WookieeJedi

I would certainly give shad imitators a try. If the bass are right up in the weeds feeding on the shad, a fluke or slug type lure would stay fairly weedless and let you fish right in the cover. Silver minnow spoons do a fair job as well. Don't get too discouraged, I got skunked on my home lake last week and I have been fishing that water for 30 years. They call it fishing for a reason.

Score: Speed 2, Rage 0 I'm a little late getting this going, I have been working on a new lure and sort of ignoring the craws. I'll keep this updated until deer season.

Spinnerbaits for me.

If I get another, it will be the Coosa. Your other two choices won't likely disappoint, either. Those are all nice rides.

Cabela's Classic 6'6" M. They are light, sensitve, durable and cheap. I use a M action, but some folks like a MH. The M action gives me less hang-ups and I seem to fish cleaner with it.

^That.^

That's how we do it in the Dirty South!

I have long been a jig fisher, but in the last few years football jigs, swim jigs, scroungers and spot removers have made a huge difference for me. I always have some kind of jig tied on.

I put on a skirt with double the strands and then trim the front shorter than the rear, it keeps the lure on top at a slower speed, and makes the target look bigger.

I don't fish for Smallmouth very often, but I have had a lot of luck with the Luhr-Jensen Hotlips in the brown craw/orange. It worked so well, it felt like cheating, and generated a lot of maniacal laughter.

They don't all spawn within 2 months, the species would be long gone by now. If we get weird temperatures (like this year) you can start catching spawning fish in December and January, and can continue to get some spawning fish up into April and June. The early and late waves of spawning fish are not as numerous as the right-on-timers. I will probably go out on this next moon phase and catch a few up shallow on my way to the channel. Sometimes you get a nice surprise.

Chrome/Blue with T. Gold a close second. RatLTrap for a faster fall, and Spot for slower fall.

For current, I use a 8# cylindrical window weight as an anchor. I lower it down, then pick it up a couple of feet and drop it straight down. If I get pushed too hard, the weight topples over and drags. The shape keeps it from snagging.

I would use a minimum of 30# braid, with a heavy to medium heavy rod at least 6'6" long (7'6" is better), and a baitcasting reel with a fast retrieve (6.5:1 or better). The braid will cut thru weeds better than other line, the longer heavy rod is for leverage, and the high-speed reel will help get the fish out quickly.

I saw one hanging out near a weedline last week. It was the biggest one I have ever seen, I would have guessed him at 15 or more. I tried to get him to bite, but he wasn't having it. I thought maybe I could get a state record, but when I came home and looked it up, our record is over 20. No way he was that big. It still would have been fun, though.

A striper hung both trebles of a pencil popper in the palm of my hand while he was still on and thrashing.

Once I saw a gator up in someone's fenced back yard. I was going to put ashore to tell them, but before I could do it, I heard a lady calling, "Fifi! Fifi!" She was calling her little dog. The dog wasn't gonna show...

I make about a 2 hour drive into Arkansas to catch trout. They are delicious and I can usually limit out in less than an hour. The limit is 5, but I take 3 kids with me, and they all catch fish. I also use the trout to train my kids on detecting a strike, we don't use bobbers. Trout have other uses too, when they stock them in the Ouachita below the dam on Lake Catherine, the stripers go nuts for them.

Got a 7+ last year, and could have sworn it was moss hung up on the wacky rig. Then it went to the left, just a little.

I used the pork rind trailers back in the day when soft plastics lost action in cold water. New soft plastics are much better, I don't use the pork trailers anymore. For craw trailers, I have been using Speed Craws. I bought some Rage Craws recently, and will pit them against the Speed Craws. I am keeping score, and will post my results here when I have something to report. I have been working on a new lure, so the craws have been getting neglected.

Lots of good tips on here so far, my only addition would be to practice not only boat control, but silent boat control. One of the advantages of the kayak is it's silence. I keep my gear under control, and switch to a short canoe paddle for fishing. That long double is too easy to bang around. Also, take the boat out in shallow water and flip it over. Practice getting back in until you can almost do it in your sleep. A little prep in 78 degree water can save you some time in 40 degree water.

They tend to miss the frog a lot. Sometimes, I think they are just smacking it out of anger. I had a few good frog bite days a few weeks ago, and another member asked me what my strike to hook-up ratio was. It was at least 10 to 1. A lot of action, but not so many hook-ups per strike. usually, if I get one to take a swing, he will hit it again. Sometimes immediately, sometimes I need to move off for a few minutes, but eventually the fish will make solid contact. For me, it is the most exciting ways to fish. Many times you see the fish come after your lure from 20 feet away, only to have him blow it up 5 times before you get the frog back. Just try your best to wait until you get a solid tug before dropping the hammer. A good frog bite is a gift from God.

Keep in mind, that bucket fisherman's motivation for fishing. He doesn't have a boat, probably because he can't afford one. Fishing is his hobby of choice because it produces food for him and his family. He is fishing for the original reason that any human started fishing: peace, quiet, and food. I used to catch gar down at the spillway of the lake where I used to live. I started doing it for fun, and gave all my fish away to other fishers there on the bank. You could tell that for some of them, it really made a difference in their daily lives. A 10 pund gar will definitely help feed a family. After a while, it wasn't just for fun. When folks would see me come down, they would send one of their kids over to keep me company. Sometimes I had 5 kids sitting there waiting for me to deliver meat. I got to where I felt a little guilty if I didn't go down there at least once a week. No gar were released.

I had a fish wrap me around some standing timber in about 20 feet of water. It was the only pencil popper I had left in the boat, so I went down after it. I think being 18 had something to do with the decision.

Catfish, carp, turtles, and alligators.