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Topics - ThreemoneyJ

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Craftsmen's Corner / Scotty 1050 downrigger kayak mods.

« on: October 29, 2023, 06:27:15 PM »

On a recent fishing trip we were trolling 70+ feet down. I’ve been using a Scotty laketroller for years and haven’t had much motivation to replace it. By the end of the long weekend I was done dealing with the old laketroller. My hands hurt from using it and it was getting really wobbly from years of use. I was with Corey, who was using a Scotty 1050 and it seemed like a nice downrigger. He mentioned that the boom was too long for his liking on a kayak, which it certainly seemed like by just looking at it. Well, it’s only metal, we can work with that!

MOUNT:

This is Hobie new style outback specific. I purchased a mount from Snipe Air Industries (who is a member on here).

DOWNRIGGER:

The Scotty 1050 and 1060 are very similar. The 1060 has a bigger spool giving it a faster retrieve rate, but also cutting into leg room on the kayak. So I went with the 1050.

TEAR DOWN:

I stripped the boom of the rod holder, lime guide, and pulley. To recover the pulley mount (plug) I cut the end of the boom and tapped the pulley plug out from the inside so that it could be reused.

For the downrigger the line counter cover just lifts off. Then a nut to remove it. Then a jam nut on top of a nut/washer welded combo. This is your brake adjustment for when you put it back together!

After that the spool and brake come off. Under that is a stepped plastic disk which is another part of your brake. MARK THIS so it goes back together right. Not a big deal if you don’t, it’s not too hard to figure out.

Now you have a base and a boom. There is a single screw with a nut holding the boom in place. Undo this a remove the boom. I did not reuse the boom or the screw.

NEW BOOM:

The old boom is 3/4 inch stainless steel. Stainless is great but have you tried bending it at home without a hydraulic pipe bender? I tried. It did not come out well.

I hit the local Ace Hardware and found some 3/4 inch ALUMINUM tube in 4 foot lengths for under $15 after taxes. I know that aluminum is not at strong as stainless steel, but for hanging a 4 or 6 lb ball in the water off a slow moving kayak it is more than strong enough.

After some trial and error I came up with using a 16” section of tube angled at something like 100-110 (more than 90 but I didn’t actually measure).

While test fitting I put the pulley (not installed, just set) on the boom and the spool on the base. I ran the downrigger line through the pulley and adjusted the boom until the pulley height was correct and the downrigger line came straight to the pulley.

Once I was happy with the pulley location I marked the boom against the base. I then removed the spool and pulley. From the top, where the old screw was holding the old boom I drilled a pilot hole into the new boom. I then used a sheet metal screw to secure the new boom. Moving to the side of the mount I drilled a new hole in the base and into the new boom. I then used another sheet metal screw so the boom is anchored with 2 screws.

ASSEMBLY:

Assembly is the opposite of tear down. Re install the pulley using the old plug and parts. If you break something here you can buy a new pulley and install kit for $25 from Scotty. No reason to break it though. Re-index the stepped plastic wager and brake lever. Install the spool, taking time to adjust the brake nut (the one with the welded washer) and make sure the jam nut holds it properly in place. Zero your line counter and make sure it is facing you when the downrigger is installed. Install downrigger back on kayak. Double check it is functioning properly. Go catch fish.

First pics of a stock one installed and the modded one installed. Then the line angle of the new pulley location. And modded 1050 v laketroller.

Hookups and Fishing Reports (Viewable by Public) / Napa River 9/1

« on: September 04, 2023, 10:15:58 AM »

I had a quick evening session on the Napa River the other day. The wind was ripping when I arrived and the tide was running the wrong way, but I had time to fish so I hit it. This was the lower river back in the sloughs.

Throwing 5 inch big hammers to shoreline structure I landed 4 in as many hours of work. I also lost a few and missed a few bites. Overall not a bad trip given the conditions. Largest was almost 24” and smallest at barely legal 18”. They were absolutely choking the big swimbaits too. I think if the conditions (wind/tide) were better I could have caught more.

Hookups and Fishing Reports (Viewable by Public) / Tahoe 8/5 RPT.

« on: August 09, 2023, 01:38:06 PM »

Sam and I were able to join Jewli0n and Sturgeon General for a quick Tahoe trip on Sat 8/5.

We arrived early and launched out of the Kiva beach area around 6am. After paddling out to ~120 fow the first Kokanee was in the kayak by 630. Limits for Jewli0n first and then me shortly after before 10. Sturgeon General had a limit a little after and Sam was having some problems getting the fish to the boat with 3 landed and at least 4 lost.

Kokanee were 60-70 down from 120-250 FOW. It seemed like they were hitting almost everything.

We then switched to Lake Trout. Sam hooked into 2. Lost 1 at the net and landed the second. No Lake Trout for the rest of us.

I did manage to get snagged while jigging for Lake Trout. After messing with it for awhile I got my lure free and noticed it felt funny on the way up. Somehow I managed to snag a lost jig and pile of fishing line!! Not sure what the odds are but it was pretty funny.

The amount of people at the lake due to the nice weather was insane. So many boats and people on the beach. There was barely any room to land the kayaks at the end of the day. I will be waiting until after Labor Day to go back.

Other Kayaks / The new Old Town ePDL+

« on: July 16, 2023, 07:41:34 AM »

https://oldtownwatercraft.johnsonoutdoors.com/us/epdl

I’m intrigued. I really like the idea of an electric assist pedal kayak that you can choose the assist level.

They claim 3 hours on level 5, 23 hours at level 3 and 46 hours at level 1. “with average load and calm conditions”.

I’m not really interested in it being a big fat pig at 143 lbs, but it looks very stable and standable.

I’m hoping to demo one when they come out!

Hookups and Fishing Reports (Viewable by Public) / Ferry Point skunk 5/21

« on: May 22, 2023, 08:30:52 AM »

Short story short. Big negative tide. Lots of moving water. Windy. No halibut. Lots of walleye perch that were around 10 inches, too big for bait but fun to catch. Probably caught 20+ which was fun.

The highlight was an easy clean launch even at that super low -1.5 tide.

Craftsmen's Corner / Reel handle replacement Daiwa/Gomexus

« on: May 05, 2023, 02:37:40 PM »

I picked up a new Daiwa spinner for freshwater duty. I really like the reel with one big exception, the 3000 size comes with a T handle that I’m not a fan of.

Luckily there are several options out there for replacement knobs/handles. One of the more affordable options is Gomexus which is pretty common on Amazon. Of course the one I wanted wasn’t available on Amazon. I ended up ordering it from their website directly and it shipped from China. Shipping was longer than i would have liked, but it was free. From order to arrival was around 2 weeks.

Taking the old knob off was easy, and installing the new one was just as easy. It included bearings and washers/spacers. Maybe 10 minutes of work. Pics show the story.

So if you have a reel with worn out handles or uncomfortable handles don’t settle for it! Find a replacement you like and go for it!

AOTY / AOTY Jan 2023 wrap up.

« on: February 05, 2023, 06:34:07 PM »

AOTY January 2023 wrap up.

AOTY got off to a bit of a late start this year with a bit of a delay getting everything going. Despite all of that we had some fish entered and some new competitors sign up. So here is the January wrap up.

We have 103 anglers signed up for AOTY so far. Of those anglers we have 2 fish entered.

TROUT: Poopsmith entered an 18.25 inch trout.

SURF PERCH: Ghost entered an 11.5 inch perch.

Great job to those who got out and entered some fish! Hopefully those of you who have yet to sign up will do so! It is still wide open right now with plenty of time to get involved!

If you are interested in taking part in 2023 look here http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=99919.0

Sign up here http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/

It is a great way to get more involved with kayak fishing and learn to catch new species as well as make new friends and fishing partners.

AOTY / AOTY 2023 Participant list

« on: January 30, 2023, 06:20:43 PM »

List of 2023 AOTY Participants
I will automatically renew everybody who competed in 2022.
If you are new, go create an account on the AOTY website then post your username here in this post.
If you have an old/expired account, post your username here and I’ll activate your old account.

EDIT: I have activated 101 competitor accounts. Your name should show up here http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/leader_board

If you were previously in the youth division and are now needing to be moved to the regular division let me know.

AOTY / AOTY is FREE 2023

« on: January 30, 2023, 06:18:10 PM »

For 2023 AOTY will again be free to all NCKA members. This post is basically copy and paste from Sin Coast's post last year.

If you have done AOTY before the AOTY committee will be renewing everybody’s account from 2022 and years past.

If you’re new, create an account on the AOTY website then send me a PM or reply to the 2023 Participants List post, and your account will be activated. http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=99919.0

If you have an old/expired account and want to get back into the game, let me know, so I can activate your old account.

Please be patient as it takes some time to activate all the accounts.

We will try to put some stuff together for prizes etc. That will be posted about as it goes.

I hope this encourages more folks to participate. It will absolutely make you a better angler. And a better photographer (yes we will still be judging the entries).

Good luck to all and make sure that you have fun fishing!

EDIT: 1/31/23. I have activated 101 accounts, going back to competitors from 2020.

General Talk / 2022/2023 winter projects

« on: January 01, 2023, 05:02:09 PM »

Most of us are lucky enough to live in California and are mostly able to fish every day of the year. This year is looking a little wet so far (thank goodness, and I hope that anyone suffering from flooding is safe, secure, and comes through it well)

But sometimes being cold and wet while working for a fishing bite doesn’t sound like the most fun thing in the world to do. So what is everyone working on this winter when they are not fishing?

I have an old car that I’ve been very slowly working on. It finally became a roller over the last month or so. It’s a ‘74 260z early build (260’s are oddballs. Early builds are 240’s, late builds are 280’s). It’s rusty, but at almost 50 that’s expected. The rear is a swapped Ford 8.8 with coilovers, tubular arms, and 300zxtt hubs and 2 piston disks. The front is coilovers with fully adjustable tc rods and arms. As well as big 4 piston Wilwood disk brakes.

Currently no motor but eventually I want to do an LS swap with a 6 speed manual.

Hookups and Fishing Reports (Viewable by Public) / My last fish of 2022

« on: January 01, 2023, 03:37:05 PM »

I didn’t think these would be my last fish of 2022, but they were. I got some crabbing in, but no more fishing.

12/18 SWN with Jewlion and sturgeon general looking for some AOTY points. Freezing cold in the morning turned into a very pleasant day. Minimal wind and minimal swell. Small lings were on the chew as well as the usual rockfish. The last of the herring from last seasons run was the bait. Fishing shallow mostly. I tried deep and got a huge yelloweye (descended with my 24oz descender) so I went back shallow to avoid having to descend more fish.

Lots of fish were safely released. Right at the end I was able to land a nice ling and nice verm to take home for eats. Jewlion also pulled in a nice ling in the final moments and sturgeon general was able to get an upgrade as well (sorry Al).

It wasn’t supposed to be the last fish of the year, but it was a great day.

Fishing Pics / Coho in close.

« on: November 12, 2022, 02:15:10 PM »

I hit a north coast spot yesterday (11/11) for a little bottom fishing. There is a little creek that flows into a little cove at the launch. I’ve never seen the creek dry, but usually the mouth is blocked due to sand across the beach into the little cove.

I was setting up on the beach when Sam exclaims “I just saw a fish jump!” Of course I missed it. I tell her that it’s probably a jacksmelt or similar trying to get away from something.

A few minutes later as I’m still setting up (yeah yeah I’m slow) she again yells over “I saw another fish jump!”

Well now my interest is piqued and I begin to watch the water as I’m thinking to myself “there is no way this stupid fish will jump again”

Well sure enough within a minute less than 50 feet from shore I see a jumper! This is no boring jumper either. This fish completely clears the water by at least a foot, maybe even more. It is a beautiful silver torpedo. Long and muscular. Leaping out of the water just to show off its strength! A gorgeous healthy Coho waiting for some more rain to get up the little creek.

I was stunned. It was one of the most unexpected things that I have seen and I felt incredibly lucky to see it.

I jump into my kayak and paddle out to where the coho had been jumping. Standing and slowly paddling I see a shadow out of the corner of my eye. It’s not just one coho it’s a frickin school of them! 20+ 5ish pound fish milling around in water that was 5-15 feet deep. Such an amazing sight!

I tried to get some picture of them jumping but wasn’t fast enough. I did manage some shots of the school underwater at least.

AOTY / Some AOTY awards

« on: October 13, 2022, 12:48:18 PM »

AOTY AWARDS

AOTY is always such a fun journey. You never know where the year will take you, or who you will meet along the way. I really enjoy the journey and the experiences that it brings with it. So much so that the awards at the end almost get forgotten. Almost.

There are still awards to be given out, and even though we are almost through 2022 I was able to get some awards from the Monterey area and connect with some members in the northern areas and get them awards.

A big thank you to Amadeo Bachar https://www.abachar.com for making the amazing awards and well as Sin Coast for putting all the awards together!

I’ve sent PM’s to members who I have awards for. If you are missing an award please get a hold of me and I will try to get them to you.

Some pictures to follow….

The people I am missing or who I have not heard of are
-Ghost
-Gator
-Orange Chicken
-Tommytwofish
-VsaiX
If you know them please let them know.

Hobie Kayaks / Battery install on Hobie

« on: September 19, 2022, 05:04:57 PM »

Recently I have overhauled my power supply for the outback(s). I’ve bounced around from different rigging to different rigging. I “think” I’ve finally found a solution that I like.

I’ve settled on using nocqua batteries, along with the accessories they sell such as their fuse holder as well as their voltage regulator. These are all things that I could have wired up, but it was just so easy to order that I went with their products.

So armed with a nocqua battery, fuse holder, and voltage regulator I had to figure out how to hold them all in my kayak.

Battery box: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007JQJE5U?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Then I used a PG7 sized waterproof cable gland to route the wires through the box.

To secure the box Hobie will gladly sell you a battery mount for the sail mount. So will other manufacturers. Instead I went with a 1 inch U shaped strap clamp for a little over a buck. 2 holes, screws and nuts and the whole thing was secure.

So now I have a secure and waterproof battery box that is in the front hatch (hatch liner still fits) that holds my lightweight battery, voltage regulator, and fuse.

Hopefully this can give others ideas for mounting batteries.

AOTY / AOTY July Wrap Up

« on: August 02, 2022, 01:10:50 PM »

AOTY July Wrap Up.

Whelp, I snoozed on doing a June wrap up, and if anyone reads these I apologize for not doing a June update. That being said here we are in August. Where has the time gone? We have 7 months of fishing behind us and still 5 months to go. 5 more months is a lot of time and there are lots of fishing opportunities out there and lots of fish to catch!

There have been a lot of great fish entered and it looks like the fishing is continuing to be outstanding. We are all hoping to see more fish entered so we can pretend we are fishing while stuck not fishing.

With that being said let’s look at how AOTY is going!

81 anglers signed up for AOTY so far.

9 anglers signed up for Youth AOTY.

ROCKFISH: JJQ entered a HUGE 26.5 Bocaccio. Those don’t get entered very often, but they are usually huge. 2nd largest in AOTY history!

CABEZON: Poopsmith still has a 26.5! 3rd biggest in AOTY history.

SALMON: JewliOn finally got the monkey off his back and has the current biggest at 36.0.

HALIBUT: Sailfish entered a nice 34.5 to be sitting on top.

LINGCOD: Lingking707 has a 33.0 entered as current top ling

TROUT: MarkL is still on top with a 21.0 rainbow

SMALLMOUTH/SPOTTED BASS: Gator still on top with a great 20.5 spotted bass.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Sam_Elliott still has the big one at 23.5

STRIPED BASS: tommcdo still has the top spot with a 33.75

GREENLING: tommcdo is on top with a 16.0

SURF PERCH: Ghost still on top at 12.25”

FLATFISH: tommcdo has the top flatfish at 18.75. Technically I tied it, but I don’t count lol.

STEELHEAD: Poopsmith with a monster 32.75. The second largest one ever entered. I’m still excited that one was entered!

PANFISH: Snazzyshun still on top at 15.5. That’s a very big crappie!

CATFISH: Threemoneyj still on top at 29.5

KOKANEE: Corey is on top of the Kokanee board with a 17.25 huge kokanee

MACKINAW (Lake Trout): Sturgeon General has a good one at 25.5

PACIFIC HALIBUT: We have a Pac But!!! A good one too at 40.5. I ready about the adventure and it was a well deserved fish. Great job.

BROWN TROUT: The Kraken is on top with a 17.0

Missing Fish: There are only 2 unicorns left. Sturgeon and White Sea Bass. I have in the past caught exactly one of each from the kayak and neither was easy. Hopefully some people can put the pieces together and enter a few!

Great job to those who got out and entered some fish! I’ve seen some reports and fish pictures that haven’t showed up in AOTY. Hopefully those of you who have yet to sign up will do so! It is still wide open right now with plenty of time to get involved!

If you are interested in taking part in 2022 look here http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=97376.0
Sign up here http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/

It is a great way to get more involved with kayak fishing and learn to catch new species.