Darren.

Great day, Lonnie!

Welcome aboard! Tons of tournament fisherfolk here on the forums. I'm sure they'll start chiming in soon to help ya.

Sweet! Congrats on the catch patch

Or even panfishresource.com!

Agreed. And don't spit into the wind, either, LOL.

Welcome aboard, Jeff! Lots of Pflueger fans here. I'm a Shimano fan, myself, so not a whole lot of help. However, for that size/power rod, I'd not go much higher than a 2500 size. So I think I'd opt for a 30 in your list....

No fly fishing for me. Tried it moons ago, wasn't my cup o' tea. I'd rather do Tenkara, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. That said, I caught a 3.6 pounder the other week as I was trolling to a spot in my kayak. Just behind me to the left a big splash. I cut the motor, turned to see the ripples and threw a Ned rig into it. BANG, nice fight through tall grass and 3.6# later joy joy joy. I did not see any shad runs, so I'm assuming it was either going after a fish feeding up there, or bugs.

I second the recommendation. Excellent resource from @Paul Roberts.

I had huge success with their Fin-S assassins for panfish and bass, as well as their little 1/16oz fin-s hook/jig. That tiny little rig netted me some quality fish over the years, including a 4# chain pickerel. I've put stuff in the cart in the past year, but never ended up buying. Tried out some of Bass Pro's knock-offs, but they just weren't as good. Purchases on hold for right now.

Welcome aboard! Nice Peacock!

For interest of the conversation, the scientific study I know of was done on bonefish. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783608001781 If you read my earlier post, I use and will not stop using my Boga grips when bass fishing. I often net the bass, then I use my grips to aid in hook removal and weighing the bass, measure, take a pic, release. And there's also this rebuttal to this very issue. The author disclaimer is of note, he's a pro-staffer of Lucid Fishing which makes grips. But many points he makes are good - the rebuttals start below the video on the page.

No can help on the California thing from me, I'm an East Coaster...but welcome aboard!!

The issue I have with it is that I have snakes, and cedar can be deadly. Afraid if I tend to the snakes one day, not paying attention that I was just with one of the dogs, bad things could happen. But I still may try it.

Friend turned me on to the BANG sprays, I don't use it all the time, but I do like it. Lasts for maybe 10 or 11 casts then reapply.

Welcome aboard!

Here's another PSA on scent: If it is spray based, DO NOT SPRAY INTO THE WIND. I smelled like shad/crawfish until I got home and showered. Hey, look, wind can do crazy things when you're in a kayak. I swear the wind changed directions just as I was spraying the bait.

I disagree with not using grips on bass. I use bogas and will continue to do so. I teach my sons to properly use them. On the flip side, here's an old pic I recently posted of one of my boys holding a 4lb bass - his first drop shot bass on first cast. The (not boga) is dangling from the mouth. This is NOT good, and an example, IMO, of improper use of the grip. It was released immediately after the pic. He's 17 now, doesn't hold like this anymore. Why didn't I fix it before snapping the pic? We all learn. But FWIW, you see that hole in its lip to the right, under the eye? That was already there. This bass had been caught before. Hooks make holes, sometimes gaping holes. So can we also argue that using hooks is bad? Especially hooks with a cutting point like Trokars? A little education goes a long way....

Excellent! You're definitely on the right path here. Will find the right yak among their selections.

I'm not a big fish eater, though there are a few dishes I'll eat. Will have to take your word for it I did see several recipes for barra on a web site about the fish... King Mack! We caught a mess of those around 4 feet long back in the early 90's. Awesome fun for sure.

Yeah, that'd be cool from them. I was checking fish.shimano.com for this post for any 500 size reel and couldn't find one!

This is a thread from a couple years ago. When it is this old, it is fine to start a new thread That said, I have a three BPS Micro Lite rods, one older model, and two newer. They are all great, sensitive.

You can also consider a 500 size Shimano Sahara. Excellent reel for the money. My youngest has used one for the past several years in fresh/salt with no issues (we do rinse in fresh water after every salt excursion). But it looks like 1000 is the smallest you can find in the latest models. In fact, I'm not sure Shimano does offer a 500 size any more. I use 1000 for bass fishing, but it is so versatile a size it can be used for UL fishing as well. Small, but not as small as a 500.

Nicely done!

Welcome aboard! Plenty of GA fisherfolk here that can add to your knowledge of waters there.

Cedar-based insect repellant! Great idea! I see there are several brands using cedar oil on Amazon. Anyone else have good experience with it? I've got two dogs and two cats and would love a natural solution as most I've tried have failed utterly. Like there's no true (that I've found) mosquito repellant as good as DEET....