odell015

Look right before winter. People have fished the season with their boat and if they are looking to sell it, will let it go cheaper in the early winter to avoid winterizing/maintenance. Just my thoughts.

Nice boat!

I have over 30 hours on the new Crucial 7ft m/h/f since 7/25/14. The only problem I have had so far is when reeling in slack line at a rapid pace, the line gets caught on the bait holder just above the start of the cork grip. I took a little hockey tape and put it over that bait holder and it has done the trick. I haven't noticed a difference in sensitivity because of the tape. Don't know why Shimano put the bait/hook holder there but it seems to be a nuisance.

I night kayak fish about 2x per week from late June until the end of August, I fish from a 10.5 Feelfree Moken Lite. There are some good points being made in the above posts. I would also like to say that when moving through the middle of large bodies of water, be sure to paddle with some speed. I have nearly been clipped on two instances, once by a landing sea plane near dusk and one by a boater in pitch black. I suspect the night boater was intoxicated as I was waving a light at him and he did not change course. Don't become stagnant in the middle of a lake, paddle through and stay near the edges. People joke about the beavers, they can be territorial and aggressive. Look up the videos on youtube, there are plenty of beaver attacks resulting in death. If they make two or three splashes near me I tend to relocate. Knowing your lake will also help. Scout it in the daylight so that you can see the shore in areas you plan to fish. Be safe.

I just did some research on kayaks and purchased a Feel Free Moken 10 Lite angler, SOT absolutely love it. Has a wheel in the keel for easy transport.... While researching and trying some out, came across the Wilderness Systems Pungo, I believe that was it. You could probably do well there as a first kayak. It is a sit in. Also, dicks sporting goods offers a decent option for entry level sit in kayak, less than 700 dollars. It is an old town trip angler. Just know that typically the SOT kayaks are much more comfy than the sit in kayaks. For someone your size I would recommend looking into that. Good luck.

Hi everyone, I don't post a lot but frequent the forum reading topics. Just a FYI from my recent experience with the Shimano Crucial rods: I had purchased in February 2013 a 6'8 Crucial M/H Fast action 3/16-5/8....split grip "worm" specific. The rod broke this spring May 2014 during the spawn while casting a Chatterbait with a swim trailer on it, I was heartbroken. Needless to say the rod was barely a year old and thus I sent this back to Shimano in early June. After not receiving anything for several weeks, I called them. They told me the new series was not due out until the early fall of 2014, and I would have to wait until then. They also told me they couldn't offer a 6'8 rod size anymore and would only have 6'6 or 7'0 rod sizes. Additionally, they told me the split grip would not be available to the public until November, which sucked for me because I liked that style. I received my rod yesterday and my initial thoughts are these: The cork is supple, soft yet feels durable, and is a full grip. The rod they sent me is a 7'0 3/16-5/8 MH fast action. My old crucial was jet black which I loved, this is green until the first fugi eyelet and then it turns this carbon fiber black looking color, kind of weird but it grew on me. I fished it from my kayak for 6 hours last night. I threw mostly 1/8 weights with soft plastics all night and had some success catching 16 bass total. The rod held up fine, the eyelits look a little smaller and "tougher" than those on my old crucial rod and the reel seat feels great in your hand with my Sahara 3000 reel. It is light, (compared to my St. Croix mojo bass 7FT MHF) but had enough backbone to get the job done. Small bites were more detectable than my St. Croix mojo bass. To sum this up, if you are in need of the split grip, it looks like it wont come til Noveber, from what the customer service said. If you were in love with the jet black color of the Crucial, you might not like this Green/Grey combo, although I have to say it grew on me fast. Other than that its business as usual with shimano, appears to be an upgrade as it feels "tougher" than the past models, yet retains the same weight and feel. I will try to provide pictures asap. I am assuming I am one of the first to have this rod as I have not seen it in stores? PM or email me with any more questions. Thanks everyone and happy fishing.

That sounds great, I don't mind traveling an hour or more for a chance at a real pig. Up here its rare to find a 5+ and its my understanding they are more prevalent down there. I am worried about renting tackle so I might try to find a way to fit my 7ft rod and gear on the plane lol. I looked in to TOHO and will be calling some guides asap. thanks for the great useful information!

Hi everyone, i'm a new forum member living in New England. I will be traveling to Florida for New Years and staying at my uncles condo in St. Pete. I have been looking up some places to fish around the area but have had minimal luck. I may need a guided tour as brining my tackle down might be an issue. Is it worth fishing that time of year, my research found that it was the beginning of pre-spawn? Does anyone know if there are good places to fish near St. Pete and any reputable guide services? Any info would help. Thanks!