Tim Kelly

I think it is just one of those urban myths. However, in the days of the British Empire they managed to stock brown trout in the Himalayas and other parts of India. Apparently they took fertilized eggs packed in damp moss all that way by boat and maybe train, then horseback. Those trout still survive and thrive, well their descendants!

I recently bought a cuda 14. It's a bit of a handful to get on and off the roof of my van, but manageable. You only have to put it on and off twice a day after all. I got a cheap rubber backed door mat to lay on the back of the van when I'm sliding the yak on and off the roof just to protect the paint. As long as you can park withing a few yards of the water you can carry it, but I wouldn't want to go far without a set of wheels. Depends on your situation. The cuda 14 seems to be a pretty slow kayak to me, but them I have very little experience, so maybe they're all quite slow? Very easy to stand in and the high seat position is really good for fishing from, also saves you from a wet bum most of the time! Overall I'm happy with my buy, but a lighter faster hull with the same features would be even better!

I think the problem is the general advice for people to tighten up the tension on the spool so that the bait drops slowly. I have always set up my baitcasters so that it is just tight from the spool having any side to side movement. That way the spool is free to spin as fast as it can. The brakes are then set to cope with the situation, and usually they're a set and forget deal once you've got it dialled in. You have to learn to use your thumb a bit, but not that much, and you have to learn to cast smoothly. If you're trying to get the bait out further there's a tendency to try harder and the cast becomes more snatchy, which usually results in trouble. If you have to reel set up properly and cast smoothly you should be able to go from pitching to a full length cast without difficulty, though will probably have to unpick a few backlashes each day, though they shouldn't be too deep, but a slight lack of attention of sudden gust of wind can catch everybody out. If the spool is set too tight you just keep pushing the cast harder and harder to get distance and it becomes more snatchy and less successful. The reel needs to be free enough to be able to achieve the cast you're trying to make.

Not when it's inflated it isn't! If it's not inflated you might as well not be wearing one.

Knot either tied badly or getting nicked by the hook eye or tungsten weight fraying the braid would be my guesses.

I use a 7ft 2 piece mag bass medium MHX standard carbon blank for a lot of those presentations. Been a really useful versatile rod for my travelling adventures. If it's too fast for what you want switching to mono will help keep the hooks buttoned. I really like the rod and will be getting a med heavy and heavy version in time for my next travels.

I like the look of the build! It's the only thing that stops me buying factory St Croix rods at the moment. I love their blanks and have built a load of rods on them, but their factory builds I hate. The reel seats, casting and spinning, are closer to what I like than anything else they build. Shame it's only on the Avid blanks and not their better quality blanks.

I nearly had a "moment" caused by the off position once, which is why I asked. LOL Did you test continuity through the switch?

Just a dumb question, but the switch on the pedal is set to momentary or constant, not "off" is it?

No, it's not like that, it's just a couple of frames at the beginning of a shot. Like Bluebasser I think it's the editor having some fun.

I was watching some 2014 FLW shows on you tube and every now and then they cut to a new shot and for the first few frames it's like there's a flock of distant birds or flies in the sky that scatter. Anyone else noticed? What's it all about? Just the editor having some fun?

Wearing an inflatable PFD in a yak is probably not a great idea. If it is inflated you will almost certainly not be able to get yourself into the yak as it's so bulky and right in front of you. As a result, you'll have to deflate it while you're in the water to be able to get back in. Then, once you're back in the yak you will have no working PFD.

Thanks for that. I'm in the UK so availability and choice are somewhat limited.

I can't remember ever snapping the line of the hook set. I've broken a couple of rods on hook set, but not the line. Surely breaking off on the hook set is as bad an angling practice as thumbing the spool. Unless your line has abraded and you haven't noticed (bad angling) you should only even be hook setting in a way appropriate to the technique and tackle you're fishing. If your tackle is balanced properly then the drag should slip before anything bad happens, whether you're dropshotting 6lb or flipping with 65lb braid. Other than that getting broken off should only be a pike or maybe a zebra mussel. Stuff goes wrong occasionally, but if you're regularly breaking off on fish your technique or tackle has to be faulty or poorly balanced.

I know they're considered trash, but like bowfin, I think they're a blast to catch and am not disappointed when they put in an appearance. Variety is the spice of life.

That thing is a lump Dwight! Wow. I'm surprised you northern guys don't enjoy drum more. I think they're tremendous fun to catch.

Thanks for the input guys, sounds like it's just the way it is. I suppose they all use cheap thin plastics to save weight, I'm just a little disappointed that you pay so much money for such cheap looking components. I really like the cuda 12, just got to be brave and suck up the price.

There were only a couple in the store, but looking on you tube you can see the thin flimsy wobbly plastic used for the non hull parts. If you look at the big tuna films you can see the live well molding is made the same way and resembles the tray that holds chocolates in their box!

I want to get a kayak. Been looking round and on paper the Jackson cuda 12 looked like the best choice. Went to see one this morning and had a test drive, all worked well enough, easy to paddle and stand in. My big problem though is the price of the yak. The quality of the moldings is pathetic! The hull is OK, but the hatches and bins that fit onto the hull are the cheapest thinnest most rubbishy Walmart bargain bin standard. I haven't had a chance to look at equivalent kayaks from other manufacturers as there aren't many places selling yaks near me, but Jackson Kayaks seem to have premium pricing, are the less expensive manufacturers made out of even worse quality plastics? I'm not just ranting about Jackson, I genuinely want to know if that is the standard for the industry and you just have to pay what they cost and accept the build standard on all kayaks.

There isn't even a process for me to order BASS Times, mind you, they haven't managed to get me a Bassmasters magazine for about 8 months, despite various email promises.

Indian actually, but close! Love that place.

Oh goodie, I can play too! 5lb 4oz from the Rideau chain, Ont. last summer. Great day. Drop shot in about 40ft.

No bass in the UK unfortunately. Costs me a fortune to go and catch them! There are rumors that the US airmen stocked a couple of ponds on their air bases over here during the war, but as nobody's ever shown any evidence of it, I don't think it's true. If it was true, they all died out. Believe me, if the government agency in charge of our waterways ever allowed them to be stocked the British anglers would find the dullest way imaginable of catching them, probably involving camping and definitely involving bait. Fishing with artificials is a minority interest over here. Most people want to sleep and be woken up by a fish hooking itself! Sad but true.

That is awesome! Never seen that before.

I like slow because it avoids the damned pike!