Hook2Jaw

Not at all. Your drive, kick up fins or not, will stop you first. The BP on my 2017 PA14 barely went past the bottom of the hull.

BerleyPro transducer covers are tough as nails. Go with one of those.

I'll do that, @spoonplugger1.

@Lyman X, it was the stuff that Mudhole sends. I think it's called ProKote. I don't have the ability to dry it at 85-90 but I believe on this next go I'm gonna crank the house temperature to 75.

Thanks, Tim. I'm going to wrap her up again this weekend and try the epoxy again. I'd rather do it and it last than have it crack and discolor.

I'm about 25 minutes from the Altamaha. I always forget about it and need to go stick a bass in there.

It never fully dried. I ended up removing every single guide, cleaning them, packing everything up and driving back to Georgia from Texas. Man, seeing this thread is depressing. I am now scared to attempt it again. My wraps were decent, my guides were aligned well, and I had a good looking rod to call my own. Or not. Screw epoxy.

I've got two hours to Juliette, my favorite, as well as 2 hours to Clark's Hill, Sinclair, and Tobesofkee. The worst part of my lake runs is staying up the night before and rigging followed by not sleeping due to excitement. This year, I plan to hit the Ogeechee river a bit more.

I know a guy about your size who fishes a Hobie Outback, for what that's worth. I believe it's a bit small for a man of that stature. I'm a little over 6', so moving into my new boat wasn't an issue, but for a big man these are the boats at come to mind for me. You'll note I only suggest boats capable of being pedaled if they're in your budget, you said they were. Hobie PA12 if you're looking for roomy, open decks with a large weight capacity, and excellent stability. Hobie PA14 if you're looking for what the PA12 has to offer but require more speed. Native Titan Propel 12 if you're looking for roomy, open decks with that same weight capacity and stability. The Titan is, from all reports I've ever read, slower than the PA series. Do not underestimate how much a boon instantaneously going into reverse is, however. Native Titan Propel 13.5 if you're looking for the above with more speed. If you've got decent balance, the Native Slayer Max 12.5 Propel is also a viable option and if you've got good balance and don't mind the idea of maybe rolling one day, the Old Town Predator PDL(my boat) is a speedy, speedy pedal kayak. I haven't read about the Nucanoe drives enough to suggest those, but the base boats are excellent, stable, open, and incredibly customizable. They're one of the few kayak brands that offer a hull prepared to handle a bow mount trolling motor or an outboard on the rear.

Kastking reels seem to be a hit or miss proposition. I hear good things and bad things. The only Kastking reel I've handled seemed to have some serious issues. It screamed like a banshee when I casted. That reel was a Kastking Speed Demon. I'm not going to say don't buy Kastking, they serve tons of people well. I think the chances of getting a bunk reel is there. Personally, I would look at other companies.

You're killing me, smalls. I'm going to have to pack up a YUM Swimmin' Dinger in Green Pumpkin because I can fish it as a reaction style bait or with a more finesse approach. It works great swimming, it works great on the bottom, it works even better wacky rigged. I can burn it for topwater. Cut it down to size and match the hatch. Clip off the tail and it's a YUM Dinger. So, yep, YUM Swimmin' Dinger 5" on a 1/4oz bullet and a 3/0 EWG for largemouth. Since I don't have smallmouth, I'm gonna go with a Berkley Drift Walker for spotted bass in Sexy Back. That little walker is deadly.

@SuperDuty, I'm not here to recommend a rod or reel for your son. I just wanted to say that you mentioned going with the Tatula CT. I would recommend you either move down to a Fuego CT or Tatula 100 unless you're opting for a Tatula CT in the 5.5:1. My reasoning is that the Fuego is almost the same reel at the Tatula CT, can be had for 30 dollars less, and the 100 is more reel and can be had for 10 dollars more.

I want to be a good crankbait fisherman, but I'm not. My local waters don't really allow it -- too much vegetation in my local ponds. The lake I frequent is also chock full of vegetation and is very, very clear. I feel like there are better presentations available to me there. I'm going to start fishing my rivers again. They have far more sandy bottom and tons of wood for me to snake squarebills through. That said, I prefer fishing hard plastic and wire baits before pure soft plastic approaches.

It's gonna be a huge hit, but everything I've heard about the models that were at iCast was bad. Flimsy hulls. The amount of time it's taking them to get them out worries me, as well. Vibe has thin plastic in their hulls, less than my Old Town, and my boat has a thinner hull than a Hobie. You're going to need a very built up area around the drive well in addition to a lot of plastic around the seat. Kicking puts tons of torque on those areas. Hobie Outbacks are having problems with cracked hulls every now and a again when people purely use the high seat positions. If that can get past Hobie's QC, with years of experience building pedal drives, I worry for Vibe trying to get it right. The Pelican Hydryve, the first Mirage Drive copy, had loads of issues. Those steel fin spines have to bend or break before the drive itself does, and I have one friend who's Hydryve gave up on him about 3 times. Vibe is being forced to toe some fine lines with the Shearwater. I hope they get it right. I've been a proponent of the Seaghosts for years -- awesome paddle yaks at that price point. I just have little faith when it comes to getting a new boat right with the very first run. Perhaps that's why it's taking so long to be released. Native Slayers, Old Town Topwaters, and Hobie Compasses occupy that same general area as far as dollars go. I would look to those before I'd buy a first run Shearwater.

I just acetone my reel and spool bearings, then add a single drop of oil and fish it.

I would never touch the Shearwater. That boat is going to be a bust, mark my words.

My current kayak is an Old Town Predator. It is the fastest kayak I've ever owned, and that's saying something -- I sold a Hobie Pro Angler to fund it. Switching from forward to reverse without input from my hand is a boon. The kayak tracks well, and that coupled with forward and reverse motioning keeps me in a very stable position. Speaking of stable, it's very stable. Casting to the left or the right while standing is a breeze, and I can jack a jig hookset with ease while on my feet. The kayak only feels like its slightly tippy while leaning into a turn. The Predator turns well. It turns as well as or better than any Hobie I've owned. I was worried about the radius upon purchase, because the rudder is narrow. It completely distracted me from how long it is. It moves a lot of water and puts you in the direction you desire, quickly. It's 13'2", if I remember correctly, and has a good bit of well thought out storage. The integrated tracks on the cockpit plates as well the tankwell plates make mounting accessories quick and efficient. The front plate is gonna conceal my through hull fittings for my electronics, which I like. The hatch inside my drive is great. It's water tight and makes my drive float should I drop it. The tankwell width is a complaint. Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of the Old Town Predator, and would recommend it to anyone.

I recommend a 7-7'3" Medium powered spinning setup for throwing light lures, a 7'1" is what I use for weightless plastics, shakeyheads and lighter hard baits. Fast action, 12# braid to various fluorocarbon leaders depending on cover, clarity, and lure type. I use a 7'1" with a 2500 sized reel for that purpose, and it has landed a lot of fish when power fishing tactics would not earn a bite that day. My other spinning setup is a 6'10" Medium Light and it is specifically for drop shotting. It currently pulls double duty as a Ned rig rod, thought I'm pretty horrible at that technique.

I'm a huge fan of the Vibe Seaghost 130 and I am impressed. Your 110 looks very nice!

Had a brand new 1436 Tracker Topper with a brand new Mercury 9.9 on the back. Could hit 27 with me, my tackle box, and three rods on it. Had a 45# foot controlled Motorguide on it. Bought a Hobie Outback and sold it, as I've already stated. It killed the Jon boat for ease, killed it on the bills and work, and killed the trolling motor speed. The only advantage was the Outboard. Heckem jons.

Registration of boat and trailer, tag every year for the trailer. Heck them boats, I used to have one. Bought a Hobie, forgot about it, and finally sold it.

@SuperDuty, I can't recommend too many pedal kayaks for small, quick moving rocky creeks. I'm a pond/slow river/inshore/lake angler myself. I would look into Nucanoe if they were my primary fishery, though. Their ability to be customized to your liking is second to none. I completely understand your apprehension about being hit by a boat and the amount of people who simply ignores no wake zones disgusts me. I've had a jet ski wake me so hard it knocked my favorite setup at the time off my boat. I use a Yakattack Visicarbon Pro II with a flag and light because I'm often out before first light or after dark. I've almost decided that any boater who hits another boater or kayaker wasn't paying attention. Another sad fact. But hey, on the water accidents are fairly rare and even rarer are alligator attacks. I have an 11 footer at my local PFA that I often charge with my kayaks. They're more scared of us than we are of them, I'm pretty certain. www.nucanoe.com

@SuperDuty, glad to have you on the plastic side. Stuff can get very serious very quickly on little boats, so please wear your PFD. Too many folks get gone every year and that's a shame. Those Kaku kayaks and paddleboards look amazing. I have my eye out for a used board to buy for the fiancee to exercise on and take pictures. I think those are quality craft. I would also take a look at the pedal offerings from Hobie, Old Town, and Native Watercraft. The Slayer 13s are a killer deal right now! Also, Nucanoe come pretty well equipped with that open deck you keep mentioning, plus they're capable of carrying a bow mount trolling motor. They have me wanting spot lock on a baby bass boat! Best of luck to you in whatever boat you decide to jump onto!

I think that's a great choice.

Oh, I see you say 3.94 and assumed that was your besticles.