Aaahhh. The rain finally let up yesterday, so I just had to get my new Diablo Chupacabra on the water. I had a late start unfortunately. First I wanted to pick up a SUP paddle to go with the stand-up paddleboard/kayak hybrid. Yes, I could have just used my regular kayak paddle, but, believe me, that isn’t an ideal situation. After checking out the dismal selection around town (hey, don’t tell me its the “off season.” Christmas was just a month ago), I picked up a decent, barely used paddle at Alder Creek Canoe and Kayak They had a couple others I would have really liked, but $300+ is out of my price range. From there, I had to head back home, load up the kayak, eat some lunch, and hit the water.

We had some pretty heavy rains last week. Actually, we had torrential downpours last week. Most rivers in the area pushed flood stage, and many towns an hour south of me are under water. That meant a couple things:

1. I’m staying out of the main flow, and hitting the backwaters
2. the water is dirty. filthy would be more like it. 8″ visibility.
3. there’s a ton of crap in the water (literally and figuratively)

I didn’t anticipate that I’d be fishing much, if at all. I did, however, bring along my 7wt fly rod and one good small sculpin pattern to toss around. That really didn’t happen. I did give it a throw, but mostly to see how the Chupacabra reacted to fly casting while I was seated on the elevated Larry Chair and while standing. The Chup performed excellently. I was quite impressed. But, as I mentioned, the water was nasty. So I just paddled around, but seated and standing.

The high water also means all the crap people kept in their back yards, or on their docks, ended up in the river. When the water’s dirty, it’s time to clean, so that’s just what I did. In the end, I had about 200 lbs of trash collected on the kayak. Fortunately some of that trash included large bins to put everything I collected. My single garbage bag wasn’t going to be of any use on this day. Worst of all the garbage was an oil drain pan, sitting just about a yard away from the waterline. And it was full. Not water. Oil. Fortunately it didn’t seem to leak at all, as it was most definitely underwater just a couple days ago. Horrible.

Plenty of other stuff too. I didn’t make it back to the launch until dark, so I couldn’t get a decent photo of the pile I made for the parks department (which I have notified). But, yeah, right around 200 pounds of trash, DVD player, CD cases, interior door handles, half of a TV, tire, and more.

The lil Chupacabra packed it all quite well!

When you’re on the water, other boats can present hazards for kayak fisherman. They can also be a lifeline. Cell phones are great when you find yourself in a hairy situation, but they don’t always work. That’s where the VHF radio comes in. It allows for on-the-water communication with other boats on the water, the Coast Guard, and you can also get weather information in case you don’t notice the storm moving in on your location.

I picked up the Uniden Atlantis 250 a couple years ago. I used it almost everywhere I fished: The Columbia and Willamette Rivers, the Puget Sound, and the Pacific Coast. The Atlantis was more than useful. I remember a very foggy day on the Columbia River sturgeon fishing. It was hard to see past the bow of my kayak, but between the VHF radio and my GPS, I knew where I was and I knew if anyone was coming. Sure enough, the radio alerted me to a huge cargo ship heading my way. I barely had my anchor in the water when it appeared just 100 yards away from me, and I was most definitely in its path. Had I not had the radio, I would not have had sufficient warning.

I chose the Atlantis 250 for a number of reasons. First off, price. My limited budget at the time allowed me to get the most basic of handheld VHF radios. The Atlantis 250, for just around $100, gave me the most features. It’s waterproof (JIS4 standards), comes with AC and DC chargers (and I charge the radio in my car way too often), and a backup battery pack to keep in my dry box. When it comes to electronics on the water, its always good to have a backup battery.

What I really needed, however, was a backup radio. The first time I pounded through the surf on the Oregon Coast I took a nice wave to the face. It wasn’t anything too serious and the waterproof rating of the VHF radio should have more than taken care of things. It wasn’t long until I heard a Coast Guard report sing through the Atlantis radio. Well, it wasn’t so much of a song as it was a cackle and gurgle. The speaker had filled with water. I shook out what I could, but for most of the day I had a real hard time hearing anything. The worse part is that I was fishing in a high traffic area, and the radio was important to inform me of boats coming in and out of the area.

From then on, I put a bit more care into the Uniden radio. I protected it better on surf launches, and, as I try to do with all my gear, cleaned it when I was done fishing for the day. It worked fine enough, alerted me to weather and boat traffic. I used it to let the Depoe Bay Harbor Master know when I was coming and going.

But it was a long time later until I used it to talk to others on open water.

I was about a mile away from a half dozen other kayak anglers on the Oregon Coast. I was fishing a killer school of rockfish and lingcod, and just had to invite the others. I knew they couldn’t have had as good of luck as I was having, so I gave them a call. Silence. I tried again. Silence. I switched channels. Silence. Ok, guess they don’t want to fish with me. I could see them in the distance and with all the paddling they were doing they couldn’t have had such good fishing as I had. Awhile later I was limited out and was ready to head back in for a beer. I started paddling towards the other kayakers and gave them another radio call to let them know I was heading back in. At this point, a half mile away, my radio call was returned with silence. I halfed the distance and at this point I could almost yell at them. It was then that they finally heard me. Later they reported that even when they did eventually hear me on the radio, it wasn’t great.

Now, I understand that sitting on top of the water as we kayak fisherman do, radio range is often reduced. However, if I could see someone, the radio should be able to do it’s job. Most advertised ranges for radios are line-of-site. And the Uniden Atlantis wasn’t living up to its potential.

The last straw came on my most recent trip to the coast. The night before I put the radio on the charger. Grabbed it in the morning as I headed out. The battery pack was a bit warm, so I figured it had a good charge. A few hours later, as I was gearing up, I clipped the Atlantis to my PFD as I normally do and turned it on. Nothing. Switched to my back up battery pack. Nothing. Terminals were still a good gold color and I saw no oxidization. But, I also had no power.

I still fished that day, against my better judgement, but I also kept close to others.

To me, the VHF radio is just as important as my PFD. Until I get this one replaced, I won’t be doing a whole lot of kayak fishing. It’s safe to say, I won’t be going back to another Atlantis VHF radio. If you have one of these now, I strongly urge you to find a waterproof case if you’re not ready to replace it.

Pros:
Clear speaker audio when not wet
packaged with DC and AC chargers
comes with a backup battery pack (AA batteries not included)
inexpensive

Cons:
speaker fills with water, sounding horrible
transmit range is very minimal
transmit quality is sub-par

Rating out of 5? I’ll give it a 1.5

I’m just too excited. I just got off the phone a short time ago with Thomas at Diablo Paddlesports. I’ll have a new kayak on the way here shortly!

I’ve wanted one of the Diablo Paddlesports kayaks since their Audios was debuted. What makes the Diablo line up different from the rest is that they’re a hybrid between a stand up paddleboard and a kayak. Sit down and paddle like a kayak. Stand up and paddle like a paddleboard. The 36″ wide kayak is plenty stable stand on, as you would do for a paddleboard, and that also makes it excellent to use to stand up and do some sight casting to bass, carp, and even rockfish on the coast!

Furthermore it has a very shallow draft. It’ll float me and my fishing gear in just a few inches of water. I honestly feel that this will be the ideal kayak for coastal river steelheading and for stalking Columbia River flats for carp.

I can’t wait to get it outfitted also! I’m working up an order for YakAttack accessories like the Gear Trak, PanFish Portrait, and other rigging to make this an awesome fishing kayak. I’m getting the Chupacabra which is their shorter kayak. Having paddled both the Audios and Chupacabra, I knew I couldn’t go wrong with either one. They both had plenty of speed, and the Chupacabra had a bit more maneuverability, ideal for river fishing.

The Chupacabra is the second model in Diablo’s line of hybrid SUP-Yaks, a cross between a Stand-Up Paddleboard and a Sit-on-top kayak. As one of the most stable platforms, our unique design is great for extra weight and can even get the big guys in shallow water without sacrificing maneuverability.

Features: – Tri-Hull design allows you to get in shallower water and gives you more stability. – Pull-up Strap in front to make standing up to paddle much easier. – Adjustable Foot Pegs – Wet Storage in front and back of boat o 1” webbing in the stern and bungee on the bow o Mold in well for fishing crate in rear – 2 drink holders, one fits 12oz beverages with a koozie, the other fits 32oz water bottles – Traction pad in cockpit for secure footing – Front Dry storage accessible from cockpit – Two 6” dry access hatches at the rear of cockpit – Two paddle holders – Over size cockpit for comfort standing or sitting o Fits most 4 point seating systems – 5 comfort carry handles – Smooth, flat surface allows for suction cup mounts for fishing rods, GPS, fish finders, etc.

PS: my appologies for the extended vacation from the blog! I don’t have a real good reason for it.

If you’ve been to my blog before, then you know I’m a supporter of Recycled Fish. I have been since the moment I learned about them. My support has grown and now I find that I’m the PR Director for Recycled Fish! How cool is that!?!

Anyways.

Recycled Fish just opened an online fly shop, powered by West Fly. Through the fly shop, Recycled Fish can earn 30% from the sales, which can be a significant and very useful source of income for the non-profit. Buyers will find high quality flies for a variety of species – trout, salmon, bass, pike, redfish, stripers – and very affordable and competitive pricing.

To help sweeten up the deal and to help promote the new Recycled Fish Fly Shop, there are a BUNCH of cool give-aways going on. Throughout the rest of October (and actually started on 10/5) and running through November 10th, every purchase on the fly shop will be entered to win a brand new Rise Fly Rod. It’s super nice, and we’re glad that Rise is supporting us in this way.

Also, we’re asking bloggers to talk about our fly shop. Check it out. Check out Recycled Fish if you haven’t heard of us before (no, we’re not new, we’ve been doing this for awhile). And, if you blog about our new Fly Shop, you’re automatically entered to win a loaded fly box. It’s a sweet box, especially if you’re fishing in my neck of the woods, loaded with nymphs and dries. Great for river trout, the box carries a retail value of $65 through the fly shop. I don’t think it’d be hard to argue its worth much more than that either. Also, blogging about the Recycled Fish Fly Shop also enters the blogger into the same give away for the new Rise Fly Rod as those that make a purchase from the fly shop.

Finally, there’s one more deal – the first 10 bloggers to spread the word about the Fly Shop are getting free flies. Yes. The first 10 blogs that mention the Recycled Fish Fly Shop will get a half-dozen flies. Not a bad deal. I’m hoping that some of these folks will fish the flies, and review them too. But we’re not asking for that. We’ve had a number of posts made, but we’ve still not hit 10 – so there’s still time (and I’m not going to include this one). If you’d like more information about Recycled Fish, or the Recycled Fish Fly Shop, let me know!

Well. There isn’t one. I know not everyone follows along with me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google Plus, so here’s what happened.

The morning before I was set to work going over gear, again, for the 3rd time, as I loaded up the car. My new TFO TiCr had just arrived. I needed to pick up some backing and sinking fly line after work. My conventional rods were loaded inside the kayak, and the kayak was strapped on top of the convertible. Also inside the kayak was my dry top, seat, and PFD. I had a small tote with my waders, shoes, tackle and flies, cameras. I was set.

All I needed to do was go to work for 4 hours.

After all was loaded, I came back to get my phone off the charger. There was an email: “Isaac, head’s up, trips cancelled.”

After weeks of perfect conditions on the coast, things were forecast to get nasty the day we were to go. Ug. Really?!?

We had plans to reschedule, but the seas really haven’t calmed down much since.

Doesn’t look like the trip is going to happen this year. Lame.