Kayak Connection Derby Results

Congrats Tom! And Thank You for the very detailed info about your setup---much appreciated.
Good job by Nathan too. I see he's paddling a new Trident 13.....sooo jealous LOL!

Sin Coast: More rockfish trolling technique: I went fishing today at Stillwater South, and surprised myself by actually sticking to potholing for 2 1/2 hrs before going on the troll, but then I was catching fish.  As I trolled, I realized that you have to be bold enough to get the lure pretty close to the bottom even tho you know it's going to get snagged now and then. Just keep telling yourself that your only risking maybe 5 bucks worth of gear, and after you do it a while, you realize you don't lose many rigs. The other thing is that it seems like, even at constant fow, you can be bouncing bottom then it'll lift, I let out even more line, then it gradually lifts again, but at some amount of line out it stays down.  Occasionally I let out too much and immediately feel it bounce too much, if I reel in fast or paddle much faster until I can reel it in some I can sometimes get it out of danger. It can take a damn long time to reel in all that line when I get a fish on.  I've been experimenting with a second pole downrigger, but I think that's going to be too much gear for me to keep track of. I'm not sure I want to take the risk of using a real downrigger  on a rocky bottom or near the kelp -especially in the usual somewhat windy, bouncy conditions I fish in.You also have to be sensitive to what the signs are that you have a small fish on that can't even allow a loose drag make the clicker go off - it lifts up, and you can't get the rig down again, and the signs that you're pulling some loose kelp around - pole is bent, but no jerks.  It was windy and bouncy today out there, so it was harder to spot those signs.  By the way, I put the pole in a holder in front of me within easy arm's reach, with the tip (6'6" rod) about eye level and pointed at the 10 o'clock position.  That way, I can sometimes see the strike before the clicker goes off, and save snags if I'm bouncing bottom.  I often cruise the edges of the kelp, but at Stillwater, I think there's enough deep structure to troll to about 150 fow, where there's no kelp on the surface anywhere near. You also get used to the pole's action letting you know you've let out enough line as you move along freespooling ready to flip the reel back into gear. I don't paddle more than about 15 mins without reeling in and checking the rig for weed, tangles, etc.
BTW, I'm using 30 lb spectra with maybe a 10 ft 30# mono tip.  The 3 way uses all 30 lb mono.
And I have rudder on my P15.
   Give it a try and let me know how it goes.  It saves my sanity and gets me dinner on slow days, but I don't mind paddling a lot.