"Finesse Kayaking" - Going out light

This is what I carried yesterday:

Native Propel 10 with ---

a Werner Paddle mounted on the starboard side handle,
an Assault Hand Paddle kept around my right thigh for its frequent use,
Fish grips/fish pliers kept in an under-seat storage device in the forward pockets (right between my legs for a quick grab),
a life jacket vest with a camera (see pics elsewhere), cell phone, etc. inside the two large breast flaps; and, a whistle and a line cutter attached to the vest,
an Austin Kayak sourced Milk Crate carrying a soft fishing tackle bag (pre-selected stuff like terminal tackle and plastics . . . a few spools of leader line), water, towel, etc.
and, for this occasion just one rod set up with a wacky rig . . . though my milk crate has 3 rod holders and 2 or 3 rods would be more my normal number.

This takes just a few minutes to load in the back of my Toyota. I don't bring a cart of any sort. I carry the kayak down to the water w/o the drive, then bring down the drive, the milk crate and set it up and off I go. I think from my home to the water (.8 miles) that I can, on a whim, get up and be on the water fishing within 45 minutes.

Yesterday late afternoon, I ran out of the plastic lure I was focused on, fished a bit longer with something else, pedaled/paddled back, then reversing out the order I came in with and back home was likely another 40 minutes, if that.

I just cleaned the kayak this AM, will have it all set up again for spur of the moment "go get on the water" time.

Mentioned elsewhere/earlier, I have ordered the Native version of the Boonedox Landing Gear. This will even further reduce time as I will be able to pull my loaded kayak to and from the water, at the lake and at home.

Brad

I've got my Slayer 10 set up with a cheap $6 Wal Mart canoe paddle, and a Hook 1 tackle bag/crate, and a Native underseat organizer. I use the paddle to get off the bank, the drop the drive and pedal only from there until I'm ready to get out. I also added a Yak Attack roto grip paddle holder on top of the drive. I can put the paddle there, or more often I use it to prop a rod there out of the way. I need to get some new pics.

I usually bring three rods, one set up for trolling with a crankbait, one ultralight and one medium light spinning setup. This is my normal setup for bass, bream, crappie. I mainly throw a 1/16 beetle spin type lure on the ultralight, a Ned rigs or wacky rigged worms on the spinning rod.

I occasionally fish some tail waters that have different and bigger fish. Stripers, Hybrids, walleye, pickerel. For the tail waters I usually leave the ultralight and add a medium baitcast rig. In the winter the tail waters around here are stocked with trout. I use a trout rig with a float and have two ML spinning rigs set up with it, since it's time consuming to set it all up, I fish with one and have a spare.

I haven't had a kayak out in a big lake yet. I have enough small water options that I haven't wanted to yet.

Warhawk, Made it alive, barely, after the wedding event I mentioned to you. I think what I'll do is head out tomorrow and experiment with some more equipment.

Not that one needs to drop and anchor much from a Propel 10, but I bought an Anchor Wizard for another kayak and it really just doesn't fit it since I have to leave the "paddle stroke" area open for paddling and there isn't a good mounting area within reach. So, I am going to mount it to my Propel 10 to see how it operates.

Just getting back to finesse rigging kayaks, most of us here know that really dedicated backpackers go to extraordinary lengths to drop even a single ounce of pack weight. They want to go out as light as possible. In these cases, it isn't that they wouldn't like to take more, it is just how much it limits them on the trails.

For kayak fishermen, it is more about just getting on the water a bit quicker I think. More focused, too.

I may very well drop the anchor a bit more often if it is really easy to use the Wizard. I'll report back my findings.

Brad

How does one get so scattered out all this is needed just to go float the boat?
Taking abit of time to clean up and re'do a few things at the end of a day makes the next launch that much quicker.
Doing little things a few days in advance for a "planned" day helps alot
30min is my rule,big day or average day
30min load to roll,30min dock time,30min load time,30min unload and preset next launch time
Thats 2hrs round trip thats often much less because I meet the timelines easily with 10-15min leftovers on every end.

Sarg,

That is sort of what I do. When I get home, I often leave my kayak on the back of my truck and just bring my tackle inside. I am often too tired to wash down the kayak and store it, so I wash it down the next day, let it dry, then put it up until my next time out.

I retie all leader knots and terminal tackle knots a day or more before I go out, too.

I usually know what presentations I will use so I can pack my tackle ahead of time and really limit what I carry.

Snacks and water can be prepared a day before.

Your 30/30/30/30 sounds like a good set of numbers to me!

You know, just having a "list" will go along way to organize for going out. Then, something to review just as you get ready to drive off. Nothing worse than leaving water, or sunglasses, or other things behind.

Getting a "get on and off the water" system down is imperative, I think; it'll mean getting out more often. For a lot of kayakers, it is more like four 60 minute segments. That is way too much time, ratio-wise, to the time on water we spend.

Brad

I really cant wrap my head around this new "think" thing(micro management)of my time
Why is that now a worry?(its fishing right)
Why is this something to even consider much less adjust to?
Some of it does make viable sense BUT!! the other MENTAL PRESSURE isnt really a must do.

I can be at any one of half a dozen small lakes in 15-20 minutes. It takes me a lot more time to drive there than it does to launch or load the kayak.

I've been headed in the "lighter" direction for a while now.. depending on how long and far I'm kayaking I often have one fly pole and one small box of flys in the yak with the required PFD , paddle & anchor.

I suppose it is a natural sequence where we start with wanting our first kayak, and we mentally "dream" rig it. This almost always tends in the direction of more "complexity" or having all of the "bells and whistles." We research everything, we want everything we read about, consider it mandatory, not optional. It's the equivalent of wanting a "loaded" car with all of the possible options. We want everything; we think we need everything.

Then, we actually buy a kayak and start a process of deciding what to have, what to carry out. Some will be drawn to the even more complex, others toward simplicity. I think most of us buy a lot of accessories that we later stop using. But, not everyone.

Kayaks are pushing both directions; but, for now are tending toward becoming more complex. The new Titan is an example, I think, with not 1 but 2 attachment points for power poles off the stern. Two power poles! The Outback and, say, the Propel Manta Ray are examples of kayaks pushing away from more complex offerings by their manufacturers.

Funny: I see it as the opposite of micro-managing time, just a process that eliminates time, getting down procedures to streamline getting out.

My mind used to spin in place just trying to consider all of the "moving parts;" now, I often go out with a single Plano box of terminal tackle and plastics . . . and a single rod. The slight dread of the routine to get ready is largely all gone. I like tossing my kayak on the back of my truck more than trailering as I used to.

Facebook is sort of interesting. On any given day someone wants to sell a kayak that has "only been on the water 4 times." At least part of the time, I think I know why. Power boats often suffer the same outcome. It isn't the time on the water that is the problem, not in 99% of the cases.

Brad

P.S. Oh! And, when I pull up to another kayaker, or got out with others, I am always interested in how things are set up, what is carried, added, etc.

I use to keep a ride 115 in the back of my truck. On the way home I would stop for a couple hours. All I carried with me was the required safety items for my kayak, one fishing rod and a small Plano tackle box. Used to have some great times on those trips!

For me there are two types of fishing trips. Those big trips when I need all my bells and whistles. When you go to new waters or fishing in the heat of the summer. I need plenty of bait to try and my FF to find those fish. Then there is those short simple trips when I know the water and baits I need to have success.

I've tried going really light for those quick trips when time is short. As they say no one kayak is perfect and I guess I think that way because I have 5 right now. If I want to go really light and simple I take my Old town Rush (39 pounds) that I attached a Plano box and I take 1 rod. If I want to go comfy and light and a lot more fishing friendly I take my Commander 140 (65 pounds) 2 rods, stakeout pole, and a small tackle bag. I can throw both of those in the back of my truck and only need a bed extender for the Commander.

Getting ready at least the night before really helps but that isn't always the case. Sometimes fishing opportunities come up unexpected and time might be short. I might start another post on simplifying that load/unload times for those big trips or tournament mornings. I can be loaded up and unloaded from the house in less than 2 minutes. At the water, I can be on it in less than 10 minutes. Getting off the water depends on how much clean up you have to do after fishing all day.

If I rig down anymore I wouldnt be able to be in the boat
I just figured out a 16lb drop in gear load that was right under my nose
250+lb in a 85lb boat,Im at half the boat load rate
Come ON Saturday!!

Being a minimalist, it's a lot more enjoyable to just get on the water as soon as I can and start fishing, rather than spending 30 minutes or more at the launch site trying to figure out what I may be forgetting.

Jimbo,

I just got a call and the accessories I ordered to "upgrade" my 2015 Propel 10 have come in. I'm adding the Native version of a Boonedox Landing Gear. The reason? I'll be able to load most everything up at home, which isn't much, and either drive the less than a mile to the Lake Athens boat launch . . . and just roll out of the parking lot onto the lake; or, roll down my backyard and launch. It sort of depends what part of the lake I plan to fish.

Other lakes, too, those I have fished before . . . would be much faster. So, for many places, I think it'll save me time. Not all of them, but in many cases.

I'm spending some money to save some time.

If all goes well, I should be able to test the new set-up Sunday.

Brad

Sounds good Brad.

I've noticed something about the kayakers in my neck of the woods though, and I don't know if it is something widespread or not, but it's kind of becoming a pet peeve with me, and also with a few others I've talked to.
It's guys launching their kayaks and taking up space on a boat launch and just casually unloading their truck and taking way too long while other boaters are waiting to use a narrow ramp.
I've witnessed it first hand where they would actually be asked politely to move.
Talking, telling fish stories, and taking pictures goes a little too far.
Just like with a power boat, you have to be considerate of others, and maybe it's that they never owned a power boat so they don't know how to properly use a boat ramp.
Just seems to be a trend among kayakers, but it's easy to have everything ready to go before you back down a ramp, even if it means setting your gear to the side and pull the truck out of the way and move the kayak to the side to be loaded later.

It looks like my test will be next week as my 10 won't actually be ready until Tuesday.

Agreed on the boat ramps: if you trailer a kayak, it'd be best to do all of your rigging before you back down the ramp.

With the popularity of kayaking building all the time, maybe they'll start providing some launching areas for us, for those who don't trailer.

Brad