Kayak Koz

You guys are thinking about this all wrong. It’s only $68.75 per inch or $50 an ounce.

I turn 60 in a few months. I didn’t fish a lot last summer, but this year I made some changes that helped me better handle the brutal Georgia heat. First off, I went from a pedal kayak to an AP120. But that heavy beast took a lot out of me lugging it over the sea wall in my backyard or pulling it up on my trailer at the ramp. Now that I added a winch to my trailer it’s a breeze to get it out of the water at the ramp. I’m also designing a ramp and winch or pulley system to get it over my sea wall a bit easier. Another huge difference is my clothing. Moisture wicking long pants and fishing hoodies have really kept me a lot cooler. If I get hot it’s usually because of the boonie hat on my head. Another change is adding a gel cushion to sit on. I actually put it under my seat on top of the battery box. That gives me both comfort and breathability. I work anywhere from 45-60 hours a week and my sleep schedule stinks, so sometimes I’m just too worn out to fish. Sometimes it’s that tiredness and not the heat that has me call it a day. So on days when I’m not tired I’ll launch between 5 and 6:30 in the morning and fish from 6-9 hours. On my days off I also have to get the chores and shopping done.

You seem to contradict yourself here. How does FFS do the job for you, especially in light of your second statement? What FFS does best, for me at least, is eliminate water that is not holding a decent amount of baitfish. I can't tell you how many times I've found schools of baitfish on FFS but did not see any bigger fish. But I still cast to the schools of baitfish and more often than not a bass comes out of nowhere and hits my bait or the school. One thing I haven't done a lot of is using a Damiki Rig or hover strolling. I fish from a kayak in narrow lakes (dammed up rivers) and there's too much boat traffic out there for my taste. But my biggest takeaway from the pros using FFS is that many are now fishing areas that they would not have fished in the past. That's the biggest game changer with this technology.

The older pros having spent years running and graphing tournament lakes. But now the younger guys can come in with 360 and FFS and quickly find productive places to fish. Not only that, but many of these spots are where people would not have even thought of fishing. That’s a bit of a slap in the face to the Old Guard. In the bass fishing world, FFS seems to show us there are vast, untapped populations of bass. Is that such a bad thing? In almost every sport there comes a time when a new technology comes about and for a brief period the early adopters have an advantage, but then it all evens out. The truth is that FFS has been around for a while. But in the beginning it was treated as kind of a gimmick. Those early adopters messed with it, but they didn’t dedicate themselves to it. Then younger people, who grew up with technology as part of their daily lives, put the time into it to learn the nuances. Is it their fault that they mastered it while the older, early adopters treated it as a gimmick? Personally, I like FFS. I fish out of a kayak and I simply can’t cover water like a bass boat. So FFS , when used correctly, can quickly help me find bait, structure, and even bass. I can pan around instead of motoring long stretches with side scan or down scan. That being said, I think that the pro tours should be limited to one screen and one transducer. I also think that it should be shut off on the final day of the tournament. But you know what’s coming next - high powered CPU’s, AI, species identification and target fish sizes. Oh - and augmented reality. I don’t think any of that should be allowed on the pro tours, but that technology is coming.

I just thought of something about Marben today. Lake Margery, which produced some huge bass in the past, was drained and is closed right now. I’m assuming they relocated the fish to the two adjacent ponds, Boyle #2 and Murder Creek Lake. Since Murder Creek is much larger, my guess is that’s where the majority were relocated. That’s where I’m fishing next. Murder Creek Lake has a ramp, but Boyle #2 does not and it looks like that road is gated. I may have to bring a cart and my pedal kayak for that one.

How far of a drive for you? There are a few PFA’s I want to check out that are 2-3 hours away so I will probably plan an overnight trip and fish them for two days.

I didn’t see anyone from DNR out there. I saw only 3 other boats out there all day. So far I have fished 3 different PFA’s and the most I have seen is a handful of boats. I would think that most of the fishing pressure comes from people fishing limited locations on the banks. Then again, the heat index is consistently 100+ this time of year and maybe some of the regulars at these places are staying home. I bring plenty of fluids with me and my wicking clothing does a pretty good job keeping me from burning up.

Wow - that a biggun! I bet there's a big one or two in one of the smaller ponds in the woods. Someday I may have to bring my pedal kayak out to those and give them a try.

Although I'm fortunate to live on Lake Sinclair, kayak fishing out there is not a lot of fun in the summer. Sinclair is a dammed up river, and it's very narrow. With all of the pontoon boots and jet skis it can make for a frustrating time fishing from a kayak. Earlier this year, @Hook2Jaw turned me on to Georgia Public Fishing Areas (PFA's). These are small, man made lakes that are stocked with different fish species. I had fished Ocmulgee PFA a few times, and it's known for holding big bass. I caught a 21" LMB there last month. It's a fun and tough place to fish with all of the standing timber and Cypress trees. It's also about a 90 minute drive from my house. What I like about the PFA's is that even if a boat fished there they are limited to idle speed only. Maybe these PFA's get pressure in the spring, but this summer I've only seen a few boats or kayaks each time I've been to one. That's a nice reprive from the boat traffic on the big lakes. I was all set to head there this morning, but at the last minute I changed my mind and decided to try the Marben PFA, which is only 45 minutes from my house. The website states there are 20 different ponds there, ranging from 1 acre to 95 acres. A handful of them have boat ramps, although a few of them look rather sketchy on Google maps. Today I fished one of the larger bodies of water, Boyle Lake Number Five, which is also known as Fox. I arrived before sunrise and as soon as I opened the hatch to my Bronco I was inundated with bugs, so much that I had to pull up my gaiter. The headlamp made it worse, so I went back in the truck until the sun came up a little. As this was my first time fishing here and there is a lot of standing timber, I was not planning to launch in the dark anyway. I was the only one at the ramp until just after I launched and a jon boat hit the water. They headed northeast while I planned the longer southeast leg pushing back to where a creek flowed into the lake. Without a depth map and with all of that standing timber I took it slow, mainly looking around for isolated, standing timber and drop offs. This is where I'm glad to have FFS because I can take it slow and pan around. I was near the shoreline throwing a buzzbait along the way. I really didn't see much in the way of larger fish on FFS. I pushed to the back of the creek where the water was cooler but saw nothing. When I turned back I headed down the center of the channel and suddenly it was game on. There were balls of shad everywhere. And I mean everywhere. For the next 90 minutes I toss a Zoom Super Fluke or a Crush City Freeloader into the shad storm and get bit. Then the bait would disperse and I'd here or see blowups a few hundred feet away and chase them down - or get distracted by a different bait ball. Between seeing the blowups on the surface or seeing the bait on FFS I was keeping busy. I didn't even bother counting how many I caught. Most were between 14" and 17". Nothing big at all, but it was a blast to chase, cast, and get bit. Even when it started getting really hot close to noon the bass and the bait were still active. One good thing about today was I git to try out my new Ketch board system. I bought a Ketch keeper and now have the board attached to my Blackpack within easy reach. The board is also attached to a tether clipped to my seat. So I can easily reach back, grab the board (and not worry about dropping it in the water and having it sink to the bottom). I also added the Ketch ID so I don't have to try and hold the fish and the tournament ID card at the same time. I lost too many fish in tournaments trying to get the picture taken. Grabbing the camera is still a pain. I need to try and rig some sort of flip up arm with the camera already mounted. Speaking of cameras, I brought my GoPro and GoPro knock off, but didn't use them. I just plain forgot to set them up. The GoPro goes on a mount behind my seat and the other one will be mounted on a chest harness. I have a third knock off that I might mount on the rail facing me. And no, I don't want to be a YouTube fishing guy. I'm making these for my son. When my dad passed away I realized I didn't have many pictures or videos of him. Now that I turn 60 later this year, I want my son to have some videos of me doing something that I enjoy. The picture below are just a small bass with my new Ketch setup and another FFS showing one of the smaller baitfish groupings at the end of the morning frenzy. I'm definitely heading back there next week to try one of the other lakes.

I’m lucky enough to live on a lake and I get to fish out of my backyard. Through most of the winter and all spring the fishing has been great. But once the water temp hit the upper 80’s and above, the shad and the bass disappeared. There are still lots of bluegill, but the bass don’t seem interested. I caught a few earlier in the summer skipping under my dock, but that’s about it. But that doesn’t stop me from taking a few casts when I take my dog out in the morning and evening. Lately I’ve been throwing flukes. I’ve used them as trailers before, but never as a primary bait. I’ve experimented with throwing them weighted and weightless, think hooks and beefy hooks, and positioning them on different parts of the hook. The water is crystal clear now, so I can see how the bait reacts with different retrieves. The result? I wish I had been throwing these more. Anyway, while I was out there tonight I saw a splash in an area along the sea wall and an old concrete dock foundation. In the spring the bass pin a lot of bait there. I flipped the fluke out there, started my retrieve, and thought I snagged the bait on the concrete. I was wrong - it was a four pounder. I was going to get my camera, but when I unbuttoned it the bass was hot to the touch. I figured the hot water stressed out the fish enough, so I let my dog sniff it and released it back in the lake. I’d like to think the recent rains cooled off the water a bit and I’ll be seeing more bass in my backyard, but zi doubt it. The water is deep enough, but there’s not a lot of structure out there. I may have to create some brush piles. Anyway, back on the yak tomorrow. You can bet I’ll throw a fluke.

19 rods and 14 reels. Of those, only two rods and one reel are spinning. I just picked up a glass casting rod the other day and I have a casting reel on back order. Once that reel comes I’ll move some rods and reels around. I like to experiment with different rod and reel combinations at least once a year.

Kayak Bass Nation podcast. It’s decent and on my playlist. With a 40 minute drive to work every day I listen to a variety of podcasts, some of them fishing related. Those include: Bass After Dark Bass Talk Live Bassmaster Radio Bass University The Big Bass Podcast Occasionally I listen to Ike Live, but his voice can get annoying. It reminds me of Andy Rooney.

It’s been brutally hot here in GA for over a month and there’s no end in sight. But after a month of no rain we now have thunderstorms almost every day, mostly on my days off. While I haven’t spent a lot of time on my kayak, I take some casts off my dock and backyard every morning and evening. All spring it was great fishing out there in the spring, it’s terrible now. There’s a plethora of bluegill and pumpkinseed, but no bass. They must be chasing the shad elsewhere. Despite the poor fishing, I enjoy the relaxation out and around the water.

Welcome! You’re going to find some new virtual and real life fishing buddies here.

Despite it being a lumbering beast, my AP120 turns on a dime using a combination of the motor and the rudder. I fish out at Ocmulgee which has standing Cypress and tons of flooded timber, trees, and laydowns. I have no worries navigating in the thick stuff including pivoting and reversing. But I can see most of the obstacles, including the submerged ones. But in the end, with the equipment I have I don’t think that I would have any fun river fishing and I don’t want to risk damage to my kayak. Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for both here and Keowee, so I think I’ll just stay home. The bad news is that I won’t get to test out my new Ketch keeper, tether, and ID setup. I also added a new GoPro and some camera mounts that I have yet to try out.

I’m going to sit this one out. If I do a tournament this weekend I’ll make the drive to Keowee. It looks like their tourism has slowed down because I see brand name hotels offering rates of only $60 - $80. Or maybe I’ll just stay home.

How much am I going to love it or hate it? Any tips? Next weekend I have a choice of fishing a Bass Nation kayak tournament on one of three rivers here in GA or a making the drive to fish a tournament on Keowee in SC. I drove to a local river ramp today and saw a decent amount of current and rocks. I'm worried about doing damage to my Autopilot 120, both the hull and the motor. And even with a 100Ah battery, I bet I'll end up using a lot of that trying to navigate and spot lock. I have a pedal kayak as well, and I could launch at a north ramp and then have my son pick me up at a ramp further south. But I don't have an anchor system and I think I'd get frustrated out there without one - if it would even hold. Still, fishing local saves me travel and hotel money. So, what are the ins and outs of river kayak fishing? I'm looking at fishing the Oconee river below the Sinclair dam.

The top 5 were all within 3/4". That's a tight finish.

All Bassmaster Kayak events allow motors but there are thrust limits and you can mount and run only one motor. The Hobie series has a mix of open and no motor events.

220+ anglers in the tournament. That’s fantastic. Lots of anglers over 90” so it’s anyone’s game. Ike was in the 80’s. It should be a wild finish tomorrow. I’d bet most of the anglers near the top have stripped down, light kayaks with rear mount motors or just pedal drives. Through practice and the first round there were a bunch of reports of damaged kayaks from hitting rocks. Pedal drives and motors took a beating. Kristine lost her three batteries by 8:30 am but is still in fifth place.

Bank or boat? Lake Lanier is great for spotted bass if you don't mind the boat traffic. Hartwell, Allatoona, and West Point Lake aren't that far away as well.

Your spool is spinning faster than the line and the bait is moving. Increase your tension knob slightly (or maybe more than slightly). Hold the rod tip up at a steep angle, then hit the release button. Does the bait fall quickly to the ground or does it fall slowly? Adjust the tension knob so it moves very slowly and see if you still backlash. Technically, you don't want it too move too slow. It should have a moderate, steady fall. But if you ratchet up the tension and stop backlashing you know the issue is that your spool was moving faster than the line and the bait.

The number on tip is don't get frustrated. I've never been on an inflatable kayak, but I bet they drift and spin at the slightest breeze. If it was me, I'd find a way to anchor from both the bow and the stern or use a few stakeout poles to stay in place.

I don't think it would change what I buy too much. I like what I like. But I would have a small barge next to me with a captain and a deckhand and with the barge carrying 700 rod and bait combos and I'd call out what I needed next. It beats tying baits all day and losing precious fishing time.

No, it’s much different. Now you have boaters weaving back and forth, doing 90 degree, 180 degree, and 360 degree turns with the trolling motor nearly wide open. As a backseater not only are you casting blind, but also you can’t drag a bait or work it because the boater is running over your line. To me, that violates the rule of not giving the co-angler a chance to fish. Yesterday I actually submitted a rules clarification to MLF on this. I like livescope and use it myself. But the boater should either be stopped and pan or at low speed and pan. The high speed meandering needs to stop.