basshead1

You can just upload the picture to facebook or photobucket then right click on the pic and then click copy image url. then in your post you click the little picture symbol to upload an image and paste the url.

It is the rudder. I have it on a hinge so it kicks up if it hits anything and for when I beach it.

So the time has come. I just picked up a Gheenoe and I have too many boats. My garage is getting crowded and the Bass Raider is being neglected so I will be finding a new home for her soon. She was a great first boat and I will miss her. If anyone is in SW Florida and interested hit me up because she will be going on craigslist after the weekend.

I have a Jackson Cruise 12 for my main ride and an Ascend FS10 for them cold days or if I have a guest. Both are great kayaks. I did have a Perception Pescador 12 which was a great kayak but it caused major butthurt and backhurt for me after a few hours in it.

Well there is a demo day this Saturday at a semi local kayak shop but it is over an hour drive and I already have plans to go fishing with a few buddies. Hmmmmm decisions decisions. They told me that they will have Rides and Slayers to test along with Diablo and Hobies so it will be fun if I decide to not go fishing instead. hah Maybe I can get my buddies to go demo with me. My local kayak club is having a meetup this Sunday so I may blow off the long ride and see who will let me test out their boat at the meetup and then I can fish both days this weekend. hah That seat is one of the reasons The Ride is at the top of my list now even though I have been in love with the Predator since it was released.

The Predator MX seems more open than the Slayer or the Ride but I do like how the Slayer has the padded deck. I read that the Slayer does not come with a spot to put your paddle or scupper plugs for the storage areas too. Scuppers are no biggy but no paddle holder is kind of a big deal considering I would need to make holes in the hull to add one. This will be my 4th kayak and my previous 3 all had paddle holders which I used a lot. Where do you keep your paddle when not in use? I use a leash so I could always just let it drop in the water but that doesn't sound very organised and I am kind of ocd. hah Also how hi does the slayer sit? My buddy's Cuda sits real high and he gets blown everywhere. I know the Predator sits high so it will have its wind problems too. Right now I have an Ascend fs10 and it sits really low and the wind barely moves it, I had a Perception Pescador which would get blown a little but nothing compared to my buddy's Cuda. Hold on there is more. lol Also I read that the wheel in the keel causes a bit of drag. Have you noticed it at all?

Thanks for the reply. I love the way the Slayer looks(gorgeous) but I have heard that it is not as stable as the Ride or Predator but I also hear it has the most comfortable seat. I may have to demo one if I can find a spot close by. Thanks for the reply. My buddy had the Lure but got rid of it because he said it does not paddle well. I have a bad back and I think that low back seat may not work out well for me either. Weight does not really bother me because I have a small trailer. Lately I have been using my Bass Raider and I handle that by myself with very little grunting so the Predator will be easy. hah

My birthday is next month and so are tax returns and my wife agreed to buy me another kayak. I have sat in the Predator and loved it but have yet to find a local dealer that carries a new Ride with the new seat. I have paddled my buddies older ride and it was very stable and not too slow. I mostly fish for bass and I like to fly fish for bass occasionally if the wind agrees and also hit the salt occasionally for some snook, reds, and trout on grass flats and in the mangroves. I want something I can stand in mainly with a comfortable seat. For those who paddled both which has the better seat? Which is faster? Or should I just look at the Predator 13 vs Ride 135? So many questions, I can not decide. heh Well if anyone has paddled either or or both please let me know the pros and cons if you could. I may also consider a Slayer, who knows. Thanks ahead.

It was at a touristy place called Manatee Park on the Orange River and there is an observation/fishing dock with half a dozen people on it and not 1 with a camera rolling. It would've been worth the embarrassment for a video to prove my story. I dumped a couple rods but came back at low tide and got em back. A reel ended up rusting out but Abu replaced it but the Shimano is still smooth as ever. Most mullet skip once or twice but this one got me on the third and it changed his direction like he was aiming. hah

Perception Sport Pescador 12s are great deals and you can find em on sale at Academy, Dick's and Amazon for a good price. I paid $429 shipped for mine off of Amazon. I used it for 2 years and just sold it for $400. I only sold it because I have only used it 4 times since I got my Bass Raider and I was cleaning my garage. I have had it in 4 foot washing machine chop and 30mph winds and it was dry inside when I was done(and I am still alive heh). I only flipped it one time and that was because I had a 2foot mullet jump into my boat with me and it wacked me in the nads. I lifted my butt out of the seat and my leg to the side and I rolled like it was a log. hah Other than that one time I have always felt super stable in it as long as my butt was in the seat. You can even sit sideways and soak your feet.

I use a double bladed kayak paddle and it works better. It takes a few strokes to get going but once you build up momentum it glides nice. I pull out my trolling motor and just paddle if I find myself getting stuck in thick weeds or lilies. I also have an 8 foot stick anchor that I use as a push pole sometimes.

My pb(no scale) was caught under a mixed patch of weeds(palms, cat tails, ect) on a little tiny 3 foot island with about 3 foot depth on its banks that dropped down to 10 feet really steeply. I was using a 10 inch Rage Tail Anaconda w/rattle and if I remember correct it was watermelon w/red flake. My 2nd best was caught in the same spot but with a 6" Berkley Power Hawg w/rattle.

That crack fishing really works and that episode cracked me the f up. How do I know about crack fishing you ask? Well about 20 years ago me and my buddy went to our daily fishing spot after work. When we showed up there were empty beer cans, a cigarette pack and a big empty bag of chips. The first thing my buddy did was pick up all the crap and put it all in the giant chip bag. When he picked up the smokes it was not empty but it contained a few cigarettes still along with a tiny ziplock bag with what we assumed to be little crack rocks. We are quite the stoners but neither of us cared much for anything other than that and we did not want to bring it with us in the car until we got to a barrel. So we did what most stoner fishermen would do, we started throwing the little rocks in the water. Most sank right away or were so small they dissolved but the few that floated caused a bluegill feeding frenzy. We told our buddy about it and the approximate amount of cocaine and he informed us that we fed an 8-ball to sunfish and we were lucky no drunk crackheads came back looking for their stash. hah We returned to our spot the next day to find a bunch of sunfish walking around the pond trying to sell fish sex for crack. hah First part was a true story but fish hookers not so true. lol http://youtu.be/RzLBSFI1PvA

It happened to me too but only if it was turned to the side, then 1 end kicks up and the motor leans a bit. I cut out some rubber from an old inner tube and glued it onto the end of the screw holder thingamajigs and it sticks nice now, before it was metal on metal.

Like others have said above. Fishgrips are key because they extend your t-rex arms. hah I tire them out a bit more too so they don't flop around so much in the yak and hurt themselves or hook me. It also depends on the kayak you are using. My kayak sits low but some of them newer yaks sit up higher than my Bass Raider(which I keep a net in to save my back).