Kayak Koz

I was just about to post about this. So far I hate absolutely everything about iOS 26. Everything.

It’s more of a recreational kayak than a fishing kayak despite how the are marketing it. Sure, the added speed would be great. It may ride well on smooth water, but how well will that jetting concept work on lakes with lots of wakes and waves? What happens if it sucks in weeds, leaves, and sticks? If I need to get in really skinny water in my Autopilot I just pull up my motor and paddle. I just don’t see the pros outweighing the cons with this one.

Before Ketch and YakAttack boards, the tournament standard was Hawg Trough boards. But as it turns out, those were easy to cut an inch or so off of them and then bond them back together. There are other tournament incidents of guys putting bass on a stringer and tying that stringer off to a dock and then retrieving them come tournament time. Photoshopped pictures have been an issue now and then. The worry now is AI generated photos. However, there are companies like TourneyX working on a solution for that. I don't understand the brains of people that choose to cheat. My brain doesn't work that way.

My opinion is that you're better off pitching and flipping to targets in the lily pads rather than casting into them.

I turned 61 last month and for the most part my health is good, but I do need to lose some weight. I still love getting out on my kayak, but my work schedule often leaves me drained and I lack the motivation to get up at 4:30 or 5 in the morning to drive to a lake. That's where I really miss living on the lake. Even if I didn't want to fish on my kayak, I could fish off my dock and back yard. Like others have mentioned, I do now have a sense of my own mortality. I'm at peace with it (my girlfriend hates that), but I do battle with regrets. With that, I do have a small bucket list of things that I'd like to accomplish before my time is up, and I'm working on that. Getting old is very interesting. My mind still thinks I'm in my 30's, but my body has limitations I never had before. Metabolism is one thing, but I really hate that I need to wear progressive lens glasses to see anything. And having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I hate that as well.

This year, early February, Bassmaster Kayak Series event on Lake Kissimmee. I lost what appeared to be a double digit bass or at least very close to it.

...as it flows. And a dreamer's just a vessel That must follow where it goes...

My goal is to qualify for the Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship. There are a number of avenues to get there including through Bass Nation. But this past year I only fished one Bassmaster tournament and zero Bass Nation tournaments. The plan in 2026 is three Bassmaster events and four Bass Nation events.

You're lucky that your wife likes to get out on the lake and fish. My girlfriend has no interest in fishing, but she understands my need to get out on the lake and relax, so she's understanding and isn't upset when I spend time out on the lake. The bad news this year is that I moved and had to give up the lake house. The good news is that her second home is a lake house (Keowee) and we spend as much time there as possible.

Bass Pro has a package of TWO 106SV Echomap Ultra2 units for only $2,999. If you're a Bass Pro member that price drops to $2,249. That's an awesome deal. I am very tempted to pull the trigger on that and replace my 93SV and my Helix 7. But I do like my Lakemaster maps with my Humminbird. Tough call.

Interesting... And now I need to check those new tires that I bought when I get home tonight.

Thankfully, I have the habit of checking my tires and lights and I make sure my kayak and rod box are secure before every trip.

The Amazon Haul section of Amazon's website has some bug discounts on Yamamoto creature baits, Strike King jigs, and a ton of other baits. But here's something to watch for - put it in your cart from the Amazon Haul page. If you put it in your wish list it reverts back to its normal price. I picked up all of this for $22.95 plus free shipping.

Because I don't want to invest in prescription sunglasses, the Cocoons fit overs have been a great choice for me. I have three different shades of their polarized glasses that I use under different conditions.

For years I wandered the banks with one rod and my tackle in a backpack. A little over 4 years ago I got into kayak fishing and each year it became increasingly more complicated as I upgraded my kayak and electronics to where I now have a motor driven kayak with spot lock, two graphs, and multiple transducers including FFS. I also picked up more bait and tackle along the way and with that when I head out of town for a week to practice and fish a tournament it seems like I'm bringing along a small tackle shop with me. But recently I have pared down what I carry on my kayak by a lot. And this summer I realized that I have reached my personal plateau. I went out and looked at new bass boats and found one that I really liked, but I didn't pull the trigger. It wasn't the money that turned me off. It was adding multiple layers of complexity that turned me off. All I could envision was more headaches with a boat. As far as simplifying, there is something I want to start trying and that is hitting a local lake and bringing only one or two rods and only one type of bait. For example, one day might be Jig Day. Another day might be Shaky Head Day. The goal is to get better at baits and techniques that I rarely use, gain more confidence in them, and stop getting into a rut when I'm fishing.

^^This^^ I think we get this same question every winter here on BR and if you read through the comments there are half a dozen different answers. With that, here's mine. I break creek channels into thirds and will look down the middle and ledges to see if predators are holding there or if there are balls of baitfish there. I'll work my way into the back of the creek. On the way out I will fish the shallows on the sunny side of the creek channel. But in the winter, often it comes down to timing. I might see a ton of baitfish, but the bass just aren't feeding at that moment. If they are hugging the bottom it can be hard to see them with FFS. The reason that I start with creek channels is that I'm in a kayak and I prefer to stay out of the way of main lake boat traffic. If it's a spotted bass lake I am more likely to start with main lake points and I keep an eye out for big schools of spots chasing baitfish. Last weekend, @FryDog62 and I were out on Hartwell and the spotted bass that I found were in deeper water in a large creek channel along an old creek bed. They were in chase mode. Unfortunately for me, I had lost the gear track mounting bracket for my FFS and without FFS I wasn't able to track the bait of the school of spots to head them off. So, as mentioned above, each lake is different. So the transition for bass from shallower water to deeper water will happen at different times. But I'm of the opinion that you will always find bass shallow. But in the winter, the bite windows are further apart than in the warmer weather.

The angle on my photos is a bit misleading and in the Bronco and trailer are not in a straight line. In actuality, it sticks out maybe a few inches and that wasn't a problem at all. There's actually room to bring it an inch or two closer to my kayak and still fully open the box and I will probably do just that. But with it being the first time I tried that setup, I wanted to give myself a little more clearance when loading the kayak back on the trailer at the dock. You're going to like the 10" tires, although I will say that it took a trip or two for me to get used to the new feel. In my opinion, my Malone Ecolight is a slightly step above a basic trailer, but with the mods I did to it I am more than happy with it and what I spent is a lot cheaper than those more expensive, purpose built trailers. Granted, it's not as beefy as those, but it suits my needs at the moment.

My kayak extends a little over a foot further than the rod box. I could easily move the rod box up further with no issues, but it looks better centered on the trailer. Because the rod box is black, I am going to add some reflective tape to the side and back of it so it's easier to see. I should probably also add a safety flag to the back of my kayak. Overall, since changing from the stock 8" tires to the much wider 10" tires the trailer rides a lot smoother.

See the picture below. I circled the crossbars in red. I loosened the brackets (blue oval) and slid the crossbar until the right end of it was nearly flush with the bracket. This left it sticking out further on the left side of the trailer so I could use those crossbars to mount the Yakima rod box. I then had to re-center the bunks down the midline of my trailer to align it with my winch.

I cheat when backing up - I open the hatch and then look over my shoulder old school. The backup camera messes me up with the trailer. With the extended tongue my Bronco doesn’t enter the water. I do climb on my trailer to launch it, but that’s because I don’t want a big splash. I push it off gently. My feet get wet, but in cold weather or cold water I wear Muck boots. My fishfinders are 9” and 7” plus the hoods. Much to my surprise, they don’t get in the way sitting or standing. In fact, they were in my way when I had them on the rail. Part of that is that on an AP120 the gear track is far forward. On my old kayak, the track ran all the way up to the seat so they were fine on the rail.

While I would prefer something like the Fish TX or the On The Water Innovations trailers, I don't want to spend $4k - $8k for a trailer. With that, my modified Malone trailer works well. Aside from moving the crossbars to accommodate the rod box, I added a winch and changed over to wide 10" tires rather than the skinny 8" tires it came with. The carpeted bunks it came with are kind of flimsy and have warped, but they work. I prefer the carpeted bunks to the PVC because they hold the kayak to the trailer better. The downside is you have to push a bit harder to get the kayak into the water. Because the trailer is so short, I also added a tongue extender. That makes it easier to back up. I will say that although the rod box sticks out 2-3 inches from the side of my vehicle, I like the height of the box. When it was on the roof, I had to travel with a step ladder. Even if it was mounted above the height of the kayak, it would be a pain to access. I will probably move it an inch or so closer to the kayak. I just made a 430 mile round trip through winding, country roads this weekend and the box did not move at all. My Sniper Pole FFS mounting plate was another story. I met @FryDog62 at Hartwell this weekend, and sadly found that out when I went to mount my Sniper Pole. I hope they will sell me that plate separately, but I have a feeling that it's going to cost me.

I was on a steep ramp this weekend and it didn't touch the water. Even if it did, the Yakima rod box is designed with drain holes to remove any water that gets in there. While there is plenty of clearance to load the kayak from the water, I imagine I'll have to make sure I don't get careless and slam the kayak into the box When I have the kayak connected to my winch strap and line it up on the bunks.

I don’t know why I didn’t do this before. I shifted over the crossbars that are parallel to the axle and mounted the rod box. There’s enough space to fully open the rod box and it still doesn’t bump into the kayak when it’s on the trailer. The kayak and bunks are still centered on trailer. Yesterday was my first launch with this setup and there were no issues. Perhaps more important, when I got back to the ramp the wind was blowing 15-20 mph and the added Yakima box didn’t cause any issues. I do need to put some reflective tape on it for safety. With it off the roof of my Bronco, fuel mileage is where it should be for pulling the trailer. When the rod box was on the roof it killed my gas mileage.

I feel for the anglers in states where a 6 or 7 pound bass is a giant bass. Granted, my PB is still just under 8 pounds, but I live in GA and regularly fish SC, AL, and FL so even with my plodding along I may eventually stumble into a DD. Knowing that is exciting. When my son was 12 he caught a 5.5 pounder and was obviously thrilled. Later, I told him that was a quality catch and he may never catch one that big again and there were plenty of adults and old men that would be a little jealous of his catch.

I have the half ounce as well. My first impression was the same as yours. However, because I was fishing in crystal clear water I was able to see the results of imparting action on the bait. I'm used to ripping a regular 3/8 oz or 1/2 oz bladed jig. You have to be more subtle with this one, at least with the 1/2 oz weight. I think that darting action is going to be key to getting strikes.