Must. Resist. Temptation.

[Koz]

That Bonafide XTR 130 is looking better and better. It looks like I could pair that with an NK 300 motor for about $3200. I can probably get that much for my AP120.

 

The biggest issue I see is losing spot lock. I use spot lock a lot. The trade off is speed.

 

I never pull the trigger on things like this without a lot of thought. We’ll see what happens six months from now.

[GreenPig]

Koz, I thought you were thinking about getting a boat. 

[Koz]

1 minute ago, GreenPig said:

Koz, I thought you were thinking about getting a boat. 

I was. But I really enjoy kayak fishing and my plan for 2025 is to do a lot of tournaments.

 

Things are a bit up in the air now as the Bassmaster schedule won’t be released until the 10th. I may also have some life changes coming up that could have me fishing the SC Kayak Bass Nation trail instead of the GA trail.

[LrgmouthShad]

I don’t think I would trade off spot lock. I don’t gots it, so I don’t have the full picture, but spot locking seems like a rather large advantage in a yak

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I don’t think I would trade off spot lock. I don’t gots it, so I don’t have the full picture, but spot locking seems like a rather large advantage in a yak

As a person with many paddle kayaks and a boat with just a basic trolling motor/outboard too, having spot lock would be a dream.

Speed means nothing, and i have a kayak thats meant for speed (not a fishing kayak sadly).

 

Whats the advantage of getting from point A to B fast, just to get blown to point C in 20 seconds?

[casts_by_fly]

Having now used spot lock for four years, I’d be lost without it. I’ve fished the front of my dad’s boat and spot lock/cruise control is just so nice for going down the bank. I’ll never have a boat without it. 
 

if you really want more speed then put another electric in the back. EPropulsion spirit 1.0. 

[Koz]

2 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

As a person with many paddle kayaks and a boat with just a basic trolling motor/outboard too, having spot lock would be a dream.

Speed means nothing, and i have a kayak thats meant for speed (not a fishing kayak sadly).

 

Whats the advantage of getting from point A to B fast, just to get blown to point C in 20 seconds?

When you tournament fish, speed is a big deal if your pre fishing spots don’t pan out.

 

A three mile run will take me a full hour in my AP 120, whereas it would take me only 20-30 minutes with a kayak using an NK 300 or other rear drive motors. That’s an extra 30-40 minutes of fishing in an 8 hour tournament day.

 

The other option is to get back to the ramp, load up, and drive to a new ramp. That can take a chunk of time as well.

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

Having now used spot lock for four years, I’d be lost without it. I’ve fished the front of my dad’s boat and spot lock/cruise control is just so nice for going down the bank. I’ll never have a boat without it. 
 

if you really want more speed then put another electric in the back. EPropulsion spirit 1.0. 

Tournaments limit kayaks to one motor only.

[padon]

it would be tough for me to not have spot lock unless i atleast had a pedal drive to kind of act like a front trolling motor.

[Susky River Rat]

Covering water faster means nothing if you can’t fish the areas properly. If you are fighting to keep position which you will be without spot lock you won’t fish them near as effective and you will miss fish. Never give up control for speed in fishing. Imagine that tournament you were just in with all the wind than not having spot lock. You will be shooting yourself in the foot safety and fishing wise.

[TnRiver46]

I tie my spot locker to the end of a rope 

[Koz]

3 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

Covering water faster means nothing if you can’t fish the areas properly. If you are fighting to keep position which you will be without spot lock you won’t fish them near as effective and you will miss fish. Never give up control for speed in fishing. Imagine that tournament you were just in with all the wind than not having spot lock. You will be shooting yourself in the foot safety and fishing wise.

I’m going to disagree. Whether it’s pre-fishing or tournaments, the pros are covering water. Maybe it’s only a 5 minute ride by boat, but that’s a 1.5 hour jaunt in a kayak going 3 mph. If a kayak can go 8 mph instead of 3 mph that cuts the travel time to 37 minutes.

 

Livescope takes some of the guesswork out of fishing, especially when finding bait and even bass. 

 

Then again, that’s one of the great debates in fishing. Do you hang out in an area where there should be fish and wait for them to cycle back to that area or do you move to another spot?

[Susky River Rat]

@Kozyou can’t compare what pros do in a boat to kayak fishing. That’s part of the challenge is you have to pick the right areas or load up and pick another area. The top kayak guys and gals will tell you that too. I have fished tournaments too with a large no wake area that spans 45 plus minutes to get to one end. It’s planning. Plus I have to be at weigh in by a certain time with live fish.  Even the pro guys in boats make 2-3 hour runs at certain places. Sorry to lecture you but, you need to plan better to fish the areas that have the fish you need vs trying to cover water. You should have a pattern some what established. This is what makes tournaments harder than going out and just fishing.  Give up spot lock for a a day in the wind than come back and thank us later. 

[gim]

Disclosure: I don't own a yak.  But I follow along with the yak events posted here by @Koz and @Bluebasser86 because I enjoy reading them.

 

This is a tough call.  I can see the point being made for both.  Travelling time is wasted time.  You can't catch fish if you're spending time moving from point A to point B.  Especially if you have to load back up at a ramp and drive.  That is a significant amount of time completely wasted.  Comparing it to hauling ass in a bass boat is not a good comparison either.

 

Fishing can be done without spot lock.  My god you guys act like you don't know how to fish without it.  How did anyone catch a fish in the history of bass fishing without it?  I use a talon.  I control my boat with the cable steer foot pedal.  Use the wind and current to my advantage if I have to.  Even a traditional anchor and rope would work like old school @TnRiver46 does.

 

I don't know if the OP has a micro power pole spike but that might be worth looking at as a trade off to add some speed.

[Bluebasser86]

I’d rather be a little slower to my spot and be more effective when I get there, than fight my boat position but get there faster.

[Motoboss]

On 12/1/2024 at 2:00 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

I don’t think I would trade off spot lock. I don’t gots it, so I don’t have the full picture, but spot locking seems like a rather large advantage in a yak

Mehhh, maybe so. Spot lock is convenient but I wouldn’t consider it a must have. Admittedly, I used it often on lakes but in moving water it danced constantly and couldn’t hold an accurate spot, which in rivers wasn’t good allowing the kayak to swing with the current creating too much movement.

 

On still water it was nice to hold a position to fish deep structure but being able to move slowly (fishing banks or edges) is far more important to me than being able to sit in one spot, and any trolling motor will let you accomplish that. Deep structure to me is 20ish foot and an anchor can accomplish that cheaply. I would venture most kayakers fish shallow (10’/20’) water the majority of the time so spot lock is just a convenience.

 

I feel it is extremely nice but not mandatory.

[LrgmouthShad]

Thanks for the perspective @Motoboss. Dont got it so I don’t got the full picture. As someone who doesn’t own a motor on my yak, I anchor quite a bit. Especially for deep water fishing

[Motoboss]

7 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Thanks for the perspective @Motoboss. Dont got it so I don’t got the full picture. As someone who doesn’t own a motor on my yak, I anchor quite a bit. Especially for deep water fishing

I actually sold my AP120 and now roll in Sportspal 13’ canoe with a 55# Newport motor. Giving up spot lock for a more stable, more comfortable, roomier and faster canoe was a trade off I was willing to make.

[Susky River Rat]

I fished for years out of a Coleman scanoe with a TM mainly lakes. I would have LOVED to have spot lock on that. I hate anchoring. It’s a pain and I’m the river you end of losing a lot of them.   15mph winds without spot lock? Forget it unless you are out of the wind or again want to anchor

 

. Some days I never put it on spot lock. Most days I use it heavily. I’ll only move 10 to 15ft than spot lock again just to get different angles on things. The ability it gives you to not have to throw an anchor pull up than throw again is invaluable to me. Wind, wake and current is where it shines.  Flat calm days it’s not needed.  I just can’t see giving up being able to move around and stay in one area anytime you want for speed. 

[Motoboss]

On 12/1/2024 at 8:30 AM, Koz said:

That Bonafide XTR 130 is looking better and better. It looks like I could pair that with an NK 300 motor for about $3200. I can probably get that much for my AP120.

 

The biggest issue I see is losing spot lock. I use spot lock a lot. The trade off is speed.

 

I never pull the trigger on things like this without a lot of thought. We’ll see what happens six months from now.

I say go for it. I went to a canoe from my AP for several reasons and have no regrets. Fortunately the tournaments I fish allow canoes to fish along side the kayaks.

 

 I agree speed is a larger factor than being able to sit in one spot.

You’ve already done most of the work with all the add-ons on the AP which will transfer easily.

3 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

I fished for years out of a Coleman scanoe with a TM mainly lakes. I would have LOVED to have spot lock on that. I hate anchoring. It’s a pain and I’m the river you end of losing a lot of them.   15mph winds without spot lock? Forget it unless you are out of the wind or again want to anchor

 

. Some days I never put it on spot lock. Most days I use it heavily. I’ll only move 10 to 15ft than spot lock again just to get different angles on things. The ability it gives you to not have to throw an anchor pull up than throw again is invaluable to me. Wind, wake and current is where it shines.  Flat calm days it’s not needed.  I just can’t see giving up being able to move around and stay in one area anytime you want for speed. 

I think a lot of it has to do with fishing style also. I hardly ever sit still, constantly moving, fishing different stretches and structures so spot lock was used sparingly.
 

Now it was nice to retie lures or dig out a birds nest 😬

[Susky River Rat]

@Motoboss I do move around a lot just not leaps and bounds with my TM that’s for the outboard. I am a picker and want to pick apart an area for every last fish. 
 

the problem is he is talking tournament fishing. He needs to find fish or a pattern first. There is a reason why when they have bass master on live there are very few pros running rouge. They all tend to be in clumps together. Not saying rouge doesn’t work but, the fish have to be there. You cannot aimlessly cover water. You have to cover water with fish.  You can’t find that out on money day. 

[Motoboss]

Yes you have to find /pattern fish but you have to have the ability to move too. The difference between 3/4mph and 6 is tremendous in even making it to your spots.

 

You also see the pros moving, frequently miles to other productive areas,,,,,but not at 3mph against a head wind. Distance is unrelated between boats and kayaks. Pro boat fishing is not relevant to kayak fishing in the least.

 

I’ve said nothing about rouge roaming at all. Having an “area” is more important than a “spot” to me. With the right pattern I can fish effectively any area that I can get to so staying in a “spot” is less productive once it’s fished through it.

I know of no tournament kayak fishermen that fish only one spot, at least not long and when they move speed is vital, as @Koz stated.  A spot is a quarter mile bank and an area is four/five miles of bank. That being said, spot lock becomes less valuable in the overall scheme of things. All in all I’d say a pedal kayak is of greater benefit in addition to a great motor than spot lock.

[gim]

35 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

You cannot aimlessly cover water. You have to cover water with fish.  You can’t find that out on money day. 

Sure you can. Absent scoping, that’s how a lot of tournaments anglers pre-fish. Cover water until you find fish, beat it into a pulp, then look for other similar areas that are likely to hold fish. Repeat.

 

Simply covering water during the actual event is not a good idea though because it wastes time. That’s also likely to fail with event held on pressured lakes.

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

 

Fishing can be done without spot lock.  My god you guys act like you don't know how to fish without it.  How did anyone catch a fish in the history of bass fishing without it?  

The same way we ran boats wide open throttle beofre GPS and electronic maps 

[Susky River Rat]

@gimruis absolutely pre fishing that works. I am strictly talking when the money is on the line.  Fishing for fun and fishing a tournament need to be approached differently. He’s talking about trying to cover water during the day of. 

[Motoboss]

Taken from another, older thread stressing the importance of movement.

The next few lines are from Britt Myers about his latest MLF experience at Dale Hollow: 

 

‘’Literally, I never fished anywhere today that I fished the first day,” Myers said. “I think those fish are just roaming anywhere from 4 foot to 30 foot. And I know it sounds crazy. I don’t understand that. It’s against everything in the bass fishing handbook. But that’s what’s going on.”