Bluebasser86

Swing through Kansas and I'll put you on some dinks and ugly lakes ?

I really like the crankbait rods that St. Croix makes. You can get a couple around your price range, either in the Bass X line up; https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/St_Croix_Bass_X_Casting_Rods/descpage-TCVB.html?from=basres Or the Mojo; https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/St_Croix_Mojo_Bass_Trigon_Casting_Rods/descpage-CMBBC.html?from=basres

I find most of my ploppers in trees and usually attached to very light line. I'm assuming they'd never fished on much and aren't use to a lure that cast as far as they do and ended up in the tree instead of the water. The ones I find in the water also tend to have light line tied to them so possibly they got bit by a good fish and just broke off and the fish worked the bait free.

Not all sticks are the same size, and you never know when you need it for something else, so a little pack like this is great to carry in the boat. https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/plugs-terminals-connectors/heat-shrink-tubing/42-piece-marine-heat-shrink-tubing-67598.html

A friend of mine was in dire need of a heart transplant with his failing fast several years ago. I'm not sure who it was that caught the moment he called his wife to let her know they had a transplant for him but you'd be a cold human being to not get emotional watching it. He's one of the nicest people you could meet and knows each day he gets is a gift. Now most of the stuff he has to choose a user name for has a 745 in it somewhere because that was what heart transplant number he was.

I've got a couple big water jugs that are probably half gallon each I fill with ice and water. If it's not as hot I might just toss some bottled water in but not a fan of drinking hot water so that's only the cooler months.

Make sure you get your cap screwed down right after you blow your tube up. I didn't once and it's not until you're on the water and the sides start sagging that you realize it.

Nose hooked with a screwlock and I put heat-shrink tubing over the eye of the screwlock to keep the hook in place.

Bass Pro Shops Toyota Shell

Welcome!

Welcome!

Sounds like a normal day in the office.

I use both casting and spinning for jerkbaits and have a dedicated "spin cranking", rod.

Had another kayak tournament this past weekend at one of my favorite smallmouth lakes. Wasn't sure what to expect, lake was 4' high and dirty, not great smallmouth conditions. I tried for about an hour in prefishing to fish for largemouth and hated every second of it, so I went smallmouth fishing. 2 hours later, I was done prefishing. I was going to fish the sides of flooded boat ramps where they transitioned from concrete to chunk rock. They seemed to be schooling in large numbers on them for some reason. Tournament morning I started at the state park ramp because I'd caught some fish in the surrounding area as well as the ramp. My first few cast netted 2 sauger and a crappie, not what I'd hoped for. About 15 minutes in, I finally caught a 15.5" smallie and next cast a 15.25" fish. Not the fish I needed, but better than nothing. After about 30 minutes and only managing to lose 1 more fish, I started to drift across the ramp and fishing my Ned rig really slowly down the ramp. I thought I hit a rock but my rod tip slowly started to bend. An angry smallie went airborne immediately but the hook held and I scooped a 19 incher. I fished the other side of the ramp but couldn't get anything off it for some reason. I peddled to a bank I'd caught a couple in practice but another kayak was parked there. I moved down from him a little ways and caught another 15.25" fish my first cast. Nothing else came from that bank so I went back to the ramp. I was already starting to feel like I was at the wrong ramp. There was so many other anglers at this one. I went back to the ramp and fired a long cast and picked off another 15.5" fish. I tried for another half hour to get bit again but nothing was happening, so I threw the kayak in the truck and moved to the other ramp. I was really happy to find only 1 other kayak at that ramp and they were a long way from where I was going to fish. Again, I started with a small walleye, but then the next hour I went on a tear of smallmouth catching. It seemed I was constantly catching fish every couple cast, but I was only culling small amounts. I got a 16.25", 16.5", 16.75" and had a 17.25" literally almost jump into my net laying on the front of my kayak. It really felt like a matter of time before a bigger one happened, and then a truck pulled into the parking lot and out jumped 3 people. All 3 came straight down the bank, and for the next hour I was dodging bobbers and crappie jigs, untangling lines, doing everything I could to be nice and keep my cool, but it was more than I could take, I loaded up and left to the ramp where I'd camped at down the lake. I had caught a couple nice smallmouth there, including a 19.5" fish from the bank, and it's one of my favorite big fish areas normally, but it also was even dirtier than the rest of the lake. They'd released a ton of water overnight and with it being in a shallower part of the lake, I think the fish backed off, I only caught 2 more small bass the rest of the day. I had a heartbreak drum and back to back channel cats in the last 30 minutes that were all big disappointments. Despite the difficulties, I managed to pull out a 3rd place finish and my 19" smallmouth was 2nd big bass of the day.

Had a kayak tournament this past weekend and got down to the lake Thursday night, camping Thursday and Friday night, tournament was Saturday. Thursday I walked down to the ramp and made some cast around there. Seemed like there was a bunch of fish right around the ramp. Caught several crappie, a few white bass, and a handful of small walleye and sauger, all on the same Ned rig. As usual, I'd brought my catfish rods with me so I decided to sit out and enjoy the nice night for a few hours. Thanks to one of the white bass I'd caught, I managed my first ever blue cat I'd caught from the lake. It wasn't a monster, but it sure was fun. About an inch shy of "keeper" sized by my improvised measuring board (first board was 26" so 8" added to it put me at 34", have to be 35" to be a keeper). Had another screaming run but managed to miss it somehow. Making a weekend trip with the family next weekend to one of the best blue cat lakes in the country. Hoping to put my boys on a whole bunch of them.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Oh yeah, no issues there.

yes, it has rattles, another difference between it and most flat sided baits.

I use a 6' 9" H/F Hammer Micro. I've tried a lot of rods for them, this has been by far the best for the job.

I got a pair of Fiskers kids scissors that cut braid like nothing on sale for $.99 after the big school sales are over. WalMart also sell kitchen shears for $1 that cut braid (and lots of other things), very well and don't hurt to replace when I drop them in the lake.

I had these but they dried out so fast I never got to use them ?‍♂️

My PB swimbait fish came from a pond about that size, maybe 6' deep in the deepest portion. It was 6lbs even on a 7" Slammer. Never underestimate those tiny ponds because those fish grow while everyone ignores them for bigger lakes.

You've never seen one in person then. It's taller, thinner, shorter, the bill is different and they wiggle harder than the OG Slim does. The slim is wood, the CM is plastic, so basically they're both flatsided cranks and that's where the similarities end.

Found a Maverick colored Choppo 105 this past week. 2 trips in a row I found a plopper style bait now.