GetBent

I'm now in the process of acquiring a used Phoenix 618. Keeping my eyes open I think is going to pay off. Won't be till late October till I get it. Hopefully everything goes smooth.

I haven't seen the 618 personally but have looked at other Phoenix boats. They seem well built and I like the layout. I'm leaning on a 618 but who knows I may just get a ranger rt188 and save a lot of money. If I get a glass boat I think the 618 would be a really nice boat in the 18' class.

I love my Hobie outback. Hurt my shoulder and sold my wilderness Tarpon 160 which I enjoyed. My outback won't go as shallow but most of the fish I catch aren't in 6" of water so I am ok with that. I find it funny when people say kayaks are expensive. I think boat insurance, fuel, maintenance, financing charges, and everything else is just as expensive. I have owned a couple of boats and I am looking to buy my first bass boat, but I will always appreciate kayaks. I have had some of my best fishing trips in kayaks. Lots of good options out there. Try before you buy and have ideas about the layout you want.

Lost a $22 A-rig but not before I snapped a custom $230 rod in half trying to get it out ? I lose about $12 in tackle at minimum when I go fishing. Fishing the Mexican side of the lake me and a buddy lost 3 crankbaits in about 5 casts in a Mexican gill net. We moved after that. LoL

Lipless crankbait in a shad pattern. LoL have them all ready. The bass will tell you what they want, but out of the pic far right all white spinner (looking at the pic right)

Me and a friend caught a 5 fish 26lbs stringer on an area about 50 square feet. Most the fish were concentrated in an area about 25 square feet. He threw mostly a square bill and I would follow up with a spinner bait, paddle tail swim bait 5", or a shaky head senko. We culled a lot of 4lbs bass. It was a lot of fun, biggest was an 8lbs bass he caught on a small square bill. It had jacked up hooks and a broken bill- I pleaded with him to change baits before he lost a good fish. He caught another 6lbs bass and shortly after that got broke off on a branch. I never heard the end of it, but we got 4th out of 140 boats so who cares I guess lol I think it would be beneficial to follow up casts with different presentations.

Tungsten time!!!!!!

I like Catt's idea the most so far, even more than mine lol. Catt wanna adopt me?

Maybe Siebert outdoors can help you out.

$250 would be tough. If you got a decent kayak for that the person would be doing you a huge favor or it was stolen. Are you against those belly float deals that look like a inner tube?

I think I would go for the 188 over the z175. Ranger also came out with a z185 but if 115 is the max horsepower you want then I think the rt188 would be nice.

I'm a fan of crocs, but I have seen some nice Simms shoes but my crocs haven't got me looking to hard. Still gotta apply sunscreen to the top of my feet or wear socks in cold weather (70*) lol S. Texas has its perks I guess.

I have yet to eat bass but my cholesterol will soon fix that. If I do keep any they won't be over 3lbs. Bigger fish aren't as good, or at least speckled trout and redfish. I suppose I won't throw any large crappie back if I am keeping them. Hopefully for the bass I become a better crappie fisherman and I don't have to mess with cooking them. I also need to give blue gill a try I suppose.

Thieves and Murphy can get you any time. Keep it insured.

They look sort of like the new strike king shell cracker?

Took my cousin fishing and thought I hooked a nice red. Handed my gloomis glx to her and snapped it in half mid battle. I wasn't even mad. She kept saying I will buy you a new one- lol I never told her how much it cost. Side note gloomis took care of me.

Explore as deep as you can. May find a biggin

Wacky rig senko. Ned rig Trd

I love bass fishing but have been leaning on crappie a bit lately. I have actually caught a lot on a ned rig. 1/8oz jig head and zman Trd.

If you catch a flounder - look up a stuffed flounder recipes and watch how to clean them that specific way- several times- it's tricky but worth it.

Ah ok. Didn't see the wide tail. Good eyes.

Are you talking about the new hollow bodied Swimbait?

Freelancer here is a quick video of the atak 120. Check his other videos for wilderness products. Clayton you need 18" for a full stroke. You can flutter kick in about 4" if the wind isn't bad. For shallow water simply push the pedal forward and the fins lay against the hull. You can also pull the system out easy enough. The Hobie drive is proven, but wilderness always has good customer service from what I hear. In case anyone is wondering I'm not on a pro team nor affiliated with Hobie. I'm just not a fan of dragging one company down to let another shine. To be honest I like the atak 120 but I don't think I could sale my outback to get one.

I loaded the PA14 down. Brought to much stuff. It was hard to maneuver through the trees. Had trouble loading it by myself. Didn't feel like I needed to stand. The PA14 is a great kayak and sometimes I wonder if I should have kept it, but I don't have any complaints about the outback. I got mine with the square hatch, I really like it. Lots of options now, good luck.

Freelancer from what I gathered the prices of the yak didn't include the drive. The drive alone is $1000 msrp. So if the kayak is $1300 I doubt the drive is included. Either way I would wait if you can. I loved wilderness kayaks but hurt my shoulder and use hobies now. Now that there are more options I would have a more difficult decision. If the pro angler is too expensive the outback is a great option. I went from the PA14 to the outback and couldn't be happier. Now that wilderness has these new yaks I would have a hard decision to make.