New Boat and New Feelings

A good bit has changed since I last posted, and im pleased to say I believe it has all been for the better. I have almost completed my first year of tournament fishing from a kayak and it has been a pretty good ride so far. The events I did fish so far this year were certianly not the ones I had planned to fish when the new year rolled around. I will say that Shane Smith of Hilljack Catfishing has really began to adapt kayak fishing into his tournament organization well. I secured the spot of points leader a little over midway through the tournament schedule and was very blessed to win a Jackson Cuda 14..

 

 

I had set out this year looking for the new boat, knowing that there may be a hitch in the plan if I did manage to win. The thing is, I live in an apartment and 2 things that don't mix well are 14' kayaks and apartments. Nonetheless it managed to work it self out just fine. I was able to make a trade for the Jackson Cruise 12 which happens to be the boat I wanted to begin with. The Cruise fits my fishing style moreso than the other "fishing modles" on the market for 2 main reasons. I really like the clean hull, this boat is a recreation kayak with loads of opportunity.

It comes standard with 4 deck threads that are ready to accept ram mounts, which lead to endless mounting options. The other reason I sought after this specific model is stability and speed, its not the fastest boat on the market by any means, but coming from the 10' model I was in, the speed is quite impressive. Stability is a huge selling point for the boat, it has the same hull as the Cuda 12 which is a super stable design. Add the Jackson seat and I couldnt ask for a better fishing platform.