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Sometimes I wish my kayak had hatches, but never having to worry about a situation like that is nice. Water can get in the hull through screw holes and such, but I've had maybe a cup or two of water in there after a full season of use.

Very slowly and carefully, any sudden movements may spook it. For lakes, I'll check the DNR website and see what the latest fish survey says. Check out their depth maps if they have them, and also look at the depth chart from Garmin if they have one. For rivers, I usually just check out the satellite images on Google Maps and do some searches for any fishing reports.

Fishing my normal spots.. 0% as it's a river and I don't bring electronics. If I'm on a lake with my sidescan setup, I'll keep an eye on it while moving spots to look out for structure. Ice fishing.. I'm staring at that thing so much I think I have livescope screen burned into my retina sometimes.

Exactly. Side scan isn't for finding fish, it's for finding structure. I use it while trolling with my kayak, more than once it's shown some structure out to the side and I've been able to change course, run the lure over the structure and get a fish or two.

Yes, although Amped doesn't recommend NMC batteries for a boat application: "NMC batteries were build for portable fishing electronics use. They have higher energy density which means they pack more power in smaller space. These are intended for kayaks, portable shuttles and ice fishing. These are not intended for on board or boat use. Remove them after use and bring indoors, charge only indoors and between 32-80 degrees. For on board or boat use, you want to use a LiFePO4 (12.8V or 16V) and they can be safely charged with the proper waterproof on board charger. " https://ampedoutdoors.com/products/32ah-lithium-battery-14-8v-nmc-with-charger-1

Mentioned on another thread, but I run the Amped 32ah NMC battery for my 73sv and LVS32. Also run my power pole off of it. Unfortunately looks like it's out of stock until late feb / early march.

I use my 73sv with Livescope for ice fishing in the winter, and run it with the GT54 transducer on the kayak in the summer. It works fine. I'd upgrade to the 9" if I found one cheap, but they rarely pop up. Buying new to upgrade would cost way too much. The one bonus is that it lasts forever on a 32ah NMC battery.

I just lay mine across the front, especially after I used it to scoop a little bird out that was struggling on the surface.

Fishing from a pedal kayak, I almost always troll when I'm moving spots if I'm fishing a lake. I've got some nice bass over seemingly featureless spots while trolling.

Bought my 73SV a little less than 4 years ago when Cabela's had them for $400. It gets used on my kayak when I'm lake fishing, and hooked up to a shuttle and livescope for the ice season. As it's not really permanently mounted to anything I tend to chuck it around a bit, but it's held up great.

It all depends on where you fish. I primarily fish shallow rivers and the micro power pole is a game changer. I think I'd give up the pedal drive before the power pole.

The Hybrid is usually my next step if I'm not getting any interest in the wake bait. Depends on where I'm fishing, but I usually start with topwater and work my way down through the water column.

Love the Wakebull, although I only have 2. I didn't realize they were discontinued until I tried to buy more... Speaking of KVD, I really like their Hybrid Hunter. It's versatile, fishes a little deeper than a wake bait but I've had really good luck with them. Checking the website I see they have a Shallow Hybrid Hunter now, I'll probably have to pick up a few of those.

When the conditions are right, I have more fun catching bass on the fly versus a lure. But there's a fine line between the fun and frustration factor with fly fishing for bass, especially out of a kayak.

https://www.startribune.com/search-on-for-duluth-man-who-left-home-to-go-ice-skating-on-bay/601189606