Boomstick

This is true!, I was really disappointed at first but it's really grown on me. Since making it out, I have picked up the upgraded steering handle and rudder bolt and upgraded mounting plates - still waiting for a day where it's not raining to install the upgrades. Yesterday was looking good then out of nowhere we got that afternoon thunderstorm about 5 hours after it was predicted to hit.

I usually don't keep reels on my rods, but it's a useful feature to have. That's perfect!

Yeah, I want to get a table where I can rig up rods conveniently, even if it's pouring out. I finally got a Yakima Topwater so I can carry 8 rigged rods plus another 5, maybe 6 in the front seat. It's a much faster launch when I'm grabbing pre-rigged rods

I bought a 10x20 lofted barn to store my kayaks and my fishing and camping gear in today. The store I bought it from also is a Nucanoe dealer, so I got to check out Nucanoe kayaks, and they also told me which kayak racks they've used in the store and they're under $200 so I'll grab one of those for sure. Now I'm thinking about rod storage. I could either get a bunch of horizonal rod racks on the wall opposite of where I keep the kayaks, but I was thinking vertical might be easier as I have the height. That way, it would be as out of the way as possible. Alternatively, I could get a couple of spinning rod racks. Those are nice. I currently have one of those floor standing double rod racks as well that I could probably use for something. Does anyone have any good rod racks? I see the KastKing V15 rod rack, I guess that is just one piece that is supposed to hold the rod off the ground but I'm not sure how well that works, and probably doesn't work with a rod sleeve.

It doesn't sound like GSM plans to change much, other than position themselves one step higher on the race to take over the world.

Yeah, I was kind of getting at this. With pedals you have to think what to do... hmm I got a fish and I'm blowing into shore so I should pedal backwards. I can work with that. With a paddle I'd have to throw my anchor down quickly and hope it catches. But motor or pedals really give you same sort of freedom. So while you still can cover a certain limited area being a kayak, you can cover a lot more of it a lot quicker. If I had a boat, I could cross some of the medium sized lakes I fish in like a minute, but at the same time the experience wouldn't be the same getting there. Sometimes I like traveling between spots and taking in the view.

With the kayak, you have to approach fishing differently and be a little more targeting in your approach. You might make an educated guess where the fish are using all the data that’s available to you and if you’re wrong, you get skunked. But when you’re right, it sure feels good. I just upgraded to a pedal kayak for this season. I got the Old Town Bigwater 132 PDL which might be the fastest sit on top fishing kayak or if not it’s pretty close and I can maintain 4mph for a while. I just got it out the first time on Sunday and only had a few hours but being able to make small adjustments by pedaling and not needing to anchor was game changing. Instead of setting up at spots that let me produce, I went spot to spot and threw a square bill until I got bit, then worked that area some more.

The correct answer is above 32 degrees, although I usually hold out for mid 40s. 1/4 oz poppers can be quite effective in colder temps. Once the water hits 50, get out the buzzbait.

- Hollow body are great for lily pads - topwaters like poppers, buzzbaits and prop baits are good to fish over weeds that don’t hit the top of the water - Jigs are killer in solid weeds like milfoil or hydrilla. The larger profile tends to stand out more. When working with grass you have to finesse it and it’s difficult to make longer casts so consider this if you’re on the shore. - T-Rigged senkos are great in grass as they come through it and don’t take it back with your lure. - Spinnerbaits, swim jigs and chatterbaits can be worked through lighter grass

I think I'd need more than 2" risers. My rod holders were already using the top screw, I would have to skip that screw hole to go higher. There is definitely a point where it will fit if it's high enough, other owners have told me that's an option. I can get another rod tube or two on it by moving my handles to the top at the very least. Or I could add a couple of track mounted YakAttack Omega Pros like I did on my old kayak if I need more. I can currently carry 5 rods with the two built in rod holders - I'll keep the front one I'll keep open as it's my place to set the rod I'm using or to rig up with.

This past Sunday, I got out of bed late because my back has been killing me lately. I figured I should get up and at try to make it out while it's nice and figured I'd go to Emerald Lake, since that's roughly a hour drive. I got almost all the way there and realized that I forgot my net and paddle. So I went to St Catherine. I spent most of my time pedaling around and checking out the kayak, but got a little bit of fishing in. I ended up pedaling about 4 miles and trying different spots until I got a bite - something I never really got to do nearly as effectively with a paddle. Finally landed a fish, drifted along the shoreline towards where I launched and eventually some dark rain clouds blew in so I decided not to chance it and my back was killing me as well so I packed up. This kayak is great. I can maintain around 4 mph plus or minus .02 depending on wind and current for a fair length of time. Someone who isn't so out of shape could probably maintain closer to 5mph. It gets a little tippy with the V hull when it gets choppy and the chop is at your sides, but I'm not going to dump it. The Blackpak pro is also great. I could only keep 4 3700 boxes in the original because of the lip and they were a challenge to get out. I can pretty much reach back and grab a box with the pro. The front rail upgrades are nice! I had three rigged rods in my front seat and I also wanted to throw a crankbait. I grabbed a reel and threw it on a rod and planned to rig it on the water. So I grabbed the crankbait I wanted, threw it in one of the lure holes on the rail and setup the rods. And of course, the nice new Garmin GPS Map 943xsv that I got a pretty sweet deal on and got enough reward points to buy most of my transducer as well. My three complaints: My first complaint is I can only fit 3 rod holders on the BlackPak Pro because the width of the storage area is pretty narrow. I could potentially set it up to open from the side and then fit two on back, or the handles to the top and put one more on the front, but if I could have fit three on each side, that would have been nice. My second complaint is that it was quite annoying to constantly tighten the tension spool so I didn't have to hold the steering knob and then loosen it when I want to make a small adjustment. I have the rudder bolt from Navarre Kayak Fishing on the way so I can tighten it down so I won't need the tension knob anymore - a $5 fix. My third complaint is that I tried to mount my fish finder on the mounting plate but it was a little too wobbly. I ordered some heavy duty mounting plates from Navarre Kayak, which should solve that problem. I'm still not even sure if I prefer it on the rail or mounting plate - the rail is perfect when seated. Maybe I'll buy the handle that I can mount stuff to as well. Some first person view pictures and pictures of the fish I caught.

I made it out Sunday! I got almost to the lake I was trying to go to and realized I forgot my paddle and net, so I had to go to another lake where I can launch without a paddle. Posting about it in fishing reports.

I pretty much just completed the bigwater setups tonight. Added the clips for the blackpak pro and installed the transducer - my gt56 is currently backwards because it doesn’t fit great forwards, not sure how inaccurate that’ll be but for now it’s backwards. I asked Nick at Navarre how he mounted it because I know he said he has the same setup. We are trying to find a way to mount the transducer on the plate you remove to put the pedals down on the zulu. I have some ideas using a scupper plug garmin transducer mount and a spring. Other than that, the setup from his Voodoo mostly carries over. First my oldest is going to have to figure out if he still likes it on the rail or wants to put it next to the seat. The Zulu has tracks next to the seat that’d be perfect for that.

New kayaks have arrived! I messed up and accidentally ordered the orange instead of the green, not too happy with that - the orange is the worst color. The second storm camo bigwater for my kid who is graduating this year. Added the front track upgrades and installed mighty mounts on the mounting plates on the front so far, which we plan to use for our fish finders. Have to install the transducers and the blackpak mounting clips and the setup for these will be complete. My other kid got a pedal drive Zulu. It came in yesterday and has rained so we haven't completely set that up yet. Pictures

You don't a Titan or a Pro Angler to get something stable. In fact, there are more stable kayaks than the PA14 for less money. If you want a pedal, take a look at the Kaku Zulu with the pedal drive. It's a little above $2k, but probably the cheapest pedal kayak I'd consider too. My kid just got one, arrived yesterday. Haven't even got the chance to assemble the pedal drive and the rudder yet. You can add a blackpak or cooler or blackpak and small soft cooler behind the seat, and then a a YakGadget Lowpro Tray below the seat for more storage. Then add a YakAttack double header for a paddle holder and an Omega Pro rod holder on the double header for a place to quickly set your rod down. It's great to stand on and you can also sit on the back of the seat to fish so you sit super high and can sight fish. If you want a paddle kayak that you can add a motor to later, the Old Town Sportsman 120 or even the 106 or Bonafide SS127 (what I used for the past few years) would be worth a look. The Bonafide is great because it allows for a center mounted fish finder and a really great setup. The Old Town is definitely faster and has better initial stability but maybe slightly worse secondary but still it's still top tier there too so I wouldn't worry about it. I'm a big guy and I just got an Old Town Sportsman Bigwater 132PDL for this season. Not the most stable kayak, but if you're smart enough to not lean you won't flip it. I'll take the extra speed anyway, plus I have a bad back so I don't stand too long anyway. The Sportsman 120 PDL is the pontoon hull that is more stable, but also half the speed.

Great reel. It doesn't cast as far as the Shimano, but you'll have better control for things like skipping and pitching or just short targeted casts.

The 7'3" M/XF is a little heavy for a 1/32oz or even 1/16oz ned rig. The 6'10" ML/XF would be a much better option in the St Croix line, but still won't cast as far as some. My suggestion would be a Dobyns 702SF, or maybe even a 701SF for a 1/32oz ned rig. My kid has a Champion XP 702SF and it launches a 1/16oz ned rig very well, much better than my 6'9" ML/XF St Croix rod which runs a bit heavier. Seeing how well that cast, I went out and got a Daiwa Tatula Elite 7' ML/F rod for ned rigs - definitely lighter than the St Croix so we will see how it works out this year.

I have the Mojo Bass rod. It's a great rod for jerkbaits and light topwaters. I haven't used the Victory so I don't know how it compares.

Since 2006 (the year I graduated college) I have worked as a software developer over three jobs, the second which I made it nearly 15 years but left as the company I worked for looked like they might not be around for much longer. Before that I worked several odd jobs, from a local supermarket, gas station, fixing computers, guitar lessons, guitar repair, creating websites for people and working at my college's computer helpdesk while a college student.

Sorry to hear. One of my best friends committed suicide about a month ago, and I lost another friend to cancer today as well.

Try Your Name Here $500 - gotta advertise the price

Set the drag normally, no more than 25% the max recommended line strength of your rod and no more than 30% of the lightest line you are using between your mainline and leader, whichever is lower. The fact that the kayak is moving doesn’t really change how many pounds of pressure the line has on it

You want me to talk knotty to you? Oh dear... I generally use the uni to tie lures on with the exception of when I am using braid, where there's a 50% chance I might tie a palomar, but the uni still works very well. I've used the double uni for leader. I learned the alberto as well, but haven't bothered to use it. Why? Because I pretty much only run leaders with thin line these days and I think I may have broke at the line to line knot once and that was when shore fishing and caught on a rock.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head here. He was a couple months shy of 42 and single, hadn't worked in an office since they closed the office he worked in some years back. Even though he suffered from social anxiety, everyone in that office loved him. I recall days I worked there, we'd be heads down doing work and people would come over just to talk to him or ask if he wanted to join them for coffee or lunch or whatever. Then people left for other jobs or got fired and it was down to just 4 people and rarely all at once. He did okay the first few years cause he'd always get out and do stuff, then covid hit and it became pure isolation and it was like he didn't quite know how to rejoin the world, the thing is he was trying more recently. He didn't have any real debilitating health issues, although he was diagnosed with fatty liver disease or a similar one, I can't recall for sure which one he had although I do know that it was very manageable and treatable but of course he acted like the end was in sight. His sister went through his messages and fear of being admitted to the hospital for something serious was apparently part of it, but likely it was unfounded knowing how he let things blow up in his head and whatnot. If he told me, I'd have driven him and did what I could to help. Being as my wife's had 6 brain surgeries and I've been through the cancer routine, I'm sure we could have something.

Well I made it through the services yesterday. I haven’t experienced a loss in my life that was this hard before, usually older family members who made it to say 90 so I knew at some point it’s be coming and at least I could be glad they made it that long and I got the chance to know them.