BGD: Being minimalistic and still catching fish is one of the cool things about it. It's almost like stealing a good time. No noise, fumes, bad motors, broken trailer lights, wheel bearings, yearly registration.... all are hassles I don't want to deal with. Sure it's more work, and in certain situations its impractical, but I don't mind catching a ton of small fish on ultralight gear (or Spanish on gotchas a quarter mile past the breakers) and my doc told me I needed more cardio anyway, so I'm killing two birds with one paddle.

Also, you hit on another important part of it. The make and model of what's under you makes a huge difference with respect to paddling efficiency, comfort, and how much extra movement you have to deal with when in current or working a big bladed spinnerbait. All kayaks are not designed equally.