Boomstick

I should mention I have the Yakima Rack & Roll trailer with the 78" bars. It's actually very easy for me to solo load as long as I don't have to get my kayaks onto the stands when I get home (which is a 2 man job). My current kayaks have the catamaran style hulls and they'll sit right on the bars with no issues. This might be a good idea for me. I think I'd still prefer foam in case I go out with my other kid who has a Voodoo, but it's possible that could sit on the same pipes as a Bigwater, it is a soft V sort of shape. Grats on the Autopilot. Those are very nice. And Old Towns are well priced and reliable too. I was pretty impressed with my kid's Topwater 120 as well. I thought it performed very well, it was easier to stand in than my Bonafide in chop because it's much less rickety and I can definitely paddle it faster. There are things about the Bonafide I will miss like the ability to lay rods on the deck which doesn't work with pedals but the rod holder up front is a nice feature to set a rod down, and the center mount fish finder - I have an idea using the Bigwater's mounting plates. I am also wondering if foam pads like this might work. https://www.amazon.com/Saris-Protect-Pads-Set-4/dp/B000C15GVU

So I am ordering my new kayak on Sunday so I get it in for April when the ice thaws. An Old Town Sportman Bigwater 132 PDL. I demo’d a bunch and liked the Bigwater because it was the fastest and I felt I was able to stand well enough in some decent current. I already got a Blackpak Pro 13x16 to replace my original with the lip that makes it dysfunctional for 3700 boxes and my new fish finder, a GpsMap 943xsv. Getting my kid one too for his graduation present. Just thought I’d share, pretty exciting! What I do need to figure out is how do I put the non pontoon style hull on my rack and roll trailer. I have seen them on a rack and roll in front of a store on some thick foam pads. I’d like to find the same pads but maybe if all else fails, pool noodles?

Doesn’t look like a TW tube.m, but yeah it is hard to bend their tubes like this if you try. I have had this happen before. The sellers were good about refunding my money. One time UPS didn’t know what to do my return and sent it back to me, I told the driver I sent it back and they put a note on it. For the next two or three months I got a notice that they couldn’t find where to deliver it every single day. The seller at least realized it wasn’t my fault and refunded me while this went on.

For these presentations, I would go with a medium heavy rod. If you keep it to 3/8oz chatterbaits with light trailers and want a rod on the lighter side, something like the St Croix Victory 7’1” “The Grunt” might be an okay option which is a lighter powered medium, but I would probably go with a full Medium Heavy if it was me.

I haven’t seen or used Googan rods, but I got my hands on some of the rods made from Favorite for them and they were pretty dead which doesn’t give me much hope

This year I’m going to land a 8 pounder. I came real close to what may have very well been a 8 last year, knot broke as I got it to the side of my kayak. 2024 is gonna be the year!

Not as much as I should but the 1/4oz inline spinners can be killer for smallies

Original titanium Terminators, War Eagle, Nichols, Strike King, Booyah and River2Sea are all solid. The River2Sea’s are particularly effective around wood

I have used the St Croix Mojo Bass 6’8” M/XF “Toowater” rod for poppers. It has a perfect action and bends throughout the blank and also makes an excellent jerkbait rod. I would imagine the same rod in an upper line would be good although personally I am okay with the cheaper rod for poppers.

That’s a pretty nice all around finesse rod. Pretty impressed with the Victory rods at their price point.

Because of a single shore spot I had some pretty good success with, my most successful bait for the season has to be a Texas rigged baby brush hog followed by a ned rig. On my kayak I had success with senkos and jigs about equally. Next might be a popper. My T-Rigs were largely thrown on my Tatula Elite 7’ M-MH/XF rod with a Tatula SV reel.

Not always. The Old Town Sportsman Bigwater 132 PDL is faster than the Outback. Granted a Hobie drive on one would be even faster.

Well hell must be a cold place right now, didn't see that coming.

You need one of those Ozzy Osbourne like spider-suits lol

My Bonafide SS127 is very difficult to flip. It also get a little side to side rickety on choppy water though. My kid has a Topwater 120 and that might be a little easier to flip (but still not easy to flip) but it is much less rickety in chop. I'm not flipping either kayak, but I might go over. I would probably go with pedals off the bat if you think you want to go that way. It will be more expensive to sell your kayak and buy another one after additional markups. I would also wager the new Titan X 12.5 is also pretty stable, It's also super wide and can't be that fast though.

I would use 12# mono as the happy medium here, maybe 10#. I usually use 12# fluorocarbon fo cranks and jerkbaits but often use 12# when fishing a jerkbait shallow which helps them rise but also because I use the same rod for poppers. I get hit a lot pausing a pooper.

My BG goes on a tip heavy rod and it balances well. I think it’s actually smoother than the stradic too which may have something to do with perceived weight to be honest.

I would get the Vanford. The Stradic is big, bulky and heavy. They say the 2500 is only 7.8oz but it makes my 8oz+ Daiwa BG feel light in comparison.

@MidwestBassAttack summed up the difference nicely. That said, if you are looking at a medium light rod, there's really not as much of a difference between fast and extra fast as there is on heavier rods because those rods bend all the way through quite easily anyway. So I would usually go with extra fast if I had a choice. My medium spinning rod is a fast, and that needs to be because it has a decent backbone.

Tons of people have used M/M rods for years to fish jerkbaits, so you may be fine. My favorite jerkbait rod is a M/XF, but the medium runs light so there is bend throughout. M/F generally works well too, and MH/M is passable. I like the lightter rod with a faster tip because when you get hit on a twitch you will feel it. However once hooked, the moderate rods will kept the fish pinned the best.

I would go with the SLX MGL 70 over the Curado K to be honest. It bomb casts light lures extremely well. On the flipside, if you can get a Tatula SV, those are quite excellent for targeted casts, skippping, pitching etc.

Perfect! I haven't done Champlain in a few years, but I had an absolute field day at Button Bay walking to the point and catching 4+lb bass on literally every cast one night. Maybe I will go back there this summer.

I probably should have said it's a rather miserable 3 hour drive as I'm sure you know. If I didn't have to deal with traffic, I might consider it.

I don’t get my salt license because it’s a 3 hour drive

Colors like Watermelon Seed, Watermelon Red and Baby Bass generally serve me well. Candy Bug or June Bug and Bubble Gum have also been productive. I've been using the X-Zone Deception Worms lately. Houdini and Watermelon Red Flake have been the most productive, but I know my kid has kept track of which colors worked for him and he has caught bass on every one of the original colors before they added more.