I apologize to all of our readers for the lack of activity on this blog over the last couple of months. While I cannot provide explanation as to the lack of posts from my fellow “blanglers,” I can supply a weak excuse with regard to my own abscence. Several months ago I found out I was getting a divorce. For those who haven’t been through one, I can say it is one of the most difficult things you’ll ever endure. Yes, even more challenging than having to paddle more than a mile in 6″ of water with the wind and current in your face.  

What I took from the experience is what I’d like to share with you today. C’mon, I’m not gonna share any heartfelt takeaways. Hello! Obviously, I took my fishing gear and everything necessary to support my one TRUE love. Of course, I had to have my truck, my yak, all of my fishing gear, my grills, my deep freeze, and my fish fryer. I basically gave over the rest. Who needs it? I have more time to fish, so here’s to seeing each of you on the water. I’ve got stories to live and stories to write. Stay tuned.

When I first started looking at the WS Tarpon 120, I thought the center hatch was a waste. It was small – the same size as the hatch behind my seat, which I figured I would use for personal items. But that center hatch… I didn’t have a clue how to utilize it.  After spending some time looking at other people’s yaks. I got some ideas. Here are three things I now love about the center hatch.

1. Tackle box storage

  

The bungee straps retain a small tackle box very well. I’m able to store a variety of lures here. When paddling my knees bend right abover this area so there is no interference. 

2. Extra rigging in the cat bag

Like I said, I load my personal items in the rear hatch. Due to the accessibilty of this hatch, I’ve learned I can stow additional tackle; items such as popping corks, extra hooks, jig heads, etc.

3. Easy anchor stowage

While mulling over what I should do with my yak anchor, it dawned on me that I might be able to stow it under the center hatch. In order to stop it from sliding around, I tied some paracord to one of the scupper tubes inside and attached a carabiner to it. This lets me remove the cat bag and grab easily grab the internal anchor line while seated in my kayak.

Many of you might remember this completely awesome scene from the movie Tommy Boy. After my first couple of outings in a kayak, the song I often sing to myself while paddling is “Fat guy in a little boat”. I especially felt this way on my first trip in my new yak. As I noted in that post, I had prepared myself for a little water coming in through the scupper holes of my WS Tarpon 120. But, when I was fully loaded, my center hatch was basically rendered useless due to the amount of water in the bottom of my boat.  

The second day we went out I used some foam golf balls, like the ones pictured below. They were recommended to me as a good solution. They did work, but I still had some water. I couldn’t tell if it was due to me swinging water in off of my wading boots or water seeping in.

At any rate, I figured I dedicate this post to scupper plug options. Perhaps the most visible plugs at retailers are those made buy Ocean Kayak. From the picture below, you can see they come in a variety of sizes. I’ve heard the yellow, or small ones, fit the Tarpon best. AC&K has them reasonably priced at $3.00/plug.

However, I also like the Heritage Kayak solution to plugs as well. Kris had no complaints about water seeping in on our first trip. Heritage uses 1-hole rubber stoppers, like you would find on a chemistry beaker or something. Kayak fishing stuff.com has a pair priced for roughly the same as the OK option above. You can see what they look like below.

And that’s about all I’ve found…

I’m thinking of trying Kris’ plugs in my yak one day. We’ll see if he let’s me. And I’ll report back on any difference. But until I can get the water under control, or my weight, I guess I’ll keep singin’ “Fat guy in a little boat, Fat guy in a little bo… oat.”

Well, I finally got it wet… my kayak that is. (Get your minds out of the gutter.) Kris and I took a trip to Port O’Connor at the beginning of March. We learned some things, which I hope to impart in this post.

We left on a Saturday and went straight to Indianola, a gulf coast Texas ghost town. We launched at the Indianola Fishing Marina, which sits on the west side of Matagorda bay and supplies easy access to Powderhorn Lake and the Powderhorn Ranch shoreline. The launch fee was $5.00/yak. After spending a good amount of time rigging up everything we thought we’d need; we bought some live shrimp and made our away across Powderhorn Lake.  

At first I felt a little akward, but I quickly found a stroke that worked and I figured out the rudder control on my Tarpon 120. A hundred yards or so from our launch point, I noticed a large amount of water sitting in my yak. I’ve read about some water coming in through the scupper holes on the Tarpon yaks, but this seemed a little extreme. I’m not a light guy, but it appears I might have gone a little heavy on accessories.

After making our way across the lake, we decided to move our shrimp from our aerated bait bucket to our wading bait buckets. Trying to do this on the water seemed a bit of a challenge for us, so Kris decided to hop out of his yak into the 3 foot water to simplify things. I decided it wasn’t a bad idea either. Besides I wanted to attempt to plug my scupper holes with the recommended yellow practice golf balls. This proved to be a challenge on the water as the balls have to be pryed into the scupper holes.

After we got our bait buckets filled, we carefully slid ourselves back into our kayaks. Be careful if you ever have to do the same. We didn’t spill it, but the possibilty existed in 3 foot of water. The trick is to hike a cheek up on the side and lay back into it.

Back in our yaks, we made our way to the southern shoreline of the lake. We found lots of bait fish and tailing reds… and we drifted right passed them once we stopped paddling. We set up again and Kris immediately caught an undersized red. That’s typical. Not the first fish, the undersized thing. I sent a few casts in the vicinity of top water action and got nada.

I made my way to a different area. Still reluctant to pull out my anchor, I continued to drift and set up, drift and set up. Eventually I made my way to the southern shoreline, attached my yak to me with a wade line and started working the shoreline on foot. I caught my first fish as a kayak fisherman. Does it count if I’m towing it? It too was an undersized red. After a few more casts I returned to my yak and rejoined Kris.

We decided to paddle down the Powderhorn shoreline. BTW… there is a cut from the south side of the lake out to Matagorda Bay. You don’t have to go back near the marina. Not knowing that, we wasted some energy going back around.

  

Once we got along the shoreline, we were short on time. The sun was not long for the day. We pulled the yaks up on the shore and waded out into to about the second cut. We both hooked into undersized trout. The sun was beginning to set. It was completely amazing. Kris and I made our way back to our yaks and enjoyed a beer as the sun fully set. 

We could still see the Indianola Fishing Marina from where we were, so we had no concerns about navigating back in the dark. We kicked on our kayak lights and set out. Paddling in the dark was really cool. We made better time headin’ in with the waves at our back.

Once we returned, it took us awhile to load up our yaks. After we get through the process a few times, I’m sure it won’t take soooo long.  In general, it was a good day. The weather was great. The water temperature was awesome. The fishing was so-so, but we learned a few things and have something to build on.

Our avid readers are aware of some of the challenges I ran into while purchasing a kayak at Fishing Tackle Unlimited. Personally, I was a little surprised by it because I have heard some really good things about their Kayak Manager, Ruben Garza, on various fishing forums. Upon further inquiry, I’ve learned a few things about that day and in many ways I’m thankful my initial interactions with FTU came up a little short of expectations. 

It all began with a follow-up email to FTU. I basically let them know about my experience and how I felt. I received an immediate follow-up from Ruben to discuss it. Unfortunately, he called my cell, which was dead yet again. (I could do an entire blog on the shitty Sony Ericsson phone I have and the worst customer service known to man at Cingular.) At any rate, about the time I got Ruben’s message, he followed-up through email. I sent him a response and our dialougue began there.

I let Ruben know that I was happy we came to a resolution that day with a kayak. All said, those early challenges resulted in me obtaining a WS Tarpon 120 at a great price. The kayak I ultimately wanted. Why did I give in to group think? My biggest gripe that day was that I felt I was an inconvenience to the staff. It’s not my fault they got it wrong.  

Ruben explained some of the challenges he was facing that day; and frankly, I’d kick some colleague-ass if they ever pulled that shit with me. It’s a long story. We also discussed the missing straps. I watched Ruben unwrap my yak that day. And it’s likely it shipped from WS without them. At any rate, Ruben made every effort to keep a customer… and he did.

The biggest drawback for me was the lack of a butt pad on the 06 Tarpon. I was hoping Ruben could help me get one from WS to install, but apparently the 07 seats don’t work on the 06 Tarpons. Ruben did me one better, though… he gave me an unbeatable deal on the Surf to Summit GTS Elite Fishing Seat pictured below. 

So anyways, I just wanted to say thanks to Ruben. I spent years in customer service as well and I know it’s tough to maintain a high level of service all of the time. I had come in at a bad time for him, and although that’s never excuse, I can understand. Our interactions that ensued, however, demonstrated to me the level of service all of Ruben’s other customers dote on. So, thanks again, Ruben. I love the yak. I love the seat.

I got the yak. I got the paddle. Now it’s time to make my Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 fishable. I’ve spent the last couple of days shopping around for accessories. This past weekend I installed them. Here are some pics along with lessons learned throughout the outfitting process.

First my WS Tarpon 120…

Sweet!

You may note that I don’t have a seat bottom yet. I’ve been back and forth on whether I need one. I’ve considered a pad and even a full seat, but I’ve heard the Tarpon seat back is real comfy and I don’t mind the seat bottom as is, so I figure I’m gonna give it a couple of runs without a pad and then make up my mind.

The tankwell… right now, I plan to use my crate and a cooler in the tankwell. In the crate, I’ve installed a couple of rod holders (more on that in a moment) and there’s plenty of room for my homemade bait bucket. Outside, I’ve attached a removable light, which I’ll discuss shortly as well. As you can see, there is no interference with my rudder operation even with the cooler in place. That was key for me as I wanted a small stash of cold beer on my trips. It’s not all about fishing, c’mon.

From this pic, you will note that I went with the Scotty PowerLock as my primary rod holder. It’s a little bulky, but I felt the standard Scotty with the rubber latch would wear over time. You can also see that I chose a coiled paddle leash. At my time time of purchase, I inquired about the advantages/disadvantages of coiled and bungee leashes. The input I got from Austin Canoe and Kayak was that the coiled leashes don’t get in the way.

Super Zoom! Sorry. I just wanted to show you some detail. When I bought the crate, I attached a rack of 3 rod holders to the outside of it. I was thinking 1 slot for an extra rod, 1 for my pliers, and 1 for a net. After I got my yak, however, I realized it didn’t fit in the tankwell of the Tarpon 120. It also didn’t fit in Henry’s Heritage Redfish 12 either, so I had to go internal. You can see in the pic that I attached 2 single rod holders in the inside corners. This still left room for my bait bucket, which I hope will continue to work with my waterproof aerator on some shorter trips. It’s a little difficult to see in the above picture, but I also have a removable light post attached to the crate. 

This is a picture of the light. It’s an LED light that runs on 4 AA batteries. I initially planned to get a suction cup light, but I read that those are not well suited for plastic yaks. I like the height of this light as well… greater visibilty at dawn and dusk.

 

And finally, the bow hatch. Even with a dry bag in the hatch, I was still able to fit this small cooler. What does that mean… 6 more beers. “It’s gonna be a good day, Tater”

Talk about the perfect match, here I present you the very best in transportation, first by water, the Heritage Redfish12, and then by land, the Mini Cooper S.

Stay tuned!

 Update from OutCAST:

Did anyone else get this visual from this post?

find a good fish storage solution. You see, unlike my fellow “blanglers,” I have to worry about storing my catch. On a kayak, however, my options are limited.

While I could certainly tow a limit of trout back to my launch point, I’d prefer not to end up in this guy’s predicament. Apart from trolling your catch, the most popular option appears to be a fish bag, which straps on top of your kayak.

The only other thought I’ve had is to “team fish.” One gets the bait in the tankwell, one gets the beer, and the third will store the fish in a cooler or something. I imagine I’ll take that last spot considering most will be mine.  

*disclaimer: Part of my day job responsibilities are to look after “Web User Experience”

…now with that said, Matt has had a bit of bad luck as of late, but I feel like I’ve run across a treasure chest. My story…

So it all started 2 weeks ago, on our first (my only) trip down to, the now infamous, FTU. I inquired about a discounted yak, and low and behold, on the top rack, there was my prized possession. To make a long story short, I am the only one, of three, that got to take a yak home (thanks to Matt for the truck haul) that day.

Then the rest of my journey, to be water bound, began. Two actions, with web retailers, which I want to highlight here…

1. Find a roof rack for my Mini (more to come on this)
2. Get a paddle

First I found a rack for my Mini at Rack Attack. I based my decision to buy from them based on google adwords and the Thule discount (10%) offered through them. Also, the sales tax thing was a consideration since they were out of state. I became impressed immediately after purchase. They had to be the fastest to deliver status of my order and tracking information, which I had ever seen. Next, my “free shipping” arrived about three days before I expected. The next thing was not as good when I discovered that the locks for my rack were non-existent in either of the two shipments. But no worries, with one quick call (not even to the location I ordered from), and I received conformation that my rack was soon to be safe and secure. Locks on the way!

But this one tops them all! In my hunt for a paddle, I had finally decided on the Werner Camano (premium | hybrid carbon and fiberglass). To my surprise, I found a deal at the outlet, at backcountry.com. The deal was for a 230 Camano, with a bent shaft, at the same price of a straight shaft one from our local REI (not to mention, the REI paddle had a chip in the blade). Then, to my surprise on arrival, I was confronted with a brand spanking new all carbon, $200 “Performance Core Touring”, upgrade. Maybe I just didn’t read the product description fully or it was a mistake.

Anyway both RackAttack (unfortunately a limited offering, racks) and Backcountry.com have a customer for life. There is nothing more important than taking care of your customer, and more importantly, making things right!

CAR RACKS: RackAttack
KAYAK SUPPLIES: Backcountry.com

Ordinarily I would never steal from a child, but I found this picture on the Web and it got me thinking. Wheels like that could come in handy in building a yak cart.

Until I got my yak home last week, I hadn’t given much thought to a yak cart. Somehow it worked out that I helped my fellow “blanglers” unload their yaks, yet when I got home there was just me. I didn’t have too many problems getting it to my garage. It’s about 75 feet away. But, if I had to carry the yak over a greater distance, I probably wouldn’t be able to paddle too far.

I’ve looked into several kayak carts and most seem to start around $100. I’m really not sure why. You can find kayak carry straps that loop through the scupper holes on your yak then up around your neck. However, these typically are suited for yaks over 50 lbs. And so, it looks like I may have to exercise “cart” blanche and build my own cart.

I really like the simplicity of the cart pictured above. I don’t know how structurally sound it is… but whatever. I found an article on building a PVC kayak cart at kayak fishing stuff.com, which includes a parts list and pictures. I may follow these guidelines or just wing it. Stay tuned.