IgotWood

I’ve been in an Outback for a few years now. I have to admit, I had a little buyer’s remorse for a while. The ability to make one paddle stroke to quickly adjust my position is gone. I have to pedal up to speed in order for the rudder to work. Can still turn the boat with the paddle, but the fins and rudder make it difficult. It’s not as maneuverable as a paddle boat. Eventually, I’ve gotten adjusted to it and I’ve learned to deal. Otherwise, I love the boat. And the compass is even better from what I’ve heard. It paddles better, handles better, and it just as stable. I can stand in my Outback very comfortably. And it pedals very efficiently. However, I am actually selling my Outback to get into a Radar. I tried one a couple weeks ago. It is so stable, even more than my Outback. It pedals very well, and it paddles so nicely. You may want to check on out. Good luck. And let us know what you decide on!

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Wow, lots of great recommendations! I appreciate it. I feel like I should be looking for an x-fast tip. Would you agree? The stiff broomstick rods tend to jack the frog around rather than walk it. Or maybe it’s just me lol. What do you think?

@Fairtax4me thanks a lot for that post! Great info. I went and checked them out in person. I think I am gonna go with the 127. Bumped into a friend of mine at the paddle shop and he has a 127. He sold me on it lol.

Congrats on the new boat! Have you ever paddled a 12’+ kayak?How does this boat paddle? Would you say it’s fast or slow? Can you turn the boat on a dime if you’re sitting still? How does it to in the wind? That hull looks tall, like it would catch a lot of wind. Sorry for all the questions, but I am really close to pulling the trigger on one. I really want the 127, but if I can still get what I want out of it, and save $600, then it’s a no brainer.

I fish out of a kayak, so I don’t want a long rod. What do you recommend?

I need to learn how to fish hollow body frogs. I’m a one trick pony. I mainly only use a Top Toad. But there are days when they prefer a walking frog, and I just sit back and watch everyone slay.

When the water hits 60. The algae is forming along the banks and the weeds are beginning to mat up. Here is a frog eater from yesterday.

I hate leashes. But they have saved me a few thousand dollars. I only leash my rods when I am on the ocean and the rods are in a rod holder. And I made a dozen of them for about $20 using 550 cord.

Another thing I like is how easy it is to clear debris off the weedguards. Traditional weedguard tend to get the grass and snot stuck all in between the weedguard bristles and it annoys me to no end trying to pick it all out.

I recently bought a few of these. I held off for a bit because they seem kinda like a gimmick, and they don't seem to be very popular. I searched everywhere for a non-bias opinion, bu this thread was the only thing I could find. I was pretty skeptical about that weedguard...it is pretty stiff. But as said, bend them down a few times and they soften up just a little bit. Something about these jigs, they simply don't hang up as much as traditional jigs. And every fish I caught was hooked right in the roof of their mouth. I was actually using them as a swim jig today. Even with that beefy sickle hook and the weedguards, I hooked on most of my bites today. I have to admit, I am quite impressed with them. I am going to buy a few more and stick with them this year.

My 7’ MH pretty much has a jig on it all year round. My 6’8” med x-fast has either a shallow crank of some sort or a fluke tied on year round.

You can buy a cast iron liedel super cheap and a propane torch and melt them into “pigs”. Post them on Craigslist. Someone will buy them. I Used to be a plumber. I’d scrap lots of lead. Melt them in the liedel and sell them to a tackle shop, who turned around and gave them to his guy who poored weights for him.

Weightless flukes are a staple in my spring arsenal. I also like to throw a rage structure bug weightless but on a slightly oversized hook which helps it sine very slow. This works gear this time of year when the craws are just coming out and the fish are still a little cold and sluggish.

The wind will keep it from freezing too.

Don't get frustrated! I've been fishing BCs for three years now. I've found that lighter baits can be a bit challenging on BCs, especially in the wind! You need to spend a bit of time getting your reel dialed in perfectly. However, spinning gear also works just fine for this application. If spin gear maximizes your time FISHING rather than messing with your reel, then stick with the spin gear. And I too have a problem with tempo. I don't get a lot of time on the water, so when I do get to go, I want run and gun, cover the water, move around, try different baits/techniques. It's a tough habit to break. I constantly remind myself to slow down. And it's also beneficial to think and plan before you get to the water. Weather, water conditions, season, etc. Ask yourself where the fish SHOULD be, and how you expect them to be behaving. Plan on where to focus your efforts, and what baits you think should be effective. Make small adjustments on the water until you figure it out. If you're hanging snot on every cast, consider trying soft jerkbaits and swimbaits rigged weedless, like a fluke, or a paddletail. You can use lightly weighted or unweighted swimbait hooks.

Fly fishing a major hatch years ago for trout one night. It was dark out. There were hundreds of bats eating flies out of the air that night and they were chasing our flies when we were casting. My buddy was casting. When he swung his rod fwd, he snagged a bat and it got stuck in his net which was hanging from his back. He started screaming and yelling and dancing around in the water trying to get it off. The bat crawled up his back and went down his shirt. He panicked and jumped in the water. I ran over to help him. He climbed out of the river, waders full of water. He stripped down butt naked on the river bank. The bat fell on the ground and had drowned. Initially it was funny until it went down his shirt. At that point the panic was real. It scratched his back a little bit. No blood or anything. I took him to the hospital to get checked out. The phone call to his wife was pretty funny. Luckily he was ok, no injury, no disease. It was a very scary scenario at the time, but today we laugh our butts off when we tell the story. What a freak thing to happen!

Planning a trip next weekend. Fingers crossed for good weather!

Great idea! Very innovative! And what kayak is that? I love all that open space on the deck.

Where in CT will you be staying? The lakes in western CT can be good ie; Candlewood, Squantz, Twin Lakes. Big trout, and big smallies.

I’m ready to upgrade! I have a 2017. No problems with it, I just want a new one lol. That transducer cover is pretty neat. Pretty soon we’ll he fighting to get a transducer mount for these total scan/panoptix sonars.

Nice work!

I own an Flint. But have test driven both the Frontier and the Pursuit. The Frontier is just a monster on the water. You can practically stand on the gunnels and it won't tip. It's a wider beam than the Pursuit, but I think it paddles very well for its width. The deck space in both boats is fantastic. There is room to lay a rod or two beside the seat if you wanted. You can literally walk around the deck. In comparison, the Pursuit does a little bit better in the bigger, open water. It has a bit more efficient hull design to handle the chop and some current. I would also prefer the Pursuit if I were regularly making long distance paddles. But don't rule out the Frontier! If you are mainly using it on small lakes, and small water on Erie, the Frontier would be perfect! The main difference between the two boats is the beam and length. Let us know what you decide on!

Same here. But it on some lakes, 4’ viz is muddy. In on others, 2’ viz is pretty clear. It’s all relative to the particular lake.

Yup. I wanted to try to ned, but it was just too windy. Next time!