flyfisher

did you paddle one first? I mean I am not trying to be that guy but that kayak doesn't meet any of the needs you originally mentioned. There are lots of options in kayaks out there and I do agree there are always compromises to be made.

You won't be getting in skinny water with that boat though. My dad has the 13' version and it is far from a skinny water machine and paddling it is a chore to say the least. It was designed to be used with a motor. It also doesn't handle grass well which may or may not be an issue where you fish

Conventional i take anywhere from 4 or so depending on the time of year and how recently i have been out and have an idea of what they may be hitting on. I try to keep a topwater, jig, crank and chatterbait or soft plastic swimbait at the ready. I have Yak attak omega pro rod holders mounted offset from each other and they also allow for quick adjustments as far as the angle they are in the air. I usually keep them as close to horizontal as possible to avoid issues. Fly fishing I take 4 usually, same rod holders and same horizontal layout.

I threw it some on the river but it got snagged way too often and it seemed like a numbers bait to me. I switched to my normal confidencebaits finesse jig or draggin head with a plastic of my choice and snags reduced and quality of fish increased. If I am fishing a small stick bait I generally nose hook it and dead drift.

I used to collect basketball and baseball cards and have been buying my son a complete set every year since he was born that he is not allowed to even open. I do need to check some of the basketball ones though as I know they are pretty valuable.

On my kayak I use lip grippers and depending on the size of the fish and location of the hooks, I may just lip them. The key is if you lip them you can't be soft about it, you gotta grip and hold on to prevent that inevitable shake which is usually when bad things happen. I also majority of the time use my pliers to remove the hooks. Kayaks are definitely a closer quarters kind of thing as your legs are right there and waiting to be hooked. If it is possible and not something worth taking a pic or weighing I will also try and just grab the trebles with my pliers while the fish is still in the water and release them that way too.

11-12 and get out of bed around 5 but I usually wake up at 4 and debate on getting out of bed and usually just lay in bed and read some news, check weather on my phone etc...

River fish aren't going to sit mid water column unless the current allows them to do it. This time of year the smallies are more active and they will chase baits. My last outing dead drifting didn't work at all but if i was moving my flies fast through areas it would elicit follows and strikes.

Doesn't bother me. People act like its an instant death sentence if you hold a fish wrong or let it get dirty yet they go around sticking sharp metal objects in their mouth and then putting them in livewells and weigh them in. I'm more concerned with other aspects of not taking care of the environment we fish in.

Too bad you are literally across the country or i would make a road trip to fish with you and catch one of those hawgs.

pics or it didn't happen lol I love when the bikini hatch arrives unexpectedly. My last river trip had a couple in the same type of attire you mentioned on stand up paddle boards

Sounds like a good place to have nearby.

Lots of craziness today which is we all look forward to the NFL every year. Hurts needs to get rid of these slow starts though because against a good defense the Eagles could have been down 2 TD on pick sixes. All in all though he is maing me feel a lot better about him under center than I did at the end of last season.

same, I may have even recommended that one to you way back in the day. My kitchen knives are due for a sharpening

As a kayak fisherman i always hear people say oh i do it for simplicity and take one rod or whatever. Well to me a kayak is a tool and that tool has it's limitations. One of those limitations is space so i would rather take rods that are rigged up rather than rerig often. I want flexibility, convenience and options and while i don't stack the deck like @A-Jay, i take my fair share.

only difference will be the good old days will be now and not 20 years ago

I rarely if ever fish with anyone so it wouldn't matter to me if they fished or not. There is a guy down the street from me that has a Ranger, an aluminum jon boat small water type and about a month ago saw him towing an outboard jet boat. I have only see him pull them out of the neighborhood probably a dozen times since I moved in 6 years ago.

I have done 10 hours round trip for a day trip so not sure if that counts or not....i generally don't go super far for fishing only but that is because of time and vacation availability and having a family where I am the only one who fishes really.

All depends on the body of water I am fishing. I am always searching out the locations that provide easy access to protection from predators and food. Those areas could be grass lines, lilly pads, laydowns, ledges, rocks....whatever really. Put a laydown in some lilly pads or some grass and I will undoubtedly fish it and if it has easy access to deeper water I will make sure I fish it thoroughly.

I honestly didn't realize people didn't feather their line with a spinning rod until a few years ago when i saw someone post about it. It is a natural process as I manually close the bail so my off hand is already located at the spool. I fish from a kayak so sidearm casting is the norm for me and accuracy is much about consistency in process. I have been fishing this way for so long that I don't use overhand too often unless I am really trying to bomb a deep crank or something.

Power ratings have no guidelines other than what the manufacturer wants to use. Historically St Croix has been a rod company that feels heavier than their ratings but again, that is all subjective as between lines there are differences. No way to know without fishing them.

I will disagree on this one entirely. I like a faster action short rod as well as my glass one too. It is all about about preferences really.

I am having flashback to my old jeep CJ with holes in the passenger floor nad literaly doing exactly what you said but of course highway speed meant anything over about 30 lol

I have yet to see a manufacturer recommend sanding down small scratches on the hull as seasonal maintenance. And again, it makes absolutely zero sense to remove material to get rid of scratches as it only further thins the kayak hull and is purely for aesthetic purposes.

Personally I am not paying that much money for a boat that you will want to upgrade the drive and can get that same drive in other boats now. You also have to consider UV damage potentiall depending on how it was stored. Personally unless you have a reason for wanting a pedal aka offshore saltwater, or tournaments that do not allow motors, i am going with a great paddling kayak and motorizing it for less money than a hobie. You can get something like a Wilderness Systems recon for like $1300 and a NK180s and battery for another $1500-$1700 depending on battery and steering choices and still right around 3k for everything brand new.