I am a big fan of my DJI Mini 2. A big upgrade on the Mini 1 I think, and a great way to get in the air for not much money. I bought both of my Minis on DJI's official Ebay channel with the Fly More combo. Put them in Nanuk cases that come with custom foam inserts. They are good since they are under 250 grams and thus don't need to be registered (as long as you don't add anything that bumps it up to 250 or more, e.g. strobe lights).

I was happy that I learned to fly on a tiny, cheap toy drone, to get the muscle memory and "reversed" controls when it's flying towards you, etc. Then when you use a proper drone, it seems like cheating it's so stable and easy, with auto takeoff and landing, GPS controlled positioning, etc. Mini 2 doesn't have outward collision detection (just sensing the ground below when landing), but I don't feel like I need it.

If you want my toy drone for real, real cheap, or my Mini 1 for cheap, let's talk. Happy to have one or both go to a good home.

Also, on flight times, there is a maximum flight time, and then real world will be a little shorter depending on wind, altitude, how you are flying it. And you usually set a return to home warning for 20% left of battery so you make sure to get back with a good buffer.

And you can have a fixed home point (where it took off) or a moving home point (where you are now). That said, flying one from a kayak seems like too much messing around to me, since I'm usually trying to paddle, fish, crab, etc. (and the sinking it in water part).

Yep, the wheels kinda don't want to turn, which is pretty disappointing. Surprised that there are still bearings in there for how poorly the wheels rotate.

When you took them apart, did you just back off the four nuts and it all comes apart? Wondering what I can do to try to get things turning more easy. Any tips welcome.

(It's bad enough dragging a kayak up the hill at the end of the day. Not looking to lose much energy to friction in the wheels too.)

Thanks - that's a great deal. I've been wanting a pair for a while, so I pulled the trigger. Had a little REI dividend waiting so they were about $100 with ship to store. Nice!

It's not your job to be as confused as Nigel...

Easy to pull pots from a kayak, thought it's more fun from 25' than it is from 100' (never done the latter). I usually put my legs in the water when doing anything that feels tippy. I pull from the left and pay the buoy and line over the other side - I don't see any reason not too, though I'm never crabbing in rough seas. PAs are so big it would take a lot to tip it, but it can always happen; always prepare to go in the water and have a plan and practice. Reaching behind the seat is one time things can feel tippy (in addition to waves or missing a paddle stroke) and I always put my legs in the water for that motion.

By far the worst time is coming and going with lots of gear on the kayak (e.g. four rings). Feels good when you get it all in the water and working and the kayak uncluttered. Just like fishing in the ocean, the less stuff on the kayak, the better.

I'm usually jealous of pedal kayaks, but when crabbing I'm happy to have lots of room in front of me (Viking Profish Reload) to deal with the traps and crabs. Feels like the pedals would get in the way, though I've never tried it.

Current thread going about surf/crab snare rods.
https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=101227.msg1133742;topicseen#new

Had to look twice to realize it was a trout - just assumed it was a northern pike or lingcod.

What a beast!

Who knows about catching quillbacks? What depth of water? Is it common? How do we make this situation better? Mandatory use of descenders? Better handling of fish and fish ID? No take on it just like other no-take species?

I fish usually in 20-50' of water, really near shore, and don't recall ever catching one. If I ever have, it quickly went back into the water (or never left the water) anyway. I don't keep any of the smaller rockfish (chinas, coppers, gophers, etc.) and typically have an okay lingcod and a couple cabs on my stringer. Maybe a vermillion or nice black.

How does stopping me from fishing this whole season (haven't been out yet) help the quillback?

(I typically take the reg changes in stride, but really wondering about this one and curious how full end of nearshore fishing is required for the one species.)