Thank you Plumbob. I love my set up but I am also thinking about getting a Bonafied as well. I assume you had the 127? That's the one I am considering getting.

I would never be someone to tell someone to not follow their dream. But I couldn't help but notice the sentence that your parents are adamant about you going to college. Have you thought about looking at a college that has a fishing team on it? A lot of colleges have bass teams now. It may help you further your dreams of fishing for a living. Or at the very least it may help give you the tools to work in the fishing industry. Maybe doing something like working for a company that makes rods and reels or baits. doing something like that is a great way to have a career in the fishing industry and you can always fish small local tournaments or something on the side. I know lots of people ( including myself) who do that. It's just something to think about.

My kayak is a great one and not a wallet buster as far as kayaks go. I own a Shadow Caster 123 from Field and Stream. I have spent a bit of money on mine with the extras like a good fish finder, trolling motor and lights and extra rod holders. The beautiful thing about kayak fishing is the ability to sneak up on fish quietly and in areas that boats can't travel in. Plus they never run out of gas and cost next to nothing to maintain. I can stand on my kayak and fish just like a boat even at 6"2 290 pounds. Kayaks are lighter than a boat so I don't have to wait at a boat ramp to launch. Really the only advantage a boat had over a kayak ( at least in my opinion)is speed and storage. Travel is even easier with a kayak. I have a boat trailer for mine but if I don't feel like messing around with the trailer I can simply put my kayak in the bed of my truck and go. But with my trailer I have it set up that I can travel with my kayak, paddle and rods all on my trailer so everything is all in one spot making for an easy unload and go.

Those look amazing Ben! I would assumed you bought those from a store. You have a reel ( ha! Get it) eye for detail.

Ken... I will gladly give you as many pointers as you need. I can also provide almost everything needed for either kayak fishing ( even kayaks) or bank fishing. Pm me and we can exchange numbers

J I am a couple of hours away from cleveland. I live near findlay. But I am not scared to drive a couple of hours to go fishing. I go walleye fishing in cleveland several times a year every year. I will be more than happy to meet with you in cleveland and do some fishing

You got a deal Ben! By the way my wife and I are taking a trip to lake okeechobee FL and I have already packed the stuff I bought from you.

I normally don't do things like this but I am looking for a fishing partner. I live in ohio about an hour away from michigan. I know this sounds kind of strange especially for a 38 year old adult. I am not looking for tournament reasons but if someone needs a partner for a weekend tournament I would be happy to help. I am looking more for a person to just go fishing with from time to time. Doesn't matter if it's on a boat,kayak, or even just sitting on a bank just hanging out fishing and telling stories. I am basically just a guy who loves to fish and want to fish with other people and not just by myself all of the time. My wife comes with me from time to time but it's more because she just wants to get out of the house. Anyone in the ohio area or michigan interested?

Saw. I do have a number for my yak. I have been running a trolling motor on it for a while but I have just a regular deep cycle marine battery. The thing feels like it weighs 200 LBS ( even though it doesn't) and when you add my almost 300 pounds it gets a little sketchy. Or at least it feels like it is gets a bit sketchy.

I am looking for a good battery for my kayak to run my trolling motor. I have a small minn kota trolling motor with a 30 pound thrust. I want something that is going to last a long time and not weigh my kayak way down. I am thinking lithium battery is the way to go. Please give me your thoughts and opinions on what way you think I should go.

I have to agree with Earl. I have a Shadow Caster from Field and Stream. My boat is 12 foot in length and holds 500 pounds. I am a big boy at 6"2 , almost 300 pounds. The kayak cost me a little over $800 and I bought a trolling motor for around $50 on Craigslist. I made my own motor mount with to 2x4's just laying around my house and a couple lag bolts from my garage. The battery I paid a little more for because I wanted a nice lithium battery that was light but would last me a long time between charges. All said and done I have less than $1300 dollars in my kayak that has full motor capability,fish finder, holds 6 rods, seven tackle trays a cup holder and light for inside the kayak. That's still $1700 less than a hobbies kayak. It's just something to think about. Good luck

You know what one of my favorite things about this forum is? It's that no matter what question I have there is always someone who is happy to share knowledge or location advice. Mabey not their exact "honey hole" but a location that you should have some good luck or a technique that they use to help. Once again you guys have not let me down and gave me a lot of great places that I will definitely research and look into fishing. Thank you all so much for the advice.

My wife and I are taking a trip to Florida here in mid March. I was thinking about possibly going bass fishing on lake Okeechobee with my kayak. Looking for advice on other possible places to bass fish while I'm there. We are staying in Ft Meyer of that helps any.

I hopefully will be joining many of you and purchasing a nice boat for myself. But for now this is my setup, Field and Stream Shadow Caster.

Yes. In the state of ohio, any boat with a motor gas or electric has to have a boat registration. I think that rule is a little ridiculous but I don't make the rules and the registration isn't that expensive.