First fish in my new kayak

[J.A. Veil]

In late March I sold my pedal-drive Native Slayer Propel 10 kayak and bought a large paddle kayak (Native Ultimate FX15) to use for trolling. It is 15'3" long but weighs less than 80 lbs. I since added four rod holders and a large bow cover. but do not have any electronics on the kayak yet. I paddled it once last week without taking any fishing tackle with me. This morning was my first actual fishing trip in the new kayak.

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I launched from Jonas Green park with calm seas and outgoing tide. I trolled four lines (two with bucktails and plastic tails, one with a jighead and plastic tail, and one with an X Rap-10 crankbait).

I trolled for nearly 3 hours between Jonas Green and the river mouth.

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I had only two bites, but landed both -- 20" and 21" stripers. The 21" fish is shown below.

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These were the first fish on the new kayak, my first stripers of the year, and my first fish since March 30.

I was pleased with the way the new kayak paddled. It should be a good platform for trolling. It has a remarkable amount of space inside. For years I owned only shorter kayaks that were easy to transport. I am evaluating options for transporting the new larger kayak. Today's experiment involved sliding most of the kayak inside my van and driving with the rear hatch open. That worked well for the short drive from my home to Jonas Green, but may not be a good choice for long drives.

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[buzz]

Congratulations on the christening of your new yak.
Did you catch them on the bucktails or the X-Rap?

[J.A. Veil]

Congratulations on the christening of your new yak.
Did you catch them on the bucktails or the X-Rap?

Both hit the X Rap. In the past, I rarely trolled crankbaits for stripers. I devoted more effort to using crankbaits beginning last year. It paid off today. Even an old dog can learn new tricks.

[Big Mike]

Nice report John and glad you got the boat christened. Yeah, that transportation situation looks precarious at best.

[Tim Elliott]

Those fish were long overdue for you John, it's great to see that you had a successful outing on the new kayak. As for transporting a kayak, I recently purchased a Sherpack boat roller that allows one to maneuver a kayak by themself onto a car top. Although I haven't took an opportunity to utilize it yet, I think that it might be something that you're interested in. The device features two suction cups that attach to the rear windshield, and a foam roller in which you stand the kayak up against it, then simply grab the end of your boat closest to the ground and haul upward until it is on top of your vehicle in the desired position.

Cabela's has the roller in stock, selling for $39.99.

[MD Dore]

Congrats John. I have paddled older versions of the Native Ultimate and was impressed with their low weight, space, and stability. If I were in the market for a paddle kayak, they would be on the short list.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Mark]

Congrats John. I have paddled older versions of the Native Ultimate and was impressed with their low weight, space, and stability. If I were in the market for a paddle kayak, they would be on the short list.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Yes, congrats John. So nice to see decent stripers in the Severn.

Also, there's a growing fleet of Native Ultimates in the mid-Bay area. I know 10 anglers who paddle them now and several others who are considering them. They're great boats indeed.

[bignose]

Glad that you were able to get out and do a little catching.

Carrying a new boat on a car for the first couple of times always involves working things out, a compromise between what you can pick up and what you need to pick up.
Carrying the kayak hanging out of the back doesn't sound like a long term solution.

[john from md]

In late March I sold my pedal-drive Native Slayer Propel 10 kayak and bought a large paddle kayak (Native Ultimate FX15) to use for trolling. It is 15'3" long but weighs less than 80 lbs. I since added four rod holders and a large bow cover. but do not have any electronics on the kayak yet. I paddled it once last week without taking any fishing tackle with me. This morning was my first actual fishing trip in the new kayak.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26225[/ATTACH]

I launched from Jonas Green park with calm seas and outgoing tide. I trolled four lines (two with bucktails and plastic tails, one with a jighead and plastic tail, and one with an X Rap-8 crankbait).

I trolled for nearly 3 hours between Jonas Green and the river mouth.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26226[/ATTACH]

I had only two bites, but landed both -- 20" and 21" stripers. The 21" fish is shown below.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26227[/ATTACH]


These were the first fish on the new kayak, my first stripers of the year, and my first fish since March 30.

I was pleased with the way the new kayak paddled. It should be a good platform for trolling. It has a remarkable amount of space inside. For years I owned only shorter kayaks that were easy to transport. I am evaluating options for transporting the new larger kayak. Today's experiment involved sliding most of the kayak inside my van and driving with the rear hatch open. That worked well for the short drive from my home to Jonas Green, but may not be a good choice for long drives.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26228[/ATTACH]

John, glad you had a good day. I am waiting for the water temp to come up a bit.

How do you right that thing if you turtle and it gets filled with water?

[Yak67]

Congrats on the new Yak John and getting it slimed. Looks like a nice roomy ride. They Stripers seem fat and healthy this year, I hope it stays that way.

I tried all the methods for transport, I finally settled on pick-up truck bed, makes it easiest and no trailer issues.

Yak67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2019 Hobie Outback

[rob-kayak]

Congrats on your new boat and successful trip.

I also like the laundry basket... been using the same model for many years.
kayak_laundrybasket.jpg

[DuffDynasty]

John,

Congrats on the new rig and the first fish! She looks very nice with lots of room, nice colors too. Hope you have many years on safe travels and lots of fish on the deck.

Stay safe in these crazy times we are experiencing.

[Fish123]

Congrats John. Hopefully this is a better year in the Severn than last. I got the skunk the 2 times I’ve been out this year. What size and color xrap? I haven’t had any luck in the xr-12ghost color. Looks like a neat kayak do you have a bilge pump in it?

[ski357]

Nice report John. Glad you were able to get a fish on the new kayak. It does look roomy.

[ronaultmtd]

Always good to get a new one “slimed”...