kayaking_kev

Looking at the Old Town Sportsman 106 Powered by Minn Kota with a 45 lb thrust trolling motor and buying a 100 ah or 120 ah battery for it. I plan on mostly slowly using the trolling motor along the banks, slow enough to be able to fish and occasionally throwing the motor in reverse if needed. I don't plan on using it at full speed for much if at all. I have no experience with trolling motors and was wondering how long would a battery of this size last my for the type of usage I describe. I realize it will likely vary on wind speed and current, but I am looking for a ball park answer on average to get a good idea. Thanks!

I've heard good things about this kayak and Headwaters Kayak on Youtube's staff seem to really like them also. They are $699 and weigh just 49 lbs, making for easy transport. https://www.crescentkayaks.com/product/ultralite-fishing-kayak/

There was a 40% off sale then.

Bluegills do that to my str8 mono also, most of my bass bites, whether using bottom baits or moving baits come for reaction strikes. When I see one come up to it and then stop and take time to examine it, they usually don't bite, but they do usually bring even more attention to the bait from other bass in the area who will come swimming in and immediately take the bait.

I just got done throwing a Texas Rig on my Champion XP 734 which is close in action to the Fury 734. The Colt and Sierra 734 are slower rods. I used an 1/8th oz. bullet weight and a 3/10 oz plastic craw, so it was close to 3/8 oz total, with a Shimano SLX DC reel and the rod did great with it. I got good casting distance and didn't miss on a hook set. Most plastic is going to have some weight to it, unless your throwing a TRD, or small finesse worm. So the 734 would be fine, but so would the 733. Being more of a Northern guy, I personally prefer the 3 power Dobyns rods, while the Southerners who fish more cover and sometimes for bigger bass will prefer the 4 power. I only threw the T-Rig tonight on my 734c because I had it with me to throw the Jack Hammer and the only other rod I brought was a Glass crankbait rod, or else I would of preferred to of thrown it on my 3 power Dobyns or even my Medium Tatula.

I don't think it has a rear hatch, at least I'm not able to see one in any pics I have looked up. I've emailed Old Town to try to get some answers, but still waiting on a reply. I would think about just getting a boat, but no room for it right now, and I like being able to get to and in places with a kayak. Right, these have a plate in the back that comes off and covers up the hole where the trolling motor goes in for when you want to paddle and their not very heavy kayaks, so I'm sure I can still paddle it.

I been wanting to order this kayak, but I have a few questions first. I'm looking into this kayak instead of a pedal drive because I'm unsure if I'm able to operate one, due to a bad foot. I've never operated or owned a trolling motor and was wondering what the downsides of having one would be, besides the extra weight of the battery. Are starting issues common with them? Is spooking fish from the motor sound a big problem? Any other downsides of a trolling motor I should know about? Another concern I have is what wheel system to use to transport it. I would really like the Boondox Landing Gear, but I wouldn't know how to access the hull on this kayak to install it and don't really want to be drilling many holes in it. I've heard good things about the C-Tug and Wilderness Systems cart, but I don't really want to spend any extra time putting the kayak on and taking it off. I've seen some people install the Boondox on gear trax, but that was a Native Titan, and I don't think this kayak has any trax where I need to install them. What would be your suggestions? Thanks!

If you fish in a lot of wind a DC reel would shine, but they are on the heavy side unless you spring for a Metanium. If you went the DC route, I would consider the Scorpion DC, it has the same braking system of the Metanium DC. I personally have a SLX DC and I like it paired on a heavier rod, but it's not something I want to throw all day, everyday. IMO, they are fun and easy to use and worth it in windy situations. I can cast straight into some pretty strong wind and have no problems. Even spinning gear will get wind knots a lot of times in windy situations. I also have the Tatula SV and it's also pretty good in the wind, but not quite as good as a DC, IMO, but it is a lot lighter and easy to throw all day. If you wanted bigger handles and a blue color SV, you can check out the Coastal SV as someone already mentioned. FYI - Just a heads up, this thread will probably get moved to the Rods, Reels, Lines, & Knots Forum.

The balance is great on them. I haven't felt the cork yet as I haven't took the plastic off of it until I seal it. It seems to be a popular jerkbait rod, adding to it's versatility, but I use a Fury 663c for those. The reel seet feels pretty comfortable to grip and looks nice too, but does feel a little more plastic feeling than some others, I'm not sure what brand it is.

I think you have the best rod/reel collection out of anyone I have seen, amazing!

That's probably what listed weights I seen. Does anyone know the differences between the OG and newer versions between the weight and cork handles as far as the guides and blank?

I got a Tatula TTU701MRB yesterday, which is the 7 ft, Medium Power / Regular Action Casting Rod. I took it out immediately last evening and was able to catch a dozen bass with it, mostly dinksters, but I was able to catch them on 3 different baits, a 1/5 Ned Rig with a TRD Craw, 3/8 oz Cotton Cordell Lipless, and a Neko Rigged 5" Plastic Worm Wacky Rigged. I also went out this morning for a short time and caught a couple more on a 1/4 Bitsy Bug Finesse Jig, so I'm pretty happy with the versatility of the rod, which is what I wanted it for. It's designed for shallow cranks and topwaters, but I like softer actions, especially since the majority of the bass I catch are small, so I plan to use it for light T-Rigs and Jigs up to 3/8 oz, and just about everything else. I already successfully fished a Ned Rig and I think I can also throw a 1/4 oz Drop shot with it. I have yet to fish a T-Rig with it, but I'm sure it will do good with them as I was fishing them on a Ugly Stik GX2 last season and had no problems doing so. One thing I was disappointed about is the weight of the rod. It's not a heavy rod by no means, but I was under the impression that this specific model weighed 3.8 oz. according to a rod weight thread on a another site. It actually weighs 4.5, which is about the same as my Fury 703c which is a MH. But, it does balance just as good as the Fury with the balancing point half way on the reel seet nut with a Tatula SV TW103. I was also under the impression that it handled up to 1 oz lures because that's what Sportsman Outfitters states on their webpage, but if I would of paid attention to the TW site, it does say it only goes up to 3/4 oz. A lot of people said that the Daiwa Regular Action rods are like the Dobyns Fast Action rods, and I have to disagree there, at least with this rod anyway. This Daiwa rod is slower with more parabolic bend to it, and I've owned every Dobyns series with the exception of the Colt. Comparing it to Dobyns rods, since I have owned 14 of them, I do think it's better than the Fury and possibly even the Sierra, as it has better guides, not that I ever had a problem with the Fury or Sierra guides. I do think the Dobyns rods look a little nicer because of the Kevlar wrapping, while the Tatula looks pretty good, it's a little plain looking. Another thing about comparing it to the Dobyns is that the Tatula only has a 5 year warranty, while Dobyns have a lifetime warranty. I haven't had enough time or fished enough places with the Tatula yet to get a good feel for the sensitivity, as I only fished soft bottom ponds with it, but the bite detection is good. So if I had to pick between the Fury or Tatula at their retail prices, it would be a tough decision, but seeing how I got the Tatula for the price of the Fury, I would probably take that deal anytime. Overall, I think I'm going to be happy with my purchase and it will most likely be the rod I grab when I only take one with me and it's a lot less nerve racking carrying around a $150 rod than a $550 rod. I'm not sure if I will go out and buy another Tatula, just because I thought they were going to be super light, but I think this one will probably get a lot of use and it might even be able to replace my Dobyns 704 Glass rod, as it's going to be a very good shallow crank rod also.

So many people fishing now, and more trash than ever. A lot of people around here started going when they shut the bars down. One good thing about it is, I've been finding a lot more lures.

My city of around 40,000 people is sometimes called "Little Chicago" for a good reason. Most of the time I carry, especially if I'm carrying around $550 rods or I'm fishing at night. I wear a belly band so I can carry with gym shorts and it holds my S&W 9mm Shield with a Crimson Trace LG-489 and 3 extra magazines comfortably.

Took the kayak out on a local reservoir until 3 am and ended with a 4 species night, including my PB White Bass. I was fishing for smallies with a tube and got about every species in there but a smallie. I caught the White Bass and Crappie with a Creme Mini Tail and a 1/16 oz crappie jig and the Saugeye and Catfish with the tube.

I can only imagine how frustrating boat ramps can be to you guys with boats. I have seen some of the lines on the weekends and it just looks like pure chaos.

Maybe you missed my first post, where I mentioned I had problems because of a brain surgery that damaged my left side to where I have to wear a brace on my leg for the rest of my life and affected the rest of my left side as well. I also said that others can probably get used to it after awhile. I don't think I projected my personal experiences onto to anyone. One thing I've learned lately, is that many aspects of fishing comes down to personal preferences. I don't care what side anyone reels on, there is no right or wrong way, I was just sharing my personal experience having just recently tried LH reels.

Biggest one of 2020 for me.

It might be easier for you since you are used to a spinning setup, but it is a little different. Others have made the point before that a casting reel is on top and a spinning reel is on bottom, and it makes a big difference in the fine motor skills needed for each one. I never used spinning gear a lot, but I don't feel uncomfortable reeling them left handed. I used to switch hit, but can't reel a LH BC half as fast as RH, and my left wrist just isn't used to it so it's gets fatigued quickly. That was another thing. I liked palming the reel more with my right hand, but I still had to adjust it after the cast to palm it and that took as much time as me switching hands. I tried casting with the reel palmed and wasn't satisfied.

There's a technical answer that usually gets posted in these LH vs RH threads, @roadwarrior was who I seen who posted it. It's all about preference, some people want to try to say there is a right way and a wrong way, but what's right for one person isn't always right for another. That's pretty much the case is most aspects of fishing. I'm RH and prefer to reel RH. I wanted to try LH reels out and bought 3 LH Daiwas, JDM Catalina, Tatula 100, Tatula CT Type-R and tried them out. I couldn't reel near as fast left handed, but it could be due to my brain surgery that left my left side weaker and others may be able to get used to it after awhile. But the reeling was just one of the problems I was having. Everything else felt different as well, such as holding the rod, pulling out line and backlashes. Maybe I could of got used to some of it after awhile, but I felt it was more of an disadvantage for me overall, compared to a RH where all I had to worry about was switching hands after a cast, which is so automatic anymore that it's usually done before the lure even hits the water. If I were someone who constantly flipped & pitched, maybe it would be more worth it. I ended up getting rid of those 3 LH reels and going back to all RH.

Dobyns Champion XP 736cb Glass + Abu Garcia Revo X 5.4.1

Medium Light Dobyns Extreme HP 702c + SLX MGL 70 Medium Light Dobyns Fury 702sf + Daiwa Revros LT 2000

That Lew's Hank Parker continues to impress me every time I use it, and I fish a couple $550 rods. It's not the most durable, or made of the best components, but it is very sensitive. I broke the tip on mine because of my own fault, but replaced it and have still caught some of my biggest fish with it. I had the 6'10 M version also, but it's more like a 6'8 now. I did just order that Tatula 7' M/R tonight, hoping its a versatile rod. I think I'm learning my preference is for slower rods and hope to be able to throw some t-rigs and jigs with it and some open water 1/2 frogs as well, and everything in between.

Daiwa AIRD-X Braiding-X Casting Rod for $37.49 @ Academy. Looks like only the 7ft Medium can be shipped. https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/daiwa-aird-x-braiding-x-casting-rod#repChildCatSku=106391599

Allen County