A story from this weekend, just now got in. Tom invited me to go to a group of private lakes in Oklahoma, a cattle operation with lakes in it. Some are "managed" and hold really big fish, a few others are natural and left to their own devices. I just wasn't sure about how much vegetation was in them so I elected to take my Meyers Sportspal canoe over my Native Slayer Propel 10. In retrospect, for one lake this would have been the correct vessel; for the one we fished the second day, the kayak would have outperformed.

A front got there hours before we did and it started out a bit slow but it accelerated as the day went along. How did I pay for it? I did fine in total number of fish caught, about 20 over 1.5 days, but I spent what I think was likely 50% of my time trying to hold water. I was dropping an anchor, or lodging myself into woody areas, using my big paddle, a hand paddle, too. Gosh, it was miserable. If not for that one aspect, this big sturdy canoe would likely out-fish most kayaks. It is super stable and one can almost do jumping jacks in the thing. But, it has a keel about a half inch in depth, no rudder of any sort . . . and a wide flat bottom. It blows across a lake like a leaf.

In the Propel I would have been able to fish, that is, have my presentation in the water, about twice as much. And, I could have covered more water, too.

Tom, uses a bass buster with a trolling motor and it keeps him pretty steady in the wind though we were both wishing for a bit less breeze. It cost him fish, too, I suspect.

Since I caught 20 or so fish over the 1.5 days, and I spent about 1/2 my time managing my position, I will go out on a limb and say there are 20 more bass in those two lakes that would have small holes in their lips right about now . . . if I had taken the Propel.

One last thing: these were the hardest fighting bass I have encountered. Over and over I would think that they were 4 or 5 pounders on the hook, then when I would reel some of them in, it would be a less than 2 pounder. My largest fish was something less than 5 lbs. and it was so strong, it pulled my anchored canoe into the weeds.

The fish were all sort of short for their weights. Stocky. I think I had only one fish jump in the air; they all stayed down in the water all the way in. Weird.

Never fished a private lake before but I can certainly see the allure.

Next time I'll be in my kayak.

Brad

The bass we catch in the brazos rarely jump.

My Brazos bass jump a lot.

Not sure how deep the water is out where you were fishing but my Power Pole Micro has more than paid for itself with convenience. Now that they're out with the battery pack you could use it on your yak and the canoe with relative ease. Just a consideration.

Ayon12,

Yes! I think it would have helped, no doubt!

For the Propel 10? Gosh, it is so easy to maneuver and hold position that I haven't even gotten around to installing my anchor trolley yet.

Some of you may recall that I found a way to mount the Harken pulleys for a trolley on the Propel track so I don't even have to drill a single hole. I have one pulley mounted about where my left foot rests if I extend it, then another back on the track farthest back on the vessel near the stern. And, I have a zig zag cleat near my hand. I just need to run the cord to complete it.

Here is a device that I think would work really well on kayak and canoes. Take a look.

Flex stick anchor

Brad

good info Brad....thanks