FryDog62

Not the rod, but the line might be your issue, not on the hook-set but keeping fish pinned. May sound counter-intuitive, but I'd consider some line with more "give" than braid. 12 lb mono, fluorocarbon, or co-polymer might do the trick. Prevents the fish from getting leverage against a non-stretch braid, which can create a split second of slack, and the ability to spit the hook. Bank fishing around cover/rocks I'd recommend Trilene XT, Big Game or Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Those are thicker lines so you can probably get by with 10 pound test with a spinnerbait.

Not quite yet, although no longer officially a resident. Will be good to be back this summer ~

With my wife on the DL and a return trip to MN date unknown, I may miss my beloved white bass run shortly after ice out. Time will tell, but I'm twitching to toss some jerk baits !

Wish I still played racquetball... back in the day played a lot of tournaments in the Low A league... A blast!

Been wintering at a place in Florida the past few years that has a 500 acre freshwater lake with bass, golf course, tennis, pickleball, bocce, etc. I played a lot of racquetball back in my 20's and 30's and have been strongly encouraged to get into Pickleball here. I KNOW I would like it - probably a lot. But have resisted because I keep hearing of all the injuries. After getting fitted with a Stent in January, my priority is to be fit enough to launch and retrieve my heavy kayak and fish/cast a lot so I don't want to risk injury and mess up my priorities! The workout facility I use here overlooks the pickleball courts and I have seen 2-3 people since January get hauled out by ambulance - broken arms, shoulder injuries, etc. Not just all old people, one kid in his late 20's. Then, my wife succumbs to the pressure to get into Pickleball. Takes 2 lessons - and then CRUNCH. She plays her first game, is going back on a ball and trips/falls and breaks her back. Compression fracture of her L3. You can see from the photo the top and bottom vertebrae should look almost square from this angle... the one in the middle is compressed to about 60% of its original size, there's a fracture, and plenty of jangled bone fragments. Almost everyone I talk to has a war story about injuries playing pickleball. So here's my annual PSA warning: "Friends don't let Friends play Pickleball !"

I looked up Tugaloo and that looks like quite the scenic lake. Not big, but if it's 25hp or less, a kayak would be fun there. I couldn't get much info on whether the fishing is good or not, just the species they catch there. We were planning to be in Greenville next month, but my wife recently fractured her L3 so maybe in the Fall or next Spring.

I think it looks good in many respects... especially for launching. The only question I have about it is if it's very tip heavy when pulling by hand. I have Boonedox Landing Gear and the wheels are pretty far back and it's a beast to move the kayak more than about 30 yards. I still have the Boonedox, but added a Wilderness Kart up front if I'm pulling any distance at all.

If I catch the first one, I remind my partner it was $200 for the first fish...!

Looking for recommendations for a Tule Dippin’ rod… curious if anyone does this and what they use? Also, are there any manufacturers that still make the 10 foot Flippin’ rods that came out 6-7 years ago? At the time, Abu, St Croix and Wright McGill had a variation.

Just curious if I get to that area with my kayak... are there some good rivers near Greenville, SC with good fishing?

Yes, excellent rod when you need a Heavy rod that isn’t a meat stick, and you want an extra fast tip.

Could be although I find the 105 "tamer" than the 120 that most people fish. Cover Pop is maybe even a little more subtle.... some good options out there anyway!

Shower Blows 105 in any metallic and/or clear color. I also like to throw an Arashi Cover Pop.. you can walk the dog with it, or use it like a popper. A good dual purpose lure to see what they prefer without changing out rods/lures.

I remember hearing some guy taking his boat 1000 miles with his new Rivian and having to stop every 100 miles to charge. Couldn’t find the article, but yeah - trade-offs with these vehicles for sure!

I had heard how fast they are and tremendous torque for towing... but also heard once you tow - you'll need to re-charge which takes a long time approx every 100-150 miles! Below is a related article from a Motor Biscuit magazine review: "The Rivian electric truck, like all current electric vehicles, has an Achilles Heel: its range. Towing a trailer can slice its range in half, and recharging is often slower than advertised. It is not great at towing for long distances. The specific Rivian R1T that TFL Truck tested had a 280-mile driving range. When they hooked the truck up to the 8,100 pound trailer it used about twice its normal power to drive around town: the R1T’s estimated range fell to 135 miles." A low tow range is a deal-breaker for those of us that go a fair distance to our favorite lakes.

Yes, I was thinking maybe "Air Fryer"

Not quite yet, haven’t been back on the water yet, but am thinking that adjusting the magnet connectors downward to the plate should work… hope so!

Yes, most kayak tournaments are by length - but since everyone else was in gas powered boats, it was by weight. It's a pretty informal/friendly fishing club and we all bought the same $10 scale off of Amazon to use. No one snuck any sinkers in I don't believe lol. The length of the bowducer is variable and there are different and/or attaching pieces to get the desired length. Best to call them at 719-284-2220 and tell them your specifics. Pretty helpful people. (I think I talked to a "Rick" there as well). Also, there is an aluminum plate that attaches to the track mount and then a nylon plate that affixes to that. It does hang over the gunnel a bit and the thought is if you run into something the nylon screws and/or nylon plate tear away so you don't damage your gear track/kayak. I am looking at taking the bowducer back to Minnesota for the summer and put it on my bass boat there... so I also plan to call them about the connecting/extending pieces. Good luck!

Bowducer set up - along with custom center mount for 2 graphs.

Rick, I used the bowducer from Fishing Slecialties. Less expensive than some of the others but very functional. I can adjust the direction of the Livescope transducer - Forward, Down, and Perspective modes. Update, well I had the heaviest 5 score-able fish the final tournament of the year… 24 anglers and I was the only one in a yak. Not a lot of big fish in this lake but a few 20 inchers…

Yes, I had always heard this too… that there was Seaguar and then all/most other brands came from the same factory. Just the variance in line diameter seems to disprove at least some of that.

Knot strength is the missing test IMO, he should've borrowed the machine from the old "Knot Wars" with Pennaz.

Ok, no more hanging 8 lb weights with fishing line from my vaulted ceiling. Someone did a much more comprehensive testing of fluorocarbon lines... including: Diameter Memory Strength Abrasion Price And Yes, even s-t-r-e-t-c-h