I noticed my Uniden Voyager was very quiet my last trip out.  Come to find out it is not receiving anything, although it does transmit still.  It has been a good radio, and lasted 4 years of hard use on the kayak and boat.  I will let it sit in the sun and see if it starts to work again, but do not hold much hope.

I just ordered one of the Standard Horizon HX150 radios from the GPS shop.  90 dollars shipped, so it was a pretty good price.  I was torn between the HX150, HX300 and HX290, but the size and price of the 150 won me over, although with the manufactures discount the 300 is not much more.

The battery capacity is more than my Uniden, and the standby and xmit consumption is about the same.  I can get several days out of the Uniden, so am expecting good battery life from the SH.  I will give a good review when it comes.  I still have another Uniden my wife uses, so I can use that until I get my new toy.

The radio is so new I did not see many reviews on it yet.  Anyone else using one of these?

Well the big day is here, we are headed with our 'final' load to San Luis Obispo tomorrow.  Ok, I have a few things I have to come back for, but the main load is ready .  It has been great being a part of NCKA, and I hope to make it back up for some of the tourneys and fishing the north coast.  At the same time I am excited to explore some new territory and actually living a stone throw from the ocean.  That and a longer fishing season! 

Lobster hooping, white sea bass, yellow tail, lings, cabs, rock fish!  I will post up some of my adventures.  I am very excited.  I hope to hook up in Monterey when the WSB come up the coast.

Central Coast here we come! 

Well I just found out today that my job transfer to San Luis Obispo came through.  I report February 1st.  My wife is beyond excited.  I am really looking forward to a change and a new adventure, I have missed the central coast.  Especially with the 111 degree temp outside right now!  A longer rock fishing season will be nice, and some lobster hooping trips down south!  It will be nice relocating to such a nice area.  I have some new ocean to learn!  Wish us luck, although we will be around for a while still 

Matt

Well I have been brain storming a bit on how to add in some more rod holders on the rear of the kayak.  I no longer take a plano box with the hobie as it does not fit well and my tackle boxes are put inside the kayak for an open tank well.  I have missed the extra rod holders which were on my box, as they were great for holding nets, gaffs, ect.  I have seen some neat ideas on the forum.  PVC really was made for kayaks it seems!  I was seriously considering the roll bar rod holder many of the guys use, similar to Halibut77's design.  It is the PVC holder which inserts into the existing rod holders on the sides of the tankwell.  I like the look of it, but did not like that it would sit right in the middle of the tank well.  Where would I put my huge fish? 

Well in reality, that is where I stack my crab pots  .  I wanted to keep most the tank well open for my traps, gear, and catch and make it easy to pull the fish stringer in and out.  I have always liked where   Otobepelagic mounted his ram mounts behind his seat for trolling.  I felt that location was very versatile and settled on something similar using scotty gear, mainly because I had so much of it already on hand.

I had gotten one of the new scotty lock mounts with my rocket launcher holders a while back.  This works perfect in the tank well as you simply slide and lock the rod holder or scotty bar in place, you don't need to turn it to slide over the locking stub anymore.  This lets me mount the holder very close to the end of the tankwell.  I mounted it with stainless hardware and a starboard backing plate to add stiffness and strength to the mount.  I used 1/4" stainless hardware and goop to seal it up.

I like the position as it is behind my seat, making it easy to reach.  The real trial will be on the water.  Without anything mounted it takes up very little room leaving the tank well open for dive gear.  I can add a single tube in it for when I go lite, or put in the scotty bar to add up to 3 rocket launchers, my camera, my light, my crab davit, ect.  The tubes adjust outward or forward to be used for trolling, or back to be used for rod or net storage.  I think this system will give me several options on the water.

Thanks for the inspiration Otobepelagic!









Matt

Well it has been many years coming but I finally have a proper kayak fishing name.  My friends were teasing me the other day, calling me Fish N' Chips at work.  I took it as teasing at first but grew to really like it!  So MattS will now be known as Fish N' Chips! 

Matt

The wife and I are going to fish Trinidad tomorrow.  Not sure if anyone else is headed out.  We will likely get a late start after coffee and breakfast.  Conditions look good!  We will be on channel 69.  I am ready for some saltwater therapy and I need some lingcod and rockfish for the freezer!  Wish us luck!

Matt

Well after a string if nightmares with my 2006 Sierra it was time to upgrade.  My Sierra had 49,000 miles on it and had been in for 8 major repairs.  I just had both front bearings replaced after my trip to Humboldt, and then today the rear diff started knocking, which could be felt through the peddle.  What a piece of crap, it must have been a Friday built truck....

My old Tacoma was such a great truck the decision was easy.  I don't tow anything other than my aluminum boat now, and with gas prices on the rise (my Sierra averaged 14 mpg) I wanted a smaller truck.

It was a tough decision but I went with a V6, 4x4, mica pewter, double cab with the 5 foot bed.  I almost went with the 6 foot bed, but it was not that much longer than the 5 footer, and was not available with the off road package (locking rear diff, skid plates, ect.).  The truck was fully loaded with the off road package, tow package, navigational and enview system, back up camera, ect.  What a sweet little truck, it was so much fun to get behind the wheel of one again.  With my fear after the sierra mishaps I got the extended warranty plan, but doubt (hope) I will never need it.

I will post some pictures when I get a chance, but was so stoked I had to post my new ride.

I just need to get a matching camper shell and roof racks for it now!  I can't wait to try it off road.  It will be great for kayak transport.

Matt