Krux5506

That's an interesting point I haven't thought of - keeping your spot straight into the wind/waves. I knew with just getting one, it would act as it does in the wind. If I wanted to cast into the wind with my setup now I'd just go off the stern for a bit. My boat is a deep v and doesn't really have issue with water crashing over the stern, but if it was rough enough I think I wouldn't try anchoring anyway

This is where the Talon I have can be a bit of an issue. If it's nearly maxed out length wise going into a rocky bottom, it's not going to take much of a wake to lift you off and push you out a bit. If it's a constant depth it might not be a very noticeable move off your spot but if say you're on a drop off, you can get swept right off pretty easily. But of course 2 would be better than my 1. Anything works well in calm conditions, but the reason I bought my Talon was for the seemingly often times I'm not in calm conditions. If it's calm, I'm on the TM. I don't regret the purchase at all though, since it's pretty nice to have when you do want to use it.

I've got a 12 foot Talon on my Lund since 2018 and it does what you'd expect it to. Bottom composition can be pretty determinate for how well it works. For example if you try to anchor in 11' of rocky bottom it's not going to be as effective as say 11' of a soft or sandy bottom. If it's calm, you'll hold there fine in either situation, but typically you aren't using one of these anchors when it's calm. I also think the simplicity of the electronic Talon is a selling point compared to the hydraulic Power Poles. If I could do it all over again I'd just get a trolling motor with spot lock and skip the anchors all together.

Any idea on depth of the pond? Is there any structure there? If it were mine I'd probably throw some pallets in or just try to make rock piles and stuff too add structure for the fish. I think I'd spend way too much time and energy on a pond....but some day I'd really like a property with one on it.

Usually I'll drop shot into the pockets but I will say it's not the most fun method of fishing.

Ugh...Had that issue this year. Fired up my motor and had it running for a minute or two before I realized it wasn't peeing water out. Quickly shut off and tried to figure it out...Finally realized the tube was closed shut with dirt. Cleaned it out with a little file tip and it worked fine. Then later noticed my bilge outlet tube was plugged too! By the way that dirt smells absolutely horrible lol

If it's cloudy with a bit of breeze I know it's going to be a good day. Add a little rain and even better.

Hard for me to get out these days between work and family but I managed a good 9 or 10 hour day this past Saturday on my boat for the first time in over a month. Fishing was up and down but it felt good to just be out on the water in some questionable weather which keeps all the leisure boaters at the dock. As we get into Fall I try to get out more and more.

Heddon's Dying Flutter holds a place in my heart because it was the first lure I ever used as a kid that absolutely crushed smallies one evening. They are discontinued but easy to find on ebay.

I can tell you if I didn't have a truck I certainly wouldn't have gotten the 13' Predator. A trailer possibly but it seems overkill for a yak plus just another thing to register.

I got my Predator from Eco and was pretty pleased with them. Yeah it took about 3 months but I expected it to be longer quite honestly. My local dealer laughed at me when I asked if they had any in stock, and they told me (back in April) they could possibly have one by Fall.

Great review, glad you like the yak. Only issue I've had with my PDL drive in my 13' Predator is it seems to wobble once it's in position and pedaling. Even when tightening the bolt that causes this, it seems to come loose fairly quick and goes back to wobbling/squeaking. A little Loctite should do the trick but just haven't done that yet.

If I'm taking a day off during the week to go fishing it'll be 8-10 hrs. If I'm just going out on a weekend on my boat usually 4 or 5 hours. Quality of fishing also dictates those times either way, or sometimes I just can't take sitting out in the hot sun for more than a few hours.

I probably wouldn't do that. It would trigger some serious OCD for me, lol. Without getting into TOO much detail the first issue I'd see arising would be the fold out seats in the back which is what the rear casting deck is. With an extra 3/4" it would make the deck pretty uneven. Much in the same way I don't like adding flooring in a house over old flooring, I just wouldn't do it with this boat. If the boat was more of a beater and in rougher shape I'd consider something like that. Either way I appreciate the input!!

Well as the title suggests my Lund is due for a new floor. As it turns out, Lund has a lifetime warranty on hull and floor but only for the original owners, according to a dealer. I, of course, am not the original owner. Last year I noticed a soft spot in the floor on one panel toward the stern of the boat, now this year I'm finding more smaller soft spots throughout the rest of the floor on the other panels. Has anyone ever replaced a floor like this themselves? It's at least easy enough that Lund offers the replacement panels pre-cut and wrapped I believe, but good luck getting those yourself and not through a dealer. Also questioning how to fit them into the sides of the boat where the side storage is and whatever else since it looks like they build that stuff after installing the floor. The dealer told me that is the tricky part. Cost wise it's around a 2k fix for them to do it which also doesn't particularly surprise me. Dealer also told me they've done maybe half a dozen or so over the years, and they've been around a long time...So of course mine is one of the few that will need it done.

I try to avoid tournament days on my home port. Last thing I want to do when out trying to enjoy a morning of fishing is get heated because some guy sees me catch something and then wants to fish on top of me, or try and chase me out of a spot. On the other hand I've had some other very friendly interactions with tournament guys on the water so all in all it just depends on the individual. I know the feeling of being totally zeroed in on the tournament and disregarding practically everything else so I do try to be understanding of that.

I really think I'll end up with the Engel based on price + attached rod holders. Just seems to be the most practical for what I need.

I'm left handed. Grab the fish with my right hand and unhook with my left. I don't have much issue switching that up though if need be.

Only reason I wouldn't go with a soft cooler is I like the idea of utilizing it with rod mounts. One reason I haven't upgraded all this time was on my last kayak I had little to no space for my gear + a cooler any bigger than what I have now. With the 13' Predator I have plenty of space for a crate (which my rod holders currently are mounted to) and a cooler behind that. At this point I either mount rod holders to one of my current Igloo coolers or I spend a little on one of those Engels. If mounting rod holders onto a current cooler i don't really care for the idea of drilling into them and bolting them on from the inside. Thinking of possibly using adhesive velcro for something like that so it's not as permanent.

Never seen that one but it's pretty cool....great price too. Now ya got me thinking!

Yeah I'm in no way bound to Yeti, but the only tempting thing about them is they seem a bit lighter than the other options I was checking out. I'm not exactly the lightest traveler when going out on my yak so I don't sweat a few more pounds here and there but those little coolers really are heavy for their size even just empy. I got the 13' Predator with the intention of being able to comfortably bring whatever I need. Found a nice looking cooler mounted rod holder setup I think from REI for $50. Might be better to just get one of those for my 45 qt Igloo cooler.

In regards to fishing if I'm flying solo I'm always later than I want to be. If I'm with a fishing buddy, I'm obnoxiously early and chomping at the bit to go out. This also determines who I make those early fishing plans with, because some of my buddies won't even roll out of bed until 8am. Usually I don't sleep that well the night before. Too anxious to get out on the water, lol. That's gotten even worse with age and my time on the water being a whole lot less than it used to be when I had less responsibilities.

I've been rigging my new Predator pdl kayak and kind of feel like my old tiny little rubbermaid cooler isn't quite cutting it for those hot days I'm out there 8 or more hours. Started looking into Yeti and the other similar style coolers, maybe anywhere from 20-25 quart size or so just to tuck in the very back of the kayak. The more I think of it the more it seems to be pretty overkill, when those little coolers weigh anywhere from 16 to 25 lbs empty, then figuring ice packs and whatever drinks/food you put in you're nearing possibly an extra 50lbs back there. For any of the kayakers who use coolers like these or even bigger ones, does that added weight play a noticeable difference while out in the water? Does it make sense to just stick with the cheaper less insulated coolers that end up being a fraction of the weight? I really don't need something to hold ice for a week, just for the day really, but I feel as though I've gotten sucked into the rabbit hole of trendy, cool looking coolers. What brands do you guys use? Some I've been looking at besides Yeti are RITC, Orca, Hooked, Dometic from REI to name a few. The market has become flooded with these heavy duty styles of cooler and obviously targeted directly at the outdoor and fishing crowd. My common sense is telling me to just throw one of my bigger Igloo coolers in the back and mount rod holders to it, and skip the smaller cooler purchase all together. Even the big 45 qt or so Igloo's I have are no where near the weight of the smaller ones at half the capacity.

Used to love fishing power worms, good value plus they are fairly durable. This thread is making me want to re-up on bigger worms though....

I've taught fishing buddies how to fish certain plastics or particularly ned rigs and I could never exactly explain how you'll know when there's a strike other than "you'll just know" and you become used to that.