# First Gulf trip in too long.



## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Its been over a MONTH since I last yakked the Gulf. I was starting to get the shakes so I knew I needed my fix.

YaknTat was nice enough to brave the cold and north wind to fish with me.

Target was primarily flounder.

On the troll out we had hoped for a bobo or two for better bait then the frozen cigs we had but surprisingly not a run on the way out.

First spot it started out pretty slow. YnT caught the first fish of the day, what I call a guitar fish, like a ray/shark hybrid. Pretty cool and a first for me. Of course we thought it was a big flounder by the way it was fighting.

Meanwhile Im having a hard time stopping the big snapper on my flounder gear. I got broke off a few times and managed to land a few smaller snapper.

YnT lands a flounder, whoo hoo they are here. The crazy thing was, his bottom machine was out yet some how he could stay on the spot better then me. I still think he had a hand held he didnt tell me about.

Well it slows down again so we move on with nothing but some smaller snapper and more break offs.

Second spot is loaded with snapper and sharks. Tired of getting broke off with the flounder gear I dropped down some heavy tackle and land a nice snapper about twenty pounds.

YnT is fighting shark after shark and I tangle with one as well and he grabs a trigger here too.

We move on to another spot. We have about twenty minutes before sunset and the bite turns on. I end up with two more twentyish pound snapper....on twenty pound test this time. Also got a small grouper and trigger. YnT is still catching sharks.

FINALLY YnT strikes again with another flounder. Meanwhile, I am excited thinking the evening bite is about to turn on when the curse strikes again. One of my masts snaps in half about a half inch from the sprocket.  Oh well Im still going to fish and worry about limping home in the dark later.

A few minutes later YnT grabs another. I finally get one and he gets another. Four flounder in about ten minutes. 

Of course by now its getting dark fast, we are two miles out, the wind is picking up and I have to limp in. We made it in tired and at O dark thirty. Man, just a month of not fishing really gets you out of shape.

We got some fish in the cooler, had some good pulls on the line and came home no worse for the wear, other then my drive of course. :thumbdown: Still, good day, good day.


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## yakntat (May 12, 2011)

Thanks for the invite JD. All in all it was a good afternoon besides your mirage drive failure. This is a pic of the biggest flounder of the afternoon. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm getting all the sharks. I need to buy a pack of about 100 hooks.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Definitely a chilly morning. Nice batch of flounder from the sounds of it.


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## Fisherdad1 (Oct 4, 2007)

So were you using the frozen cigs as flounder bait too, or did you have something live for them?


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Chopped frozen cigs. YnT was using a seven ought hook and so did I after loosing all my smaller hooks. Next time I will be better armed, they are thick out there right now.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

Good report. About the drive breaking. Is there corrosion around the brake point? Just wondering if there's anything I should look out for, for maintenance purposes.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

No, the masts are only about four months old. I never fish inshore and I always pull my fins out before I hit the beach. Just another example of crappy hobie quality.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

JD7.62 said:


> No, the masts are only about four months old. I never fish inshore and I always pull my fins out before I hit the beach. Just another example of crappy hobie quality.


By masts, you're talking about the metal rod in the fin itself, correct? They just break while paddling? I've had some pretty violent collisions with my fins in freshwater. Never broke one. Twice, I've had to remove the fin from the mast because a stump ripped the mast right through the fin. The fin was bent with the mast sticking straight out a hole in the side of the fin. Pretty easy fix on the water...the second time anyways lol. The first time was in the middle of lake Talquin, with no tools lol. That was a bitch!


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Yes I am talking about the metal rod. I was in sixty feet of water when it happened so unless I hit a sea turtle, it was a material defect plain and simple. Again, I never fish inshore, my fins look brand new because they never hot anything yet the rod snapped.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

Dang. That makes me want to buy some spares to keep in the boat. How much do they cost? I keep all the tools I would need in there, but no spare parts. Lol, I even keep waterproof tape in the boat to repair a shark bite on the fins.


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## Lonster (Dec 6, 2012)

Crappy Hobie quality? Wow, sounds like an oxymoron compared to the reviews I've read overall. I just picked up an Outback, haven't had a chance to take it out though.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Lonster said:


> Crappy Hobie quality? Wow, sounds like an oxymoron compared to the reviews I've read overall. I just picked up an Outback, haven't had a chance to take it out though.


Dont worry, if you fish enough you WILL have a drive failure. NONE of the guys that I fish with have been trouble free. I now have about five hundred dollars in repairs in less than a year.

There still isnt a better alternative fishing kayak for this area.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

JD7.62 said:


> Dont worry, if you fish enough you WILL have a drive failure. NONE of the guys that I fish with have been trouble free. I now have about five hundred dollars in repairs in less than a year.
> 
> There still isnt a better alternative fishing kayak for this area.


Wow! $500 in a year? I've had the PA for two full years and haven't spent a dime on it. (knock on wood) I even got it nailed by a big suv while hanging off the back of my truck. The suv suffered far more damage than the yak did lol. Just a little scar, where the strap pulled too tight.


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## BlackJeep (Jun 13, 2010)

JD7.62 said:


> Dont worry, if you fish enough you WILL have a drive failure. NONE of the guys that I fish with have been trouble free. I now have about five hundred dollars in repairs in less than a year.
> 
> There still isnt a better alternative fishing kayak for this area.


I haven't had a major mirage drive failure yet in 3 years of Hobie fishing. for as many miles as I have on it, I'd say its pretty durable. I know you've had probably the worst luck of anyone I've heard of with yours. I have broken through the adjustment holes of the 'drum' on 2 occasions but my drive was still usable and the part was only $15. I'm expecting to break a cable at some point soon because of the heavy use (not lately) but I'm considering changing my chains and cables this winter.


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## bbarton13 (May 4, 2009)

Wirelessly posted (Iphone 4s)

Same here only busted through the adjustment holes due to my own error.


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## DAWGONIT (Jan 16, 2009)

Thanks for sharing; always wondered what it would be like fishing from a yak.
Lots of jet ski folks back in VA Beach where I just came from; yet another addiction to fishin'.

Catch 'em up.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

BlackJeep said:


> I haven't had a major mirage drive failure yet in 3 years of Hobie fishing. for as many miles as I have on it, I'd say its pretty durable. I know you've had probably the worst luck of anyone I've heard of with yours. I have broken through the adjustment holes of the 'drum' on 2 occasions but my drive was still usable and the part was only $15. I'm expecting to break a cable at some point soon because of the heavy use (not lately) but I'm considering changing my chains and cables this winter.


Well to be honest, most of my expense was converting two V1 drives to V2 drives because I kept breaking the V1 chain assemblies. I have yet to break any V2 parts besides the mast recently.

I just spent eighteen dollars today fixing my last break. The mast that snapped was replaced for free as the guys at liquid said they had never seen one break like that in that place. However, I had to buy a new sprocket because we couldnt get the old mast out.

Ive also had non drive failures. A rudder pin break in open water and a rudder line break. I replaced the rudder lines with kite surfing cord. Awesome stuff, its strong but pretty stiff so it is really easy to run through the tubes.

Oh yeah I forgot. My Revo needs the rudder pulley replaced as it broke last month. I have had four Hobies this year so its not like every thing is breaking on one kayak.


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

Dang JD, you must be collecting all of our bad luck yourself - for which I am grateful... 

I have had my Revo for 5 years and had only 1 drive issue, which is why I now carry an Allen wrench and a spare rudder pin with me. I have never had to even adjust the rudder cables. And it was a demo boat... I also carry the old fins just in case...

I fish inshore and am constantly banging the fins into stuff with no problems so far. I think the Hobie mirage drive is one heck of a piece of machinery - efficient, durable and reliable. Really sorry to hear you are having that much hassle.


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## Bduv (Nov 20, 2007)

Ive had a few Mirage Drive issues, but mostly due to my abuse or neglect. I have gained some useful information out of necessity.

Cable broke last year +/- 4 miles out in the Gulf. The Outfitter is a Barge and not fun to paddle so I continued to peddle with only the rear cable intact. Very awkward feeling, but could still move at about 2 mph. Made it back to shore safely with a little help from a friend.

A couple of months ago, fishing inshore, I hit a rock at full speed with my front fin. Didnt think anything about it because it happens fairly regularly, but a little while later the front mast broke. Sheered off about 1/2 below the sprocket. I peddled for a few minutes and was scared that the fin might fall off and get lost so I pulled the drive out and removed the fin.

Put the drive back in to see if it would still work. I was amazed! The boat rocked back and forth as I peddled and the lack of resistance felt a bit awkward, but I continued to move almost as fast as I do with both fins. I even got up to 4 mph at one point.

Just wanted to pass the information along. It may not work in all situations, but if youre ever in that situation, its worth removing the broken fin and giving it a try. Wish I had thought to remove the fin when the cable broke offshore. I think the fin flopping back & forth caused extra drag and slowed me down. 

Bryan


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## need2fish (Oct 2, 2007)

cables and bent masts have been my only problems - except for the long cylinder rod that runs accross the top - set screw cam loose and it jutted out enought to keep me from pulling the drive out. I have cut the rubber a couple of times with braid.


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