Crow Horse

I find it odd that with all the stories of pliers going overboard, more if not all people would have them on a leash. It doesn't matter if it's a $2 or $200 pair of pliers, it doesn't do one any good sitting in the bottom of a a lake, river, or pond when you need it again. Virtually everything on my yak is leashed. It doesn't matter if you have a boat, yak or bank fish. All the pliers I've ever used still sink.

Finochietto Needle Holder or....

Back into the water it goes. I'm fishing for my pleasure and not fame & fortune. As long as I get it on video, I'm happy. I would feel horrible killing such a magnificent specimen just for temporary notoriety.

By not reading the same bass books I read.........

Regarding repetitive topics. Sometimes there are new answers to old questions. Everything changes. Nothing is static. I'm always open to new ideas.......

I think it would be interesting to have the pros compete with no electronics.

I never considered that the pivot point (I'm using a RAM Mount transducer arm) and I might not have allowed enough slack with the cable. I'll have to investigate this further. I did a search and it looks like the cable can be spliced together to repair a damaged section. It'll be a time consuming repair but doesn't look too difficult. A heat gun w/reflector nozzle, solder seal connectors and marine grade shrink tubing plus some basic hand tools should be all that is needed. It sure beats having to purchase another transducer.

Is it possible once the trouble area is located to remove that section of cable and splice the wires back together? The transducer (GT52HW-TM) for the Striker Vivid 7SV costs about $250 and that's a big ouch.

As a followup. I discovered that the battery didn't giv up the ghost just yet. It was an issue with my charger (Nocqua old style charger). I was able to charge it with the new style Nocqua charger to a full charge but will relegate it to light duty service. I purchased a new 10ah Nocqua so that I'll have 2 strong batteries onboard. Nocqua's customer service is terrific. I contacted them sharing my experience and satisfaction with their products. They in turn offered to me a 20% discount on a new battery but I had already purchased one. I did need several accessories and they offered them to me free of charge other than the shipping. Pretty d**n nice of them. It's not often where one finds a quality product and great customer service. This is one of those rare finds.......

I just heard back from the fisheries biologist. Here's his response: Not good for those bass. Lesions mean they have succumbed to a secondary infection where their immune system has been compromised by one of more factors and the stress is not letting them heal. Tough to do in a bath of fungi, bacteria, and viruses. We typically see this more often in urban areas, esp in flowing waters with sewage. However, any fish that loses its slim layer (for whatever reason) it is susceptible to infection. The source could be anything from live bait to an unwashed vessels/gear, or any outside introduction (likely human caused); but spawning stress is also a big killer of fishes; on top of rapid changes in water temp, where sometimes we think can cause a harmful release of chemicals/metals already in the substrate. Always tough to find the exact causes of any disease outbreak, or fish kill. Thanks for the update.

A very similar thing happened to me this week although I fared a lot better. I had a pickerel next to the yak and it leaped almost into the yak. My hand blocked it and it superficially sunk the hook (skin hooked). Still not fun. Later a pickerel through the lure and it came back at me. Got me in the PFD.... Return To Sender...

Thanks for the replies. What you guys are saying makes sense. I sent the photos to the regional fisheries biologist who I communicate with from time to time and I'm awaiting his reply. His take on it should be interesting.

The bass bite was really on today and quite a few bass had either lesions or abrasions. If the wounds aren't lesions, would they be the result of excavating spawning beds?

I probably should have posted this sooner, but one should never pick up a turtle (especially snappers) by the tail.

Ballpark cost?

I respectfully disagree. I consider my small yak as a fine fishing vessel. Recognizing that it wouldn't check everyone's boxes, it checks almost all of my boxes that needs to be checked. I'm into it for $200 plus all the goodies I've added, but they would have to be added to a jon boat if I had one. For me, the pictured jon boat would be impossible for me to use where I fish when alone. A yak also has the benefit of being able to launch virtually silently, whereas an aluminum jon boat makes such a racket when pulled over rocks at the launch site. Advertising my arrival and presence isn't what I want to do. I want to slip into the water seamlessly and transparent. I'm a guest in this environment and I want to be a respectful guest. I might be the odd duck here, but why stand when one can sit? Whoever invented sitting was brilliant and I hold them in the highest regard. Providing context, this is all said with a lifetime of a physical labor damaged body. Like everything in life, choosing your vessel is a compromise.

Allow me to add a different perspective to the above. I have a kayak trailer and it's a godsend. Instead of having to lift my yak over my head and onto the roof of my truck, I only have to lift it maybe 2 feet to sit it on the trailer. My yak is only a 10 footer and a budget one. Stripped down it weighs under 50#'s. With all the add-ons, it weighs a lot more. At this stage in life, I'm all about making tasks easier and the trailer checks that box. I used to put our yaks in the bed of the truck but that ate up valuable space for gear & tackle. The trailer opens the bed up for safe transport & storage of that gear. At the end of the day, this arrangement works really well for me. Everyone's needs are different.

I knew I was on borrowed time and was hoping to make it through this season with one of my Nocqua 10ah batteries. I got 3 trips into the 8th season of use with it, far exceeding my expectations. It certainly doesn't owe me anything. I'm quite pleased with it's performance. I hope my other battery lives as long as this one did.

Thanks! Maybe the new cable will resolve the issue. I remove the FF every trip, so it's a once a week connect/ disconnect cycle.

My Garmin Vivid Striker 7SV displays a transducer not connected error message. The cables are fine (no damage/cuts) and I'm leaning towards the connectors as the issue. I'm going to spray them with contact cleaner and have ordered a new Y cable (just to be safe). If it matters, it's installed on my kayak. Oddly, after 5 or 6 hours on the water the transducer will connect and all will be good. The unit is about a year and a half old and has worked flawlessly until now. This issue has occurred in the last 2 trips on the water. Any ideas?

Looks like a tie wrap......

I thought to addition of a chalk line was a brilliant idea (not mine). IIRC, thank DVT.

They have a deceptively long neck and aren't afraid to use it's length to send one to the ER.

Softshells have a really nasty attitude and coupled with a very long neck, they can do some serious damage. That long neck makes the danger zone quite large. They make snappers look docile. Not a catching turtle story but years ago I was on the parkway heading into NYC and traffic slowed to a crawl in a section of road where it is usually free flowing. I made it up to the cause of the slowdown and it was a large snapper on it's back, legs flailing away. I couldn't get off the road at that point so I called my brother who got there too late to save the turtle. It was a female and looking to excavate a nest where she could drop her eggs. My brother removed the eggs and placed them in an incubator. Quite a few hatched and I kept one for a long time till he got too big and released him. Sad that the old girl died but some of her hatchlings made it.