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2018 Product Endorsements: Gear that passed the test

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I was able to extensively test a bunch of new products this year. Not all performed well for the long haul. Here’s the ones I fully endorse that passed the test after their initial review.

Rapala Fish and Game Shears – Strong, sharp, effective in opening a fish’s cavity for gutting, snipping off gills, fins, etc.  Comes apart for easy cleaning. Stainless steel blades haven’t corroded after months of use. Currently less than $9 as an add-on on Amazon Prime.

 

Gerber Crucial Multi-Tool – Small enough to fit in my kayak PFD pocket, easy to open serrated blade with one hand.  Stainless steel construction. Needle nose pliers, knife, flat and phillips screw driver. Everything you need, nothing you don’t. Here’s the original review.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Action Hat DIY GoPro mount – This kit with internal foam floation allowed me to mount a GoPro on my favorite hat.  I don’t feel the foam insert when I wear the cap, and the GoPro isn’t as glaringly noticeable as my previous GoPro hat. The hat hasn’t fallen off my head yet, but I’m pretty sure it will float long enough for retrieval since the hat itself floats. $29.99 on livelivegear.com.

Yeti Rambler Camp Mug – While not directly related to fishing, the camp mug can be used to drink something hot while you wait for that ulua to bite.  I’m testing some of the Yeti products that can be taken fishing (soft cooler, etc) and this mug was a sleeper. I really liked how it felt in my hand, and how the double insulated walls and lid kept my coffee hot for a long time.  Here’s the original review.

 

 

Buff® Elite Gloves – Though not specifically made as fishing gloves to paddle with, these gloves have been awesome for kayak fishing.  I’ve machine washed them many times and there’s no signs of wear.  I don’t kayak fish without them. Here’s the original review.

 

Product Test: Gerber Crucial Multi-Tool for kayak fishing

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Gerber Neat Freak

A critical piece of kayak fishing safety equipment is something that you can use to cut yourself free from tangles in an emergency. I used to carry a serrated saw type knife on my vest but wanted something that could also cut bait and trim line tags.  So I added a Gerber Neat Freak scissors I got at the Fred Hall Show that is designed to cleanly snip braided line. Since the Neat Freak is tethered to my vest, I’d be able to cut myself out of tangles also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I liked the construction of the Neat Freak so much, I checked Gerber’s other products online. They had a bunch of well made knives and fully loaded multi-tools I didn’t need, but then I came across a very basic multi-tool, the Crucial.  It had a half serrated knife that could be opened easily with one hand, flat and phillips screwdrivers for tightening mounts on the yak, and needle nose pliers.  Best of all it was made out of stainless steel so it wouldn’t rust in my vest pocket.  Everything I needed to carry and nothing I didn’t, in a very compact package. I guess that’s why they named it the Crucial.

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a raised edge on the knife blade that allows you to flick open the blade with one hand.  Very handy if you’re holding onto an overturned kayak with your other hand, and your legs are wrapped in fishing line.

Amazon Prime is currently selling the Crucial for $25 to $35 depending on the color.

The stuff I use and why I use ’em – Kayak Fishing Equipment

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(Updated June 2021)

I finally got an offshore kayak, in Jan 2019.  Since that allowed me to go further and deeper, a few other accessories needed to be updated.  

I’ll mention the kayak fishing products that perform especially well.  Please check out my other gear recommendations.

Kayaks: Ocean Kayak Trident Ultra 4.3 , Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro, both discontinued.  Here’s the in-depth review of the Trident Ultra 4.3.  The Scupper Pro is long (14’9″) and narrow (26″), so it paddles well but is tippy and doesn’t have much room in the cockpit.  Adding a rudder to the Pro really made it an efficient paddler in the wind and current.

Rack: Thule bars, Thule Glide and Set pads and cradles. I’m able to slide the yak onto the rear hatchback without much back strain.  Please read my short post about the rack system. 

Paddle:  2-piece carbon shaft Werner Camano paddle.   Light, strong and has an adjustable ferrule to change the angle of the offset. Looks beautiful too!

Jigging reel for offshore. Shimano Trinidad 14. Silky smooth, high gear retrieve and easy to maintain. And has a clicker so the fish’s runs are audible in videos. 🙂

Trolling reel for offshore: Avet SX Raptor.  Small, light footprint for a workhorse 2-speed lever drag that’s super easy to maintain.  Moved up to this to quickly get into strike drag after hooking fish, and for boosting big sharks off the bottom in low gear. Max drag 26lbs. Amazing little reel.

Hooks: VMC Live Bait hook size 3/0 to 5/0 for front hook, VMC Inline Single hook size 2/0 to 5/0 for stinger hook. 

Leader: Seaguar Invisiline 40lb fluorocarbon. 

Wire Leader: Knot2Kinky 35lb.

Main Line: Sufix 832 braid.

Swivels: VMC Heavy Duty Ball Bearing Swivels with snap and without.

Click here to see VMC tackle in the Store.

Click here to see Sufix line in the Store.

Kayak Seat: On Scupper Pro – Surf to Summit GTS Pro with a Hot Seat pad.  The more padding the better when sitting and bracing for more than 4 hrs.

Life Vest: NRS Chinook. This vest was made for kayak fishers and has a lot of pockets and attachment points.  The high back starts at my lumbar and doesn’t get in the way when I lean back.  It’s like wearing a comfortable tackle bag that can save my life.

Stuff in the NRS vest:

  • Personal Locator Beacon (PLB): ACR ResQLink+. If I need to be rescued, I can push a button and the Coast Guard will be sent my GPS location.  My emergency contact will be notified also. The unit is waterproof and floats.  Wearing it gives me and my loved ones peace of mind.
  • Whistle.
  • Motorola MS350R floating walkie talkie.
  • Standard Horizon HX300 vhf radio.
  • Gerber Neat Freak scissors.
  • Gerber Crucial Multi-Tool.
  • Pre-tied leaders.
  • Hooks, swivels and lead.
  • Cell Phone.
  • Aquapac waterproof phone bag.

Waterproof, Floating Walkie Talkie: Motorola MS350R.  I can keep in touch with my fishing partners for safety and fish reports.  Often we’re within eye sight but not ear shot of each other.  I’ve lost 1 walkie talkie so far, so I’m now buying refurbished units to minimize the loss.

Gerber Neat Freak scissors.  Designed to very cleanly cut braided line so the raw edge can be threaded into small eyelets.  I have this attached to my life vest and have cut fluoro leaders and braided main line free in dangerous situations.  I’ve also cut defrosted bait into chunks with it.  Very easy to handle in a pinch.

Fishing pliers: Rapala aluminum pliers.  All my previous “carbon steel” needle nose pliers have eventually rusted out and left corrosion stains in their sheaths.  These aluminum pliers shouldn’t rust but they are shorter than the ones they are replacing.  Hope they’re long enough to keep my fingers away from sharp teeth.

Bilge Pump: Seattle Sports.

Rod Holders: I have two Tite-Loc Rocket Launcher on the Scupper Pro and an Angler’s Pal Stainless Steel holder on the Swing. The Angler’s Pal is adjustable to 360 degrees but is hard to remove so I leave it mounted, parallel to the deck.  The Tite-Loc isn’t as adjustable but is easily removable with one allen screw so I take it off the Scupper Pro.  Both have performed well and haven’t shown signs of corrosion.

Fish Finder (inshore):  Huminbird Fishin Buddy 120.  Discontinued. This simple unit has both a side finder that scans the top portion of the water in front of my kayak and a traditional bottom finder.  Runs on 6 AA batteries.  I cut off the fixed plastic tube that held the transducer cord and mounted it on the kayak with Ram Mounts.  The transducer creates a small bit of drag but having a fish finder on the boat is worth the extra resistance. If I need to paddle far I’ll lift the transducer out of the water.  Fishing without it is like fishing blind.

Fish Finder (offshore): Garmin Echomap 44cv. My first “real” fish finder ever, and this has GPS maps so we can mark spots and find known hot spots.  It has amazing resolution in its “traditional sonar” and the CHIRP sonar view has picture quality bottom returns.  We couldn’t fish the deep without it.

(I cracked my Echomap 44CV when it was out of warranty and now have a Echomap 44CV Plus. Has better maps and better sonar detail.)

Net:  Promar ProFloat Landing Net.  Besides the fact that it will float if I drop it, it also has snag free mesh.  Fish I’m about to tag are much more controllable sitting in the net in front of my lap.

Gaff:  After our small boat friend Erik hooked a 35lb shibi in the area that we fish and eventually landed it with a kage gaff, I’m trying to remember to take a small traditional gaff again and a bat.  For years I got by without even a net since the fish I caught were small.  We’re in the process of making a shorter kage for our purposes.

Kayak Cooler (inshore):  Seattle Sports Kayak Catch Cooler.  This 20 inch cooler fits the bow of the kayak really well and has a removable waterproof  inner sleeve that keeps the fish separated from the block of Arctic Ice – Alaskan Series that I use.  Easy to reach forward and store fish, and when I pull the fish out at home, it’s like they were stored in the fridge.  The inner and outer bag clean up quickly.  No more fish spoiling in the hot Hawaiian sun.  Click here to read about the amazing Arctic Ice product.

Kayak Cooler (offshore): Hobie Catch Bag made by Reliable Products.  This is their larger bag, 36 inches long and holds 70 qts.  Frank’s first ono caused us to have to use both both our Seattle Sports Kayak Catch Cooler and we quickly realized we needed a larger bag if we were going offshore.  It doesn’t come with an inner bag so I use a large dry bag to hold the ice and fish, keeping the catch bag relatively clean.

Live Bait Bucket: Plano Flow Troll. The same yellow bait bucket we all put our oama in.  I submerge it in the water every so often to refresh the water for the oama, and keep it in the cockpit when I paddle.

Dry bag: Sealine see-thru bag of miscellaneous stuff. Used to be water proof but has been poked too many times by fish spines and tag applicators.

Rogue Fishing Company Protector 3.0 Phone Tether.  I couldn’t unlock my waterproof phone through a waterproof pouch and switched to this in June 2021. Can now send and receive texts and take photos.

Rogue Fishing Company Defender Rod and Paddle Leash. Much lighter and quieter than the coiled hard plastic leashes I had been using.