Boomstick

So I took my kayak out on Somerset Reservoir, located in the green mountains of Vermont. I caught a rock bass my first cast and eight smallies, nothing large. But it was nice to be in 81 degree weather when it was 92 back home. Both the online maps and Garmin maps are wrong. They show the creek channel being near the east side when it was actually on the west side. I fished the east side until 8pm, realized I pedaled 3 miles and when I went back, I found and followed the creek channel and found some more spots for next time. It was a good test of my new GPSMap 943xsv and GT56UHD though, sidevu was bright and clear to at least 150 feet which is definitely a significant upgrade over my old GT54UHD. Loving the new Old Town Bigwater. I was able to pedal back at around 4.5mph into a decent current. Here’s a few pics https://1drv.ms/f/s!AhZmMB-Fz0_2j9MC5LgpfuldtkGl3Q

I have been using Daiwa J-Braid Grand x8 lately in 50# and 65# depending which reel I grab. I've used several other braids over the years though and most of them largely all behave similarly minus maybe noise passing through the guides. Regular Power Pro or Maxcuatro or Sufix 832 also work.

Yes, I've heard of Brian Labelle. What part of Vermont are you headed to by the way? I've never fished Champlain on my kayak (although I might get out soon), but the point at Button Bay is pretty killer at night in July. I could offer to put you on some fish on Lake Dunmore.

The three rods I definitely use the most: Daiwa Tatula Elite 7'1" M/F Brent Ehrler dropshot rod - great for weightless senkos, shaky heads, drop shots and tubes. Daiwa Tatula Elite 7' M-MH/XF Brent Ehrler "finesse" rod - my favorite soft plastic rod. Daiwa Steez AGS Bottom Contact for usually jigs but also heavier T-Rigs and C-Rigs. Beyond that, there's my 6'8' Mojo Bass M/XF "Topwater" rod which I use for poppers and jerkbaits, my 6'10" Tatula MH/F for spinnerbaits, chatterbaits or heavier T-Rigs and my 7'2" MH/MF Tatula glass which is my preferred rod for deep divers, but will throw most moving baits.

I have seen underwater footage from TacticalBassin of this exact thing, where a bass nips at the end of a jig but not enough to hook it. As others have said, if it's a bunch of rapid short strikes, it's some smaller fish like bluegill. If you throw your jig into the middle of a school of bluegill, it's actually quite entertaining. They will circle it and then nip at it like a school of piranhas.

I'd guess between 7 and 8. Nice fish

The other difference is price. Sniper is a little more expensive, and the smaller spools are 200 yards vs 225.

I've had a '14 Sierra 1500 since 2018. It's been alright. Many things are poorly designed that used to be better designed years ago which constantly irks me. I don't fit in Fords, can't see out of the Tundra (although I fit alright in the most recent generation), and wouldn't buy a Chrysler product after owning a Dodge Charger for a year where the repair bill with a warranty (the deductible) far outweighed the monthly payment, even on a good month. Haven't really looked at the Nissan.

Man, your wife needs to talk to my wife if you catch my drift. I mean I don't really need a lot for rods, could use another 7.x speed reel. Wouldn't mind a second Tatula Elite Brent Ehrler M/F dropshot rod, that rod works well for so many presentations that a second wouldn't hurt.

I fished the St Lawrence a few years back. It was pretty tough to access spots on the kayak, there was one small quiet bay and another larger one that I couldn't quite get to with the current. Eventually we drove to Goose Bay which is enclosed from the current. Pretty much all weeds and largemouth, spinnerbaits and T-Rigs work well if you try it. My profile picture was taken there.

If you loosen it until it just begins to click and leave it or then tighten it so it doesn't click it's pretty much the same function, it's only a hair adjustment of the dial and either will work.

This looks like at some point you dragged the point or a hook across the rod at some point. It happens. I’ve done the same thing before and it made the exact same mark.

That’s how the Daiwa reels work. You basically loosen the tension knob until it just begins to click just a little and you won’t ever have to change it. Tightening it not only shortens your casting distance but also increases birds nests. These Daiwa reels are very well behaved reels and are generally good to learn with. Start with the brakes at 12 or even higher and use cheap line while learning. Eventually you’ll be able to run your brake between 6 and 10, depending on personal preferences. Also the lures total weight and rod action come into play. Casting a lighter lire on a M/MF will be much easier than on a MH/F for example.

I had to check if you lived between Nashua NH which has a pretty well kept and well stocked BPS and E Hartford in which the fishing section was picked clean the last few times I was in there.

Cheap kayaks can serve their purpose of getting you offshore. Your storage and weight limit might be limited and you might be limited in rods, but a fishing trip on a kayak is still a fun day. You might find you only get out a few times a year and it’s good enough for you. In my case, I outweigh the weight limit on most cheaper kayaks. I would definitely look at a sit on top for fishing. Pelican is probably a good brand in the price range. Lifetime and Sun Dolphin might also be worth considering. Hope that helps.

If you can swing a truck, it’s the way to go. Much easier to launch a kayak. For rods, you can add a truck rack and a Yakima Topwater or similar rod holder and you can lock your pre-rigged rods in that box. Alternatively you can get a trailer and a tonneau cover. I can also fit at least 6 rigged rods in the front passenger seat in my crew cab

I’m not sure of the specific laws, but if it went down like presented then shame on BPS.

So I re-arranged my Blackpak and it now will hold 5 rods, for a total of 7. I looked at raising them up, but that has its downsides also, for example I can't stack stuff on top of it when transporting it so I decided not to.

Well I did install the rudder bolt and I got the Navarre handle. That did fix the annoyance of the tension knob completely as expected. I also got the upgraded mounting plates from Navarre, but just got them installed so I haven't tried to put my fish finder on them yet but I'm confident that will work. When I went to drill holes to add a mighty mount, I used the wrong drill but and it didn't make a dent in the mounting plates, but ate away the first 2mm of my drill bit so these are strong. Now I just need to find feed for my Blackpak - or maybe just move the handle in the back to the top or even vertical on a side so I can add a couple of rod holders in the back.

Both kayaks are great choices. You will not have issues with the stability of either kayak, in some ways the Autopilot 120 might be even better. I'll explain. I used the SS127 for the past few years and it was a very well thought out kayak. It also has secondary stability that matches or tops anything on the market and one of the better seats. I could step on the side and I might fall in the water and push the kayak away from me, but it won't flip. The PWR 129 seems to take the best of the SS127 and make further upgrades and improvements in terms of rigability. I don't care for the rudder design much as others have said, I tend to drag my kayak from where I take it off the trailer to the water if I'm on grass or sand and with that design, you'll be dragging it on the rudder and not the drag plates. A cart is a must. I didn't have many issues with anything breaking on mine, but the pads don't hold up well, the one at my left foot tore and the seat pads don't stay glued in place. I've heard from several other owners that theirs blew off on the way to the lake. What I found worked the best was double sized tape - I always kept a roll in my truck and some sandpaper and restuck them every couple of outtings, which was annoying. Also I would have to tighten the handle a couple times a year, because it does come loose. My kid had the Old Town Topwater 120 for the past few years. The seat on that was rather lacking (it's better on the Sportsman line but not as good as the Bonafide). It didn't allow for the nice little things like the ability to mount the fish finder on the dry pod and have a center mounted fish finder and not as many places to set a rod down in front, although the rod holders on the front sides do work and are also great for rigging on the water. One thing I did like a lot better about my kid's Topwater 120 which should be the same hull as the Autopilot 120 is the performance. I could paddle it about 1mph faster than my SS127, it was almost as hard to flip but it was much less rickety on choppy water, which was great for me since I have terrible balance. There also a ton of storage space in the back, you can fit a 16x16 blackpak pro and a small ice chest and they're accessible - due to where the bungees on the SS127 were, if I put a cooler back there it was behind the Blackpak and I couldn't reach it. We both now use Old Town Bigwater 132 PDLs. The Bigwater is designed for speed, probably the fastest pedal fishing kayak on the market now (some say the Salty is faster). Navarre Kayak Fishing sells a lot of great upgrades, including a "dashboard" which you could probably mount your fish finder on. The scupper transducer mount is great and keeps my transducer protected from anything it might hit and side view still works as far as there's any light. My kid did flip his kayak once, intentionally. We went out on the St Lawrence with no gear just to scout it out and see what to expect and we were in a shallow and still cove so he decided to flip it since he had nothing to lose. My other kid took this video right as he went over, but he probably had it rocking for a good couple minutes before this, it took a lot of work! Ethan Flipping his Kayak.mp4

Imo I don’t really consider a 2015 and old tech reel. I mean yes it is an older designed reel but they also had some real nice reels at that point too. Old to me would be like 80s or 90s or older.

If you are using sharp lightwire hooks the 702 is fine in my opinion, but it is on the lighter side. You’ll also be fine with the 703. The 702 is a killer ned rig rod and the 703 is more for your shaky heads or dropshots

Daiwa is starting to remove the AR switch on their newer models. That said, the BG is a pretty solid reel it’s just heavy, but I don’t think that was redesigned recently

I don't buy rods or reels to sit on display.

You can throw heavier lures too on a MGL 70, they were also made for skipping as well, it just so happens they're the best at bomb casting lighter lures.