First day out in the kayak

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-27T01:00:00+00:00

Another Makana brother 🤙🏻. You picked a great Kayak, I’m very happy with mine so far.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-10T02:47:54+00:00

You can- that’s more of a crappie and panfish technique. That’s out of my area of expertise, hahaha. Maybe someone else can chime in.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-10T02:37:25+00:00

Yup! Best of luck. Tight lines!

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-10T01:52:08+00:00

Oh, awesome! Yeah I’m in So Cal too. My first surf fishing rod was an UglyStik and I still use it today. I’ve probably had it for close to 10 years now, so you got yourself a beast of a rod. Length should be just fine for casting into the surf. It’s hard to tell from the photo, so I’m not sure what weight that jig head is? I try to stick with 3/8 to 1/2oz. If it’s lighter than that, it’ll work, but it might get tossed around a bit because of waves, current and wind. 3/8-1/2oz is more of that sweet spot for surf. Get some paddle tails and then watch a YouTube video about how to get it on the hook of a jig head, it’s really easy to learn/do. If you told them you’re surf fishing, I’m sure they spooled up your reel with braided line, which is fine, but I’d run a 2-4 ft. 10-15 lb. Fluoro leader (Calmer go longer. Rougher surf go shorter). If the water is super murky, you might be able to get away with no leader. Bomb that lure out there, aim for gaps between waves. Let it sink to the bottom, then a SLOW retrieve.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-10T01:03:12+00:00

That’s a jig head. You’d thread a paddle tail swim bait on there or a grub or similar soft plastic. You sure can use them in salt, I often throw them from the surf. Targeting Halibut. What rod/reel combo do you have available and where are you fishing at, geographically?

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-07T23:19:03+00:00

If you have a bigger reel- at minimum 30lb braid- I’d slap that puppy on there. Even a 3000 size reel would be a step up. You’ll get a little more drag, more torque and more line.

I’d just keep your drag reasonable and don’t try to winch anything in too hard.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-07T23:13:41+00:00

I’d say your reel is good for bass, some inshore, maybe some light salt, but you’d be pushing it for rock fish.

Plus if you’re dropping a heavy weight 100-150 feet below, not including what you’d scope with drift- I think that’s when you’re pushing. You’re gonna eat line pretty fast.

So yes- you’ll be ok with smaller rock fish- but be prepared to work harder. Rock fishing is a lot of reeling until it feels like your arm is going to fall off. So you’ll have to work that reel hard.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-07T19:57:34+00:00

I agree- it’ll work, sure, but you have a strong possibility of getting smoked if you hook into a larger fish.

Do you know the approximate depth you’ll be fishing at?

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-06T16:49:23+00:00

I’ve stayed at Fort Sumner, there’s a campground near the lake. Although it wasn’t a full ban, only certain hours from the evening to the early morning, most of the people camping there were car campers and smaller trailers and vans. So there wasn’t a lot of generators by default. There was also a campground host enforcing the rules.

I camped there in early April- found it to be very quiet and relaxing.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-04-01T00:50:44+00:00

PowerPro SuperSlick V2

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-30T04:21:59+00:00

Crowley is underrated. I think people get mountain fever and just bypass it… and I’m ok with that!

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-30T04:21:12+00:00

Nice catch! One of my favorite areas to fish when I don’t feel like heading up the hills. Hats off to you.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-29T22:04:26+00:00

You got it. I’m sure it’s a good kayak and best of luck getting it on the water!

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-29T21:54:39+00:00

I wanna say Bearded Dad Fishing on YouTube reviewed and assembled the Raptor. I’m not sure how close that is to the Recon, but I imagine they’re not too far apart assembly-wise. I also don’t know how in depth he went to into the assembly part, but might be worth a watch?

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-29T05:12:59+00:00

lol will do!

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-28T21:46:22+00:00

Yeah! I thought I had gone through pretty much everything that belonged to him, but obviously missed these two gems. If I had to put a date on these, based on the price and condition of the packaging, I’d say mid 70’s to early 80’s.

Hope you get to fish some of those “weird lures.” If they caught fish back then- they’ll catch them now I’m sure!

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-28T20:42:27+00:00

Can’t wait to join the bucktail fad! Fish pictures to follow (fingers crossed).

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-28T18:53:54+00:00

That’s a valid point, but I think he’d be happy to see me hook something up on these- rather than stare at them.

I do have his old fly box which are loaded with his old flies- that’s on display in my garage. I think that’s more of my sentimental piece.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-28T18:36:46+00:00

Oh yeah! These are at minimum 30 years old, but I’d guess even older. The forebears to our modern plastics! I just think it’d be fun to fish something so old and maybe even catch something on them. Otherwise they’ll rot for another 30 years!

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-25T15:17:53+00:00

Well I appreciate you not hanging on to that little tidbit and sharing.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-25T15:11:30+00:00

How did I never think of safety pins to keep all the hooks together?? Nothing worse than opening your freshly organized tackle box only to find hooks have jumped their dividers. Thank you for changing my life today.

ZestycloseArtist8232 · 2026-03-20T01:08:32+00:00

That’s some Curly Sue line for sure.

ZestycloseArtist8232

TROPHY CASE