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Freshwater

First impressions of the Cruise

February 26, 2013
Fishing, Freshwater, Gear Review, Kayaking, Warmwater
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Took the Cruise out for the first time Sunday, before the rain moved in. I went to a local pond where I’ve had good luck on sacalait in the past. I only managed one small bass, but what I did accomplish was some seat time in the new Cruise.

IMG_0607The weight of the Cruise feels similar to the Coosa, which is a little lighter than the Cuda 12. One thing I’ve noticed about the Cuda 12 that I love is that the weight of the kayak from front to back is centered on the grab handles on the side when lifting the boat above your head. Makes transport from the top of the FJ to wherever I’m launching super easy. The weight of the Cruise is not quite centered on the handles, but because it is a tad lighter, it is easy to adjust your hands to support the heavier end.

In the water the Cruise feels pretty quick for it’s length and tracks pretty well. It turns a bit easier than the Cuda 12, but not quite as easy as the Coosa, which you can turn at right angles with super aggressive paddle strokes. I felt a little tippy in the high position at first, but once I got comfortable I was standing in no time. I would rate the stability as slightly less than that of the Cuda 12. One thing I noticed about the Cruise was that there is no paddle keeper or molded in paddle stager like you see in on the Cuda 12, so no convenient way to store a paddle while on the water. That’s an easy fix, I actually took care of it today and will write up something about that soon. Another thing I noticed is that the elite seat on the Cruise doesn’t come with the seat back pouch like those in the Fishing line. Another easy fix, I just have to order the pouch. I find myself using that pocket a lot on the water.

I enjoyed my short trip in the Cruise, look forward to using it more throughout the year. It’s not as ready for fishing right out of the box like the Cuda 12 is, but it will be really easy to get it ready. Paddle keepers and rod holders aren’t a big deal to install, though it’s always tough to drill that first hole in a boat. I love the openness of the deck on the Cruise, it should be a really fly-friendly boat. I could see it becoming my go-to boat when I head out with the fly rod.

A break in the rain

January 12, 2013
Fishing, Freshwater, Warmwater
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We’ve had rain for what seems like every day this past week and based on the rain gauge in my yard it was at least 8″ worth. So the opportunity to get outside and wet a line was too appealing to pass up yesterday during a lull. The silver lining to all this rain has been the temps hovering in the 70’s, so I hoped the bass would be pretty active. I caught a couple nice bass on a black spinnerbait, but there wasn’t a whole lot of action on the water.

Woke up this morning to the first sunshine I’d seen since Bama won the the championship, I was starting to think this was no coincidence. Fished a different pond in the neighborhood and caught ten in about an hour, what a difference a day makes.

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A new year and a new goal

January 2, 2013
Exploring, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Freshwater, Kayak Fishing, Scouting, Wade Fishing, Warmwater
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I rang in the New Year in Atlanta pulling for my Tigers. Unfortunately they were unable to beat the enemy Tigers from that other Death Valley in South Carolina. Still it was a fun trip, I enjoyed another road trip with the wife and time spent with my family back in Fulton County.

It was never really an announced goal or something I planned out ahead of time, but it was pretty fun this past year to catch 12 different species on the fly in 12 months. Accomplishing that led me to try to come up with something different for 2013, perhaps something a little more difficult. Drawing on the inspiration of others before me, I decided on something I’ve been eyeing for a few years now, something that will allow me to fish a ton of new water, targeting species I’ve never caught or even seen in person.

I’m talking about getting back to my bass fishing roots and going for the BASS slam, catching all nine different kinds of bass in one year(technically 8, with the 2 subspecies of LMB). This will put me on the road a good bit, fishing rivers all over the southeast from Texas to Florida. It will involve a great deal of background research so that I can hit the water with confidence knowing I’ll catch the target species, and catching it at the required minimum size.

I’m really looking forward to this challenge and to 2013 being the year of the bass for me. I kind of got away from river bassin’ in 2012, opting to chase redfish most of the time, but that will definitely change this year. The formal BASS slam is the ultimate goal, but I will be more than thrilled to just make it out to all these destinations and land every different type of bass, especially if I can do it with the fly rod….