Hi guys!
When I got in to kayak fishing 4years ago, I knew very little about the sport. I depended on the information I could find online to figure out what gear I would need. I found a Jim Sammons, liked what he had to say, and purchased 2 Standard Horizon HX870 radios for my brother-in-law law, and me. Suffice to say, after quite a bit of trouble with these radios (problems with charging and general use), we sent them in past the warranty date for service. We have been told that these “waterproof” radios have been damaged by water, and cannot be repaired. Needless to say, I’m really pissed off. The tech I spoke to even commented about how well the radios were cared for; they were sent in for service in their original boxes with all of the accessories included, including two brand-new batteries.
The short story is that I’m looking for your recommendations for a new radio. Wondering what has worked well for you. Really not thrilled with the idea of another SH product, but I want to know what has worked for you. I had hoped that when I spent that much on a couple of radios, that I’d probably be able to get at least ten years of service from them. Maybe that’s unrealistic, but it makes me mad to have to replace these radios so soon.
Tight lines everyone,
Jim

OK, I know this might be a little soon, but I need to plan! Fail to plan, plan to fail!! My family goes to the Russian River area every year for the week of the Fourth of July. Last year, I borrowed the canoe at the rental house and paddled the section between the Alexander Valley campground and the Del Rio, where our rental house is located. What a beautiful, secluded part of the river! It was gorgeous, saw only four other people at the launch, then nobody, except the herons, for miles!

We saw lots of fish that day, including some huge lunker steelhead, but we had no fishing gear. Since then, I've set myself up with a JK BigRig that I've had out of HMB A opulent of times, can't wait for salmon and rockfish to open back up! But back to the river,  I know the steelhead we saw probably won't take anything in July.  Sooooo, what should I target, and what kind of set-up should I bring along?

I'm usually a gear fisher, but I've got a couple of fly rods too, if that betters my chances. Any thoughts or advice on prepping for this trip?

This break in the weather has got me itchy to get OTW ASAP! I think I'll have to try out of Coyote Point for some stripers or halibut this weekend!

Now that my kids are in college, and not hangin' with dad so much anymore, I've got more time to fish! I just have to convince my wife of that now too!

I count myself as lucky for having met some of you already, I'm looking forward to meeting more of the NCKA brotherhood over this coming year!

Cheers! Jim

Hey guys,
I'm still a complete noob, I have an opportunity to fish a Saturday afternoon coming  up in the middle of October.  I was going to launch out of the SC harbor... But not really sure what direction would be best to try once I get out on the open water.  Anybody have any helpful tips on fishing out of Santa Cruz? Usually I'm fishing HMB, so any and all info would be awesome and greatly appreciated!
Jim