crankbait2009

I tried a black ribbon tail (berkley) last weekend, for a few casts, and nothing happened. SO I gave up. I'll eventually try it again, but I'll ride the senko wacky rig train for awhile

hmm, i thought i lost him due to missing the hook set, mainly due to not being ready for it. I knew treble hooks will help set the hook on their own, I didn't know that with circle hooks. thanks for the advice

As I mentioned, My numbers certainly went up that day. Went from my normal 1, to now 3 in a short amount of time. This also happened between 10Am and 1PM. Not the ideal times to fish, but obviously these bass missed the memo. I usually get one fish from 9am - 1pm

I did lose a few senkos that day, due to the fact I did not have my o-rings on hand. Never thought I'd fish the senkos, so never bothered to bring them. They are now on board and I will definitely use them tomorrow. Hopefully that will save a few more worms for at least a few more casts. I did try a jig here and there in the lilly pad beds, but I've never caught a fish with a jig either. I bought so much terminal tackle throughout my years of fishing since 2009. I have all this terminal tackle for worms, for what reason? to say I have it? I'd say so.

wordy thread, but thought I'd share....... I am primarily a crankbait user. Over the past 8 years or so, a friend of mine always tries to get me to use worms/plastics. He swears by them, along with many others. I have purchased worms over the years, would use them for a couple casts from time to time, but obviously have ZERO faith in them. They didn't produce immediately, so back in the box they'd go, and back to the crankbait I'd go. Normally I'd at least catch one bass every trip out via the crankbait. That was good enough for me. Essentially, it was enough to get by, and I was OK with that. Back in April, there was a month long kayak tourney that I signed up for, so I figured I would need a lot more than crankbaits if I wanted to have a fighting chance. So I stocked the yak with everything in my arsenal. So every time out, I tried everything.........Between the cold weather and the rain, it wasn't a fun time. Again, the plastics, along with everything else never produced for me. Back in the box they went. Needless to say, I never caught a fish in the month long tourney. Well I caught catfish on a crankbait, but obviously they weren't the desired fish. May pulled me in a couple of bass via the crankbait. All was well. Fast forward to the month of June. June 10th to be exact. Went to my main body of water. I found a river that branched off the lake and I took that back for a couple miles, fishing along the way. The waters were very calm. No boat traffic due to the shallow depths. No one would dare go back there. Except for me and the kayak . I started with my trusty crankbait casting over and over, coming up short. I tried a few other lures on and again, nothing. I was frustrated and bored at that point, so I dug to the bottom of the barrel and pulled out my circle hooks, and 5" senkos. (Saw a kayak video a while back, where the user swore by these worms and if all else fails, throw one and you'll catch a fish ). Obviously he left an impression in my mind, so I listened. I tossed out the wacky rigged green pumpkin colored senko a few times, and nothing. Paddled a bit to the next promising spot, tossed it out. nothing. Wasn't giving up yet, close, but not yet. Hit the next spot, tossed it out, as soon as that worm hit the surface of the water, BAM!! I didn't even have time to set close the bail. Scrambled to close the bail, and set the hook all in one motion. I lost him due to not being able to set it in time. I was excited at this point. So I figured, well, let's try that again. Tossed it to the same spot, I was able to get a turn and a half in before the bass slammed it again. set the hook, got him in. Now I was even more excited. Thinking it was a fluke, I paddled about 20 feet up, casted to another spot, and same thing. about a turn and a half of the reel and another largemouth slammed it. At that point, It was hard for me to swallow my pride to tell my friend he was right and that they do work. SO I refused to. I tied on a couple other colored worms, T-rigged, to see how they'd do. They didn't. So I quickly lost faith. Threw the crank for a bit, nothing. figured I'd try one last time with the senko again. Tossed it out, and slam....another one. SO after the third, I sent my friend a text and pictures showing what had happened. I could tell it made him proud I stopped after that, it was time to go home. I plan on going out tomorrow to the same river, using the same senkos, and I will see how they produce. If it happens, yet again, then I will no longer say worms suck!, and they actually produce. As of right now, I still have zero faith . I am almost there though. Here are pictures of the first two I caught.

I am going to repeat some of what others have posted on this topic, but here is my experience. I went from bank fishing for a couple years, to a jon boat for a couple years, to what I have now.....a kayak. I always fished solo, so loading/unloading and fishing alone took it's toll on me. I loved being on the water, but it's a lot of work when doing it alone. At least in my opinion. Other than the maintenance alone....making sure batteries are charged, keeping oil in the motor/in the gas, lights are all working, trolling motor working as it should, trailer tires, trailer lights, trailer bearings, etc etc. etc etc. A lot of time, money, and upkeeping to keep the boat in tip top shape for each season. that's my issue with a boat. bank fishing wasn't all bad, but I was very limited to the shores I could fish from. whether it be obstacles I couldn't get around, to people always fishing my local holes, to the waters just being over fished.....it made the bank fishing experience less than fun after awhile. my kayak, well, that changed everything for me. SInce I am always solo, I throw the yak in to the bed of my truck, strap it down and go. The only maintenance that I have come across thus far is my kayak wheels. Just need to keep the frame oiled so it slides apart easily. I don't have a trolling motor or lights so that all went away. My yak is very simple. I added an anchor system to it, and made a rod rock, but other than that, its quite simple. This is my second season having it but I think my upgrades/modifications are complete. It's definitely easy to load/unload alone. load the yak on the wheels and walk it where I want to go. The lake I go to has tons of lilly pads and they are very deep, meaning distance from the edge to the shore. I have seen all the boats on the water come to these pads and stop. they dont go deep into the beds for obvious reasons. I on theother hand will paddle through them and fish the middle or other edges no one else can get to. I find that as a huge benefit. No worrying about props getting tangled in the mess. I have the Ascend FS128T kayak from BPS. I have the 2016 model. It is very stable and you can stand up to fish. The yak is 100#, but stable. I don't need to get anywhere fast so speed was not an issue for me. I will say that the wind has kicked my arms a$$ a time or two. but that has taught me to not be such a sally and use some muscle. But I would definitely ditch the bank and get a yak. I think you'll enjoy it a lot. I know you just wanted to know whether you should go yak instead of shore, but I gave you more info than you wanted. sorry. I hope it helps Here is a picture of my yak from about two weeks ago Ascend FS128T

I am coming down to the final days before my first tournament, and I am trying to button up all my gear before I head out. I have some questions that will touch on some things all around the yak. Rather than starting a new thread for every question, I'm hoping I can get my questions answered here. 1. After I installed my yak attack anchor trolley, I was looking for some info on something different, and came across some yakkers placing small bungee chords by the trolley pulleys to take some of the shock/jerkiness when the anchor engages. I stuck my pulleys at the very ends, with no room to install these bungees. My pulleys were screwed and caulked caulked in place. Is there any way I can avoid these pulleys being yanked out of the yak? 2. I am going to set up the retractable clothesline contraption for the anchor and drift chute rope. I saw someone on youtube connect prarachord to the existing clothesline chord that is inside unit with a not. Can anyone tell me what type of knot you'd use to tie these two ropes together so they will not come untied? I do not have hog rings or ring pliers, so I'd like to avoid that. Has anyone secured these two ropes together with zero flaws using another method? Care to share? 3. Coming off the anchor trolley ring, you will hook the anchor or chute to it, yes? how does that work when you have that retractable unit? I am really puzzled how the two work together. I see videos how to install both, but nothing about setting it up while in the water. 4. for those of you that use a drift chute without a rudder. Do you find it a hassle trying to steer it as you go while using your paddle? I imagine the chute slows you down to a crawl, so it might not be as bad as I am thinking. I have never used a drift chute, but am looking forward to it. 5. when it comes to after rain fishing, and the waters are chocolate milk colored, do you refuse to fish or do you go out anyways and hope for the best? Ever have luck, or no luck at all?

I recently signed up for my first tournament EVER , I'm looking forward to it, win or not. The first tourney is an online tourney. Depending how that does, I may sign up for a live tourney. I signed up for the Ohio, April tourney, BKFT Spring Fling. It goes from April 1st through April 30th. It has a $30 entrance fee. Figured if I lose my a$$, I'm only out $30, and I call it a day. It should be fun. Any other Bass Resource yakkers joining this tourney?

Thank you.... Any time I've ever had a freshwater tank, or anything for that matter, I have always tried to half ass it, trying to not spend the needed money to make it right. This time around, I wanted to cut no corners. If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it right. Right off the bat, I was told unions and gate valves were me friends. So I kept that in mind. I have unions at each bulkhead going into the tank as well as what you see in the photo. I am all covered for dismantling, if the need arises. So far, no reason. Let me rephrase. I did have to remove the one piece from the return pump to the first union, last week. Replaced the tubing to a softer hose, easier to work with. Plus my maintenance on the return pump. The union definitely made it easy! I tried to keep it as clean and organized as possible. Clean does not exactly work in this hobby. So I'm learning to accept that. Just gotta fine an air line bracket to mount my dosing lines so they aren't just hanging. I just installed them a week ago as you see above. That's new to me, so still working on the appearance of it. I'm having a hard time finding an air line bracket that doesn't have the shut off valves built in to it. I just want the bracket that will hold the air lines in place. I did find d a bracket like I want, but for this small piece of plastic, they are asking anywhere from $10-$20 for it. That absurd. This bracket is only 2" in size, or so.

I have had freshwater pretty much my whole life, but I got really bored over the years with it and decided to step up to the salt water world. I am so glad I did. So much more rewarding. I literally watch the tank for a couple hours every night. SO many new things are happening within the tank, that leave you scratching your head, saying, I didn't put those in there I don't understand :). I have had this tank running for a year and 4 months, and I have yet to lose interest. I enjoy it a lot. I have clown fish, fire fish, tomini tang, chalk bass, blennies, gobys, serpent sea star, wrasse, and your every day clean up crew. I still have more fish I need to add. I have quite a few coral, at least a dozen different kinds. All frags at this point. I hope I have convinced you to ditch one of the existing hobbies, to get back in to salt water

I currently have a 130g saltwater tank, with a 40g sump underneath Here is a overall shot. It has more coral and fish in it now, but still has the same set up. 2016-12-20_09-31-18 by Shawn D, on Flickr 2017-03-18_08-02-33 by Shawn D, on Flickr

I recently purchased some polyethylene foam to place under the deck of my kayak. My reason for this was to create storage boxes so things wouldn't slide around and I could keep it organized. When you open the hatch, it opens to the hull which is wide open. Nothing encloses that storage area. So I bought some 2" thick blocks and created a box that my tackle boxes would lay in. I placed the foam blocks in place where I wanted them, wedging them in to place, and it is very tight, almost perfect. But I know these blocks will not stay in place. So I am trying to hold them in place by means of glue or some type of adhesive that will not ruin the surface of the kayak. And that also has easy removal, if needed. QUestion is this. Has anyone worked with this foam? What can I use that will "glue" the foam to the floor of the yak?

I am in the market for one of the many keel protectors out there. the sliding in and out of the water has done a bit of damage to the hull. I'd like to get this covered now, before it gets worse. I asked Ascend about it and they said concrete/black top ramps do a number on kayak keels. So, has anyone placed a keel guard of some sort on their kayak? which one did you go with, how is the quality? easy to install?

I contacted Ascend, and come to find out, I should have had foam blocks at each end of the yak. Mine are missing. So they are sending me the foam kit to install. Free of charge of course. Wonder how much of a difference it will be having this said foam? I thought it was nice without it I did get a recommendation, about buying some foam, and wedging it in the hull to create this "box" to hold my gear. Just gotta find this foam now

hmmm, wonder why the next model down woul dhave foam inserts, but the next one up, would not.

I have fished chrome blues here and there with no positive results. I have thrown chrome blacks with great success. I wish I knew why. But I have given up on blues all together and strictly throw black. Just like the color fire tiger. That does NOTHING for me and refuse to buy that color. But others in my area swear by it.

For anyone that owns the Ascend FS128T kayak, is well aware that each compartment lid on the deck leads to the open hull underneath. Makes storing items a little unorganized without having storage walls to keep everything in place. I have had my yak for a year now. Never really been able to utilize the hull to store the plano boxes, due to them shifting and sliding. I don't want to have a crate behind the seat, so the ideal set up would be to have the planos stored in the hull Has anyone added a storage box of some sort to create a storage? If so, how did you do this? Can you post pictures?

Let's try this. I know what I want, just not sure what I need. I have an Ascend FS128T kayak. On the kayak, there are two accessory rails, one on each side of the seat, mounted on top of the kayak. I am looking for a rod holder that slides on to this rail. But I am not sure what parts I need in order to acheive this. I saw this holder online which is exactly what I want. It holds a spinning reel or baitcaster. BUt I am not sure what all parts are needed to mount it in to these rails. Can anyone provide some assistance on this? Here is what I am after: http://www.scotty.com/fishing-gear-equipment/rod-holders/bait-caster-spinning-rod-holder.htm

I've seen videos of people modifying their yaks. I have no desire to go that far, but I also said the same thing before I modfied my jon boat. I know my mind will change once I get out on the water. But I do like the rail that could adapt to the rod holder. I have seen the balls that go in the rail, they range from 1" to 1.5". Is there not a cross reference number that I can use so I know what parts I need to buy to fit in the rails? I have seen RAM, Scotty, and a few other brands. I have no clue which one I need for this model of yak. Can anyone tell me if this fits the rail system that is on that yak? http://www.walmart.com/ip/26874842?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=138&adid=22222222227018764387&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40970790392&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78913667552&veh=sem

Has anyone ever used an ultra lite spinning combo and artificial plastic worms? Is it even possible to fish the worm technique with that type of combo?

ok, thank you

Just purchased an Ascend FS128T kayak. This kayak replaces the jon boat I had for a number of years. Jon bot was getting to be a bit much hauling around myself. So decided to try the yak. On my model of YAK, it comes with the two side rails for mounting accessories. (rod holder, go pro, gps, etc). Where can I find the accessories that slide on to this rail, for fairly inexpensive prices? I can't imagine it will be cheap per item, but my fingers are crossed. Is brand name crucial for something like this? If not, 3rd party works for me.

It is very possible that I am seeing things or maybe that I once imagined it, but.... About 5 years ago (maybe), I could have swore that strike king made a lipless crankbait that was 100% pure chartreuse. no craw striping, no outlining in black, just strictly an eye and the body. Again, pure chartreuse in color (other than the eye). Does this lure exist or has it ever? If so, I want one, maybe three I have seen a bunch of chartreuse lipless cranks but they also double up with other colors. Can anyone help me out?

Does Cabelas do this type of thing each year?

I went to the BPS classic this past Saturday (2nd day of the event). Usually go this time every year. Since I started going a good 5-6 years ago, I have noticed the crowds are becoming less and less. I realize the sale items are the same every year. No great deals to be had. Sure you have the lures that are a buck or two off. And the plastic baits that are a certain % off. But certainly nothing that would make me rush to the store. I usually go to pick line up or lures I lost in the last season. Normally I could just buy random stuff and easily spend $200. I spent $50 on some line and a few lures. But a new hat was more than half the cost of the hole trip. I was kinda disappointed. Was hoping for a more exciting trip. Guess I was the reason for that......I could have spent more money on stuff I didn't need. Oh, and needless to say I had to wait in no lines, and certainly didn't have to rub elbows with anyone going up and down the aisles. That was surprising as well.