CountryboyinDC

The Vixens I ordered from TW are still on backorder from BF 2019. The estimated ship date is now September 2020.

I use the CPS pins and other screw locks on all sorts of hooks (on a dropshot hook for example). For the places where I'm using them versus I could use a regular offset worm hook, I don't see any difference. There should be one - with the offset worm hook, you can bury the hook eye back into the plastic. But for me, it's the hook size and gap that usually make more of a difference, along with true Texas rig versus Texposed, Texposed skin-hooked. Like you, I find that many baits can be made to last longer using a screw lock, if it's a GYBC Senko, it's tough no matter how you rig it.

Those and the Native Ultimates have some of the best features of canoes, but can be paddled with a kayak paddle and have a decent seat. They are more stable than a sit-on-top (SOT) kayak of the same width with the seat height the same. They're light for their capacity relative to a SOT. You have more flexibility on where you place loads. The Discovery boats are 3 layer polyethylene, where as the Native Ultimates are rotomolded HDPE. Both are impact resistant, durable, and in general tough. These are most of the positive attributes. The SOT kayak will have a deck for mounting things, where you'll be restricted to the gunwales and thwarts (or whatever OT and Native call those things that serve the same purpose). If you swamp one, self-recovery in water above standing level is more difficult relative to SOT. And mounting a the transducer for your graph is harder; there's no scuppers to snake the wires down and the mounting transducer is pretty much an arm mount or a through the hull affair. In my opinion, this is a really good option, especially if you like keeping things simple. The hybrid canoe/kayaks have a good resale if you find out you don't like it, a good condition Wilderness Commander will fetch $750 or so, and they haven't been made in 5 years or so.

Braided line has the wonderful attributes you spoke of, and I don't think that it causes issues with line shyness for the bass with crankbaits, although I'm not a bass and you can never be too sure. With crankbaits, I'm not always looking for sensitivity or low stretch, the bait's constant wobbling and deflecting off what's on the bottom can either 'put you to sleep', or encourage hooksets on cues that aren't fish. Some crankbaits have front trebles that can get easily tangled in a line as limp as braid during the cast. So for me, I use mono. But in your case, especially if you don't have a dedicated crankbait rod/reel, braid may be the best for your setup. I envy you for being able to fish some mountain rivers right now, and I hope that you're getting to enjoy every excursion.

Sounds like you really got a dud. That would make me reluctant to get another one too. If they bottom is right, I'd just use a stakeout pole. They're way simpler, provided the bottom is right.

This case wasn't exactly gradual or expected, but it was probably very rare. I volunteered as a paramedic back in my hometown going on two decades ago, and we carried a ring cutter in all the trucks but never had a case where we couldn't get the ring off intact. When I lost my original wedding band, I thought of replacing it with a titanium one. My wife bought me another non-titanium one as a birthday gift. I lost that one not too many years ago and the thought of that guy's finger kept me from just getting a titanium one. They are practical otherwise.

Those titanium rings are definitely tough. We had a guy double clutch a flash bang and once we got him to the CSH, there was nothing that they had that could even scratch the thing. His finger swelled around the ring to the point where he got no circulation, and at the end of it all the finger had to be amputated. I would be careful with those things; I doubt many of you throwing flash bangs routinely, but in cases where there's a crush or burn injury, getting a ring off can be critical.

I wonder if anyone else thinks that the bugs we have around here are the worst things ever? I was stationed in Georgia, and those fire ants lit into me it seemed like everytime we had to crawl to set in an assault at night. The mosquitos in Minnesota seem to be of the nuclear powered kamikaze variety. Now there's a crazy hornet from Asia gonna kill every honey bee and right many people in North America. I'm glad I don't have worry about such things in Virginia so much (yet). Worst we have is gnats. All you have to do is not shower for a couple of weeks and build up a good crust and they'll leave you alone.

I don't know what might be causing that type of issue, I've had mine apart and I can't come up with a good reason for the few issues I've had. The short one has like 35' or so of line on it, so maybe you can see if that one works better when you send yours back.

Welcome Bobby. Plenty of Piedmont VA types to steer you in the right direction. Also plenty of folks on here to help you with kayak-related questions.

I'd say I'm on the side that thinks that it was probably a little out of line. If you showed the angler the place and then he or she posted a bunch of pics that's one thing. But if the spot is public and you didn't point the person to it, I don't see how it's your place to tell that person what they should post. FWIW, you won't catch me posting about any honey holes.

Are you guys using the full size one or the shorter one? I've got 2 of the shorter type and there are times I have to let the line all of the way or most of the way out to get it to engage. I use mine for a anchor off the bow carrying handle and a drag chain. I have more issues with the anchor, so I wonder if it fails more often if you don't have a constant load applied. Either way, it doesn't happen to me often, and considering the alternatives (winder, wrapping around cleats), the Anchor Wizard makes it too easy for me to complain too much.

There are several people in our river fishing club that run inflatables, mostly framed catarafts, but a framed raft will show up occasionally. The biggest drawbacks versus a non inflatable are the potential maintenance, the amount of time to rig, and the relatively poor paddling performance coupled to the difficulty of management in the wind. Our group's gear ranges from a Sotar cataraft (probably $5-8k) to Sea Eagle stuff. I always hear the inflatable people saying how good Sea Eagle stuff is for the money. Living in an apartment of small space comes with improvisation - I sold my canoe in the service because it wouldn't fit in the apartment when I deployed so I got a slightly shorter kayak (good move for me). I have a buddy who had a kayak that broke down into 2 pieces. You will definitely spend a lot of time at the put in/take out getting your boat ready if you inflate/deflate and fold the frame up every time. It still is more fun than watching TV in a hotel for hours on end. Just please don't get one of those kid toys from a big box store and go farther than you can walk back and/or swim to shore, and make sure you wear your PFD.

It makes me smile when I see builds like this. Everyone used to have cobble something together at home to accessorize their kayaks. Yours seems pretty well thought out, and I think leaving the transducer mount adjustable was a good idea. Most of the ones I've seen mounted on a transom have been down a little lower. You might find that the graph being where it is gets in the way of your paddle stroke, but you can always move it forward. I think that's what drives kayak anglers to use the console in paddle kayaks most of the time.

You can get make the Neko rig weedless by reverse rigging it (essentially Texas rigging your bait on the opposite end from where your screw/nail/tungsten weight is). I don't think it's as effective this way as when your hook is closer to the center of the bait for most plastics. But I have seen a few fish caught this way. I only use the bait with a light finesse hook held to the bait with a narrow strip of shrink tubing.

I'm curious to see how that holds up. There's not much stress on the axle really, the 'axle housing' is bearing most of the stress except for the part holding on the wheel. It would definitely make drilling the holes for the cotter pins to hold the wheel on easier. I used steel round stock for both of mine and had to wheel out my drill press for those.

At one time I would have said the 6BT Cummins. For some reason, the good things that happened with that engine in farm equipment did not translate to my truck. I think I will probably never get to the point that utter reliability, and as an aspiring car owner, my dream car was a 68-72 Chevelle SS. So I'll go with a big block GM, and someone else to turn the wrenches. Still like to hear that big block rumble.

Congratulations, the best part of the MSTP programs is you come out without a ton of student loans. With a ENT subspecialty, you've got a lot of PGY years left. I hope you find time to get in a little fishing and spend time with those you care about

I mainly use the small ones for riverine smallmouth. I just 'nose hook' them, but rather than hooking them, I'll put them on an Owner CPS held in place by shrink wrap tubing. I like the donkey rig, but it's more to entertain me than catch fish. Particularly in clear water. I think a single rigged weightless fluke is the one that catches the most fish.

You'll probably want to cover the 'bunk' pieces with some insulation or something to keep your boat from moving on you. It looks like you have locknuts on the wheel (without them, a lot of times the wheel will rub against the nut and cause them to back out), so you're set. You just saved yourself $100 for what you'd have in a C-tug.

I always aim at the cap and on the rear seal. I'd guess that's probably close to the temperature inside the hub. As others have said, I don't think there's anything to worry about, particularly considering the ambient temperature.

I fish mono quite a bit, I guess. Unless I need a loop, I use a 5-turn uni-knot. San Diego jam also works fine, but I've been tying the uni so long that I'm faster with it.

I've started using a Lowrider (the older red one) in the Amistad model for frogs about a year ago, and I'm really happy with it. I don't have any of the other profiles you listed. I haven't fished the new Lowriders, but I know that the BuCoos I've tried had a softer tip/more like a moderate to moderate-fast taper. If you were really liking those, some like the Amistad have a true fast action when you go to the Lowrider and Cara ST/T7 lines. Again, no experience with the new models.

There's a guy at work that rides a fat tire to work when it's snowing. I tried it out, pretty neat, easy to ride in the snow. He usually rides a single speed, so he's used to the effort it takes. Me, I still have an old Gary Fisher hardtail, and this bike would be a challenge on hills for me. As far as the tackle, as a kid, I used my bike to hit up everyone else's farm pond until I got a horse (then I started riding the horse fishing). I would use a couple of pieces of baling twine to tie the rod to the top tube with the reel real near the seat stem. I carried a tackle box in my hand, but there are fishing backpacks that would make that so much easier. Unless you have mud or snow on the trails you take to go fishing, the fat tire bike might not be any better than a regular width mountain bike tire.

I think for your purposes, where you're only using the cooler for vacuum packed fish, I would just have the cooler pre-cooled (I keep a couple of 2 soda bottles in my freezer to do this), and then add the ice in layers over the fish, draining the water and adding more ice (and hopefully fish) daily. The high end rotomold jobs keep ice longer, but if you're staying in hotel, ice access is probably not as big an issue as if you're canoeing 10 miles in to your campsite.