68camaro

I use line conditioner because I think it helps gives a little more distance, but for bird nest prevention I think brakes and thumb control are key. Yesterday on very windy day, I was side casting crankbait on FC into wind and under pipe running parrellel to bridge, thumb always at ready to stop line if crank was about to hit pipe. Worked great until wind took crank just as it was starting to clear pipe, too fast for me to react, result was worst birds nest ever - I had to cut out.

LM Bass fishing today in local reservoir, caught a 3.9lb'er then a 3.75lb Chain Pickerel, both on spinner bait. However third fish-on put up huge fight, it was a big fish and kept making violent runs and diving, it turned my kayak 90 degrees twice so I had to put anchor down. I was on MH rod with 12lb flouro and I had to easing off drag several times so as not to break him off. Literally the fight was several minutes. I never had bass fight this hard, not even smallie or striper. At one point he arched his back above water, I could tell it wasn't a LM, but not sure what. Once I started to subdue fish I realized it was a big fat catfish, I've caught 20-30lb blue catfish and while heavy they don't fight this much. I shook him off lure but I never new cat's put up such a fight. Anyone knowe what type of catfish this could have been.

Thanks, I opted for the Vmax 35ah which is way overkill for most of my needs, but having the extra size gives me a lot of options and flexibiklity should I decide I need it. Plus at only 25lbs, its not too heavy on yak.

8 wt tip flex will be great all around bass rod for your needs, it will handle smallies, LMB & stripers. The flex tip as opposed to mid-tip will give better accuracy to get those flies in tight spots. Get good tapered bass line, it's really worth the cost. Go try them out, a decent shop should let you cast in parking lot. For a reel get one with a large arbor to pick up more line quickly. I discovered smallie fishing on fly rod only a month ago and quickly became addicted.

I also am so sorry to hear about your brother, words never do justice at these times, but God Bless.

Congrats, most people have no idea of the mental toughness and sacrifice you need to attain these levels. I am 54 now, but in my late 30's I seriously considered entering an over 40 tournament but life wouldn't allow me the extra time and sacrifice I needed to drop last few BF percentages. It's a crazy existence at your level.

Welcome aboard, I am much like you and also got first kayak this year.

It's a struggle but I use 3700 boxes and on inside cover run a piece of masking take across the lid and write what size or weight, or depth the lure is. This way when I open lid, inside lid cover tells me what each lure is. In the spirit of keeping it simple, last night I downsized hard Jerkbaits to one 3700 Plano box, each section has 1 - 3 different colored baits based on depth and floating or suspending from 0 to 20'. We'll see how this lasts.

Can't disagree, the Propel reverse is actually much better, it was a tough decision for me. Prioritizing house is best decision. Enjoy the kayak, lets us know how it works out.

I test drove a Slayer Propel 10 and really liked it, I went with something else that fit my needs a little better but the Slayer was stable and I had no problem standing. The reverse on the Propel pedaling system was really nice easy and natural. Several months ago I did a short note here on the difference between the Hobie PA 12 and Slayer Propel. You won't go wrong with the Slayer.

I recently bought a 24lb Watersnake trolling motor for my Hobie Pro Angler 12 kayak. It only has 2 speeds but I plan to put a variable speed controller which will be much more effiecient by giving me ability to fine tune speed. So my question is will a Vmax AGM 20ah battery be sufficient at 13lbs, or do I really need to go up to the AGM 35ah that weighs 23lbs? I fish mostly half days and lake is only a couple miles long. Thanks Chuck

Very nice fish, what did it hit? I am in Richmond area and yesterday was last time out on Woodlake Res., caught a 2.2lb'er trolling in kayak but nothing else from 2 - 6 pm. Water temp in lake was 77/78*, blue sky. I stay away from fishing these hours due to lackof productivity but sometimes it's all I get. Even pounding shore line I only got one bite that broke off hook/senko, but nothing else.

I use 50lb braid for frogs and jigs in heavy cover, never had a problem but sometimes wish I could get more distance. Used this setup stripper fishing recently in open water, the fish were so easy to land I eventually switched to 12lb mono on crank rod to get a little more fight.

I was out last week and threw top water and paddletail plastics just beyond baitfish boiling the surface, dragging threw the activity I caught a ton of stripers. If I threw the topwater into the boil more often than not it was bumped or taken right away, super fun time.

I bought my first kayak this summer, a Hobie Pro Angler 12. It has really opened possibilities and can't wait to use it when stripers run on the tidal James River in March/april. The pedal drive is great, you can cruise and cast all day, or stand and cast with no problems. The boat is crazy stable, allows all sorts of customization. One down side is weight, but I transport mine in back of Jeep Grand Cherokee with hitch extender, works PERFECT, no problem loading/unloading and I am 54 yo, 165lbs.

I just spent morning in low 50's with wind. Used my waist high Simms wading pants and wading boots. Was comfortable until temp got in mid 60's. I have Hobie pro and no problem peddling with them, second time did it.

and upgraded to Elite 7ti....yeah, baby. Loved the 5ti, worked great and opened up the world under the waters surface. However, the 5ti was just a tad small for my eyes. Went to retailer and they said no problem upgrading. In the store I closely compared the two and the 5ti really is sufficient but with my eyes the bigger screen was better. They swapped out head unit, boxes etc and I paid a bit more and now can't wait to get out again. Oh, as I was debating whether to switch or not when I was told the 7ti comes with the Navionics Plus, this sealed the deal because the Navionics card was on my shopping list, so all in costs weren't far apart.

Thanks all. Been studying up so when I get on water hopefully it will pay off on a PB......

Pretty new to fish finders, just bought a Lowrance Elite 5ti with TotalScan. I won't have it ready to go until next weekend but was looking at Youtube to learn how to use, also saw doctor Sonar sites where he sells videos. Any recommendation on Dr. Sonar video's and are they worth it, also any recommendations on good sites on youtube to watch how to set up and interpret fish finder. Thanks

Fishing banks the Deeper has been great and well worth the money. Recently got peddle kayak and moving at 1.5 - 2 mph I kept losing connection with deeper. trying to get it resynch'd with iphone was hassle so just bought a Lowrance fishfinder. I didn't have this problem slow reeling Deeper in after casting off banks.

I like the rod floats for rods I am working and lashes for when stored. Will look to pick some up. The big resevoir by me is only 8-10 feet max depth with very no structure I could find, that borescopes with 9' of cable would have probably worked good. Thanks

Not getting skunked was good, took stink out of lost rod. Reel was just serviced and had ball bearings upgraded a couple years ago so that stunk, Rod was older one I was debating to replace or not. Do you guys use rod floats or leashes in case of tip over of dropping one in water?

Finally got a kayak and got off shore. Today was first time fishing from water and on a yak. Overall loved it. However did have major ugly incident, it was very hot and humid in central VA today. As I was peddling to new spot to fish and crossing big open water I decided to stop and throw a crank. Took rod, give big cast and watched in horror as rod slipped from my sweaty hands and land in lake and sink. I thought about jumping in to get it but wasn't sure if that would tip the kayak and risk losing everything else. Spent hour with treble hook trying to scrap it off bottom, but no luck - lessoned learned. The good was fishing from a yak is great, fishing from on a standup kayak and one you can peddle was double great. Can't wait to get out tomorrow. Only caught one fish in 3 hrs but it is first time on lake so thats my excuse and I am sticking with it. Oh the bad, none really.

Finally got off bank... For past 1 year plus, I have been pretty down on bank fishing for a bunch of reason I cannot change. I have toyed with idea of small bass boat, Jon boat, canoe and Kayak. After a good year of changing my mind every other week I finally pulled the trigger on a kayak. Went to dealers demo day today and tried out the Hobie Pro Angler 12 and the Native Slayer Propel 10. After demoing both I decided on the Hobie Pro Angler 12. They are installing Boonedox Landing Gear and anchor trolley so I will be picking up next weekend. Can't wait to finally get kayak and start fishing from a yak:) Most of my waters are small and local reservoir & state park lakes don't allow gas motors. For those interested why I chose the Hobie over the Native Slayer Propel, it had to do with the Hobie being a better all around feeling and performing boat. However, one area the Native rocked was its reverse by back peddling, it is very easy to slow boat down, back up, and manuvuer to get your exact spot to start fishing. The Hobie reverse was good but you need to pull a cord for reverse, then another for forward, then the reverse to go to reverse...until you get exact position. The Native has it over the Hobie in reversing and switching effortlessly from reverse to forward. However, I decided to go with the Pro Angler 12 because it is overall a much better boat IMHO, than the Native (except for reversing). The Hobie turns better, sharper, Lowrance ready, heavier (a plus for me), tracks better over open water, steadier to stand in and move around in, rudder control more substantial, all Hobie parts and pieces feel stronger - sturdier. The Hobie Mirage drive is much smoother and more efficient than the Native Propel system which felt a little clunky while pedaling, plus the Hobie was much easier to get fins out of way than Natives system. On a glass lake the Hobie barely had any water in front landing area while Native quite a bit (not sure why). One of the other things I liked a lot better on the Hobie was that the landing deck in front of the seat was much cleaner, less cluttered. The Native seemed cramped and their proprel system created alot of ways to snag line when fly fishing, the Hobie looked like more room and less snag points. The Hobie did come at a cost of $800.00 more so if cost was major concern Native Slayer Propel 10 is real nice and has great reverse functionality, plus is stable to stand and fish out of. Once I get to fish I'll update this.

Nice thought, I can only hope...:)