Stasher1

I think it could work well for pond or small lake fishing, but I wouldn't attempt it on any of the rivers around here.

If your priority is recreation over fishing, why are you looking at fishing kayaks? Look at decent recreational kayaks and add some rod holders. Fishing kayaks are usually pretty slow and unnecessarily heavy for recreational use, especially in shorter lengths like 10 footers. I have a Pescador 10.0 that just sits in my basement while my Riot Quest 10HV gets used on a regular basis. Much, much faster on flat water, tracks better, and is a blast in class I/II water. Came with a couple flush rod holders on the rear deck and I added a short track on the dash for a Scotty Gearhead along with a Yakattack/YakGear hybrid anchor trolley.

BPS is about 15-20 minutes from home, but I haven't been in quite a while. I have a ton of lures and a couple rods/reels I haven't even used, so why buy more? Last couple times, I went straight to the camping section and bypassed the fishing section(s) completely.

No disagreement. If you're not sore for days afterwards, only while underway, it's ergonomics and not physical fitness. It doesn't matter how comfortable the chair is while you're sitting around the fire. If it's not comfortable while you're paddling/fishing, it's simply not the right seat for you.

Was just discussing this earlier today with a coworker as I toured a large recycling facility. When we redid the kitchen and living room half-bath in our previous house, we placed the old fixtures, range hood, etc out by the street on trash day eve. It was all gone within a couple hours. Scrappers will pick up anything that'll make them a buck or two.

Imo, if you can't spend the better part of a day on/in a kayak without being sore for a couple days, you should take a long hard look at your current level of physical fitness. My current fishing kayak caused minor pain and numbness in one leg, and that was remedied by reworking the seat for less than $100. Now it's an all-day fishing machine...but I have a strong core and do a good bit of hiking and recreational canoe/kayak paddling.

Your weight and the max weight capacity of your kayak will also factor into your decision on scupper plugs. If you're close to the weight limit on your kayak, the scupper holes beneath your butt will act like geysers in rough water and shoot water up into the seating area. I use foam golf balls in my rear storage area and under my seat, but leave the ones down by my feet open to allow water to drain out after I climb in.

Been managing to catch plenty of bass over the past decade on some highly pressured lakes, without throwing a Senko. So yeah, it's pretty safe to say I don't need them. If they work for you, rock on.

Brace yourselves... Senko Tried them a few times 10-12 years ago with no luck and haven't touched them since. Too many other productive lures to bother with them, tbh.

This. They've been shipping rods for decades. I would imagine they've got it figured out by this point.

It's the low-hanging limbs you need to keep an eye on. They'll lift a rod right out of a holder, without making a sound. Like a d**n ninja.

Everyone's needs, tastes, and home waters are a bit different, but I can cover the vast majority of my needs with... 6'9" ML/F or ML/XF spinning for weightless finesse worms, floating worms, dropshot, and small inline spinners 7' M/F spinning for light T-rigs and small creatures 7' MH/F casting for heavier T-rigs and small jigs 6'8" MH/MF casting for spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, lipless, squarebills, and jerks I don't do any deep cranking or pitching into really heavy crap, so I don't own rods for those techniques. The only "specialty" rod I own at the moment is my 7'11" float & fly rod, and I could probably get by with my 6'9" ML/F for that, if I had to.

If your finesse rod is a 6' Ugly Stik, that's where I'd be looking to upgrade. A longer, lighter, and more sensitive rod will help you with all of your finesse techniques.

I replaced a Curado 200e7 with a Cardiff 100A several years ago, and never regretted the decision. Shimano's smaller round baitcasters are still fairly low-profile, so it's not quite the same as mounting an old Abu Ambassadeur 5000 to your rod. I added a stock Curado 200e handle/knobs, Carbontex drag, and flushed/lubed the bearings. Butter-smooth, casts just as well as the Curado it replaced, and feels great in my hand.

One of the things I really like about kayak fishing is the simplicity, so usually just two. I'll occasionally add a third, but never more than three total. I don't even bring enough lures and misc. stuff to justify a crate. I have a small soft lunchbox full of soft plastics and another bag that holds two 3600 cases. I grab the cases I need based on location and season, and leave the rest at home.