B@ssCrzy

Don't sell yourself short on standing. A lot of the kayaks they are building now are great for standing and you may not feel right now that is very important, but the ability to be able to stand in certain situations is great (i.e. flipping and pitching, longer casts, sight fishing, etc). I have a Jackson Cuda 12 and love the versatility of having a comfortable seat, but also the ability to stand anytime I want. It is an awesome fishing machine. If I were going to buy a kayak there is no way I would buy one that I could not stand up in comfortably. If you are in Indiana there is a fishing tournament on Eagle Creek Res in Indianapolis on April 26th. There is the ability to be able to rent a yak to fish if you don't have one and I believe they have some Jackson's and WS Rides available. Would be a good opportunity for you to try them out to know what you like. PM me if you want more information. Hope you find something you like.

This is a must!! I blew my unit due to this very reason. Cost me $200 to get it fixed.

Nice!! Congrats!! Now the real work begins....rigging the thing the way you like it.

If I were in your position the below links are what I would get if I had to buy new and was in your price range. I would only go sit-on-top if it were me. I like the sit-on-top because it is self-baling. So if any water gets in the boat from catching fish, splash, etc you don't have to worry about it. Also, if you ever fish out in a big lake and you flip a sit-in kayak it is going to be a heck of a time trying to get the water out and you back in it quickly. Whereas a sit-on-top you just flip it over and climb back on. This is especially important if you are going to be fishing water that is 60 degrees or below (which is when some of the best fishing is). That can be a life threatening situation. If I could go used and find a better brand or deal for a higher end price at a discounted rate then I would do that. I think for your situation and what you are wanting to do a kayak is definitely the way to go. You can even buy a bed extender for your hitch to help with transporting the kayak for under $100. Just my two cents.... http://www.basspro.com/Ascend-D10T-SitOnTop-Kayak-Red/Black/product/12102505321113/ or http://www.basspro.com/Ascend-FS12T-SitOnTop-Angler-Kayak-Desert-Storm/product/13110707113412/

The Container Store is another place that sells them.

If I see them they have seen me and I move on....unless it is during the spawn. Then it is game on!!

Use mostly baitcasters myself. Will occasionally use spinning reels, but not very often.

I would say Gander Mountain for sure....at least in my neck of the woods.

Nice...Congrats...

So sorry to hear. My thoughts and prayers go out to you Mark and your family.

Color and lines of that fish are great. Nice looking fish!! It is fun for sure. Love my power boat, but love having a kayak as well. Will see how it goes after having a kayak for a full season, but I have seriously thought about selling my power boat to buy a "peddle" yak because they are so great. Looking forward to getting out on it this weekend for the first time this year. Congrats on getting the first slime on your boat.

When I saw that I was ecstatic!!! About 20 min from me!!! Great for the community and great for outdoorsman in this area. Feel bad for Greenwood that they lost out due to the bad economy in 2008, but definitely like this new location better!!

That is kind of up to you with what you are comfortable with. I am comfortable with reeling the leader knot up into my rod tips, but some guys say that is a big no no because you can damage the guides with the knot. I have not found that to be the case and so I like to have a 6-7' leader so that I don't have to re-tie the leader knot very much. You definitely don't want it to be so long that the knot gets into the reels spool or any part of the reel. I can go all day or even a couple of days without having to change the leader after changing out different baits, lures, cutting off nicked line, etc. The shortest I go is 1.5-2' because I like the "invisibility" factor of mono, co-poly, etc. I use the modified albrecht knot to join my lines. It is a very strong knot and is pretty small when tightened down and will even get through my micro guides with no problems. Get the app Knot Wars if you can on your smartphone and it can show you how to tie it.

Senko....can't stand fishing it and when I do I don't catch much. My 5 yr old son catches more than I do on it.

Bingo....only thing I would add would be to use a leader of whatever diameter the situation demands. If your throwing cranks use mono leader, jigs fluorocarbon, etc. Then your braid will last forever. This is what I do and have been very happy with it.

For my pond fishing the majority of my fish are caught right up by the bank. I cast parallel to the bank so that 85% of my casts are literally within inches to 5ft off the bank. I then cast a few till I am about 10 ft off the bank with my cast and then move up to where my lure was last hitting the water. Occasionally I will cast one out deep and work it back. The fish in my avatar was caught by casting about 2 ft off the bank and I saw the swirl of it coming toward the lure where it had it's nose buried 6" from the bank. The pond was a pond like you describe, bowl shaped, with no cover whatsoever. One end has big drainage pipes that come in and the bass will sometimes get right up into the pipe in water that is only about 8 inches. The other areas I focus on are corners. I cast diagonal across the corner and most of the time try and hit the bank then slowly pull the lure into the water. I have caught a lot of fish doing that. In ponds where there is no major structure or cover, covering lots of water is the ticket for me. I have read the senko thread previously mentioned "guaranteeing" you to catch some fish and it has never worked for me. I will be honest after reading that thread I went out an bought a bunch of senkos and caught maybe 1 fish. I then decided to go out and buy some Stanley Ribbits....bingo!! Burning those in along the bank really showed me where the fish are and were. Also love the swimjig in ponds. Because I cast along the bank I have to be stealthy in my approach and if I have people walking along the side then it is going to mess up my fishing. I always keep my kids behind me and I cast in front and just keep moving forward. If someone is walking along the edge or fishing close I don't even bother to fish that area. Takes me about an hour to cover the pond and normally I have caught 4-5 fish, some being dinks, and others good sized ones. If there are any fountains in the pond I like to cast past them and then burn something as close to them as I can, but beware if your line goes over the fountain you could lose it. I am sure there are some fish I am missing because I am covering a lot of water, but it works for me and I have fun moving around. Hope this helps.

Lew's Speed Spool is a good beginner reel. Actually talked my father into buying one for his first baitcaster and he loves it. I have tried it out and do like it. As far as the rod is concerned if you can afford another $40-$50 a Powell Diesel or Shimano Sellus would be good rods to pair with it. Like the others said I would go with at least a 7'. Also, if you crank (retrieve) with your left hand make sure you get the baitcaster that allows you to also crank with your left hand. Don't let him talk you into switching hands. It is not necessary to do that. Yeah you can get used to it, but there is no reason for it. At least in my opinion. Sounds like your on the right track with getting started. I would suggest spooling it up with braid and then using a leader of mono of fluoro depending on the situation you are fishing. If you do that you will be able to use that rig for all the applications you mentioned and then some. Good luck.

I have not found one company that has satisfied me completely at the price point ($100) I want so I keep looking at different brands and models. Normally I just find something on sale for a higher price point and then it spoils me for the $100 price point. Just bought a Denali Jadewood for $100 so we will see how that goes.

Had my all last summer and never ran out of juice. Best investment I have made so far!!! Will never go back. I don't even have i-pilot yet, just auto pilot and it is still that good. Love it.

Do you have multiple kayaks you are carrying? If you are only carrying one kayak the best thing to do is just strap it to the cross bars with no "kayak carrier." I know that is what a lot of people do and you don't have any added cost and don't have to remove anything when you get home to put it in the garage.

I don't feel that you are going to get any stretch at all from 2' of fluoro or mono or at least any that will affect the lure staying in the fishes mouth. So I would just pick whichever you are more comfortable with. For my treble hook fishing I always use full mono, but then braid with a leader for everything else.

Besides just enjoying nature that God created....I would like to learn to fish a jig slow (learned the swim jig last year) and catch some fish away from the bank.

No way!!! I can't believe they are still selling those!! Would like to know how much they have made selling that thing over the years. If my grandma ever saw that commercial it would surely be under the Christmas tree for me this year....love my grandma.

x2

I think the issues come from what RipSomeLips touched on which is portability/transport. When I bought my kayak I never even thought about a canoe because I knew I would be fishing solo most of the time and so loading and unloading would not be very easy with a canoe. Car topping anything close to 15 ft (minimum) and around 80 lbs was not an option. I know there are kayaks out there that weigh that much, but something that big is just not something I was looking for. Plus, I like the security of knowing that if I am out in the middle of the lake and I flip my SOT yak I can immediately flip it over and get back on. Not so with a canoe. Good luck with a self rescue if you flip one of those.