Darren.

Lovely lady there, Jeff. But I still think you Baccarac guys are shooting giant bass in a barrel!! And if I had the wherewithal to join you, I'd do it in a New York Minute!! In a heartbeat, I tell ya!

Look at the Native Ultimate line. http://www.nativewatercraft.com/boat_overview.cfm They are technically, hybrid kayaks, a little bit of canoe, a little bit of kayak. I love mine. Other brands are out there as well. Have a look at Appomattox River Company here in VA, they sell a LOT of brands, and are well versed in the fishing side of kayaking. http://www.paddleva.com/shop/all/Kayaks-Fishing

And it is time to change your "My PB:" description to "Between 7-8 lbs"!

Yeah, I was gonna say - before I saw your scale pic - that your fish was well over 6 pounds, pushing 7 give or take. I'm glad I was close! Big congrats!

Depending on the model you are looking at, the wider the base, the more stable the yak. So as in my yak, I've got two convex pontoons molded into the form which provide tremendous stability. In the similar Wilderness Systems Commander, the pontoons are concave (come into the yak as opposed to mine which protrude into the water) and provide similar stability. Yaks like the Slayer, the Bass Pro FS128T, the Moken Lure, others which have ability to raise seat positions do provide wide bases for stability. You simply have to get used to it and become familiar with the yaks secondary stability which kicks in after the initial lean. I have my yak seat on top of the gunnels. I sit really high and have no stability issues. I stand and fish, sit and fish, no issues. I'm very comfortable with my yak, though. Someone else might feel tippy until they get used to it. As well, it is not like sitting on a surf board. You're thinking of paddle boards (or your description is like a paddle board). My best advice is to get to a kayak store, talk with the folks there about what you want to do. Most fishing kayaks today are SOTs and they should have plenty for you to try out.

Sit ON is by far the better (IMO) platform to fish from. Boat is open for easy access to your gear. Scupper holes for drainage if you get waves or tip. Stability if you buy a wider model. I say all this, but I use a hybrid in the Native Ultimate 12, which is more like a kayak/canoe. But it is wide open, easy access to gear, incredibly stable to stand in, etc. Only drawback is no scupper holes. The SOT equivalent to my U12 is the Native Slayer, which is heavier, but just as stable, and drains!

I just scored a number of BPS Stick-o bags at BPS - 3 for $10!! No need for Senkos any time soon.

Guess it all depends on what's available at those stores you mentioned. I don't have a lot of experience outside of XPS Fluoro (pretty good); Vanish - for leader material only, if I'm desperate (never); Seaguar Red Label (meh, not bad, not great, sufficient), Vicious - returned it.... The only way I use fluoro, mono, or copoly these days is as a leader. But to be honest, my first choice would be either P-Line Floroclear (fluoro-coated copoly), or Yo-Zuri Hybrid again, as a leader-only. The only fluoro I'm using is XPS.

Wacky is one of the, if not THE, most effective rig I've ever used. And I use it all the time. Never go out without at least one of my rods rigged wacky. Sometimes it's all I throw. If you search the forum(s) here, you'll find a TON of information about wacky rigs. If I'm fishing areas that do not have a ton of snaggy spots, I'll throw a regular Gamakatsu splitshot/dropshot or Wide Gap Finesse hook. If I'm fishing cover, I use a weedless variety of the same hooks. In fact, i've taken to make my own weedless hooks now and they work phenomenally. As for losing worms, yes, you can/will lose worms, but in the forums you'll find a lot of how-to for rigging. There's heat shrink solutions, among many others. I've never had issue with setting hooks on wacky rigs. In fact, fish are almost always hooked in the upper 'lip'. Just reel down and lift the rod. No herky jerky rip the mouth hook sets are needed.

Welcome aboard!

Awesome time!

Welcome aboard, Mike!

Welcome aboard!

Hi Greg, welcome aboard!

Welcome to the forums, and welcome back to bass fishing, Tom!

Snorkeling a pond is a great experience. My brother and I did it once in a clear, gravel pit pond. Was absolutely awesome. Crystal clear. Unfortunately, it didn't help my catch rate, LOL. Don't do it where I live now.

Welcome aboard!

Well said. Agree 100%.

Welcome to the forums! You can also look up Wilcox Bait and Tackle in Newport News. They're a well known, been around forever, bait shop, and official weigh station as well. They have a lot of know-how for the lower James.

By no means have I "arrived" at a particular place with my gear; however, I know what my bank account looks like, and I know what my income is. I have to be careful not to spend what I don't have. Unfortunately, I've done just that a few times with my fishing gear. Of all the gear I have, I certainly do not *need* all of it to catch bass. The most expensive rod I have is an Avid spinning rod. To be honest, it is a great rod, but I simply was not overly impressed with it when I compared it to the less expensive rods I have - rods in the $100 range. The Avid is certainly sensitive, but just how much more than my Carbonlite? I really, honestly don't know. I use braid on both, which helps considerably with sensitivity. I feel fish and bottom stuff extremely well on both. If I had $200 for another rod, I'm not sure I'd pick an Avid over a Carbonlite, to be truthful. I could put $100 in the bank and have a fantastic, very lightweight rod for my needs. Like ww2farmer, I would rather have the money I would have spent on "great gear" in the bank, and fish with gear that does just fine, but doesn't break the bank. Now if money is no issue, then ignore my comment and go with whatever suits your fancy. I'd do just that if money were no object for me and my family. This is just where I am now...

Lon Gisland, eh? Welcome aboard!

Totally understand. And I will echo what flyfisher said regarding watching what moves and what doesn't over the weeks/months. Curious, do you have other big primarily fishing stores around you like Gander Mtn, Cabelas, or Bass Pro Shops? If so, or even if there's a mom & pop fishing store that's been around for ages, all of that can make a difference as to what your DSG chooses to focus on. After all, DSG caters to just about every sport out there, so has to divide the store appropriately. Bass Pro, Gander, Cabelas pretty much just cater to fishing and hunting... Sounds like you've got a good plan to lay low, wait-n-see. Good luck at your job!

If as you say, feedback is "open door" then by all means! Just be creative, upbeat, avoid "we shouldn't carry..." and other negative-leaning words. Go with upbeat, positive "hey, since we are so close to such a big fishing lake, what if we carried a greater variety of rods/reels....etc." Some DSGs carry huge fishing/hunting sections, others, like mine, do not.

Improved, yes. Fixed will definitely will take longer. For one, I'm not 100% confident in EJ. I like the kid a lot. He's got skills, but he doesn't have Andrew Luck or Russell Wilson confidence straight outta the gate. Hope he can "get it", and hope he isn't injury prone and can really break out this year. Buffalo did everything they could to give him weapons (offensive line not the best), but Sammy Watkins is a beast! Agreed re: NE. They could have a monster of a year.

There, I fixed it. Now someone please fix my Bills.