kayaking_kev

It gave me a water temp reading, but no depth reading and I don't know what's up with the sonar. It's my first FF so I have no clue what the problem is, I'm just wondering if anyone has had their screen appear like this and if so what the problem was. Thanks!

That's the route I'm going to take. Thanks for that, it does help to see it.

I bought a Native Slayer PDL first, but I couldn't use the pedals very good due to a weak leg from brain surgery. I tried out a friends first, but apparently not long enough. I got tired of waiting for the Sportsman 106 MK to come in stock for over a year and ended up finding the topwater on sale locally. So, I'll still be paddling for awhile. That's the net I mentioned earlier about modifying to make it longer.

The Ego's are a little more than I want to pay, but what do you think about this net, the handle retracts from 35 to 56". It was one of the first ones I looked at and it has nice big rubber netting that should move through the water easier. https://www.amazon.com/Wakeman-Fishing-Retractable-Rubber-Landing/dp/B01F3L668K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Got ya, I'll go with the LeverLoc then, thanks.

Do you know if there's a big advantage between this kit over the YakGear Deluxe Anchor Trolley Kit? Or if I could at least change the color of the rope, the orange and black doesn't sit well with me. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0097N2HNY/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A1CUI4TPR7GFPF&psc=1

Yes, I'm not real sure how long of a net I really needed, and yes I thought I would've be able to flip it open somehow when as I'm getting ready to net a fish. About how long of a handle do most people need to net a fish from a high sitting seat in a yak? I considered the YakAttack Leverage Landing Net, but I'm worried about spending that much for one that doesn't float. https://www.fishingonline.com/collections/kayak-accessories/products/yakattack-leverage-landing-net?variant=4817955913761 If I'm not going to have it collapsed while on the kayak, then I might just do what I was originally going to do and that was buy the net Greg Blanchard uses and add 2 ft. of PVC pipe to it.

I picked up a new kayak and would like to get this YakAttack Kayak LeverLoc HD Anchor Trolley, unless somebody knows of a better one. But my worry is of course is about drilling into the side of my kayak where the inside of the hull is open. Thoughts? (Kayak = Old Town Topwater 106) My 2nd question is about fishing nets for kayaks since I'm now going to sitting up a lot higher, I'm in need of a longer net and I would like to get one that's friendly to fish and treble hooks, but one that stores easily because I will rarely need to use it as I usually catch smaller fish that I can just flip up. The net I'm considering is https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Ranger_Nets_Pro_Floating_Collapsible_Fish_Landing_Nets/descpage-RPFX.html Let me know if you think that is a good net or if you would recommend something different. Thanks!

Would this one get the job done? https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Lithium-LiFePO4-Battery-Charger/dp/B08PG2J43N

Thanks, I picked one of those up. I got a 10 ah battery and box for it, so I think I'm good to go.

Thanks, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference as this is my 1st fish finder. It's over twice as much as I originally wanted to spend, but I got 8% cash back which came to $56. I think a Echomap 93sv for under $700 is a great deal, though I'm sure it's going to be a long season of learning how to use it and getting it dialed in. The first thing I need to figure out is how to attach it to my rail system on my Old Town 106.

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on this one, it seems to be the best deal by far. Is there a difference between this 93sv for $1050 and the other 93sv listed for $1099? Both say they have LakeVu maps preloaded.

Please say it ain't so, I need a fish finder.

Wow, imagine me sporting a 12" fish finder on a kayak. Maybe, if I didn't fish shallow rivers half the time. Thanks, I'll check it out. You got a canoe if I'm not mistaken, how big would be too big for a kayak of my size? I don't want it so big it interferes with paddling, casting and netting.

I've been away for a few weeks but thanks for all the info so far. I was leaning towards the Humminbird Helix 5 Chirp DI GPS, but looks like it won't be in stock at TW, so the next choice would be the Lowrance. But, based on the recent replies it appears that Side Imaging is back on the table. My only concern would be whether or not the transducer would fit through my Old Town Topwater 106 transducer hole. My choices with Side Imaging would be out of these. Humminbird Helix G2 SI GPS Lowrance Hook Reveal 7 X TripleShot Garmin Striker Vivid Series 7SV

Are all Garmins like that? I was looking at the 7SV too. How important is Side Imaging, that seems to be another big difference between the $300 finders to the $500 ones?

Would any of the stuff matter much to me if I only fish a handful of above ground reservoirs and a handful of lakes mostly all within my region?

Which one would you choose and why? Or is there another one is the $300 price range that you would recommend? It's for a kayak, a Old Town Topwater 106 to be specific which has a built in transducer port. The 5CV version $299 https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Garmin_Striker_Vivid_Series_Fishfinders/descpage-GSPV.html CHIRP DI GPS $349 https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Humminbird_Helix_5_G2_Fishfinders/descpage-H52.html X SplitShot $299 https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-LWRFFCP.html?from=basres

You never specified a rod. Did you get the Expride Heavy or Extra Heavy Power Rod? I think it's the XH that weighs 4.8 oz, but either or they don't compare to Phenix in weight. A Phenix XH weighs around 4 oz., but the Expride is likely a lot more powerful. But, to answer your question, if it is the XH Expride then 4.8 is rather good for that power.

I had just replaced my WP with Owner ST-36 trebles right before I lost 4 nice ones in a span of 20 minutes. I find the stock WP hooks to be pretty good as well a the 6th Sense. I also changed out my Square Bill hooks after having to many get off and it kept happening. I did however replace one of the split rings with what was probably an Eagle Claw brand. I'm not sure yet how exactly good o-rings makes a difference, but I'm sure they do. Do they break less? I've used so many generic stock hooks from cheap lures before and I'm sure they weren't very good, but I never had problems as much as this. No, I don't, I have a SLX MGL 70 on my Phenix X-10 Composite Cranking Rod. I definitely could of used more drag in that situation, but I guess I could've also just pushed the thumb bar down too and let line out freely. Sometimes it's hard to think fast when you're excited with a big one on the line. I think my muscle memory will kick in after more experience.

Yes, I catch & release, but I record everything on my GoPro so I like to hold the fish up for the camera and then later I'll screencap that frame so I have a pic of every fish I catch. I tried once this year to remove the back treble hook on one of my Whopper Ploppers because I was sick of them tearing up the fish, and replaced it with a single inline hook. But, then I realized I was losing fish because of it due to SM loving to shake the front trebles out of their mouth and the back ones being the only ones keeping them from getting off. I use barbless when fishing Neko and Wacky Rigs though and don't have many problems with them. Like someone mentioned earlier and I talk about a lot, in these really shallow rivers there's no diving deep, so they jump at least once and usually multiple times just about every single time. But, I've been fishing these rivers for 4 years now, and the first year I used that Ugly Stik and cheap $1.50 Ozark Trail Lures and caught plenty of nice fish and didn't seem to lose near as many. I think I just took my time getting them in, and then the next year I get that comment about taking so long to land the 5 lber. and I think I let it get in my head the last two seasons, as I thought it was a way to improve my fishing skills.

I have it on video, I record everything. I might have to bleep out the cusswords that followed. I hooked it and it jumped once or twice and ran at my kayak and it started to go under my kayak I think, and I think my drag was just to tight and I pulled to hard to try and stop it from going under. I'm starting to think it's my drag being be to tight and I'm pulling to hard. I think that may be for two reasons. My 2nd year of fishing (2 years ago), I caught my PB Bass, a 4 lb 10 oz. LM, and someone watched the video and made a comment about it being the longest fight for a 5 lber. ever. It took a few minutes for me to land it, but it was my first big fish, I was using an Med. 6'0 Ugly Stik Gx2 and I didn't think it took all that long, maybe 3 minutes and there was some vegetation. But, anyway that comment kind of stuck with me for some reason, and plus I see these pros who just ski these fish to the boat. The 2nd reason may because I have caught a lot of dinks most of this season and now I'm finally getting a lot of hits from big fish. I'm still able to land the small ones, but I think me overpowering the bigger ones might be creating too big of holes where the hooks can more easily be spit out. I went out earlier this evening and the same thing happened. I landed the small ones, missed some really nice ones. I even tried a tube and hooked up on a nice one and it even jumped and spit that right out. So, I'm going to loosen up my drag and let the fish make it's runs and let it get tired and see how that goes. I'll probably be going on a big river trip tomorrow if the levels don't drop anymore and there's some real nice SM there, so I will let you know what happens.

The Phenix X-10 is the most moderate action rod I've owned besides the Dobyns Champion 704cb Glass, and not by a whole lot. I'm not sure there is a more moderate rod that can handle the WP 60, 75, & 90 and even the 110 somewhat decent.

I looked up the exact kind of trebles I used as replacement after a big one rip one off. Owner Stinger Treble Hooks Red ST-36RD I changed both front and back with the same size of the stock hooks. I also think WP comes with pretty good stock hardware, I have several, but particular one was the 1st one I ever bought and is beat up and has caught a lot of fish. I also changed the hooks on my square bill, but I did switch from size 5 stock to a size 4 in front and 6 in back. I also have a hook sharpener, but these were brand new hooks that were very sharp. Every single I've always lost the occasionally big SM, but nothing like lately. I mean 4 of them in a span of 20 minutes yesterday was harsh. I feel like it's a technical or mechanical mistake, and I should loosen the drag, but then they pull so hard and long that they would end up half way down the river or spool me out, plus there are plenty of obstacles I want to keep them out off on the river. I think it's drag, hook set method, or the way I'm fighting the fish is the problem, but I can't figure out which and have tried to change it all up. I don't know, maybe I just to work out finding the right adjustment or combos of adjustments. The previous couple of season I used a Neko rig with a light weight nail and it caught me a lot, but it seems this year I have given my less time to fish slow and have to rely more on cranking to cover water. But, I could try that setup sometime. I'm getting to head to the river in a few, maybe I'll take some tubes. What's the normal depth of the rivers you usually fish? It's really hard to throw anything moving besides topwater, because of how shallow it is and how many snags and weeds there can be. I believe you're right about the heavier lures though, it has always happened with me with Lipless cranks a lot. Maybe I'll throw the size 60 WP more.

Almost every big smallie I've got a hold of this year has gotten off, I've had it happen quite a bit last season also. I've had no problems with the smaller ones, and once in awhile I can land a nice one, but last week I had a huge one that might of been my PB rip the front treble hooks and the split ring right off my Whopper Plopper size 90. This river was calm and no more than 2 ft. deep at this spot. And then, yesterday I'm doing a little wading in the river due to limited time, and I hook up on 4 big smallies in a 20 minutes span. I fought them, some longer than others depending on the drag, a couple of them I was able to even get them within reaching distance of me before they busted loose. I will say though that the smallies in this particular river are mean and fight very hard. BTW, I'm mostly kayak fishing on 2 ft. deep rivers when fishing for smallies. I mostly use a WP size 90 & occasionally the 110, and a Squarebill, and it happens with both lures. My cranking rod is a custom Phenix X-10 and the reel is a SLX MGL 70 6.3.1. I've caught 95% of my fish on that combo this year and I've got a Conquest, Xtasy, and 4 Custom X-Rays. I've tried loosening my drag and letting them tire themselves out and I've tried tighten it to power them in quickly. I wasn't sure if I was sweep hooking to hard and creating a hole in the fish's mouth for the hook to slip out of, so I tried just reeling hard when I hooked up. I was using brand new Gamakatsu Trebles on front and back yesterday of the WP I used, and just recently changed the hooks on my favorite Squarebill. I'm almost sure it's something technical, but not exactly sure what. Maybe, I'm reeling too hard when they are running hard, it does seem like they are also running hard at first and it don't let up until they are spent. And, on top of that the water is 2 ft. deep or less, so they tend to jump out of the water multiple times and in a lot of case that's when they spit the lure and I lose them. I guess what I'd like to know is about the best way to set my drag in these situations, how to handle fight the river smallies when they keep pulling hard, the best way to help prevent them from spitting lures, and any other advice you can give me. Thanks!