Darren.

He will be missed. Loved his knowledgeable, wise-uncle delivery of fishing wisdom...

Not only slower, but are you fishing spinning or baitcasting? With spinning, and you may already do this, be sure to close the bail by hand. You can add to twisting headaches when reeling to close the bail - in my experience. You'll find the wacky rig to be deadly, welcome to the fanclub :-)

Welcome rangerboy!

Jim, the interesting thing about the Native is the pontoons in the hull. I didn't believe it until I tried it myself, but they are amazingly stable and create a suction, if you will, on initial stability, then the secondary stability kicks in and wow. This isn't to say the right person can't tip. I just haven't yet. I'm only about 5'7" and a wee bit overweight and have no issues. As for the Commander. Wilderness Systems, so as not to copy Native, reversed the pontoons on the hull. So they come inTO the hull, shaped toward the inside of the boat while the Native pontoons are concaved down into the water. Both are extremely stable, just different designs. As I mentioned, you'll want to sit in these at a kayak shop if at all possible. As for getting in/out of the pack canoe, I'm really not sure. My canoe was a 16' aluminum Grumman, I didn't have a pack canoe. But I did look at canoes before going kayak. The seat in the Native is amazing, and IMHO, better than the Commander. The Commander, though, does have a perch you can sit on which elevates you up. You flip the seat back down and sit up. The Native seat is called First Class, and it is exceedingly comfy. You can either purchase a foam block riser from Native, or build your own (as I did) which elevates your entire chair. Now as for getting in/out. These hybrids sit lower to the water, which is where the interbreeding of kayak + canoe comes in to play. Kayaks are lower, but canoes offer more storage and such. So your gunnels will be lower on the yak than the canoe. I'll respond to your PM as well. If weight is a concern, Native makes a 35 +/- pound Ultimate, but it's rather pricey.

When I broke one of my more pricey rods in a door, I decided to take it to a local shop that happens to build rods. Guy there put a new tip on for maybe $3.00. Looks like it was built on the rod from the factory. I have done my own as well, and done a good job if I say so meself, but if I were looking for great, pro quality work, I'd take it to this guy again.

Those are some HOGS, guys!

As an owner of a hybrid (Native Ultimate 12), I can say it is awesome. I was a canoe fisherman before I became a kayak fisherman. My first yak was a sit on top and though I liked it, it wasn't of the stable-enough-to-stand-in variety so I made pontoons for it, but even that wasn't stable enough. I was intro'd to the Native U12 and the WS Commander at a local Virginia kayak shop and found the U12 to be the best of breed - for me. I wanted something that gave me the storage, etc., that my canoe did, stability to stand up in, and all that. For me the Native had (has, IMHO) the better seat between the two. I built a simple riser that lifts me up but doesn't compromise any stability. Makes it simple to stand/sit while on the water. The NuCanoe above looks pretty nice as well. So I heartily recommend either Native's or WS's but strongly urge you to try before you buy. It is a personal decision so get as much info as you can before you jump on someone's recommendation, even mine.

Hi Bill, welcome aboard.

Welcome, and yeah, good for her there wasn't a treble hook tied on.

Welcome aboard.

Yup, a chain pickerel. Caught a few in my time, and some big uns, too.

If I may offer my .02, I've found the best for spinning reels is to use braid for mainline, then tie on a leader of whatever material, be it fluorocarbon, copoly, mono, etc. It'll also end up a lot cheaper in the long run since you'll leave the braid on for a year or two and simply tie a new leader. So a spool of fluoro might also last you a year... As I said, just my .02. If that's just not gonna do for ya, a good quality fluorocarbon (toray, sunline shooter, Seaguar and plenty of others folks will give you suggestions as well) is your answer. I'd venture 10# is the heaviest I'd use, with a generous spraying of KVD line conditioner to make it more nimble.

Cool pic, nice work! Welcome aboard

Rod: Spinning Power/Action: M, XF Length: 5'9" Brand/Model: Shimano Compre, pre-2012 style (I *strongly desire* an Avid, so this is based on what I have now) Reel: Brand/Model: Shimano Stradic FJ (again, based on what I have now) Size: 1000 Line: 10lb PowerPro Yellow + P-Line Floroclear, mist green leader

Welcome to the site.

Sorry to laugh, but dang. What's the low budget man doing with a big budget bait?! No really, what a bummer. But nice turtle!

You can use 12lb braid on a BC. I currently have 10lb Fireline (4lb dia.) on one of my BCs (Accurist 570pt) and I've only had it dig in maybe once or twice in more than 8 months fishing this setup (irregularly as I mostly use my spinning gear). And I mostly fish soft plastics with this setup, occasional cranks, spinnerbaits, jigs, etc. However, I'll be changing out the Fireline for PowerPro. Haven't been thrilled with Fireline in general. I've had great experience with 15/20/30/40lb PP on BCs in the past. For me, braid as mainline works because I can leave it on for long periods (unless a birds nest kills it). Leader choice changes depending on conditions, confidence, etc. My wallet is grateful to not have to spend so much on spools anymore.

Man, sky's the limit with the variety available today. If I were you, I'd head to a local BPS, Cabelas, or other sporting goods store with your reels and ask if you can put them on some rods to see how they feel. If money's no issue, have a look at G. Loomis rods, St. Croix Avids, Legends, Shimano Crucials, Compre's (over the counter warranty). Even house brands can be pretty good. Just to name a few. Would hate swearing by something that you *HAVE* to buy and then you buy it and hate it. Hope this helps...

Yup, Normans! These are great for quick lure changes. I've got some in my tackle pack.

I'll add my opinion to the others: For me, I love M, XF rods from 5'9" to 6'3" and my mainstay spinning reels are Shimano Stradic 1000FI models with 10 lb yellow Power Pro mainline. I like my setups to be shorter and lighter. I'm getting older, so this is what suits me, may not suit you at all!! Personally, I see no need for anything more than a 1000 size reel. Muskie? Yeah, I'd go bigger, but I've not met a bass I couldn't handle yet. Yet. When I do, then I'll think about it. Look at it this way, you want to be prepared for whatever you might catch, BUT, you also need to know how to handle a fish if you're not using your optimal gear at the time. IE., if you hook a monster with 4lb test on a 5' ultra light setup, you won't give up because you don't have your 7' MH + a 3000 or 35 or whatever size reel! No, you will fish accordingly, play it, use your hand to supplement the drag on your undersized reel and work it to bring in the prize. I digress. A M rod can have a 1000-4000 size reel if you want. Probably wouldn't put a 1000 on a MH rod, though. Spool the M setup with lighter line, the MH with heavier line for heavier fishing. Use what feels good in your hands and gives you confidence for whatever is lurking in that waters you fish.

Nice to have you aboard, papajoe222.

Guess a definition of "break the bank" is needed. If you're looking to spend a max of $1200, say, look at easy-to-stand kayaks such as the Native Ultimate 14.5, the Wilderness Systems Commanders or Ride models, Jackson Coosa and Cuda, Moken Anglers, etc. There are several great kayaking stores on the web you can find discounts on last year models that put some of these models below $1k. Because you're a tall fellow I'd suggest nothing shorter than a 14'. All of these will let you stand, the Commander and Ultimate are hybrids (canoe/kayak) while the others are SOT's (Sit On Top) with scupper holes. If money is not as much of an object, Hobie Pro Angler... But $2500 ain't small change.

Alas, no Cabelas in South Eastern Virginia... Sigh. BPS needs some good competition down here. Nothing against BPS, just like competition keeping prices down :-)

Agree with backlashes causing kinks. Like MarkH said, KVD might help a bit.

Wow. That's awesome. Now if I could borrow those guys for a day at my reservoir to show me what my el cheapo Garmin fish finder screen translates into down below, that'd be great!