J Francho

The braces weren't lol.

I carry three to five. I have places to hold 8. It's important to have extra holders around. They come in handy when rigging and unhooking/releasing fish. What rods I bring depends on the where, what, and how of each trip.

This is an ultra finesse reel. That 50m capacity is with 6# diameter line. That's plenty for that purpose.

Old news:

Use a lighter jig head. Slider heads are good for this. You can also rig it weightless. It's not a unique situation - one that many encounter, myself included. Here's a fish I caught on a 3/16 weedless wacky jig and flick shake worm. Anything heavier than 1/4 oz. disappears in the mud.

The right boat, and pick your days. I good kayak can put up with more than a bass boat can. A deep-V hulled boat is probably the best option for rough water. My little 15' tiller was great for getting out of trouble in rough water. My 22' Bullet, not so much. Like I said, pick your days and pay attention.

So, fish a Texas rigged worm or a skirted jig with a plastic craw. I guess I don't understand why the vegetation is a problem. 99% of my fishing is in weeds. There's a million types of baits out there, and several weedless rigging options.

Most feeding or active bass are associating with structure and cover.

Plenty of guys do that. I don't think it's necessary. How do you know a Texas rig is perfectly oriented in the fish's mouth? You don't, and it hooks up just fine.

I can see that. If you are using one brand exclusively, it can appear so on the surface. I was sponsored by Wilderness Systems kayaks. My take was the product sells itself, I'm just there to point out new features, or announce new releases. In fact we were encouraged NOT to pimp the gear, or sound like a salesperson. We were also a main point of contact when people had issues with products. Often, people turn to social media when something goes wrong, or breaks instead of just calling the company's support line. For the most part I viewed my relationship to the company as an "endorsement" of sorts. As in, I really like this product, here's why. Try this, try others. I in fact encouraged many to try other boats. That way they can see the difference. I guess it's important to note, that my livelihood was not contingent on that business relationship. Good points, @TOXIC

This probably has nothing to do with this thread, but as our cast sponsors here at Bass Resource rotates, and I review more gear - some I would not even consider using - I feel I've gained some objectivity. Example, I'm well known to use CXX. Seaguar has some lines they've recently brought to mark that are as good, if not better in some cases. I probably would not have veered to far off my line choice path to try them. Now that I have used them, I can offer my perspective. Maybe it's not the same, and maybe I'm just more mature than the average tuber getting discounted tackle.

Totally false. I fish Lake Ontario and Erie from a kayak. The original fishing kayaks were developed guys going out into the ocean. To the OP, In either choice, you will have additional expenses. You'll have to register the boat and trailer. You'll probably have to do some maintenance on it as well. Things like gas lines, spark plugs, impeller, etc. add up quick. With a kayak, you need a paddle, and you don't want to skimp here. You'll also want some anchoring system. With either, there's also the list of required safety gear: PFD, whistle, throw-able flotation, rope, etc. Either way, unless you score a sweet used deal, you might want to be more realistic about your budget cap.

I have both short and long handles. The difference between 85 and 100mm is noticeable, though only in hand travel, not leverage or RPM. It's more of a comfort thing. I like short handles on reels where the rod moves the bait, and you use the reel to mainly take up slack. This has nothing to do with gear ratio, IPT, so called leverage, etc.

Do a search for "vintage evinrude cowling" and you'll find a bunch of dealers. You'll probably have to call around.

First, I moved this to the right category. Second, A gentle rinse is all takes to remove any dirt and debris that might have gotten there. It sounds like you may have actually broke something when dropping it. Last, do not use WD-40. What kind of reel is it?

Just tie direct. Use an improved cinch knot. Run the bait through a loop of line held in your left hand so it catch is in the R-bend. Grab a blade with your right hand, and spin the bait 5-6 times. Run the tag under the twists, and back up the loop you just made, and cinch. It takes about 5 seconds to complete this knot, and you can use a larger loop to start with if you can't see the line too well.

Good grief, it's a hypothetical question. Let's move on from the legal debate that's muddying the water of very interesting thread. Can you catch bass with a simple, ubiquitous tool, relying mostly on your knowledge of fish location and behavior?

If they're under warranty, have the manufacturer deal with it, otherwise a professional like DVT would be best.

This really does work. Put the zip lock bags on a cookie sheet so freezes flat.

I have rabbit ears, and 15 gig of hotspot.

Doesn't seem like it's open to interpretation to me. Then again, my brain hurts after a long weekend.

The Zappu heads are the ones I prefer, though we also use the standard Do-it mold with the Mustad hook. You just have to pay attention to the hook point. They roll easily. That's probably why @Munkin modified the mold to use a better hook.

Handle length has ZERO influence on IPT.

It's kind of interesting, because that's about what most of us are throwing, or something close. I will say, I'd rather be deep cranking for them during a summer tournament, but I can do a worm, too. The hook/rigging would definitely be based on what specific water I was on. It's very diverse up here.

You were already given accurate info. Do not power it with your trolling motor battery. Either use the outboard's cranking battery, or purchase a small 12v battery as shown above. You'll want to also install a 3 amp fuse inline on the positive lead. You can find all of this at a marine supply store, Radio Shack, and many home improvement/hardware stores.