Native Ultimate 12...

Well after a year in my Jackson Coosa I decided it was time for a change... I looked at several different manufacturers and weighed my choices between a sit on top and a sit in. I looked really hard at the Cuda 12, the Slayer 12, the Kilroy, and the Ultimate 12... The day before I order I hear about the new Old Town Predator..... Well I had decided to try a sit in so as interested as I was I had made my mind up. I went with the Native Ultimate 12. I had been a loyal customer of ACK. They had the angler series for $1099 and free shipping... Done deal. I went ahead and ordered a bow skirt and some other goodies. I placed the order on the 9th and on the 14th I anxiously awaited Estes.... Ah that big yellow truck finally came around the corner and I was like a kid on Christmas morning! Here is the unveiling ...

I installed the anchor trolley, depth finder and transducer arm that day... The following day I fished!

33 fish in 6 hours on the water. My first impression .... It was definitely different than my Coosa. The boat is super stable. It paddles with ease and tracks well. As far as speed... Well I was fishing to much to try and test that out. I haven't had it in water with current an didn't stand because I was within spitting distance of gators all day. The boat glides after each paddle stroke. There does seem to be a tendency for the boat to turn as you stop paddling. My theory is that the pontoon style hull is super sensitive to weight transfer. It isn't a deal breaker but it did take a little getting use to. I am still tweaking the boat when it comes to tackle storage and rod holders. The boat comes with two flush Scotty rod holders installed where the normal flush tubes would be. They are kind of awkward and I may end up replacing them with the tube style. 

Tourney season ... One week out

     

      Well here I sit one week out from my first tourney out of the Jackson Coosa and I find my confidence in the gutter. We all have those days that we just don't catch fish. No one likes to talk about it but it happens to the best of them. The reason this picture is of the rock and not me smiling and holding a fish up is because I never saw one! Not on my line at least. I decided to go up and prefish this past Saturday. Good weather following a less than ideal week weather wise. Temps were in the low 50's when I arrived at the ramp before daylight. I had been told that the water temps were in the low 50's so I was thinking prespawn pattern. I had my confidence baits tied on, SK 3XD in a custom nasty shad color, Big Bite Baits 6" Kriet Tail in Talapia, a custom double willow spinnerbait in a shad color, and a weightless creature bait.
      I had never seen the lake before other than on Google Maps. I had some ideas where I wanted to fish but I had to contend with a ton of boats. There was a SJBA tourney there that day and they had a good turnout. I waited till they all launched before I unloaded. Once in the water I paddled to the first spot, nothing. Paddled to the next spot, nothing. This was the only pattern I was able to figure out all day long! My track on Navionics said I totaled out on the day having paddled 8.35 miles! (Big props to the Carlisle Expedition!) I got back to the ramp and was loading up when a jon boater came up to do the same. He had fish! Only a couple but there they were on ice and about to head to the frying pan! I took a quick inventory of his rods .... spinning rod, spinning rod, spinning rod ... hmmmm .... I had mine too. The difference was I never threw it! I thought about the way I had fished all day on the way home. I wanted the fish to eat what I wanted them to eat. Stubborn! I knew better, I knew what to fish before I went, I even ordered it all from Tackle Warhouse ... it was right there in my YakAttack BlackPak the whole time!
      I came home dejected, confused, and curious. Curious as to how those SJBA folks had done. I soon found out by way of Facebook and then the SJBA website.... It took 17.74 pounds to win that tourney with the big fish of the tourney being in the 6 lb range... I had done it all wrong. Luckily it was prefishing and not on tourney day. So as I sit here with less than a week before the SKA hits Stone Mountain, I have a game plan.... Let ya know how it goes!

Carlisle Expedition Product Review

Carlisle Expedition Kayak Paddle

 

       I have been in the market for another paddle now for a couple months. I asked for advice and most of the guys said Bending Branches, more specifically the angler series. I looked at the specs and I looked at the prices.... $200-$300 bucks... Why? Because they have built in measuring device on the shaft? Because there is a notch in the blade to help retrieve snagged lures? Because it is 3 ounces skinnier? Now don't get me wrong, I am by no means putting down the Bending Branches brand and I would be dishonest if I didn't indulge that I have never even put one in the water. This is not to belittle one brand or to boast another, it is simply to say this.... I found an economical paddle that performs well, weighs very little, and suits my needs for less than $120... Here are the specs.

 

Blade Material:	fiberglass
Shaft Material:	fiberglass
Lengths (cm):	220, 230, 240
Weight:	33 oz. (220 cm length)
Blade Colors:	yellow
Shaft Color:	yellow

 

Carlisle msrp is 159.00 and the paddle can be found at this price at a ton of retailers. Me being the person that I am, I always look for a better deal. I was lucky enough to find the paddle for 109.00 on Amazon.com. With shipping I had the paddle in three days for a grand total of $114.30. Although the specs list the paddle as being yellow it is actually translucent. The color comes from the resin used in the manufacturing process. The paddle is not finished, meaning it is not painted or coated to alter the color with the exception of the black section at the drip rings. The shaft is not perfectly round but rather oblonge to make the grip more ergonomic. My first day on the water I paddled for more than two miles in the wind and when I got back on land I felt like I hadn't paddled at all. Overall I was more than impressed. I don't think that this paddle can compete with the higher end paddles with carbon fiber shafts in the weight category, but I have yet to find an all glass paddle that outshines the Carlisle Expedition. They also offer a paddle that is listed as an angler series expedition with the same msrp.

The angler edition had a painted shaft and blade as seen above and does come in an ounce heavier because of it. Both models have a push button take down and the blades can be feathered at 60 degrees both ways or inline.

 

 

     The bottom line for me is this... I am not on any pro teams or pro staffs. If I have it, I have either bought it or built it. My reviews are not biased by an image that I am trying to put forth for one company or another. I am not saying that Carlisle has built "the" paddle, I am simply saying that they have "a" paddle with a price point that a lot of people can handle and with performance to match. Check em out if you are in the market for one.

 

*note to self* ... see if Carlisle needs a pro staffer!!! Hahaha.... Tight lines everyone!

 

Anchor Trolley Install

As most of us probably do I have slowed down a bit with the fishing but I simply can not stop thinking about it. I recently purchased a shallow water anchor and had been using the scupper hole as my hold when anchored. It worked ok but I opted for the 8 footer so you can imagine in 5 feet of water I had a good 2 feet sticking through the boat! So a trolley was a neccasary addition. I had been looking a good bit and there are some really nice systems out there. Then I got to thinking..... It is really just some pulleys, a ring, and some cord.... Heck I had 2/3rds of that in my garage! The rest was readily available at my local hardware store. I figured with my outings being mostly fresh water nickel plated hardware would be perfect. I picked up two pulleys and a 1 1/2 in ring and started playing with the setup. The coosa has several pad eyes on either side for the dog lease drag chain system so I was hopeful that I could do another no holes install. After setting it up I quickly found that an extra pad eye was going to be a must to get the trolley to line up properly. I had a pad eye and again started playing with placement. Once I was satisfied I marked my holes and drilled them using a 3/16 bit. Applied a little goop and tightened it down with stainless screws and lock nuts. I used 1/8 bungee to tie the pulleys to the pad eyes to give the trolley a little give. Ran my 550 cord and secured my ring to both ends. Trimmed off all my excess and melted the cuts to prevent any fraying. In the end I now have a fully functioning anchor trolley for less than 10 bucks...