Conclusion

I purchased the Cabela's 5' load guides to install on the trailer of the new (to me) boat I purchased. The instructions said they work best when installed as close to the boat as possible which I've done, there's a marginal gap of space. When chatting with the local Cabela's employee he said I should leave about 2 finger widths between them and the boat so I don't wedge the boat in when trying to load it. Just wondering , what's the correct spacing I should have? Part of my concern with adding space is the bottom bunks are installed to have the bottom 2 riveted out edges of the boat alright on the outsides of the boards with very little room to spare. I don't want to add space on the side load guides and pull the boat out sitting on the bottom rivets. I hope this makes sense, appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Thanks for the responses and advice. I'd like something that I can actually troll with around 2mph if possible for a good chunk of the day instead of using the outboard. I'd definitely like to do it right the first time as a-jay said, sounds like the 24v is the way to go.

I'm purchasing a used Lund fury 1600ss and want to add a trolling motor. I'm trying to decide between the 12v 55lb terrova and the 24v 80lb. I know the boat will be fine with the 55lb but wondering if it'll be worth it going to the 24v for the extra run time. If I purchase the 12v I'll likely put it on the 100ah Dakota lithium and if I get the 24v I'll rig two 54ah Dakota lithiums. Looking for opinions between the two and how their run time might compare. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. My ideal boat is the Lund fury 1600 tiller, which surprisingly has 7'6" rod storage. It's a nice smaller boat so would be easier for me to solo launch and not a pain to store. There's only one tiller model listed right now anywhere near me and they've outfitted it with an overpowered motor so I'm very hesitant.

I'm looking to purchase my first boat. I'm looking for 16' with smaller engine 24-40hp because I can't tow much, open to side console or tiller no more than 20k CAD. I'm really surprised to see the majority of boats either don't have rod storage or the storage is for smaller rods ( I'm looking at a crestliner Kodiak 167 and the in floor storage says 6' max, that's useless). Have rod lengths really gone up that much in the past 10 years? Also for anyone with a boat and decent size storage, is it as beneficial as I'm making it out to be? I'd like to avoid having to load/unload all my rods every time I want to head out. Thanks

It does but max 7' rods and that's only 2 of my 8 which is definitely one of the downsides I thought of as well. Part of the reason for moving away from a kayak was all the loading and unloading which I don't want to have to worry about.

Was originally looking at a larger kayak but figured I just needed to move to a smaller aluminum boat. I'm seeing over and over that everyone says don't go smaller than 16' saying the extra room makes that big of a difference. I'm looking at a used Lund fury and the 1400 is actually 14'9" and the 1600 is 16' 2" so literally less than a foot and a half. I'll mostly be fishing alone in inland lakes and so I don't mind a smaller engine either. This will be my first boat so I'm green. Can someone please explain to me the rationale for why people are pushing the 16' minimum? Thanks.

After further research and watching some of the diy videos of getting the xi3 on the pa I'm going back to the autopilot. Although I don't like the deck layout as much I'm really struggling to justify it being almost double the cost of the autopilot. The boat alone is 1500 more, the xi3 with GPS is 1800, the mount is $200, a battery box is another $100 then the various wiring and connections not to mention all the associated work, and I'm not a very handy person (prices are CAD). I also really dislike the idea of drilling in to the hull. There is a video on doing it through the hatch but that's still not ideal. I've also seen/read about some of the kayak motors causing stress fractures in the PA's and even with the mirage drive plug in they can take on quite a bit of water when trolling around. Tough call because I really do prefer to Hobie but I can't justify it.

So I've posted in the autopilot thread because that's the model I was basically sold on. I went to the store yesterday and while there looked at the PA12. The layout of the Hobie is hands down better than the autopilot. I feel like this boat was thought out so much more. My intentions would be to add a trolling motor but also having the peddle as a backup in case the electronics fail is a huge plus as well. I've completely switched and now I'm trying to decide between the PA12 and PA14. Has anyone tried both and is the 14 really that much more stable for standing with the extra 2"? I love standing and that would be how is fish majority of the time. I will be car topping this for now, so I know either way would be a chore.

Thanks a lot for the feedback! I'm likely pulling the trigger on one next week. I far prefer standing when casting so that's great to hear from you. As mentioned earlier I would also like to frog fish so I hope the stability is up to par for that. Regarding the battery, I've read a few people with 100ah batteries say they've never run out. Wondering if you think that's overkill then? How far are you traveling on max speed to get to your spots? Regarding the weight, I was thinking of grabbing the Yakima showboat and rooftopping. There's a guy on YouTube who shows him loading it and seems reasonable.

From what I've read yes the motor does pop up if you hit something. I think it was covered in a few YouTube videos as well.

You've tried both and didn't find a difference in speed? I heard/read somewhere that the hulls were specifically designed for the 45lb thrust and they didn't use larger motors because it would impact the entire design. Not sure if true. Are you talking the pa14 with the motorguide xi5? Have you figured out of there's a big price difference?

From the comparison video I watched on YouTube that's correct, I think he says about 0.5-0.8mph slower. The trade off is the larger open deck and extra stability in rougher water.

Thanks a lot for the quick reply and information. The additional speed of the 120 over the 136 is what appeals to me more, however I wasn't sure if the loss of deck room would be worth the trade off. I'm actually about the same size as you so good to hear it's stable. I wanted to make sure I could set a hard hook on a frog and not feel tippy.

I'd really like to hear some more real world feedback on this kayak. I've been looking at the 120 and 136 quite a bit, unfortunately all the YouTube videos seem to be from people who have received the kayaks from old town for free so I feel like they're biased. There also isn't very much in terms of feedback on general forums that I've found. How do you find the cockpit room on the 120 when standing, is it enough? Also do you think it's stable enough to frog fish standing? Appreciate your insight.

Thanks for the feedback, might be best to just contact Daiwa from the sounds of it.

I bought 2 previous model CT's from TW last December when they were on sale. 1 seems to work perfectly fine but the second one has an intermittent 'clicking' sound/feel when reeling in, like I can feel and hear something every revolution. I've seen a few threads on here for the Tat CT clicking but those were on casting. I've got three of these reels and this is the only one that does it and it's driving me nuts. I've tried playing around with the tension nob and that did nothing. It's completely intermittent, originally I thought maybe it was because it was raining out and the the reel was getting wet but the next day was dry and same problem. I can't repeat the issue when the reel is off the rod and has no weight load from a lure. I'm also pretty clueless when it comes to casting reels as I just got in to them last year. I've never even removed a side plate on one of them yet. Because I'm still under warranty is this something I should send back in to Daiwa or any other suggestions? Thanks.

Finally got back from the trip, no cell reception. Unfortunately was too windy the whole d**n time so didn't even get to try it out. Appreciate the replies and info though!

Shameless bump nobody uses this rod?

I purchased the titled frog rog in early spring, will get my first chance to try it out next week and I'm really excited. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this rod and if so I'm wondering if it's got any secondary uses. I've got the TTU701HFB jig rod which I am really happy with so don't need it to do that job. I haven't been able to find many comments or opinions on it other than a thread from several years ago that said it was also good for swimbaits, which I am not sure about. I would have thought this rod would be too stiff for treble hooks? As this is my first frog rod and foray in to frog fishing, wondering how this rod matches up, is this a little softer or firmer than other popular rods? Thanks

I'm 99% sure they are the exact same reels with 2 exceptions, colour change and the handle knobs are smaller per this previous thread: I actually really like the older knobs so ordered 2 more when TW had their run up to Christmas sale while I could still find them.

Thanks for the replies everyone, appreciate the different opinions. Wow that's nuts that you went that far down the spool. What's the line capacity for the line size you're using? My frog reel is a tatula 150.

The big game will be the backing. For example I'll use that as backing and then use pp 50# for my frog setup.

Was hoping to get some guidance on backing as I'll be setting up a few new reels shortly. Are there situations where I shouldn't use a mono backing when spooling up my new reels, specifically I guess I am asking about frogging but would appreciate input for all general setups? I've got big game 15# and was planning on using that.

Same issue in Canada for Daiwa rods, my local shop has been out of what they stock as regular inventory since the fall. Patiently waiting as I want 2 new tatulas.