VolFan

There's plenty of bass to fish for in CO, both largemouth and smallmouth. Its not Florida, but you can still get plenty of good fish, and dont overlook public city ponds. In my experience, theres not a ton of pressure on bass there outside of a few well-know "bass lakes" (Quincy or RMA for example). There are both large and smallmouth bass over 8 lbs there. The best thing about CO is the incredible diversity of species - you can fish lmb,smb, trout, catfish, perch, and pike sometimes all in the same lake or within a few minutes of each other.

Lets all be careful of free internet legal advice...

Sent you a couple PMs...only a 2 hr drive - you could go to heaven and be home for dinner. ?

You could start with an MS Slammer (7 or 9 inch), a Hudd (68 or 8 inch), and a Deps Slide Swimmer (175 or 250) and be in the game, cover the water column, and get a feel for it. You should be able to grab those for $150 total or so (which isnt nothing) and will have baits to have comfidence in.

I would bet that that rod doesnt have a particularly fast action, and would be great for the Wavers.

The XH Nomad above will serve you well. You could go H if its just spot duty with 4 oz baits, but I wouldnt throw 4 oz on it for an extended period.

Dont underestimate shallow water, especially on sunnier days - a couple degrees warmer makes a huge difference. And shakey heads, neds, or glidebaits.

28 and a bulging disk? Unless its pinched or strangulated, PT and some core strengthening should get you back to good, and then maintainence should keep you there. Did you play much baseball before the swing that hurt you? I play golf about twice a year, mainly in fundraisers. It can be horrific for my back (and forearms) if I dont prep some leading up and then stretch the day of. Yoga might also help you quite a bit. Even more if youre single.

I have a couple of the Nomads - you would want the XH if you're going 4+ ounces or up. The Heavy would handle 4 ounces and down. Great rods and really convenient - I take mine to FL a couple times a year, and use them quite a bit in my kayaks.

Its just like scrapple - if you've never tried it, you're missing out on a Southern delicacy. Crisped up on a griddle served with some fried eggs over easy...whooooeee!! That'll make your tongue flap so hard it'll beat your brains out!!!

Probably pushing 3000 lbs at least with all your gear and fuel then, depending on how much gear you have and how full your fuel tsnks are kept.

You could cover it with one of the kayak keel guards that are self adhesive - just make sure you prep well and clamp it down while the adhesives adheres. But that will also scratch some. I'd do a piece of carpet or cut a slot along an appropriate length of conduit and slide that on the edge before and after kayak.

Once I knew a girl on Rocky Top...

Forget local - send them to Delaware Valley Tackle and get them done right.

Braid for everything except ultralight (mon-4 lb Trilene XL) and big swimbaits (copoly-Yozuri Hybrid or CXX in 15 lb and up).

Lightening shad or the green trout have always been good to me - but to be honest if you have one color that imitates a gold rapala and one that imitates a silver rapala you can catch fish anywhere. Gold shiner on slammers has been magic for me.

For baits under 3 oz you can use 15 lb CXX if you're staying on a budget. I Iike the bull shad of the baits you mentioned, or the 68 in ROF 5, and a 9" slammer in the spring. With those 3/4 baits you can catch a ton of fish in a ton of places. I also like triple trouts like Tom - very very versatile baits. It would equate to the bull shad.

I'm in the same boat as Blue, albeit I'm a few years older than him with only 10 or so to go. I mentioned starting my career in Denver to a new employee the other day and she said "wow you're way older than you act!" Still not sure if that was a compliment or an insult.

For what its worth - Swimbait U-ground is having the same problem.

It really was exciting to watch - I went bananas on that Kendrick homer. I also felt bad (relatively) for Greinke. He was dealing for 80 pitches and then got pulled after a few bad ones, and not for Cole. Didnt make sense butworked out great for my Nats!

We can't be friends any more. Lets Go Nats!

My Nats vs the Stros in the Series - who ya got? I think its going to be a better series than Vegas thinks.

I can attest that a Nucanoe Frontier fishes great with two people on swivel seats in it. Ive even fished 3 people with the middle one paddling and sitting on a cooler (me, with wife and son in the seats) but its really not great for that. You can move and remove seats in about 30 seconds. Move a seat towards the middle when going solo, depending on your weight and paddling style.

We called them Potomac Pike in DC. A ton of fun to fish for and very tasty - I didnt see the catestrophic results over 8+ years when I was there. However - blue catfish have been wreaking havoc with shad runs and striper. Theyre getting over 60 lbs and can eat most anything and everything.

I think the Native Ultimate or Nucanoe Frontier 12 are the only real options for what you want to do if you go the kayak route. Both are great boats, and i go tandem in my Frontier virtually 90% of the time with no issues. Its actually easier to paddle with another person holding the bow down.