JayMac89

Well with the help of others here, i made a decision and my new old town pdl 106 arrived yesterday. Quick recap for those who weren't following along. Got a cheapo lifetime tenton 100 last year in September. First kayak and first time not fishing from shore. Bought it as a test to see if i enjoyed a kayak. I loved it. And here we are, i quickly upgraded. First of all, i got to say imvpretty blown away with the quality. Granted im coming from a cheapo yak. But man, I'm impressed. So I'm planning on taking it on the maiden voyage tomorrow if weather allows. Was in the garage all morning setting it up. Which got me thinking. Do you more experienced kayak guys have a process to rigging up a new yak or do you just go trial and error? I always traveled light on the lifetime. Little DIY crate. 2-4 rods. A net. Had an anchor trolley with a DIY anchor wizard that's secured to the crate. A paddle. And pliers. With so much more space/storage and just a different foot print, I'm not doing anything permanent. Want to be strategic in rigging this guy out. There's more expensive kayaks out there but this one wasn't cheap either. And i bought it with the intention of it lasting a looooong time. I already got a cart. Next order of buisness is getting a spare prop and parts. I just modified my crate a bit. Want to take it out a few times first but next would be anchor and anchor trolley. Because this is a nice yak i almost want to go with an anchor wizard over my DIY anchor wizard (which works fine). I like the anchor trolley on my left but that's where my paddle holder is. So I'm not sure. Got some things to figure out. I'm rambling a bit. It's the excitement. But to sum it up, i always traveled light, but it was somewhat out of necessity because of the limited space on the lifetime. Now with all this space and options my mind is racing with possibilities. I'll probably keep it light, but who knows. Maybe I'll start to expand. Regardless, I'm curious if you more experienced guys have somewhat of a template in your head that you've developed then just modify based on the kayak? Or is it a trial and error type deal with every new kayak. Do you guys go into a new kayak with a set end goal (electronics ect.) Or do you cross that bridge if and when you get there?

Red eye shad in 3/8 oz sexy shad color. Iv tried other colors but i just have a ton of confidence in that one color. If i find fish they'll bite that lipless. Two falls ago i couldn't not catch them on a RES. It actually almost got a tiny bit boring.

I'm probably in a very similar situation to you. I'm 34 and this will be my third season of taking bass fishing serious. Well, not serious, i have fun doing it. But being all in. I'm also at a point in my life where i dropped some serious money on gear. Just bought a new pedal drive kayak. Any way, here's my advice. Or what i have been doing. First, learn all you can. Read this forum. Watch YouTube videos. Whatever. Just be immersed in it. Second is fish often. I'm up before sunrise every weekend and am out on the water. Just fish. Third, and this might sound silly. But invest in a tackle subscription box. I use monster bass. I like it. Here's the deal. You get some stuff that you'll probably not use. But you get some good stuff too. I always have my go to stuff, then some "hmm maybe I'll try that stuff". I always start with what appeals to me. But if I'm not having luck I'll reach for somthing new. I'll either hate it, or decide i want to put more time into that technique. It's a good way of getting a larger assortment of baits, without spending alot or wasting money buying somthing just to find out you'll never use it. 4th, find out what works for you and what you enjoy. Then do that. Example. I don't do the whole "im only going to throw this so i can learn the technique" type of thing. I like power fishing/moving baits. I'll go out and throw a swim jig, chatterbait, or crankbait based off where I'm fishing and the conditions (see point #1. Learning. If it's windy, somthing with more vibration. Ect ect). If that's working, i don't stop. I may not be learning somthing new. But I'll be having fun and catching fish. And gaining experience. If it's not working, then I'll switch it up. Slowly you will learn new techniques. And 5th, go in to every outing with a plan. Wind direction, wind speed, cloud cover, yada yada yada. Im going to start here because of xyz so on and so forth. You won't always be right. You'll probably be more wrong then right. But you'll learn more than you would just randomly fishing. And 6th, pay attention. I went out Saturday. On the yak. Still cold here. Not entirely sure where fish would be. Throwing to cover and not catching anything as i make my way to the main lake. Then i saw some current in the water, think because of wind? I don't know. But i could visually see it. Deeper water. Started catching some. Saw a near by point and shoreline cover. Have those a shot. Nothing. I caught fish in deeper water. Let's try that. Nothing. What was the one thing in missing? Current. Found another area in deeper water where i again could see movement/current on the water surface. Started catching again. Point being, you catch them, you take note of the details. Even the minor ones. I don't have it all figured out. Not even close. But im starting to get a few of the puzzle pieces to click into place.

Got to be a strike king bitsy bug with a craw trailer. A strike king red eye shad would be a close second. But the versatility of a jig is hard to beat. And being a smaller jig, i find it has a greater percentage of catching fish. I have found myself hopping a jig with no bites around some cover. Go to swim it back and boom that's when it gets hit. Became a sort of 2 for 1 type of technique. My number 1 confidence lure is a lipless though. Red eye shad in sexy shad. But that is more one dimensional and situation specific.

This guy gets it. I'm a complete doof. I do a ton of woodworking/furniture building. Just going to build a wall mounted cabinet and do somthing like this. I swear, sometimes my stupidity surprises me. Don't know why that took so long to think of.

If I'm being honest, i don't really have all that much. I was being a bit dramatic. Alot of what i have came from the monster bass subscription, and i don't use alot of it. I think i may cancel it. You do get somthing cool or find a new technique every so often so it does have some benefit. It's cheap enough. But baits just keep coming. As far as the things i throw regularly, it's really not much. Color wise i go green pumpkin or black and blue. I throw chatterbaits, arkie style jigs, swim jigs and lipless mostly. Jerkbaits and square bills get thrown in the mix. Then the soft plastic finesse stuff. Not alot. But i do like to stock up. Not huge numbers but i like having extras at home. The strike king red eye shad in sexy shad is a favorite of mine. Just ordered 5. Number 1 confidence lure. Can't always find it locally. Sucks to lose a few on a Saturday, then have none on Sunday. And it's happened a few times too me. I like the outkast juice jig or the bitsy bug. Can't get them locally alot of the time and need to order online. When things aren't organized is easy to deplete what you got without ordering more. I got no problem throwing the "probably won't throw it" type stuff in a random box. Or giving them away. But a set up that can hold my favorite types of lures in an organized manner would be great. Not alot of real estate on a kayak. I dont carry alot. So you got to have some back ups at home. Don't think it's that crazy of a thought. I'll probably go to harbor freight and find some type of cheap storage system and make it work. My work truck is very organized and so is my shop at home. I'll figure it out. Just find it hard to belive there isn't anybody making a storage system larger than your standard tackle box/bag.

You all are going to laugh, because iv only been doing this a tiny fraction of the time that you guys have. But last night i realized i have a issue. I have a metric ton of baits at home. I currently have a monthly box subscription. Pretty cool. Get some good stuff. Some not so good stuff. But it leads me to try things i wouldn't normally try, so i keep it. Anyway, i have 2 plano that go on the yak with me. One for hard baits, one for terminal tackle, then a bag for soft plastics. All the rest get left in old monster bass boxes at home. Organized and labeled. Well I'm at the point now where my system isn't working because i have to many, which means I'm breaking them down very specifically. It used to be a box labeled jigs. Now it's multiple boxes of jigs seperated by jig type and color. Same thing with crankbaits. And every other bait. Just bought a stockpile of baits last night off tackle warehouse for the upcoming season. Went through all my boxes to get a count of where I'm light. But i need a better system. So you know, i throw a lipless into a tree, can go home, and grab one from the stockpile to put back on the yak. Plano boxes in a bigger rubbermaid style tote was my first thought. But then your still digging through boxes to get to the bottom of need be? Got to be a better way. What kind of system and storage are you guys using off the water? Did a Google search and can not find anything. I have a few ideas but figured I'd ask the more experienced.

The first purchase is going to be a cart for sure (outside of extra prop and skate parts). While on the topic what are your guys thoughts on carts? I'm less then a year in to the whole kayak thing so this is all new to me. I saw what i belive is called "the landing gear" style cart. Two different models. One attaches to a track, the other comes with backing plates and gets secured right to the kayak? Basically the wheels are always attached to the yak. Put them up when in the water, down when on land. Seems like a great idea but the mechanic in me (I'm an HVAC/R guy) can't help but think that puts some unwanted stress on the plastic that the kayak isn't designed for. The bunk style carts seem safer, but also more cumbersome to use? I was leaning towards that landing gear style cart. Belive the company i saw was boondox or somthing like that. But after some thought about the unwanted stress i started thinking bunk style. Maybe pull the yak out of the bed a bit, strap the bunk style cart on, then fully remove from bed. Thought being your not then wrestling with trying to lift the yak up and sliding a cart underneath. Been doing a bunch of research and watching guys on YouTube. But i trust you guys way more. Always get solid advice and opinions here. So curious of your thoughts

Thanks for all the info everyone. My big concern was the toss it in the truck and go factor, but you guys put my mind at ease as far as that goes. Just pulled the trigger on the old town. Should have it this weekend. Was really contemplating the native but my gut was just saying old town after the research i did on both. Thank you again guys

I took a look at that native slayer. I really dig it. I like that it's lighter and only 10 ft. Now i have some contemplating to do. That's a contender for sure.

Thank you for the input! Glad to hear your still out there doing what you love to do. Side not question about loading it into the truck. This is going to be a dumb one but I'm curious since your doing exactly what i do/plan to do. Do you go tailgate down or up? With my cheap yak i put the tailgate up and strap it through the handles. But with the old town being a bit longer i was thinking of going tailgate down. That plus I'm sure the way i do it stresses the hull a bit once strapped. And thank you for the natives suggestion. Hadn't looked into those. I will definitely will though.

Hey guys, i did a search but i have a few more specific questions im hoping someone can help me with. I doubt anyone remembers but last year i got myself a lifetime tenton kayak. Cheap one just to see if I'd enjoy it. Bought it specifically with the intention of upgrading if i decided i liked it. Well i love fishing out of a kayak. Got the hang of it pretty quickly with the help of you guys. Anyway, now I'm looking at the old town pedal 106. My first question is, who uses this kayak (or any other) and doesn't trailer it? I'm not against getting a trailer. In fact i have a trailer for the jon boat (that i don't use) that i could maybe modify. Honestly I'd probably just buy a dedicated trailer at that point. But i ask because one of the things i love about the kayak is just tossing it in the bed of the truck and going. Simple and easy. No fuss. My kayak now is 53 LBs, the old town without the pedal drive is about 30 LBs heavier. I was thinking i could get a kayak cart. Then just lift the one end into the truck and push the rest in. I'm young and able. I can move the old town around. But i don't want to be killing myself all the time. Want a more realistic expectation before i make a decision. My second question is, how deep does the drive extend from the bottom of the boat? Couldn't find this dimension anywhere. I fish a few spots. Some can get pretty thick with vegetation. Of course I'd have a paddle. But I'm not going to drop 2600 on a pedal kayak if i can't pedal it. I don't see it being an issue outside of a few areas. But that really depends on how deep the prop sits. Lastly, does anyone suggest another kayak? Iv done my research. Think the old town fits my needs and wants perfectly. But i can't test any of these out locally. In fact the old town is the only one i can even see locally. I obviously want a pedal drive, small and compact in the 10ft range. Don't need a ton of storage. I take a very minimalistic approach. I checked bonafide and Brooklyn kayak company but didn't see anything appealing. Thanks for any input. If these questions have been answered before feel free to call my dumb and point me in the right direction

Had my third outing this morning. I'm loving it. I did install an anchor trolly. World of difference. Still spin around, but at least in one spot. Iv also learned, pretty well if i do say so myself, to paddle with one hand while i got the rod in the other. And oddly enough, could never backhand cast on the bank. In the yak, not a problem. Using that to throw quick little casts to my right side to manipulate the yak in the direction i want. I really appreciate the advice from all you. First outing felt like i was doing more paddling then fishing. Third outing, with much stronger winds, complete opposite. Actually felt like i was doing to much fishing and not enough moving around. Very glad i got a yak. It's so awesome going to all the spots i couldn't reach from shore. I can see the underwater structure/cover, finding new spots to check while out. Can see my bait much better. Whole new experience, i love it.

Thank you guys. I don't plan on doing much, but I'm grabbing a anchor trolly and installing it before the next outing. Just found out what they were today. May not be perfect but anything to help give me a little more control. I really enjoyed the kayak thing. Can tell it'll be a challenge, but that's what makes it fun to me.

Thanks guys. I did notice i could kind of manipulate the rotation based off my cast angle. Like i said, i know there will be a learning curve. Was just curious if this was a common problem or just somthing that's part of kayak fishing. Seen a ton of information on upgrades, but almost none on the actual technique when it comes to kayak fishing. I bought this thing just to not break the bank in case i didn't enjoy it. Not going to go crazy. But i think an anchor is somthing I'll be adding. This might seem like a silly question, but if i dropped an anchor, wouldn't you still rotate... the anchor would just be the pivot point? And thank you guys for the input. I didn't get much time today but i enjoyed myself. I'm sure more questions will pop up.

Hey guys, so made an impulse buy yesterday. Long story short, i got a jon boat for free, never brought it out. Issues with getting it legal and all that. So still beating the bank. Went out and bought a kayak yesterday. Lifetime tenton angler 100. Cheap enough to figure out if i like the kayak thing. Well today i took it out. Only about an hour or so. Definitely was not fully prepared, this was an impulse buy after all. I had fun. No fish, but i was more trying to figure things out. The kayak is light, was able to throw it into the truck, carry it to the water. In and out no problem. Actually had to leave due to a work situation, got to shore and was loaded up and home in 15-20 minutes. Including getting back to the ramp. Granted, i live 5 minutes away. Felt stable enough, no standing on this thing. But felt good. Now for my questions. So wind was calm. 5mph tops. Water was glass. When i put the paddle down and made casts, i would slowly just spin, making it tricky to target the lay downs i was fishing. I'm fully aware that there will be a learning curve. But my question is, is this normal? Is there a technique? Or would an anchor be the call here? What i ended up doing was coming in at an angle anticipating the rotation. And i just rocked with it, threw casts in the opposite direction while i rotated back around to target the lay downs. But i can see it being a frustration when I'm more accustom to the kayak and just want to fish. All in all i had fun. Already got some ideas for what i want to add to make things easier. Nothing major. Just maybe a rod holder up front (i got to stock behind me), the stock paddle holder works but looks cheap so would add one of those. And i need to figure out some storage around the seat for pliers and what not. And tether everything. Im excited to get back out there, but would love any input on the show rotation situation. Thanks in advance!

Thanks guys. I do tend to belive I'm getting the bass attention with the slow hops and then trigger a strike when it takes off. It's working fairly consistently, i dig it. I like the versatility. What iv noticed was i wouldn't get any bites with a swim jig or chatterbait or crank on the days iv had success with the hop hop swim with the casting jig. So i do tend to belive there's somthing to what I'm doing on those days. Just never heard of that as a technique so found it strange. Heard of hopping. Heard of swimming. The way they bite immediately after starting the swim back has me a bit baffled that iv never heard of anyone combining both techniques into one.

Hey guys. Was fishing this morning and a question popped into my head. Wondering your thoughts. I throw alot of moving baits. Chatter baits, cranks, swim jigs, jerk baits, yada yada. I just have more confidence in them. This season i wanted to get better with casting jigs and slowing my fishing down. So if been forcing myself to throw a jig. Been using the bitsy bug. And iv noticed a trend. It's happened multiple times. In fact, i have not caught 1 fish just hopping a jig. What i do is target cover, hop or drag trying to learn the technique. Then once past the cover I'll swim it back. I keep hooking up on fish almost immediately after beginning the swim back. Never on the hops. First few times i thought it was just accidental perfect timing. But it's happened too many times now. I'm not complaining, I'm catching fish. But as far as learning the technique it's not helping much. And i got to thinking. Is this a sign that the fish want a moving bait? Or is it a legit technique? Such has the hops get the fish's attention, then when it takes off triggers a strike? Should i stop swimming it back to learn the technique better and just keep hopping? Or am i possibly getting the fish to bite on the hops, not realizing it, then hooking up once i reel in? I know swimming a jig is a legit technique, but the consistency of hook ups just as i start swimming it back is to much to call it a coincidence. Wondering your thoughts as far as what's happening here and my course of action as far as learning to hop a jig and detecting bites goes. As always, all input is greatly appreciated

I always take pictures of my fish and almost always weighthem. Not so much to share, although i do share the worthy ones with friends. Honestly for me, it's a way to log my catches. I use fishbrain. It logs where and on what. Weight. Weather and moon phase. As a guy who's learning I'll often go back and look for patterns, what spots produced and on what baits. I think it's a helpful tool. Plus at the end of the year i like to see my total catches and total weight.

This makes alot of sense. Generally i would bring at least 2 rods. Ofcourse this being a quick trip i didn't. But i was thinking to myself had i brought another rod id probably have a t-rigged worm or shakey head tied on and would be working that grass where he came from. At least i thought that, but not for the reasons you mentioned. In reality i probably would of kept on with a moving bait because i tend to hold on to somthing if i see a reaction. But your inference about other bass being in similar cover makes a ton of sense. I'm going to keep this advice in mind. Thank you for your input. I always laugh to myself when i ask questions here. The responses from you guys always seem so obvious, yet i don't even think of them. I guess that's fishing though and part of learning.

So I want to pick some of your brains here. Some history, iv targeted bass in the past but last year was my first season taking it seriously. I made some good strides and learned alot. Had some good success by the end of the season. But still plenty to learn. Obviously. And you guys have been a big part of my learning. I enjoy and learn from hearing your insight. So to my question. Woke up this morning and wasn't planning on fishing. Raining, windy. It's only 50 degrees here in NY. Not sure the water temps but I'm assuming they are nearing the 50s. Past week was 40-50 degrees. Said what the hell, let's throw a line out and see what happens. Only had been out 2 or 3 times this year. No bites. Still been cold but we're getting there. Was tossing a square bill. From the bank. Right on top of a spillway. Some shoreline grass to my left, over hanging trees and bushes to my right. Reeling in with a stop and go type retrieve. And i see a fish swipe at the lure right out of the grass. Cast again. This fish follows my lure all the way back but never bites. I cast again. Change my cadance up. Fast/slow, fast/pause, slow/pause. Follows it in for the next 5 or so casts. Then nothing and he's gone. Looked like a really good sized one too. He was clearly interested. But getting the bite was the problem. Now if it wasn't raining and i planned on spending some time here i would probably tie somthing else on. Maybe even just switching up the color. I'm actually sitting in the truck now waiting for some rain to pass. It was the most excitement i had since end of last season. So that's a plus. But now I'm thinking (possibly over thinking) what you guys would of done. Or what i would of done had i had more time. If the fish are chasing a moving bait like that, but not biting, do you take that as a sign that they want a moving bait? Keep that going or maybe switch to another moving bait? Somthing similar but different? Or would you change gears all together and go finesse/slow? Or just stick with what you were throwing? It's that time of year where the fish activity is changing, so just curious on how you guys would of read that situation and the adjustments you would of made.

Thanks for the input! I'm actually thinking the 30lb might be a tad light. I like to fish in wind. But it was cheap enough. Who knows, I may end up hating a boat and go the kayak route. If I end up loving it, which I think I will, I'll splurge and upgrade to a beefier motor. And thank you again for the input, that battery box you mentioned im going to look into. Kills two birds with one stone. I like that. Any suggestion on a cheap fish finder. I started doing a little research but don't really know what's good or bad. Saw two that looked interesting. A smaller garmin, can't remember the model. And i think the other was a helix? Somthing like that. Bigger but less features i belive. But i couldn't comprehend what half the features even were

Great. Thanks guys. It sounds like I'm in good shape then. I do have seats with backrests. They're good but old. My plan is to essentially do a deck, build storage underneath. Same old thing you've guys seen time and time again. But I'm thinking now maybe do a rear and front deck. Or just deck the whole thing. Not sure. Like i said I'll see what works for me and go from there. At this point I'm just excited to fish out of it. Mark my words, at this point i don't want any fancy electronics. Guarantee by end of the season I'll be back here asking about fancy electronics.

Trailer lights, tires, and bearings i already replaced. It was free but from a close family friend who doesn't use it anymore. Point being there no secrets. Needs work but everything was laid out. Ofcourse pfd is number 1, just didn't mention it because it's obvious I'm a HVAC/R mechanic, I got a small pouch of tools that iv replaced over the years in my truck. It'll get put in the boat every trip. Spare plug is a good one, didn't think of that. But good idea. And anchor i also thought of but forgot to mention. Was going to get 2 since they are cheap enough. Little mushroom anchor should be enough?

Hey guys, was new here last year but learned a ton from guys on here. Excited for the upcoming season. Anyway, some of you may remember but i was trying to decide between a pond prowler or kayak last year. At the end of last years season i got lucky and got a jon boat and trailer... for free. It's still cold but starting to warm up, and I'm getting ready for this season. Iv never fished from a jon boat. I do have plans/ideas to spruce this jon boat up, but i decided to wait a year. Use the boat as is for this season so that i can figure out what it is that i want/need. Don't want to waste time, money, and energy just to use it and realize i could of done it better. Which brings me to my questions. Keeping it bare bones, what are the must haves? Its a 14ft boat, nothing in it except 2 seats. I have a 30lb thrust trolling motor. Plan on putting a group 27 100ah battery in. Normally i only fish for 3-4 hours at a time. But again iv never been in a boat so that might change. And my "lakes" are small. You guys would probably consider them ponds. 20-40 acres. Would like to try night fishing but probably not to often honestly. I guess we'll see how i like it. So for now i plan on setting that motor and battery up. Definitely putting a inline fuse or breaker in. Throwing a paddle in there for obvious reasons. Will always have a bag/box with first aid and tools. Flashlight. Maybe some temporary AA/AAA stick on style lights. But is there anything that I'm missing? Is a bilge pump a must have and if so, run it off a separate battery? Do i need a on/off switch for the motor? Obviously a battery charger at home, but any battery accessories for on the water? Again this is my first time fishing from a jon boat. You guys have been a wealth of information as far as building the boat out and iv been directed to great resources such as tbnation. But im having trouble figuring out what's a must and what can wait till i get some time in the boat and come up with a full plan to build this boat out in a way that suits my style and needs. Just don't want to be making any major mistakes and finding out too late. As always, any input is greatly appreciated.