Gear Review 2010

[DOGFISH]

Fubar

Well, let me add one more thing to my winter maintainence list, replace electric motor plug. While out on the water today my motor started to periodically stop on its own. On the way back in, it stopped completely, and I had to paddle about the last quarter mile back to the marina. It turn out, upon inspection, the plug into the deck must have leaked and shorted out. The entire inside of the plug is melted. I tried to gerri-rig a new plug, but it would not be water proof. Same thing would happen. Just will have to get the right plug, and make improvements on its seal. It never ends.

[crawdad]

I am still waiting for the fall fishing blitz and its all over.Didn't even get a chance to surf fish for the fall migration.Wow it feels like time got compressed.Caught a lot more fish last year on artificials than this year.The blues were here but small,the stripers I caught when I literally droped a spot on their heads most the time.Next year I want to take the yak further south on the bay by Point lookout.Time to troll the internet for fishing lures and reels.

[DOGFISH]

Crawdad, don't worry, the fall blitz happened so fast this year, I thing most of us missed it. The gear was good, it was the fish and weather cycle that was A-typical.

[dhmjd]

Well it was a great year. Fished the bay bridge a lot, the narrows at night and Indian River Inlet. Didnt get to do my usual OBX trip though. Caught tons of stripers, perch, spot, croaker, flounder, tog and shad, although I did not get a keeper flounder or tog. But theres still hope. the season in DE is not done yet. I put my boat away after the MSSA tournament and fished the kayak (Hobie Outback) exclusively.

The piece of gear that worked the best was simple, a net retractor (used for fly fishing, its simply a heavy duty zinger). Rigged a few of those to the boat and kept things like boga grips, pliers, arc dehookers attached to them. use your tool and drop it, it never goes away. I'd like to put several more on the yak but havent been able to find them when I stop by dicks, bass, pro, cabellas etc. They are made by scientififc anglers and are 1/3 of the price of the ones sold by some kayak sites.

I pre-rig about 9 rods and just change rods as I fish rather than re-rig if I am fishing multiple species etc. I don't think I anchored up at all this season to fish, which is what I do in the OBX on some of the wrecks right of the beaches. I have some reirigging projects to do this winter, but what I'd like to add is side scan sonar from Humminbird. I have it on the boat and it is incredible. Well, off to the second soccer game of the day. Tight Lines!!

[mytmouse]

Well this was my first year kayak fishing and it was all I thought it would be! LOL I scored a OK Big Game in early January for $525!!! Yep Brand New and I just couldn't wait to get it on the water... my first couple of trips were skunkage. But I wasn't too worried, I was more focused on my sea legs.

Places I've been:
Buzz's marina (pulled up my first fish over the yak... a foul hooked little spot)
Severn River(killed WP and some nice crowkus)
Weem's Creek(WP)
Bay Bridge(Blues and Spot...no Rocks yet that ;/)
Cape Henlopen State Park(skunked from the yak...)
South River(skunked)

All in all a fun year


Gear:
I installed a PirahnaMax 150, works great! And a nice clean install if I might say so myself.
Rod holders: I put some scottys around the yak, always somewhere to put my rods! LOL


Things to do next year:
1) Kiptopeake
2) Susky Flats in the Spring
3) Fresh water fishing(LMB and crappie)
4) Try to get out more than once every 2 months! It will be hard, I got twins due in Feb...lol

MYT

[Memory Maker]

Now you're just rubbing it in, Redfish. "I caught plenty of rock from a boat, but I got the big ones from my kayak."

Capt--There's a video on youtube of Jim Sammons jumping into a pool wearing just waders and pfd. He's kind of burly, and he didn't get that wet, if I recall correctly. How wet you get is probably going to depend on how well everything fits. I figure I'm done for the day if I go overboard in the winter anyway.

He tried and tried and didn't get wet if it is the one I'm thinking about .......

[surfdog]

it was a good and bad year for fishing for me. less rock than previous years. what happened to the fall blitz in the upper bay? a lot of big wp and croaker tiny spot and little blues. meet a lot of new fishing buds and tried some new spots for the first time.

time to clean and organize for next year

best rigs for me this year were kastmasters and top/botttm rigs, tried a lot of topwater and jigs but for some reason they wernt producing so i would fall back on the t/b with a bw piece on the hooks to put fish in the boat.

[Memory Maker]

Well ........ decided to try out Yaking this year so I bought a used Wilderness Ride and (from talking to a bunch of other people) before I picked it up, I knew I would get Hobie if I liked Yaking. I also knew it would probably be a Pro Angler because I wanted the room and stability to use it for crabbing too. Well ......... I found a demonstrator with a new warranty for $1700 so I bought it. Problem is that I've been on a plane, train or car every 2 weeks so the first time I used it was to the Tilghmans M&G .......... also found that the PA was not going to work on top of the SUV so I had to wait until I bought a PU Truck ............ bought the truck and Redfish21 got me out fishing ......... caught 2 greating eating stripers ........ only fished with it once this year but I love it .......

Only got to the trailer @ CBBT twice this year and a couple of Flounder.

THis year I caught some Bass in Texas and the Pocomos, tried for Salmon and Trout @ Seattle and Idaho, and Blues @ NYC as well as a couple of srtipers around the bay .......

Purchases ....... the PA, hummingbird Kayak DF, Ford F 150 and a ton of stuff for making lures and rods ......... goal is to make everything I fish with .......

Projects ......... install an anchor trolley, another rod holder, flag/light pole, maybe an electric motor on the PA ......... fully outrig the Ride ........

build a few rods using different styles, decorative wraps, weaves, decorative cork handles, flocked handles etc using the stuff I already have ..........

make enough swimbaits, screw noses, BA's, flutter type jigs, lead heads, bucktails, and surface lures to last a lifetime .........

finish the rest of the basement so I have a great place for yakers to hang out .......

Goals ......... to get out more which might still be tough because of the work\travel schedule this year too .......... get down to the CBBT at least 5 times next year for all the seasons and get some of you guys to go too .......

New lures ....... bucktail w/bloodworm gulp, the french lure (Pico'leau), floating and neutral bouyant bucktails

[mmanolis2001]

This was a great year. Not only because i caught more fish but because i learned allot on the water.

Lessons learned.

1. Don't try to heave a full stringer of croaker into the tank well while sitting in a paddling position. I got wet

2. Placing your rod in a rod holder in free spool will not save the tip from a blue flopping around the boat. Line wrapped around the second guide from the tip. You can guess the rest.

3. A 30lb rated musky blank and locked drag with 30lb braid when high sticked is no match for a green 24" striper. Fish tears under the boat and rod gives up with a loud crack.

4. Even in august it can get miserable when the wind and rain tag team you with no rain gear.


5. A tarpon 120 was no match for my eating and drinking habits. In my case bigger was better.

6. Don't place a green striper with a face full of treble hooks between you legs. I got lucky my waders or even worse were not torn open.

7. Always check the weather before you leave. The forecast the night before can and seams to change.

8. Not all kayaks have the same re-entry procedure. An embarrassing lesson learned in front of a beach of on lookers. On a good note at least it was controlled embarrassment and not under emergency circumstances.

9. A day spent trolling is a good indication of how out of shape you are.

10. This is not a cheap recreational sport. Well it think this is my own issue and i need to work on that next year.

11. Its much easier to find you car in a parking lot with the yak on top.

I got out 3X more than last year which was great. I fished new waters and learned new techniques. Some times the new techniques worked and some times they did not.

Every time i went fishing from the shore this year i would think how much better it would be from my yak.

I spent allot of money this year keeping up with my addiction.

1. New Kayak
2. New accessories for the new Kayak
3. New PFD to look cool in the new Kayak
4. New cold weather gear for fishing in the new Kayak
5. New rods and reels for fishing in the new Kayak
6. New terminal tackle for using with the new rods and reels for the new Kayak.
7. New cameras for capturing the moments when i was fishing with all the new stuff in the new Kayak.

See i blame all my spending this year on that new Kayak

[Redfish12]

9. A day spent trolling is a good indication of how out of shape you are.

No kidding on that one! I woke up numerous times feeling like someone hit me with a sock of quarters all night. It's a good feeling though... as long as you weren't skunked!

[DOGFISH]

mmanolis: I could not agree more about that finding the car with a kayak rack. That is just an added advantage of being a kayak angler. Yea, but look at it this way, take care of your equipment and next year, the addiction will cost less, or maybe not. I seem to keep on finding ways to spend more money on the sport. Thats why they call it an addiciton. Got to have some fun, right?

[MetroMan]

Another thing that I learned and LOVE is that loading the kayak on an SUV was a royal pain in the ass for me. I was quickly able to derive a technique that worked, but life became MUCH simpler once I got my old Saturn. It's much easier to sit my kayak on a 5' roof top than a roof rack that's over 6' high. (Not to mention getting 30mpg vs mid teens)

[MetroMan]

Also learned the hard way about the importance of securing rods & reels while paddling. Lost a brand new rod & reel in the bay on my maiden voyage.

[ictalurus]

After some more thinking, the biggest change for me this year was fishing with other folks. I'm not particularly gregarious, so my wife and folks were surprised when I told them I was fishing with other people. I enjoy having a fishing buddy network, I've learned a few new tricks, and it's cools seeing how everyone rigged things. My wife still teases me for having "internet dates".

Another thing I forgot to mention was that I took advantage of Shimano's customer service and got a new Sahara for $10 more than the cost of their cleaning/lubrication service, which costs $25 if no new parts are required. I bought an old style Sahara in good condition on eBay for ~$20, used it for two years with no problems, and sent it to serviced because it started feeling a little rough. They offered me a brand new one, so I ended up with an $80 reel for $55 spent over two years.

I second Jon's suggestion for evening M&Gs. St. Jerome's, PLO, and Piney Point are awesome in the evenings, and boat traffic generally goes way down, even on weekends.

[DOGFISH]

Your not alone Bill, my wife still can't get over the time I spend on the computer talking about kayak fishing. Although, she is glad that I fish with other people on occasion, as I do alot of fishing by myself also. I could not agree more with the night time croaker fishing trip. I would like to catch croaker in the 20 plus inch range. The way the smaller ones fight in the upper bay, I can only imagine what a 24 inch fish must be like. I think the IGFA record Atlantic Croaker is 6lbs. That would be really fun. Of course by then, I want to see what Bills boat looks like lit up from the inside.

It would also be nice to do a long range trip or a meet and greet to the Outer Banks for redfish. Even though not in Maryland, it would be great fun catching redfish. Would take some added planning, but would be a great fishing experience. Even Cape Charles could be fun. I have heard about the fishing there, from friends.

By the way, I have heard about the Shimano repair and those offers. Sometimes, even when a reel in out of production and you send it back for repair, they will offer you a good deal on a current reel of similar value. Shimano stands by their products. The newer models are easier to care for with the easy to remove side plates.

Oh yes, and loading those kayaks on racks. I went from sponge blocks, where on my first year, I blew out my right shoulder, which needed surgery, to nice Tule racks to loading into the back of my P/U, and the final solution of buying a Trailex trailer. If you have the room, I would recommend a trailer. It also acts as a stand to use when working on the kayak.

Good Luck, with those winter projects.