Kayak Koz

Onyx AM/24 is an automatic inflating vest. You can get it for $101 on Amazon. A foam vest on a kayak can be uncomfortable to wear all day and they usually trap heat. It’s also easy to re-pack if you do something dumb like accidentally dunking it in the water. You just need a new CO2 cartridge. I would never go back to a foam vest.

It’s pretty good for some things, but pay no attention to the best areas to fish map. Water clarity, inflow, lake level, and wind maps are helpful, but water clarity isn’t always up to date.

Yes - thanks. I added my Yakima Rod Box to the list. While it’s not directly for the kayak, but it’s part of my tournament package.

On more than one occasion I have thought about buying a boat. If I was 20 years younger I would probably go out and do that. I could have bought a new Tracker for what I have spent on my kayak hobby. But then again, I don't have the additional costs of maintenance, insurance, and repairs. With the winch added to my trailer it's a quick load or unload at the ramp. I can fish in some skinny waters, and I have things like a motor, spot lock, and FFS. I can even add Power Poles if I want. The only thing I really lack out there is speed, and at times that can be frustrating. Boats are great, but I still like my kayak - despite the cost and the lessons learned.

When I first purchased FFS for my kayak I went looking for a pole mount for the FFS transducer. I looked at both the Fishing Specialties unit and the Sniper Marine unit and couldn't fathom why I would spend $800 on an FFS mount. Now I know. Don't get me wrong, the Fishing Specialties pole is a great unit and it's well made. Fishing Specialties Pros: Well made Cost Easy to install Lightweight Quick and easy to change to perspective mode and back again. Has a breakaway feature when you hit something underwater so you don't trash the transducer, the mount, or your kayak. There is also a tether so when the unit breaks away it can stay attached to the mounting plate. Fishing Specialties Cons: Constantly reaching and turning to point the transducer. Granted, this is also a function of my AP120 where the tracks are further up the bow than most kayaks. There's a little bit of play in the forward and down modes. It doesn't stow on the rail as is. You can jerry rig it, but it's neither pretty nor stable. Keeping it in the water while steaming to another location greatly reduces your speed, so you want it out of the water. You also don't want to hit an underwater object at speed, even with the breakaway feature. So when motoring from point to point I would pull it from the water and place it on the deck. Hard to achieve a full 360 sweep unless you leave a lot of cable hanging out. Did I mention the constant reaching as you have to turn the pole handle to set your target? The Sniper Marine pole is a completely different animal entirely. You can turn the entire pole if you want, but it's made so that you turn a grip like a motorcycle throttle to change the direction of the transducer. Sniper Marine Pros: Well built No play in setting forward or down modes Turn the grip to point and shoot the direction of the transducer. I have an extension pole on my handle which allows me to sit comfortable in my seat and change the direction of the transducer instead of having to lean forward all of the time. Quickly locks and stores on the gunnel when I make a move to a new location. Breakaway system if you hit something underwater, but no tether. You're relying on your transducer cable to pull it back on board. Sniper Marine Cons: Expensive. I opted for the all aluminum version, but there are some with plastic parts that make the unit less expensive. Heavy. Poor instructions, despite their online videos. It took me a minute to figure things out. No perspective mode, at least with the mounting option that I used. I need to go into my Garmin box and see if there is a mount that will allow me to quickly change to any of the three FFS modes. Both of these are great mounts. But for my needs, I prefer the Sniper Marine. Whether I'm sitting or standing on my kayak, it's easy just to grab and turn the grip to reposition the transducer. As an older gentleman, I prefer not to reach, twist, and stretch all day out there on the water.

I bought my first kayak four years ago, and while loving every minute of it, it certainly has been a wild ride with what I have learned and what I have spent. I decided to post this to let people know that if you're serious about your kayak fishing platform, you REALLY need to plan ahead and not waste money like I did. Here are some of the upgrade paths I went through: Kayak: Seastream Angler 120 PD to Old Town Sportsman Autopilot 120 Fish Finder: Lowrance 5" Tripleshot to Humminbird Helix 7 DI/SI to Garmin UHD93SV with LVS34 forward facing sonar. Fish Finder Pro Tip: Buy the biggest unit with the most features that you can afford. Note that I do run both the 9" Garmin and the 7" Humminbird (for mapping only) on my AP120. But I should have purchased a 10" or 12" Garmin in the first place. The bigger unit would make a difference when using FFS. Fish Finder Mounting: Yak Attack Lowrance Mount to Yak Attack Helix mount to Dugout Crossbar. At one point I did build my own mount for my Garmin unit, but the Dugout one is much better. Fish Finder Accessories: Yak Attack Switchblade and Cellblok. I used these for both the Lowrance and Humminbird units on the Seastream. FFS Accessories: Fishing Specialties mount to Sniper Marine mount. Do yourself a favor and splurge on the Sniper mount. Yes, it's a lot of money. But so is investing in FFS. I'll do a write up on the Sniper Marine mount soon. Batteries: Dakotah 10Ah to two Nermak 18 Ah batteries with the Seastream. On the Autopilot I now run either two 100 Ah Weize batteries or one 100 Ah and one 36 Ah Weize battery depending upon my setup that day. I also have a battery box that holds my 100Ah battery and another for my 36Ah battery. Again, plan ahead and buy enough power for down the road. Yes, you can put multiple batteries in serial, but you may not have the storage space on or in your kayak for that. Battery Charger: From 1Ah NOCO charger to 10Ah NOCO charger. I also have a power inverter to charge directly from my Bronco if needed. Life Vest: Foam kayak vest to Onyx A/M 24. Trust me - if you're on a kayak all day, especially here in the south, you will appreciate the comfort of the self inflating life vests. Trailer: Malone Ecolight single kayak trailer. I did add a winch post and winch which is probably one of the best investments I have made since purchasing the heavy Autopilot. If I had to do it again, I would have invested in a better trailer with box storage and one that holds two kayaks. But those are BIG money investments. Oh yeah - my Genesis Coupe would not pull a trailer so I sold it and bought a Bronco Sport. Trailer Accessories: Trailer hitch, spare tire, and tongue extender. Backing up a small trailer is a pain and the tongue extender really helped out. Autopilot Wiring: From Yak Power 5 circuit hub to Yak Power 8 circuit hub. What I didn't do is plan ahead on the additional items I would need power for on my kayak. I should have bought the 8 circuit hub in the first place. Of course, additional Yak Power cabling was required as well. Safety Items: Yak Attack Visi Pole, Yak Power navigation lights. Due to an unfortunate incident at a ramp in Kissimmee I had to purchase a second set of nav lights. Additional Electronics: Deck lights, heading sensor. Storage: From Flambeau Tuff Krate to Yak Attack Blackpack. Purchased additional rod holders for the Blackpack. Kayak Cover: Luckily, the cover I bought for the Seastream also fits my AP120. Kayak Carts: From C-Tug to Wilderness Systems. Tournament Gear: Ketch board, Ketch Keeper, Ketch ID Vehicle Additions: Yakima Rod Box Miscellaneous purchases: Through the hull wiring kits, fuses, USB wiring kit, Yak Attack Roto Grip phone holder, various scupper plugs, dry bag, seat back cooler, additional wiring, wiring sleeves, soldering iron, Go Pro, Go Pro mounts. I think that's just about everything. If not, I'll add more at a later time. But pay attention to the upgrades I made along the way aside from upgrading my kayak. Some of those upgrades were a function of getting a new kayak, but I could have avoided the additional expenses had I spent a few more dollars up front, even if that meant waiting to make a purchase. But the truth is, in most of these cases I either didn't know, didn't understand, or didn't plan ahead. I guess the good news here is that if I decide to buy a new kayak, I can port a lot of gear to the new kayak and sell my old kayak with a lot of upgrades that I have outgrown over the years.

I'm thinking of heading up to TN on the 12th to fish the Native No Limits Big Bass tournament at Chickamauga. A couple of items: There is no rule regarding sharing information This is a no limit tournament and not Best 5. As long as a bass is over 14", it counts There is also a $1,000 prize for the biggest bass caught every hour of the tournament Due to my work schedule, I don't have any time to pre fish. It's a 4 hour drive, and I plan to get there 30 minutes before launch time and head out on the water. My issue? It's a big lake and I have no idea where to start. My first thought is to launch at Wolftever Creek, push in towards Summer Haven, fish a lot of docks, then move out into Harrison Bay and Patten Island. A second thought was to launch at the Dayton boat ramp and fish the sloughs and main river in that area. We can't go above the Wats Bar dam or below the Riverwalk dam. I'm thinking about bringing my pedal drive kayak instead of my AP120 if I'm going to be trying to push into the sloughs. Anyway, any insights would be appreciated as this is just a hit and run with no pre fishing on a lake I have never seen before.

I have a simple hooded Huk rain jacket and then my normal water wicking fishing pants. I like that the inner and outer velcro sleeves on the jacket help keep me dry.

There are a lot of great features with this new motor. There are also a couple of things I noticed: 1. It comes with their Weedless Wedge prop. It does work well in weeds, but it provides lower speeds than the standard prop. 2. It weighs 41 pounds. That’s a lot of weight on the nose. A lot of kayaks may have trouble handling that. There are a lot of intriguing options out there with new kayaks and motors. I’m tempted, but I think I will stick with my AP 120.

I have an Onyx AM/24. It costs about $100. I haven’t gone overboard and put it to use, but I did accidentally touch it to the water and it inflated. Resetting it and replacing the CO2 cartridge was easy. There are probably much better ones out there, but this one suits my needs. It wasn’t expensive and it’s comfortable. I think it also came with a whistle that I lost, so I did replace that.

Absolutely. I can’t imagine being on the water without wearing mine. That being said, I know from experience that those foam vest life jackets can get both hot and uncomfortable when you’re out there all day. That’s why I invested in a self inflating vest. Most of the time I don’t even realize that I’m wearing it.

Take a look at the Wilderness Systems Tactical Pro. If I sell me Autopilot, I think that’s what I would buy. But Old Town just crashed the resale value of my kayak.

I saw that. What’s interesting is that if you have the ePDL and the trolling motor it will be a rules violation for most tournaments. That’s because most allow only one motor. If you do get the ePDL and the trolling motor that’s 8 grand! That new motor is One Boat Network compatible, so you can set it to automatically navigate to your way points.

As some of you know, I recently took over the two new Marriott hotels that are under construction at the GA National Fairgrounds in Perry, GA. On the grounds there happens to be some ponds that contain fish. So on two days this week I brought a fishing pole and took a few casts after work. I wasn’t disappointed as in no time at all I caught three 2+ pound spotted bass. On the way home today I was thinking about what bait I should throw in my backyard when zi got home and decided upon an Alabama rig. I wasn’t disappointed as I caught a 5.5 pound LMB. So now I’m excited to fish from my kayak this weekend. If the wind is howling I’ll probably fish the Flat Creek PFA. If the winds are mostly in check I’ll fish Tobesofkee. I’m also switching from a Fishing Specialties FFS mount to the Sniper Marine mount. I can’t wait to try it out.

Along with the signage I would add some strategically placed trail cameras to grab vehicle types and possibly license plates along the road. I would also set up a camera or two where you expect them to park so you have photos of the occupants.

Easy to say when you walk off with a thousand bucks 😁 But you are correct - that was fun. I heard that the Kayak Adventure Series tournament in Ocala was a blast, especially the events off the water. I missed that one, and the remainder of those 2025 events are too faraway for me to consider.

Over the past few years I've been blessed with connecting with some BR members with both fishing for fun and fishing some tournaments. I'm hoping to do that again this year, so I thought I would post my tentative tournament schedule and see if anyone wants to team up on the water or even share the costs of an AirBnB. Also, as I'm working with Marriott again I can stay at hotels cheap if a hotel is a better option. Native Watercraft Big Bass Power Hour Events These are unique, one day events where instead of your best 5 fish, ALL of your fish above the limit count. So if you catch 30 fish that meet the minimum length requirements, they all count. But there is also a $1,000 prize every hour for the largest bass caught that hour. My buddy Nate ( @LrgmouthShad ) took home $1,000 at the Lake Fork event last year. The entry fee is only $130. These are the Native Watercraft events I am planning to enter this year: April 12 - Chickamauga Lake, Chattanooga TN June 21, Lake Guntersville December 6, Kissimmee FL Bassmaster Kayak Series Earlier this year I fished the Bassmaster event at Kissimmee and met up with @FryDog62 and he made the great point that the teams of 5-6 anglers that enter these events have a huge advantage because they can spread out over the water during practice and then report back to each other. The Bassmaster schedule is spread out all over the country this year, and that limits how many I can enter. I wanted to do the Toledo Bend event in the fall, but that's a busy time for the two new hotels that I am opening this summer. So it looks like the only other event I might make is: April 26 - 27, Dale Hollow, Byrdstown TN The entry fee is just under $300 and you need to have a BASS membership. Local Fishing I'm moving to the Perry GA area soon and with that I'm close to Blackshear, Tobesofkee, Flat Creek PFA, Ocmulgee PFA, and a few smaller lakes with boat ramps in this area. But I don't mind traveling a few hours to fish somewhere else. i

GA, SC, TX, FL, AL, and TN. I get around.

I have an Autopilot 120 that I love. But take a look at the Wilderness Systems Tactical Pro 128. It’s designed for a bow mounted motor, and it also has deck storage and pass through wiring plates. https://wildernesssystems.confluenceoutdoor.com/en-us/products/wilderness-systems-tactical-pro-128-fishing-kayak/9751325216

The new Wilderness Systems kayak has two hatches on the deck. I’ve been waiting a few years for someone to do this. We all make mistakes, but I’m of the mind that proper maintenance and planning eliminates most potential problems. My kayak is due for a spring maintenance overhaul. I’ll go as far to pull and inspect all of the wiring. I also have a lighted, fiber optic camera to inspect inside the dark recesses of the hull.

This weekend I was entered to fish the Georgia Bass Nation Kayak event on Lake Allatoona but as fate would have it, I didn’t get to fish. I made the 2.5 hour drive there and was surprised by what I saw. First off, the lake was muddy. Not stained, but so muddy there was only an inch or so of visibility in the different areas I fished. Water temperature was also only 51 - 55 in the spots I hit, even skinny water. But the most remarkable thing was that the lake was down 6.25 FEET from full pool. Some docks were completely out of the water. This is also a lake that features floating docks, and many of the docks were at a steep angle being on a slope and mostly out of the water. It’s not often that you see the roof of a covered dock while sitting in your kayak! So, why didn’t I fish the tournament today? My old hotel called and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. The sale of the property still hasn’t closed, but with me gone they brought in a temporary GM. But they want me to train him for 2 or 3 days and they offered me two months of my old salary to do it. I figured that was worth forfeiting the $70 entry fee and not fishing.

I have both a pedal drive with instant reverse (Seastream Angler) and a motor drive (Autopilot 120) and I can make a case for both of them and none of them. 1. With the pedal drive I felt more connected to the lake and to nature. Holding position by jogging the pedals and bumping the rudder became intuitive in no time. I could cover a lot of water at 2.5 - 2.9 mph. But in the southern heat it was brutal out there in the warm months. I was either completely spent and on the verge of heat exhaustion or I simply chose not to fish as much. Weight limitations forced me to make choices. I trailered this kayak. 2. The Autopilot with spot lock was an immediate game changer. But it was a beast to load and unload until I was smart enough to add a winch to my trailer. Now I am quickly in and out of the water. Absolute game changer. My pedal drive was stable, but this is levels above that. This is important not only for standing, but also with big boats and rough weather on bigger lakes. Spot lock can be both friend and foe. You have to plan your attack angles with wind and currents. Shifting winds can drive you nuts. With my moisture wicking pants and shirts, hot weather is no issue because the motor gets me where I want to go. But with the motor up front, weeds can be problematic even with a weedless prop. Lakes like Guntersville and Toho took a lot of patience with their heavy weeds. On the flip side, I can carry a ton of gear, batteries, and electronics. The only real issue is speed. With a tournament setup I max out at about 3.3 mph. My competitors with the rear mount motors go 5 - 8 mph meaning they can cover a lot more water. Another downside with that front mount motor is that it’s not suitable for river fishing. That’s why I still have my pedal drive. I’m not about to get rid of my Autopilot, but if I had to do it all over again I would buy a 12-14 foot pedal drive kayak that was also purpose built to add a fast, rear mount motor. I would sacrifice the spot lock for the extra speed and use the pedal drive and/or an anchor system or Power Poles to hold position. And before you think about adding a motor to a kayak, make sure you understand how it mounts, if it will cut down on your cargo area, how you will run the wiring, how much or how many batteries you need, where you can place those batteries, and how they will impact stability, center of gravity, and tracking.

I fish out of a kayak, but I would fish differently if I had a boat. If I had a boat, I would spend a considerable amount of time running the lake using side scan and marking structure. The speed of the boat makes that possible. In a kayak, I don’t do much of that because I’m moving so slow I would just rather fish. I do have Livescope and I use it extensively. But there are also times when I shut it off and take the transducer out of the water. Whether I use it or not depends upon the depth I’m fishing or if I’m fishing heavy vegetation or even what kind of mood I’m in. I run two graphs and I just about always keep my SmartStrike maps running.

My superpower? I can tell you where the fish are NOT located. If you see me on the water, your best bet is to fish somewhere else 🤣

Thanks for the great info. It seems to fit my needs as pivoting the handle on my FS can be a pain and I want something that can stow on the rail. I need to check out that mode shift bracket as well.