BrianSnat

I have a pair of Curados, a Tatula CT and 5 Lews. Two Tournament MBs, two Super Duty and their low end, $99 Speed Spool. The Curados are my favorite of the bunch. But the Lews MB and Super Duty are just behind them and a lot cheaper (Cabelas has the LH Super Duty on sale for $99 right now and it is a steal at that price). I rate the Tatula above the cheap Lews Speed Spool, but below the Curado and Lew's MB and Super Duty. Not a bad reel at all but a notch below the others.

How long it lasts will depend on the size of the boat, conditions and how much you are using it. I have two batteries in my 14 ft V hull and have yet to run down the first battery over two days of fishing. But I use the outboard to move me between spots and only use the electric when I'm actually fishing. I'll troll with the electric most of the time, but if it is especially windy I will save the electric for casting and use the gas motor for trolling. If you are using the electric to move from place to place, troll, etc. You should get at least 5 hours out of it with a boat of your size, if it isn't too windy. If you are going electric only, definitey have two batteries. THere were times before I bought the gas outboard where I was trying to get back to the dock with the electric after a day of fishing and I barely made it. Once or twice I had to break out the oars. That backup battery might save the day sometimes. I still think the electric motor combined with gas is the way to go. In my boat, which is a fairly heavy 14 footer, the 9.9 can push me along at up to 20 mph if I'm alone and about 15-18 with a buddy. Higher with my 120 lb girlfriend, slower with my 240 lb buddy. I top off at about 3.5 mph with the 55 lb thrust electric, alone, in calm conditions. With my heavier friend in the bow, maybe 2.5. Going into a stiff wind I don't even break 2 mph. On a small pond that may not be an issue, but if you are on a lake that is more than a mile or two long or wide you will appreciate that gas motor, especially on breezy days

A dry suit is the smart way to go. It may save your life. Don't mess around when your life may depend on it.

Since I moved to baitcasters I bought a bunch of middle level reels. Shimano Curados, Diawa Tatulas and various Lew's reels in the $99 to $200 range. I haven't tried any high level reels. I'm sure they have ther benefits, but I'm happy with what I have. They do the job nicely. Of those it seems that Lew's consistently offers the best bang for the buck. With that in mind, if I were to splurge on high level baitcaster I would probably stick with Lew's.

I would check out the Jackson Kayaks Big Rig before pulling the trigger on any high end fishing kayak. It's a sweet boat. Or the Jackson Kraken if you want something that will be perhaps a little less stable, but way faster, in case you want to cover a lot of water on a larger lake

Cabelas has the Lews Super Duty Speed Spool on sale for $99 and it is one heck of a reel for that price. I just bought one and I'm impressed. It's as good as reels I have that cost twice that. They also have the Fenwick Silverhawk II on sale for $50. A real sweet rod for that price. For a little less you can find the Berkley Lightining Rod Shock for $39 at Walmart and other outlets. It is a very good rod for the money. For the extra $11 I'd go for the Fenwick, but with either you have a really good bait caster and rod for $150 or less.

I think you should get a gas motor, depending on the size of the lakes you might fish. If the lakes are larger than 2-3 miles from end to end you will appreciate the gas outboard. It will move you around a lot faster than normal electrics. If 6 HP is the max recommended then I wouldn't go above that by much, if at all. But beware when someone says "It worked great three years ago, only has 10 hours on it, but I haven't used it since". I remember when my dad gave me a 9.9 he had sitting in his garage. It literally had only about 3 hours on it, but sat in the garage for about 10 years. It cost me almost $400 to get it running again. Still a pretty good deal for a 9.9. Had I paid a few hundred for it , then not such a good deal. Make sure that used motor runs well, and not just in a barrel. Ask if you can test it on a lake, on your boat or his.

Properly adjusted drip rings on the kayak paddle will help keep water out of the boat. If the water still drips into your boat it could mean that your double bladed paddle is too short for what you are doing. In a canoe, a double bladed paddle should be significantly longer than one you would use in a similarly sized kayak. If the paddle is too short your strokes wil be somewhat vertical, which means the water will be directed into the boat, even over the drip rings. Get a significantly longer paddle, one that will allow you to make generally horizontal strokes. That should fix your problem with the drip.

An OT Dirgo is not a "nicer kayak". It is cheap, rotomolded plastic. You will get scratches and dings, but it will hold up well to river rocks. After a few years the bottom will look like crap, but that doesn't change the paddling characteristics. If you are worried about scratching it, you are in the wrong sport. Scratches and dings WILL happen on rivers and even on lakes. Storing it improperly will have more of an affect on its performance than any scratches. Pay more attention to proper storage than where you paddle. See this for some advice on storage, paying particular attention to part two. https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/kayak-storage.html Actuallly "nicer" kayaks are often made from fiberglass, kevlar and other fusion materials and rocks may have more serious consequences. Your cheap, rotomolded kayak will bounce off rocks like rain on a duck's back.

Here is a discussion of the same issue on he paddling.com website. The consensus seems to be glued down D rings https://forums.paddling.com/discussion/1686463/cargo-tie-down-in-the-canoe

A 9.9 on a bass boat, especially if it is glass, will be very slow. I have a 9.9 on my 14'aluminum v hull and can hit 20 mph with the wind at my back if I'm alone. With a partner I still hit 16 mph. My buddy has a 16' glass bass boat with a 9.9 and he is lucky to break 10 mph alone. With a partner he tops off at about 8 mph. If you're OK with that then go for it. I suggest looking for used bass boats that have a 9.9 and a more powerful motor. Right now I'm looking at a used Smoker Craft with a 9.9 and a 40 HP on the back along with an 80 lb thrust electic in the bow. The owner wants 3k for it. If he takes $2,500 it will be in my driveway this week.

You can buy a newer boat and encounter the same issues. I would stick with what you have. You like it and know what it needs. You can buy a newer boat and find yourself in the same position in a few years, by which time you will have replaced everthing in your current boat and it will be good to go for some time.

I would rank the jon boat first. A small jon boat can be roof topped. A trailer is better and I've seen many anglers with pickups simply loading them in the bed. For fishing it is the best platform of the three, by far. Next would be a canoe. With the right canoe you can go solo or bring a friend. Room for a cooler and perhap gear for a campout fishing trip. You can move around in a canoe. Sit, kneel and stand (the latter if you buy a stable one). Tons of room for rods and gear. Buy or build a bracket for a trolling motor. A canoe is propbably the most versatile boat you will find. I think kayaks have one advantage over canoes. If it is really windy, the wind will blow your canoe around and make fishing diffcult. Kayaks are a bit better in the wind. I have used all three. If it was simply a matter of a fishing platform, it is hard to beat a jonboat but getting it to the water alone, without a trailer can be an issue. Even a small, 9 ft jonboat can be difficult to handle. Canoes are the easiest of the three to get to the water. Kayaks are somewhere in the middle, but a good SOT kayak can weigh around 100 lbs or more and will be as difficult to deal with solo as the jonboat.

It's not a bad rod, no reason to upgrade right away.

If your Cherrywood is a spinning rod, you probably would be best off buying a baitcasting rod. Conider the Berkley Lightning or Lightning Shock, or for a little more money a Shimano Clarus or a Fenwick HMX or HMG.

I have both and both are excellent reels. I give the edge to the Curado though. The only downside is that it is more expensive than he MB, so if money is an issue I would go with the Lews.

If you aren't in a hurry, you can find good deals on Cragslist and the Facebook sales section. Beware when they say the motor ran great X years ago, but hasn't been used since. If the motor hasn't been run reguarly, carbs gum up, seals dry out and you might find yourself speding several hundred bucks getting it running again. I've seen many a 12-14 ft jon boat or V hull with trailer with an electric motor for under 1K on Craigslist and Facebook. Ocassionally with a working outboard gas motor too, but an outboard usually brings the price over 1K, at least around here. My boat is an old 14' Grumman with a Yamaha 9.9. I can get it up to 20 mph alone and about 16-17 mph with a friend (fast enough for me) and I tow it with a Toyota Rav4. It also came with a 55 lb thrust electric, fiish finder, two batteries, 6 rod holders, trailer and cover and I got it for $1900. Defintely stick with aluminum if you don't want to worry about maintenace. It's also a lot easier to handle if you are fishing solo.

Put it out and make sure you note that it leaks. Craigslist or Freecycle are also possibilities. Just mention that it needs work and let the person who grabs it decide if it is worth the work.

The Lifetime kayaks are down there with Pelican, Sun Dolphin and other cheap, rotomolded junk that will be completely warped within a few seasons. Sure, it will get you on the water cheaply, but ultimately you get what you pay for. And once you buy paddle, PFD and perhaps a rod holder and other add ons you will probably be well over $300 I suggest looking at used kayaks. You might find a fully decked out and much better kayak for a little more. And used yaks are usually sold with paddle, PFD, etc included in the price. Once you compare what you can get in a decent used yak vs. these cheap yaks, after the add ons, the price of the cheap yaks doesn't look so hot.

I frequent a pretty active fishing forum for my state. The people there are pretty tight lipped. You see a lot of photos of their catch but rarely a mention of where it was caught. Some even go as far as blacking out the background of any photos so others can't figure out where they were by looking at the background. Now if you have a secret spot in a lake or on a river that is always productive for you, or if you know of some off the beaten path stream or pond that produces for you, I can see not sharing it on the Internet. It would probably be fished out in weeks. But generally in state like New Jersey, there are few truly secret spots. Pretty much everyone who has fished any time here knows the better lakes and rivers and if not they can go to the Dept of Fish and Game website for a list of them, as well as detailed about certain locations and techniques. For me Internet fishing forums are a place to exchange ideas. I've been fishing for over 50 years and I think I have a lot to share, particularly with those new to the sport. And we anglers always have a lot to learn, no matter how long we have been at it. I've learned quite a bit here. I think sharing various techniques is fine. That should be the point of this type of forum. I am willing to share generalities about places I fish. "If you want to fish for 'x', try 'y' River north of 'z' or "Lake 'a' has a pretty good population of 'b' and using a 'c' can be really productive there." Most people who come to these forums aren't expecting you to reveal your secret hole, but appreciate some guidance. They get that here, which is why I like this site. Without that open exchange of tecniques and locations these sites become little more than brag boards. "Hey look at all of the big fish I caught, but I'm not telling you where or how". "

The Hobie is a nice boat and well regarded. Not familiar with the WS Radar. Hobie has been making pedal drives for years and has perfected it. WS is relatively new to the pedal drive game. Perhaps you tried a bum boat or perhaps the WS pedal drive is still a work in progress. Both are pretty heavy boats and you might find them difficult to car top easily. Both are probably tubs when paddling only. They build those boats for stability, not speed.

I made a similar choice when I added baitcasters to my fishing gear. I grew up with left hand retreive spinning reels and used them for neary 40 years. I also flyfish and similary use left hand retreive reels. When I bought several baitcasting rods I chose left hand retreive baitcasting reels. I can work the rod so much better with my dominant (right) hand. I can see how right side baitcasters work a bit better for fighting the fish as far as cranking, but for the purpose of working the lure I see a major advantage in using my right hand to do it. I'm used to it and can do it far better with my right hand. I think I will catch more fish by working the rod more deftly with my right hand and any advantage in cranking the fish in with a right handed baitcaster is marginal. I'm also not comfortable with fighting a fish with the rod in my left hand I would stick with left handed retreive baitcasting reels because it is what you are used to .

It is like an anchor in a manner of speaking. I'm not familar with the physics of hydronamics, but think that it is akin to a parachute in water. In a static body of water like a lake it will slow your drift. Of cours a larger one will slow your drift more so it becomes a matter of the size of your boat and the spread of the drift sock. On moving water such as rivers and strong tidal flows the benefits are lost unless the wind is a lot faster than the stream flow. Consider what might happen to a parachute caught in a sudden downdraft.

I keep mine at about a 45 degree angle most of the time. There are times I run them horizontally. It's more a matter of how I want the lure to run while trolling than sensitivity. I don't think it has much affect on that.

Drift socks come in handy in windy situations on lakes , when the wind is making your boat drift faster than you like. They will slow down your drift significantly and also help keep your boat's nose pointed into the wind and any waves (provided you secure it to the bow). They are essentially useless on moving water becuase the sock will move with the current. If the current is faster than the wind it can actually speed up your drift.