How To Guides Archives | RAILBLAZA International

Easy Way To Add A Motor To A Kayak – Using Hobie & Bixpy

RAILBLAZA — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 00:16:09 +0000

RAILBLAZA pro team member Jason Milne, based in QLD Australia shares with us how easy it is to install our Kayak Motor Mount and add a motor to any kayak. In this installation, Jason is using the Hobie Outback and Bixpy electric motor.

This bracket will fit almost all models of kayak, and is suitable for, but not limited to, the following motors;

Minn Kota, all transom mount models
MotorGuide, all transom mount models
Water Snake, all transom mount models

“This is how easy you can add a motor to any kayak – The RAILBLAZA Kayak Motor Bracket is something I have used before on paddle kayaks but never on a pedal kayak – With it on my Hobie Outback, I now have the best of all 3 worlds with pedal, paddle and motor options thanks to the powerful little Bixpy Motor.”

Does mounting the motor off the side effect the tracking? – Obviously mounting a motor off the stern of the kayak is ideal for ultimate turning performance and even better if fixed to the rudder. However the reality is in most cases there is either too much of a compromise or its not possible so a side mounted option like this sis th best choice and with kayaks like the Hobie Outback which have rudders the maneuverability is compromise far less.

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How To Assemble The RAILBLAZA Tackle Caddy With Ott DeFoe

RAILBLAZA — Sat, 22 Jan 2022 20:24:27 +0000

Major League Fishing professional angler Ott DeFoe runs us through the assembly of one of his favourite RAILBLAZA accessories to add to his Tracker Boats – The RAILBLAZA Tackle Caddy. The Tackle Caddy is the perfect place for storing tackle boxes, lures, pliers and cell phones. Mount it anywhere on your boat giving you a versatile storage option for fishing adventures.

Tackle Caddy can be track mounted tool free on most gunnel tracks in the USA & Australia including Tracker, Crestliner, Lowe, Lund, War Eagle, Princecraft, Horizon, Stessl and many more. You can also permanently mount to any vertical surface like your boat console

Tackle Caddy TracMount

Tackle Caddy TracMount model can easily be removed and stowed when not in use or transferred to another position on the gunnel track. All TracMount hardware is supplied.

Tackle Caddy Console Mount

Tackle Caddy can be permanantly mounted for use in lockers, sides of consoles, RAILBLAZA Fillet Table, cooler/esky and any vertical space in the cockpit. If needed Tackle Caddy can easily be made StarPort compatible using RAILBLAZA Adaptor pair part number 02-4043-11 (ordered separately).

Product Dimensions 300mmW (12”) x 115mmH (4.5”) x 125mmD (5”) Features: Holds 2 x Plano 3400 series Original Stowaway tackle boxes or similar Slots for pliers, keys, lures, phones, VHF’s, binoculars, drink bottles, sunblock, mugs & much more… Supplied as a kit, easy to assemble UV resistant material

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Removable Mount For Humminbird Mega 360 Transducer

Railblaza Team — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 17:20:22 +0000

RAILBLAZA Pro team member Mark Harder was looking for a removable option to mount the Humminbird Mega 360 transducer. This blog we share his solution to this problem on his new 2021 Prinscraft Xpedition.

Hi Team, I received my new 2021 Princecraft Xpedition 200 and decided to add a Humminbird Helix 8 MSI+ and a Mega 360. I was looking for a removable option so I could use it in other boats and ice fishing.

The Universal Mega 360 ships with an aluminium GeigerTech mount. I attached that to a RAILBLAZA Rotating Platform S, which in turn went into a TracLoader Sideport mounted to the gunnel track of the Princecraft.

The Helix was mounted on a Rotating Platform R using the gimbal bracket that comes with the unit. Finally, I used two G-Hold 35 in TracLoader StarPorts to hold the Mega 360 along the gunnel when stowed.

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How To Spool A Baitcasting Reel : Ott DeFoe

Railblaza Team — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 22:17:00 +0000

Ott’s Garage – How I Spool a Baitcast Reel

In this blog Ott DeFoe shows you the way that he spools up a baitcasting reel, maybe you’ve got a brand-new baitcasting rod and reel now you’re home and you’re ready to spool it up but you’re not sure exactly the best way to get started. Maybe this is your first bait caster maybe you’ve bought a bunch and you’re just trying to learn a different way to do it.

The Best Fishing Rod Set Up For Beginners – Get Them Hooked With These Tips

Railblaza Team — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 19:59:48 +0000

Pro bass angler, Bill Lowen offers some great advice to anyone just getting started out fishing. Bill draws on his experience learning with his father to simplify a few things you need to know setting up your gear to catch fish for the first time.

Bill Lowen, In 13 years on the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bill Lowen has earned nine Bassmaster Classic berths and landed 148 Top 10 finishes. but he remembers how it all started, read on to find out more and check to see some great tips for Bill and other RAILBLAZA pro team members at the end of this guide.

“Remember to make it fun and they will be hooked for life”

The basics of how to start fishing are something I think as professional anglers we take for granted or maybe assume that everybody knows. How to get started out teaching kids to fish or anyone beginning for that matter is a question I get often.

The important thing to remember no matter if you’re fishing for bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish or whatever is to remember to make it a fun day out no matter what you catch or what size you catch, its about learning the process and experiencing this great outdoor activity.

What I am going to show you in the video below is the simplest easiest way to rig up a fishing pole to go to the lake and catch bluegill, crappie, bass, whatever you want.

What you will need

Lews Ultra light rod and reel (will do everything you need it to at this stage and is not complicated )
4lb or 6lb test line nylon (get the shop to spool that up for you if it is not already)
Bobber stop & slip bobber
Long shank hook size 1 or 2 (long shanks are easier to get out of the fish mouth without damaging the gills)
Splitshot sinkers to suit the size of bobber your using (pliers to crush it)

Steps to setting up the kids rod

Attach Bobber stop to line
Slide slip Bobber onto line
Tie a small long shank hook using trilene Knot
Attach Lead splitshot sinker (crimp with pliers)

What Bait is best for the lake or pond?

Nightcrawlers
Wax worms
Minnows

The Best Fishing Rod Set Up For Beginners : Bill LowenYou Might Also Like These Blogs

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How To Tie An FG Knot: Best, Strongest Leader Knot : Ott DeFoe

Railblaza Team — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 16:14:39 +0000

How to tie an FG knot, the easiest way I know, Ott DeFoe

In this video, I go through the way I tie an FG knot and show a couple of things that make it easier for anyone to learn. I used to tie and Alberto and it was pretty good but I would occasionally break the bait off so went away from that learn the FG knot. It’s not a long process and I can tie and FG knot this way on the boat in around 90seconds.

FG knot Key Steps

Tie a loop know in your braid and lock it around the reel handle
Lay leader over the braid, wrap leader above and below about 4 times then pull to tighten.
Repeat again for a total of 22, wraps tightening after every 2^nd wrap
Take the braid line end and tie an overhand over the braid mainline and the leader. Do this 2 times and pull down tight.
Trim the leader tag off very close
Complete 3 more overhand knots with the braid tag over the braid mainline them trim.

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How To Spool Spinning Reel : Ott DeFoe

Railblaza Team — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:47:15 +0000

“There’s a lot of ways out there that you can spool a spinning rod, I’ve learned a few little tips over the years that help me when I’m spooling up a spinning rod and I want to share these with you” Ott DeFoe, Ott’s Garage Tips

Do you use backing?

The number one question, I get asked and it’s a Yes, I use backing on all of my reels. So much of my spinning reel fishing is with braided line and a fluorocarbon leader but 10lb braided line is really fine so you will waste a lot of it if you fill to the very bottom of your spool with just 10lb braid.

I will start on the spool with 30lb braid as its a bigger diameter than 10 and will eat up more space on the spool quickly (You could also use some old 10-14lb fluorocarbon). Spools like the platinum spinning reel I am using here have gauge lines on them to indicate how much line is on the spool so fill to the first line otherwise you can make the judgement to something like ¼-1/3.

TIP: Stop the braid from slipping by using tape

A really big tip if you’re putting braided line directly onto the spool of your spinning reel or bait caster is to use a little piece of tape to stick the start of your braid to the spool (any tape, I use a 1” piece of electrical tape). Not only does that hold the end, when you make the first couple wraps it lays across that tape it can’t slip back through, if you just tie a braided line directly to the spool it’s always going to want to slip a little bit.

Next, I tie Bass Pro hyper braid 10-pound test in yellow for my main line I use a very simple knot for this because I never intend on getting down to this knot while I’m fishing so I just lay those two lines together and I tie an overhand knot which is going to hold enough to get that line started, now I go ahead and fill the rest of the spool to suit my needs. If you’r fishing all the way down to your backing then you should tie something like an FG knot.

If you want to see how Ott DeFoe ties an FG knot then check out that video below .

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How To Pick A Good Rod & Reel Combo :Ott DeFoe

Railblaza Team — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 14:42:16 +0000

If you’re on a budget or you’re buying a fishing rod and reel for someone and you want to get them a couple of really good all-round setups, Ott DeFoe has done his best to bring you his top 4 choices to help you make a better buying decision.

Key points covered in the video by Ott are rod length, rod action, matching the gear ratio of the reel for each rod and much more. Ott has also shared in a previous blog, great tips on what to look for in a bass rod. Link to that blog below the video so be sure to check that and other related blogs after watching the video.

Ott’s Garage: My thoughts on how to pick 4 rod and reel combos!

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How To Choose The Right Fishing Rod For Bass Fishing : Pro Bass Fisherman Ott DeFoe

Railblaza Team — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:47:51 +0000

When you walk in a fishing tackle store like Bass Pro Shops and you are looking to buy a new fishing rod it can be a little bit overwhelming if you are looking at rack after rack after rack of fishing rods and you can’t really tell the difference.

There are a few things to look at on those rods that are really going to help you understand what that rod is best for and what’s going to fit your needs the most. I will cover the 3 most important factors Length/Action & Power.

ABOUT OTT DEFOE

The 2019 Bassmaster Classic Champion, Ott DeFoe, has seven national wins to his credit and over $2MM in career earnings. He hosts the Hunt for Monster Bass on the Outdoor Channel and competes on Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour. He lives in Blaine, Tenn. with the wife and three children.

His website is www.OttDeFoe.com
His Pro Team Profile page HERE

What Rod Length Is Best?

For me, I am about 6 feet tall and most of the rods that I use are between six and a half and seven and a half feet long. There are a few special situations like maybe punching or really deep cranking and then I’m going use a rod that’s more like eight feet long, but those situations are exceptions to the rule and not the norm. For every day fishing six and a half to seven and a half foot rod is going to do what most everybody needs to be done.

If it’s a rod that I’m picking out for target fishing where I’m wanting to make short cast real close around boat docks or around cover, I’m going to go with a little bit shorter rod than I would if I’m fishing out in the middle of a lake where the landing of that bait isn’t all that important, that’s what I’m gonna go with a really long rod just to be able to get that distance.

Understand The Difference Between the Power & Action Of The Rod

The next thing you need to know is what the power of the rod and the action mean. A lot of people get those two mixed up. Fast, extra fast, moderate fast or moderate those terms are the actions of the rod. The action is how much tip that that rod has out there on the end of it and how fast that the rod loads up. A moderate action is a really slow or parabolic kind of bend where it’s going to bend way down deep into the rod.

Where an extra fast rod is not going to bend very far down, it will have a whole lot of backbone and just a little bit of tip. That’s what the actual action of the rod is, the power of the rod is the strength behind that rod, for example meduim, meduim/heavy or medium/light, those terms are the power of the rod.

Rod choice when fishing single hook baits

Just generally speaking I could talk in depth a long a long time about every action and which one is perfect for different baits, generally speaking for single hook baits you’re going to want to fish on a heavier rod, more power, medium/heavy, heavy power. You’ve got a lot of control over fish with single hook baits so those types of rods are the ones you’re going to want to fish with single hook baits.

Rod choice when fishing treble hook baits.

Treble hook bait you are going to want to fish on a rod that is a little bit softer a medium power and it has more of a parabolic bend. Maybe a fast action but a lot of times a moderate fast action is what you want to fish those treble hook baits on.

It’s not just about hooking the fish is actually about getting them in the boat that slower rod that bends a deeper down into the rod it’s what’s going to allow you to fight that fish better keep those treble hooks pinned in its mouth.

I hope that helps you pick out the right bass fishing rod, next time you go to the store Length Action and Power those are the three main features in the raw that you need to know what you’re looking for to help you pick out a rod to help you get more bass. Watch the video below and if it helps you be sure to give it a like.

Find out more about Ott DeFoe and read more of his blog posts blow in his RAILBLAZA pro team bio

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How To Load & Unload Kayak On SUV By Yourself Using Only A Blanket

Railblaza Team — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 20:13:53 +0000

How do you load a kayak onto a car roof on your own? Loading a kayak on the roof of an SUV or any other vehicle on your own can be difficult due to the size and weight of kayaks especially fishing kayaks. There are many load-assist roof rack options available for kayaks but if you want to keep things simple and keep the cost down then this easy technique is worth a look.

Below is the video guide from Canadian pro team member Peter Yeung and friend where they demonstrate this simple and easy technique for loading a kayak on your own using a moving blanket.

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These are the simple steps to loading and unloading your kayak by yourself

Step 1 - Line the kayak up alongside the car as below and remove any loose items or items that could get loose when driving.

Step 2 – Spread your moving blanket over the roof of the car tucking it under the roof bars to avoid it moving or if the blanket is large enough close the corners in the car doors or windows. make sure the blanket is over each of the roof bars also, this will help position the kayak in the next few steps

Step 3 – Lift the bow and rest it on the edge of the car but high enough that it does not slip easily off. We have demonstrated this on the grass with a kayak that does not have a rudder. If the surface you are on could damage the kayak when sliding on the ground use a rubber mat, yoga mat or the rubber floor mats from the car to protect the keel. If your kayak has a rudder that could get damaged then consider loading in reverse with the stern first.

Step 4 – Keeping your hands on the kayak to avoid it slipping walk to the stern of the kayak, bending your knees, lift the stern and push forward sliding the kayak further onto the roof until you have about half the kayak on the roof.

Step 5 – Pivot or swing the kayak to towards the rear of the car which will then see the kayak safely on both of the roof bars, take your time with this step the first time you do it as you will need to get the positioning right to avoid the kayak slipping off. Once the kayak is on move to the centre of the kayak and push/slide it across to the middle of the roof if it is not already in this position.

Step 6 – Carefully lift the kayak at each end to remove the blanket then secure your kayak with tie-downs.

To remove the kayak the process is the same but in reverse and just as easy to do as you will see in the below sequence of photos and is demonstrated better in the video above.

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