casts_by_fly

Lots of considerations and compromises for your situation I think. Any chance you could try some of them out locally? i have a 12’ kayak with motor and it’s a great setup, but will be about double the price of a pedal kayak which sounds like it would be out of your budget. If you go kayak, a 12’ will track a lot better than a 106 or similar. I truck bed mine in a 5’7” bed, so I have about 4’ hanging off (flagged). If you do decide on a 10’ kayak, the old town sportsman series are wide and stable. not sure how handy you are or if you’re looking for a plug and play solution, but the yak killer build from TBN is an interesting concept. 12’ job boat (you could do a 10), well decked, light enough to truck bed but more stable and more storage than lots of other options in that price and class.

falcon expert 6'10" topwater/finesse jig rod with an Abu Revo MGX loaded up with 14 lb Sunline supernatural. That setup gets walking baits, poppers, small ploppers, as well as other stuff. Buzzbaits and bigger ploppers go on another rod.

My wife is easier on a car than I am generally, but we're both pretty easy about them and relatively paying attention to what's going on to spot any problems. That said, one of the benefits of a pure EV is that there is negligible maintenance. No fluids to check aside from washer fluid. the brakes last forever because you never use them- regenerative braking does 95% of the braking or more if you let it. Tires are the only 'big' consumable. For the average driver who just gets in and goes, its a pretty easy way to get driving.

all of the above mentioned plus a ~3" keitech or other small soft swimbait on a lightly weighted hook or weedless jighead. Lots of those little ponds in the north east. Some have fish, some don't. Never know until you fish it what's in there.

oh, that’s cute. Getting a 95lb kayak 4’ off the ground. Now add 80 lb and two feet to the boat to try that again.

I’m not ready for that yet- And then again I am. They dug up our yard today as part of a construction project. I’m going to have a mud pit until April in the dog yard so the faster it freezes over the better. but I’m not ready for snow yet.

foam is pretty stretchy so you can probably just slide it up over the butt of the rod. easy enough if you just take your time. Nothing special needed but a razor blade and some 24 hour epoxy.

It is probably a group 24 based on the capacity specs above. Group size is a standard footprint/volume definition for lead acid batteries. Group 24 is small and usually low capacity, but often enough for a cranking and house battery. Group 27 is the bottom end of capacity for a trolling motor and I'd only use it if you have a charging system from the big motor to top you up a little through the day. Group 29 isn't common. Group 31 is where the all electric boats start for capacity. They are big and heavy, but if you need the capacity that's where you are.

very true. In my case, it’s because I can’t fit basically any ready to go bass boat in my garage. I’m 19’6” X 94” opening. So a 16-17’ boat that the trailer is under 90” wide is the max. Tracker 16’ and 17’ semi v works (though I don’t like the lack of rod box on the 16’). That’s about all outside of a full custom build. the bigger thing from the TBN videos for me is that they document everything and you can see the evolution over time of their methods. It takes a bit to sift through it all, but just about anything you’re considering has been done multiple times and multiple ways. You can see if it would work for you and what to watch out for as you do it. For what you’re describing to start, I think aluminum framing is probably the way to go, though wood decking will be fine. If it were me, I’d use one of their premade livewells and plumbing to make the overall job easier. The do your own thing up front.

If you have a reasonable idea what should be going on based on time of year, you've fished the lake, etc then I'm using the 15 minute rule. Give it 15 minutes on a spot with no bites and either change the spot or change the lure. If you're beating down the bank then I'm constantly swapping rods (hence why I carry 5 rigged) depending on how the cover changes, the depth changes, my mood changes, etc. Some places and times where I know a certain thing will work (early morning buzzbaits in august) I might stick with it longer. Sometimes when I just want to fish a certain way or thing (always looking for that frog bite) I will stick with it hoping.

I haven't done one, but I've researched a ton since an aluminum conversion is the boat I need. If you haven't already, get into tiny boat nation on youtube. There are builds from quick and cheap (one of the current ones) to fully tricked out $30k. Amazing learnings over 8 or 9 generations of boats.

You sir, are a hero. I turned off all of the lights in the garage and hit the button in the truck- everything works. Turn on the ceiling garage lights and the middle door doesn't work again. That is the door with the 'different' LED ceiling light (I have three big petal type LED lights and this one is the odd one of the three). Looks like I need to swap out a light bulb.

hahaha. I'll defer to AJay's comment above. Maybe on a short evening trip I could count them. On a full saturday I'll start with 5 or 6 rods rigged and each one might change over a bunch of times If its a hardbait day and I have a snap on, no telling how many I can cycle through until finding what the fish want.

This is the same for me. Its why I don't like round reels (they just aren't comfortable in my hand after palming non round reels and low profile reels for 30 years). If it isn't comfortable it doesn't get fished. what you're describing is what I am talking about above with the action. Your rod has plenty of power to turn a fish, you just have to know how to use it and really put a bend into the rod. A moderate action rod will bend down to the grip when you're fighting a fish so put the power behind it and he'll turn. If you don't prefer a more moderate actioned rod (see all of the discussion about the perfect chatterbait rod for discussions of glass rods, moderate actioned rods, and extra fast rods all having supporters), then you don't need a rod with more power, you need a faster action. If the St Croix victory lineup feels good in your hands, you could go to the 7'1" MHF or the 7'3" MHF. Both have the same handle as yours, are of similar length, and have faster actions for the same power range.

1/4-1/2 oz spinnerbaits are bread and butter weights to cast for any MH/MF. I suspect the problem you had with the St Croix was the action being too slow and bending too much for your preferences. Going up one action rating should make a marked difference. Going from a MH/M to a H/MF is going to be a bigger difference. You should be able to see on the manufacturer's website if they have the same componentry, and thus feel in the hand. For me, the comfort in holding a rod and reel combo is paramount. You're always holding it so if its not comfortable to hold then it isn't right.

The best bass fishing in New Jersey is stripers in saltwater. I can’t complain about the quality of the bass themselves as they are healthy chunky fish pretty much year round. But genuine 5 lb fish are far from common and anything over 6 is a fish of a lifetime. yeah, more or less this applies to nj. At least I have a bunch of lakes of similar quality I can pick between with similar results to avoid pressure and monotony.

gotcha. I know it pretty well. Our office was in slough so I know that west corridor pretty well.

cheaper even. A chronarch is $289 last I checked and the met is $230. I was looking at used chronarchs but why not get a new Met for the same price.

My first kayak fishing came in a 12 whitewater kayak. I was in the paddling club at university and they would let us borrow boats for the weekend. This was a full neoprene spray skirt. I tucked a two piece rod into the boat, a small bag of hooks and bread tied to a loop inside, and made for the river where people fed carp from the deck of a restaurant. Had a lot of fun, caught a few fish. I’d never bass fish from one. Not enough mobility, limited usability for gear, and they move through the water really easily so when you hook one you’re on top of it in a second.

The 20 Metanium is another to consider then. Same weight as the Chronarch but magnesium body instead of composite (if composite bothers you- it doesn't bother me). Same price if you go JDM as the new Bantam. 2 oz lighter than the bantam. Chronarch and 20 Met are basically the same size, Slight difference in curvature, but interchangeble on the water. Not the Met? TW Price would still put the Met above the bantam, though I don't know if the Bantam MGL A is the 2022 you're referring to.

you’re loading the topper on the truck first, then adding the boat, right?it’s been a while since I lifted a fiberglass topper onto a truck but we used to do it with two of us.

Where abouts in London are you and which direction do you fish? We lived in the UK for 12 years including Chiswick, East Yorkshire, and Surrey. I didn't fish much down south, but got a bit in up north (we were there a lot longer). Never caught a UK perch but managed some huge grayling.

If you can manage a 136 up on top of a truck topper by yourself then you are a better man than I. I'd love to see how you do it once you have it. Maybe I can learn something for getting it into the truck bed.

i would suggest having a backup plan in mind just in case. There are one or two guys on the Facebook group that have done it, but far more will tell you that car topping, let alone topper topping, is a fools errand. The boat is heavy and also awkward. Because of its width it wants to twist as you lift. There isn’t a good place to grab on it. I have a 32’ ladder and used to handle a 40’ heavy duty. They are truly nothing in weight when compared to this boat.

I went frog toggs and have two seasons on them now. The jacket is the original pilot and it is great. The pants are discontinued and were a convertible bib/pant. I wear the pants year round if I’m going to get wet and it’s less than 75 degrees. They are great for kayak spray even in the summer. They are the unlined frog toggs variety. I’d get another pair if I could and put them aside. i love the jacket. It’s super wind and water proof-never let in a drop. It’s right on the edge of what I’d wear on an 80+ degree hot day but I do it. It has the ability to zip in liners and frog toggs sells them. I just layer in a comfy hoodie. frog toggs also has a clearance section and you can get some great deals. just checked - the pilot pro is the upgraded version of what I have and is on clearance right now for $129.