guidoStow

Beautiful fish! Thanks for sharing her with us!

No more car-topping for this baby...

Haven't been near the ones you list, but the smaller ponds and puddles in the area definitely have skim ice as does the banks of the Sudbury River around Wayland. Lake Cochituate didn't have any. Hope this helps... I'm still mired in trailer setup but hope to be done and able to get out in the afternoon tomorrow or Monday.

I finally got my transducer mounted in the NuCanoe mount (although I don't have it set up to extend since my finder is not side scanning...). So I brought the cell block with the garmin mounting harp on top out to the boat and checked how things fit. I want to have the finder mounted on the short right front track where the storage pod would go (not the center track where I will be standing). So I put the block there and stepped back to check it out. What an ugly mess... The block sticks up above the gunwale quite far by itself and with the finder on top it just says "fly line magnet". Ugh... A bit of test fitting later I discovered that the nocqua battery fits acceptably in the side tackle box recess and it will be easy to run the cable up to the right front track where the ram mount medium (soon to be a short) mount holds the harp at a much more out of the way location... It is so interesting how what you visualize is not always what works out...

Water push on the drop...

Assuming we don't go past optimum and start having summer kills... The increase in Cyanobacteria is certainly not a good sign...

Rainy, gusty, chilly day should have been perfect for Esox but that was not to case today. First real day of fishing from the new kayak and I continue to be delighted. Threw just about everything in the box over the full water column with only one small suggestion of interest but no contact. Oh well... Lots of green pond weed action still going on... Was less delighted to step off the launch ramp and fall full into the water though. A very cold packing session followed...

If you are working hard enough to call it exercising in a kayak you probably aren't getting much fishing done.

Just following NuCanoe's instructions. with the offset towards the stern is their "double" configuration. Not sure I want to stand up if using it as a double... I haven't decided on a final setup... I have long arms and as it is, can reach the lower arms if I need to as I get up.

Do still have this sweetheart for when I need some speed and grace...

Great fish. Sad they could not revive her. Big blow to the breeding stock.

I still miss my old Explorer...

I've been sea kayaking for 25+ years, mostly in skinny greenland boats. (But the seats are at the water level so it is a whole lot different...) That said, this thing is a whole lot more stable than the Watercraft Slayer 14.5 that was my previous experience with fishing kayaks. Not a single moment of concern, I could just go about my fishing without a thought. Twist the seat around to access the crate just fine. It is a complete delight to fish from... Standing to fly cast (a first for me) is not 100% but certainly in the 80% range my first time out... I'm 6'1" 195 lbs.

Any size to the Pickerel?

The NuCanoe bar. I can't say I love the construction, but given the quality of several Yakattack bits I have seen I'm not sure theirs would be better...

I like it so far. Definitely welcome the extra stability this time of year. That water was cold! It might go come spring time as it certainly can be in the way and it is one more thing to attach/detach when setting up/tearing down for travel. I played around a bit with putting it down and retracting the motor but it didn't quite go down far enough for me to be happy with things. Perhaps some more fiddling to get things fit right would solve it... I didn't mind crawling under the bar to launch/retract the motor. Not something I see doing all that often once I'm under way. I don't want more cables around to tangle fly line so it is manual method for me.

Took her out for a bit of a shake down cruse. Getting to know the motor and getting comfortable standing. The spot lock works wonderfully. This is really going to change how I fish. The heading lock is really fantastic too. I'm really happy with how easy it is to stand and deliver a fly.

The outfitting is coming along. Much is delightful, some things make me scratch my head. Still have the install of the finder and to finish the rod storage rigging. Still trying to get it to stow 4 fly rods horizontally, but it is an interesting geometry problem.

Pike/Tiger size Changer...

My boat arrived today. Yay! Tomorrow I start rigging...

My center scupper transducer mount came in yesterday -- before the boat...8-(. I got the garmin version for my Striker 5cv. It looks well designed and built. Just need a kayak to install it in...

Cool thanks! That ATAK 140 looks a lot like the Native Watercraft Slayer 14.5 I just traded in on the new Ultimate. This time I'm taking a different direction for rod storage. I'll post pictures when I have it set up. I'm going to use the Yak Gadget LowPro Crate XD for my main storage and a LowPro Tray under the seat for spools/lines leader materials and other smaller stuff... I have been using Fishpond Sushi rolls for fly storage but have a large size Cliffs Bugger Barn on the way to try that... Battery box will be over the access hatch in the extreme rear..

I'm curious what you have done for fly rod holders. How many fly rods do you take with you? Do you stand to fish or fish seated? Do you use power, pedal or paddle? What have you done for fly box and gear storage? Thanks!

Do you have a picture of your layout for fly fishing? I'm also planning my Unlimited and any insights you have would be much appreciated!