Darren.

These are my most productive plastics and styles to fish them. 1) 4" Yamamoto Senko / watermelon gold flake / wacky. 2) 4.75" Zoom Finesse worm / watermelon gold flake and/or watermelon magic / wacky, TX rig, split shot 3) 4.75" Zoom Finesse worm / green pumpkin + chartreuse tail / wacky, TX rigs, split shot 4) 6" Zoom Finesse worm / watermelon magic / wacky, TX 5) 6" Zoom Finesse worm / green pumpkin + chartreuse tail / wacky, TX 6) 4" Yamamoto Senko / green pumpkin magic / wacky 7) Zoom Tiny Fluke / watermelon red flake / wacky, TX, split shot

Interested, as well. Have seen them, never bought tho, but very curious. You'll have to post your experience when you get them.

Sure, look here at the Coleman Scanoe (has a square stern for mounting a motor).

Another Shimano vote here. Stradic, Saros, Symetre, etc. All good quality. I like Shimano quality, have owned other brands, just like Shimmys the best. Other plus is they are all approved for fresh + salt water. If that matters to you.... Reel choice is another "to each his/her own" thing. If you can get to a sporting goods store, try some out. Bring in your fav rod to BPS and they'll let you put reels on it to test out how the balance/feel is. That helped me make my decision(s).

That's what I was after, too. Started out with a cheap ($350) fishing sit on top from BJ's Wholesale Club. Then graduated to the (on sale) U12. I pondered pond boats and all that as well. I transport it on top of my car. Now the U12 is heavier and I had to build a trolley to transport it across distances, but it has been well worth it for me. My fishing has been more enjoyable. The stability of the boat is amazing allowing me to stand freely. And being a kayak/canoe hybrid, the customizations are different than with a SOT.... Not trying to sell you on the U12, these are my experiences, preferences. To each his/her own. Go to a good kayak store and see for yourself. If you can take some on demo runs, do it. Lots of good brands to try out.

Having fished canoes, I now choose kayaks. But I've actually got what is considered a hybrid, the Native Ultimate 12. I had a sit-on-top yak and liked it a lot, but missed some of the "roominess" I had with my canoe, and the ability to stand in it (which was mandatory for me). It was between the Wilderness Systems Commander or the Native Ultimate. I went with the Native for various reasons having sat/stood in both. Now if you're gonna be in big water and have the possibility of getting swamped, go for a SOT with scupper holes for drainage. There are a lot of fishing SOTs out there to choose from in all price ranges. If standing is priority, your choices narrow and price goes up. Hope this helps.

Hey Jason, some nice bass there, man! Welcome aboard.

Likewise. I'm a soft plastics man myself. But I do have a frog. Yeah, "a" frog. I've fished it, but not had any hits yet. The only topwater success I've ever had was on a jitterbug. Was a full moon night, cast it out and reeled in. Biggest bass (then) of my life. Since then, I've caught "some" on lures, but not enough. Soft plastics have been my savior.

When you guys "rip" the bait thru weeds, is it upon first feel, then you KVD the rod (whip it) out of the weeds? I've got a number of lipless cranks, have used the Strike King red eyes, but lost several... Ones I use now are Cotton Cordell. I say "use", but I rarely fish hard lures anymore. 99% soft plastics.

Hard to argue with that list, roadwarrior. As a Bills fan, and "hater" of the Pats, I 100% agree Brady is numero uno. However, I'm unconvinced of Rogers' pedigree. Can't put my finger on it, but I hear all the accolades thrown at him on ESPN, elsewhere, but I just don't see it myself. If Peyton has a phenomenal year, he's at #2, and I like Brees at 3. Can't wait to see how Luck and RG3 do. RG3 was fairly sound against my Bills last week. Newton is an enigma...a phenom, but an enigma. All IMHO...

Here here. Good stuff, Fishing Rhino!

Welcome.

Amen! I, too, fish soft plastics probably 98 or 99% of the time. They are far and away the most productive way I catch fish.

Same here; however, I've had some issues if I couldn't cut the tag ends well when retying on the water. I use better, surgeon's scissors now and see no issues. Just need to make sure your knots are well lubed and neatly tied. Albright tends to be thinnest profile in my experience.

I've seen the second video with the Japanese freak-of-BC-skipping-nature. I get depressed after watching videos like these. I have a medium powered BC setup in which the rod loads up pretty well so I should, theoretically, be able to skip it. Reality is a different matter entirely. Now spinning gear?! Heck yeah. I can skip easily. Which is why I use spinning gear more.

You have to use a palomar on a jig head, or a clinch, or any number of knots. I snell all my worm hooks, even size 4 Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse. I feel the snell is the best as it wraps the entire shank. When you set the hook, the pull is along the shank and "straighter", if you understand me. Other knots simply pull the hook at the loop. Not saying other knots are bad or anything like that. I used palomar all the time before I learned the snell. I use it today when I tie on a jig or a lure that cannot be snelled (pretty much every single one). Here's a video on the easiest way to tie the snell:

Toothy critters definitely can nick and break your line. No doubt there. Pickerel have done it to me where I live. If your line is old, that can mess it up, too. P-Line CXX is well known to be super-strong. I use P-Line Floroclear 98% of the time as my leader line. Braid for main. Could be a bad spool, known to happen. Only time I use palomar knots now on my spinning/casting gear is for jigs, or other hooks with no way to tie a snell knot. I snell everything for soft plastics now. Love the knot, never break it.

Definitely check your line as SlapShot says, and definitely wet your line. No ifs, ands, or buts. Do it. If you're line has any nicks in it, consider some new line, or run your fingers up/down the line to where you feel nothing. Palomar is a great knot, but for Senko and soft plastics, I tie a snell knot. Fantastic knot. I've tied on palomars and snells, and always do a pull-test before snipping the tag line. If the line breaks, I retie. If it breaks again on the pull-test, I get another hook and test that. I've had Gamakatsu hooks with burrs in the eyelets (rarely) But definitely find this more often on off-brand hooks. Which is why I go with Gammies most often, Owners second.

An absolute answer to your question is nigh impossible. There are so many variables. I see "big baits, big bass" all the time on TV, on the web, from casual conversation with fishermen. Sure it's true. But so is the opposite. Small baits catch big bass. My personal best 7.5lb LMB was on a 5" Senko. I've caught plenty of 5, 6, and 7 pounders on 4" senkos, and 4.75" finesse worms, fewer biggies on smaller baits. Hmm. Perhaps wademaster1 is right ... "you can catch big fish on small lures and baits but you will catch more big fish on bigger lures and baits more consistently", emphasis mine. You can drop a 20" worm in the right spot at the right time, you may just land a 10 pounder. Or a 2 pounder with big eyes and a hungry tummy. Drop it in a school and which bass will get to it first? Do all the little guys get out of the way when a huge bait shimmies down? Perhaps there is science out there that proves otherwise. Fish Chris (trophy bass hunter) has caught monsters on live nightcrawlers. Not exactly a "big bait" per se.... Just have to try and see how big baits work for you. None of us have fished all the freshwater spots out there, so what works at one place may or may not work in another. In fact, another fisherman who fishes the same water as you may say "do this, works for me all the time" and you do that, but it doesn't work for you. Go buy some 7" Senkos, or Zoom Magnum Finesse worms and see how they perform. Get common colors you've had success on with smaller baits. Maybe try a Fat Ika, chunky, not really a "big" bait, but different. May be very productive for you. Good luck experimenting!

Senkos - the real ones :-) - they just work better for me. Always spend $$ trying other brands that just can't compare. Darn expensive in their own right, but Yammies really work well, make the bass hold on tight. Zoom Finesse worms - because these shimmy down like Senkos and catch me a lot of bass and other species when the bite is tough.

I like to describe the water as "green clear" Yesterday it was cloudy green, and the reservoir was high. I couldn't see much over a foot down, if that. In the spring I could describe the stuff on the bottom. It was crystal-green-clear. I fish reservoirs here in the Hampton Roads area. Now when I've fished some very clear water in PA, I used the same stuff. No problems going after smallies, largies, etc. So I don't think there's any negative with the yellow PP at all. And as far as other color (and brand) lines, when I did use them, the main thing was how they handled. Given the use of a leader, I don't think mainline color really matters. And no, not noticed a difference in catch ratio. If I feel there's a visibility issue, I simply lengthen the leader. And I'm using P-Line Floroclear in mist green. Virtually invisible in my waters. And that's comparing it to strait, pure fluoro. Now here I think I do see a difference. I *feel* that the floroclear has been best, and caught the most fish on it (as leader). I know there are folks here who hate the stuff, but I love it and have caught some beasts with it.

I use 10lb PowerPro hi-vis yellow on my spinning setups. Leaders on each, too. I also like the hi-vis orange from Sufix. Have experimented with no leader and blacking out the first 5 feet of line. Caught fish, but still prefer a leader. For one, I can more easily snap the leader if I'm hung up. That way I don't lose any of my braided line, just the leader. As far as the visibility, the older the line, the more the brightness fades. So for the yellow, in some conditions - facing the sun, sun is low, etc., the line can be just as hard to see as any other line. But for most conditions I find it is excellent for watching.

Hey dude, welcome to bassresource!

Nice to have you aboard, Ronnie.

FWIW, I wasn't answering your post, only letting the OP know that I don't experience the same problem you find on your 3000 model. I totally agree with you, to each his own on gear. I only gave my opinion on what I do, and what shapes my gear choice. Wasn't insinuating you were handling your gear wrong (not closing bail, etc.). Sorry if I gave that impression. But I would actually say braid is a reason one can go with a smaller spool/reel. No memory. If I were to go with fluoro or mono only, I'd opt for a larger spool to cut down on line twist.