Darren.

Wow! No better way to christen a new kayak than with a PB! Congrats!

Welcome aboard! Do whatever you want with it I like Z-man the best, but want to try the new Strike King worms at some point. Same "plastic" I believe.

One of the Moderators will chime in soon. They'll be able to help you out here with your question.

Basically, yes. Another tip for when you pull the knot (any) tight is to tug it until the braid discolors a little bit. That's the cinching down and tightening of the braid into the line. I've found doing it this way needs no add of glue like some do. After this I trim the tag ends.

I always use a leader, 6, 8, or 10# are my go-to, but will use 4 and 15 on rare occasions. I'm a proponent of Shin's knot. Have posted videos to it several times here on the forum. Easy to tie, very strong. Also a fan of the uni-to-uni, and variants of the Alberto/mod'd Albright knots. Definitely agree with @J Francho that the knot is the one you can tie well. That is what it boils down to. For me it is ease and speed of tying, as well as simplicity of tying while in my kayak. I don't really believe in one knot being "best" over all the others. Never have problems with the knots I mention, and if I did, it has usually been something I did wrong. Cinch the knots down and give a steady pull. I like to see my braid discolor as it is compressed. FWIW.

Welcome aboard! Good advice above. Let me suggest another option for transport, a purchase that will let you traverse rougher terrain with your new yak. I built a DiY of this, but if I had the money, I'd buy one from them in a heart beat. Solid engineering. http://paddlelogic.com/trailtreker-kayak-carts.html

Interesting weedguard, James. Thanks for sharing. I tie my own using 40# test mono and a cheap fly-tying kit. Have looked at, but passed on buying the wire you're using, though your method makes me want to take a second look. I don't use long-shank hooks for wacky rigging, but this could still work on shorter shanks like the Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse.

Welcome aboard, Jason!

I've been using it for a while now, no real cons found at this point. Has held up to a lot of fish, snags, etc. Has held up extremely well. Quite happy with it thus far.

Does your rod have micro guides? And YZH at #12 is a decent diameter (i.e., large), so could be adding to the issue. Try Shin's knot, it's a bit smaller profile. And get ready for the FG boys to chime in...

Welcome to the forums, Christophe!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Plenty of good suggestions, so I'll just welcome you to the forums, Adam!

Ned is an amazing rig. Keep at it, it can put up numbers. And sometimes Google is better: https://www.google.com/search?q=bassresource.com%3A+Ned+Rig&oq=bassresource.com%3A+Ned+Rig&aqs=chrome..69i57.8876j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Nice! Yeah, the fishing still is in that range down in this area Got a bud who lives up around Hayes, VA and he took me to do some shore fishing along the Chesapeake, and it was truly insane. Striper in the 3-5 pound range all over the creeks up there.

I use my bass gear for striper fishing down here in VA. Some really nice striper to be had, tho the big girls are a lot deeper. I stick to the shorelines and such with my kayak as I don't have scuppers and there's a LOT of boat traffic on the York River. So guys down here really love their bucktail jigs -- with real bucktail. White jigs, white and maybe some chartreuse in the tie. I work them similar to how I'd work a swimming jig. Good luck up there! Got a great striper fishery in the NE.

In general, it is probably one of the best, though for me it has always been variants of GP (chartreuse tail, or GP/Gold flake, etc.). My own experience has been varied, with Watermelon Magic probably atop the list, followed by Junebug.

Welcome aboard!

Never tried a Phenix, but I've recommended the BPS Carbonlite series a number of times (as have others). Very light weight and plenty sensitive. FWIW....

Well, my rule of thumb is to have a little zing (spinning) when I set the hook, not so loose that the hook doesn't penetrate, but not so tight that the line could break (been there done that). As for your casting/spinning thing, thumb for casting, palm for spinning. No issue creating more drag on spinning that way, FWIW.

Welcome aboard!

Dang. Major Bummer. Been there, tho. A few moons back, but with largies. I have always assumed the bass was a PB, and I swear she laughed at me after she spit the hook inches away from the net and dove back into the depths of safety. Still hurts...LOL.

Welcome aboard!

I cut down a 6' St. Croix Premier MLF to 5'9" and it is my go-to Ned setup. The Man himself uses short rods, and inexpensive rods, too. But we all probably fish it differently than he does.