Hello,
I went fishing on a lake with a boulder shoreline and an angle to the water that left the gate of my 4x4 five feet above the ground. I realized in removing the "yak, that getting it back up into the trucks' box would be a major problem. I am 77 and need shoulder replacement surgery.
Well, things got worse in that the lake went from "glass" to a major storm that blew me off the lake in less than 1 1/2 hours. Single bright spot of the day= a 22 inch rainbow.
Landing in the storm, getting the kayak into the pickup bed was difficult.
I have come home and looked at kayak trailers and the prices gag me. I have built trailers before and realize this could be a challenge to create a trailer that would be very light, have large wheels for dealing with boulder strewn beaches, and create something that would display some ingenuity and craftsmanship. Many decades ago I passed certified welding tests in 3 states, so structural integrity would not be a problem, but does anybody have some ideas for creating a really special single "yak trailer that behind a 4x4 could get into some really tough areas?
Thanks in advance,
Gene So

Historically the branding of fishing reels has been difficult to trace for decades. As a collector of vintage fishing reels I have learned a great deal about this practice. One has to be careful about buying what they think is a name brand that is actually being farmed out to Chinese companies for manufacture. This is particularly true with lower priced reels such as many that are sold at Walmart. Research the Pure Fishing Inc. conglomerate and see the brands they make or rather get others to make for them. ‘Pure Fishing, Inc. is a leading global provider of fishing tackle, lures, rods and reels with a portfolio of brands that includes Abu Garcia®, All Star®, Berkley®, Chub®, Fenwick®, Greys®, Hardy®, Hodgman®, Johnson™, JRC®, Mitchell®, Penn®, Pflueger®, Sebile®, Shakespeare®, SpiderWire®, Stren®, and Ugly Stik®.” This quote is from their information on the web. The higher end - higher priced brands are a much safer purchase but they cost a lot. You need look no further than the internet to discover what a complex world fishing tackle branding really is. These bargain priced reels cut corners in manufacturing using cheaper materials, poor warranties, and inadequate or non-existent repair parts. Good luck finding schematics for these reels. You really have to consider them to be “disposable.” This is why I own and collect only those reels that were manufactured before roughly 1980 or so. Not all Chinese reels are bad but you have to be careful. All fishing reels require periodic and thorough maintenance. I have 60 fishing reels and I know almost everything about every single one. As for that royalty idea it is surely possible. I just avoid that possibility. The primary business model for these Chinese brands and other low cost bargain tackle is quite simple - PROFIT!

All of the fishing rods-n-reels from Walmart are junk. All of the internals are made of cheap plastic and their name brand stuff like Penn, Abu Garcia, Shimano, etc... is not manufactured by those companies at all. Walmart has them made in China and then buys a royalty from those companies to sell their name. Buy a Penn 750 from Walmart and then go purchase one from say Academy, Dick's, or Field and Stream and take the spool off and look at the internal gears and shaft behind the spool and you will see first hand what I am talking about. They do the same with Good Year tires, etc... They're ok for part time fishermen, but for a serious fisherman, they wont last or hold up to the elements.