Zcoker

This kinda conversation is all part of the evolution of factory motorized kayaks, imho. At first, here, like they are now, they're docile, not necessarily all out speed demons designed for tournaments. No, the designers had other intentions, a combination of many things. They're proprietary as well, which makes them harder to upgrade. Yet the aftermarket world will find a way, sooner or later, like it always does for just about everything. They'll have standalone packages for these yaks, upgrades to take them to the outer limits. As we motorize into the future, more and more companies will be offering fully motorized kayaks, some like the OT, others all out speed demons and tournament kings. I recall when I first bought my turbo Ford Ranger, having joined a forum, I sooner started seeing massive upgrades for this truck, not only from other manufactures but from Ford itself. Upgrades that turned it into an all out racing machine. Just a matter of time for these factory motorzized kayaks, which are gaining very high popularity. Old Town appears to be the pioneer of the fully motorized technology. So they are ahead of the game.

One of the nice things about living on the Florida coast is the ability to switch back and forth from freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing. The problem with taking a break from both is that each day, each month, every single season can be phenomena either or. So if I decide to take a break from bass fishing, for example, the beach fishing is going off, and vice versa. Always in the back of my mind is those choice conditions to be out there catching the big ones. No breaks for this guy!

Yes it is! I have a blast every outing. If you ever get a chance to fish out there, you'd see very quickly why heavy strait braid is a must. The light stuff has no place out there, at all, imho.

I'm all braid out in the everglades, 50-65lb minimum. They don't care. It's not uncommon to hook into 8 plus pounders each outing, so being prepared is what it's all about. It's also not uncommon to have 100 fish days. Last thing to worry about is break-offs. There's just so much structure out there, and the big bass are totally whacko and deep into it, so heavy heavy heavy is my moto, go big or go home!

Yep, the margin with speed is very low either way. I went the light and efficient route in my OT and do about 5mph with a good wind at my back. I'm sure if I loaded it down like you I'd drop into the three's.

Decreasing weight is a BIG factor. I've seen so many yaks loaded...and I mean loaded with all kinds of stuff, stuff that's hardly used or there just in case or there just to look pretty. Thinning out the heard, going as light as possible, all can make more of a difference than a prop change as it relates to speed and maneuverability. Probably about the best one can do with these current OT hulls. Other weight savings like carbon fiber oar and lithium batteries although costly can also play a roll. One by one, things can be picked off or simplified or lightened up, resulting in more efficiency all the way around.

I've heard of guys going the air plane prop route for better top end speed. That weedless wedge prop cuts the speed. The factory power prop is about as good as it gets for the best of both worlds. I have the same motor on my OT. As a side note: the power connector on mine gave out, a common problem with the AP. Before it gave out, the speed and torque got lower and lower. So other issues might be lurking.

Yea man, when that King Daddy gets hit, it's like a bomb going off! Out in the glades on a calm, quiet night it's almost expected that a giant bass will come out of nowhere to annihilate it. What I like about the King Daddy is its massive hooks. Rarely if ever do I miss a good hit.

Just for kicks, I got one of those giant Spro King Daddy frogs and started tossing it. Didn't expect much but it actually worked and work rather well! My fish upped in size substantially. Kinda makes sense because where I fish is loaded with big bullfrogs.

Yes. Mine has the electronic locking diff, which is wonderful! For 2024 there's one in the Raptor version that is making some big waves.

27.1 lol. That's average city driving, btw, with weekend trips into the glades. All road would push to 30. That sold me. I had a full sized F150 before I got this truck and lived at the gas stations. Not with this truck. And it ain't no slouch, either. Fastest truck I've ever owned. With just a chip tune they can do 13 seconds in the quarter mile!

It's smoking hot down here south Florida! Last year we saw over 100 degrees daily. Probably see same this year. Water temp already 90's. Easiest work-around is to change routines. As easy as punching a button on the alarm clock. Fish the early morning into sunrise and then split about 8am, is what I do. Fishing all night sometimes, but that's my preference. No way I'm gonna be caught in the heat. It's blaring with no end in site. Plus the storms produced from the heat are wicked and heavily charged with lightening bolts.

Ranger all the way. Easy load. Easy Road. All rods fit inside the cab. Silky smooth. All the bells and whistles. Tows 8k lbs. Loads of power, gobs of torque, and I've been getting 27MPG city at that! Truck is a dream. It really is!

I remember when the low water season would dry up the cypress swamps, concentrating all the water into a little pool in the center of the swamp. All the wildlife would be concentrated in that one spot, snakes, birds, fish, alligators, turtles...it was like a zoo with all the animals in one spot except for no cages. It was a fantasy land for a small boy! The fishing can be intense during these dry spells and, like you said, 100 fish days are quite common, even more if you can stand it that long!

I've seen that with topwater baits. The baits will completely miss the mouth and end up on the side of the face or the belly area, which could mean that they slapped it first to stun it. I've also had hits where they knock the bait completely out of the water yards into the air. That could also mean that they hit it to stun it. All in all, it's certainly a possibility.

I've only been bass fishing about about three years now, so I haven't really had a fair share of influencers, or at least enough to put on a pedestal the likes of Rushmore. I started out hardcore off the Florida coastal beaches, sooner advancing into big game fishing, all from the sand. I had to learn everything myself through trial and error because it was something hardly done. Not a single sole was doing it. There were no rule books to follow. There was no tackle, rigs, or readily available wisdom. Nothing much out there to deal with big game from the surf. And yet, leaning every aspect was crucial in finding, fighting, and capturing fish that could easily weigh over 500lbs. With bass fishing, I sorta came up the same way, knocking around with trial and error until I figured the fish out, where they were, what they wanted, how they behaved and so forth. I eventually settled into the Florida everglades which has challenged every aspect of my craft. Same thing: no rule book to follow, hardly a sole fishing out there, as vast as the ocean. Only person that I know of who has made some quality video's on fishing the glades area is Roland Martin. He's sorta settled into that niche of fishing that I like most, not so much with the shiner thing that he does now but more so with the areas fished: everglades, mash-lands, storm treatment areas. In that regard, he'd probably be the one that I would choose.

Yeah, I can too. Lotta vastness out there. Not trying to compare the glades to anything. I've been all over this country, camping and hiking and fishing, many years on the road with a tent, so I know very well just how vast it is. Even dabbled a bit in Canada. I also know how special each area is. Each area has it's own unique and special places. Just like Florida, we have our own unique and special places, our coastal beaches along with the wide open everglades! Our weather pretty decent as well...aside from a few hurricanes from time to time!

There are only a few roads that cross the Florida everglades, Tamiami Trail and Alligator Alley. Everglades National Park covers about 2,357 square miles, third largest park in the lower 48 states. That's no illusion. If you ever get a chance to get out there, you'll encounter some of the wildest wilderness imaginable.

I have all my rods rigged and triple checked before I go out. Rarely do I go out with rods without baits. I gather as much data as I can to predict the conditions. Those conditions, however, can change on a dime. I usually get to my spot at dark, either after the sun goes down or deep into the night, so bait selection is pretty strait forward, rigged, and ready to go. Those selections can get changed depending on a few things like wind, cloud cover, moonlight, temperature, etc. Vibration is a big thing at night, so tuning in the baits is important to get those big night hits, which may entail changing out baits numerous times. When the sun comes up, however, it's a whole different ballgame, so most all baits get changed again.

Florida is still about as wild as it gets. For me out in the glades it's all solo. I've never encountered much anyone out there at night. We still have winding rivers filled with life. The pic below is ironic because it was taken directly off of busy I-75 interstate. Goes to show that even in close proximity to the concrete jungle, it can still be very wild out there.

For high confidence, I'd recommend using a basic mono leader, something along the lines as Berkley Big Game. The possibility of knot failure always lurks with floro, which has reared it's ugly head a number of times with me, not only with knots breaking but on the actual spool itself (if using all floro). It's just prone and vulnerable to failure if not tied correctly. On the spool it gets kinked and breaks on the cast. Both not good. Up to you to decide.

Be nice if companies at least offered the barbless option. I tag sharks for NOAA and all my hooks get the barb removed. And I have never lost a fish related to going barbless...or at least none that I know of, specifically. I was also very much involved in the current FWC (Florida) shore-based fishing regulations and tried very hard to get barbless hooks written in as a rule, but they opted for a "recommendation" only along with the none-offset, none-stainless circle hooks.

Here's an example of some creative lure modification....modifying a small 4in lure that is normally a lite tackle minnow lure into an all out monster getter. 400lb #19 stainless thru wire threaded by hand from nose to belly to tail. This lure has produced 180lb tarpon off the beach....no boat to chase them down, all tackle and two feet. I call it the BEAST!

I modify most all my lures, that or just build them myself. The right sound/vibration at night gets the big strikes, so tuning the lures just right makes modifications mandatory. Sometimes I need to build lures from the ground up, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, buzzbaits, jitterbugs, etc. Hooks/split rings get upped in size relative to the bucket mouths that I'm after. Blades get changed and tuned. Super strong saltwater hardware comes into play, BKK Fangs. Strong trailer hooks go on everything with a fail safe keeper system. Often I need to make the lures much stronger because the fish that I'm catching are 8 plus pounds. Fish like that will make short work out of cheap hooks, flimsy split rings, and so forth. A store bought lure will rear it's ugly faults with any giant everglades bass!

yeah, but their idea of “essential repairs” could also include nuking. This is a quote I got directly from the SJRWMD related to the closure: “staff plan to address some of the vegetation issues that impact the lake”