jessewade

That set up is very similar to a lot of in lines we use in the northwest and alaska for coho and kings(size and colors vary obviously) A quick search of janns netcraft or some of the other custom tackle stores and you would be in business making your one and have the abiltiy to customize to fit your needs.

I am a huge fan of braid on most of my reels because i am a big soft plastic fisherman and the increased sensitivity truly showed in the number of fish I bring to hand. Mind you I use atleast a six foot flouro leader usually in 10 or 12lb to keep that braid out of the fishes view. You do need to watch out for the new coated lines. I have read and seen a lot of cases where your line will build up on the side walls and roll over causing an impossible birds nest. I will say the new Nanofil and Power Pro Super Slick 8 are some amazing lines but i would stick to those on your spinning set ups. My opinion on the mono versus flouro for main line: Mono for one is the more economical way to go and works well in a lot of situations. The downside I have found are needing to treat the line more often(If you weren't aware mono actually does soak up water and degrades the line over time. Soak a length of mono over a day and check the difference in breaking strength) mono also has bouyant properties so you will get a slower fall on light baits and more current pulling on that line with it hanging higher in the water column(all the fly fishing types can attest to that theory) The last property to consider with mono is the stretch of mono. if making long casts across current I have found I have missed hook sets by the time I pick up the line straightening the bow from the current and the extra stretch not driving the hook home. With flouro the first deterrent is the price tag on the wall at the store. With that factor out of the way you will have line that sinks faster to allow those light craws and tubes to get in to the strike zone. Conversely I prefer mono when fishing topwater to keep that bait's nose from hanging down when walking the dog or running a popper. While I know most of my fishing is done on the fox and I don't feel I need to hide my line as much, if i step over to the Kishwaukee or the Dupage I have more confidence in no spooking fish with the line. Lastly is the lower stretch on flouro that allows me to gain contact faster to the hook point when i pick up my line. just my .02

I am looking at getting my hands on either a Ride 135 or a 140 commander and would like to trade my ocean kayak trident 13 or a heritage redfish 12. both these boats are in great condition, my trident may need a new drag pad. Also the trident has a fish finder mounted on it already and would be willing to negotiate throwing in the head unit as well.

Does anyone know if the kish or the Rock are still free of ice? I am looking to duck hunt in the morning and have lost all my open water. I have never hunted on either so if anyone knows some areas that are legal to hunt it would be much appreciated.

keep an eye on that spool as well, not sure about 832 but i know a lot of the new super braids have a coating on it which I have seen issues with it building up on the edges of the spool and then causing some wicked bird's nest if it rolls over on itself. I have had this problem with super slick 8, I just love the sensitivity though so i just keep an eye on it.

as for a repeat trip, i will have to break out my disguises and paint the yak because that is far too good of a piece of water.

I will publicly state that katy did take the win that day! she ended up with 13 smallies and a rock bass and I ended up with 11. Then again I can't really complain too much. There are much worse problems to have than having her out fish me.

well I apologize for the gap between the trip and posting up. First off me and katy both want to thank everyone for welcoming us with open arms. We both agree that we had an awesome time and are already talking about a repeat trip before the weather turns. The run down was fairly easy one we both started out with a brown gitzit tube on a jig(i had a flat stand up and katy had a confidence bait draggin head) both of us tried other baits but all of our fish came on those tubes. With most of my strikes coming on the initial drop and pause with the rest coming after the first of second hop. I got strikes on poppers, buzz baits, spinner bait and a lipless crank bait but no hook ups. I will say the picture does not do this fish justice, the current was taking me one way and the wind was pulling katy the other way.

I will be there with a plus one. I will have two yaks on the racks and probably be able to get two or three depending in the bed of my truck for transport if needed.

deal!, I have been to one of the weekly outings and learned a lot from just watching the other group members.

Jim, I completely agree with mike and I apologize for making it seem as if I was trying to change ISA in any way. I do believe it would be very easy to tie in to help ISA's mission statement with a get together on any body of water. I was a member of Pirates of Lynnhaven which is a saltwater based kayak fishing club and they would do days where we would either go out in the morning and clean up the bay with our kayaks and then come in for lunch and head back out to fish in the afternoon(no rods were allowed in the morning just so you weren't tempted to cast to fish) the other format they used in a friendly competition style format was you had to bring in a certain size bag of trash to be able to register the fish you caught. Just food for thought Mikea, I recently fished the National Kayak Bass Fishing Open with Drew and had a chance to talk to him briefly and I believe a lot of his time is possibly working on a fishing show so the tournament trail has slid by the wayside. I know he sounded like he wanted to still work on it but he has a lot more time wrapped up in the production of his show. on a side note I wouldn't mind not fishing against him again because he is a preverbial stud when it comes to kayak fishing.

I would love to get together to do some kayak fishing. As for size of the event I would definitely say that a small club event is the way to go.

very funny you found that article. Wayne is a friend of mine and I have fished tournaments with him, against him and fished in his tournament that is coming up in october if anyone would like the information and make the pilgrimage to virginia. Keep in mind the TKAA tournament in Virginia is I believe the second largest tournament on the East coast(behind Jamaica Bay NY) and I believe they are looking at having around 300+ fisherman competing this year. If this is a club event then I would say the proceeds could go right back in to the club or any local programs that the club already supports. Donations can come from local business that club members are patrons of and I am sure i can call around to some people who I am sure would support a small tournament in order to further expand the kayak fishing world. Wayne made some comments about cheating and arguing, I still have rules from most tournaments that I have fished and can contact tournament directors in order to mix and match rules to fit the needs of this event. One of the biggest rules that comes in to play to have people avoid cheating is the identifier. During a CPR tournament the fish is caught, layed on a measuring device and a picture is taken before release. Making sure all cameras have proper date stamp and a unique identifier that is handed out just prior to the event is in the picture to re verify that the fish was caught during the tournament time line. http://www.tkaa.org/tournament/rules.html here is the rules to Wayne's tournament if you are interested. in seeing

I can look in to permits and permission. Keep in mind if it is just a club gathering challenge then it would be the same as the weekly get togethers. When you start having prizes involved then you run in to the legalities of it. A simple challenge for bragging rights would be easy enough to set up. Fishing TournamentsAs fishing tournaments are becoming increasingly popular, tournament organizers should be aware that in some cases, a fishing tournament permit is required. Organizations wishing to hold a fishing tournament on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) reservoirs (Lake Shelbyville 217/774-3951, Carlyle Lake 618/594-2484, and Rend Lake 618/724-2493) must obtain a fishing tournament permit and fee from the USACOE Lake Office prior to applying for a IDNR Fishing Tournament Permit. For all other State-owned and managed sites you must contact that site to see if a usage permit is required. Applications for Fishing Tournament Permits must be received no less than 60 days prior to the tournament date or the permit will be denied. Return completed applications to: 60 days will put anything for this year in atleast october This is straight from the IDNR website. So first things first the body of water would need to be picked out. Past tournaments I have fished have a "trailer rule" Meaning everyone meets up the night before for a captains meeting or emails will be sent out with the identifier, and from that captains meeting you as the angler have a radius(e.g. 50 miles from the tournament headquarters) to fish the following day. This allows people to choose the body of water they best feel will yield a winning stringer. The downside is , that you don't get the centralized commraderie and competition. (hearing somebody whooping and hollering across the lake will send your mind in to overload when time is running out)

it was good to meet you as well Edward, was tough watch those fish crashing caddis and other bugs and not being able to do much with them. Bart I read about the river bassin and was disapointed to learn that. If there is enough interest I can make some calls to tournament directors and we can mesh together rules that would fit the club. Simple enough Catch Photo Release format with a identifier either handed out or emailed out directly prior to fishing. Either do a big fish or a three fish aggregate. Either seperate Fly from terminal or have everyone together.