Darren.

Welcome Josh! 'Nother Virginian!

Hey Daniel, and fellow Virginian! Welcome to the forums.

Welcome aboard Vinnie!

As an owner of the Native Ultimate 12, I can wholeheartedly endorse it. But I was able to get some butt-time (albeit in-store) in it as well as the Wilderness Systems Commander. My butt preferred the Native, but that's me. YMMV. Before I decided on a hybrid yak, I was really gunning for the Moken Angler. Google it and you'll find a lot of reviews. Again, you'll want to sit in as many as you can, whether it be in-store or on a demo day. You may hate my suggestions, so find one that fits what YOU want to do. It's like getting fitted for a suit. You can buy one pre-made that fits ok, or you can buy one that is made for you. In kayak terms, one that you decide where you want stuff rather than the yak maker. My Native is one of those. I customized it according to my terms. Best of luck.

Welcome, Michael! Your "pretending" will become "instructing" in no time :-) Father of 4 boys myself...

Welcome, Chance!

7.5 LMB for me! Next up 8, 9, 10 and so on! Goose52, man that's a beast of a head/bucket on that bass!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to the site, Nick!

Welcome fellow-yakker...tons of great stuff here.

Not had much luck with hair jigs, but have read that many find them excellent in the winter. Good luck with it!

Welcome aboard! Been up your way a few times, never to fish though. Enjoy the site, tons to learn, and contribute!

Thanks, did so and HELLO! Shad shaped worms, 5 and 4" senkos... If only I had a little more money I'd have bought more! Thanks, CWB!

Specific colors? They show up for $6 when I go there. For you, six dollah! For him, three dollah fifty nine cent!

Plenty who do. I used to fish out of an old 16' aluminum Grumman, but the weight was more and more difficult to deal with over the years. Changed over to kayak fishing, first year with an inexpensive yak and I realized how much I missed from my canoeing, so I upgraded to a hybrid, the Native Watercraft Ultimate 12. Sits low to the water like a kayak, but has the roominess of a canoe. It's the best of both worlds for me, and is by far more stable than either the canoe or the yak I used. Love to fish out of the Ultimate. Awesome experience. And big plus that we can go places big boats cannot!

That's just downright bad!! Mean-spirited! The poor fisherfolk north of the Mason Dixon don't want to hear of the glories of Florida year-round bass fishing and 10 pound averages...

I tried the ziplock baggie thing, I tried putting my softies in Plano tackle boxes, but have gone back to using the bag they came in. Ziplocks that I used tended to get soft and easily punctured in the summer heat. Maybe using the thicker freezer baggies with labels would work better, but I still didn't see any logic to it as the bags that they came in were thicker, and better suited to being out in the heat. Just my .02.

Personally, I think the color is designed to catch us, but don't let that rule out attaching them to your cranks. They're still hooks, after all. I've got some on my cranks, which I hardly ever use, so not really the best to give advice there. When it comes to worm fishing, I have tried the reds. Don't buy them at all any more.... But that's me. Not saying don't use them, just that I am not sure they make a difference. If you've got 'em, use 'em.

Welcome, Marius! One thing to keep in mind is to keep things simple. Don't make fishing a chore that becomes something too frustrating. Look over your existing baits and determine which ones you've caught the most bass on. As far as deep water, our bass fishing out West here in the US is done in a lot of deep water lakes where tactics like drop-shotting, big trout swimbaits are among tactics used. They'd have to chime in here to give you advice on that. You've got snakeheads too, something we are dealing with in some of our waters here on the East coast. There are plenty of fishermen here that can give tips on dealing with them. As for what I find that works, it is soft plastics. Bass seem to find them irresistible. Yamamoto Senkos are among the best, if not the best.

Why not spool up your spinning reel with 10 or 15 lb braid, then fish leaders rather than straight spooling with FC....? Eliminate line issues that way, and you can buy a spool of the Sunline and use it sparingly (i.e., as leader only). That way it'll last a very long time depending on your leader length and number of times you have to change it.

So many options to choose from in that price range. Curious as to why you didn't pick a St. Croix Premier for $10 more than the Mojo? I'd pick a Premier if that were an option. If money is an option, the Triumph is a decent rod, sure to keep you and the CFO on good terms

Totally agree with RW on this. Think simple. I've spent a lot of money over the years on multiple techniques. The technique I've settled on today is "finesse", as in lighter line, smaller baits. You can finesse a 2oz jig, but that's not what I'm talking about. I don't fish tourneys, I fish because I love to. I learned that I didn't need an entire toolbox, or golf bag, of tools/clubs in order to enjoy the sport. I primarily use two spinning rods and one baitcasting setup. I have more, but don't need or use them. I catch fish. I use soft plastics because they work for me. You don't have to break the bank to enjoy the sport. When you see a dude on TV doing a dramatic hookset on an awesome baitcasting setup with a big ol' spinnerbait (etc), don't imagine that is you. Resist what we call the baitmonkey :-). There are times I will even drop back to ultimate simplicity and fish long poles with no reel. Just a length of line, a slip float, hooks, and live worms.

Quite true. I mentioned it for the "hey you never know" factor . It doesn't really matter to me, personally. I just want something that is accurate and water proof. But I would like to know how close to x pounds a bass is, though, which is not as easy to read on lip-grip scales -- at least not mine.

Boga grips can be sent in to IGFA and rated for accuracy. While they may rate, as mentioned above, in 1/4 oz, or 1/2 oz increments, they are the best for lip gripping. I still don't have one, is on my Christmas list. I use a knock-off which I periodically test with different dumbbell weights in plastic bags and it has proven very accurate so far. I used to have a digital scale until it went down to Davy Jones' Locker. I liked it a fair amount, but it was not as easy to use as a lip-gripper/scale. The Berkeley lip-gripper/digiscale is attractive, but I've seen some negative reviews on them which has kept me away. I've dropped my current gripper in the drink a number of times, but thanks to my float attachment and the lack of digital circuitry, it has remained undamaged. But I'm also a kayak fisherman, so a little "closer" to the water than bass boaters, with no deck to speak of. I'd probably have both if I were a bass boater.

WOW. I'd definitely look at a great rod/reel combo that I'd never be able to buy otherwise. But that's me :-)