flyfisher

Nope.

I think i can guess which one goes with which event....lol

I posted on here a while back about wanting to go after my masters and get my teaching certification. Haven't posted in a while about it so i figured i would give an update. I am currently on the last day of a class and only have 2 more to go and then it is off to student teaching. Everything is going according to plan and i should be done by the end of this coming school year. It was not without struggles though. I lost my job back in May that i was hoping to keep until i was student teaching but it is what it is. I am about to start another job as a customer service rep for online issues for another major bank. I started out on the phones in my previous job and i know it will suck but you gotta do what you gotta do. The one positive is i can keep the job while i student teach. Those 12 weeks will be brutal though as i will be teaching from 7:30-2:30 then to my paying job from 3:30-12:00....It's gonna suck but nothing worth having is easy. Oh and in the midst of all this turmoil, i married my fiancé in a beach side ceremony in the outer banks in September. I will be very happy when the student teaching is done and i have that masters and teaching certification in my hand....

I tried that on my liberator and it didn't work, it may have been because i was using a mighty mount but not sure. As far as the ram mount goes, that is pretty much exactly what i was thinking of doing. i do like that you can really lock down any of the ram products if you so desire and for a transducer that would be pretty important. the other thing with the side mount as opposed to off the stern is you have to mount the transducer below the bottom of the boat which i guess isn't a big deal but the more i think about it, it seems like off the stern would be the best way to go. Luckily in the commander it is pretty easy to move around and i could move it as needed with little effort.

Yeah the Ram transducer arm fits in the trax system if you get one of his track balls. I use one of the track balls for my fish finder. I have one of the mad frog liberator mini ams and i could never seem to get it where it wouldn't move on me.

I am not a fan of the cellblock actually. I like the idea and the concept but it seems really pricey for a box that basically holds the battery. I also wonder if the weight of the entire unit would be problematic since the battery, fish finder and transducer arm would all be on the same side of the kayak. I also am looking for something that I can leave on for transport and having it on the trax wouldn't work as i use a roof rack on my jeep. I am sure the weight piece really isn't a big deal but that's the kind of thing i think about lol. Now what would be cool is to have a box of some sort mounted to the front thwart of my commander to hold the battery. Then i could leave it on and only remove it to charge.

I know yak attack makes a track system that can be mounted pretty much anywhere. http://www.yakattack.us/category_s/1831.htm i will have to really think it through though because i want to make sure the transducer is where it needs to be and also is out of the way for transport.....since i am not buying right this minute, i have some time at least

that is actually an interesting distinction but it does make sense. I had a transducer mount for the stern of my boat but it always seems to get hit by sticks and things that would work there way down the bottom of the kayak and slide onto the transducer. Never caused any damage because i made a spring loaded mount. I imagine these transducers are a bit more expensive so i will be much more careful with this one for sure.

getting to the front of my boat is no issue at all. i can and have walked to the front to fish before. Definitely one of the advantages to having an open cockpit hybrid style kayak

I have looked at the cell block for installation and it does seem like a nice and compact unit that is easily removed. I am most likely going to rig up something off the front thwart on my commander that will hold the battery. Most likely i will then mount the fish finder as close to me as possible without getting in the way of paddling and the transducer arm will also be up towards the front on the slide tax most likely....still trying to figure out if i want to upgrade or not though....i guess it will depend on how many bass pro gift cards i get for my birthday and christmas

Anyone use this Finder? Seems like an old model and has a small screen but on a kayak, i am not sure how large of a screen i want to go with. http://www.hodgesmarine.com/Humminbird-398ci-Si-Gps-Fishfinder-Combo-W-Side-p/hum409380-1.htm?click=19

i get that,i would just want to have the information available so i can pick spots to hit.

Diascund reservoir is a good lake....I am assuming you haven't ever been there so i will give you the run down. It is a huge lake and electric only so if you are looking to go way up one of the creek arms, a second trolling motor might not be a bad idea. It is a relatively shallow lake where 10 feet is deep, except near the pump house near the public launch. There is a lot of grass out there and part of the key is finding which grass beds are holding the fish. When i fish there i head North from the ramp and don't even put a line in the water until i am about 30-45 minutes into my paddling. There is a ginormous lilly pad field if you go all the way up from the ramp which is about 4 miles or so away. As far as what's working now, i haven't been out there lately for any fall action but last year i was killing them on soft bodied swim baits in blue herring ticking along just above the grass. There are also some monster bowfin in there so don't be surprised if you think you have the largemouth of your life on the line only to find it one of the prehistoric beasts...enjoy the fight and let them go to fight another day there are also some pretty large gar in there too. I may actually get out there on saturday, still debating, so if you see a guy in an orange wilderness systems commander kayak, it is probably me good luck and let us know how you do.

I would go with Ugly Stik if i was forced to make a guess. I remember as a kid saving up birthday money to get my first real fishing rod for $20 or so and it was a 2 piece ugly stick light action spinning rod. Caught a lot of fish on that rod...

Nothing better than going to a world series game....i went to one and it was awesome. Have a blast!!

Shimano Citica and the $100 rod of choice...at MSRP that would be a little over $200 but you can find them on sale for $100 without much effort.

that it is really interesting about the paddle stroke. would it make more sense to mount the transducer in front of the paddle stroke then if possible? I know on my boat i could mount something pretty much all the way up to the bow if needed.

I know one of the mods in here does it so i am sure he will chime in soon enough....

I have that same liberator arm that i used to use on another kayak i had. I am thinking I like that ram ball mount http://www.rammount.com/NewProducts/ramtransducerarmmount/tabid/4459/ it is aluminum and you bend it to where you need it to be. I also know how stable the ram mounts are as opposed to the liberator mount. mine always seemed to move around on me......decisions decisions

thanks for the pics Wayne. I definitely could rig something up. I know they make transducer arms that you can fold up and out of the way when needed and they are pretty easy to mount on the back. Am i also correct in assuming that mounting it as close to the centerline of your boat will be the most beneficial from both a disturbance factor with paddling and from a reading perspective of what you are seeing?

Anyone use side imaging on a kayak? I currently have a pirhanamax that i am contemplating upgrading and it seems like the SI systems are getting more reasonably priced. I am having some issues finding what the transducers look like but i was curious if anyone on here uses one on their kayak and if so, what type of mount?

Cool story and glad everyone was ok. I have seen a few bears and only had one close encounter though. I was fishing about 2 miles up a small stream here in Virginia. I was chasing rookies so i was being pretty quiet and stealth. I was fishing a small pool on my knees when up river i her some noise. I look up and see 2 bear cubs but no momma in sight. I sat and didn't move as they were probably 20 yards away. they played in the stream for a bit and then momma bear came down. She took a look around and sniffed a little but then moved on their merry way. i was never so happy to be casting into a headwind as i was that day. If something happened to me out there i am not sure anyone would have found me for a while lol

Here in the lakes i fish in Virginia I seem to catch a slew of them in the 12-18" range. There are a few places that i know hold even bigger ones and the largest one i caught measured 26", no idea on the weight though.

I have always closed the bail manually because i am feathering the line and it just makes sense to do it i guess and I rarely run into line twist issues. Also even if only a quarter of a turn of twist is introduced that is a lot of twist after a day of casting....

At home against an average team Dallas almost lost which is there MO this season. It also is looking like that win against seattle may not have been as big as originally thought........