New Gear for 2007

seems like all those texas kayak dudes use trailers. more room to park and store your trailer in texas maybe.

seems like a real good idea overall, especially if one is mainly fishing the local lakes.

I have a system of sliding my kayak onto my truck bed, then up on to the rack. I don't ever completely
lift it. good thing as I never bother to remove my sonar battery etc, or de-rig it, so it must weigh 70 lbs..  .

I do a lot of wheeling or dragging that thing around, don't lift it too much.

my main new gear item for this year was a custom rockfishing/ocean rod from erik k:



yeah, it's almost too good for me! almost... 

I could not resist a Trevala rod and Shimano Tekota 500 LC.  I used it up at Shelter Cove last weekend and it is a sweet setup.  I also organized much of my tackle in Plano boxes separate ones for rockfish, slamon etc.  I am also hoping for a KZ custom floating gaff from my wife for my B-day.

Must be a small arm and a leg, because I've seen other kayak trailers on the market for a lot more money. What intrigues me about the trailer is being able to reduce the length in order to store in the garage.

I got it at SportsRig (sportsrig.com) in Morro Bay. Mine has heavy duty shocks, 66" load bars, and a tongue extension so it will carry long boats (my closed deck is 18.5') and a load up to 750 lbs. I can configure two sets of standard saddles on the bars, but I'll bet it would accommodate three boats on J-racks. They also offer a version with a T-rack so you could haul even more boats or put a car-top box on it for your gear. And, yeah, they cost an arm and a leg, but my bad back was getting to the point of my either buying a trailer or giving up kayaking. I'm telling you, it IS sweet!

Janice aka "Big J"

seems like all those texas kayak dudes use trailers.

Hmmm...I'm not from Texas, but I am a short retired single 60+ grandma who is very active and young at heart (sounds like a match.com ad!). I don't have what Bill calls a "mantourage" so I just gave up on lifting the bow of my 55# boat to get it on my SUV and then stretching above my head to push it on the load bars.

So any loading method that doesn't require raising my arm above my shoulder is definitely worth looking into

Hojoman, I don't know where you live, but I'm in the East Bay and you are welcome to look at the trailer any time.  The jack is 18" from the ground, and the platform and load bars aren't much above that. I can also wheel it around easily by myself. It really is the answer for me (except for backing up in the car, but that's another story!).

Janice aka "Big J"