If your in the market for a spare Torqeedo battery you may want to consider purchasing the Travel 1003 S/L battery. The battery is a little larger but packs 200 more watt hours. This means more distance for you. Designed for the 3HP 1003 Travel electric outboard motor the battery is also compatible with the Ultralight 403 system.

As the 1003 S/L battery is still very light at 9.9 lbs it only weighs 3.5 lbs more than the Ultralight 403 battery. It does not require any additional adapters or cables as all of the existing Ultralight 403 throttle, cables, and charging devices are compatible with it.

Similar to the Torqeedo Ultralight 403 the  Travel 1003 battery has the integrated GPS for your remote throttle readouts and will be compatible with the Torq Trac app for smartphones.

The chart below shows the comparison between the included 403 battery and the spare 1003 battery.

Now for the real question. How much more does the larger battery cost? The Travel 1003 MSRP is $699.00. The Ultralight 403 MSRP is $599.00. For the $100 difference the performance is worth it.

One feature the Travel battery does not have is the auto shut off when inverted. This should not be a problem if you are clipped into the magnetic key. If you fall out of your kayak or flip the motor will shut off anyway.

Although the housing and size is a little larger the battery still fits inside the Jackson Big Rig’s rear hatch.

This past weekend I tested my new Travel battery. The first thing that became apparent to me was that the length of time the display read 100% charge compared to with the Ultralight battery. Granted the battery is brand new.  I was able to fish over 5.5 hours basically full throttling all day between drifts. At the end of the day i had well over 47% of battery left. Typically on the 403 battery i would have had around 20% left.

I will attempt to compare more of the usage between the two  in a future post.

Please visit http://www.torqeedo.com/us/technology for more information.

Purchased a pair of the Buff angler gloves in the spring. I must say I’m very impressed with the feel and comfort. I wear them all day long and sometimes forget im wearing them.

These gloves also serve other purposes than protecting only your hands from the sun. They work very well as paddling gloves and also can offer protection from stray hooks. Gripping fish is also easier they enable a good grip and the bones of the fishes fins are unable to stab into the palm of your hand.

I feel the price tag is reasonable for the pair of gloves at $40.00 since they last quite a while. After using these gloves every fishing trip since April I feel the gloves are completely worth purchasing. They are great for both paddling and fishing.

With the no fingertip design tying knots and stripping line doesn’t require removing the gloves every time.  The suede on the palm is pretty durable and still grips when wet.  Believe it or not the suede drys much quicker than I thought it would. Over time handling bait,  fish, getting blood and other stuff on them and just being wet all of the time the gloves tend to get an odor. Thanks for the suggestions on how to clean the stink out!  The most effective deodorizer so far has been vinegar and water. Soak for a good 12 hours. Then wash with soap and water. Let dry no more stink!

Pros:

• UPF 50 + Sun Protection
• Aquatic Suede that functions well when dry or wet
• Comfortable due to its ergonomic design
• No fingertips makes typing knots stripping line and getting things easier
• Washable
• Breathable and Cool
• Eliminates Sunscreen on hands
• Quick Drying
• Protects hands from Sharp gill plates when handling fish.
• May protect hands from hook penetration accidents.
• Enables palming of leader and braided fishing line.

Cons:

• They Get stinky
• 80% of the time they are wet.

Synopsis:

Since I started fishing with these gloves there hasn’t been a fishing trip I have fished without them. The pair seems completely durable as they have been used over 16 separate times for an entire day of fishing each time. Sometimes I forget they are even on my hands! I do believe if I did not have these gloves to fish with something would be missing.   Check out the different styles and options at http://www.buffusa.com/sports/collections/pro-series-angler-gloves/styles

Kayak fishing has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is paddling against strong winds. This also creates an advantage as kayak anglers are not limited to one port. We can find areas to fish that are sheltered from strong winds. This is precisely what we did on July 7th. Wind was predicted to be 5 – 10 out of the south west.

Our planned rendezvous was under beach replenishment construction still and did not allow us access to the water. The panned area was land within the west vicinity which would have blocked it if it was to be a windy day later on. The decision to drop in on the other side of the bay at tip of Sandy Hook yealded to 10-15 kt winds from the West/Southwest. The plan was to move back across the bay and find an alternate drop in that shielded us. While driving south along the water I noticed the water wasn’t as rough. The wind was blocked from the hills of Atlantic Highlands. It was there that we dropped in. Here the wind was manageable but the braided line still sang to me all day long.

The Map below shows the main area that I tend to fish. The bay is shaped like a large funnel. Any type of east wind makes it a real rough day. West is best!  Highlighted are the most manageable spots to fish at certain directions of strong wind.. Typically it becomes windy no matter what in the afternoon.

The day went pretty well a bunch of short Fluke in the morning. Sean Gavin whom I fished with scored 1 keeper. It was just nice to get out and explore a new area.