ACGOG

Thank you both for the tips. The first time around it was due to the trailer itself bouncing around all willy-nilly. The second time around I do believe it was the connection between the hitch and ball. I'm wondering too (again, I'm a noob), the hitch itself where it attached to the car is kind of loose - do I need a tighter one or something? The weight it's not to exceed is 1080lbs so that's not a problem. Our two yaks are 80-ish or so pounds a piece and I'm sure the wood I've added isn't all that heavy either. I'm planning on adding some racks made out of steel but I can't imagine that's going to add much more weight. Is there a trick to getting more on there? How would I add more weight to the tongue? Maybe a spare or that one thing that keeps it up when it's not attached? Put something inside the tongue itself? FWIW this is what I'm working with. Sucks because I've wanted this yak for years and finally got it and have to worry about bringing it places now: Edit: I mean, what's the difference between this thing and what I've got?

Howdy! Hoping this goes here and I can get some assistance. I bought the small Harbor Freight 1090lb 40 1/2 x 48 inch trailer to get my fishing kayak where it needs to go after giving up my truck for a more family friendly vehicle. The tongue on it was pretty small so I swapped it out with 10ft square steel pipe, drilled the holes where they needed to go and everything seems to be fine with the build itself. However, when I first got it the thing bounced and rattled around like you wouldn't believe. I figured this was because it didn't have any weight on it. I threw my two kayaks on it and the same thing. The tires seemed to be inflated to the max so I let out some air... still bounced. I let out even MORE air, down to something like 10-15 PSI and that seemed to have solved it. I had to make a trip to go get my new yak today and inflated it up to 20psi so that I could get up to 65mph and holy smokes I thought it was going to fly off the back of the car it was making so much noise. I pulled over and let some air out and it kind of fixed it but still had big issues with rattling at around 20mph. Is it safe to keep that little air in the tire? Am I doing something wrong? Is maybe my hitch too high or too low? What are some things I can do to diagnose my issue? This is my first foray into trailers and could use some help!

Hi ya'll, Wondering if anyone here in TX has gone fishing with the beautiful weather we've been having lately after that terrible freeze a couple of weeks ago. I've managed to get out a few times and have gotten skunked every time. I've used Texas rigs, lipless and regular cranks, Senko's, etc. without any luck. My MIL mentioned to me that the freeze effected the fishing but she didn't know where she had seen it. How's everyone else's luck been? Maybe I need to find somewhere else than my regular spots ?.

Really interesting to see all the feedback here on who prefers what. Seems pretty polarized but to each their own ? I might need to give the T a fair shot.

Hey ya'll, In the past few months I've gotten a couple of newer reels, both a Daiwa and Shimano compact 3000 and they came with these t-knobs. To me they really just don't feel right. Is there an advantage to them over the paddles? Is it simply a preference? I did a quick search and it doesn't seem like anyone else really likes them either but maybe I'm just missing something.

So for years and years I've pretty much used nothing but Rage Craw's and am in the middle of building out my tacklebox. Short Fish mentioned they'll all catch bass but are any of these worth incorporating?

My dad died a couple of years ago and I recently had the opportunity to clean out his storage unit. I found some of his old fishing gear, and though he primarily liked to fish saltwater these looked a little small to me for doing that. I'm not very familiar with them and was hoping someone could shed a little light on them for me to let me know if any of them might be useful for anything inshore.

Dude, thanks for taking the time to write all of this out. This is great information! Out of curiosity, if I wanted to come out the gate swinging, would I have an easier time learning? What I mean by that is I've heard the Daiwa Steez brought up repeatedly as one of the best casting reels you can get. Does something like that present an advantage when it comes to preventing backlash or any of the other problems associated with casting reels? I've heard the Curado DC is great about that too.

100,000%. I totally agree with you and it seems I might be at that point as there doesn't seem to be a really great answer to my original question. I'm ready to go to school ?‍?!

Is it all about the gear ratio for spinning? I can't believe I'm about to ask this but could you please elaborate or point me somewhere for more info? To me the argument about casters vs spinners has always boiled down to preference. I've seen all the debates, about power, castability, etc. but that at the end of the day whatever you like is what you should use. This has been the first time I've come across an application that appears to be heavily favored towards one over the other. I've never had any luck with casters or braid for that matter, and I don't mean just not being able to catch anything. I mean like I touch a caster and it immediately blows up every time I do so I've sworn them off. Also, I'm not super familiar with custom rods either. Any tips on where to start there as well? I mean, I am and I don't mind if it's worth the investment (went from a Stradic CI4+ to the Certate LT to my Stella FJ). I have to learn this at some point and like I mentioned in my other post it seems like this might finally be a point in my fishing... uh... "career" where I need to be more open minded to other gear. This is my primary hobby and if I can get better at it and enjoy it more with the right tools then so be it. The more I can learn, the better I'll be, and being armed with information is always a good thing!

Yeah, I thought as much, or that it was a typo, but I'm also asking for advice and if that's what you use I'm in no position to judge. After someone above recommended it, I do see a few Loomis spinning rods for inshore saltwater that can throw up to 1oz so might look into that further. However definitely going to check out Academy.

Thanks, I'll look into it! Appreciate the advice. All of the rods I have currently though are some iteration of one another. My thought process was that it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy a rod that can throw higher weight lures effectively to expand my toolset. Having a higher range will enable me to be more dynamic or flexible... or something ?. Okay so another person above made a suggestion if I'm "dead-set on spinning gear." I'm starting to think that these lures aren't typically thrown on them? I use nothing but spinning gear. The reel I was planning on using was a Diawa Certate LT; is that not going to work?

Hi Ya'll, I'm starting to realize that even though I'm an avid fisherman and have been doing it for a long time I'm still a total noob, especially when it comes to gear. For years and years now I've always stuck with my old faithful, the Texas Rig. I'll throw on the occasional chatterbait but for the most part I'm a one trick pony. However, the past few weeks I haven't had as much luck as I'd like so I decided to change it up. I did my due diligence and added a bunch of staples that were lacking from my tacklebox, including a couple of Megabass S Crank 2.0 lures. I just received them today and apparently wasn't paying attention to the fact that they're 1oz in weight. The rod I was planning on using was my GLX M/H EF but the lure weight is only 1/8 - 7/16. I've read if you don't match the lure weight a lot of bad things could potentially happen like breaking the rod, not being able to set the hook, etc. It seems at a glance that using a lure that's almost double the highest recommended weight would qualify for all of the bad things to happen; would that be an accurate statement? If I did need to get a new rod, I've seen Dobyns as a recommended budget brand but don't mind spending more. I was hoping to get another G-Loomis rod but the only dedicated crankbait rod is a casting rod and there don't seem to be any spinning rods that can handle a 1oz lure. Is there another rod out there that will give me the sensitivity and the feel of my GLX and NRX? Any advice, tips, and information would be greatly appreciated.

As someone who was an avid kayaker before integrating fishing into it, a couple of notes: 1. Peddle kayaks are awesome but you're not going to find one under $1,000. Even used will be difficult. 2. I bought my first kayak, an Eagle Talon sit-on-top for I think $450 during a Black Friday sale. We're right around the corner from it and I'd highly recommend waiting. 3. If you buy a kayak that doesn't have all the bells and whistles you want you can add a lot of that stuff later. Really just need capacity and determine whether or not you want to stand on it as those are the two things you can't really change (you can stand on anything with outriggers, though getting up you might have to add your own strap or something). I supposed peddles would be in there too. 4. If you choose to add stuff to it, 90% of the time you can make your own version of whatever someone is charging an arm and a leg for. My kayak originally had a sit in seat and I have since added my own version of an elevated seat I made with PVC pipe and a stadium seat thingie from Dicks. 5. If you're not opposed to used, you'll find way better value via Craigslist, FB Marketplace, etc. Main things to look for used are where it was stored. If it's older, stay away from anything that was sitting outside. You can generally tell how much and often it was used by the scrapes on the bottom. 6. Figure out where you're primarily going to be using it. Personally, my next yak is going to be a Jackson Coosa HD. I'm not getting the FD (pedal version) because it's exponentially more expensive, but I primarily do in-shore fishing in a lot of very shallow rivers and the Coosa is a little wider so it doesn't sit as low in the water and can handle it better. 7. You can buy little wheels to transport your kayak to and from the water that make it easier if you wind up getting a heavier one. Would recommend it as one of your first upgrades. Again, to reiterate, you don't have to deck out your kayak with everything right away, and when you do there are a metric ton of videos on YouTube on how to do a lot of it yourself, like a milk carton storage rack and rod holder that takes care of the vast majority of add-ons. Good luck!

Everyone on here swears by the Poison Adrena. I've also seen the argument made multiple times that the NRX is old and using outdated technology but it is one of the sweetest rods I've ever laid hands on. Personally I'd buy something cheap and serviceable (my Abu Garcia Veritas' work great for the price honestly, $99 at Academy) until you find something local pop up on Marketplace or Craigslist.

People like kayaking_kev have a ton of experience when it comes to this stuff. I don't have the opportunity to really mess around with this stuff where I live and have to get my info from others. That being said, I got to use my NRX over the weekend and - at least to me - it was pretty amazing. Not sure what I would have gotten for an extra $150 or whatever it was to go with the Conquest but I'm definitely happy with my purchase and this rod will stick with me for a while. I have a feeling whatever you get you'll probably be happy with.

I guess I'm still a bit of a noob but I only roll with two rods at a time. There's two reasons behind this: 1. Every time I upgrade I try to have a substantial step-up. Those substantial step ups are... not cheap lol. 2. We tend to fish very secluded spots that we have to actually wade through water to get to with lots of bank trees. Even when kayaking, I still don't personally use a bunch of different rods for the same reasons. I also tend to fish the same setup (Carolina and Texas jigs). First setup was an Ugly Stick (oooooh yeah!) -> Second was an Abu Garcia Veritas with a Revo SX -> Fantasista with a Stradic CI4+ -> G-Loomis GLX with a Daiwa Certate LT -> Newest purchase was a G-Loomis NRX and am waiting for my 18 Stella FJ to come in from Japan (stupid ACH payments). Normally what I do is take my most recent setup and have the one I replaced as a backup or as a loaner for my buddies as my gear tends to be a little nicer than what they've got and it's nice to share.

Boy o' boy, I researched this to the Nth degree as I was recently in the market for an upgrade to my GLX. Long story short, it looks like the NRX is still the "go-to" for sensitivity and manufacturing quality. For the price difference, there were more folks saying that the NRX was just as good if not better than the Conquest and that the price for the Conquest wasn't warranted. I just got my 803S yesterday and will have the chance to put it out on the water tomorrow.

There are TONS of options. Grapevine is pretty cool but there's a ton of people and it's extremely popular; I really like Tawakoni but there are a LOT of spiders. If you don't mind a bit of a drive, Possum Kingdom is B-E-A-uuuuutiful and I love fishing out there.

I used different types of Shimano's throughout the years but a Stradic CI4+ is the highest model I ever used. I loved that thing and used it all the time for bass fishing. I took it down to the gulf for some small surf fishing, made sure to thoroughly clean and service it as soon as I was finished (within an hour or two). A week or two later when I took it out to do some bass fishing it performed awfully. I got it professionally serviced but it just hasn't been the same since. While it was getting serviced I went ahead and decided to spring for a Daiwa Certate and found a great deal on JLS. I know it's in a different category altogether but this is by far the best reel I have ever, ever laid hands on. It is buttery smooth and has never given me any issues at all with very limited maintenance. I'm in the market for another reel and have been looking at both the Shimano Exsence and the Stella FJ to try and compare them to my Certate, but I'm slightly hesitant to pull the trigger because of my experience with the Stradic. Again, people swear by Shimano's and the Stradic and Stella are in two wholly completely different categories but it's hard not to think about. This is a very long winded way of saying, I think if you went with either a higher end Daiwa or a Shimano you'll love whichever one you get, though I think comparatively the price point on the Certate is a little more palatable.

I just joined this forum and already you guys are killing it. I found a local guy selling a GLX 853S that was hardly used for a great price and picked it up yesterday. That being said, that deal on the Fantasista was way too good to pass up so I went ahead and ordered one of those too. I'll give my brother-in-law my Veritas poles as a present . I also need to find someone local who has a Kistler for me to get my hands on to give them a try. Hope I've built up a enough good graces and don't get whalloped for this but I've always used mono. I bought some stealth braid, but when I was picking up the GLX the guy mentioned using fluorocarbon. When I was doing research braided line was mentioned as having no play so it's incredibly sensitive and thought that would be the natural partner for a super sensitive rod but now I'm rethinking it. Long story short, what line is recommended?

Thank you for all of the feedback, though I have to say it further complicates it a bit ? So I started going down a rabbit hole. If I'm going to spend $300, then what do I get for $400? And if I spend that much what's an extra $50 or so, which brings me to the NRX and the Legend Elite (even better if I can find one used). The NRX 893 seems to get amazing reviews across the board but I really like shorter rods and I'm not sure if the 803 is on the same level. I also mainly use a Texas rig so not sure if at that level they start to get more and more specialized.

Hi Everyone, I'm in the market for a new rod. Currently using a Shimano Stradic CI4+ and mainly fish for bass in creeks, rivers, and the occasional lake. I've got an Abu Garcia Veritas that I like well enough but think it's time to upgrade. I'd like to spend a little more this time around but I'm not too familiar with the other higher-end brands out there. I like my Abu Garcia well enough; should I just stick with what I know? What other recommendations are out there for the $200-$300 price range? Thanks!