So I was out fishing for some bass on a small Lake up here in northern Minnesota, and as soon as my ned rig hit bottom I felt a solid thump, and when I set the hook and started feeling the fight I thought I had a state record largemouth on (just a bit over 8 lb up here) anyway it started moving my kayak around and I was getting very excited because I thought I had a nice bass on I even loosened my drag...

In total it probably dragged my kayak about 15 ft. Turns out it was this big old bluegill. I couldn't believe it. After my initial excitement passed I thought I probably had hooked into a medium small Northern from how it was moving me around 😂 😂

I primarily fish for salmon and bottom fish in the PNW. I don't need to carry a lot of rods, just a trolling rod, jigging rod, net and a gaff. I do like trolling with an 8lb downrigger ball, which is way too heavy for tracks. I also wanted to put an optional motor on for those days that the salmon decide to hold in 400ft of water. I like trolling with the pedals but the motor will help get me out and back.

The solution that I came up with is not new, but I am happy with the way it turned out. I put a plate on each side of the kayak on the gunnel. I used the same holes as the stock rod holders so I only had to widen them, not drill new ones. (If I sell the kayak I can put the rod holders back with nuts and bolts rather than the current screws.) I also put a base plate inside the kayak on each side to distribute the weight. Finally I ran a crosspiece connected to the plate on each side so that each side balances out some of the pressure from the other side. Most of the weight should be straight down although I had to add a brace on the side of the motor to handle the racking forces when you open the motor wide open. The wiring is simple because the motor is close to the battery so it runs outside the kayak. Mostly scrap aluminum. The motor and battery are from amazon as are the hardware bits and pieces. I don't think that I could have got it done for any cheaper.

Just a pic dump of the progression. I started with a 9.5 Pescador and moved up to a Hobie PA14. Lots of great times all the way through.

Been working on a custom crate for both kayak and bank fishing. It can be a hassle handling poles, tackle boxes, chair, etc all at once. No more hassle of a chair when it's combined with the tackle box.

I’m looking to get an OT Sportsman PDL 106 before next summer. I think I’m going to get a new one since I don’t have Facebook so can’t use the marketplace to find used deals.

Does anyone know if there are better Old Town sales before next summer? It looks like I could get about 20% off the 106 right now but wanted to see if they traditionally have any offseason sales that are better deals. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

my trusty setup

Got this picture while kayaking. Turned out alright.

Hi all, I finally got a penn downrigger off of facebook marketplace. Going to be installing it to my Old Town Sportsman 106 PDL. I also ordered thr v lock and braided line.

I'm going to have to cut the boom arm short. Does anyone have an instruction or video that I can reference? I rarely deal with metal stuff so I want to make sure I know what I'm doing

Thanks in advance!

Check out my custom rod holders !

Hello! I’ve been fishing most of my life but more recently been interested in buying a paddle kayak for my first kayak specifically for fishing on small lakes, ponds and rivers here in central Texas. Mostly targeting bass. I’m 5’9” and around 220 and have narrowed it down to these two as I’m trying to keep it under $1k and I’ve seen them both on sale recently. Was wondering if out of the two which would be a better option for anyone with experience with either yak.

Just got my new yak gonna take it out into the coos to do some salmon trolling. I see people using 360 flashers. I just need some reference or help. First time salmon trolling what weight should I use bait and leader setup and length. Thanks y’all.

I've been out on my pedal yak 5 times now, trolling for kokanee, and my current pain point is that staying in the 1-1.2mph range takes concerted effort. My natural cadence puts me around 2mph and spending 4 hours constantly focused on going the right speed isn't fun.

How do I go slower in a more enjoyable way? Would a drift sock help? What if I switched from clip weights to downrigger balls, would that add enough drag?

this is a pretty darned nice, Basic, sub $1000 fishing kayak. (that’s the TLDR verdict)

It paddles well, glides well for a 12.5 footer, Its pretty responsive to directional paddle commands. could benefit from a rudder in the breeze (most yaks do) but straight line tracking is very good even without a rudder.

paddle used was my Werner Adjustable Shuna.

it’s not a “fast” boat - but it does maintain a nice cruise without too much effort. sprint speed is pretty “meh” but its quick enough to get out of its own way.

its pretty stable. (I didn’t try to stand in it… don’t understand the fascination newer fishermen have with this)

the boat handles acceptably in a gentle breeze, light chop, and small swell. Surf was peaking at about a 4’ face with an occasional 5 footer in some sets - I wasn’t glass calm, but it also wasn’t a big surf day.
punching out was no problem (mainly timing the sets to AVOID the bigger waves in The set) it climbed over the peewee 2’ surf I did have to plow it through with confidence. not sure I’d take it out off an unprotected beach on a REAL big day… but for what the boat is it did well.
on Returning it came in pretty good, again with proper timing (not sure it would have handled one of the 5’ faces so adroitly) and handled the peewee following surf well enough. It rejected being picked up when I said so with my paddle, since These newer fishing yaks are more “bass angler” centric they tend to lack the bow rocker of the older designs - so you REALLY don’t want to surf one. But this Moken says “no” when I tell it to.
My verdict: it’s An acceptable near shore, light offshore, saltwater yak For someone that wants To try it out without going all in for a few thousand, or wants something that will fit in a pickup truck bed, or wants a damn decent “spare or guest” boat in their quiver.

fishability and outfitting is basic, but gives an entry level or grab n’ go fisherman what he will need.
it comes with two flush mounts (which I had to modify with gimbal pins… don’t understand why they don’t always mold those in for the conventional rod users)

the gear track is FeelFree’s uni track. so you’ll need adaptors to use standard track accessories (no big deal but remember to buy a bag of them) Mounted an off brand Scotty style road holder to the port gunwale forward of my paddle arc - to be a third hand while handling fish or serve for bottom fishing if I choose to do that from this yak later.
the “center sonar pod“ will be modified with a basic pirranahMAX4 di fish finder (still waiting for my battery to arrive… curse you USPS) I haven’t installed it so can’t comment on that. but it LOOKS like it will be an effective option for adding sonar without having to drill a bunch of holes in the actual boat. (not that that is a bad thing if you know what you are doing) I’ll be mounting the head unit to the lid of the sonar pod with a Ram ball style short stalk mount.

the seat was very comfortable- I ran it in the lowest position - for stability. I’ll probably leave it there.
but I gotta say, these modern framed seats? Yeah… flipping awesome, why did they not do that sooner?!

(I don’t think anyone ever WANTED to sit in a puddle…)

I paddled about 5 miles (it’s been a LOOOOOOOONG while since I paddled a yak… since I drive an AI… ol’ upper bod is a little sore 😂)

did I catch anything? yeah… but hardly worth mentioning (1 damn coronetfish… long snoot pain in the backside) I was mainly trolling small minnow plugs on light spinning tackle over the outside reefs along Maui’s south side, maybe 1/4 to a half mile off the beach

saw a lot of green sea turtles (yawn. those are everywhere these days)

I DID see a 8’ manta ray cruise by. and THAT was pretty baller as sight seen goes.

Rouge river watershed MI. On an off drizzle whole time I was out but landed 6 on light gear.

Hi, I just got a Tamarack 100 and am looking for suggestions or build instructions for installing a trolling motor to the rear transom. Thank you in advance!

I found a decent deal on a Catch 100 with a home-made motor mount. Is this structurally sound? Does the torque cause excess stress on rivets? it is attached via the existing rod holder mounts.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Recommendations?

Hi all, I thinking of buying a sea eagle fasttrack angler. I've previously owned an isup and hard shell kayak which I regularly use to paddle for upto 12 miles.

Do you think it would be much harder to paddle the fasttrack angler those kind of distances?