MediumMouthBass Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 5 hours ago, Koz said: My Bronco can tow only 2,200 pounds so that’s a big consideration. I also like my Bronco and have never even considered a pickup truck. Heres another idea to add to whats already been said, keep your Bronco for your main vehicle and try to find a cheap older truck just as a spare vehicle for towing, doesnt have to be nice either. With some minimal work (if you know what to look for) you can have a truck that can haul any decent sized boat or kayak for not too much money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaubsNU1 Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Hey @A-Jay, what brand of rock guard / chip guard to you have? Me and Brother are looking to get something to protect boats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User A-Jay Posted May 23 Super User Share Posted May 23 Rock Tamers ~ they are a quality product. Super easy to install and very adjustable to any fitment. I've switched the same unit to 3 different new tow rigs. High recommended. https://www.cruiserframes.com/rocktamers/mudflap-systems.asp A-Jay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airshot Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 Why does it have to be a "bass" boat ??? I have a 16' aluminum SC that catches bass just fine. 40 hp Merc that does 30 mph. Can fish three if needed, but two is more comfortable. Has all the bells and whistles in my opinion, not the newest but better electronics than I have ever had in the past. Owned kayaks for a few years, great little boats and enjoyed mine a lot. However as age caught up with me, it was becoming to much work to load and unload so I added a trailer and soon after I thought if I need that trailer, I could have a bigger boat !! Ended up with my Sylvan. Best part is, total weight us under 2000 lbs wet !!....I fish for food, not just fun and I can put far more fish in the freezer quicker in my 16' SC than I ever could in my Kayak. Don't need new, just hunt for a really good used outfit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Swamp Girl Posted May 24 Super User Share Posted May 24 On 4/8/2024 at 8:32 AM, gimruis said: My suggestion would be to stick with what you have and perhaps lessen your travel times from spot to spot. I would never travel an hour to fish a spot in my boat. On 4/8/2024 at 6:26 PM, Choporoz said: This is what I was thinking. Maybe the issue was more about your choices of where to fish that lake, than about the vessel. I wonder how many 7 lb bass you drove past yesterday... Yep and yep. As you might know, I fish from a canoe. I'm the engine. So, when I travel, I paddle and I often paddle miles in a trip, but I'm ALWAYS fishing. I caught my PB earlier this spring while traveling and trolling. Last year, I bet I caught a dozen bass over four pounds while traveling and trolling. One of the reasons that I catch a lot of bass is that I'm constantly fishing. Travel time is trolling time. On 4/10/2024 at 10:08 PM, J Francho said: plus I'd like to get a light pack canoe. Me too. I was looking at a 17 lb. canoe yesterday evening. With a single rod and a knapsack holding my gear, I could reach the most remote ponds with that boat. I'd be casting to unfished fish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 Aluminum boats are king around here. Nothing to be looked down upon. I would never say to just get rid of your kayak. I would tell you to use it like a yak. Take alm the electronics and boat BS off jt put it on a boat. Keep the kayak simple and fish out of it like Ol Crickety. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbox99 Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 On 5/22/2024 at 9:45 PM, Crow Horse said: Allow me to add a different perspective to the above. I have a kayak trailer and it's a godsend. Instead of having to lift my yak over my head and onto the roof of my truck, I only have to lift it maybe 2 feet to sit it on the trailer. My yak is only a 10 footer and a budget one. Stripped down it weighs under 50#'s. With all the add-ons, it weighs a lot more. At this stage in life, I'm all about making tasks easier and the trailer checks that box. I used to put our yaks in the bed of the truck but that ate up valuable space for gear & tackle. The trailer opens the bed up for safe transport & storage of that gear. At the end of the day, this arrangement works really well for me. Everyone's needs are different. All of that is true. It is also true for a small fishing boat. That's the catch. When you buy a kayak and turn it into a small fishing boat you often, but not always, end up with a more expensive and worse small fishing boat. I'm in the camp that if I want a little fishing boat I'll get a small jon and deck it out or that interesting plastic skiff posted on page one. Even an 8 foot pond prowler is night and day better than a kayak for stand up fishing stability. I have one. It has horrible endurance trying to move that barge around on trolling motor with one battery where as I can go all day on my kayak powered by me. There are pros and cons to both but a kayak is so far removed from what I see as a small fishing boat that any endeavor to turn one into one is going to be costly and going to miss the mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow Horse Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 1 hour ago, Bigbox99 said: There are pros and cons to both but a kayak is so far removed from what I see as a small fishing boat that any endeavor to turn one into one is going to be costly and going to miss the mark. I respectfully disagree. I consider my small yak as a fine fishing vessel. Recognizing that it wouldn't check everyone's boxes, it checks almost all of my boxes that needs to be checked. I'm into it for $200 plus all the goodies I've added, but they would have to be added to a jon boat if I had one. For me, the pictured jon boat would be impossible for me to use where I fish when alone. A yak also has the benefit of being able to launch virtually silently, whereas an aluminum jon boat makes such a racket when pulled over rocks at the launch site. Advertising my arrival and presence isn't what I want to do. I want to slip into the water seamlessly and transparent. I'm a guest in this environment and I want to be a respectful guest. I might be the odd duck here, but why stand when one can sit? Whoever invented sitting was brilliant and I hold them in the highest regard. Providing context, this is all said with a lifetime of a physical labor damaged body. Like everything in life, choosing your vessel is a compromise. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted May 24 Super User Share Posted May 24 9 minutes ago, Crow Horse said: I might be the odd duck here, but why stand when one can sit? I prefer to stand when I bass fish. I get more leverage, my accuracy is better, and I can skip lures under docks better. I will say that I do have a taller, lean-to style seat that I often use though. Also, I rarely fish more than about 4 hours at at time. When I am crappie or walleye fishing, I exchange the lean-to seat for a standard chair and use that most of the time. Perhaps age plays a role here, as you stated. When my Father fishes with me in my boat, he sits a lot. I have a standard chair on the back deck specifically for this purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 @Crow Horse I stand to fish 90% of the time. Almost every thing I do fishing is done better standing. Now when it’s windy I am guilty of Leaning up against my butt seat but, I rarely post up on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motoboss Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 I guess it’s all perspective. I had my Autopilot loaded and was at the $5k level of investment and it still was a small, slow and uncomfortable rig to fish out of. Sitting is not the way I prefer to fish and 6 to 8 hours in the kayak and my hips were paralyzed! It became such a problem it created bursitis in one hip and I had to sell it. On the other hand the $150 canoe affords enough stability to stand easily and kneeling to paddle is a far better position than sitting. It’s still slow but far less expensive and hurtful. Age makes a huge difference to comfort and longevity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayMac89 Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 On 5/24/2024 at 1:46 PM, Crow Horse said: A yak also has the benefit of being able to launch virtually silently, whereas an aluminum jon boat makes such a racket when pulled over rocks at the launch site. Advertising my arrival and presence isn't what I want to do. I want to slip into the water seamlessly and transparent. I'm a guest in this environment and I want to be a respectful guest. I might be the odd duck here, but why stand when one can sit? 100%. Granted, I fish pretty bare bones from my yak compared to others. No electronics. But it's stealthy as anything. That's the number 1 benefit to me. But to your second point, funny thing iv noticed. All the guys in jon boats (no gas motors allowed) on my lakes are sitting down 95% of the time. Barley moving. Kayak guys are all standing and moving. I have a sportsman pdl 106. So not even a big yak. And I'm incredibly comfortable. Stand, sit, turn around, get into the front hatch, pee off the side. I'm not saying one's better than the other. Different strokes for different folks. But I do see alot of guys assuming a tricked out kayak is trying to be a small boat. No, it's not. It's trying to be a tricked out kayak. Because despite what some people here are saying, there are a few things a kayak does better than a boat... inherently. Meaning whether it's a cheapo yak or top of the line. Tricked out or not. And if those things are important to you as a fisherman, then kayaks might be for you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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