2012 Wilderness Ride 135 Rudder Install

2012 Wilderness Ride 135 - STS Installation

STS- Silent Traction System - 2012 Ride 135

I decided to add the STS - Silent Traction System to the kayak after going out for the first time because I was hitting the kayak with my paddle and just moving around in the kayak seemed to be too loud.

I picked up both the kit and the two large square sections of the STS to rig on my kayak. I decided that the kit would go inside of the cockpit area and I could customize the square pieces for the rest of the kayak. I did notice that after I installed the rudder that sometimes it would slam on the kayak when I would lift it back on the kayak.

The first step for anyone that is going to install the STS would be to thoroughly clean the boat. I've taken rubbing alcohol and followed up with warm soap and water. I then laid out the the kit to where I could see that my boot were rubbing on the foot wells of the kayak to start. I also added some to the areas around the hatch because I found myself throwing lures in that area of the boat when I would retie or just to store clippers.

I took a large rectangular piece and cut it in half for where I would stand up in the kayak for better traction when I would stand up in the boat. After carefully placing all of the pieces of the STS I pealed off the backing and placed in where I wanted it. I then moved to the area of the kayak where my paddle will rest while fishing. I took some blue painters tape to make a template and then cut out the sections of the large square pieces of the STS. Make sure that you lay the template down on the black side of the STS because if you do it on the back it will be backwards. I did this in this area because it was going to be on both sides.

Next it was time to move toward the back of the kayak where the rudder sometimes slams into the kayak while lifting it. I laid out the painters tape for the template and cut out a section that I wanted covered. I had to cut out a little hole for the rudder line guide and everything lined up perfectly.

I will be adding more but wanted to get out and fish a little more to see where I will need it. Installation on this product was a breeze and would highly recommend it to anyone that is wanting to dampen the noise in their kayak.

2012 Wilderness Ride 135 Anchor Trolley Installation

2012 Ride 135 Anchor Trolley Installation

It's time to rig out my new Ride 135 from Wilderness Kayaks. One of the first items on the list is to install an anchor trolley. I ended up taking two different sets and combining the two to come up with the best trolley I could come up with.

First, I laid everything out so I could see what all came with the kits and what I needed to get. The only other items that I needed to get to complete the installation was a few well nuts and stainless screws.

One of the first things I had to do was to decided where I wanted to install the Harkens pulleys and marked with a pen to drill the holes. After drilling the holes I inserted the well nuts into place and tightened down the stainless screws.

After getting everything aligned with the back pulley I started the same steps for the front but I used a washer and locking nut to secure the pulley. I ended up putting some line guides on the kayak so that the trolley line wouldn't ride up on the kayak.

Make sure when using the guides that you run the line though them before screwing the stainless screw into the well nut.

I then ran the line though both the front and rear pulleys and tied them off to the bungee.

I have a 2 inch nylon ring to complete the trolley that I don' t have on there yet. I'll be able to use my ParkNPole from Yak Attack in with out putting the pole though the scupper hole. Keep in mind that just about anyone can do these modifications to their kayaks. If you have any questions please let me know.

My New Ride 135

I wanted to give a special "Thank You" to Mike at Mariner Sails. He has once again gone above and beyond to help another satisfied customer. I met Mike yesterday out at the shop to follow him out the White Rock Lake to demo the Commander 140 and the new Ride 135.

About the time we arrived Gutcheck met us out to paddle around the lake. I paddled both boats for quite some time with a huge weight on my shoulders to pick one of these two kayaks. I couldn't loose on either one but it was killing me because I couldn't make up my mind. After a while a few of the guys and girls showed up at the lake to do their weekly paddle with Mike. He invited me to tag along to really get a feel of the Ride 135 after spending a lot of time in the Commander. After paddling with the group for a few miles we came to a resting point to visit and relax. On the return back to take off the couple that could probably compete in an Iron Man competition started to take the lead and that is when I decided to push my self to keep us with them in their tandem boat. This is when the performance of the kayak really separated itself from the Commander. This kayak is the bomb! Its fast, turns very well, stable, dry and had a ton of room. I really like the Commander because it was super easy to stand up in, more room than the Ride, very dry and also paddling in the elevated position was a breeze. Both kayaks are very well suited for kayak anglers and would highly recommend either of these boats.
I ended up stopping by just after lunch today to pick a color and decided to go with the more visible color so I didn't get run over by a power boater. I'm pumped and ready to rig her out! As I start rigging her, I'll post a DIY report for each items I put on the kayak. Here are a couple of photos.

Lake Ray Hubbard Kayak Fishing

Lake Ray Hubbard Kayak Fishing

Ray Hubbard River

I know this is late but was swamped early last week before Thanksgiving. Gutcheck and I hit the river on Saturday November 19th with hopes of catching a few good fish. The tournament was cancelled due to high winds but we decided to see what we could catch. The river is now a creek and need rain bad. Fishing wasn't the best and didn't catch any toads but had a great time. Went up to Mariner Sails after our fishing trip and got to hang out with some old friends and met some new ones. Got to see the new Ride 135 as well as see the new Gear Track by Yak Attack. Caught all of my bass on the new Joystick by Xcite baits.

Xcite Baits - UBERSHAD

Most guys that have fished with me know that I really like versatile baits. I like having one style of bait that I can use in many different situations by simply changing colors and/or rigs.
Xcite Baits has a new bait that will be out in the next two weeks or so called the UBERSHAD. ("Uber" is super or superior in German).

Its been about a year ago when Lloyd with Xcite approached me with a base concept to build a bait that was very versatile and could be used in just about any situation. I was immediately on board along with several others around the state in helping develop this bait into what it is today. I know we wore Lloyd out with pouring all these baits to test one at a time with each prototype mold!

I have personally fished this bait on a txrig, crig, weightless, on swimbait hooks, scrounger head, and as a swimjig trailer. This bait has already put $$$ in my pocket. It is a killer grass bait.
The ubershad has a tapered design from front to back to allow maximum action with the least amount of effort. The tail is the Xcite designed tail that is already a proven winner. It has the belly hook slot along with a hook slot on top of the bait to allow texposing or skin hooking the bait and it still being weedless. The UBERSHAD also does not have salt so it is a floating bait. The first size offering of this bait is 6" from the head to the curve in the tail.

On top of all that this bait is injected/built/packaged right here in TEXAS. Check out the new UBERSHAD along with the complete line of Xcite Baits. http://www.xcitebaits.com/

Lake Fork Kayak Fishing

Lake Fork 10/15/2011

This trip all started with a month out in planning and almost didn't happen for myself. I've been planning on meeting up with KayakBassTx and Shaun from the forum for a little fishing on Lake Fork. My work schedule almost didn't allow me to make it but with a last minute change in plans I was able to make a quick trip out of it and get some fishing in on Saturday. We were all a little worried about how bad the boat traffic was going to be with the Berkley Big Bass Tournament out there the same weekend with 700 people entered.

After arriving to the cabin on Friday night with high anticipation I was a little amped up when I got there. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night and woke up at 3am to get myself prepared for a 12 hour day on the water because I threw just about everything I owned into the truck when I left the house. By the time I was finished getting everything ready it was time for the other guys to wake up for our outing.

We hit the water about an hour before sunrise with out much success and worked a stump flat for about a 500 yards with out a bite. I decided to hit some deeper water right as the sun started to rise and flipped my creature bait to a group of trees. I flipped my bait as tight as I could next to the tree and as it started to fall I never felt my bait hit the bottom. I instantly set the hook and the results of that perfectly placed cast took my first slay ride of the day. After a quick fight I got a look at the bass and thought to myself what a fish. I started to yell at the guys that I had a good fish on and they came over to investigate what all of the commotion was about. At that time I was able to land fish number one that weighed 7.5lbs.

After a quick photo session and weighing her we got back to business. After a couple of hours of hard fishing I was able to hook up calling my shot! I looked at KayakBassTX and said to him that I'm going to catch one off this tree. On my second cast to the lay down I hooked up with number two of the morning, a 21 1/4 inch bass.

Fishing for the most part was pretty slow for all of us but we did catch several others but not quite making the 20" mark. After fishing hard throughout the day TKB (Bobby) noticed the time and he needed to head back to the ramp due to the long drive back to Houston. As he fished his way back, we thought we would keep him some company and fish with him down thought were we started the morning. I pulled up to another good looking lay down and flipped the creature bait in the gut of it I was able to hook up with another fish. I never felt the bite this time and all I saw was slack in the line. As I slammed back the fish jumped about three feet out of the water on the other side of the lay down and had to fight this fish for a few minutes to get it unwrapped from the tree. This fish measured at 20 1/2 inches and was able to upgrade of my fish for the Kayak Bass Fishing team challenge.

As Shaun and I started our way back out to the main section of the lake we were fishing, our good friend Gutcheck showed up. We fished our hearts out that afternoon without much success. I was able to catch a few top water fish in the evening and GC was able to put a few in his kayak with his magic jig. Ol' Shaun on the other hand was having a tough day on the water and was finally able to put a few in the boat with his Carolina rig/ power worm combo.

Thanks guys for a great weekend.

Wish I was able to join them on Sunday but had to get back to make it to church and spend the day with my family.

Until next time...tight lines and great fishing!!!

Grapevine 10/2/11

Well I got off to an early start on Saturday morning to find a little chill to the air. By the time I was unloaded and got on the water at 6:30am the water temps have fallen to 72* and my fishing partner was still thirty minutes way. I decided to work a couple of points with a Texas Rig worm and was able to catch four fish right off the bat ranging from 14 to 18 1/2 inches by the time Shaun was able to hit the water.

After we met up and started fishing for a while the fishing has started to shut down as soon as the power boaters started hitting the water. I looked up only to find Shaun had disappeared and started to paddle to look for him. When I pulled around a point I noticed him walking back with some tools to start working on his rudder. While he was working on his boat I was able to stretch my legs and take a few shots of my kayak.

After we got everything back to normal and a quick bite to eat we hit the water hard. As we fished our way to the new spot a few miles up the lake we unfortunately couldn't find any bait fish which in turn we didn't find any fish. We decided it was time to hit up the main lake points and then if all else falls we would see if the fish have started their migration to the backs of the creeks/ coves. As we started back to hit the first point on the list a bass boat speeds past us and beats us to it. I paddled around and started fishing a rock pile not 50 yards past them, Shaun started to fish the points on the other side of me. I managed to pull three bass up to 14" off the rocks and Shaun left empty handed.

As the morning turned to afternoon we paddled a couple of miles over to Twin Coves area of the lake. I started out in the timber and Shaun went the other direction to the boat docks. After an hour of fishing the timber I hooked up with a nice bass on my football jig and started working my way to the back of the arm. I lost sight of Shaun and later found out he was able to pick up three smaller fish on a wacky rig drop shot. We made it all the way to the back of the cove in just a foot of water and started catching a few fish. I think we pulled 5 fish between the two of us with a 3lber coming unbuttoned for Shaun. When that pattern slowed down it was time to hit the main lake points again.

As we pulled out to the main lake we noticed that the bank fishermen were out in full force. After paddling a couple of miles back to the point and rock pile that we fished earlier in the day, I decided to started fishing the Rattle Snake again while Shaun worked the point to my right with his Carolina rig/ power worm. After fishing for only about ten minutes I was able to put four small bass in the boat while Shaun worked over the point. Within a minute or two I noticed that Shaun had a good fish pulling on the end of his line and pulled out a 20" bass to top off the day. We stayed on that spot for the next hour with only a couple of small fish to speak of.

Great day on the water but it was a long one. After spending 13 hours straight on the kayak, we were ready to call it a day.

Lake Fork Bass Fishing

I was able to get out and enjoy good fishing with some good friends on the famous Lake Fork the past 6 weeks.  Below are a few of the trips I've been fortunate to take.  I'm still new to videoing my fishing trips so please bare with me until I get the editing down.