The Rooster

I only kayak on days where the combined air and water temperatures meet or exceed 120°, and the water is at least 60° of that. I just wade out. In colder weather I just use my boat instead.

I have a couple but in the interest of listing just one I’ll go with the one I think most other people wouldn’t have. I can cast a spinning rod with my right or left hand, either one, with equal accuracy. How that happened was I got started fishing by borrowing a rod from a left handed friend, and I didn’t switch his set up, I just used it how he had it, with the handle on the right. I casted left handed all that spring, and when I bought my own rod I set it up the same way and continued using it “left handed”. Then I got a baitcaster but I casted it right handed. So after a number of years I got good at landing baits accurately using either hand. I still don’t cast a baitcaster left handed very well although I can do it, but with a spinning rod I can switch hit. I guess that keeps me from being completely worn out when fishing, since I cast my spinning rod left handed as a rule, and cast my baitcaster right handed.

I won’t allow my kayak to drag on the ground that way and be scratched up. I always turn mine around backward, stern in the water and just barely beach the bow. Then wade out knee deep and sit down on it, which often causes the front end to float up and come loose. If it doesn’t then it takes very little for me to push off. I realize this would put me walking in the mud, but often that isn’t an issue for me.

I’m late to the party and probably underdressed for it considering what these kayaks sound like. Mine is a Pelican Rally 100XP. 10’ long, 30” wide, weighs 41 pounds, and it has no electronics and no power of any kind except for muscle power. But I did buy it brand new in late September and it was a bit of a weight capacity downsize from my old Magellan Pro Angler 10’3” that weighed about 60 pounds. Overall capacity dropped from 325 down to 300. I’m 6’1” and was 265 pounds at the time. I knew if I wanted the Pelican to work I’d have to shed weight. Since then I’ve lost 18 pounds and now sit at 247 with a goal of about 235 by spring. I’ve spent the winter customizing my kayak, adding a Railblaza Rod Holder II in front, changing the grab handles from the dangling rope type to the strap type, added two storage pouches near the seat, added a track and cupholder in front of the seat, two flush mount rod holders behind the seat, and a Yak Attack Pad-Loc paddle clip on one side. Also after having 4 kayaks I’ve now built my first kayak crate. I went with a standard milk crate and added tactical pouches along the outside for soft plastics storage, another pouch made for kayaks on the inside for item storage when not in use (pliers and scale move up front when on the water), and I rigged a bungee system to retain three 3600 size boxes and one 3500 size. The two rod holders are Railblaza Rod Stows, chosen because of the mount fitting perfectly in the recessed area of the crate. I made a bungee system to be able to secure my rods against loss when in the stows. Then I dressed it up with neon accents all around just to make it look good, but also to help with function since often I’ll be feeling behind myself for a zipper pull or rod lash using peripheral vision only. Neon stands out against black. There is also an empty space in the bottom for bulk storage of whatever I want while on the water, and it serves to hold my removable front rod holder, and cup holder, and FRS radio when I am done for the day. All stowed together. I designed this “system” to be a grab and go setup so I don’t need to remember to pack anything and don’t have to pick apart my boat tackle before trips. I’m calling it my “yakklebox”. With the crate, my kayak can hold up to 5 rods, all secured by bungee and hook system, or in the locking front rod holder.

From left to right: 1. Cheap Lew’s Classic 6’8” M/F combo, paid $50 at Walmart. Original reel didn’t wind line correctly onto the spool unless under a load. It worked well for spinnerbaits for that reason, but most other baits not so much. I removed the reel and put a Pflueger Trion 30 in its place to make it usable but this rod doesn’t get much use. It’s kind of a spare. Combo is 1 year old. 2. St. Croix Mojo 6’8” M/XF “wacky” rod. Daiwa Fuego LT 2500 reel with 10# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. I use it for wacky rigs, but also topwaters and jerkbaits. Combo is 4 years old. This rod is in my hand the second most often of all of them. 3. St. Croix Premier 6’6” ML/F rod. Daiwa Exceler LT 2500 reel with 8# Trilene mono line. I use this rod for light crankbaits, inline spinners, and weightless plastics. Also makes a wonderful crappie rod. I’ve been told it might be a good drop shot rod too. Haven’t tried that yet. Combo is 4 years old. 4. Shimano Convergence 6’6” M/F rod. BPS Extreme 6.8:1 reel with 12# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. This is my main crankbait rod. It is in my hand more often than any other rod. Rated at M/F but feels more like a M/M. It has a soft tip with a lot of flex deep into the blank. The rod is about 6 years old now. It’s had two different reels so far. Wore out an Abu Garcia Orra 2 SX on it. Current reel is one year old. Lost this combo in the bottom of the lake last year off the kayak but the bait floated back to the top so I was able to retrieve it. 5. BPS Fish Eagle 6’6” MH/F rod. BPS Extreme 7.5:1 reel with 15# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. This is my spinnerbait, jig, and worm rod. I love the tapered hour glass shaped handle of this rod! Bought the rod and reel new last year. I didn’t use it much though so it has yet to land a fish. Rod blank is stiffer than my other MH. 6. Shimano Compre 6’6” MH/F rod. BPS Extreme 6.8:1 reel with 15# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. I use it for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, lipless crankbaits, and plastics rigs. This rod once landed a large catfish on a 1/2oz spinnerbait where the fight was so intense that the bait was mangled and the hook was opened up and twisted sideways. The rod blank held firm but it was bent U shaped during the fight and the fish dragged my plastic bass boat around with us two guys along for the ride. Ever since then this rod has felt “softened” to me. So I originally was going to replace it with the Fish Eagle rod above, but once I got the new one I began to just want to keep and use them both. The Compre rod was actually posted to this thread back when this thread was new 16 years ago. It was also new back then. I still have it after all this time and it’s been through 4 different reels. Current reel is one year old. Reels this rod has seen: 1. BPS Extreme ETX10HD (old green/gold model) 2. Shimano Curado 200E7 3. Abu Garcia Orra 2 SX HS 4. BPS Extreme EMX10HA (current silver model) The rod rack was made from a pine 1x4 in my wood shop. I didn’t finish stain it, just left it natural.

Latest BPS order came in. $112 doesn’t go very far anymore.

I got one once that a friend had ordered for me. My first name is Duane but he had it sent to me addressed to “Dink”.

Haven’t bought it yet but the one I want is a St. Croix Premier 6’6” M/F, purely for the foregrip on the rod. For comfort, that’s where I hold the rod. Probably will put a Bass Pro Shops Carbonlite 2.0 reel on it, or some other similar Daiwa 2500 spinning reel.

I always have at least one rod with a 5” Yum Dinger wacky rigged on a 3/0 EWG hook. Either Watermelon Pearl Laminate or Black/Blue Flake colors. Also fish a variety of crankbaits, but the Bandit 200 and 300 are fished more than most. Those have been responsible for most of my bass catches for the last several years. I fished from an 8.5’ Sundolphin Sportsman for about 5 years. After I modified the heck out of it, it turned out to be a pretty nice little boat. But eventually I went back to a larger vessel with an outboard again.

I got a catalog last week. I figure it is because I ordered twice from the site last year, as well as made a several hundred dollar purchase at one of the stores and may have given them my name and address at that time. I’ve noticed during years I don’t order from them that I don’t automatically get a catalog. Usually have to call and ask for one. I miss the old catalog layout from years ago that had product information charts showing all the specs of each rod, reel, and lure model. All the color and size options. Now it’s just a generic reminder that they still have these items with a single photo of just one of the available options, the retail price of it, and then you are directed to the website to see other colors and sizes available. So you have to use the site regardless. Can’t simply shop from the catalog only.

I don’t have a specific brand I seek out. But I do have specific requirements. In baitcast reels, they must always have aluminum frames and brass gears. I won’t settle for less, or “more”, the more being aluminum gears or magnesium frame or whatever else space age material they use. When it comes to aluminum gears I truly believe they are inferior to brass and incapable of remaining smooth. I’ve seen too many expensive reels with them that felt like a coffee grinder while my cheaper reels with brass gears were still smooth even after years of use. Since the specifics of my choices seem to generally align with reels in the $100 range, this makes them very affordable, so I never worry about trying to catch them on sale, although it is nice to catch a sale when I’m looking for a reel, if the timing is right. Last year I replaced my aging Abu Orra SX reels with new Bass Pro Extremes. I bought four of them at once and managed to find them on sale for $60 each so that turned out nice. Also I seem to have a preference for the Doyo manufactured reels (Pflueger, Lew’s, Abu and their knockoffs, and even one Daiwa, the CA80) so that’s why I went with the Bass Pro reels. They fit my hands well and are light weight enough without being too light weight. I like a little weight to feel like I have a substantial tool in my hand instead of something fragile. That’s purely a state of mind, but the feeling is important. Usually these reels are 7.0oz to 7.4oz, which works out well for me. Then there is the cosmetic factor. A reel must appeal to me and these tend to do that. When I’ve settled on one model as my choice, I buy them all the same but in different gear ratios. I DO NOT mix and match baitcaster brands or different models. For spinning reels my wants are much the same. They all need to be from the same brand, and have a similar feel. A brass pinion gear is a must, but as far as I know, nobody makes one with a brass drive gear also, so a zinc drive gear and brass pinion will do. For as long as they are available, I also won’t buy one that does not have the on/off anti-reverse switch. This seems to be a feature they’re starting to remove from reels, but I use it. Also, handle bearings are important to me in both spinning and baitcast reels. I had that hangup years ago but later thought maybe it didn’t matter that much, so I bought two spinning reels without paying any attention to that detail. One was a Daiwa Fuego LT and the other an Exceler LT. Neither has handle bearings, but the Fuego can have them added. The Exceler cannot. After four years of use, the Exceler paddle grip now has some slop in it that can’t be fixed. So I plan to order and replace the handle with a reel handle from a Bass Pro Shops’ Daiwa made Carbonlite 2.0 spinning reel. Should be a direct swap, and I know that handle has bearings in it already. I’ve had one before. I’ll also get some bearings and add in to the Fuego too. Concerning the baitcast handle bearings, I’ve already converted my Extremes to 9 bearing reels by adding bearings to replace the handle bushings. Otherwise, on spinning reels, one crucial requirement is the weight of the reel. The Daiwa 2500 size 7.2oz reels are perfect, and nearly all others of similar size are too heavy by a full ounce. So in that regard, I’d now be brand locked to Daiwa for spinning reels.

I don’t think canoes are uncool, I think they are just unappreciated. Dad had one as I was growing up, a 17’ Grumman. Bought it new in 1969 and it’s still in the family. My sister has it now. Last summer dad fished from it again at age 80 and caught a nice bass in it. Years back in the 90’s, it would be dad, me, and my brother all fishing from it together. I was always up front. My brother sat on a home made seat made from a lawn chair bottom, hanging from the cross bracing in the middle of the canoe. Dad was always in the rear. Dad is an excellent paddler using the J stroke to steer while never removing the paddle from the water at all. Doing this, you can paddle a canoe and remain totally silent! Kayak paddling is noisy! However, for myself, I never wanted to get one of my own. I always thought they were unstable. We never did roll it though, and now that I did finally get into kayaks I realized a canoe is no less stable than kayaks are. Plus I’ve seen some really cool modern canoes that have a lot of kayak like features. Nice high back seats, built in storage, cup holders, and they could even be customized to hold more. Here’s a pic from last summer of dad enjoying his canoe one more time. He and my brother took it out on Blaine Creek in Fallsburg, KY.

I have pain in the next joint up instead of that one, on the other end of that bone. It’s not often but it comes on several times a year. I attribute it to repeated screen tapping on my phone to stuff like replying to this post. If this is you, I would say less typing for posting and responses might help.

This is the year I decided to set up an entirely separate tackle system for my kayak so I don’t have to rifle through my boat tackle to get what I want for each kayaking trip. In the last three weeks I’ve spent about $375 including the Bass Pro order I just placed but haven’t yet received. So this is only part of what I’ve bought. But about half of those spinnerbaits you see there are for the boat, and then I took a bunch from the boat to add to the kayak, as well as some more crankbaits, and a whole lotta plastics. I don’t fish jigs much so I only have a couple just to represent that area. Usually I bottom fish with a T-rig.

I don’t buy rods at that price point (yet), as my current stopping point is the St. Croix Premier or Mojo lines. However, when I feel the need to go higher again, it would be the G Loomis GCX as my next stopping point, and it would be precisely because of how they look and feel. Old school handle designs are and always will be better. In the 90’s virtually all rods had a full cork grip with reel seats that were of comfortable, common sense designs. Spinning rods had a foregrip with enough room for a full hand grip. I don’t mind a split grip either, but not one where the handle is shaved away so much that my hand rides on the rod blank and is uncomfortable to hold onto. It’s when the manufacturer has used some ugly, uncomfortable reel seats or handle design in order to make their rod stand out and be attractive to the younger generation that they lose me. The Fuji ACS reel seat forever stands out as an example of this. That thing should never have existed. It’s painful to use. Designs just got worse from there. And spinning rods often don’t even have a foregrip at all now, which is a totally brainless design. So for me, if I needed to spend more to get the comfort I want, G Loomis would get my money based on old school designs alone. As for any other cosmetic details, a basic black rod with some other complementary secondary color for guide wraps and graphics is fine with me. Nothing else is necessary or desired. I guess I’m getting to be an old man now since I’ll be 51 this year but I’ve had this viewpoint since I was in my 30’s. Prior to that it wasn’t necessary.