Henry Rifle Forums

Due to health issues and commitments around the farm, our kayaks have sat on the trailer, stored in one of the stalls in the old barn for more than a year. We planned to fish last summer... not. We planned to fish last fall. Not. We were going to fish in the spring, nope. The granddaughter wanted to come up and fish during her school break... this coming weekend. Told them to bring her up. I told Miss Tina we needed to pull the kayak trailer up from the barn and strip the kayaks of all the gear and make sure no snakes or mice had moved in.

She just laughed... I'm sure snakes can't crawl up into the kayaks stored on the trailer. But we should clean all the grime and dust off. Too muddy down there now with all this rain, but we'll get them up here and do that early this week. I took the dog for her evening UTV ride, and Tina went down to feed. Fiona and I got back and Miss T met us at the back door holding a pitchfork.

"Guess what I found in your kayak?"

Yup, she had pulled the covers off both yaks, just to peek, in the dim light of the barn rather than pulling the trailer up to the house with the UTV, into the bright sunlight, as I had planned. When she pulled off the rag I had draped over the seat on my kayak to keep the grime off, a five foot rattler was coiled in the seat. Luckily he was lethargic and she was able to flip him off the kayak and into the dirt floor with the pitchfork and pin him. We don't "Mind" the non-poisonous snakes around the 20+ acres. They keep the vermin population down. The venomous variety around the barn or the house areas, nope.

I towed the kayak trailer up to the house in the sun, and we stripped the kayaks down to the hull, and cleaned them out, washed them down and cleaned up all the gear. Her kayak, with the tight fitting cover was fine. We didn't have a cover to fit might and seal it off from intrusion. She'll make one this week. No more snakes in residence.

I found a rattler in the hose rack in the garage where we stored the ropes coiled up. Not stored there any longer.

As Indy said, "Why does it have to be snakes?"

The rattler? He had been pinned thru the top of his diamond shaped head, and she tossed him into the pond. Circle of life. The bass greeted him warmly and invited him to dinner.

Yes to no rattlesnakes close to the property. Thankfully don't see a lot of rattlesnakes, have killed around 5 in my 35 years here. Saved a Bullsnake (after carefully checking that he had no rattles) yesterday, he was sunning himself in the road and I had to shoe him off with a stick. Between the Bullsnakes and the feral cats we see almost no sign of mice.

As Indy said, "Why does it have to be snakes?"

I feel the same way. After Vietnam I want no part of any kind of snake.

No rattlers here but we do have some garter snakes living in the backyard. Saw one yesterday in his usual place catching some sun which we haven’t seen for a week while I was cutting the lawn.

Snake Surprise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leVLWAMzrYA

“She just laughed... I'm sure snakes can't crawl up into the kayaks stored on the trailer. But we should clean all the grime and dust off. Too muddy down there now with all this rain, but we'll get them up here and do that early this week. I took the dog for her evening UTV ride, and Tina went down to feed. Fiona and I got back and Miss T met us at the back door holding a pitchfork.“


Sometimes it’s just wrong to be right.

Funny thing... She has talked about buying a Bass Boat since we moved to Oklahoma. We have been kayak fisherman for more than a decade and never really wanted a motorized boat ... we fished the ponds, lakes, rivers, and the ocean from the kayaks for years and had some serious success. I have posted many of the pics here. But, not much Salt Water in Oklahoma. We don't know the area here like we did in VA and there are a LOT of large lakes to fish... and we are getting older... she talked of selling the kayaks and the kayak trailer rig... and just buying a bass boat to fish from.

I was looking today.

OMG... the simple Jon Boats are shocking. When I looked at a decent Bass Pro setup, we are talking between 15K and 20K easy...
But that the Boat, Motor, Trailer and includes a trolling motor and Fish Finder. Basically you add gas and you are ready to fish....

The Bass Pro boats are entry level boats, but if you step up to the bigger names, you suddenly are talking way bigger bucks.
I think I'll paddle for as long as I can.... then maybe read about fishing...

I did like that 17' Tracker Pro V though.... nice. I could see myself casting a fly rod from that deck....
I think we could tow that with the Titan.

Have you looked at the 2-person buddy boats at bps. I had one for a couple years. Good for small ponds and such. I found that the 2-person was actually a good size for 1 person. One big drawback is they sit up high and the wind will blow you around some. My son has my fishing kayak now.

Shakey Jake wrote: ↑

Thu May 18, 2023 7:59 pm

https://www.loweboats.com/hunt-fish/jon ... -aura.html

I have seen some very basic JON boats at Box Stores as well, but we do want the flat decks and some BASIC extras as I have some physical challenges that would make it very difficult for me to move around a boat I have to climb over seats in. We don't really need the live wells and the like as we don't fish with live baits, but mostly fly fish, and we don't keep anything so we wouldn't need to keep fish alive. We fly fish or fish with lures or plastics.

What we would mainly look for would be a trolling motor and a fish finder, and on boat storage of the tackle and rods to reduce the transfer of gear back and forth between the house and the boat and the truck and the boat at the launch and the takeout. Old, gimpy, and slow. We did find a bit smaller and more basic setup, ready to fish in the tracker series, in the $17 range.

https://www.bassproboatingcenters.com/b ... 38057.html

Again, this is just a first pass. There is an actual Marine Product dealer in Davis OK and they might have a better deal or a LIGHTLY used trade that would better fit our needs... although unless they have a GREAT warranty on the used boat we would not be inclined to buy a used boat. You never know what kind of maintenance the previous owner did on the motor or the boat and that can make ALL the difference.

I will be hard pressed to make the commitment as we know a lot of people who were dedicated fishermen and bought boats and then after the first couple of seasons didn't get a lot of use out of them. WE used the kayaks a LOT, but it's a much bigger hassle to use of boat.

Thoughts guys?

Maybe I missed it whats the size of the tracker boat

BigAl52 wrote: ↑

Fri May 19, 2023 12:36 am

Maybe I missed it whats the size of the tracker boat

They are both in the 16 to 17 foot range.
50 hp motors.
Single wheel trailers.
Trolling motors and Lowrance Fish Finders
Carpeted fishing platforms and comfortable seats for my lower back and knee/leg issues.

We need the space between the front and rear fishing area as we FlY fish.

Once we are able to get out and try the kayaks again this year, we may STICK with the yaks a while. I have a Bonefide SS127, a very comfortable kayak... the seat is the most comfortable in a kayak I have ever sat in. With the broken wrist and surgery and lack of rotation, I am wondering if I will be able to paddle for any length of time. I'll find out..

We also have a pair of Wilderness Systems Commander 120s, a hybrid between a canoe and kayak. A very stable fishing platform. WS discontinued the kayak several years ago, but they are still around... and still loved by the owners. You can stand in them and cast, skull, and set the hook and land a fish without worrying about capsizing. Tina has spent 75% of a River Float standing in hers. In the picture below Tina was chatting with friends, drifting downriver, changing a bait, and steering the kayak by shifting her weight.


It appears that she is standing below the water level... in fact she is. The Commander has a tunnel hull and by standing with your feet in the depressions in the hull that create the hull you are literally standing below the water level. Makes for a very stable craft. MY Commander is one of one, a carbon fiber version of the Commander.


Carbon Fiber Hull, teak trim. Was supposed to be 1 of 25. They only made the one, and when mine was the only one sold they cancelled the rest of the series. 1 of 1. Wilderness Systems fans called it the Black Ghost as they didn't know where it was. I was at a tournament once when someone started talking about it. The guy bet $100 that it never existed. I told him that I had good news and bad news. "I know where it is, and can prove it. it's on my trailer in the parking lot."

A closer look at the hull..... close up you can see the carbon fiber. The standard Commander weighs in at about 70 pounds without the seat or any gear. The carbon fiber Commander? 38 pounds with no seat or gear aboard. Easier to carry, and a LOT faster to paddle and maneuver. A real pleasure to fish from, but I refused to paddle it on the river where it might have to cross rocks or slam thru rapids. I would exit the boat in knee deep water and carry it to the ramp so I wouldn't scratch the bottom.

On the commander you can sit down in the kayak in a seat, or sit up on the Captain's Perch. Great.

Ive never learned to fly fish and Im not much of a fisherman to begin with. Everytime I go fishing with a good friend I just see him catch way more fish than I do.

I dont know much about Kayaks except when I was a kid a trip down Puget Sound from downtown Seattle to our neighborhood where I grew up got ruined as the 2 seater yak we were in tipped over with 2 of us in it. needless to say it was cold and it took all us 2 punks could do to hold onto the boat and drag it to shore never been much of a yak fan since but I do know there stability has improved over the years. Kinda funny now but it was not back then. Those of yours look really nice

BigAl52 wrote: ↑

Fri May 19, 2023 12:38 pm

I dont know much about Kayaks except when I was a kid a trip down Puget Sound from downtown Seattle to our neighborhood where I grew up got ruined as the 2 seater yak we were in tipped over with 2 of us in it. needless to say it was cold and it took all us 2 punks could do to hold onto the boat and drag it to shore never been much of a yak fan since but I do know there stability has improved over the years. Kinda funny now but it was not back then. Those of yours look really nice

There are kayaks that are really fast, and very shaky. The long narrow hull line of the P&H Quest Sea Kayak makes it a rocket on the water, but if you aren't careful and very experienced, the hull and cockpit will quickly swap spaces and you'll find yourself wet. NOT a fishing kayak. But long straight strokes down the side of this kayak in a slow steady rhythm will cover a great distance with very little effort.


This Hobie sit on top is pedaled, and is faster than some Jon boats with trolling motors. The perfect kayak for Trolling for bass, or fishing in current. We loved those kayaks, and fished them for years. The pedal drives were great, unless you were in the river and might have to cross rapids or shallows.


The wider, shorter kayaks are not as fast, but VERY stable. You can walk around on them.
Perfect for fishing bedding fish as you can stand to scan the shorelines and see the fish.
The big thing about a kayak is you don't need a boat ramp or even a road... you can launch from the pond bank...
... and catch a monster.