle box. The AutoPilot 136 has the largest tank well of the Old Town Sportsman fleet, with plenty of room for a large tackle crate, tracks to add rod holders, and additional space for a cooler or bait bucket. Even with all of these items on board, you’ll have room to spare with the AutoPilot 136. With the stability offered by the AutoPilot 136, reaching back to get this gear is not a harrowing process. You can be confident that whether you’re grabbing a PB & J out of your cooler, quickly snagging your chatterbait box for a swift lure change, or turning back to reach a rod off a rod holder on one of the two included gear tracks, you can do it with comfort and confidence.

Is The AutoPilot 136 Stable?

Whether you’re a freshwater tournament angler or a serious saltwater fisherman, the space and stability provided by the AutoPilot 136 is going to provide numerous benefits, including: seeing fish from a higher vantage point, getting greater leverage for hooksets, allowing more space to reach back for a long cast, and more easily imparting action on your baits. All of these in tandem mean more time with your lure in the water and more fish coming into the kayak. Concerned about stability? Don’t be. The primary and secondary stability of the AutoPilot 136 is supreme. Take one for a test run, and stand, turn, wiggle, hop, whatever you want…you’ll feel the stability at work. Even if you’ve never stood to fish before, it won’t take long for your sea legs to establish themselves and you’ll be on your way to taking full advantage of this tremendous fishing kayak.

Equipped With A Powerful, Long-Lasting MinnKota SpotLock Trolling Motor

Coupled with the advantages of size and space, the AutoPilot 136 also offers what no other standard-feature kayak can- A MinnKota trolling motor equipped with SpotLock. Once you’re hooked up with power (typically a 100aH lithium iron battery), you can run all day and use SpotLock and the motor non-stop. For those unfamiliar, SpotLock is basically a GPS anchor. The same way your maps app on your phone uses GPS to note your location on the road, SpotLock GPS notes your location in the water. When you press the anchor-shaped SpotLock button on your iPilot remote, the motor will then keep you in that spot regardless of wind, waves, tide, or the pull of a fish. In freshwater, that might mean sitting tight while you pick apart a wind-blown point with a spinnerbait or crankbait. It may also mean staying put so you can surgically hit every nook and cranny of a submerged tree. In saltwater, bottom-fishermen can find their structure and stay right over the top of it. Or, approach an advantageous angle from which to break down a tidal point or jetty, SpotLock, and comfortably pepper the structure with casts while everyone else struggles to stay in place and resorts to drifting, moving, and re-drifting every couple of minutes. Rarely has a technology come into kayak fishing which does so much to dramatically alter what we know our sport to be. SpotLock is one of those features that has changed the game forever.

Unlimited Kayak Rigging Options

The best fishing kayaks start with a strong set of standard features right out of the box, but are then fully tailored to fit the needs of the individual angler. The AutoPilot 136 is just that. After adding a battery, you can plop it in the water and go. Or, you can do what many others have: get it rigged to customized perfection. Add lights, both inside, outside, and on the bow. Or add rod holders in the front and back, or a measuring board holder near your seat for a quick tournament-winning photo. Put a signal flag on a rear track to keep you safe and visible out on big water. It’s all a possibility, and then some. In today’s world of customized kayaks, if you can dream it, it can be done.

The AutoPilot 136 Is The Ideal Kayak For Mounting A Fishfinder

One of the most commonly added features is a fishfinder. Most kayaks can fit a fishfinder, but you have to sacrifice some space to do so, especially if you want a screen that’s 7 inches or bigger. Due to the aforementioned deck space offered by the AutoPilot 136, you can actually mount your fishfinder, or two, of any size, on a dashboard style plate, without having to put it on the side and take up space there. The freedom to move, cast, work your bait, and fish freely. That’s what it’s all about.

The AutoPilot 136 Checks ALL Of The Boxes

It all circles back to the space, size, and customizability of the AutoPilot 136. Those features are the trifecta of kayak fishing magic that make this kayak one of one. It is the premier fishing kayak on the market today, and one that will open you to more fishing options than you even knew were available. From scenic lakes to rippling rivers to the great blue ocean, the Old Town Sportsman AutoPilot 136 is at home on the water.