Subaqua Adinterim

Lots of great advice. I am more on the grasshopper end of the learning curve than some of the more experienced people here that are more masterful. I tried it for the first time last year and it was a blast. I also used the Lake Fork Frog "Tail Hook" which I think helped me get more hook ups. I am not affiliated with the Lake Fork company in any way, which is evidenced by the fact that I am still waiting (over 2 months)for this part of my order to arrive from Cabelas. This company must be pretty small, or they can't keep up with the demand. I have some of these left over from last year, so no big deal. Just waiting for some backups, because these worked for me. Good luck in your frogging efforts; I think you will really enjoy it.

Wow - was hoping SirSnookalot was back, always enjoyed his posts; then I see 2009

If you have a way to store it and to transport it; most definitely yes. It will open up many more possibilities for you. You can still fish from the bank if you own a kayak, however, you can't fish from a kayak if you don't own one. Best of luck in deciding.

The sacrifices made in that war were enormous. My grandfather (mother's father), was shot down over Germany. He was in the RAF, flying in a Mosquito when he perished. I have read many history books about WWII, I will check out the author you referenced above, thanks.

The way you first described it and the way the picture looked, made it appear to be snagged. Thanks for the explanation, it was a beautiful catch. Great that you could see it inhale the lure which made it even more exciting.

Looks like a cobia - you got the snagging technique down at an early age Salt water fish always seemed to be better fighting fish than most freshwater fish. If I had to pick a dream fish, it is one type that I have already caught, and I hope to catch many more times; that's a chinook salmon. To me there's nothing like battling a large king.

This is one area that Walmart will not be pushing the small local businesses out of, as the expertise and effort that goes into these smaller operations is amazing. Our local Walmarts shut down their aquarium section a few years ago.

Used to have a 20 gal. tank when I was in college. Grew some huge angel fish and would take them in to the pet store as Darren did above with his fish, and get credit to buy additional fish. Needed to remove the angel fish after they got too big as they would devour the smaller fish, they especially liked the neons. I put an African water frog in my tank and that was in there for a day. I think it jumped out, however, I never found it on the floor - a mystery. Would love to get another set up but we don't have AC in the house (just a portable room AC unit) and on the few days that we would need it, the fish might get cooked. My wife nixed the idea of putting a tank in the bedroom where the portable AC unit is, so no tank for me now. Whenever I go to the local library once a week, I spend some time peering into their tank. Love to see the giant exhibits in the big cities as well as those at Bass Pro, Cabelas and the NY state fair. Aquariums are very soothing, like moving art. I really admire the efforts of anyone that maintains a tank in their home.

Don't have one, however, this is approximately the size and the weight of my wife's Little Swifty, she doesn't fish; just paddles and anchors in the shade and reads. If you're on a limited budget, this will get you out on the water. This comes with a couple pole holders in the back and one in the front that you can use to put your rod in while you rig up or get a fish off the hook. I like the front rod holder as well for trolling since you can actually see your pole if you get a hook up. You can get a small anchor for about $10 to keep you in place where it's shallow. Also, stow your stuff, extra jacket or food in a plastic contractor garbage bag behind your seat inside to keep things dry. You have the right attitude about this, as your expectations are not beyond what this little kayak can deliver. If you use it for a few years, you can sell it for $150 or $200 and it cost you $100 or less per year to expand your fishing opportunities. Good luck.

Since you have a truck and plan on using the bed to transport, as a point of reference I have a Ford Ranger truck that has a six foot bed and with the bed down has a length of over 90 inches. I fit a 12' lightweight hybrid Kevlar canoe (Hornbeck) easily in the back for transport. So you can go up to 12' feet easily if you need to. That's just addressing the transport part to where you are going. Once you get there, you need to get it down to the water. If you can pull right next to the water you are all set. If not, you may need help getting it to the water or need a cart, depending on the weight of your kayak. Consider that as well. My wife has a Little Swifty sit inside that is about 9' and is about 38#s, so I can easily move that down to the water carrying it like a suitcase. When I had a 10' Tarpon, which was considerably heavier, moving that more than 20 yards was a chore, so I made a cart for it. Consider stability and comfort as well. You can be comfortable in most set ups for a few hours, any more than that may become aggravating, particularly in many sit insides or SOTs with uncomfortable seats. Stability in many kayaks depends on keeping your center of gravity low, i.e. keeping your butt on the seat. There are others that are more stable and you can stand up in them. Make sure to know the difference before you try standing up. If you choose the former type(unstable), such as what I considered my 10' WS Tarpon to be, and are thinking of standing up - please be in no more that a few feet of warm water with no equipment to lose, because you will most likely be going for a swim. I am looking to get a bigger more stable, more comfortable rig for this summer and am in the research mode myself. Getting some time on the water in what you are considering will be important. Good luck on your search.

Agree with everything said by Darren above. No matter what you are sitting in, if things are a little choppy and you are going with the waves; if you get hit sideways at the same time from the wake of a boat, you're flirting with disaster. Try to stay out of these danger zones. Having warned against the rough water factor; even if you try to avoid it, conditions can change fast so make sure you always have a PFD on. Additionally, make sure everything you bring along is secured or floats so you can retrieve it if you are dumped. My first kayak was a WS 10' Tarpon. It was good to start with, but I eventually sold it as it was not that stable and even worse, it was uncomfortable. A crate on a small kayak may add to instability and I found that it was one more thing for the wind to catch and throw things off course.

Wow, that's fantastic. If the fishing is that good there, you may end up sticking around to get your PHD

X2 for the Owner Ulta Shakey head recommendation. Love this with the Gary Y. mini craw

Take a look at the Okuma's SST salmon/steelhead rods that are on sale now from Cabelas. One should do the job for you with spinning tackle. The centerpin thing is a whole different story, I have a lot of respect for what those guys do, but that takes things to a whole different level with more specialized equipment that I am not prepared to move to.

John The snow overhang melted away today. What a difference a few days make. It was an interesting week. The wind storm power outage at the start of the seven day stretch was the worst part of the deal for many here in our area.

Beautiful. You seem to do well with the moon eye jig set up. Do you take your PFD off for the pics? NY requires PFDs for the winter and spring months, probably no similar regs down south where you are. I enjoy your posts as I'm happy to catch different species when out on the water as well.

Beautiful and sunny this morning, snow stopped yesterday afternoon after about 2 feet. The snow was steady, however, the wind intensified the storm. Noticed an overhang of snow from our roof this morning. Not sure how the wind made this happen, and how the snow is hanging from the roof; but it looked interesting, so I took some pictures and attached one inside the house and one from outside (hip waders came in handy for that part).

Welcome, there are many helpful, friendly folks here.

You did right. As many others here have noted as well. People like those you dealt with usually are not thinking right, either because they are ignorant or they are not capable of thinking at all and have no perspective on the bigger picture. Life will pass them by while you are enjoying yours. You were able to get away from them and get on with having a good day. What is really troublesome is those that are on the water who aren't thinking right because they are clouded up by alcohol. I hate to see this, and really hate that these people will be more dangerous when they leave the water than when they were on it.

Nice. Always enjoyable seeing your creations as you whittle away the time running up to fishing season. Looks as if you are having fun with it, which your most recent carving shows is the mane thing.

Welcome. Your camp is on a nice little lake. You're also close to a lot of great fishing in the ADKs. I love fishing there. Better weather is not that long away.

As stated very well by others here - these are durable, workhorse rods that someone will enjoy fishing with. They are not the most sensitive rods (as there is a trade off for the durability), but for some things they are sensitive enough and work well. I have a 9' light action big water downrigger Ugly Stik that I originally purchased over 30 years ago when I was a kid for use trolling for trout and salmon on Lake Ontario. Since I no longer troll on the big lake, I have used this in Florida on the surf and regularly use it for salmon fishing. I love it for salmon fishing, it's stout enough and sensitive enough for this application and gets the job done. Here's a picture my wife snapped of me with my Ugly Stik hooked up to a 28# salmon.

Finger Lakes forage

John I will definitely check out the NYKBF thing. Was involved several years ago with the WNY kayak fishing group run by Paul. Thanks Rich

I am am not an expert, so just speaking from experience. Based on your size, mass, water displacement - whatever you want to call it; you are in need of something that has more weight bearing capacity. Stability is the important thing that you will gain and what you are seeking, not the ability to lug more stuff to fish with. Trust me, you do not want to find out the hard way by dumping your kayak and going for an unexpected swim. Make sure to get a PFD as well and wear it, because the unexpected swim thing can happen in a blink of a eye, so there is no time to prepare for this as it's happening. Wishing you the best in your kayak search.