TNBankFishing

That is a tough situation. Are swim jigs out of the question? Some with the wedge shaped heads that can slide through? A free rig might work but I’d worry the plastic would get hung up. I second the punch option as viable for getting through.

Thank you for joining our community. Good luck out there and tight lines!

I know it’s not only Shimano raising their prices more than is necessary. The PG just happens to be the newest addition to the list. You brought up and continued to bring up solid points about the guides being developed and employed through multiple lines across a decade. I fully understand those points. I still don’t agree with them being worth a premium when they are built in house and should provide cost savings to the buyer. If they are significantly better than all other brand offerings I’ll conclude they must be worth paying more than an equivalent AGS or Fuji train. Daiwa is worse, and without JDM options I’d never spend $440 on a Zillion. While I love my Steez rods and my Zillions I’d never suggest anyone pay the absurd markup they’ve acquired over the last few years. Yes the AGS guide is the lightest and is entirely proprietary outside of the Legend Xtremes. I’d love for Daiwa to spread the love but they won’t and at this point it feels like they even want to kill off the guides here. I don’t know if they’ll bother revamping the current AGS line for a US market. I understand tariffs aggressively attacked many goods, not simply those imported but also the materials we use here to build products. It’s not a lack of understanding it’s frustration with a company feeding me their margin loss. I feel the same way about the absurd car market, bloat of consumer electronics, and how the idiocy of tariffs have damaged all of my other hobbies. I compare the NRX+ to whatever because it’s an easy to understand thing. I can’t say a JDM Evergreen Rapid Gunner or Black Rose is this or that compared to the PG because the EG isn’t in the average fisherman’s lexicon. You’re right the warranties aren’t the same as they were, but both SC and the expiditor are still heads and shoulders above the competition. While Shimano owns Loomis at least it’s made here. This is my hot take. The PG is a dressed up expride and the expride is one of the worst values in fishing. Only the zodias is worse. If you could obfuscate everything about the rods and give someone a MB levante and an expride I full heartedly don’t think they could tell the difference.

I guess I don’t see the point of releasing products at the show. If the goal is to have a bunch of closed door meetings, it can be held in Iowa at a holiday inn with a conference room. Since ~2016 I’ve stopped caring what happens at icast because it’s not designed for me or the average angler.

I understand what you’re saying about inflation and the benefits of bringing guide production in house. The touch free guides were designed initially for saltwater fishing and I can’t seem to locate direct comparisons of the ones used on the new PG to current models offered from other brands. Does this mean they are inherently bad? No. Does it mean they are still house brand wine? Yes. I’d say the same thing if Megabass unveils the new Yuki Ito “7.5D TI Dragon Power” guides. If I buy a brand new Chevy truck but find out the tires are now made in house by Chevrolet I’d have questions. No matter what marketing said about those tires I’d never truly trust them until I’ve seen them on the road for a decade. To keep the analogy going not only did Chevy bring tire production in house but they raised the price on their new trucks. I strongly feel like Shimano is price gouging based on their market position. The P5 destroyers haven’t had 2 or 3 price increases over the last 5 years. And the price increase Megabass did do was walked back. St Croix has increased prices but not nearly as much, and all of their high end rods are made here. Dobyns didn’t have any massive hikes until they were bought out. Everyone else is under the same pressure to sell products but treats their customers with a modicum of respect.

That’s awesome to hear. Congrats on sticking some in that weather too!

Nearly 20 years ago while working in an iron foundry a new hire caught their hand in a grinding wheel. These wheels probably weighed in the neighborhood of 75lbs and were 4 inches wide. Parts came down a shaker table and we’d grab them and use the wheels to remove flashing and rough spots. One day it was tractor weights. Large slabs of iron 2 feet by 3 feet used to counterbalance farm equipment. You needed to use a winch with an L shaped handle to lift the plates. You’d slide the L into the grab handle and lift the plate about belly level oriented flat out and use your body to bump it against the wheel. Because of the size and odd way we had to handle them they were tippy. The wheels might catch a piece and the whole thing would buck. New guy didn’t follow instructions of “never, ever, for a second put one of your hands flat against the weight”. The plate bucked and he was supporting himself with his hand on the plate. He slid forward and lost some digits. The three of us also working the table saw it and moved to grab the guy because we knew what he’d do. The shaker lines were elevated above the floor about 3 feet for our safety. As you finished parts you’d load them in giant steel buckets and forklifts would come by and pick them up. Off the platforms it was a racetrack. Lifts would be flying by sometimes loaded with a ton of iron in a bucket and you had to walk out using effectively traffic lights. If the lights were yellow you stayed put until they switched over. Well the kid took off at a sprint to get somewhere to help himself. He was saved by his AC helmet which caught the end of its line and jerked him sideways and back down. We grabbed him and held him until someone could hit the alarm and stop the forklifts. The story doesn’t have a happy ending, but it could have been much worse. If he had made it down to the floor and started running through the lift areas at a full tilt he could have been tined or crushed. There were incidents of people walking under the bull ladle like idiots and getting molten iron dripped near them. People would crush or clip the ends of fingers off. If you were one of the old guys (dudes in their late 20s or early 30s) you’ve already had surgery on your wrists, elbows, or shoulders from the stress the work put on you. I still can’t believe jobs like this exist. I’d never let my kid work in a place like that now.

If something happened to my wife at this point I’d simply devolve into a hermit and collect cats. Watching my friends or coworkers trying to make meaningful relationships in their 40s has been eye opening. I don’t have the energy or patience to go through it. Our culture only promotes instant success or failure. Building an open and honest relationship isn’t possible when the person you’re interacting with has social media warped ideals. This isn’t even touching on the glut of unhealthy relationships people have with money and the general lack of accountability I’ve seen. I think you landed one of those don’t stick your **** in crazy situations.

Just because Shimano makes them doesn’t mean they are the same quality as Fuji. Paying a premium for in house brand guides isn’t a smart move for consumers. It’s Shimano saving cash and charging you more for the same rod blank that came out 5 years ago with worse guides. Marketing jargon sounds great. Until someone breaks them down and confirms the weight savings vs TI Torzite I’m not sold.

Appears to be a pure downgrade in aesthetics and materials. Who’s paying over $500 for no name brand guides? The blank construction hasn’t changed via their press releases and the cork over monocoque looks bad. Look I get that they have a passionate following but let’s be real. This rod isn’t 85% the rod+warranty an NRX is.

Considering your weight plus gear including the cart id suggest a weight limit of boat+gear of 350lbs+ to be safe. Feelfree has the moken and lure models in the 12 foot range which would fit the bill. A bonafide RS117, ss107, ss127 would all work great and you can easily stand in the 107/127. Ascend Path has the weight limit. Nucanoe U10 or unlimited would be a splurge purchase but provide a canoe like open cockpit and feel. One thing no one mentioned is if you’re going to be remote in cold water it might be worth buying a sat phone. If you hit the drink and have little chance to get to safety quickly many sat phones or receivers have emergency buttons. You can carabiner it to your pfd in a small waterproof bag. I take one with me whenever I kayak camp or head out into big water or the ocean.

I car top my Bonafide ss107 which is roughly the same weight as your boat, do you have roof racks? I watched some smarter people than me to learn and on my GTI I’ve applied zero dents and I solo load it all the time. I’m also like 5’10 and am in a shape. It happens to be round. Use one of your straps between the two racks on the outside edge. Tighten it hand tight and when you lift the nose lay it against that strap between the racks at an angle touching the front rack. The boat should rest on the strap and never touch the car. I have a bath mat under just in case but so far it’s been perfect. Lift the rear and slide it on. Repeat in reverse to unload it.

The only thing to keep in mind is you should always keep replacement parts with you for your drive. Fin drives have cables which can break and prop drives will break props.

You have good questions and hopefully I can help you with some experience. The first is as you add equipment weight goes up. Seems obvious but a nice stable fishing paddle kayak will run ~80lbs while a pedal drive will quickly break 120lbs for a 10’. Even with a cart transportation can quickly become an issue because you’re not just taking the kayak. You have tackle and other gear plus the cart weight. My fully loaded Titan 12 was easily 200+ pounds. Your weight and the gear you plan to take is also a major factor. Many kayaks list their weight limits and I strongly recommend you follow them. Also determine if that limit includes the kayak or not. I have gone from pedal to paddle because of the limited portability. I sold the 12’ and downsized to a 10’ and am much happier. I can still add whatever I need to fish tournaments or big water but slow floats down a local creek aren’t a nightmare now. The used market for kayaks is great right now because of multiple factors. A lot of the Covid buyers are moving out of their kayaks, the offerings from big box stores are improved, and there has been a glut of kayaks bought over the last five years. People like me who change their mind on what they want means someone else was able to buy my used Titan with a ton of kit included. To help you better we will need to know how you’re transporting the boat, the requirements you have for what it need to rig, and if this is a one time burner yak or something you’d like to invest in long term.

Hush now. Those are mine.