OPE

Fly line control can be a big hassle. You want to keep things that the line will tangle around to a minimum. After trying a few options, I have settled with a setup that has stripping basket hanging off the side. It's been working well. I mainly fish in lakes and rivers so I'm not sure how it would work in rough surf - paddling could be an issue too. Anyway, I made a post of it here - Short video of the basket while catching a small striper

Since you're already closer to the water sitting in a kayak, I would guess the shorter rod length would make it harder to keep your line above the water on the back cast. Personally, I don't have any problem casting with a 9 foot rod in the kayak - other than my shoulder hurts way more at the end of a long day casting sitting down as opposed to standing up. If this is your first fly rod, I would go with a 9 wt. In my opinion it's the best all around for albies, stripers and bluefish - you won't be over powered or under gunned. I really like the fly rod holder that Folbe makes. (google - Folbe Fly Rod Holder) I have the one made by Scotty but the one by Folbe is a lot better IMO. The one problem was, Folbe didn't make a base for a track mount. I wound up buying a Scotty rod holder post. (google - 412 Scotty Replacement Rod Holder Post) The teeth on the Scotty post align perfectly with the teeth on the Folbe rod holder.

In my opinion Old Town offers a great quality to price product. I bought an Old Town for the same reason I'm still driving the same Tacoma that I bought new in 2002.

Foggy morning California Delta.

Thank you.

Tight lines, Bill! Thanks for the chance.

I'll take the RIO please.

I was expecting bad news from the title, but was pleasantly surprised. Congrats!

Griffin Patriot Cam?

You win.

Yes but for me the Garmin transducer still has to be flipped upside down. I launch solo from a lot of concrete boat ramps and fish a lot of rivers where I have to pull the drive up and paddle.

The whole issue was the Garmin would hang way too low and couldn't be reversed. Loading the boat stern first wouldn't solve that problem. That Garmin transducer had to be mounted upside down. I personally had two choices - mod the bracket or buy an aftermarket bracket. It wasn't that big of a deal, and I wasn't over thinking it. I'm just pointing out why I chose the scupper mount.

I have a short bed and use an extender. When I pull the boat off the bed, I pull it off all the way until the keel rests on the extender. I then set the back of the boat on the ground. If I didn't have the transducer where it is, I would hit the extender and I would have to work around that. It makes it easier for me. I'm not sure if that's way over thinking it.

I can't believe I'm even responding to a thread that has people thinking the Earth is flat, but here I am. Edit Never mind I'm not responding. LOL

Yes. In the video above, his will hit once the yak is slid off the keel. Here's a pic of my boat with the scupper mount. There is still close to two inches of room. The down with the the scupper mount is, it only uses three of the five screws that the Garmin mount used. It still feels sturdy enough that I don't worry about it. I also secured the transducer wire after it went through the Thru-Hull plug. This way even if the mount fails, it's not going to hang down. I have the PDL 120