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I registered mine as home made. It was a royal pain in the ass. I had to come up with about $250 in receipts to get the DMV interested. Bought a new wiring harness, lights, rims, tires, bearings and had a receipt for scrap metal as well. it can be done, but how big of a pain it will be is going to be dependent on how seriously your DMV clerk takes their job. I’ve been told some clerks in some counties are more thorough than others. Maybe try a nearby county instead of your county of residence.

I’ll second moving somewhere commutable to two metro areas. Living within commuting distance to both Rochester and Buffalo had been advantageous for me. I’ve seen 3 plant closures and never had to collect an unemployment check. Close to lots of good fishable water, open spaces or in town depending on your preference, and low traffic. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Kayaking definitely forces a level of simplicity due to space. That's not a bad thing. It does limit where and when you can go to some extent. Again, not a bad thing. You find alternatives to appreciate. I went the kayak route because I don't have storage room for a boat and I didn't want the maintenance that comes with a motor. I really appreciate the opportunities I've gotten to fish the big waters with freinds with boats, but I've also enjoyed the heck out of exploring some of our smaller lakes and waterways. And because I'm mostly fishing less pressured areas the fishing itself can often be more peaceful too. About the only drawback I've experienced besides limits on where/when I can fish is the lack of respect I sometimes get at the boat ramp. I trailer my yak and use the launch just like the big boys. I treat it just like I'm launching a full sized boat. Stage and prep, then get in line to launch. Launch, get parked and hustle out of the way. But I find I'm often invisible to them and they sometimes push in when I am clearly launching/loading. Fortunately that is a minority though.

Was there when you launched. I was in the yak just downstream from the launch. He got it out with an assist from the town with a crane. His lucky day. No way that was coming out without some serious assistance. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Maiden voyage tomorrow if the rain holds off. Started kayak fishing 3 years ago. Love it. Upgraded to this Nucanoe Pursuit. Not sure which trib mouth I’m dropping her into tomorrow. Staying in the trib. Looks a bit breezy to give the lake a try.

Longspurs, do you use a dry suit? The only thing that kept me off the water today is the cold water temps. I have a Nucanoe Pursuit. Its a very stable boat. I don't really expect to swim, but the possibility and lack of a dry suit keeps me out until the waters warm.

I use mostly older shad shaped deep diving baits, old Rapala shad raps, Berkeley flicker shads, CC Shads, Bagely deep diving shad baits, wall e divers, old Hot N tots. I've got a pretty good collection so I'm not in hurry to buy a bunch of new $10 crank baits. They all seem to work. I pick based on how deep I want to run. They all run at a little different depths. I try to maintain 2mph with these, but mostly I watch the rod tip while I paddle. As long as the rod tip is gently vibrating to the lure action my speed is about right. Another thing you can try that has worked for me. Kayaks drift pretty readily in a breeze. If you don't mind letting the breeze choose your direction, tie a heavy sinker on a 3 way set up and run a shallow diving stick bait or a crawler harness off the other swivel with about a 5' leader and drop it to the depth you want to fish. Let the wind do the trolling. The deeper you want to fish, and the faster the drift, the heavier the weight you'll need. I've used this method with a crawler harness to target walleyes if I can maintain a 1.5-2.0 mph drift.

I troll a bit in my yak, not in the Finger Lakes though. Getting line out with a paddle kayak is challenging. It works for me if I’m using a spinning reel. Of course no line counter that way. I’ve marked my braided line in 10’ increments so I have a pretty good idea how much line I have out. Getting line out requires resistance or weight. Depending on where I am and what I’m targeting that usually means either a deep diving crankbait or line weights. With either one, open the bail and start paddling. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Thanks for linking that survey. Just filled it out. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United