Quote from: Mark L on May 16, 2024, 06:06:45 AM

Quote from: Tpowell707 on May 15, 2024, 07:31:05 AM

If you want a quality bag that will hold ice for days, can be used as a backpack.... I would highly recommend the Opah Kayak Kill Bag or their Fathom 3 standard kill bag. Been using their bags on my yak as well as on the charter boat. Been beating them up trying to make em fail and it has held up great!! No issues with spines or punctures has about 2-3" of insulation. I can fish all day and still have frozen bait when I get back to the rig. I have even filled it up with a limit of Herring and Dungeness Crab. When not fishing I use them for off-roading and camping. I call em a soft Yeti, one that you can actually pick up. The Opah price point is a little high and the Opah team is working on a redesign to help lower the cost.

I do help the Opah guys out at shows and online, so I do have a preference so just wanted to point that out. Not on their pay roll or anything like that.

I can also demo or show you all of their bags. If you have any questions or want to check em out shoot me a DM.

A lot of the members of Coastside use the Opah bags, and highly recommend them. I have been looking at the K3  bag for a while but it hasn't been available at Opah or any of the retailers. Do you know if they plan on resuming production on this one? The #3 upright looks good too.

Opah is currently working on a re-design to help lower the cost. I've been working with them on some improvements to make the bag even better! Should be coming out real soon! If there is a big interest in Opah kayak bags I can get an order going for the KCKA crew with a discount. Once the design team is done I will post something. Just let me know!

Owners are out of San Diego, are great to work with and really make sure to take care of their customers.

I am interested so let me know when you find out any more information.

Quote from: Mr. X on May 15, 2024, 12:32:12 PM

For example, I wont bring extra marige drive because its too heavy, and even it out of work, I still can use hand-paddle to make my Kayak move. But I will bring extra AKA, that part is not reliable, if that one broken, will give me a big trouble.........

From what I've seen (and what I've read on the Hobie forum and here), a mirage drive failure is far more likely than an aka bar problem. The only cases that I can recall of aka damage were due to failed beach landing attempts, where the boat goes sideways. On open water, aka bars have been known to detach from the kayak, but it's easy to rig a safety/keeper line so that it won't move much, let alone drop off and disappear into the depths. On the other hand, mirage drives fail often and in many different ways--from broken crank arms and chains to cracked plastic drums, and everything in between.

You can sorta paddle a TI, but I believe you'll have a paddleboard "bench" and cooler on one side and maybe tramps too, which would make that "sorta" more like "nearly impossible". Since you are on a TI, why not just put a spare mirage drive in the other slot for the 2nd pedaler, and bungee it into the "up" position? The extra weight would be insignificant, and in an emergency, you could get access to the spare drive in a few seconds. That could matter if your mirage drive fails at a critical point in time.

You might also want to think about how would steer the boat if one of the spectra lines breaks, as that is not uncommon. And I assume you are carrying at least a couple of extra rudder and aka pins.

I would contribute some funds towards a spare.

CE Smith - Tournament Fish Cooler Bag - Fish Bag Cooler for Fishing Accessories
 https://a.co/d/8cAiGgX

Thanks, sounds like a nice bag but I could never get it on my kayak, and so far I've only been able to dream about catching the size, and type of fish you routinely bring in. 

If you want a quality bag that will hold ice for days, can be used as a backpack.... I would highly recommend the Opah Kayak Kill Bag or their Fathom 3 standard kill bag. Been using their bags on my yak as well as on the charter boat. Been beating them up trying to make em fail and it has held up great!! No issues with spines or punctures has about 2-3" of insulation. I can fish all day and still have frozen bait when I get back to the rig. I have even filled it up with a limit of Herring and Dungeness Crab. When not fishing I use them for off-roading and camping. I call em a soft Yeti, one that you can actually pick up. The Opah price point is a little high and the Opah team is working on a redesign to help lower the cost.

I do help the Opah guys out at shows and online, so I do have a preference so just wanted to point that out. Not on their pay roll or anything like that.

I can also demo or show you all of their bags. If you have any questions or want to check em out shoot me a DM.

A lot of the members of Coastside use the Opah bags, and highly recommend them. I have been looking at the K3  bag for a while but it hasn't been available at Opah or any of the retailers. Do you know if they plan on resuming production on this one? The #3 upright looks good too.

Quote from: Mark L on May 15, 2024, 07:07:51 AM

In order to keep fish as fresh as possible my normal routine was to keep fish live on the clip, bleed them when heading in, and right onto ice after landing.

Since I was flipped out of my kayak last week at Shelter Cove ( https://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=101746.225 ) when a sea lion grabbed my fish I have decided to change my method. The only place for a kill bag is in the back, and that means that I have to give up on carrying a crate. Not having the crate eliminates 4 rod holders which is another issue.

Thanks for the link. This looks a little too large, and I'm not sure if upright or flat will work best.

The recommended kill bags in this thread are no longer available so looking for current recommendations. My kayak is an Eddyline Caribbean 14.

I just bought a kill bag, also had to sacrifice my crate. I went with an affordable bag from Amazon. Works like a charm, and big enough for a few nice sized fish. Holds ice for much longer than I expected it to.  So far very happy with this one:

Buffalo Gear Insulated Fish... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R3X1R1T?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I believe there are a few items that you must have for your adventure.

1. A new kayak
2. A new spare drive
3. A adequate suit for extreme conditions
4. Adequate weather information devices
5. Reliability, and strengthening upgrades to the kayak.
6. Satellite phone
7. At least 2 high quality radios
8. Probably many more items I can’t think of

Any less, and they absolutely will not let you enter the competition. They cannot allow a tragedy to happen on their watch.

For your past adventures I suggested that you start a Go Fund Me to garner some funds, and you declined because you wanted to do it all on your own. Please reconsider, and think about putting a resume together to get sponsored by Hobie, or one of the local dealers.

Another consideration would be to crew on one of the teams if any open spots are available so you could get  the full experience of the event your first time out. The learning during the trip would be invaluable for your solo go at it.

Tedski is a veteran of the Coast Guard, and spent many years performing rescues so please take his advice seriously.

Glad I was able to assist, Mark.

Got to say you did a great job in reboarding your kayak. Here is pic right after.

I am very grateful for your quick assistance. My son asked if I was afraid, and I responded that I wasn’t afraid at all. I guess taking sea kayaking classes 1 & 2, and two surf zone classes plus’s being dressed for immersion made it second nature for me.

Having the sea lion take off with my kayak would of been of concern had I been alone.