Kayak Koz

I'm not sure why anyone would car top a kayak with all of their equipment or even the seat still installed. You'd be asking for trouble between stopping short and possible damaging or losing something or just creating all of that extra drag.

Same concept with that additional piece. Leverage and finding the right pivot point is key. It’s like when you put your kayak on a pull cart. Too far to the back and it’s heavier to pull. Closer to the COG and it’s easier to pull.

Yeah - that got your attention. I'm involved in a business leadership group and we had a conference this weekend and the evening activity was a bourbon tasting event. There were something like 80 different bourbons to taste and of course you could order bottles of what you liked. The most expensive bottle was $219, and a number of the items were 130+ proof. I rarely drink alcohol anymore, but when in Rome.... I sampled three and to be truthful, bourbon is not my thing. I will say that it was interesting how one sample hit me towards the back of my mouth and throat while a second stimulated the taste buds up front. But the food was great, with ribs, brisket sandwiches, mac & cheese, and carrots all cooked with bourbon. But by 8 pm I was bored and decided to head back to the recreation camp we were staying at. This place is out in the middle of the woods and has it's own lake. And because it has it's own lake I did bring one rod and a Plano box full of lures. It was pitch black outside on the road as the tree canopy blocked out the stars and there were no streetlights. Needless to say, I took it slow as the deer were everywhere. Side note: twice in the past two weeks I've heard cars hit deer at the end of my driveway and twice I have had to call the county to remove the dead deer. Anyway, sure enough there were deer in the road and as I stopped to let them cross I noticed I was right next to the lake and there was an old boat house and ramp and there was a light pole right there. So why not fish a bit? Three casts into throwing a chatterbait with a Rage Tail craw I hooked up with a nice 3 pound bass. Around here, that's been a decent size this past year. I fished for another 45 minutes without a bite and another 30 minutes this morning and caught nothing. But I haven't been able to fish in a while and even thought it was off the bank and not out on my kayak it was great to get back at it. I actually think I may head out there again with my kayak to fish it again. It's a decent sized lake and allows trolling motors only. That water was pretty shallow in the areas I fished, but I'd like to get out there with my electronics and explore. There were plenty of laydowns and some vegetation as well, and I saw only one boat out there so I'm not sure how pressured it is. I think most people around here prefer being on the big lakes with their bass boats.

Congratulations on your purchase. I'm sure you will enjoy it. If you're anything like me, you'll be excites when you first get it but also find yourself not liking a few things the first time or two on the water. My advice is don't sweat it. Try moving your gear and equipment around to different places and you'll find something that works for you. Have fun!

I'm glad you're OK. That went from frustrating to downright scary.

My ability to sleep depends upon my stress level. When I'm stressed, my mind daces at night and it can keep me awake most of the night and I'm lucky if I get 2-3 hours of sleep. But for the most part I fall asleep between 9pm and 11pm and I'm up like clockwork at 5:30 am to pee. I try to sleep in on my days off, but even then I'm awake between 6am and 7 am.

No apology required. We're all here to share and learn.

Paddling a big fishing kayak is brutal. That's why I think you should still have a pedal drive with a trolling motor if you plan to cover a lot of water. I keep a paddle strapped to my kayak just in case I have problems with the pedal drive. but I can't imagine having to paddle it 4 or 5 miles. That's why I also keep a tow rope on board.

If it turns out well for you, you're welcome. If it doesn't, you've never heard of me ?

Here's more video showing the weights being cut out of the fish: https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3436292/video-huge-fishing-competition-scandal These guys won hundreds of thousands of dollars and at least one boat in previous tournaments.

The point of me using this forum as a sounding board is that it's not that simple of an answer. Boat ownership is great but it does have its own drawbacks and a lot of costs. Outfitting a kayak with a trolling motor seemed like a no brainer until you realize that the actual distance you can travel on that motor is not so great unless you plan on adding a lot of battery power and weight. I'm passing on the trolling motor for now and will revisit it next year and decide whether to keep the status quo, look at a new kayak and setup, or buy a Bass Tracker instead.

There will need to be HUGE advancements in technology for that to happen. A typical gas station in a populated area services 2,000 vehicles per day. An EV charging station that handles that volume would require 600, 50-watt chargers and supply 30 MegaWatts of power. The cost on that/ About $24M. Oh - and that's enough power for 20k homes. But it gets better. Putting gas in a car takes just a few minutes. Charging an EV takes 30 minutes to 8 hours. But let's say it's only 30 minutes. In order to service the same kind of volume you would need about 6x the surface area of the typical gas station. How's that going to work in urban areas? Of course, an argument can be made that most people will charge their vehicles at home. So the demand for power remains the same (demand we can't meet - and California certainly can't meet - right now), but even if you cut those figures by 75% you're still going to need a ton of investment and land for charging stations. I'm all for finding alternative power/fuel sources for automobiles. But between sourcing materials for batteries, battery disposal issues, and generating enough electricity for an EV nation I think we have jumped the gun. I believe we should transition to hybrids over the next 30 years with a long term goal of electric or another power source.

Your Humminbird or Lowrance electronics will come with AI and plots a navigation course for the most likely place to find bass based upon the specific body of water, season, weather conditions, and time of day. When you get to your spot you will put on your Apple Fishing Glasses and be connected via bluetooth to your AI and electronics. You will able to scan the water and see the depth, distance, and species. You tap the frame of your glasses twice and are shown the suggested rod/reel and bait combo based upon what you have in your arsenal. If there's a more ideal bait or rod or reel you'll get a pop up add in your display. Swipe to dismiss it or VR tap the ad to buy now or save it for later. You pick up your rod, scan the water again, find your target, then tap your glasses three times and the AI notifies your baitcaster how much line to release when you cast. The alignment of the cast is still manual and up to you, but companies are working on robotic casting systems. While the tech is cool, I think this would make fishing boring. And the truth is, none of this tech is that far off. AI is rapidly advancing every month. It's only a matter of time and finding the right price point before it's incorporated into your electronics.

Judge got to 60 in game 147. Ruth hit his 60th in game 154. Not that many. Judge has pulled most of his HR's.

Judge has had 3 seasons with 500+ official at bats and in those seasons he has hit 52, 39, and 60 home runs. In the two seasons where he was slowed by injuries and had 447 and 498 AB's he hit 27 home runs in each of those seasons. While he may not hit 60 again, he's a 40-50 home run guy - and a .280+ hitter - when he's healthy. PED testing in MLB is far more strict than in past years. Players get tested in the off season, spring training, and during the season. There is zero indication that Judge is using any PED's. He's always been a strong, muscular player even in college.

I have the GA DNR app on my phone if I need to produce my fishing license. I used to keep a hard copy in my wallet as well, but got rid of it the last time I cleaned out my wallet.

Money. But I'm not nearly as good at it as I would like to be.

Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run tonight. While it's doubtful he will catch Bonds for the single season record, he's doing it without using steroids. But not only is he crushing home runs, he leads the league in RBI's and he's now leading the league in batting average - a Triple Crown season. Considering we're in the age of players facing 2-3 relief pitchers each night throwing 96+ mph and he's playing clean, this might be the greatest season for a hitter in the modern era.

It was a breezy day out on Lake Oconee today with temperatures in the 70's and partly cloudy skies. It was a great day to be on the lake, especially if you have a pedal drive and a rudder system to get you where you're going and keep you positioned while fishing. Hit my first spot for about 20 minutes with no luck. Not even baitfish were showing up on my electronics. So with the nice weather I decided to fish a new spot I had seen on the map, about 5 miles from my launch point. On the way I fished a spot with a nice drop off and run up to shallow water and rip rap and I landed a pair of largemouth, one a decent size that looked to be about 3 pounds. I lost another one that flopped off before I landed it. I really need to start bringing my net. I finally get to my spot, a an inlet with a big stretch of brush, rocks, and trees with no homes along that entire stretch of the lake. The wind is pushing me around but between my pedal drive and my rudder I can keep my angle and fish both the shore and the ridge that runs down the shore. I land another and while landing it my kayak gets a bit turned around. So I hit the rudder to turn and - nothing. I look back behind me and the rudder is hard to one side and not moving. Crud! Luckily, I do bring a paddle with me just in case. I pedal and paddle to the bank, dismount, and sure enough one of the rudder cables snapped. That's my fault for not inspecting them before I headed out. And wouldn't you know it, in an earlier effort to decrease weight I didn't have any tools on board to try and fix it. Another mistake. At this point, even though I had a lot of new fishing grounds to try, I decided to head back using my trusty paddle to steer while I pedaled the 5 miles back. And wouldn't you know it, my pedal drive started making a different sound (probably needs the chain tightened and a lube job). I did stop a few times along the way to fish and I have to say, you paddle guys have a lot of fortitude. I don't know how you do it on breezy days. I would cast and by the time I reeled in I had to reposition the kayak again. I did that at a few spots, but after a while I had enough. I was spending too much time repositioning and not enough time fishing. All in all it was a decent day for fishing on Oconee. It was nice to catch some largemouth again. But before the next time I head out, along with replacing the rudder cable I think I'm going to tear everything down including removing the deck plates and do a little preventative maintenance. I think I'll pull the pedal drive apart and give it the once over as well.

Your sonar can penetrate the hull. Many people set up their transducers mounting it inside the hull. You're probably not seeing full arches because of your relative slow speed on a kayak. Here are a few quotes from the article linked below: "If you are not moving, in order for the arch to occur, the fish must enter the beam on one side and exit through the opposite side and basically bisect the cone. " "Boat speed and movement greatly affect the shape and formation of an arch or the ability to show an arch at all. When moving slowly or with a high rate of display update speed, a fish will create an elongated arch. With the boat is moving at a fast speed or with a slow display update speed, the same fish will produce a much shorter arch. If the fish does not pass through the entire transducer cone angle, it will be shown as a partial arch or dots. In any of these instances, the user may not recognize that the fish was shown as an arch." https://humminbird-help.johnsonoutdoors.com/hc/en-us/articles/4412812779671-Not-Seeing-Fish-Arches

I would bet that most people have very little idea how to get the most out of their electronics. I know that I don't. But it is something that I try to work on almost every time out. I usually find time to put my gear aside, pedal around, and try different settings and features with my electronics. That's not always easy, because I think most of us get impatient and we just want to fish. The technology is not going away, so you can either ignore it or embrace it. But I imagine in the next 10 years not only will the clarity of live target acquisition improve, but we'll also see species identification in real time.

The average angler on Bass Resource spends triple that amount. Jeff Dunham can.

If you were in Louisiana people would call that amazing. But you're in California so they call that Tuesday ? (I'm glad you're all safe)

I'd be afraid that I would like those expensive, high end rods too much. I'll just stick with my Exprides.