Mike Cline
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Another nice report and some beautiful pics!
Well .. Maybe I should take back my post from your madison in the park report. Looks like you just have to get up early enough to beat the crowds! 😀
Corey,
Yellowstone is a place where its really possible to be alone in a crowd if you have the right state of mind.
Have you all been seeing any cicadas this year?
Zach
Haven’t seen nor heard any cicadas yet, but the baby green hoppers are starting to appear in the grass and sagebrush.
Secondly, the seat backs folded open and picked up a lot of bugs. Nasty.
Cameron,
It’s a pesky problem which I evolved to the following solution:
While traveling, the seat is bungeed down with two of the short, small 6in” bungees working in tandem. The second benefit is that I use these same bungees to lash the rod cases to the thwarts when underway.
It’s interesting that you drag the anchor while fishing. Aren’t you concerned about damage to marco invertebrates and possibly redds while you are doing this?
It is an effective technique for controlling the boat when wading tethered where the current, wind, tides etc. cause the boat to impede your fishing. That said, its not necessary all the time. For example, I waded a local stream tethered to my kayak yesterday for 10 hours–7.5 miles of river. I used the drag anchor once for about 20 minutes on a very slow stretch where the current and wind combined to constantly push the boat back into me.
As for damage to the streambed (or grass flats in saltwater), it is an interesting dilemma well beyond this discussion. Wading, anchors, dragging driftboats, rafts, etc. across shallow spots, float tube fins, etc. all disturb stream and lake beds. Prop scars criss-cross most saltwater flats. (Actually, deep prop scars create new structural habitat that is exploited by predator species). I suspect my wading disturbed far more of the streambed than did my anchor would have had I dragged it all day. Should I have not waded the stream? When redds are obvious (as they are in the Fall on this local stream), you avoid them both wading and with the anchor.
One must always be personally comfortable with their methods!
Bob,
Here’s a photo. Sorry I didn’t include it before. This is a pretty standard setup for a wading tether on any brand of poly boat. Two padeyes at the bow–either on top or just along the side. Then a line is run through both with a double knot to secure the line on the sternmost eye. Just a technique to spread the pressure along the boat, instead of strictly at the point of the bow.
Always choose high-quality line–Sailing quality–for the wading tether. It takes alot of abuse and you don’t want it ever to part while in strong water or dragging the kayak over obstacles, shallows, etc,. Additionally, make sure the tether, once you are attached, is long enough so you can reach the stern of the boat. If it is too short, you have to un-tether to reach items in the stern when beached or wading.
Afterwards I was able to demo a 12 foot Ultimate. Very impressed, but a wee bit cramped. Especially if I was to load my Pelican and my 500mm. After that I’m back and out in a 14.5 Ultimate Propel.
Sweet ride but I prefer the paddle.When its all said and done I’m very much leaning towards a 14.5 Ultimate now. While it’s heavier at 60pds…
Nothing wrong with the 14.5 at 65 lbs. I paddled one over ten miles last Monday on the flats in Gasparilla Sound in Florida. It has great stability for stand-up fishing and paddling.
My partner in Gasparilla SoundThe one caution I’d make is that you realize that anything stowed in the bow of the boat (whether or not there is a bow skirt) is essentially unavailable while you are in the boat. Additionally, with the 14.5, the second section of the stern is essentially the same. Unfortunately, although you can stand in an Ultimate comfortably, you can’t walk to the bow or stern as you can in a more stable boat. Although you can move forward on your knees to reach the bow section, its a pretty tippy move. Trying to get your hands on anything out of reach behind you is pretty much impossible while in the boat.
I say this only to point out that regardless of length, you’ll have about the same amount of gear access while underway in both the 12 and 14.5. However, once you can exit the boat–shallows, flats, rivers, the 14.5 clearly has more storage capacity. Good Luck with whatever you decide.
While at the outlet, I was able to sit in the Tegris. Not only was it super comfortable, at 30 lbs vs 60+ it’s almost a done deal. Will make portaging that much easier ad apparently there’s a removable yoke you can buy. I figure with the yoke and either the bow skirt or full skirt it’s good for tripping.
The only real hurdle I have left is trying to gauge how much cargo/gear it can carry and how it will handle/perform while loaded. Specs say it’s rated for 350lbs, I’m 180. So leaving room *technically* I should be able to load 125lbs comfortably.
The Tegris performs just like the poly Ultimate 12 but its light weight makes it so much easier to transport and wade with.
On Monday, we got screwed on the beaches off Boca Grande Island for snook with a West Wind that blew in tons of kelp in that prevented any good beach fishing for snook. However Monday evening into Tuesday morning, the lighted docks along the Causeway and the island held 100s of snook that eagerly attacked glass minnow flies. Very challenging fishing with the tides, wind and darkness, but well worth the effort.
They used to sell all those crappy loop to loop connectors with heat shrink tubing to attach the butt ends; I got pretty good at waving a lighter back and forth under a line to shrink them up. You don’t actually have to liquify the coating plastic to shrink down the tubing; I think this would be a safer method overall. Probably best to use something very smokeless and preferably something that burns cool, like an alcohol lamp or even a hair dryer.
Zach
I’ve used the Cortland Loop Connectors on some of my fly lines with the shrink tubing.
A business trip took me to Florida for the week and I took the opportunity to go on an Ultimate flats trip in the Charlotte Harbor area on monday for redfish and snook. The daytime tides were marginal and the wind made fishing tough. However, the nighttime dock fishing for snook was dynamite. Paddled around all-day and night (didn’t get back to the putin until 2AM – about 10 miles total in an Ultimate 14.5 with a guide in another Ultimate boat. Instead of anchors we used Stick It Anchor Pins to secure the boat in wind and tides. In combination with an Anchor Trolley, I was pretty impressed with their utility.
Here’s the website. Anyone using a kayak in waters with shallow sandy or muddy bottoms ought to consider one of these.
Hi Mike,
Thank you so much for posting your Native Watercraft rigging. I think you have a super system, and frankly, I’m going to copy it as much as possible!
Concerning the wading tether and it’s attachment to the boat; it looks like you have the 15′ of rope fastened to an elastic thing which is then fastened to the bow in two places. Would you mind detailing that a little more? I’m assuming you have drilled two holes and used those to fasten the elastic thing inside the boat. Additional pictures or information would be greatly appreciated.
I have the 14.5 Ultimate tandem
Thank you agian, this post has already been very helpful to me.
Bob
Bob,
Actually configuring a tethering line can be done in several ways.
Was it fairly easy to fish Trout Lake from the bank, or did you feel like a boat would have significantly helped?
Tim
Here’s a link to a bit of recent talk about Trout LakeI can’t wait to get out to that part of the country later this summer. Was it fairly easy to fish Trout Lake from the bank, or did you feel like a boat would have significantly helped?
Tim,
I suspect the answer lies with the time of year you fish the lake.Kyle,
If the opportunity permits, there is some good fly fishing for assorted species of stuff off the Barber’s Point and Makaha beach areas of Oahu.
I’m not too comfortable with the idea of being tethered to my boat when wading and fishing, but, based on your strong endorsement, I’ll have to give it a try.
Tim,
I’ve been doing it so long that it just comes natural.Mike,
Great trip.
Maybe you’ve posted on this before, but can you provide some photos and instructions on how you’ve rigged your Ultimate 12s? So far, all I’ve added is a cleat and two rings for an anchor system. I’ve been thinking about a few other additions, but I’d like to learn about other ideas.
Thanks,
TimTim, that’s a good idea.
