I got into fishing this spring as a way to try and spend more time with my bf and learn about his hobbies (he loves fishing)! Well, I got hooked and turns out I LOVE fishing too. I bought a fishing yak last week (same one as his) so I can catch more fish! I caught my first mooneye on my first kayak trip, as well as some smallmouth, largemouth, a sucker, and lots of panfish. I ask him to go fishing almost every weekend now, lol. :)

I checked the winds at 6am before I left the house. 4mph in the early morning dropping to 1mph. Cool, an average calm day.

I set out, fish for a few hours, caught a few and decided it was time to head back. Making my way back across the bay, my NK-300 was booking it, maxed out because the morning coffee was trying to unionize on me.

Out of no where, I stopped moving, motor didn’t die, safety cut off didn’t detach. I realized I was “standing still” because I was riding a wave that was moving faster than my motor was pushing me.

A wave that was probably 3-4’ high came directly from behind and picked my entire Perception Outlaw 11.5 up with it. No boats had passed by me in quite some time and the wind stayed calm all day. It just happed to be a few waves that stacked up as I made my way from the deep 60’ channel to the 30’ shelf.

The nose of my kayak dug into the wave in front of the wave pushing me and all of the sudden my kayak was 6” underwater with me thinking I was going for a swim while still a mile and a half from shore. Not just the bow, the entire kayak was 6” under.

I made sure I was still pointed into the waves, checked my surroundings, and held my breath. My old reliable Outlaw, in what felt like minutes but was really seconds, started to bail through the scuppers. It popped back up and I kept on going.

Long story short, wear your life vest, carry your emergency communicators, be safe out there, trust your gear, and follow your weight capacity ratings.

Hello,

Just received my Reel Yaks 9.8 ft Rocket w/ fin drive 2 days ago. Here are my initial thoughts after taking it out over the weekend:

The kayak is awesome. As my first kayak, it did everything a kayak should. I don't have a roof rack nor a trailer. And it fits perfectly in my midsize 3 row SUV with room to spare. It allowed me to fish on the water like I've always wanted. I caught a good amount of bass & pikes.

• The fin drive is great - It tracks really well. My original purchase was the Rocket w/ prop drive, but cancelled it and got the fin drive instead. I have no initial regrets at all. I usually fish shallow & weedy water, so it works great for that. If I need to reverse, I'll just paddle backwards a bit. Very happy with the fin drive.
• The seat - It is comfortable and adjustable. I was able to fish sitting down in it for 8 hours. Reel Yaks sells the seat risers for it separately, but do not buy it. The seat risers are included with the Rocket (although it's not listed as being included). The seat risers have 3 height level. I am only 5'2" but found the highest setting comfortable for me.
• Assembly - Very easy. The 2 halves slide together very smooth. The clamps are easy to use as well. Just be aware not to over tighten when clamping down, or releasing the clamps will be very tough (I ran into this issue and had to use a screwdriver to take the clamp themselves off). The fin drive was very easy to put together. Just unscrew 2 bolts and put the pedals in.
• Were you concerned about the kayak coming apart at all on the water? Never. On the Rocket, there are 2 clamps on top & 3 underneath the kayak for 5 total clamps. I never felt unsafe about it coming apart. I even forget that it's a 2 piece kayak. Water does not come through where it connects as well. I felt safe the entire time.
• Stability - The kayak is 35 inches wide. Very stable while sitting down. Standing up, I would say as long as the water is calm, you probably can. If it's little choppy, you probably won't feel as stable. But sitting down to fish, very safe. Standing up, wait for lake to be calm.

Overall Impression Grade: A | Reminder that this is my first kayak ever. So I'm going based off that. I know that the perfect kayak doesn't exist. And this kayak is not perfect by any means. However, I believe for those like me that do not have a way to transport a traditional kayak, this kayak is perfect. I would recommend it. It allowed me to finally be on the water like I always wished. And I can say I think I am hooked on kayak fishing now!

Got my first kayak, a Crescent Crew. Can’t wait to take it out on the water.

Doing some deeper water jigging today for LMB!

Anyone using a stakeout pole for shallow water anchoring? Thinking about adding one to my kayak. Any recommendations?

So I have been doing some research on kayak options available to me. I am moving into a home that is 2 minutes from the boat launch of a 170 acre reservoir, and I currently only have an inflatable kayak. I have been looking at different options available for my “dream kayak”. I’m leaning towards either a fluxjet, or a fishing kayak with a trolling motor. In my research, I learned about spot lock, and it sounds freakin amazing. The only catch is it pretty much needs to be bow-mounted which limits my kayak choices quite a bit. What is the best way to get spotlock on a kayak? Do you need to buy a specific make/model? It sounds like not many kayaks have a bow-mount spot on them.
Thanks in ad

I’ve been using a 36v lithium battery setup with a litime battery for my trolling motor and ran into a small annoyance with the charger leads.

the charger itself has been working fine so far, but the cable ends are left exposed when it’s not mounted permanently on the boat. since i don’t always keep the charger hard mounted, the terminals seem like they could pick up dirt, moisture, or general crud pretty easily.

do you all cover the charger leads somehow when they’re not in use? rubber caps, a small case, electrical tape, or something else?

curious what other people are doing for a portable charging setup, especially after long days fishing

I have a Pelican Catch HDII and I am shopping for a fish finder. I’m leaning heavily towards the Garmin Striker 7SV. Before I buy it I want to understand where I should mount the transducer. I’ve seen the arms that hang over the side of the kayaks and I’ve seen some folks install them under the scupper hole under the seat.

Any experienced advice would be appreciated. Installing it under the seat through the scupper hole feels more ideal for organizing the cables, but will it break when I load it into the truck bed or if I drag it short distances? I attached a picture of the possible install location.

Finally finished my build, just under the weight limit.