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Pimp my Rack

April 20, 2012
Kayaking, Retail, Rigging
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I’ve been out of town all week for work and haven’t had much time to update the blog. Flew back to Baton Rouge this morning and got a chance to upgrade the rack on the my truck with some Yakima products I purchased last week while picking up my Coosa at Pack & Paddle. I got the railgrabs and a boatloader. My crossbars had previously been held up by U-bolts I bought at the local hardware store. They worked great, never slipped, but the exposed screws would scratch my kayaks. I suppose I could have remedied that with some plasti-dip, but I figured I should just go ahead and do it right, hence the railgrab purchase. The boatloader should hopefully solve my issue with loading the Cuda by myself when coming off the water. It is just an extension bar I can rest the front of the kayak on, then load the back on top the rack, basically giving me another set of hands. I like to load my boats upside down on the crossbars, without any saddles or other accessories. The paddle stager on both the Cuda and the Coosa fit the Yakima crossbars perfectly, so the boat sits pretty nicely directly on the crossbars.

Before:

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After:

TFO BVK Follow up

April 5, 2012
Fishing, Fly Fishing, Retail
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A while back I mentioned I broke a TFO BVK while fishing, I just wanted to follow up on my dealings with TFO. I gave them a call soon after that trip in February and explained what happened. I don’t recall who it was I spoke with, but he was very understanding and offered a replacement, any model I wished. He recommended either the Axiom or the TiCr X though as opposed to another BVK. I went with the Axiom because it was not as fast an action as the TiCr X, I’m used to a medium action.

I finally put it through it’s paces on Sunday and I do believe it is a better rod for me in the kayak. The BVK is a great rod, very light, but it has no lifting power. I needed a rod with a backbone to land reds in a kayak. The Axiom handled the job well. It is a really good looking rod too with some nice components. It casts very smoothly when I’m not flailing away with excitement. TFO was a pleasure to deal with, you can’t beat their warranty program.They are definitely worth looking at if you’re in the market for a new rod that is not going to break the bank.

Lake Martin Demo Day

March 4, 2012
Kayaking, Retail
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It was a beautiful day out at Lake Martin today. Sunny with temps in the upper 60s, maybe even hitting the lower 70s. Lots of folks showed up for the paddle demo day that Pack & Paddle had at Lake Martin. The P&P crew were working like a well oiled machine getting people in and out of boats and out on the water. It really was a sight to behold. John and Becky Williams really put together a great weekend of events and it showed. This only confirmed to me that kayaking is more popular now than ever. Along with it, kayak fishing has seen steady growth for several years now. That can only mean good things for the future as more retailers realize the potential.

I didn’t get any pictures, but Chris Haley of Cajun Paddle Tools was out there with a couple of his kayaks. The cajun standup bar they make are really nice and perfect for folks that want that extra stability and piece of mind that having a lean bar provides. They are really well made, awesome products.

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The demo lasted from 10 – 2, so I was able to make it home and squeeze in a trip to the pond. Caught a bass and a bunch of channel cats. I think this pond is loaded with cats because I have never really caught that many before. They are suckers for black wooly buggers stripped slow and they fight hard. They bull dog straight to the bottom and try to stay there, it’s a hoot on a light weight rod!

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