Kayak Koz

Are any of you participating? I’m thinking about, but it may be a last minute decision as we are very short staffed at work. It would be an 11 hour drive for me so with driving, pre-fishing, and tournament days I’d need to be gone for a week. I’ve never been to those lakes, but the pictures of Caddo are beautiful.

That initially worried me as well but so far, so good with cruise control at 70 mph. But I have also just ordered a spare tire since I have some long trips coming up. I liked the Right On trailer as well. I can’t remember why I chose the Malone over that one. If I remember correctly, Right On is only a few hours from me and ai could have picked it up.

Here’s a picture of my assembled winch and post:

This is the tongue extender that I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/CURT-45796-Receiver-Tube-Extender/ I also bought locking pins for my extender and hitch so no one steals them. In fact, I purchased a number of other devices to deter people from trying to steal my kayak when I travel overnight. For example, a trailer ball hitch lock, wheel locks, and a heavy steel cable to lock my kayak to my trailer frame.

I just ordered this today along with some crossbars and the attachment kit. But I thought that I would pass along that the other day I started to order it and then aborted the order before entering my payment information. The next day Yakima emailed me a promo code for 10% off my order. I thought I would pass that along.

I will add one thing. Now that I started traveling to fish tournaments I wish I had invested in a trailer with locking storage boxes and rod boxes. I also wish I had purchased a dual trailer so I could also bring my pedal kayak as a backup. It would also be an alternative option for river tournaments if there was no suitable water for my AP. For now I’ll stick with the Malone, but I’m investing another $1200 in a Yakima rooftop rod box.

As I get older my prescription keeps changing so I bought some Cocoons fit overs instead.

Before I bought my winch and post assembly I would pull my kayak onto my trailer with a dock line. That was a chore because my fully loaded AP is hundreds of pounds and it wasn’t easy pulling it up over the bunks. Now I just attach the winch line, crank the handle and quickly and easily pull it up onto my trailer. That gets me away from the ramp much quicker so I’m not blocking other boaters AND I’m not worn out wrestling my kayak. Tomorrow I will post a picture of my winch assembly. I bought the winch and post combo in the link below, but I did use different u-bolts that I picked up for a few bucks at Lowe’s. If you buy one, just make sure you get the correct tongue size. One more thing - backing up a short trailer is not as easy as backing up a longer trailer. To combat that I bought a tongue extender. https://www.boattrailerpartsplace.com/shop-trailer-parts/winch-post-winches/winch-post-assemblies/winch-post-assembly-2x2/

I have the Malone Ecolight with the bunks for my Autopilot 120. One of my best purchases was adding a winch to that trailer. Buy a winch for your AP. Don’t think twice about it. It makes it quick and easy to load up and get off the ramp. It looks like the Microsport is rated to 65 mph as well: https://www.etrailer.com/question-281778.html?srsltid=AfmBOooT5fji4uM1RR0SD-aMetfbJSiV9cgQsO03StpIPefrKXjFc7GE

Have you checked out the list of small public fishing lakes: https://www.outdooralabama.com/where-fish-alabama/alabama-public-fishing-lakes-pfls In GA we call them public fishing areas and boats are restricted to idle speed. Our DNR does a good job managing them and most hold big bass.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, right now my plans are on hold. Not canceled, just on hold. We’re short staffed at my hotel and I need to address that first.

If you want to understand more about sugar and sugar substitutes see the articles and videos by Vinny Tortorich. They will change everything for you when it comes to eating. I did great for a few months without sugar, but then it crept back into my life. I’m back to no almost no daily sugar intake and hope to keep it that way.

Let’s start off by saying’s that I added livescope to my kayak this past year. Between that, a few rods, reels, tournament fees, travel, and accessories I really don’t want to add it all up. Plus now I’m looking at adding a Yakima rooftop rod holder and crossbars😞

Shaky shot. A combination shaky head and drop shot. Next up is trying a Carolina shot.

I wear eyeglasses, so I just bought a pair of Cocoons fit overs. I chose the polarized amber lens with the green mirror.

There are a lot of factors deterwhen I use a leader. But in general, when I finesse fish I use a leader. When I power fish I use straight braid.

Orange Lake is on my list as I’ll be driving right by it. Headwaters might be a bit too far off my planned path for this trip. I want to keep drive time to a minimum so I can maximize sleeping and fishing.

There was at least one tournament in my region this year where the paired up boaters. They had to split time fishing off the bow and the stern. I was looking forward to fishing the tournament on Oconee since my hotel is on that lake. It should be a docks and seawalls event, but it’s not worth the entry fee if you draw a scoper. Boaters don’t care about local knowledge.

No, the issue is boaters who fish deep water and spend the day turning in circles and running over the lines of the co-anglers. Or the boaters who use FFS, see fish in the co-angler quadrants, then spin the boat around and box out the co-angler. It wasn’t so bad last year, but this year was ridiculous if you were a co-angler trying to fish. How bad was it? In the recent MLF survey co-anglers nearly unanimously voted against FFS. In light of the updated rules, MLF needs to end the farce and drop the co-angler or clarify the rules on impeding co-anglers.

That’s why I quit fishing both the Phoenix and Toyota series. Heck, we have a Super Event on one of my home lakes in two weeks and the MLF brass are staying at my hotel, but I won’t fish the event. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy FFS and have it on my kayak. But it makes for a miserable experience as a co-angler. MLF could clear this up if they would define their rule that states boaters must not inhibit co-anglers. I have asked MLF to define this and provide examples but it has fallen on deaf ears. I’ll stick with my kayak tournaments. Edit: The recent survey conducted by MLF showed that almost unanimously, co-anglers wanted FFS banned in co-angler events. MLF rejected that. Good luck finding enough co-anglers. Boaters are not going to be happy when they start pairing up boaters to equalize the field.

I spoke with an MLF tournament director today and they hope to make an announcement in the next week or two.

Have you considered building a boat shed on your property?

Listening to the BTL podcast I found it very interesting that BASS does not have a pre-approval process for new technology. That seems dumb. So an angler shows up with new technology, creates a firestorm, and THEN the league reacts.

While I’m reading this I’m petting my dog while he’s curled up next to me on the couch. He has his independent streak, but he’s also my shadow. He stands guard outside the bathroom door when I shower. When I go out back to fish he walks with me along the bank and sits on the dock when I fish there. Whatever I’m doing he loves just to hang out and be nearby. That’s not “just a dog”, that’s my friend.

I have green mirror lenses but I’m thinking about picking up a pair of amber lenses. I read something a while ago that declared there were only a handful of sunglasses production factories that supplied all brands throughout the world.