Smalls

Honestly, if it didn’t have the Hobie logo on the side, I think most people wouldn’t give this kayak a second glance. Its a good price... for a Hobie. But other than the Hobie drive system, which is their outdated one, it’s a pretty featureless kayak in my opinion.

Call Lew’s, should be under warranty.

Check out Tiny Boat Nation on YouTube and the Facebook group. Scroll through and learn everything you’ll ever need to know about building a mini bass boat.

I’m using a 7’7 mag m/h Powell Max with a Curado K. Or on rare occasions I’m punching/frogging these days, a Lew’s Tournament Pro G, cause it’s got braid on it.

Go out with nothing but a paddle and a PFD and learn the limitations of your kayak. Find out where the tipping point is, and how it “feels” just before you hit that point. If you don’t wanna lose it forever, tether it down. Kayak gear is usually expensive and overpriced. DIY whatever you can. Be safe. Know your limitations, watch the weather like a hawk, make yourself as visible as you can to others on the water.

I think the balance of a rod/reel combo is more important than length. It has to feel “fluid”. So no matter what length your rod is, if it’s too tip/butt heavy, it’s going to be awkward.

What are you throwing? Where are you throwing it? When are you throwing it. Swimbait fishing is can be a very frustrating and discouraging way to fish. But there’s a reason guys dump the money they do on the gear, the baits, and spend the amount of time they do getting skunked.

It happens pretty frequently. A bunch of guys on the swimbait universe page got some Dobyn’s Champions for $100 a while back.

The big fish 120 has neither any sort of pedal drive, not 8 ball rudder control.

Start practicing how to plastic weld now...

You have to destroy yours, too. ? They'll wait for you to call them for a warranty claim if it breaks.

Put the leader on the floor and step on it with enough to do your knot.

Since I kayak fish, changing locations is usually the last thing I wanna do. If I’m not getting bit on a Texas rig, I’ll grab my jig rod. Then grab another rod until I either get bit, or run out of rods (I usually go with 4-7)with different presentations tied on. Color is usually the last thing I even think of changing, because my colors are always basic. Black/blue in dirty water, white where shad is the main forage, and browns, greens, etc for everything else. If if I move spots, it’s usually not a far paddle. Usually to the next cove/bank/point I see. Keeping an eye on my graph on the paddle there in case I see something good to try

This isn’t really a thing. As long as it’s properly spooled, there’s no way the beginning of that line is slipping underneath the other ~110yards of line.

I knew they made some longer ones. But they’re few and far between. Probably because they’re very seldom the proper tool for the job, I imagine.

If you’re new to casting gear, 15 lb braid is going to give you a headache. It’s gonna dig into itself and cause backlashes. I don’t run anything less than 30lb on anything except my spinning gear. Do I need 30lb line? Usually not -I need the diameter of 30lb line. But I’ll echo WRB- 12 lb Big Game is perfect to learn on, and cheap enough to replace when you (and you will ?) have to cut it out from a backlash.

Do many companies even make a 280cm paddle? That seems really excessive. I’m 5’8, and my seat is on the higher side. I couldn’t imagine swinging anything longer than 260, I’m currently using a 250.

In my opinion... your average 7ft m/h is good for almost everything except frogging and flipping heavy cover. And braid’s enemy seems to be wood. I moved from a state that is covered in grass in the lakes, to one that has almost none. But we got tons of flooded trees my flippin rod went from braid to fluoro, much to my dismay. I’m not a fan of straight fluoro, but I kept sawing into limbs.

I’ve always thought that Hobie’s has a great layout, and performed great, etc. but that they weren’t worth what they ask for them. But I was pretty impressed with all the videos of their new drive, and bet it’s worth every penny of that new hefty price tag. I hate the term “game changer” with a passion, but they can definitely claim it. Nothing else really stood out to me this year. They introduced my kayak (3 Waters BigFish) with a pedal drive and I wasn’t super excited over it.

I have a 10 footer that’s also offered in a 12... I really wish I went with the 12. Like @J Francho said, I feel cramped sometimes.

Aside from the obvious-stop dragging your kayak on concrete- some people have been molding thin PVC pipe cut in half to their hulls. Not exactly sure how, I’m sure a quick google search could get you that answer.

I don’t think it’s “dig in” in the traditional sense, where your line diameter is small enough to wedge in between itself. I think you probably don’t have enough tension on the line when reeling it in, causing the line to lay super loose on your reel. This will allow it to dig in. Or, like others said, small over runs.

Your brakes are probably set too high, and you probably have some dig in with 15 lb braid, not allowing it to flow off the reel smoothly. If we’ specifically talking about hollow body frogs, you need to seriously bump up your line test. 15 lb braid might as well be sewing thread when frogging. It’ll snap about as easy.

Helicopter lure. I didn’t think any still existed. We collectively had a bonfire fueled by them a few years ago, I’m sorry a few escaped.

It’s going to help with tracking, turning, and positioning. If you removed it, you’d save like a pound, if that.