Mossman

Great feedback! This is the hardest part, most of the lakes I fish regularly around the Cleveland area are smaller and you can cover the entire lake in a kayak pretty quickly. Cowan is a little larger and my dad won't be up for an entire day on the water. I am putting him in my Old Town 106 PDL, the higher seat in the OT will be easier on him. I will take his Wilderness Tarpon for a paddle. I did see some videos online, I will check those out.

Hey all, I am in my first year of taking fishing more seriously and need some help preparing to kayak fish a new lake. I have fishing trip planned for this coming Friday (19th) with my dad and my son, my dad has not had the best of luck fishing, so I really want to do my best to get us on some fish. Lake: Cowan Lake (Just north east of Cincinnati, Ohio) Weather: Showing mostly sunny, 81 degrees (low the night before will be 59) Time: we won't get on the water until about 7:30a because of the drive, but we really have all day if we want. Winds typically blow from the southwest We will have a fish finder, so we can go to waypoints or find the drops/ledges if needed, this is my first year with the fish finder, so I am not an expert, but have had some pretty good luck with it. Given the summer temps, I assume we will be looking for shade on the west side of the coves, maybe along drops so they have access to deep? The attached map (North is up) does show some sunken trees, those might be good places to start as well. My general approach is to go with Ned rigs, Super Flukes and texas rig senko. Unless we get over some rocks, I will often pull out a spinner bait. I am curious how you veterans dissect a new lake before you go, especially knowing you are in a kayak and can't just motor to a new spot and cover the whole lake in minutes. I appreciate all of the help!

I have a Lowrance Hook Reveal 7 with the tripleshot transducer (down and side imaging). I put this on my Old Town Sportsman 106 PDL. I do not recommend this combo, the transducer is huge and doesn’t fit well in the 106. Allegedly it fits well on the 120, but I am not sure.

I just picked up a 106PDL over the winter and took it out for the first time last week. I really liked it, I was coming from a cheap Pelican sit inside kayak so this was a major upgrade. Mine came with the Boondox wheels, which I really like, but a lot of die hard Old Town guys will tell you that it will ruin the hull (or void the warranty). I pack light, and don’t store it on the wheels, so I think it will be fine. Plus, I bought it used, so warranty wasn’t an issue. I didn’t want to have to deal with storing the cart so this design was what I was looking for. As for loading it, lifting one end at a time is really not difficult at all. I plan to rooftop mine most of the time on an Outback. I trailered it last week, because the wife went with me. Good luck, they are nice yaks. A few key upgrades seat risers rudder bolt upgrade spare prop and shear pin Floating prop nut Yak Gadget rod holders (mount on the side) yakattack handle so I can mount fish finder close to seat.

You should be able to do that with no problem. The only ones that were tight are the baits that are in the plastics trays (like the Bronco Bugs). They fit fine, but only one per pouch.

I am well prepared for the battery world, multiple RC battery charger setups from racing them for a few years. I was intrigued by the fact the that the Lifepo4 batteries claim you can use a traditional battery charger.

I had 3 packs of Z Man finesse baits in the pouch and then I added two packs of Zoom swim baits and I was still able to close the pouch. That’s probably close to the max.

I have been looking for a soft bait solution for my kayak fishing, I don't fish a lot, so I pack pretty light (couple of hours at a time, maybe two to three times a month). I wanted something that could keep all of my soft baits organized in their original packaging and not be too bulky for the kayak. I really struggled to find good information on this method, other than some of the Buzzbee stuff, but its so expensive. Shimano Baraja Worm Binder I stumbled upon this in the clearance section of tacklewarehouse, I had never seen it and I tried to find photos or reviews, but it was super limited. The reviews on the site were mostly positive, so I thought I would give it a shot. I ordered the large binder, based on the reviews and was pretty excited to get it! When it arrive, it looked really nice, the Shimano name on the front, the material, the zippers, it was a quality item. When I started to load it up for a quick test run, I realized almost immediately, that it wasn't going to work for me. The fabric outer cover has a plastic inside that runs the length of the binder (picture a book cover: front cover, spine, back cover). The binder would not stay open, I always had to have two hands on it at all times or it would close. This was true, even with the bags full. I could not see myself wrestling with this on a kayak without a few choice words! The bags were nice, rather large, I could get two of the Rapala Bronco Bug packages in each bag and easily 4 worm / swim bait bags. In the end I was able to get 4 of the Bronco bugs and 7 traditional soft bait packages in it and it was pretty full. the inside cover pouches were pretty difficult to use, they were very deep and the opening wasn't huge so if something got to the bottom, its going to be a challenge to get out, and it only had these on one side. I returned it the next day. Mustad Single Rigger Wallet I originally had my eye on the double rigger wallet prior to Christmas, but it ended up out of stock by the time I realized my son didn't take my gift hint seriously! So I decided to go with the Single Rigger instead. I am very happy that I did! I think this is exactly what I was looking for, it holds more than the Shimano, its easier to open and work with and its smaller. I loaded it up, now the bags are smaller than the Shimano, but there are more of them. I "can" get two of the Bronco bugs in each, but you really have to finesse them in there. Since there are more bags in the Mustad, putting a single package in each is what I plan to do. I was able to get the same items in the bag plus, have 3 remaining bags. The inside also has very useable storage that can be used for terminal tackle or jigs. My only complaint, or concern is the force needed to move the zipper, they are pretty stiff right now, almost to the point you think you might bend the zipper pull. It does seem to be freeing up a bit with more use, but I think its a product of the fact that its a waterproof zipper. Hopefully this helps someone else that was in my same shoes, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Mustad, its a very well executed bag. photos of the Mustad

I ordered that Nermak, had an additional 20% off. Was delivered the next day. Thanks!

I just ordered a Lowrance Hook 7 Reveal on clearance from Tackle warehouse ($319 with Side scan) and I need a battery recommendation. I don’t fish tournaments, rarely fish longer than 3 hours, going to be mounting this to a kayak. Thoughts?

So I’m not crazy thinking this was something worth doing! I’ll dig into this info! Thanks

Just curious if anyone has ever put together data on various rods strength or rigidity. Maybe by measuring deflection at various points, using various weights to graph results. I am thinking about this as I am looking across brands and how one companies medium isn’t the same as another’s. i am sure there is a lot more to it but this seems like a simple and effective way to start. thoughts?

That’s some interesting information! Based on that, I would be putting nearly 350 yds of 20lb braid on the reel! That’s a lot of wasted money. I did find one place that appears to sell the SA spool, but I wouldn’t say I am 100% confident that it’s a legit site. If I can’t source a shallow spool, what’s the best option, keep it only half filled or fill with cheap mono half way and put the braid over top?

I am trying to nail down my spinning real setups. Trying to do two rods to have and medium and a medium light setup. I have an Okuma Ceymar HD3000 that I picked up and plan to put that on a Medium Aird-x rod. I am thinking 15lb braid, but not set on that for sure. I also want to setup a medium-light but was wondering if another Ceymar HD 3000 would be too much, especially with a lighter line like a 10lb braid. Thinking the med-light for ned rigs and the medium for my Texas rigs. thoughts?

Which of the AIRD-X rods are you recommending for the setup? I am in a similar situation as Fishthunder, but curious if most are recommending the medium-light or medium. I really like the Dobbyns Fury line, but the 703 seems to be a little stiff and 702 might be a little light. (For a one spinning rod setup). With the AIRD-X, I could buy two for the price of the Dobyns. I will be pairing it to an Okuma Ceymar HD3000 spinning real.