Kayak Koz

Well, that's completely unexpected, but thank you very much. I'm in a ridiculous slump right now. Every bit of research and instinct I have is wrong lately. So, if you want me to eliminate water for you on any lake, just ask and I'm happy to oblige 😄 Work schedule, family issues, and a mechanical have derailed most of my fishing since last October. Hopefully that's behind me and I can actually get in some quantity time on the water. BTW - I almost bought a Lowe boat last fall. I was with the dealer, but just couldn't pull the trigger.

I use the Dugout Bait and Tackle crossbar and two nine inch Garmin units on my kayak. That extra height means the cover doesn’t fit properly. It fits OK with the graphs off. At my old lake house I did not have a garage, so I would remove the graphs and put the cover on while it was stored outside. At my new house I can back the loaded trailer into one of the garage bays. It all depends upon how the cover fits with what you keep in there. Crossbars and crates may impact the fit. And you do want a good fit and tie it down properly so the wind doesn’t get under it while you’re driving.

I do a lot of long distance travel with my kayak, and for a time I traveled with my kayak cover on it. However, that meant that I had to take my graphs off of my crossbar. While it's not a big deal to take them off and put them on, it became annoying. Between that and the cover, it did add time when it came to launch or break everything down at the end of the day. So now I travel without the cover. The graphs stay on. I remove my Sniper Marine FFS pole from the holster and place it on the deck when I travel. This way the holster doesn't encounter any undue shearing forces. My telescoping paddle also sits in the deck. My YakAttack crate stays in the tankwell, as does my battery box for my 100Ah accessories battery. I also have four tackle trays that stay in the storage area to the left of my seat. Speaking of my seat, when I travel I also Velcro it so that it stays in the folded down position to cut wind resistance. My motor and net are in the back of my Bronco, and my rods are stowed in my Yakima rod box. You shouldn't assume that any cover will fit. With the different widths and lengths of kayaks, you want something tailored to your kayak or at least close to it. Carver has a wide range of kayak covers available. You can search by make and model to find the one that best fits your kayak: https://www.boatcoversdirect.com/products/boat_covers/styles/kayaks-and-canoes

It’s like the AFL vs. the NFL in the 60’s.

Funny, because here in Georgia we've had wind chills in the single digits and morning temps have been in the 20's for I don't know how long now. I'm tired of winter. Even more irony - I'm heading to Florida this week and they're in the middle of a big cold snap. I just can't win lately.

This week I made yet another upgrade to my kayak - the motor plug. The Autopilots have notoriously weak plugs that bend and break. The problem is that if you swap them out while you're still under warranty you void that warranty. I've been sitting on these for a while, and the old plugs came up and bit me during my last tournament and I had to bail on the day. So, last night I took the time to swap them out. It's not a big deal to do this upgrade, although as I was cutting the power and motor cables the thought crossed my mind that if I messed this up I was in trouble. Thankfully, Old Town provides plenty of slack in the cables so you don't have to worry about having to pull things too tight. The only issue was that the connector plate on these new plugs is smaller than the old plate. I used the existing hole behind the old plate, but mounting the new plate left a gap. I will need to put some marine sealant over that tiny gap. However, I may end up removing this, put the old plate back on, and drill a new hole in my kayak, and mount the new plate there. The new plugs are great. Just push in and turn the sleeve a quarter turn and it locks in place,

On my kayak I bring two MHF rods with snaps while I tie on with the remaining 4-6 rods. I know that some people don't like snaps, but I rarely, if ever, have a problem. And on a kayak, it's not like on a boat where I could bring two dozen pre-rigged rods.

I've done a good job of paring down lately, especially with soft plastics. I am heading to a tournament in FL next week and I'll bring a bunch of tackle in the truck, but the kayak will be fairly light. I know what baits I want to fish, so I'll cut down on the types of baits and concentrate more on having a variety of colors. For once, I have a good idea of my strategy heading into a big event.

Although it was the second event of the season, this weekend was my first entry in the GA Bass Nation Kayak series and nothing went as planned. The event was on Lake Seminole, a lake that I have never fished before. I had planned to pre-fish the event, but on the two prior weekends, wind gusts were 30mph - 40mph and that's way outside of my safety zone. So, no practice or even scouting locations for me. My research told me my best option to catch a limit was to fish the Spring Creek area and work my way 2-3 miles south to some spawning flats. On the map that looked to be no problem. Not so in real life. Except for some channels, the entire lake in that area is flooded timber. The water was clear, but 18-23 mph winds made it difficult to see what was lurking just under the surface until it was almost two late. My initial strategy was to fish areas 10-15 feet deep, near transitions to shallower water and then test the shallows. I'd setup and spot lock into the heavy winds, then use livescope to pinpoint targets. After 30 minutes or so I found a spot with bait and what looked to be bass. Some bigger, longer fish that looked to be catfish were also in the area. I started off with the basics, throwing a Texas rigged Senko. But then my day went south. I have an Autopilot 120 and my remote kept losing connection to the motor. Sometimes just for a seco0nd, sometimes longer. And when it was longer I'd get pushed into the trees rising above the surface or knock into trees just under the water. If you've read my adventures before, you know I had a dangerous situation on Lake Fork where I got hung up on a tree in 25-35 mph winds with my kayak precariously leaning to one side. I don't like the combination of strong wind and submerged trees. At one point when my motor quite for 5-10 seconds, I had a line out sitting on the bottom. When the motor started up again I started reeling in again and there was something on the line. In the midst of that, the motor quit again, then connected. As I reached for the remote to re-engage spot lock so I wouldn't drift into more danger I lost whatever was on the line. A few minutes later I gut hung up on a submerged tree, and as I navigated towards it I lost connection again - but this time the motor kept turning and I couldn't stop it. By the time I realized it I had swung behind where I was hung up but the kayak kept going. I didn't release the bale in time, my St. Croix bent over hard and snapped. So, I'm not a happy camper and I head back to shore and load up on my trailer so I can try and diagnose the problem. It appears the problem was the raggedy plug pins for my motor. This is a part many people change out once there warranty expires. I have two plugs sitting in my garage, but had not installed them yet. I thought I had a temporary fix, so I drove off to another ramp by the flats, but sure enough I had the same problem. With the strong winds and a motor cutting in and out I just didn't feel safe about fishing in the midst of all of that timber so I packed it up for the 3 hour drive home. In the end, I have only myself to blame. I had the parts on hand to put in better plugs, but I just never got around to doing that. So, you know what's at the top of my list before heading to Kissimmee next week. Oh yeah - on the way home, one end of my rod box slid off my trailer (I saw that in the rear view mirror and stopped and fixed it) and my right turn signal on my trailer stopped working (probably a loose bulb). Sometimes I think I should just hang up fishing, but I'm too stubborn. I'm looking for better luck - and preparation - next time out. But wouldn't you know it - a cold front is supposed to move into the Kissimmee area the week of the tournament and experience tells me those Florida bass just hate when that happens!

It's too bad we won't be able to fish together at the Bassmaster in Kissimmee. I booked my AirBnB in St. Cloud the other day. The good news is that I'm close to Toho. The bad news is that I'm 90 minutes away from Kissimmee if Toho is a bust. Maybe I'll practice at Hatch, Tiger, or Cypress as well.

I'm heading to the Kissimmee Chain for a tournament early next month so I picked up a couple of golden shiner Rat-L Traps and a couple of golden shiner Jack Hammers. I also picked up a few trolling motor plug receptacles to change out with the flimsy ones on my AP120. That will be my project on Sunday.

I have the GT54 to go along with my LVS34.

All three are fine options. I'm partial to Old Town as I have an AP 120. A few random thoughts: I understand your desire to save space and weight with only a 10 foot kayak. But if you fish on big lakes there may be some pucker factor with wakes and waves. Even if you don't stand and fish, I'd put stability ahead of any saving of weight or space. I'd pass on the anchor wizard for now. The beauty of a pedal kayak is that once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature to jog the pedals and bump the rudder to hold position even while you are fishing. Your kayak cart is going to be dependent upon the weight of your kayak. Are you going to cart the kayak to the shore or ramp fully loaded or will you use a beach cart or something similar to haul gear? Whatever you do, don't get a cart that uses your scupper holes. With my old Seastream pedal drive I used both a C-Tug and Wilderness Systems carts. I preferred the Wilderness. When using a cart, make sure you find the center of gravity -it will make it much easier to pull your cart. Speaking of center of gravity, you may want to hold off on a swivel seat, especially with a smaller kayak. See how stable it is first in different water and weather conditions. If you get a swivel seat, chances are that means the seat will be raised higher than the original seat. That's going to change your center of gravity and make the kayak even more tippy. Initial upgrades: If you spend a lot of hours on the water, get a seat cushion. Heck, get one anyway. I have a gel cushion that I actually have under my seat on top of the battery box. A comfortable PFD that doesn't ride up or cause discomfort when you're sitting in the kayak seat. For that reason I use a self inflating PFD. Make sure you have a whistle clipped to your PFD. Self draining scupper plugs. You'll thank me later. Storage organization. Even if you have a crate, you may want some speed bags for soft plastics. Look into a tool caddy if your kayak doesn't have convenient, close at hand storage. The right size paddle that can move water if and when you have an issue with your pedal drive. On board tool set and any spare parts for your pedal drive. A tow rope, even if you only use it to tie off to docks. Also, if ever needed, you affix it to one of your side handles and use it to right your kayak if it should ever end up being upside down. A safety flag, preferably something like a Visipole with the stern safety light attached.

We head almost 2" of snow on Sunday morning here in mid-south Georgia. By afternoon almost all of it had melted. On Saturday I'm supposed to fish in a tournament down on Lake Seminole which straddles the GA-FL border. Right now it's calling for a high of 38 that day with winds 10-17 mph and a 40% chance of snow and a 42% chance of ice. Honestly, tournament or not, I have no intention of being out there on my kayak if that weather holds.

For the past year or so I’ve had FFS on my kayak connected to a UHD 93SV but over the holidays I couldn’t pass up a deal on a newer UHD2 93SV. This past weekend I finally made it out on a lake with my new unit running FFS and my old unit handling side scan. It took a while to dial in FFS on the new unit, but after sorting it out I can definitively state that the detail and clarity is much better with the new unit including better separation of fish along the bottom with my LVS 34. But there were some issues, although it could be because my transducer might be going bad. Resetting to factory defaults gave me wonky angles and ai had to manually align the bottom of the basin. And even though my transducer was properly angled for forward mode it read it as down mode and I had to manually set the mode. Screens and screen navigation are much different, but definitely more refined. At first, Active Captain wasn’t recognizing the new unit, but Garmin updated that app last week and it all works fine. Anyway, I’m very happy with the new unit and increased clarity.

I still love my Helix 7. One reason why I kept it is that have have the map card with SmartStrike for the southeast region where I fish. It comes in handy, especially on new lakes.

I started out with a reconditioned 5” Lowrance on my old pedal drive, then later moved up to a 7” Humminbird. Fast forward to today and I have two 9” Garmins plus that 7” Humminbird. I found that my old eyes weren’t up to the task with the 5”. The 7” was ok when mounted close to my seat. Adding FFS precipitated getting the first 9”. Added the second 9” so I can run side scan or down scan alongside FFF. I use the 7” for mapping.

If it's really cold (that's below 40 here in the south) I don't fish unless I'm in a tournament. I'll wear wool socks, a thermal pants layer, and then some waterproof fishing pants. I'll also wear a t-shirt and sweatshirt under a Striker winter jacket.

The air temperature is warming while the ground and water are still cool and we're getting heavy fog and increasing winds, especially over our larger lakes. I have a tournament down at Lake Seminole at the end of the month and this weekend the forecast is calling for 25mph winds on the lake and next weekend it's calling for 30 mph winds. 25 is pushing it, and 30 is a definite no go for me on my kayak. Seminole has a lot of stumps and submerged trees, so there's no way I'm heading out on that water. That's doubly true since I've never fished there before. That's too bad because I haven't fished in over a month and I'd like to scout the lake before the tournament. Fishing is about to get really good here in the south.

That's fantastic! But I have to ask - how many times did you weight it looking for that one more ounce?

When I had my pedal kayak I started with a reconditioned 5" Lowrance unit with sonar, sown scan, and side scan. Other anglers may tell you otherwise, but for the type of fishing that I prefer in shallower waters standard sonar didn't do anything for me. Down scan was good for looking at structure, but side scan was better equipped for that task. Some people can target fish with side scan, but I find that near impossible with the little 5" screen. But it was good for finding structure, marking it, and then going back and fishing it. I later moved to the Helix 7, using it for the same purpose, but I also added the Lake Master card for my region along with Smart Strike. I like those maps, and that's why I still have the Helix 7. It's strictly for mapping and I do not have the transducer plugged in with it. I do suggest that if you ever by a system, save up and buy at least a 9" screen. Also, if you think you might even consider FFS in the future, make sure it's compatible. Otherwise you end up like me and spending money on units that you quickly outgrow.

Where this should help most is pre-fishing for tournaments on lakes that are new to me. After using maps and AI to locate potential spots to fish, I can run those areas using down scan and side scan to mark waypoints to go back and fish later in practice or in the tournament, What I'm finding out in these larger tournaments is that I can't just look at a map, then go out and fish and expect to be competitive on any given day.

That and the inevitable, “You should have bought a boat” comment. But I don’t mind that comment. Most of those people have never fished from a fully rigged kayak. The fact is, I love my kayak. Well, except the color. But that was the only color that had the sale price when I bought it.

I definitely don’t have an unlimited budget! The Helix 7 is 4-5 years old and was on my old pedal kayak. The first 93SV is a few years old. And the new one was on sale for only $899. Even then, it took a month of hemming and hawing to pull the trigger. And if it wasn’t for my girlfriend telling me to go ahead and buy it, it would probably still be on the shelf at Bass Pro. I really wanted two of the 10 inch units and there was a package deal of two for $2,300 but I couldn’t pull the trigger. My goal is to fish 9-10 tournaments this year, so that’s my excuse for buying it.

I just added a Garmin UHD2 93SV to go along with my older model UHD 93SV but I ran into some problems today. I set up a second WiFi network for my new UHD2 and let's call that Garmin2 and the old unit is Garmin1. When I open the Active Captain app I can connect to either Garmin1 or Garmin2 depending upon which network I connect my phone to. However, when I go into My Marine Devices on Active Captain, only the old UHD unit shows up. I tried searching for the new device while connected to Garmin2 and got the message that it was connected successfully, but the only device showing is the old ID number for the Garmin1. So I went and registered my new unit manually through Active Captain but it still doesn't show up. Any ideas why? Maybe the above item needs to be sorted out before I can fix the next item. I can't get the unites to connect via WiFi. I set the new unit to be the host. But on the old unit it doesn't give me the option to be the client. It is also listed at host and I can't find a way to remove that. When I go to the new unit and ask it to search for other units it tells me that no other units are found. How do I remove the host option from my older unit?