casts_by_fly

I've got 4 chronarchs in the house right now- Bantam 100 from ~2005, a 200e that's about 8-10 years old, and a pair of the current models. My dad (not much of an internet user let alone a forum goer) loves the chronarch and has fished them since they came out. His current lineup is 6 of the current model in various gear ratios. The MGL Chronarch is a fantastic reel. Good form factor, light weight, and casts a mile with either spool tension or using the brakes (pick your style, my dad and I are opposites and both work fine). Keep it clean, very lightly lube the bearings, and its a silky reel. The metanium and Bantam are similarly great reels in their own avenues. On one hand you'd say horses for courses. At the same time, for bass fishing I would use any of the three for any rod or technique without thinking about it. They are functionally interchangable for me. So then it just comes to price point. I bought both my Bantam and Met JDM and they were $205 or so. A USED chronarch was running $250 or so at the time. That's a no brainer for me.

if his worked in the shop, didn't on your boat, and then now doesn't in his shop then it sounds like you fried it. I'd guess the same happened to your unit when you plugged it in. Just sitting in storage shouldn't have hurt it. There isn't an internal battery to go bad. There are no mechanical tubes that would wear down on their own. Given that the other two units on your boat work, I'd be inclined to say that whatever happened to make the new harness for the 106 is the problem. Without seeing it that's probably what garmin is going to say as well. To test the units you'd want them on just a bare battery/wire setup so you know you're getting a single thing connected to a single 12V source. That's what it sounds like you tried to do on the shop bench and both won't work. have you checked the fuse for the 106 cradle? Presumably there is either an inline fuse or the new harness is running power through a fuse panel. That should hopefully prevent too much current running through the unit if it was wired incorrectly (and should have stopped it from frying). But if for instance it ran 24V through and wasn't fused then that could be a problem...

These two quotes sum me up. I used to be jig heavy because where I learned to fish was more brush and less grass. Around here, its chopped salad from May to September and a texas rig runs through it better. I used to only use a texas rig as a pitching rig, but last year I used it more as a searching and water covering rig to really good effect. It was probably my #1 bait last year which looking back surprises the heck out of me given my proclivity to throw moving baits. I've defaulted to having one tied on before each trip (bait and weight dependent on where and when).

too much turbulence this time to be us full.. no live scope, just live bait.

I had an evening free finally tonight but not enough time to really put the boat in so I grabbed the trout rod and went to the local stream that’s 2 minutes from the house. I haven’t trout fished since 2020 when I got the kayak. This year I decided to buy a trout stamp just to have something to do. Instead of hopping to the local pond to catch a dozen 8” largemouth I could pop to the stream and catch some 9” trout. The water has been up from the rain but it was pretty clear and coming down. Still not an insignificant amount of water running though but this is how I like it. I was shooting for 20 trout in 2-3 hours and I got close. Ended up with 15 or 16. Most all were the NJ standard 9” stocked rainbow but a couple were 10-11” and two were in the 15” range. Considering I haven’t been out for almost a month, it was good to be out and about on the water.

you could put 3 glass boats in there from the looks of it. I'd give my left and right body parts to have that here.

for smaller bodies of water and half days, I'd get a 50 AH lithium for $150 and call it a day. It will weigh about 12 lb or so and be plenty of juice for all day.

You've got 3 basic variants for trolling motors on a kayak. 1- inbuilt, 2- bowmount, 3- stern mount. For #3, you're only using it to get place to place so think of it more like an outboard. For #2, you're more or less talking about an XI3 on the bow. You can also use a terrova or ulterra but its harder, heavier, and more expensive. The XI3 comes with the smaller key fob remote. You can add the wireless foot pedal if you want, but most don't. For #1 you're basically talking about the autopilot (which is what I have). I think there are 1 or 2 new kayaks out that have a built in TM option, but very few out in the wild yet. For the AP, it's a minn kota powerdrive head unit and lower on a custom mount/shaft setup. It comes with the larger ipilot remote which is hand sized and has all of the controls that an ipilot terrova would have (the remotes are interchangable). There is a microremote available separate for $100 which is key fob sized and has basic functionality. The XI3 will pair with lowrance systems and do what you suggest for a kayak. If you mount an equivalent minn kota to the front of a kayak you can also get Humminbird integration like you describe. The autopilot doesn't have that functionality. Also, most kayak bass guys aren't using that functionality. What you're describing is how I fish. I tend to go down the bank with moving lures until I find something I want to slow down and fish. I stand to fish all the time. With the autopilot, I can control the remote with a single hand (my cranking hand) with the rod in the other hand. If you're moving steady or if there is wind, the autopilot has heading and cruise control which I think are the most useful functions on the motor. Set the direction and speed and the motor holds it. I can set it down to 0.1 mph and it will kick the motor on and off to accomodate it. Normally something 0.3-0.5mph is a good speed for longer casts and semi picking apart cover. If I really want to move down the bank with a buzzbait or if it's isolated cover then I might go as fast as 1-1.5 mph. A light tap on the direction will keep you moving the same distance from shore. If you want to stop and pick apart a blowdown or dock, hit the spotlock button and you're there. I'll come from the downwind side and lock a full cast length back from it and start working there. Then after working that bit, use the jog function to move in 5' increments in any direction around it. The motor holds you on that GPS point. When I hook a fish the first think I do is spotlock so I don't get pulled to the cover. Also, on calm days I often don't even have the motor running as I go down the bank. A spinnerbait or chatterbait has enough resistance to keep the boat moving down the bank slowly. Vary the angle of the rod and you can basically pull yourself down the bank.

all things considered, that’s pretty clean. Looks like more than 2’ of visibility. I would be in the green pumpkin and other ‘clear water’ colors in that water.

no, it’s the Tracker Tournament V-18. First link is from boat test from 15 years ago. The second is the TBN refurb. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKyZu-OJD2M

The tracker was the tournament V-18, or TV-18. There was a 17' version as well but they are a lot less common on the used market so I bet they didn't sell well. It was a fully decked 18' deep V rigged for bass fishing. Tiny boat nation did a refurb of one a couple years ago (with an awesome teak wood looking foam deck) and turned me on to wanting one. Its almost certainly not quite the boat that the Lund or Ranger are but I think it was the only thing going at the time in the deep V aluminum bass boat range. And with trackers distribution and price it had a lot of fans. I'm pretty sure one of the pros fished the BASS with one for a while. Maybe Rick Clunn?

front of the boat or back of the boat? How much and type of cover? Generically for waters around here I'd have a chatterbait, a squarebill, and a spinnerbait on three casting rods. I don't carry 3 spinning rods but given the question I'd have a wacky rig senko, a jerkbait, and a small swimbait (like a 2.8 or 3.3 keitech). If you don't know the water, then you are trying to cover some water until you find fish. I'm using moving baits for that with the two plastics as follow up baits. If its a slow day, the fish are tight lipped, or its tough conditions (sunny, still, post frontal) then I'm probably dropping the spinnerbait for a texas rig or jig.

looks like they had the Lund Pro-v Bass in mind when they designed it. I'm sure they are direct competitors for the high end tin bass boat.

yes, but what you're describing is going to be up over your budget. The OT 120 paddle with an XI3 on the front is as close as you're going to get. I'm in the autopilot and its pretty rigged out. Its what you're talking about WRT a mini bassboat (with considerations). I don't have a great picture to show, but this is the back half of my boat and the latest electronics. Similar to a bassboat- spotlock trolling motor, horizontal rods on the deck, stand to fish, super stable (for a kayak, and even for a skinny jon boat). I fish while standing basically 100% of the time and I'm even happy to motor across a short bay at full speed for a minute or so. That said, the bare boat MSRP is $4400 now I think. Then add battery, electronics, and any rigging niceties. A quick search around me shows a sportsman 120 paddle for $1200 including a garmin striker. An XI3 kayak runs $850 or so. That's right up on your budget without including a battery or any rigging required. I think you'll be around $2500 fully rigged for that setup. But, you'll have a spotlock trolling motor and a stable kayak.

great. let me know how you get on with it. I think you're going to like it a lot.

Followed by the almost inevitable whiff as the bare line comes sailing back through the air at you...

I've settled on long pants of the super thin technical variety and a long sleeved, hooded and turtleneck shirt. Its rare that its so hot that I have to take either off and both give me good coverage. I don't put up the hood but it serves as good neck coverage. I've started wearing fingerless gloves. I do put sunscreen on my face and feet since I fish barefoot when its warm. And that little bit of sunscreen is enough to cover the exposed bit of my fingers. I don't mind sunscreen from a chemical perspective but I hate the greasiness of even the best stuff. But, needs must as they say.

Yep, that's the 'non-feeling' of a hit. With a vibrating bait sometimes the vibration just stops, but there's no weight. Almost like you got a piece of grass on it. With gentle baits like what you were throwing you have to be really tuned in to notice it a lot of the time. But hooksets are free so when it doubt... My usual when its something like that is to rip the bait out of the 'grass' which is kinda a half hearted hookset. Then if it really was grass, you're clear and still fishing. if its a fish, sharp hooks will keep you in the game. Well done on a great early season day out. When the water is below 50 which I'm sure yours still is, any fish is a bonus fish, especially in that wind.

very nice. which lake were you on? NJ puts some good ones in like that every spring. I haven't gone out for trout yet. Heck I haven't been able to get out to fish for a month now. New job, change in schedule, and travel have all conspired.

This is the way then. A PDL version is going to push up onto your budget so no cash left for a motor. A paddle version should be well under budget and give some options on motors. You might even be able to get to an XI3 bow mount which is a pretty sweet deal for a kayak.

I think A-Jay's new trial method is basically a fancy grocery bag so you're not far off. That's all a tournament weigh bag is- HDPE or LDPE plastic bag with drains and handles. And I have yet to meet a grocery store bag that doesn't have a hole in the bottom somwhere...

You said it in your post: When bass get pressured, they move away from the pressure. They clam up. If you were having lures ripped past your head every couple minutes you'd move away from that spot too. So, you need to go when there isn't that pressure. Early mornings (since you can't fish nights). Foul weather days, especially if its been bad for 2 or 3 days and people have ignored it. Places on the lake that no one else fishes. Downsize your lures or seriously upsize them, all to things that no one else is fishing. Since this lake is more of a 'convenience' lake for you though, the above might not be possible. You're probably not walking around town with your family in 15 mph driving rain. There might not be banks that you can fish that you aren't already.

Have you considered just weighing the fish in the net itself? You've already got it there. You use a net with a deep enough bag and a scale with plenty of capacity. You could either tare the net on the scale or just weigh the net before fishing and subtract it from the total weight.

A wide mesh rubber coated net solves nearly all of those problems. Multiple trebles will still hook up, but they are unhooked easily as they only wrap around a given mesh point, not bury into the material like a fine mesh net. Also, when you net the fish, if you can leave the whole net in the water the fish will chill out quickly most of the time and stop making more of a mess of the hooks.

paddle, peddle, or motorized? The Old Town sportsman series are incredibly stable boats. I have the autopilot myself but the hull is the same for the PDL and paddle. I stand to fish 100% of the time more or less. You won't get an autopilot for $2k but you should be able to find a used PDL for that.