Fishingmickey

Hi JFranco, I hope I can add some insight to this topic. Little bit of intro, I'm a kayak tournament angler in what is arguably the leading edge of kayak tournament bass fishing. KATS (kayak anglers tournament series). It is sponsored by Austin Canoe and Kayak out of Austin, Texas. Check out the website fishkats. com. This series has been going on for about ten years more or less. This is my fourth season competing. last year we averaged about a hundred boats per event. First event this year was 166 boats. The next one this Saturday has the potential to be even higher. To shed some light on the debate about pedal vs paddle. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Start with the pedal. Advantages are, hands free able to fish and pedal at the same time, serious advantage in the wind by being able to hold position on say a windy point or over structure. Some speed advantage not always though. One of our members using a old racing kayak and he blows everyone away off of the start. Hobie now has the reverse on the mirage drive, Native watercraft has had reverse for years. It is a true bicycle like pedal drive propeller driven. Pedal forwards or backwards for forward or reverse nothing to pull or switch. Really good if your trying to horse a big'un out of cover and your hands are full of rod and reel. I could go on but that hits the high spots. Disadvantages to pedal, You have a deeper draft. You can hit a unseen stump or stick up at speed and bust your drive or bend/break the rods on your fins, tear your fins, shear your pin or snap your prop. Weeds will clog up the propeller type drive pretty easy requiring you to pull the drive and clear. The Mirage drive goes through weeds better but still hinders. You can push or pole your way over obstacles (downed trees and limbs, weed mats) in a paddle boat much more so then in a pedal driven. Weight is another disadvantage. A Hobie PA 12 is 130lbs. The PA 14 is 145lbs/ This I believe is without the drive and seat much less adding gear battery, fish finder, etc etc. Native Watercraft Slayer Propel is 120 lbs. They pretty much require trailers to haul. Yes they can be car topped but not easily. I will try to add more to the discussion when I can find the time. But short answer is we have both paddle and pedal winning tournaments and placing in the money. It is really more about prep, pre-fishing, laying down a good game plan and how good your knowledge of bass and how good of a angler you really are. Pedal can be a huge advantage but it isn't a be all, win it all. So says our tournament results. Trolling motors for the ones that are not able to pedal or paddle so that they too can enjoy our favorite sport. Sincerely, Fishingmickey

Hello BassinO, Here is some food for thought. Running your trolling motor on high (5) to "get" to spots faster will drain your battery much quicker then running mid speed range (2-3). Slow it down, chunk a crankbait or spinnerbait on the way to your favorite spot. You will at least double your battery/running time. A example would be running on high (5). Your battery is completely dead in forty five minutes to hour maybe hour and a half. Running on medium speed (2-3) you may get 4-5 hours or more of running time. Check the weather forecast before you go out. If there is severe weather or a major cold front coming in. Don't get far away from the launch or shore or go at all. When you start out with a fresh fully charged battery. Go upwind or up current first. That way if your battery dies or when it runs out of juice you don't have to try to paddle back upwind, up current or get stranded. Make sure you take paddles or a set of oars If your Jon boat has oar locks. They can help you supplement a weak trolling motor or just flat get you safely to shore or back to the launch if your motor dies. File a fishing plan with someone/your parents so if you don't make it back in time they know where to go look for you. Cell phones are great, but they don't work well at the bottom of the lake. If you tip your boat over or swamp, at least they will have an idea of where to look when you don't show up on time. Good luck, FM

Different rods for different purposes, Spinning for throwing light crank baits and smallish topwaters, finesse and drop shotting. Baitcasting for just about everything else. I usually carry six rods on my yak. Four baitcasting and two spinning. Two of the big baitcasters are 7' rods with larger reels 17# & 20# test, The other two baitcasters are 6.5' rods with 14# and the two spinning are 10# & 8#. Regards, FM