HeavyDluxe

Greetings from a recovering Harringtonian...

Yes, I saw you had one... My point in mentioning that I had the Ride, too, was simply to say that I can sympathize with the pains you're experiencing re: hauling it around. Literally. The other point was just that, I think, there is a big difference in the ergonomics of fishing out of a SOT vs a SINK. Until you get out to try to fish out of a SINK, no one can tell you whether you'll like it or not. For me, the Ride is worth hauling around specifically because it's so much nicer to fish from. I get so much enjoyment that I'm more than willing to suffer a bit with loading/unloading. I am building a PVC-based cart this summer (see http://tinyurl.com/7o3zjpy). This will help when I'm having to haul the yak up the trails to some of our more remote waters. Good luck - even with the jonboat.

The Pungo is just about the most popular kayak out there... You'll find them all over the place, and perhaps you can find someone who will let you take theirs for a spin. I've fished out of my SINK (a Perception Sport 10.5) and it's definitely do-able. You just have to learn to manage your gear differently. That said, I bought a Ride 115 and wouldn't go back to fishing out of my SINK unless I had to... the 'ergos' of fishing from a SOT just suit me much, much better. With that in mind, there are smaller, lighter SOTs that might be worth checking out (the Jackson Cruise is ~20 lbs lighter, for example) in order to just make hauling your boat more manageable. Hope that helps.

Big thing about cartopping without racks (which is what I, like you, do): Make sure that the straps are 'straight' across the body of the kayak when you cinch them down. If they're 'angled', they can work down and that puts slack in the straps. When you've cinched it down, go the front and wiggle the boat. You can't eliminate all the side-to-side play, but you can get close. The key is to make sure the *front-to-back* play is out. Again, if the boat shifts forward/back it can put slack in the straps and things can start to move. Final thing... I use three straps - one each ahead of, and behind, the widest part of the boat. Then a final 'belly strap' across the widest part. Probably overkill, but - like you - I don't want a problem. Note: I've had absolutely *zero* problems hauling my kayak anywhere. Through lack of care, I have scratch the top of my beater car a bit, but who cares? However, the boat has never been at risk. Don't let yourself be too worried about it.

Just a 'hello' from a former Delawarean neighbor... Grew up in Harrington, my father's family were in Milford all their life. Tight lines, bro.

It's more than possible, just takes practice. I fish exclusively with spinning gear, and start jig fishing seriously last year. The biggest difference I can see is that you lose a little 'spool control' with spinning gear, so you have to be more accurate with your cast. That is, you can't brake the speed of the cast by thumbing the reel on spinning gear like you can on baitcasting. Have fun!

I'm bigger than you, and the WS Ride 115 or 135 would be my choice. There are plenty of boats out for 'robust' anglers these days... the big thing is to get out and paddle as many as you can to find what fits you.

Last season, I bought an el cheapo barbell weight (15lbs) from Walmart on clearance. It tucks behind the seat in front of the crate I use for carrying tackle in the tankwell. I used a cheap cleat to tie it off, but this year I'm hoping to make a trolley system like this using some paracord. http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2012/02/diy-no-drill-kayak-anchor-trolley.html I used them all last season... I'm big enough that I carry a little water in the tankwell otherwise. If I was fishing in moving water where I'm apt to take on much water, I'd pull them out. I don't use one... so, I'm interested in other people's feedback. I bought a small dry bag from EMS that will fit my keys, wallet (I carry just a couple cards in a small sleeve), and my cell phone. I attach it to the cord inside the center hatch well just between my legs or to the bungees that hold the seatback in place.

FWIW, I stocked up on 3/8oz brush jigs from Siebert last year... They're great. However, for the waters and cover I fish, I actually think I should've bulked up on 1/4oz jigs. Once you put a trailer on a 3/8oz jig, you have a pretty stout thing dangling on your line and the fall rate is pretty significant. It's been me experience that, more often than not, a slower fall rate produces a more consistent bite. And most of these New England waters are not so deep that I need much to get to, or maintain contact with, the bottom. So, Sieberts products are top-notch and I can't say enough about them. However, I would just advise maybe staying on the lower side of your weight range if you're going to be fishing with trailers. (That said, I'm a noob at jig fishing, so take this comment with the requisite grain of salt. Which, I think, means the whole shaker...)

Aberdeen hooks and whatever you want on them... when they are feeding aggressively/competitively, they'll bite an empty hook. One of the best baits we used last year, honestly, was small chunks/strips cut from old, discarded senkos I used for bass fishing. Worms, crickets, bread, hotdog bits, whatever... The big thing is the longer-shank (aberdeen) hooks so you can unhook 'em.

One note on the cheaper brand kayaks... Just caveat emptor. Sure, they're kayaks. But, sometimes they are not completely designed the same. We bought one of the knockoffs for the kids from a Job Lots store. It floats, but it tracks (travels in a straight line) terribly. Lots of extra effort to paddle any given distance.

I think the first priority would be to sort out exactly what kinda ride you want... Making the decision based solely on pricepoint (where mostly comparable) isn't wise, IMO. I think you'd be better served to decide what platform best suits what you want in your angling experience and then target you searching to good deals in that category. I personally have found an angling kayak to be the best fit for me, the kinds of water I fish, and the area in which I fish 'em. A good fishing yak will get me out in the early spring once ice is gone and keep me on the water 'til it all hardens (including rivers/streams). Of course, that's just what works for me and may be worth exactly [*bleep*] to you. Two things, though, if you decide to go the kayak route (which is all I can speak to): 1) Our local shop always has clearance models around at the end of the season. And, also they have had blemished stock of both past and current models from time to time. I bought a then-brand-new cosmetic blem Ride 115 for a very aggressive price. The blem (flecks of red in the sand color, and one Ride sticker all munged up) didn't bother me on a boat that's going to be bumped on rocks and have fish guts all over it. Craigslist is a GREAT place, along with the various kayak angling sites, to look for people selling off one boat to upgrade to another. In short, buy once and buy what you like. 2) I wouldn't be too worried about hauling any of the standard angling kayaks. If I can bolt my Ride to the roof of my compact Hyundai, I bet you'll be able to manage, too. Good luck.

+1

Trying to say things that I haven't seen said rather than just "THIS". So, I bought my first nice knives this year and, being the obsessive kinda person I am, that lead to me having to know everything I could about sharpening. A couple thoughts: I think stones/diamond plates are the best, all-around tools. The downside to stones is that they wear and need to be leveled periodically or your sharpening efficiency will go down. I wound up going with small diamond plates... More expensive to start, but easily carried and efficient. (edit: If you get comfortable with using stones, you have the benefit of training your hand to find the blade angle and maintain it - as opposed to depending on a sharpening system to maintain the angle for you. That means that, in the event you really had to sharpen a knife in the field in an emergency, you could likely do so sufficiently to cut what needed cutting using two flat rocks - one more coarse, the other more fine - that you could find near a river or something.) The other aspect to sharpening that I haven't seen addressed here is blade geometry/grind. Make sure you know the real shape of the blade from the bevel to the cutting edge and, if the knife has one, at the cutting (aka secondary) bevel that actually runs at the sharp edge. If you don't know approach sharpening the knife in a way fitting for that blade shape, you'll find yourself having to work harder to get things cleaned up and you'll not have a lot of cutting efficiency. Last thing, blade maintenance. In addition to whatever you get to sharpen/rework the blade, get or make something that will allow you to easily touch-up the edge after every use. For example, a small ceramic rod or leather strop with polishing compound can be used to 'polish up' the edge and take out small rolls quickly. This keeps the razor sharp and keeps you from having to use the stones (which remove more metal) as often. Hope that helps and adds to the discussion. edit: FWIW, here's the best article series I found on knife sharpening in my internet travels. Hope it helps. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/26036-knife-maintenance-and-sharpening/

I always heard that joke like this growing up: Guy 1: I wish I could do that. Guy 2: That dog'd bite you!!

I just started fishing jigs... For the conditions I fish, 3/8oz seems to be plenty of weight and I feel like a slower fall is generally better. re: the size of fish - I'm not a fish biologist, but I've read a fair bit and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Admittedly, these are generalizations, but... It seems like bigger fish want to eat efficiently - exerting minimal effort for maximum reward. And so a jig, which typically mimics a craw, represents a slow-evading, high nutrient/calorie meal and thus is attractive to fatties. Smaller fish, in contrast, have to be ultra-aggressive in order to compete for food and so they are more likely to strike any number of things you put in front of them (assuming it's not perceived to be a threat). This characteristic is what makes bass fishing so much fun.

FWIW, regarding the weight issue: I bought a cheap bathroom rug from StuffMart. I lay it over the rear window of my car - starting just above the window on the frame and extending down to the just hang over the edge of the trunk. (Yes, I have a small car.) When I want to load the boat onto the car, I just lift the nose onto the rug, get behind the boat, and slide it up onto the roof. I use a pool noodle bit to catch/roll the nose of the yak forward. Then I insert my foam blocks, strap down, and get on the road. That makes the weight much more manageable and might be helpful.

What's the total price for the package? My local StuffMart sells a Pflueger President combo. It's a 6035 sized President spinning reel on a 6'6 MF graphite rod... The whole combo is either $69 or $79 bucks. I bought one of these a couple years ago and it worked very well. This past season, I decided to 'upgrade' the rods and made a trip to BPS. Let's just say that the rod which came on the Pflueger combo I bought fights well above its weight class in terms of quality and sensitivity. There's a clear step down in quality to the rods I purchased, even though they were much more expensive (proportionally). I don't claim that this experience is normative, and YMMV. However, I just throw it out to say that there are some `decent spinning combos at your local` stores.

Congrats... I absolutely love the Ride 115 (though I have the non-X version). Curious what you thought of the Old Town Predator. I'm toying with adding a second boat to the fleet this summer and, knowing you liked/preferred the Ride, I'm curious what you thought the difference were. Edit: Oh, and those new colors (like Dusk) are absolutely amazing.

Being able to stand up in a kayak has as much to do with your size and sense of balance as it does with boat design. To put it differently, I have friends who can stand up in their LL Bean sit-inside cruisin' kayaks. I don't think they find it 'easy' or would want to try to fish like that, but they can stand. I'm neither that light nor that limber... If you can paddle the boat before you buy, do that... You might be surprised what works for you and what doesn't.

+1 again, A-Jay... I just wish people who felt like OCing to exercise their rights would just do that... All to often, as this thread has discussed, people want to make a show out of something and invite confrontation. That's dumb, and does little for gun rights overall, IMHO.

Obviously, the guy's jigs are first class. But, what should be emphasized again is the time that Mike is willing to spend with someone to educate them and, thus, get them what they need. As someone who reached out to him before I started jig fishing, I am especially thankful for his service. I'm a better angler (and better equipped) for it.

I use an inflatable (a Hobie-branded knockoff of the Mustangs). I like the freedom of motion, the way it keeps me cool, and I fish mainly flatwater. I'm also a Big, Beautiful Angler (BBA) and so I like as little as possible around my girth.

Great boat! Congrats! Before you start mod'ing the boat, spend a little while just fishing it stock. You'll be surprised how quickly you start thinking of ideas/needs, eliminating things that you know you don't need, and debating back and forth re: placement in your head. The more knowledge/experience you have before you grab the drill, the better. The one place that I would probably buck my own advice is in the setup of a basic tankwell box for tackle. Lots of people use milk crates (I do) though there are other solutions out there. A quick google search on 'fishing kayak milk crate' or 'fishing kayak rigging' will get you more info than you could possibly want. Good luck... I entered the kayak fishing ranks last season. My only regret is that I didn't get out on the water more!

I reload .223, but not the .223 AI... When I was starting, I found this guide on 6mmBR. Perhaps it will be helpful to you, as well. http://www.6mmbr.com/223rem.html