Fear the YAK!!! INFI and saltwater go together like beer and fishing... Rust??? Huh?

[kdstrick]

Anyone else love to Kayak fish??? I can't explain the exhilaration of hooking a fish big enough to PULL your kayak... it's simply awesome. Add salt water fish (and their aggressive nature) to it and.... aw man... you have an adventure on your hands.

Infi content upcoming.... but first, here is the 'Yak' 10 foot Pescador that fits very nicely in the back of my truck. Weighs about 50 lbs so it's very portable and easy to load and unload.

OK... back to INFI... I carry my slightly modified meaner street on my belt in the yak, and a slightly modified (yes... I modify everything...) spyderco tenacious with fully serrated blade.

I fish the bays along the Texas coast. Generally from just south of Galveston all the way down to the southern tip of Texas in the Laguna Madre. I stay in the bay... no blue water for me thanks, I may get hammered and end up paddling to China. Even in the Bays I'm generally soaked the entire time I fish due to the wind/wave activity... knife is soaked but not submerged the entire time.

So... Here are some pics of how the knives fared... soaked in salt water for up to 8 hours.

Tenacious:

Meaner Street:

Notice the Carbon Steel Hex Screws rusting... I've since replaced them with Stainless Steel Screws. The screws work well since it allows me to periodically check under the micarta for corrosion. Even if there isn't any. Not even a single spot of rust on the stripped and satined INFI.

Ok... wanna see some fish?

Can't get pics most of the time just because operating a cell phone camera from a Kayak while juggling a rod, net, etc just ain't easy... trust me on that .

These are Redfish. Yankees call the Red Drum... whatever... These all range from 21" to 28". They hit like a largemouth bass on steroids AND meth!

Here's some pics of places I fish... It's just awesome.

Lots of trout and some Red's in here...

Pretty fishy place:

That sign says something about birds and don't enter this island... So I won't admit anything... But does it mean that someone broke a law to put the sign there? hmmmm....

HUGE SEA WORMS!!!! No... just seagrass. Baitfish hang in this stuff... great fishing! But you need weedless gear.

I'll tell ya guys... Fishing is a hell of good time, and great way to pass it until hunting season starts.

 

[messer454]

Nice pics! Looks like fun! Taking the kids fishing tomorrow but in a farm pond without the adventure. HaHa

 

[high desert]

That way cool. The older I get I appreciate fishing and hunting in its most simplest form.

 

[BillyJoeBobJim]

Awesome. I suggest you relegate the Tenacious to land use and buy a Salt series for fishing use. My favorite small fishing knives are hawkbilled Spyderco Salts. I suggest the following:

Tasman or Superhawk clipped to vest(PFD)
Ladybug Hawkbill corded to vest
Pacific clipped to shorts

I keep an Aqua Salt tied to my vest. Excellent if you can find one.

and no, I'm not overdoing it with the knives. They are useful, small, unobtrusive, and extremely lightweight.

 

[Gravelface]

Awesome Reds!!!!

 

[RWT]

Awesome pics. I haven't fished the bays in Corpus for a few years. Work blows. Glad to see the INFI holding up. I was reluctant to take my CABS on a trip and it survived without an issue. Did you MOD tyhe scales on the meaner yourself?

 

[kdstrick]

Awesome. I suggest you relegate the Tenacious to land use and buy a Salt series for fishing use. My favorite small fishing knives are hawkbilled Spyderco Salts. I suggest the following:

Tasman or Superhawk clipped to vest(PFD)
Ladybug Hawkbill corded to vest
Pacific clipped to shorts

I keep an Aqua Salt tied to my vest. Excellent if you can find one.

and no, I'm not overdoing it with the knives. They are useful, small, unobtrusive, and extremely lightweight.

Hey... no one around here is gonna accuse you of that!

Tenacious... for the price... I can't complain at all. Overall, I think it did just fine. Hell, if the dang thing MELTS on the next trip I'll have gotten my money's worth out of it.

Still, the H1 stuff has my attention though... I also have a Titan titanium filet knife.

Awesome pics. I haven't fished the bays in Corpus for a few years. Work blows. Glad to see the INFI holding up. I was reluctant to take my CABS on a trip and it survived without an issue. Did you MOD tyhe scales on the meaner yourself?

Work is the scourge of the drinking class!

Great fishing on Packery Channel right now on with shrimp (or Gulp shrimp) on popping corks... get out there!


The scales are not modified at all. I just removed the tubes and replaced them with screws.



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.

 

[RWT]

I generally run down to Rockport at least once a year. Just to busy with work and hunting. Dove season is a few weeks away and I have not had any time to practice and I doubt I will before the opening bang. I am thinking I may remove the tubes on my BJ and replace the micarta with horse mat scales. Now I am also interested in the Meaner. Damn internet blowing all my paychecks.

 

[Trident777]

Awesome fishing pics!!! I'm a huge fisherman myself, mostly on my boat on the east coast. Fluke, strippers, and sea bass right now, killing it. Those Texas back bays are amazing, kayak is the only way to do it out there I think.

 

[kdstrick]

Awesome fishing pics!!! I'm a huge fisherman myself, mostly on my boat on the east coast. Fluke, strippers, and sea bass right now, killing it. Those Texas back bays are amazing, kayak is the only way to do it out there I think.

You fish for "Strippers"??? That's pretty cool! I used to fish for them, but using $20's as bait got pretty expensive considering the constant re-bating that type of fishing requires.


An advantage of the Yak is that I can paddle in very shallow water... 12-15" and go places that the boats cannot.

It takes a lot of effort, but the fishing is amazing. Biggest problem I have is that I don't have enough time to stop and enjoy a beer or twelve. If you're not fishing... you're paddling to where the bait fish are poppin the water.

 

[Cappy2cap]

awesome pics! that kayak fish looks really fun!


Im surprised the meaner held up so well.....if you are looking for a good salt water knife, check out Mission Knives

 

[1whobuys]

I just picked up a new Wilderness Ride 135, waiting for it to cool down now so I can go out without burning myself up in the sun...

 

[Bigfattyt]

Great stuff. I have taken my BAD, satin GW, Stripped SS all swimming.

Left them all wet all day. No real rust yet.

Once, after 8 hours in the summer, the BAD had "rust" then I ran my thumb across the logo and it was gone.

 

[kdstrick]

awesome pics! that kayak fish looks really fun!


Im surprised the meaner held up so well.....if you are looking for a good salt water knife, check out Mission Knives

I actually have a titanium filet knife and it works pretty well. But titanium has severe limitations as far as edge retention and durability goes. My experience is that INFI is extremely rust resistant but does not sacrifice the edge retention and durability.

Wouldn't it be great if Jerry decided to re-release an INFI filet knife???

.

 

[DeAdEyE956]

No infi, but a yak

 

[elof_alv]

Cool pics, but I'll pass... There's fish bigger than 10 feet around here... they wouldn't just pull the kayak, they'd pull it under...

 

[jball1125]

That looks like so much fun!

 

[kdstrick]

Nice stringer Deadeye956! Great looking yak, too.

Cool pics, but I'll pass... There's fish bigger than 10 feet around here... they wouldn't just pull the kayak, they'd pull it under...

Yes you do! I'd be worried a great white might mistake the yak for a female shark and try to have it's way with it... that would suck.


.

 

[PatrickKnight]

Boy I loved living in Texas. For someone who loves to fish there is few fights that equal at 30 inch red on 8 lb spinning tackle. I think everyone should have that experience at least once in there life.

 

[AZTimT]

Yes... Fear the YAK!!!

Oh, I was misled by the title, I don't get dropping the first two letters... I don't drive an uck... but at least now this thread has real Yak in it.

It looks like you guys are having fun with your kayaks and some sweet fishing. :thumbup:

Also very handy to have a recent thread showing that INFI and rust is not an issue for those who don't yet seem to understand that.