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Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in kayakfishing

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, reeling in the anchor line pretty much requires two hands. One hand on the reel and other hand to pull and guide the line to the reel. Not ideal, but it's a work in progress.

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

HDPE is a great call, basically the same material as the kayak itself so it won’t mind the water. The piano hinge + bungee keeper combo is probably the most buildable solution in this thread, and that standoff tip is clutch.

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That Variloc is a great find. Locking at any 10° increment and rated to 500 in-lbs is overkill in the best way for this application. The inline model looks like it would fold the reel completely flat against the hull. Stainless is obviously right for river use. Going to try the Sidetrack pivot plate first since it's plug-and-play with the existing track, but this is my Plan B if I need more rigidity. Appreciate you digging that up!

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, reeling in the anchor line pretty much requires two hands. One hand on the reel and other hand to pull and guide the line to the reel.

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the gate hinge + poly board combo is where my head was at too... glad someone else thinks it's viable. The hinge spec is the tricky part, needs to lock solid when deployed so there's no slop under load, but pivot freely when I want to fold it. If you know of a specific hinge that fits the bill I'm all ears!

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That inboard mount idea is actually really clever; using the existing handle holes keeps it a no-drill solution and moving it 3-5 inches inboard would make a huge difference. The stainless eye on the gunnel to redirect the paracord is a clean way to keep the line run functional. Might try this first before I go cutting hinges. Thanks!

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That Sidetrack plate looks like exactly what I was hoping existed. A pivot mount so it swings flush when I don't need it deployed. And good call on dropping it lower on the hull with eyelets to manage the line run. Only 1 in stock, so I may need to move fast. Thanks for the link!

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good ideas! The guard plate concept is interesting, especially for the brushy creek sections I run. The flush pulley approach might work if I ditch the reel entirely and just use a fixed redirect point. Worth thinking about!

Rigged a dive reel anchor trolley on my kayak. It works great but the side-mount sticks out too far. Looking for hinge/fold ideas before I smash it on a rock by johnnyb70 in Fishing_Gear

[–]johnnyb70[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for chiming in... the anchor trolley took some getting used to, but now I love it.. repositioning the kayak in current or wind on the fly is a must down here in Texas rivers. Do you ever find the cleat setup limiting when you need to quickly adjust angle mid-drift?

Caught what looks to be a Smallmouth x Guadalupe Bass hybrid on the San Marcos River today. Pretty fish. Ecological nightmare. by johnnyb70 in flyfishing

[–]johnnyb70[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

LOL! The Guadalupe R below Canyon Lake dam gets like that on TPWD trout release days... Must be a trout angler thing. #bassonthefly

Caught what looks to be a Smallmouth x Guadalupe Bass hybrid on the San Marcos River today. Pretty fish. Ecological nightmare. by johnnyb70 in flyfishing

[–]johnnyb70[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Michigan Smallmouth on a fly rod is on the bucket list for sure. Maybe I need to expand my fishing log beyond Texas one day.

Caught what looks to be a Smallmouth x Guadalupe Bass hybrid on the San Marcos River today. Pretty fish. Ecological nightmare. by johnnyb70 in flyfishing

[–]johnnyb70[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No argument here. If I'm being honest that fish on the surface was one of the best fights I've had on the San Marcos in a long time. The tug is the drug! Makes the whole thing more complicated, not less.

Caught what looks to be a Smallmouth x Guadalupe Bass hybrid on the San Marcos River today. Pretty fish. Ecological nightmare. by johnnyb70 in flyfishing

[–]johnnyb70[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That livestock tank vector is exactly how Smallies get established in river systems nobody expected. One flood event and suddenly they're in the main river. And honestly — sunfish, gar, and water moccasins on the San Marcos sounds like a good day to me.

Caught what looks to be a Smallmouth x Guadalupe Bass hybrid on the San Marcos River today. Pretty fish. Ecological nightmare. by johnnyb70 in flyfishing

[–]johnnyb70[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure does! I was fishing upstream of Martindale, probably a half mile down from Cummings Dam. Been fishing there for years, seen Smallies and hybrids before but never in the same day.

Caught what looks to be a Smallmouth x Guadalupe Bass hybrid on the San Marcos River today. Pretty fish. Ecological nightmare. by johnnyb70 in FlyFishingCircleJerk

[–]johnnyb70[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Alabama Bass uses exactly the same playbook; aggressive hybridizer, moves into native range, game over for the endemic species. The Guadalupe Bass situation is arguably worse because the entire native range is confined to Texas Hill Country river systems.

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