it's my understanding that this series was made more for kids? Most of the items are kidcentric bottles and food containers.
That being said, they decided to include the 20 oz tumblers in the mix. When I saw this at Bass pro I just couldn't help myself.
Hope they have more stuff lined up like this. Especially for low balls which I'm never afraid to add additional of to my collection.
Been daily wearing my hodinkee x online ceramics square for a few years now. Loved that watch so much I didn't realistically see any reason to get any others.
Then I had the unfortunate event of seeing this guy on Instagram and I decided I had to have it....
Last week I posted about how I recently became the owner of an rvr 119. This post will somewhat be about that but it's not the main focus. The main focus on this post is the fact that I have seen very few posts about the new yak attack anchor reel and how it actually works in the field. So I'm hoping to provide you guys some insight as well as maybe answer any questions that people have about it.
Out of the box.
Out of the box The anchor reel come stock mounted to a plate that is meant to be ran on a gear track. Right off the bat. I took it off of the track. The rvr 119 is known to have this issue already with the anchor wizard needing the 45° plate to be used optimally. As many of you already know, yak attack provides this 45° plate within the box. It comes in two separate pieces that you have to bolt together and then bolt to the reel itself in a very particular order. As far as mounting it goes when using the 45° plate. It can be mounted to the a track OR in the case of the rvr. To what is basically a sacrificial plate that is bolted to the boat for this exact purpose. I simply mounted it to the plate.
Installation. Not exactly hard to figure out if you have even the most minimal technical skill. But keep in mind that if you are using the 45° plate that those three pieces need to be assembled in a very particular order. The hole where the anchor line comes out can be placed in four corners. All 90° from each other. Make sure that you have the hole pointed in the right direction before you bolt everything back together!!!! Otherwise you might do what I did and after putting the reel back together for the third time, cross thread a bolt that is going into the reel! This was not the end of the world. I still got it to work but it's safe to say that my drop shot reel is now stuck in the exact configuration that it's in forever. So keep that in mind. Overall not very difficult. But I haven't really seen any videos of anyone doing this yet, including yak attack themselves. So don't be afraid to take your time. Make sure everything lines up. Make sure your screws are actually catching the threads properly. Additionally, I opted to try the handle in the shortest possible setting so that it didn't extend past the reel.
Running your anchor line.
In the rvr it already has the pre-plumbed lines. The anchor line that is installed is a little bit finicky to get through those lines on the rvr. And one problem I had is I had a tiny little tear about 3 ft into the reel that was causing the outer jacket to bunch up and get stuck. I simply cut this off burnt the end and then I was fairly easily able to get it through. For my anchor itself, I decided to get the yak attack style 6 lb anchors. As I figured compared to anything else, they would tuck up into the boat the best.
Operation of the anchor reel.
It really is a fairly easy and simple mechanism. Righty tighty Lefty Loosy. The handle itself threads on to the spool. When you loosen the handle? You reach a point where your line starts to come off of your spool due to your spool spinning. When this happens you can feather the spool in order to have a nice smooth drop. I've seen other people raise concerns that the line is going to get bunched in the reel. I did not experience this at all. I was even trying to loosen it up as quick as possible and let the thing just hit bottom. And I had no issues. Maybe like some baitcasters it will become an issue in the future but as I was using it today I had no problems with that.
One of the additional things I was concerned about after I installed it is it felt like when I was reeling in the handle that the reel itself had a lot of play and a lot of side to side movement. It doesn't seem like when you're actually picking your anchor up from the bottom that it does this nearly as much. As I said, I did have the handle set in the shortest possible setting. And while due to basic physics it is a little bit more difficult to physically reel in the anchor. But it's not difficult to the point where I would consider trying it any other way. I'm perfectly happy with where it's at as well as the handle.
Additionally, my boat is paddle powered. I have also seen this as a concern. I have a fairly short paddle. A 240 non adjustable. I bumped the knob a couple of times depending on if the knob itself was at the bottom or at the top of the spool. But nothing that I would consider it being a nuisance or any sort of problem.
Things to note!.
for people that don't have an rvr 119, the biggest issue I can see is possibly having issues on exactly where to mount this thing. The rvr was designed to use anchor reels, so this is something that has to be considered. If you have no possibility of mounting a track directly to your seat or in a place that's not going to interfere with your paddling. This could be an issue on your boat and could be something that you're not happy with. It's also been said that the drop shot is pretty big. And yeah, I'm not going to really argue with that, it is. Where it's mounted on this boat with how much it's turned to the side. It's very anatomically easy to use and as I said earlier in the post it is well out of the way.
Additionally, on the rvr 119 itself. Where it's mounted does interfere with where your handles are. If you're someone that carries this kayak, overhead and car tops it upside down on your vehicle. This might be an issue. I haven't tried to pick it up like that with the anchor reels on. If you use those side handles for that a lot. This might not work for you.
There is a track that's on the rvr that is right behind where I have my anchor wizard mounted. I originally thought that I could mount it there and thought it would be the most ideal. With the plate that it comes out of the box with, it will not fit on that track. The reel itself is too wide and bumps up on the side of the boat. It's possible that if you have one of the elevated yak attack tracks that maybe it clears that. So this might be a possibility. With how the 45° plate is it can either be mounted to that removable section. Or it might also be able to be mounted to that track. I haven't tried it on that. I was trying to figure out if I wanted to use that track for something else. This might be a possibility and something that I can test real quick by taking it off of that plate and seeing if it fits properly and how it feels on that.
I think that's all I got on that one.
Final thoughts.
This thing is slick. I already ordered a second one to use for my bow anchor. And I don't expect to have any issues with it. The operation is extremely smooth. It's extremely easy to use. Relatively easy to install.
After trying to run my rvr with just hand anchor lines, I realized on the first day that it just was not going to work and that I was going to have to suck it up and try one of these reels for the first time. And I'm glad I did. I think on the rvr 119, the boat that arguably they designed this reel for it works incredible. Whether you are motorized or you're going to paddle.
Unfortunately I didn't catch any bruisers tonight. The fish that would have been my lunker dove into a rock and spit my hook right into it. An event that nearly killed me right then and there. But for your viewing entertainment, here's a couple of dink smallies that I caught along the way!
just got this boat on Friday and got a chance to take her out for a few hours last night. Opted for a chill and pretty thin stretch of the trib due to winds and wanting to get to grips with the boat before hitting the main river and work out some kinks about how I wanna rig this thing. First thing I realized just isn't gonna fly the way I was hoping it would is my anchor wrapped around a cleat. The diameter of line needed to actually get through the anchor line plumbing is just too thin to be able to reasonably handle or trust in current. Other than that.
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She's pretty sweet.
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Definitely gonna be my point for point to point floats from now on.
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Hello all. This post would probably be better placed in an overlanding page of some kind so I apologize.
I recently got a Billiebars low pro bedrack for my truck. I've been loving it so far and currently have a Yakima reel deal fishing rod holder on it that works great and allows me to keep my rods somewhere secure without them completely taking over the interior of my vehicle. Since I'm now invested in this rack setup, I've been trying to do some research of maybe having an alternate way to rig my kayak to it. For a while now I've been just using a regular bed extender. Which works great And always will! But the obvious con there is that my bed has to be open and it also takes away from storage space in there. I would love to be able to find some sort of solution that incorporates this rack so that I still have my full bed space. ESPECIALLY for some overnight trips I have planned where additional storage space and a closed tailgate would be ideal.
Within the next week or two I'm going to be picking up a bonafide RVR 119. So certainly not a barge like some other kayaks, but definitely not a 10-ft sit-in pelican like is pictured in some of these rack setups.
I've come up with a couple of different solutions, so I'm curious if anybody has used these or anything similar.
This Mount comes with an extra bar to put on the front bar of the rack and tilts your kayak up at an angle up over your cab. I was initially looking at this, the problem I'm seeing is that the rack that they have available, for purchase and fits their bars is only rated for 75 lb. I'm really not thinking this is going to work. I think the bonafide is just too heavy and too long. Every picture I've seen with this rack in use has been with something like a 10-ft sit-in recreational kayak. Something that's a lot lighter and a lot smaller. EVEN with the bonafide setup as a bare boat with all the extras in my truck bed I just DONT see how this would work in the long term for me.
This seems like it would work well and is probably more applicable to my application. My only dislike about that is that in a way it kind of defeats the purpose of having a low pro rack. As I have these permanent chunks of steel always protruding from it (let's be honest, I'm not going to take this off every time I don't use it. It's going to stay on the truck permanently).
Of course this is also the most expensive option on my list.
But it's not outlandishly more expensive compared to doing something like getting the low pro kayak Mount. So if it is a set it and forget it kind of application? Maybe it's worth my time and money.
A set of bar pads on the bars, and cutting my prexisting tow hitch bed extender to fit the height of the rack.
At this point I'm really seeing this as my best option. Even with getting their rack bars, and a tie down kit, I'm only out 120 bucks and some of my time in order to cut the bed extender I already have down to size. This also allows me to keep my bed completely closed, and still keeps my rack relatively close to the ground which will make loading and unloading not nearly as difficult as a roof height mount.
I think the biggest issue with this is that this is something that I would have to undo every single time I unload my kayak. Roof pads that would work would be fairly easy to find and once again affordable. But with what I've invested in this rack system, I'm okay with spending a little bit of extra money to get something as a "set it and forget it" type of system.
I call this, the if it ain't broke don't fix it method. Where I just continue to use my bed extender. Maybe stick a light bar onto it that's wired into my tail lights as I know in my state, it's technically not legal to have anything sticking out of your bed past a certain footage and driving at night without proper illumination. Obviously I have a flag but I definitely have been driving at night before with no lights and just the bed extender with a flag. Technically illegal, although I've never been pulled over for it.
So that's what I've come up with. If any of you guys have any similar setups like the ones I've described, please chime in and let me know how they work and how you like them. If you have any additional ideas? Please feel free to share.
Thanks in advance and tight lines. ❤️
Been superbly impressed with the ark gravity bfs and it's abilities. Really got to test it out for the first time today and fight a decent fish in current. I was pleasantly surprised at how much cranking power it actually has despite feeling a bit more "geary" than my Shimano BFS's. Quite the impressive little reel. The zodias, while they categorize it as a bfs is definitely a pretty stout rod that I'd consider closer to a medium than a light. But regardless loads up well and casts these 3/16th CBs with ease!
So long story short I'm looking at getting another yak. My current rig is a Feel free Moken 12.5 PDL and while I love it. I have found that it definitely has its limitations for certain bodies of water I fish. For this reason I'm looking at getting another yak and potentially selling the Moken.
I primarily fish rivers and creeks with varying flow, current, and many shallow sections with rocks. For this reason a boat that is stable and easy to maneuver is important, BUT I also want something fast to ease those up current paddles. Through my research I've found that the Crescent Shoalie and the bonafide RVR119 are really my top choices for a river yak. I am HEAVILY leaning toward the Shoalie as I think the platform is extremely well thought out and I love the additional features. I'm not opposed to the Crescent Smallie either, BUT am still leaning toward the Shoalie due to its additional size, weight capacity, and better tracking. In the future I will entertain motorizing this yak, BUT I'm not set on this. So for this reason this boat needs to be able to handle rough water and as I said, paddle well up current.
HOWEVER, I have also looked at the Old Town Sportsman 120. a tried and true platform. Lacking some features that I really like on the Shoalie, BUT is considerably less expensive. Especially if I get the butt ugly "dicks exclusive" top water 120.
So specifically Shoalie owners. Is this the ultimate river yak? And worth saving that extra but of cash for? Or would I be better off with the Old Town? Just looking for differing opinions and owner experiences.
Thank you in advance!