Bankc

I had a group 29 in my kayak for years. It worked okay, but it was definitely a pain to load, carry, and balance out with everything else. It was a nightmare to tote on land, but it wasn't too bad once in the water. Part of that is I weigh a good bit less than half of my kayak's max weight rating. So even with the heavy battery, I wasn't struggling too bad. I just got a 50ah lithium to replace it, however. With devices like that, it would be hard to calculate exactly how much you actually draw in real world use. What I'd do, is just rig it up with the batteries you have now and go out and see how long they last. If you need the setup to last 4x's longer, then you'll know you need 4x the battery capacity you have now, plus maybe a tad over for a buffer, and because batteries will lose their capacity as they age. I wouldn't worry about lights. Unless they're super bright lights, LED's don't consume much power, so you shouldn't have to factor in their power draw for things like this.

I just use either my worm rod or my jig rod. My jig rod is a bit heavier than my worm rod. Just make sure the rod's rating matches up to the weight of the spoon. As for reel, it doesn't matter so long as it can keep up with the slack. The harder you hop the spoon, the more quickly you'll need to take up the slack, as those things do sink fast. I also prefer braid, as it takes to line twist better. And ALWAYS use a swivel. I love fishing spoons, but I rarely do. I primarily throw them in two situations. In the winter and in the heat of summer when bass go deep and become lethargic, and in the spring and fall when the baitfish ball up and the bass will follow them and chase them to the top of the water column.

Braid - Fish N Fool Fluorocarbon - Berkley Braid Knot Mono - Berkely Trilene Knot For swivels and drop shot - Palomar For crankbaits without a swivel or eye ring - Nonslip Loop Knot For straight hooks - Easy Snell Knot For leader when at home - FG Knot For leader when on the water - Double Uni Over the years, I've ran into lots of knot failures. These are the ones I rely on because they've proven themselves to me, and I've done a LOT of experimenting to get to this list. Sometimes, if I'm feeling lazy, I'll substitute the Fish N Fool for one of the others, as it's the most versatile and trusted. Plus it's easy.

Yup. I used to have to focus on not locking my knees and let my legs and hips remain free to absorb the shifting water beneath. I also found it helpful to purposefully tilt the kayak over into its secondary stability point and hold it there, where it's much more stable and predictable, rather than trying to keep it held at the center. Now, I have no idea what I do. And honestly, I'm afraid to think too much about it! It's kind of like walking in that if you think too much about the actual mechanics of it all, it gets weird and messes with your gait and how you swing your arms until you stop over analyzing it and let your subconscious do its thing.

As with most boats, it depends on your sense of balance. I've seen people fall out of these before. Part of the problem is, they're small and flat, so they'll tilt pretty far when riding over a big wave. They don't cut through waves like a kayak can. If you're stuck standing straight up and don't have good balance, you may be taking a swim. It's easier to ride those waves out with a lower center of gravity. It's not so much a threat of the boat flipping over, like with a kayak, but more of your center of gravity getting away from you and not being able to recover. My kayak isn't the most stable, but I have no issues standing up in it. When I first got it, I couldn't stand up at all without almost falling over. Over time, I got to the point where I could stand, cast and retrieve, but not get a good hook set. Over more time, I learned how to do just about everything while standing. All it takes is time and practice. Eventually it becomes second nature. Though some people have medical conditions that will prevent them from ever reaching that point. I don't know your situation. I'm just saying that if you haven't had your kayak long, you might spend some more time trying to stand up in it and learning how to control your balance. It can take several months to a year to get really comfortable with it. My fear is that if you're having trouble doing it in a kayak, a small pontoon boat may not help much. And you might be in the same situation, only a couple hundred bucks poorer. Or you might find it a huge difference. A pontoon craft like this won't react to your actions nearly as much as a kayak, which can be a good thing if you're prone to over reactions, or a bad thing is you have control of your reactions.

This is exactly what I'm hoping for. It's been crazy hot and dry for the last two months, and I can't hardly buy a bite. In a few days the heat is finally supposed to break and drop from the 100's to the low 90's and even slide into the 80's for a bit with lots of opportunities for some rain! Fingers crossed that the bite will finally pick up! On the positive side, I've seen more finglerlings in the shallows than I've ever seen before. I think it's too hot and not enough oxygen for the big fish to chase them up there.

This year, especially, the heat has really shut down the daytime bite. Water temps are in the 90's in a lot of places. I'm ready for the fall. That's the best time of year for fishing where I live. In the spring, it's too windy most days. The fall is the one time of year where everything comes together. We don't usually get much in the way of fall colors. So it's not pretty like in a lot of other places (most years). But October and November can have long stretches of days where bagging a limit is almost guaranteed.

I almost never gamble. Whether I win or lose, the process is just too stressful to me. Even a tiny wager that I don't care about adds more stress than excitement for me. And the best thing about fishing, to me, is the stress relief. Why would I purposefully ruin that with gambling? But hey, if you enjoy that kind of thing, then more power to you! I won't judge. So long as you respect my "no thanks", you'll still be alright with me. We're all a little different. I love post-war Japanese Cinema. I'm sure a lot of you guys would think that's a good way to ruin several hours of your life.

I did that for a few years. Only I used the ratchet straps. They were never a problem for me. You just have to be careful. But one problem I did have with this set up is I scratched and dented my roof really bad! Do yourself a favor and keep an eye on that foam. What happened to me is that foam started to get compressed and lost its ability to rebound after a years or so, which eventually led to the kayak sinking down low enough it could graze the roof and scratch my paint (the center of the roof was higher than the front or back). That, and the center of the roof wasn't well supported, so it dented easily. If you can keep the foam crossbars on the front and rear edges of the roof where the supports are, it held that weight just fine. But if you let them roll out into the middle, it would dent out the center pretty bad. Most of the time it would pop back out, but eventually it left some marks. That car was old and had hail damaged, so I wasn't too concerned. But when I go my new car, I made sure it had proper crossbars.

No crate. Just have a 1x4 running across the kayak behind me with 6 PVC rod holders. I keep my tackle in a tackle bag with 3600 trays. I like this better, and it's easier for me to grab the whole tackle bag and pull it up front with me, or just grab one or two trays at a time and store them under my seat if I'm going to be dipping into them regularly. Unlike a crate, the bag has straps, so I can easily grab it with one hand. Plus, my rod holders are much more secure, since they're attached directly to my kayak, and not to a crate. Plus I often do some bank fishing, and it's easier if I just have the one bag already loaded all of the time, so I don't have to swap things in and out of a crate.

Get some 24-gauge SS sheet metal for the backing plate. Decide on the shape, cut it out with some tin snips, and drill your holes. 24-guage is still strong enough to support the bolts without tearing out, yet thin enough to bend and cut by hand, so other than tin snips and drill bits hard enough to go through steel, you don't need any special tools.

I only recognize two colors when it comes to topwaters like poppers. Sparkle and flash colors like chrome or transparent, and silhouette, which is anything dark and flat. In the extreme contrast of a lure sitting against the backdrop of the sky with the lure body itself in full shadow, the bass probably won't be able to pick out colors at all, but rather just shades and flashes.

I appreciate the stillness from around an hour before the sun comes up, when the sky just starts to light up. It's about the only time it's possible to see calm water where I live. And even then, it's a rare treat. But this time of year, the fishing is usually really slow until after the sun has broken the horizon. So it doesn't do me much good to be there that early, other than giving me a chance to get to where I want to be when the sun does come up, and be able to use the ramp without anyone waiting on me. But hey, I don't always fish to catch fish. Sometimes the best part of fishing is just realizing that you're fishing.

I'm with ya! I almost never get a good hookset on the first bite of the day. And if it's been a few hours since the last bite, I usually miss that one as well. I tend to get focused too deeply on the retrieve and where I'm going to place my next cast, that I go blank when I finally feel a bite and it disrupts my trance.

Just mix up one part 5% white vinegar, one part iso alcohol, and one part distilled water. The acetic acid in the vinegar will help break up any calcium deposits left by drying water droplets. The isopropyl alcohol will help the mixture to evaporate more quickly and cleanly, and the distilled water will help to keep from adding more calcium deposits. And it's not rocket science. You can omit any one of those or get ratios pretty far off and still have a safe and effective product. Those LCD screens are water resistant and made of plastic (usually acrylic, I believe). So long as you use a clean microfiber cloth and don't apply any chemicals that can melt the plastic, you'll be fine. And spray the rag, not the screen, just to be on the safe side. The one to watch out for is ammonia, which can melt acrylics and other plastics. And ammonia is a common ingredient in many household glass cleaners.

Judging from the current conditions of my local lakes, I believe it's illegal to use the trash bins. Apparently, you're supposed to throw all of your trash into the water or along the bank. Something about how it's supposed to help keep the water levels higher during times of drought. Seriously though, I don't bring much with me that can become trash. But whatever I do generate, and some other people's garbage I pick up along the way, gets put under my seat or in my hatch for proper disposal when I get back to the ramp. And I remelt soft plastics, so old worms and craws are valuable to me. Even broken hard lures will get scavenged for blades, split rings, hooks, whatever, when I get home.

I'm pretty decent with side arm and roll casting. I can hit a one square foot target pretty reliably so long as it's within range. Overhead, I'm not so good. I can probably hit a three square foot target 60% of the time. But I only cast overhead for maximum distance or to avoid obstacles. That's with a baitcaster. With a spinning reel, I can hit the correct side about 50% of the time. Distance is random.

I have a Bending Branches Angler Classic. I'll be honest, I used that hook a few times, and discovered it's rarely worth trying to use it. The paddle floats, so pushing the paddle under water is pretty difficult. And it's so much easier to just dip your rod tip, reel up the line until your lure is at your rod tip and just push forward to free it. And if it's deeper than your rod, then it's deeper than your paddle, so you're pulling out the plug knocker. And getting a lure out of a tree isn't easy either, because often the line will be wrapped around everything. Realistically, you could cut that notch out of any plastic paddle out there, if you were so inclined. So I wouldn't buy that paddle just for that. Having said that, it is a great paddle. It's neigh indestructible, isn't too heavy and doesn't flex. So even though it wasn't cheap, I'm glad I bought one.

It depends on what kind of knot. If you're using a palomar, then no. If you're snelling the hook, then the eye of the hook can act as a fulcrum to swing the hook out (or back) when under pressure from the line. It's not a huge effect, but it is there. Try switching to EWG hooks. Find ones with the eye in line with the hook point. That will reduce snagging, as the hook itself won't stick out from your line of travel. It'll also probably reduce your hook up ratio, but you can mitigate some of that with a good hookset and keeping constant pressure on the fish. Also experiment with pegging your weight. Sometimes, pegging the bullet weight to the hook will keep it from separating and reduce snags caused by the weight. Sometimes, using a heavier weight that's not pegged can make it easier to pop free a snagged hook. Sometimes a lighter weight with a sharper cone comes through easier. It all depends on what you're getting hooked on. If you're fishing the same area often, play around with those elements to see what works best.

Watches are one of the things I collect. So I have a bunch that I'll cycle between. I got into them when everyone else was getting out of them when cell phones started to take over. Before Apple came out with their watch, I just enjoyed being one of the few people who still wore a watch. I still enjoy being able to glance at the time without having to dig in my pocket. Plus, I appreciate the workmanship, history, and philosophy of timepieces. They're one of the most important and oldest inventions of our species.

I do it all ways. In stained water, especially if I'm fishing deeper, I'll put a glass bead on it and either a tungsten or brass weight. Lead is too soft and doesn't make as much noise. Sometimes, if I'm using a large enough weight (like 1 oz.), I'll put a plastic bead after the glass, so it helps to protect the glass from chipping. The plastic can absorb some of the impact. I'll also use a bobber stopper in front of the rig sometimes. And sometimes I'll set the bobber stopper an inch or two forward, to give the weight some room to move and make noise. And sometimes I'll peg it on the weight, so I can get through dense cover easier and forgo the noise. Sometimes I'll adjust it in between casts. Sometimes I'll forgo the bobber stopper altogether, to slow the fall of the bait. Sometimes I'll forgo the bead(s), because I don't want the noise or the added bulk. So yeah, I do it all sorts of ways. One thing I don't do, however, is use a bead to protect the knot. I haven't found them any good for that.

If the drop is longer than my rod, where I'm going to have to disengage the reel to let a bunch of line out as it comes over the edge so it can continue its fall straight down and not pendulum towards me, I'll get over it and cast parallel with it. I'm not saying it's the best method. But it's about the only way I can detect a bite when messing with stuff like that.

I know some bass boaters hate kayakers. Then again, some people just hate other people for whatever silly reason pops into their head. The primary bias towards kayakers from bass boaters seems to be that we're not serious about fishing. I'll exchange stories with bass boat guys at the dock or as we pass by on the water, and when I tell them how well I did, I can see the look of "yeah right" wash over their eyes. Like they don't believe it's possible for me to seriously out fish them from such a tiny craft.

I usually troll when making long distance moves in my kayak. Since it's going to take me forever to get there anyway, I prefer to have a line in the water, just to see what I can come up with. I always troll a crankbait. They're easier to control depth with, and since I get hung up often, I prefer to stick to floating crankbaits to help make unsnagging them easier. Which crankbait depends on the time of year. This time of year, I'm trolling deep. And depending on where the fish are holding, the depth of the lake, and the thermocline, I'm probably trolling a Rapala DT16, Berkley Dredger 17.5, or Strike King 6XD. You can fine-tune depth with how much line you let out. The Rapala DT baits tend to produce the most consistently for me, but the Berkley's don't pull as hard, which is an especially nice feature when you're paddling. In the winter, I downsize and go with silent Balsa, often Rapala Shad Raps. In the spring and fall, I go shallower and eventually wind up trolling square bills and sometimes floating minnows. In the low light hours, I'll sometimes troll a wake bait. No hard and fast rules. Just try something and see if it works. But I always stick to crankbaits. I've never had much luck with anything else.

Either find work locally doing odd jobs for friends and neighbors, or get a part time gig that pays less than $960 a month. There are a ton of places out there that need people to work on weekends and holidays that will be more than willing to meet your needs. Save that up, and you'll get your boat in no time. You'll likely find that you enjoy the work, because you'll be out there meeting new people. And since you won't be working that much, it won't wear you down. And if it does, well, you don't need it, so you can easily quit and find a different one.