Another new member...

I just wanted to introduce myself, I go by LD, short for Lite Drag.
I bought an Outback this last summer, and am having a good time, learning how to stay dry, and not drop my equipment overboard...
Northern California is my home, and I mostly troll for trout in the mountain lakes nearby.

Welcome to the Forum LD

Yes that gear overboard is quite a headache and a pain in the wallet if not retrievable.

Leashes Leashes Leashes ..... I have them and have found myself forgetting to use them. One day will kick myself in the butt for it too.

Anyway many people here to help you in any way with questions, retrofits and modifications as well as money saving suggestions on things that work well and those that don't.

Again welcome to the group

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I would rather be kayaking and think about work than to be at work thinking about kayaking.
A Thrill Ride is being dragged around in your kayak for 40 minutes by an extremely large fish.

Yep--leash it or lose it! And that includes the Mirage Drive especially. As you can see below, old cell phone cords make fine leashes for rods and other gear.



And Nylon parachute cord also works well, as you can see here on the Drive.

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A leash for the drive is the next thing to do before I go out again.
I have tried a couple of differant launching techniques, (drive in and drive out).
With the drive out, I had a death grip on the drive until it was secure...
I was not sure about liking rod leashes, I got some rod floats made, they work well.

LD
Hey Apalach could you show us a closer view of your leashing the drive.
Brazos

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Brazos,
Here ya go. I used a 1 inch SS shackle and attached it to one of the unused Mirage Drive adjustment holes. Some folks drill a new hole for this, but that seems a bit unnecessary to me.

It's a good thing I had the drive leashed since shortly after the first pic above was taken I had to make a stern first landing in the Sport on the open Atlantic Coast thru about 4-5 foot surf. This necessitated pulling the Drive and laying it in the cockpit. Fortunately I didn't flip and managed to make it thru in one piece. BUT, I sure was glad I had that Drive securely leashed, just in case--I mean, it is a $450 piece of gear that I was not keen on replacing.

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Thanks. I always like the way you and Roadrunner do things. Trying to figure out my tide chart and solunar table differences from my Garmin Gps that I trust to some knew software I am just learning. The fishermans analyst.
Brazos

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