Kayak Koz

I'm still mulling it over... What spurred me is that I'm thinking of selling my AP120 and getting a Bonafide XTR or a Native Hammer with the new Garmin motor. So, as I would have to pony up more money even with selling my AP I decided to price out boats. With the length of the loan terms, the monthly cost is quite low. But I also want to see if the fed drops interest rates in the next few months before pulling the trigger. But not only would I miss the solace of kayak fishing, I'd miss the kayak tournaments. While I can afford to keep both a kayak and a boat, storage of both would be an issue. Plus, if I get a boat I'd keep my kayak electronics and put them in the boat. But I am starting to lean towards the dark side, I mean, getting a boat.

Are you using a mapping solution like BaseCamp or other software to map waypoints, create markers, and descriptions and then importing the GPX (or other format files) to your units? I have both a Garmin unit and a Humminbird unit and will be uploading waypoints and data. In the past I have done that just creating raw GPX files in a text editor, but I'm looking for something I can visually reference on my PC and then create the file to upload.

My experience shows it does that and more depending upon which AI you utilize. AI will tag where it derives specific information. I'm doing some experimentation and analysis of different outputs. My latest comparison has yielded varying waypoints and varying strategies as I get AI to drill down based upon my additional prompts. One of the keys in my analysis will be to see if AI changes output based upon different weather conditions within seasonality. My next step is to create a GPX file and upload it to my Garmin, adding relative notes and separating the different AI waypoints with different symbols. But it will take a lot of data and a lot of fishing to draw any conclusions.

Rip a bladed jig through the hydrilla.

I had looked at Bass Trackers as well, but I prefer the layout and design of the Lowe. I also heard that it was tough to swap out the trolling motor on the Trackers as there wasn't much space to work with. I'm looking at either having a 60 or a 90 on it. I don't need to go faster than that. Heck, I don't think I want to go faster than that. I've been out there with guys who had 250's on and that was too fast and too bone jarring for my taste.

I'm **thinking** of entering the boat world next year. Before some of you go nuts (you know who you are) and start saying "I told you so!" I am very frugal when it comes to big ticket spending and I'll ponder this for 6 months or more before pulling the trigger. I also have some strict parameters. I'm not going to buy a new vehicle to tow a boat. My Bronco Sport has a towing capacity of only 2,200 pounds, so that rules out fiberglass boats. The Stinger comes in at just over 1,000 without fuel and gear. There happens to be a Lowe dealer right down the road from where I work. It's a stripped down boat with no electronics and only a Minn Kota Edge 45# trolling motor. I would upgrade that to a Garmin Force Pro or an Ultrex or Ulterra. It all depends upon what I want to run for maps. I can put my Helix in the console, then put my Garmin UHD 93 (including Livescope) in the bow. I image I will want a bigger display down the road. If I go with the Minn Kota trolling motor I'll need another Humminbird unit up front. That's why I'm leaning towards the Garmin instead. Anyway, does anyone have experience with the Stinger 175C? Is it a decent boat? Anything in particular I should know about it or watch out for? I'm not sold on a boat yet as I love my kayak. But I have been thinking about upgrading to a new kayak platform and before investing all of that I thought that I should at least explore buying a boat. If you have any other aluminum options I'd like to hear about those as well.

A different state? That's funny! I had ChatGPT export a file for the coordinates, then transferred them to a micro SD car and uploaded them to my Garmin unit.

That's what interests me. I often head to tournaments on lakes that I have never fished before. Even if I manage to get a few days to practice, it's hard to cover a lot of water on a kayak. Other anglers roll in with teams of 5+ people and they split up and pre-fish. That's puts single anglers like me at a disadvantage. Actually, I do know how to incorporate AR with Livescope and the Active Captain app. I thought about trying it, but I don't want to put on a full headset. There are AR sunglasses, but the resolution isn't great. Give it another 2 or 3 years... And if you think the pros aren't experimenting with this stuff, you're crazy. These guys are fishing for big money and looking for every advantage.

That's very interesting. I think I will try multiple AI services and see how their information varies.

My prompt was along the line of: What are the top 5 spotted bass fishing locations on Lake Keowee for Sunday, August 31st 2025. Take into account the time of year, water clarity, wind speed, wind direction, and water temperature. Provide GPS positioning for each location. What it did was not only provide me the locations, but also described what cover and structure was in the area, the water depths, preferred fishing methods, bait choice, bait colors, and the time of day to fish each area. What I also plan to do is test different prompts for the same day and lake. For example, will I get different results if I as it to take into consideration the weather for the previous 3 days? What if I factor in rising or falling barometric pressure?

In a previous most I showed how I used AI to provide me with the top fishing spots on a specific lake based upon seasonality, weather, time of day, etc. I didn't get to test those results, but this past weekend I did on another lake. My premise is that if AI is accurate, along with map study it can help me break down new lakes quicker. This is a big help since I fish out of a kayak and often fish tournaments on lakes that are new to me. So this weekend I headed to Lake Keowee. I actually fished this once or twice before as a back seater in and MLF tournament, but I have no idea where we fished. Keowee has been taken over by spotted bass, so I aske AI to target that species for Sunday based upon seasonality, weather, etc. and provide me the top 5 locations on the lake. AI also provided me with a file of the GPS coordinates that I uploaded to my Garmin. I was supposed to fish Saturday, Sunday, and Monday but that didn't work out. Saturday I had to replace a bearing on my trailer and I chose to spend time with my son instead of fish on Monday. Anyway, AI provided me with the top 5 spots and of those I chose the Cane Creek area since it was close to my girlfriend's lake house. I got a late start and didn't get on the water until 7 am, but my first spot was close the ramp. I immediately saw what looked to be a few bass cruising on my livescope. I took a few casts with a frog with no takers. Then I saw a few spotted bas swim by in the crystal clear Keowee water, tossed my frog in their direction, and they ignored it. I switched over to a crankbait and immediately caught two. Nothing big - just a 12 inch and a 15 inch. I pushed further into that creek channel and caught nothing, then caught two more on the way back out. The next spot was further up Cane Creek, but along the way I got bored and fished a few spots and caught a small pumpkinseed on a crankbait of all things. It was only 8:30 am when I reached the next spot. According to AI it was a spot I should hit in the afternoon, and maybe it was correct as I saw nothing in this deeper water on livescope, not even bait. Still, I tooled around and fished the area but didn't get a bite. The next stop on my AI list was further up to the inflow of Cane Creek, but at that point the jet ski's and pontoon boats were starting to hit the water so I started back to the ramp. I fished a few spots of my own choosing along the way and caught a few on a ribbon tail. Then I hit that AI spot missed a few bites, caught one more, then packed it in before the lake started looking like an amphibious freeway with the holiday boat traffic. That's too bad, because one afternoon spot was deeper water, 40-50 feet deep. I almost never fish that deep and I wanted to try it out and get some practice. Conclusions? One test and one outing isn't a definitive answer. I wish I had the time to try the suggested spots on the other parts of the lake, especially at the times of day it suggested. But it did lead me to some fish. I may try this experiment on another lake in my area next weekend.

Not my lake house. My girlfriend owns it. I just do the cooking and other services 😀

One good way to learn to slow down your retrieve is to fish a weightless fluke or Crush City Freeloader. If you fish it too fast it will ride the surface instead of darting below the surface. But you still have to fish it fast enough to impart action on it.

I found a bearing that fits at Autozone. I also picked up a few jack stands, grease gun, marine grease, rubber mallet, pliers, and a screwdriver. I pulled the tire and dust cap and no water came out. Grease was a little dirty and it could have used some more. I didn’t get a chance to replace it because we have to go meet friends for dinner. I’ll work on it later tonight so I can get out on the lake by sunrise.

First, what should have been a three hour drive to Lake Keowee turned into almost 5 hours with all of the Georgia traffic. At one point when traffic slowed down, a car came up behind me and didn’t see the traffic jam in front of me. They swerved at the last second and came within a few feet of taking out my kayak and trailer. Then, about 80 miles out, I felt a shimmy coming from the trailer. I pulled off at the next exit and found my hub was loose on one wheel. Of course, because it was a dirt trip I didn’t pack my toolbox and I didn’t pack my kayak cart to remove my kayak from my trailer on dry land. It’s either a loose axle nut or the bearings are shot. I drove the rest of the way waiting for it to implode. Luckily, I made it. But of course, with the holiday I can’t find trailer or marine service to repair it. So it looks like I’ll have to leave my kayak and trailer at the lake house this weekend unless I waste money and time buying some tools, bearings, and grease repacking everything. It’s definitely not the way I wanted to spend my weekend.

...it would be this Yamaha Crosswave (due out in 2026). Technically, it's part of their jet ski lineup. But from the pictures it has a built in Simrad electronics and a trolling motor can be fitted. But I don't see foot pedal controls for the trolling motor and there's not much room on the bow. I saw somewhere that the price will be around $23k or more. For that price you can get a new, entry level aluminum bass boat. Still, it's an interesting concept.

Interesting, because almost everywhere I go I have boaters come up to me at the ramp, in the parking lot, and even on the water that want to check out my kayak and tell me how cool it is. I will say this, though. When I first got into kayak fishing I never even dreamed of the setup that I have now.

You can certainly still fish economically from a small paddle kayak, especially if you're on a small body of water. But it's not a lot of fun to do that on big lakes with lots of boat traffic and the potential weather issues. Even on small lakes, it can be hard to fish with getting blown around a lot. My point is, that if you REALLY like fishing and you really enjoy being on a kayak, the Kayak Monkey is probably going to get you.

You're correct, a fully loaded kayak is similar to a bass boat. And yes, it can be an investment. Between the kayak, trailer, electronics, batteries, and modifications I probably have $18-$20k invested in my kayak. I have fished out of both a boat and a kayak and I like both. I could go out and buy a boat at any time, but at this point in my life I don't want one. For me, kayak fishing is my quiet place. I feel really connected to the water and nature when I'm out there. I can disconnect and relax. I never got that same feeling of peace and tranquility out of a boat. Most of my life is fast paced with work and travel. But I can slow it all down on a kayak. Both kayaks and boats are great and they both have their plusses and minuses. But for my, the kayak helps me balance my life, I only wish I had more free time to spend on it.

Frog. Then another frog. Maybe a frog. Then a spook. Did I say frog?

You just have to start off facing in the other direction. I can't believe no one else suggested this. 😁 Of course, I'm kidding. My first experience kayak fishing was in a paddle kayak and I HATED it. Like you, I found it frustrating. I spent more time orienting the kayak than actually fishing. But I tool a leap of faith and purchased an affordable pedal kayak and I loved it. I could jog the pedals and bump the rudder and maintain position. Within two years I set that aside and bought an AP120. And now I'm looking at replacing that with another motorized kayak. Honestly, I don't see a really good solution other than moving to a pedal kayak. You don't need to spend $5k on a Hobie to get a really good pedal kayak.

For comparison, here's a photo of the old tires up against the new tires.

I’m going to bet that some pros also use rods and reels with manufacturer markings and labels covered up.

Yet another reason why I love the Bass Resource community!

As I stated earlier, I find that on my local lakes things like FFS can be distracting. However, I do tournament fish, oftentimes on lakes I have never fished before. Other times, I have limited hours on the lake or I have little or no practice time on the lake. I spend a decent amount of time studying depth maps and looking at Google Earth. This will simply be another tool that I can utilize on those lakes. At this point, I would guess that close to 50% of BPT and Elite anglers have also tried it. Wait - aren’t you the guy that logs your fish count on an abacus? 🤣