Jay Ell Gee

I work with marine electronics for a living. Shoot me a pm and maybe I can help you narrow it down a bit more.

My favorite part about this thread is that there are about ten different answers. This is why the tackle industry does so well!

Damiki D Pop 70 for me. They walk the dog like a champ and have a good spitting action. Cast like a bullet as well!

I throw the new BPS "nitro" squarebill as well as the shadallac. The nitro squarebill is pretty serious quality for the money.

By far my favorite spinning rod. 15 lb super 8 slick power pro turns it into a fluke/senko skipping MACHINE! I really love that rod.

Welcome to BR! Do the exact opposite of any fishing advice I provide and your bass fishing career will flourish in no time!

If I had to pick an overall kayak that could be fished from comfortably, have the feeling of stability and safety that my girlfriend wanted and SAFELY store delicate, expensive camera equipment, I would pick the Native Ultimate. A 12ft version would be under 60 lbs, has a full seat (so nice to have on long days), pontoon like hull indentations on both sides (very stable sitting, even standing) and has higher gunwales like a canoe. In many ways, it's very similar to a canoe. However, the keel and hull design are more like a kayak, as is the speed and stability. Trust me, if you kick a piece of electronics overboard in a SOT, it may be gone forever. In the Ultimate, you can just lay your dry box on the floor. Want to bring an ice chest? Bring it. Tent? Easy. It has tons of storage and feels extremely safe at all times. The biggest issue with them (to some, not to me) is that they are not self bailing like SOT's with scuppers. However, I have had mine in open bays in 30+ mph winds with white caps and never once felt unsafe. It's an absolute deal when it comes to stability, speed, and cargo storage. I'm 6'2 and have the 14.5 model. I carry four+ rods, a soft sides cooler for fish and drinks, tackle box, etc and still have room to spare. I regularly float rivers and fish saltwater marshes/bays. Give them a look. They are great little boats.

Not for me, no. I am probably in with the crowd that doesn't get to fish as often as I would like. When I do get to fish, I make sure to use the tools at my disposal to increase my chances of catching fish while I am out there. Its just another tool in the toolbox. I could purposely fish unproductive water all day and scent would never make a difference. However, I choose to use my time wisely and fish productive water. The same concept follows with scent. If I think it will help me boat a few more fish effectively, I'll gladly try it. I don't see it as a game changer, but the concept behind it is sound. I will admit that there were days that I have had to use live bait for saltwater fishing, but am happy to say that I have always bass fished with artificials. In regards to it seeming more like bait... I have never encountered a type of live bait that smelled of garlic or coffee.

I personally use MegaStrike because it can be applied to the lure as a paste and will stay on for a decent amount of time. I used to use Ribbits but I have switched completely to the 42 Tackle Co. "42 Toad." By far the best hookup on any frog that I have ever used. Don't get me wrong, topwater toad style lures have their days where you just can't seem to hook up to save your life. All depends on how the fish want it that day. However, a good pause before the hookset is crucial. I believe that the scent helps these fish hold onto the frog during that stall.

It works very well. I have definitely noticed an increase in hookups. I honestly believe that they hold onto the frogs better, especially when using toad style lures.

Megastrike Original.

It should be available on Tackle Warehouse. While you are ordering it, I would recommend you order some E2 shaky head jigs. You'll never use another shaky head again!

Yes. I picked up a tube of megastrike original when I ordered some shaky heads from my Bobby last fall. I started using it and noticed far more fish would run with the lure after striking. My personal best bass (avatar pic) hit a wacky senko on the fall. I was using a St. Croix Legend Xtreme 6'10 M/XF with 20 lb PowerPro... no doubt that it is a sensitive setup. I STILL never felt the hit and saw zero line tick. My line started moving and I set the other way. I am convinced that megastrike is the reason I caught my PB. It also made a big difference for me in winter. It definitely helped me pick up more bass on jigs and shaky heads throughout the winter. While I have you in this thread Mr. Bobby, have you noticed any issue with the Megastrike as it softens throughout the day on the boat and firming up when stored inside? This obviously happens every time I fish, but it has never seemed to be an issue. I megastrike scent any soft plastic that is unscented and even some hard baits. 11 months in and I still have over half a tube.

So a man that probably fishes 300 days a year decides to take a seven day vacation and fish 6 of those? You are my hero Captain Shane. Those are some great fish! By the way, huge fan of the YouTube channel. I don't subscribe simply because I don't have a YouTube account. Regardless, I have watched your vids over and over. The bank fishing videos are always entertaining. I used to wonder how you attracted so many alligators until I got a kayak and starting fishing loud topwaters like ribbits in alligator infested areas. Those guys sure like loud topwaters. My girlfriend wants to go to Florida for a Disney World trip in the next year or so. It's her favorite place on the planet. I told her that I would go if we can set aside one day to go fish with Capt. Shane. She gave me a very puzzled look but politely approved. She even agreed to let me bring the kayak and leave it in the hotel room in case a quick trip opportunity comes up. What a gal!

If your creative screen name is any indication, should I guess that you are walking these lures from a 'yak? I fish a native ultimate 14.5 and am finally getting comfortable standing in it. However, I really had to adjust to walking the dog from a sitting position when moving from a bass boat to a kayak. I found that with the rod tip up, you need a LOT more slack in your line than when standing. However, if you can walk a spook, you can walk a Sammy. Start with one twitch. Observe how far the lure glides. As its momentum is ending, twitch again. The "cadence" varies depending on the length that each type of lure "glides." Personally, I can't walk a skitter walk to save my dang life. My all time favorite walk the dog topwater is the Little Dummy version of the Top Dog made by Texas Tackle Factory (TTF). It's so easy to walk that it's borderline laughable. Academy has them on their clearance aisle around here, I wiped out both stores in my favorite color. My second favorite walking lure is actually a popper, the Damiki D Pop 70. It'll walk all day just like a spook. Awesome little baits. I actually have one tied on for the morning. Just pay attention and make sure to change the Sammy's direction just as it's losing its forward momentum. Most importantly, go catch a ton of bass and be safe out there while you do it, and then post a report with plenty of pictures!

Let me know how it works. It definitely seems to help me. I make it a point to toss horizontal presentations and stay shallow. Good luck!

I read somewhere a long time ago that the rain cools and oxygenates the water. In response to this, I have heard that your bass hang a few inches to a few feet under the surface. Try throwing some reaction topwaters, such as toads, buzzbaits and poppers. I would then try to slow roll a squarebill a little under the surface, maybe a swimbait, fluke, etc. it's always proven to be a solid tactic for me. Good luck!

I would also like to recommend looking into a Native Ultimate 14.5 or 16 tandem, though it really only accommodates two. It's still an excellent choice, though.

Congrats on the new PB man! What an awesome day... Two fish north of 5 lbs. Sounds like a great day indeed. I have gotten into kayak fishing pretty heavily in the last 6 months and have already topped my previous largemouth and redfish PB from it. I then gave that one to the girlfriend and got a Native Ultimate 14.5 so now I need to top them again! It never ends! It's a good thing that fishing from the kayak is so much cheaper. Nothing but gas in the truck and launch fees... And a couple thousand dollars in rods and tackle! Haha. It looks to me that you have a sit in kayak but your dog has a sit on top! How cool is that?

I brought plenty of paddle tails just in case, and I'm glad I did. Spinnerbaits picked up a few, squarebill got zero love. We fished heavily shaded areas and were skipping wacky rigs under large tree overhangs and under docks. However, the wind was terrible (drifted our baits quickly, making weightless frustrating) so I tied on a 3.8 inch Keitech Swing Impace Fat Shad in sight flash on a 3/0 weighted gammy swimbait hook and began skipping that under docks and overhangs, and that was the ticket. We could roll the baits out quickly even in current and still produced fish. Nothing huge, but I know good ones are in there. I will be back at daylight soon. We also found a huge matted duckweed field and drug hollow bodies across and got a few strikes that way. Fun stuff! Thanks again for the suggestions all. I'm glad someone else learned some things too.

Good evening everyone. A good buddy of mine and I are taking the kayaks out in the morning to a SHALLOW water "spillway" system. Problem is, he has to drop his kids off at school for 7 a.m. so we probably won't be getting out on the water until 9 a.m. That's right, 9 a.m. Now, when I define this area as "shallow," I mean 2-3 feet deep in most areas. While there is a "lake" in this system, it is a serious paddle, has almost zero shade to fish, and is only 3-4 feet deep, so I suppose I will be ruling that out. What we do have available are many small canals with downed timber, some shaded bridges, as well as a long line of large docks on the east side of a larger canal near the launch. The water is fairly stained year 'round. I guess my question here is what types of areas should we focus on patterning in such conditions? My initial thought is to skip docks. Sitting at the waterline in SOT kayaks makes that very simple. I'll probably toss flukes and senkos under docks to see what the slow fall produces. 20lb braid on a spinning setup will be the weapon of choice. This place is notorious for it's white spinnerbait bite, so that is getting a dedicated setup regardless. I will also be bringing along the hollow body frog rod to drag over heavy cover, if I find any. I simply can't find myself leaving the frog rod at home. I'll probably bring one more rod along for a typical texas rig. My last setup, and this is going to just be an experiment, would be to use squarebill cranks to bump dock legs and timber. Does anyone have any luck on cranks in the dead of summer, even shallow? I'll probably be tossing the spinnerbaits under the docks as well. Please understand that this is a VERY shallow water system and deep water fishing is not really possible. In this type of scenario, is targeting shade probably going to be the weapon of choice? I really hate missing the topwater frog/buzzbait bite, but we are going to try to fish regardless and put in some hard work to find the big bass that call this shallow system home. Two people have already told us to stay home, but hey, you have to fish when you can... right? Thanks for the heads up everyone. I hope to be back with a decent report! Joshua

There are almost 200 reviews on the bass pro website. http://m.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-CarbonLite-Trigger-Rods/product/10205012/ They are Bass Pro's top selling rod. They must have a few fans for sure!

I am a huge fan of prop baits and that thing is just too cool! Sign me up for one in Louisiana Shad please!

It's also slow in the water. If you just plan on pond fishing, no big deal. I do regular trips in the marsh and lakes than easily top 7-9 miles of paddling a day. There is no way on God's green earth that I would do that in the 128t. Trust me, I wanted one REALLY badly until the minute I paddled it. Heck, I even get a huge discount because I work for BPS. Even with my discount, I don't think I would buy one. But again, if you aren't paddling far, no big deal. It would serve you well.

I have quite a bit of seat time in the FS128t. I don't own one, but have been giving my buddies a good testing the last few months. The trolling motor idea isn't bad. Keep in mind that while the boat does sit high, it also paddles like a barge. You won't want to do any 5+ mile round trips in that bad boy. Carrying the yak by yourself is very demanding. A cart is a MUST. Car topping it would also be a job, but tossing it in the back of my long bed 4wd TRD Tacoma was simple. I'll say it like this... I really like the 128t when you get to your fishing destination and start casting. Everything else, from loading, launching, paddling long distances, and portaging, I do not. Just depends on what kind of put-ins and trips you will be making.