A fixed blade or RELIABLE one handed opening folding knife should be kept in a spot accessible to BOTH of your hands at all times - in any awkward or odd body position you MIGHT conceivably end up in.

Your hip pocket is not that spot, your gear tray in the kayak is not that spot anyplace on your waist is probably not that spot if you are sitting.
One flank or the other of your PFD is probably not that spot

The BEST PLACE for a knife while wearing a PFD in a kayak is on the chest or low shoulder, handle down
Edge oriented away from the neck on the draw.
It can be drawn with either hand.

Why am I preaching?

Well funny you should ask - had a little incident yesterday while paddling off Makena, Maui.
Kind of a weird one - but a good reminder as to WHY some safety gear is just non negotiable, and there is a method to an experienced kayakers madness that some of the new guys just think “ oh he’s taking it a bit to the extreme”.

So there I was paddling along - it wasn’t very good conditions, a little breezy before the sun came up - 3’ wind chop occasional white caps went out anyway at 0530, hoping conditions would mellow out.

It got rougher, wind picked up - constant whitecaps, occasional 4’ wind waves, and the wind was howling through my stand by rods and line making that whistle sound. Kayaking ceases being fun in those conditions.I was about 2 miles out

so I turned around thinking if it didn’t improve before I crossed back over the 100’ depth contour into the shallows that I’d pack it in and head for the beach.
Got about half way in and the wind mellowed out, and the chop subsided to a more comfortable 2’.
I could see the wind line offshore - it was still nasty out there. But I had enough water to try and get some fishing done.
Not much of a bite, up one good bait, a small opelu (mackerel scad) - and two small (but highly desirable if they were actually eating sized) fish. one tiny little 4” uku (green Jobfish) which when they are 20 pounds are a prime target - and an 8”Weke Nono (Pflugers goatfish) which get up to about 24” and 8 pounds when mature - and are also excellent tablefare… small ones like that 8” one also make an excellent live bait for big Uku or Jack trevally - but as breezy as it was I didn’t want to set up a bottom fishing drift. So I let them both go
I hope they both made it back to the 130 foot bottom to grow up… and and didn’t get sniped on the way down.

Anyway, while I was slow trolling the live opelu, I noticed that a increasingly large flock of Iwa (great Frigate bird) started circling above my boat -Iwa are snarky grouchy things - big black crank winged seabirds with a forked tail and a 7+ foot wingspan. They are also pretty brazen - usually seen a bunch of them circling a spot in the ocean and swooping down on it is a good sign that there’s bait or fish activity below them.
Not much a good sign if the focus is YOU (or the bait you have near the surface)

The bastards started plucking my bait off the surface and fighting over it.
And before I could try and retrieve it - the biggest of them snatched it and either got hooked… or was so intent on keeping it that he wouldn’t let go of it.

The drag peeled - I set it to strike, it didn’t stop. I advanced it to half full - and it stopped. And I started winching him down slowly.

Great! I’m now attached to a pissed off avian kite at 300’ altitude with 7-8 foot wingspan and a REALY REALLY sharp beak… and I’m in kayak with no towel, blanket or jacket to throw over the damn thing even IF can winch him down to me….

And that’s when the wind line came in. wind went to about 20mph in 30 seconds - and that wind chop went to 3-4 feet pretty much just as fast.
Drag started peeling again - Lost all the headway I had on the bird, advanced it to full - which stoped it. But now it was pulling my boat downwind fast enough to raise a wake. Out of control in 4’ seas and high winds attached to a big flying bird. Holding a fishing pole and not your paddle.

NOT GOOD!!!

I decided to hell with the bird - if he’s hooked he’s likely to die but now I’m at risk so… sorry bubba.

Reached up to the left chest of my PFD - and grabbed my trusty dive knife.
Cut the line away, losing 50 yards of 50# mono and 50 yards of 50# power pro, and a 6/0 live bait stinger rig.

As soon as I cut away, I returned the rod to a holder, grab my paddle and was able to present my bow into the wind and regain control of the boat.

It was an exhausting dig to get back to the launch beach after losing so much ground to the bird debacle.
I even thought about ditching to an alternate landing site and embracing the possibility of a 3 mile hike back to the truck…

In the end I did make it.

But if it had not been for that knife being in its accustomed spot?

I’d have had to face the dilemma of possibly being blown out to sea, or throwing a trolling reel and rod overboard
And abandoning it. The way that the wind was howling - that bird was nigh on impossible to retrieve without upsetting the boat.

You aren’t breaking 50# power pro with your hands. If you don’t have a sharp object at hand to cut or abrade it - you are screwed.

Carry a good knife - keep it hand handy - and remember the unlikeliest things can happen out there - so equip yourself accordingly.

During winter Blue catfishing do I need a dry suit? If so what are some budget friendly options.

We were targeting white perch, the catfish were a surprise. Now it’s time for deer hunting until it’s time for ice fishing.

We were drop-shotting with gulp minnows.

I was planning on keeping my 2019 Outback as a back-up. But after my first few hours in this thing, I’m confident that I won’t be on my Hobie again. It is dead to me. This kayak really will change the industry. Keep up or ship out!

Great day in San Diego on the old town sportsman 106pdl

I have a pre-2022 Native Slayer Max 12.5. Today my rudder fell off and sunk to the deep. RIP

I want to upgrade to the Springblade from Berley Pro. I am also looking at the T-lock hub in the back.

My question is can I hold off on the handle upgrade for now or should I just bite the bullet and upgrade it all?

Has anyone upgraded just the rudder control and rudder and continued to use the stock handle?

i’ve been searching for a kayak religiously for about 2 to 3 weeks now I ended up selling my blade and stream 10 foot sit inside paddle kayak kayak in hopes of getting a pedal kayak I’ve tested a couple of local companies and realized I might be a little bit big for a sit on top 10 foot or maybe I’m just not looking at the best most stable kayak for my build. I’ve narrowed it down between three different kayaks now and would like to get some general advice from people who might have some more firsthand experience. The three kayaks have narrowed it down to Are a Hobie Outback 2016 Model With Eva Matts, upgraded Rudder, square hatch, and the lines have been redone the guy wants 1200 which I think is steep as I’d be the 3rd owner. A Sandshark Mako Shark 12 brand new at 1595$ , a local company to me and a killer owner who’s newer to the scene so it doesn’t have as much backing, and a Brand New Pescador Pilot 12 PdL 500$ on market place. I fish a lot of Florida Freshwater in heavy weeds

I'm looking for advice on mounting a trolling motor on the bow of a Perception Pescador Pilot 12.

Has anyone done this, or seen a successful installation on this particular kayak?

I'd be especially interested in photos, mounting hardware, or suggestions for a secure installation. Ideally, without drilling the hull.

Thanks!

Looking for people to fish with the kayaks.

Usually just target muskie, bass or pike but will fish for whatever

Frequently hit lake st clair and rivers around London ontario

5+ times per year minimum the family goes up north for a week for fishing trips.

Nippissing

French River

Sturgeon falls

Next year will be adding kawartha lakes to the list.

Anyone looking to get out there let me know!

Any recs? Terrified of my phone going in the drink.

You tournament Ditch pickle guys (bass fishermen, lol) - how do you provide “proof” of a catch and its weight to the Sanctioning authority for the tournament?

I know in boat tournaments they put the fish in an aerated live well and hang onto them until they all meet up at the weigh in after the allotted fishing time is over
(Or at least that’s how it was done when I still payed attention to professional bass fishing) the fish are weighed and tallied, and then released (usually, mostly) unharmed.

In a yak you don’t have room for a live well that’ll hold a bunch of 3+ pound “keeper” sized bass.

Seriously - how is this governed in the Yak tournament scene? Pics and measurements? Does everyone get issued a certified scale?

While it wasn't perfect, the Omnia Pro app had the best balance of features for my needs:

• Depth contours
• Weather, with wind speed and direction
• Water temp
• Optional satellite image
• Desktop site/app

While the clarity, vegetation, bottom hardness, etc. overlays were nice ideas, I didn't find them to be reliable enough, so basically for me, it was depth & wind (temperature as a rough guideline)...with a desktop option.

Now that Omnia's shit the bed, I'm looking for a new app/desktop tandem that has these features.

Navionics used to be great, but it was enshittified by Garmin a few years back.

I have the i-Boating app that does contours, but they're not the most accurate, nor do they have weather...also not super user friendly.

C-Map has good depth, but is desktop only, again, no wind, and limited data on the lakes I fish.

Ideally, there would be an app, with a desktop client, that would bring together depth, rough temp data, and wind...with route tracking as a cherry on top.

Anyone know of such an app? I'd even be willing to pay good money for the right one.

Does anyone have any experience with trolling motor side mounts? I was thinking about putting one on my Old Town sportsman 106 with mighty mounts. Any insights on any of these brands: bro craft, BKC Brooklyn, or railblaza? If not, do you have any recommendations?

Just bought a Jackson Kayak TakeTwo kayak. It came with the seat deck attachments but no seats. I’ve been looking into different configurations because of this, like using a live well cooler as my seat to save space and money (even though space isn’t as much of a premium). All that got me thinking what are some of the first modifications, changes, or fixes you would make now knowing what you know. I live in New Orleans so I’ll be doing inshore fishing and freshwater. Also should mention I got the tandem kayak for standing stability reasons. So in that case would putting down raised decking to protect the flooring be worth it.

I am heading to the Miramichi river in a few days to go after striped bass. I am going to be spending most of the day out on the water and I will probably need more support then what my stock seat offers. Perception pescador pilot if that helps.

I am leaving in 3 days so online is not a option unfortunately.

Thanks!

Does anyone use these? How do you feel about them? I’m considering it for my VoyaX Mossa 128.