Hook2Jaw

I kid you not when I say an Ascend Kayak seat I modded onto a 2010 Hobie Outback was more comfortable than the PA seat. I'm not that big of a fan, and don't need a super comfortable seat to be okay. I'm really looking forward to accessing reverse quicker.

I'm moving from a Hobie PA14 to an Old Town Predator PDL 2020 off word of mouth and reports like the one @CountryboyinDC just posted. Ain't paying no tariff fees, Hobie. Thanks, though.

I agree about the Old Town. One thing I do like about the boat is they're reported to be speed machines and with my top end at 7 in the PA14 in short bursts, I believe I can hit 8 in the Predator from all the reports I see. The cruising speed is supposed to be phenomenal. As for the new Hobie Pro Angler 14 360, I think it'll be an amazing boat for exactly what you said. I have an addiction to banging squarebills off cover at the moment, so I'm hoping the foot only access to reverse with the Predator will up my game in that regard. Hands free reverse is still something firmly in the realm of propellers, and I think Old Town has the premier propeller driven kayak. Five thousand dollars is too rich for my blood, I plan to put myself in the Predator, grab a Topwater 120 for the future wife, and a Topwater 106 for the son as soon as he can walk. I just wish Old Town would release a pedal drive tandem.

I need rod and reel recommendations for a dedicating spidering rod.

Mmm, Texas rigged worming was my first bass fishing bread and butter technique, learning in my grandfather's farm ponds. They were muddy, gunky, and grassy, and back when my older cousin taught me we had straight shank worm hooks, 7.5" culprit worms, and 1/4oz bullet weights. We never texposed, and we caught loads of bass casting out, allowing it to fall, lifting up before reeling slack and repeating. Almost 25 years later I still lift and drop, but I'll dead stick, shake, drag, and in the case of craws, even swim my Texas rig back until I figure out what the bass are in the mood for.

Had a boat, got a Hobie, sold the boat, upgraded to another Hobie. Then, Hobie decided to hump prices for tariffs so I've decided I'm getting myself into an Old Town Predator PDL.

Great, now I have to buy a combo to somehow throw this light, wind resistant spider on 65# braid in the salad. I already have enough trouble hucking my half ounce frogs on a 7'4" HF. d**n you for changing the game, Lunkerhunt.

I hate boiling tails. I've narrowed down my selection to about 40 bags that I want on me after selecting my least favorite, least productive baits and cutting them. I think I'll just keep a KVD Worm File unzipped between my seat and kayak crate. Thanks, @ww2farmer, you've always got some good suggestions for a budget minded angler like myself.

How many do you think the realistically hold? Those are on my radar.

@flyfisher, while I can do that with my local water, I normally store ALL my tackle on my kayak. That'll eventually be almost half a dozen Plano 3771s as I transition to those boxes, so I don't have room in my crate. I'm looking to start fishing the KBF SE trail next year, so I really need to have a lot of bases covered and have whatever pattern I can find available. I'm only carrying 20 or so different styles of baits, but between practice and tournament day, I need extras.

I've got about 50 bags of plastics that I have faith in between colors, sizes, and types, and I'm in a kayak. Which bags or boxes would be the best way to go about storing these? I've read the specs on almost each and every one, but I need a system that organizes my baits well, doesn't take up more space than it needs, and is easy to use for quick access to that craw, critter, worm, fluke, or paddletail. Can BR guys who store large amounts of plastics help me out?

H2O CRS Squarebills account for a lot of my fish these days, and their jerkbaits are phenomenal as well. I love Academy.

I use two spinning setups to accomplish my finesse needs, and feel pretty good about it with the 150~ dollar budget I put on myself. 13 *** MLF 6'10" with a Daiwa Fuego LT2500D-XH spooled up with 12# braid with 6, 8, and 10# fluoro for dropshotting and Ned. 13 *** MF 7'1" with a Daiwa Fuego LT 2500D-XH spooled up with 12# braid with 8, 10, and 12# fluoro for weightless plastics wacky or Texas as well as shakyheads. Certainly not the -BEST- spinning setups, but for 70 dollar rods and 75 dollar reels I'm very impressed.

I think I'm the only person on this forum that'll suggest it, but I've currently got 5 13 Fishing F.a.t.e. C.h.r.o.m.e.s, and they're excellent for that 80 dollar budget. They have a plethora of lengths. I can feel slack line hits on my 7'1" MF spinning, and the 6'7" MF will absolutely put a half ounce jerkbait in the distance. That said, my old Lightning Rod caught plenty of fish, but I'd put the sensitivity of those sticks below what I'm currently using.

Substantial? Sure. I still don't think it's more efficient than simply adding a solid trolling setup to your kayak, which I am not a proponent of -- I enjoy the exercise. You'll see a few more casts over the course of the day in some scenarios, and when it gets down to deep, open water scenarios, I don't see where it's going to improve what I already do to maintain position there. Trolling motors didn't break the kayak tournament scene into troll or get out, and neither will a drive that can make you do a 720 spinneroonie like Tony Hawk on a kayak. It's good stuff, but it's not worth 5k when comparable options are available. The actual best part of that drive is the break away fins to avoid masts bending.

You're still going to have to stop what you're doing if you want to focus on pedaling forward, then backwards, then forward, then backward to hold position. Hobie has a cool positioning system, but it still doesn't have hands free reverse. Holding my position to properly whap a crankbait I'm burning into a stump or not dragging myself towards 30 pounds of frog, fish, and salad are still something Hobie isn't capable of without taking my hand constantly off my rod. It's not game changing for me, it's a super nice positioning system.

I don't know about game changer, as any drive system can maneuver to an extent with much wider turns than the 360 is capable of, and a paddle can get you into tight spots, but that quick and fine-tuned positioning ability will definitely add more minutes of line in the water. I'm actually more amped to have a propeller and fully hands free reverse. I'm gonna be able to smack my cranks across more mess than I've ever been able to with my current Hobie 180 drive.

Thanks. I don't have any slider heads, I may try pegging a bullet and throwing them in my local rivers. Seems like they definitely carry more craws than the nearby ponds I have. Plus, they're clearer, and it seems with the little action the crawbug produces it's more of a visual stimuli to the feeesh. I've had decent success with them drop shotting and fishing on a small jig head, more often than not swimming them slowly on spinning gear.

Man, I love YUM. Tons of fish on their stuff and my PB as well. I can barely get bit on the crawbug. How are you presenting it? Green or brown bass?

Mine is a lawyer and I'm a tree guy, so she definitely pulls her financial weight around.

My fiancee wants a Zulu now, too. She wanted a paddleboard until I pointed out she wouldn't be able to keep up, and this thing handles both my need to move and her need to have a paddleboard! Excellent move by Kaku.

Man, when I think fluke, I grab my spinning reels.

I'm not sure how the physics of it all work, but standing on the seat of my 38" PA is harder than standing on the Larry chairs of the two paddleboards I've been on. Hull width is definitely an issue when it comes to a kayak styled hull and not a flat bottomed board. I dunno, man. They're pretty pitiful this year. Hey, at least Bonafide made some new colors! That's so cutting edge. All the new ICAST stuff is underwhelming for me. My favorite soft plastic brand didn't introduce a Ned plastic, instead giving me more colors of the Christie Craws I rarely throw and a big finesse worm for a situation I mostly Carolina rig in. Then, my favorite kayak company ups prices a few weeks before ICAST and then releases their new, premier boat at five freaking thousand dollars. But hey, at least there's no Live Target Backstroke Armadillo. I can't see the game changed that much.

Take a look at the underside of a Vudu and then look at the Vibe Shearwater, you'll see what I mean.

The pedal drive will be something akin to the V1 Mirage Drive, and the jet is the Bixpy jet, it attaches to the rudder and just shoots you around like a ridiculous octopus. But yeah, no finished model. I'm not mad they copied other companies, we're all rocking wheels and the original inventor isn't being paid a thing, but I think Vibe should have went with some thicker plastic, a propeller, and a wider boat if they think their standing platform is gonna work out. I climb trees for a dang living and would tumble right off that thing on a hookset.