J Francho

Just get a Fish Grip:

Read up. There's at least three posts that mention the words faster, easier, longer in association with using braid as a backer to lose spool weight.

Nice one!

You guys claiming a lighter spool = longer casts are on the wrong trail. Greater spool mass = greater centrifugal force, longer spin times, which equals more line out. A light spool has a faster start up, with less energy required. This is for lighter baits, not longer casts. Take a look for videos on casting competitions, and see what they use for reels.... My longest casts are made with one of my shortest rods, and budget reel that has a deep, high capacity U spool. 6'2" Avid MXF, Daiwa Procaster from the 2000s, 10# P-Line CXX, Lucky Craft Sammy 115. Clean out the spool bearings, and use Shimano Bantam Oil. Especially when AI is spouting gibberish, lol.

We even left our '62 Penn Yan woody in all summer. It did get refinished/repainted every 3-4 years, but that comes with the territory when you have a wood boat.

Practice.

I catch quite a few with hooks in their guts.

Wait until a bat ticks your braid....lol.

Seems simple enough to make. And yeah, it never ceases to amaze me how often people turn to email before calling. For a business, email is time consuming and expensive. Much easier to have a phone call and talk to a person that knows what you need. And as far as whether it's option or not, it's moot. Pretty sure tcbass bought the boat used.

We've left boats in spring through summer at our cottage without issue since I was a kid. I/O & OB open bows, Ski Nautique, jet skiis, a 24' Penn Yan salmon charter, my deep-V fishing boat..... Other than algae on the hull, there were no ill effects - nothing a scrub and wax in the fall didn't take care of. They're boats. They're made to be in the water, lol. A lift is nice, around here, you can find manual lifts relatively cheap. A cover is a must, especially if there's no shade. Obviously, you'll want to mitigate any rubbing issues. Fenders are okay for temporary docking, but you want some protection on the dock itself.

The price of a disco'd President is never going to increase.

There are literally thousands of boats along parked in slips and docks around every bit of habitable shoreline up here. If sinking was an issue, it wouldn't be the norm. In fact, many are surprised when I tell them I trailer to whatever lake I want to fish. They think I'm nuts, lol.

Nice brown, Mike! Why Utah? You're only a few hours away from monster browns. Bigger than anything in Utah. That's a male, btw.

Automatic bilge!

I find that to win, everything must go right. It means the fish are there from pre-fishing, and your plan you developed in practice is executed without a hitch. It means you don't drop good fish, and don't miss bites. From there, I find it's all about adjustments, when something changes. That can mean the bite, the weather, current, water conditions, and all the above. I have a TON of second places, and just a handful of wins. It's not easy to be that consistent, on any level.

I've ridden a bunch of models at the paddle shop I've worked with. None were "fishing" models.

Holy crap, it is! Not necessarily. There's a few out there.

I can unequivocally state that any of the kayaks I've owned are more stable than any SUP I've been on, and I've been on a few over the years. The boats I've stood in to fish: Ocean Kayak Prowler Big Game Freedonhawk - all models Jackson Coosa Feel Free Moken 10, 12, 13, 14 Malibu (can't remember the models, a 10 and 14) Wilderness Systems Commander 140 &120, Ride 135 (older style), Ride 115/115x, ATAK 140

Probably just the camera flash off the lens.

Interesting...only because, I use very little spool tension, and full brakes for pitching. Brakes aren't usually enough to stop a cast, just slow a cast. Spool tension can stop a cast. My pitching reels have Daiwa's Mag-V II braking system though, so maybe it's different. I can't remember what the Max line uses.

Hollow body popping frog

Just open the palm side, take the spool out. one drop in the bearing pack on the spool, and one drop on the bearing pack inside the palm side cover.

I don't skin hook any bait. T-rig them with at least a 1/4 oz. weight, if you want the claws to operate correctly. From the rigging page: http://www.ragetail.com/news/rigging-info/

Impossible to weigh over the intewebz, but it's a nice fish. Typical August girth.

In the beginning, it's just gravity, but eventually you will gain centrifugal force as you learn to swing the bait with force as you raise the rod tip. That's when you'll be able to sling lighter baits.