Bluebasser86

I don't have as much as it sounds like I have when my wife is describing my tackle collection to other people.

I'll fish a spinning rod while I'm wearing a pink shirt ? My biggest limit in my kayak tournaments this season was caught 100% on spinning gear (94" on Ned rig and Slider). Call it a fairy wand, sissy stick, whatever, I guess I'm not manly enough to understand the desire to refuse to adapt and get beat but it does seem to be a real thing.

Yes, it's the orange G2. I put 2 small screws into the aluminum handle through the PVC to help sturdy the handle, but that was after the handle was coated in JB Weld and allowed to set up for 24 hours. I'm not sure the expanding foam inside the handle was really needed. Since the hoop is covered in foam, I think it still would have floated, but it doesn't hurt and doesn't add much weight either and adds some rigidity to the handle to help avoid it getting smashed.

South Africa has a very good largemouth bass population as well.

Regular TRDs and TRD craws both work. They make the Batwingz that is a very good jig trailer also and now have the baby goat that is a good trailer.

I've been meaning to do this for awhile. I've got one of the floating G2 nets I got from Academy that I really like for my kayak, but the handle is awfully short. Having to pause the fight to reach for my net has cost me a few fish that I can very clearly remember from this season. I've seen people with modifications to them, I finally got around to doing it to mine. Now it's got a 2' PVC handle, filled with expanding foam, wrapped in the same grip tape made for golf clubs and tennis rackets. No more stretching to reach for it during the fight. Previously the handle would reach about to the locking point for my kayaks pedals (the first dark tape spot on the handle closest to the net).

If I remember correctly, they cast like a potato chip. I can remember having some, can't remember catching anything except white bass trolling them.

I'm really looking forward to trying these things out myself if I can get ahold of some.

Wind is almost a constant issue here and I kayak fished a lot last year. Shorter cast, a heavier jig, good fluorocarbon line, all help detect bites in wind. I carry an anchor, as well as brush grips to so I can remain relatively stationary when targeting likely fish holding areas. Having a quick trigger finger helps me also. Better to swing on nothing than play around too long decided if something is or isn't a fish and pull it away from one.

Bass can be very selective. I've seen it enough times where I make a cast at a target with 1 bait, make the same cast with a similar bait, but catch a fish. The OP's example is one I've seen many times. Squarebills are not fish catchers for me except in very select occasions. 9 out of 10 situations, a bladed jig is going to get more bites and catch more fish than a squarebill for me even if I fish similar colors in the same places. I don't know why, that's just how it is. Some days I can flip a jig into a laydown and get bit and they'll ignore a beaver, other days it's the other way around. One lake I fish, they love a buzzbait, but ignore a whopper plopper. Another I fish, they'll hammer a plopper but barely touch a buzzbait. Who knows why they do it.

I also like a fast reel, an 8.1:1 on a 7' 4" H/F Falcon Bucoo SR to be exact.

If your friends are catching 5 pound smallmouth out of this quarry pond, I'd ask them what they're doing. Obviously the fish aren't starving if they're able to grow to 5 pounds. Playing "bucket biologist", is rarely the answer to finding the right balance to growing bigger fish. You might see if there's any programs offered through the DNR or local colleges that will check the health of your water and the fish in it.

Do you mean to keep them from sticking? The Ticklerz doesn't have that problem, I don't think it would do anything for the TRD Tubez.

Carp and it's not even close

Get the Zman TRD TicklerZ over their TRD Tubez. The material is so sticky that the tentacles just stay stuck together with those tiny tubes and do nothing. The Ticklerz only has 4 thicker arms that don't stick together. I caught a couple of my biggest smallmouth of the year on the purple death Ticklerz.

Same here and it brings out a lot more people. Most of my best winter days have been on the days when the weather was less than comfortable. The days are short and those temps might effect the surface temps a degree?

I do believe I'd be doing some ice fishing if I lived where it was an option. We get the bad mix of too thick to break through with the boat, but not thick enough to walk on type ice on our lakes.

That sucks that kid has to go through that. I always feel terrible for kids in bad situations. One of my biggest frustrations as a LEO is the pride that young kids get in causing trouble. They learned that behavior from people around them, it was taught to them, not born into them. Some of them are very smart kids, probably could really be something in the right situation, but will likely never be given.

A slinky weight is your best option to avoid snags in that case. You can also make your own dragging weights. I made myself about a dozen this summer for dragging for catfishing and I haven't lost one yet.

Are you dragging it or staying stationary?

Dobyn's Fury 795 or 806, or Okuma Guide Select are both good rods in that price range. Which model kind of depends on how big of baits you plan on fishing.

I've caught a lot of bass on flies. I use to do it much more often than I do now. It's a different challenge, I wouldn't call it relaxing though. There's a lot of concentration to detail required with the cast and controlling the line on the water and around your feet, then the process of the fight is a lot different.

The video of pregame practice kicks was pretty telling. Without a solid running game, those kind of conditions were going to be a huge hurdle to overcome, almost like having a couple extra defenders on the field, not that BB needs extra players on the field to shut offenses down.

Welcome!

So you've aged but haven't actually grown up? It's fishing, it's not that serious. Bringing violence into what may have been a simple act of ignorance on another person (yes, firing any object at another person from a slingshot is an act of violence and could be charged as such), is a terrible idea and in no way endorsed, suggested, or allowed here. OP, sorry you had to go through your situation, but I think we've run our course here. LOCKDOWN!!