HeavyTwenty

The Radar 135 with pedal drive costs more than the Outback. The pedal drive isn't included with the hull.

I was wondering if others could comment on some of my experiences so far. Radar 135 w/ Helix Pedal Drive The drive system was "wobbling" near the top part of the unit http://i.imgur.com/NeyxTMQ.png (marked in red). I asked the salesman about it and he said it was normal. There's no wobbling in this video https://youtu.be/kSyzdgUxVFY?t=380 and the wobbling felt really weird. I activated my phone's gps and was basically doing ~4.5 mph while pedaling and paddling. The paddling speed is what I expected; I can do about 6 mph on my Tarpon 120 because its much narrower. But I was hoping for about 5-5.5 mph while pedaling. Basically I suspect the drive unit I demoed could have been defective. Hobie Outback w/ 180 Pedal Drive I could haul ass in this thing, 6+ mph. It seemed to maneuver much better using the rudder than the Radar; I could make really tight turns. My main issue was switching over to paddling. I tried paddling with just the fins setup like this http://www.kayakfishing.blog/uploads/2/4/9/1/24916216/hobie-mirage-drive-fins-flat_orig.jpg, but I struggled to paddle @ 3.5 mph. I should have pulled the drive unit up and tested it. I'll probably send an email out on Monday, asking them to double check the wobble on the Radar.

Berkley chigger craw and Rage tail craw feel about equal to me. The Berkley chigger craw seems more durable. It also feels like it moves more water on the retrieve, but I think the Rage craw might have more action on the fall. I use Zoom 3.5" ultra craw on finesse presentations.

edit: Yes, you can use spinners for topwater, spinnerbaits, and drop shots. Baitcasters are definitely not necessary. I often bank fish with 2 spinning reels whenever I go to tough ponds because finesse works better in my area. But when I'm on my kayak, I use my 2 baitcasters about 85% of the time.

Caught using BPS black buzz bait. I didn't weigh her, but she felt about 6.5 lbs. She fought like a 1 lber; no fight when I dragged her through the grass... must be weak from spawning?

Personally I think pedal yaks are the next step evolution of paddle kayaks (for fishing), so I don't mind them being included. But a yak with a motor doesn't belong.

I only use 1/4 oz in really shallow water. 1/2 oz seems better, but I use 3/8 oz from Academy ($3 sales).

Pumpkin or green craw strike king bitsy flip 3/8 with pumpkin fat albert. Its smaller than even finesse jigs but seems to work well. http://i.imgur.com/eAGis1b.jpg I also use a certain branded jig that has two solid rubber weedguards and I haven't lost a single one in over a year. I quit using most traditional jigs because I lose those so frequently.

Pitboss (junebug/green pumpkin/watermelon/blackblue) Any 5" senko, but I use BPS (junebug/green pumpkin/watermelon) Any 10" ribbontail worm (junebug/green pumpkin/watermelon) Zoom Super Fluke (smokin shad/watermelon) Zoom Trick worm (junebug/green pumpkin/watermelon) Those 5 are what I use about 75% of the time. I try to buy stuff on sale and just experiment for the other 25% of the time.

Any reason to prefer the spinning setup over casting? I find I like the grip better on spinning for wrist jerking (or walking the dog spooks), but I wasn't sure if it was because my casting rods were more optimized for pitching/texas rig.

I've had a slow 2017 until this week. Caught both in the same area, maybe same bed, 3 days apart. Both off of watermelon trick worm on a bubba shot. Battery was dead on scale for the first one, but it was 22.5". Second bass was much thicker, 22" @ 6lb13oz. For whatever reason they look kind of small in the photos, I'm guessing its camera angle. PBs for retention ponds+bank fishing.

Lowest water temperature I recorded last year was 52-55F. Ended up catching a lot of pickerel that day. The bass do seem to move out deeper, but deep in my areas is like 8-13 ft. I'd say winter fishing is probably easier than the hottest part of summer (late July-September were slow for me), but we did have a warm winter last year.

Z-hog seems to have less action than some of the others. Pitbosses are also cheaper.

I am considering getting a MH moderate or mod-fast with braid baitcaster setup for spinners/chatterbaits/swim jigs. I was wondering if anyone had experience using treble hooks (square bill, lipless crankbaits, and spooks are my most used trebles) on the same setup (I fish off a kayak, so I can only bring 3-4 setups). Currently I'm using a MF spinning rod with Yozuri hybrid for my lighter cranks and spooks, but I do not like the Yozuri hybrid line. I've read that it doesn't have as much stretch as mono, but I still find it rubber-bands way too much for my preference, especially if I bomb a cast while bank fishing. I also find it difficult to rip off of grass and weeds because of the rubber-banding and did not have that issue when using braid. Also, does anyone have an opinion on short shank trebles? I've heard they're better when using low stretch line.

https://www.airbnb.com/ I just go to their map and look around for houses near lakes. If its a decent fishing location, they usually have a free kayak or canoe available.

Not looking forward to the power outages. Lost power for 10 days in 2004. Is fishing any good post-hurricanes?

Lews was very nice to me too. Free two day delivery on free replacement parts.

I drag my kayak through this tunnel to get to an unpressured pond, 10 mins away from my house. Its worth it for the easy fishing.

I pitch with a left handed baitcaster. If I ever get a boat (so I can hold more rods) I'd probably alternate when using retrieving style baits so my wrist don't get worn out. Chatterbaits in particular seem to wear me out.

1/16 works really well with trick worm. I'll use it with other baits if the bite seems really bad. I think the slower fall rate helps when the fish are lethargic. 3/16 is my normal casting t-rig, but I use 3/8 a lot if I want to pitch and cast a t-rig. I switch to 1/8 if its too windy for 1/16, and switch to 1/4 if its too windy for 3/16. 1/2 is mostly just for pitching for me. I don't really fish deep in Florida.

Seems like they over grease spinning reels too. I just got a Stradic CI4 (for salt water usage) and it felt slow and mushy (almost difficult to crank). Its annoying to have to open a reel and do maintenance right after buying it...

I wish my local stores had junebug pit bosses in stock... black/blue just doesn't seem to get me as many bites.

Depends on the waters you want to fish. I enjoy kayaking a lake about 3500 ft (.66 miles) in diameter (its pretty close to a circle). Any larger than that is kind of a pain unless you want to do more cardio than fishing. Kayak is also useful for fishing difficult to reach ponds. I've fished some small ponds that I haven't seen anyone else at and catch a ton of fish because they're unpressured. Personally I plan on buying a jon boat soon but I'll keep my kayak, maybe even upgrade to a better kayak later. If you do go the kayak route, you probably want to buy used on craigslist... 50% off retail price + no tax and kayaks don't really deteriorate. I got such a good deal on my Tarpon 120 that I could probably sell it at a higher price than what I bought it.

This is my first time to Rodman Reservoir. I've been trying to visit all of the major lakes in my area before I purchase a boat hopefully within the year. I'm not sure how often I'll actually visit Rodman after I get a boat because those hidden tree stumps seem dangerous... I almost tipped over in my kayak when going over one at about 4 mph. I caught 7 fish through 9 hours, which is better than I expected since I wasted a lot of time just exploring. Missed a 5+ lb bass, a smaller bass, and a bunch of gar. Red = flipping catches, green = gar missing my swim jig, blue = 5+ lb bass jumped swim jig hook, purple = big school of 3 lb bass The flipping wasn't as good I expected. All of my flipping catches were at isolated matted vegetation near the shore, but besides those spots I didn't really see anything that stuck out as high probability. I went to the matted islands way off shore and fished those for nearly 2 hours and didn't get a single bite. I might try punching through some of them, but I'm pretty inexperienced at that. I went out to the stump fields but only seen a ton of gar. Seen a big school of bass about 200 yards away from shore and caught two before I spooked them (second catch pulled me onto the group). I came across a lot of bass just sitting in sparse weeds (too thick for chatterbait or swim jig though), so I tried buzz baiting through those sections but not a single bite. Next trip I'll try going west of the boat ramp. There seems to be better flipping opportunities out there.

I've only been fishing on westside Jacksonville for about a year, but I have the same experience. 80-90% of my small pond catches are from bottom contact plastics. I can't get moving baits to work consistently in small ponds (<25 acre), but they work fine in larger bodies of water while in my kayak. Drop shot w/ wacky senko or finesse worm seems to work well in weedless pond. For weedy ponds I usually use t-rig weightless senko, weightless fluke, or t-rig trickworm with 1/16oz weight.