I bought a new Pflueger President at the BAss Pro black friday sale in MObile Alabama. First time out I lost the handle in the water (must have worked loose riding in the Kayak for 1500 miles from Kansas to south Florida).

Does anyone know where I can get parts for a reel this new?

I live just west of Leavenworth and fish mostly Clinton and Perry. We should hook up sometime and go fishing. My wife bought me a new Livescope for Christmas and I am eager to try it out.

Burning propane heater indoors won't cause carbon monoxide buildup but will depleat oxygen in a tightly closed area.

Clinton Lake west of Lawrence is also full of catfish. Slow drift a frozen shrimp on the bottom on the flats. You can castnet shad for free bait but they make a mess of your boat (tiny fish scales everywhere and they stick like you painted them on). I also catch cats while longline trolling crankbaits for crappie.

Don't overlook the used market for a GPS capable fish finder. There are lots of finders available on craigs list and facebook market. The big companies bring out new models evey year and there are those who insist on the newest on their boat. Humminbird generation one and two modesl are available for pennies on the dollar of original cost. I have a generation one helix that performs perfectly for both down scan and sidescan with built in GPS maps of all U S waters. I use the tracking feature to fish all day in the backwaters of the gulf and just follow the track back to the launch site. Mounted mine on quick release Ram mount. My Hobie has the transducer mounted in the provided transducer location and my Old Town has the over the side type transducer mount. The over the side mount is a hassle and catches on brush and weeds when fishing shallow. Good luck with your search. I have a 18 foot Ranger that has not been in the water in 18 months. It's just too easy and fun to fish with my kayak.

I have fished from Paddle, Pedal, and motorized. I prefer Hobie style of pedal rather than the Bicycle style. I am 70 years old and find the pushing action of the Hobie style much easier on the legs. I recently added a Motorguide XI3 trolling motor to the Hobie with a 50ah lithium battery. I am currently in Mississippi fishing the bayou for redfish. I can fish for several hours with this set up and usually travel five miles or so in a day. I have never run low on battery, but I carry my pedals with me just in case. (Don't want to spend the night in the marsh with all the alligators).

There is an app for your phone called "Go Paddling" that gives location of all launch points in your area.

P.S.
For those of you who saw the notice on YouTube that Everything Kayak and Bicycle in Gulf Port, Mississippi was out of business, it was a hoax. I was in the store yesterday and they still have a mountain of kayaks and gear and are open for business seven days a week. Also available on line.

I would lean towards the deep V. As we get older balance becomes an issue. I fish wih a friend with a Bass Tracker 185 bass boat. We have both fallen off the casting deck of this boat at one time or another. I bought a Ranger Reata 1850 and love it. High sides and beautiful ride in any lake conditions. Troll for walleye and fish shallow for crappie with no issues.

The motorguide is mounted on a quick release mount so I can remove it quickly. The grab bars are attached to the kayaks with bimini attachment harware. They can be removed by pulling four pins, or folded out of the way by pulling two pins and folding them down. I also have rope to help me get up when the grab bars are removed. The ropes double as an assist step to get back into the kayak if I should capsize or fall out. I got the ideas and design from utube videos. It is amazing what you can learn just cruizing utube.

The motorguide is 52# and the Minkota is 45#. I see no noticeable difference in speed or battery life.

I use lithium batteries and one down side is they perform at level output, until they stop, no warnig like a lead acid that slowly loses power. With the Old Town I am left to paddle to the ramp. With the Hobie, I can drop the pedals in and pedal back. Worth noting is that I have NEVER run out of battery even when fishing a full day in wind and current.

Attached are a couple of pictures. At 70 years old, I find the grab bars are very helpful when entering and exiting the kayak, and you can stand to fish if you wish. You can buy them for $200-300 or you can make them out of an old bimini top like I did for about $10. All hardware is available from Amazon.

I also have mapping gps locators on both kayaks. When fishing unfamiliar water, I can simply follow my track back to the boat ramp.

I have both the Old town Autopilot 136 and a Hobie Pro Angler 14. The Old Town is equiped with a salt water ready trolling motor as original equipment. I love fishing the gulf and bayous for redfish and trout.

The Hobie will require the addition of a salt water trolling motor. Such a motor with spot lock will cost at least a thousand dollars.

Having fished out of both kayaks for some time now, I can't say I prefer one over the other. I added a Motorguide XI3 with gps to the Hobie. At $1200 it is not actually salt water approved.

If cost is an issue, the Old Town is much less expensive with the trolling motor included in the original purchase price.

I drove thirty miles to a lake, launched the boat and realized I'd left my tackle bag at home. I was on the shore combing the rocks for abandoned gear when a fellow fisherman came by and asked what I was looking for. I told him and he opened his tackle box and said "take what you need. I have plenty". Great people you meet on the water!

I caught a 22lb flathead catfish on a 5 ft ultralight ugly stick and a Lady President Pflueger reel. Ten lb braid and six lb flouro leader. Long tough battle but Oh what a thrill! Very impressed with the butter smooth drag on the Pflueger.

Pulling crank baits for crappie in Kansas.

Just got home from trolling Bandits for crappie in north east Kansas. I troll number 300's at 1.8 mph (according to my locator). A little slow here today but managed six. Three were over 14 inches. Carp were spawning and causing a lot of commotion. Don't know if that had any effect on the fishing. Calm, slick water, sunny 80 degrees. I have better luck with a bit of chop on the water.

Get an assortment of colors. Today they liked white. Other times I have had good luck with chrome with a blue back. I use line counter reels and run the Bandit 100 feet back.

My best friend's wife is parapalegic and loves her Subaru Outback. Easy for her to enter and exit to her wheelchair. Car has 200k+ miles and NO issues.