Jay Ell Gee

Can't forget the butt spray!

How deep was the fish caught? 1-2 ft (under shaded mat) Did the lure contain rattles or have hinges? No (Wacky Rigged Strike King Shim-e Stick) Was the lure a natural color (brown, green) or was it an unnatural color (chartreuse, orange)? Natural (Green Pumpkin/Red Flake) If possible, what moon phase was your PB caught during? Third Quarter

Mr. Kevin, I like your style.

I skip only with a spinning reel, as I'm not talented enough to skip with a baitcaster. That setup is a 6'8 M/XF St. Croix Mojo Bass Wacky Rod, a 2500 Shimano Sahara and 20lb PowerPro.

I was just responding to the gimmick statement. No harm meant. I agree that swimming jigs through open water can be done well with a brush jig. However, I fish a LOT of shallow water full of vegetation so the swim jig comes through much easier. In fact, in usually resorting to a swim jig when the cover I am fishing is too thick for a spinnerbait.

If you say so, boss. I really can't begin to guess on the rolling unless the trailer isn't aligned and you are simply burning it too fast. If I am not mistaken, Our resident bass genocide agent (Mr. Kent, aka RoadWarrior) uses that exact trailer. Make sure that the wide body is rigged perfectly straight up and down, it's tall and wide so may push water and roll of it isn't centered. Anything rage on the back of a swim jig is sure to get bit.

6'10 M/XF St. Croix Legend Xtreme Shimano Chronarch 50e 20lb PowerPro SuperSlick or 12lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid Gamakatsu 4/0 Or 5/0 EWG Never had a fish hit it as a topwater, but I prefer to let them fall near structure and slowly twitch it under water.

I have one with a Chronarch 200DSV with 50lb PowerPro super slick on it. I throw frogs and pitch with it. Good rod for the price!

Great fish!!! Congratulations! I actually just caught my new PB Tuesday on a strike king shim-e stick and a 2/0 owner weedless wacky hook. I love those worms.

With all due respect... You won't get a lot of answers to this because with just a few seconds of research you can find hundreds of threads on this. Start by reading the summer articles here: http://www.bassresource.com/seasonal-fishing-articles/ I throw frogs almost exclusively as summer topwaters. When the water really heats up I opt for SLOW falling plastic presentations such as senkos. I don't fish reservoirs so my fish can only go so deep.

This. Or my method, which is 20lb braid to a fluoro leader. Set on the first tick.

But seriously. Around here, we don't have smallmouth. Our little current dwelling spotted bass are quite tenacious. Honestly, after beginning to target redfish in the marsh, I was beginning to lose my appreciation of the bulldogging of a largemouth bass. I did manage to catch my PB largemouth of 6.54 lbs Tuesday, though. She gave me some faith in the fighting ability of a bass!

I read an article a while back in our Sunday paper's sportsman section about the local DNR doing shock studies. The DNR shocked up a large spooted bass which proceeded to ticket them, revoked their fishing licenses (permanently), and even seized their boat for shocking without a spooted bass tag. They claimed to know nothing about the fabled spooted bass, but were told that ignorance is no excuse. Serves them right.

You are off to a good start by purchasing a dual beam sonar. They have a lot of versatility. On my kayak, I have a Humminbird set up being run by a small 12v battery that most people use to run automatic deer feeders. It is charged by a small charging kit that in total cost about $45. Using this battery, I will typically get about 16 hours of run time from the Humminbird before the battery needs a charge. As for the install, I HIGHLY recommend Marine Goop. It is a very good agent for setting a transducer down onto the hull.. Your main priorities are making sure that the transducer is facing the proper way (you would see on the transducer that it has a spot to attach the bracket that would otherwise secure it to the transom/trolling motor mount, that needs to face forward,) set the transducer as level as possible, and to try to get out any air bubbles that you can in the goop. Sonar can't pass through air, so air bubbles are a bad thing. If you want, you could surround the transducer with a foam block or something and secure it down as well. This would keep things on the inside of the kayak from bumping the transducer and eventually undoing your install. As for the battery, I cut a large pool noodle in half and sandwiched it in between them, then sandwiched the pool noodle into the narrow spot inside the kayak that the dash between my legs is molded. In your case, you could probably get a small Plano-type waterproof container, secure it to the bottom (your choice in methods) and run the power wire out of that. I don't waterproof mine, but it is never a bad idea. Here are some links to the battery and the charger I was describing. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM. I install and tune these on a regular basis. Battery (12v/7.5amp): http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Rechargeable-Batteries/product/49382/ Battery Charger: http://www.basspro.com/6V/12V-Battery-Charger/product/49377/ Best of luck! Let us know how it turns out!

Don't feel bad. I started in completely still water (that small lake) and have only fished in current ONCE. I am still terrible at it. I am only just now beginning to get my bearings, as you say. It's a lot of simple things, like remembering to completely stop the forward movement of the kayak before casting into a good hole. It's frustrating to have to choose between working your lure or putting the rod down and paddling away from your target structure. That bass just happened to be a case of a blind squirrel finding a nut, I believe. The girlfriend and I plan on taking a four or five day double date trip to Gulf Shores in the fall with her best friend and boyfriend. I may have to shoot you a message about some places to fish while I am there. I hear you guys have some great spotted bass fishing! I wonder if the girlfriend will let me keep the kayak in the hotel room...

Consider it updated Mr. Dwight! Man, I have some local legends visiting my little thread today. I really appreciate everyone's congrats and kind words. I am still pumped over that fish. I guess now the pressure is on to top it!

Well guys, let me start by saying that being a beginner to kayak fishing is a somewhat "frustrating" experience. I primarily a bass boat fisherman, my angling skills have really been brought back into check on this little plastic boat. Being primarily a river fisherman in South Louisiana, my normal stomping grounds rarely gave up fish exceeding 3.5 lbs. This past winter, I decided to dedicate some time to fishing slow, putting a lot of time into suspending jerkbaits, shakey heads, as well as re-acquainting myself with the split shot rig. I managed to catch two PB's for myself almost back to back in February and March (4.2 and 4.8 lbs) and I was finally gaining some real consistency in my fishing. And then my girlfriend and I won a Perception Pescador 12. Learning to fish while managing a small craft was definitely a challenge. It felt like that small boat drained every bit of my (albeit low amount) fishing technique. Now that I am learning to manage the kayak and not fight it, I am beginning to enjoy it. But I digress... on to the story you actually came here for! The glorious tale of Jay Ell Gee in his first solo kayak fishing trip while landing his new personal best largemouth! After a buddy informed me that he was unfortunately not going to be able to make our trip this morning, I decided to grow a pair and go solo. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but I am glad I went. I made it to the pond right as dawn began to break. The rules state that you cannot fish before safe light, so I was rushing to get my kayak and gear to the water to salvage what little topwater frog time I had. After a successful test run of my home built PVC kayak cart, I was on the water. I decided to bring only a small, versatile amount of tackle and three MH rods of various lengths and actions (as this pond is VERY overgrown with vegitation.) I quickly picked up two slashing hits on the new Ribbit Top Toad, throwing it clean out of the water. I had a watermelon/red flake Strike King Shim e Stick tied on as a throw-back lure, but multiple casts proved useless. Strike King Rage Toads, regular Ribbits, Zoom Horny Toads and then hollow body frogs were all tossed to no avail. I quickly ditched the frog and tied on a War Eagle spinnerbait as well as a paddle tail swimbait, hoping to cover water as quickly as I could. The spinnerbait proved useless in the heavy moss beds, so that rod was quickly placed back in the rod holder. I then fan cast the entirety of the pond and water column with a few different brands and colors of paddle tails, all to no avail. By then, it was almost 9 a.m. and the sun was out in full force. I decided to start slowing down and picking apart weed edges/cuts with my weightless/weedless rigged Shim e Stick, also to no avail. I finally gave in, swapping to an Owner weedness wacky hook. That was the ticket. I made my way to a small cut that held my first ever kayak bass, also with a wacky setup (flick shake) and on the third cast, my line ticked on the fall. As I was reeling up the slack to check for tension, my line began running to the right. I reeled down, set the hook, and my first sleigh ride began! After a solid half minute or so, the unseen mystery fish finally jumped. Or she tried. She couldn't really get her body completely out of the water. I immediately loosened my drag and grabbed my fold-up net from behind me. After another minute or so (and a few VERY scary jump attempts) I managed to net a bass that I knew would easily be my new PB. The hook was set in the corner of the mouth and came out with almost no pressure, having slightly torn the soft tissue in the corner of the mouth. I immediately put the fish grip on her bottom lip and attached it the kayak with a carabiner. I then put the fish back into the water and dug out my Rapala digital scale and iPhone to take some pictures. She measured a hair over 22 inches and leveled out at 6.54 lbs. I immediately text my buddy and he was as surprised as I was. I managed to get a few pictures, but because I was by myself, they aren't quite Hero shots. I am going to be investing in a RAM holder soon for the front of my kayak and a camera with a shutter delay so I can take pictures on solo outings. After releasing her, I cast back into the same area and immediately hooked into this on the first cast. I picked up a few more small fish, but nothing picture worthy. All in all, it was a great day on the water. I think I could get hooked on this kayak fishing thing! ***UPDATE!*** Finally got the release video set up on vimeo. In my opinion you can see it much better that way. This is the first bass that has ever cause me to grunt when lifting. Must need to start working out again! Haha.

Zoom Super Fluke. Keitech Swim Impact Fat. Lake Fork Magic Shad. Spro BBZ-1 Shad. 5 inch Bull Shad! By the way... where is heck is Illernois?

If I may suggest a few things... I do agree that sticking with the pond is a good idea to learn to finesse. If I was going to use that method, I would be throwing a split shot rig. Light line, maybe 8lb yo-Zuri hybrid. You could probably get away with 6. My other suggestion will mimick a post from the first page... Get some old sneakers, some old shorts and a good long sleeve fishing shirt (help with sunburn) and go plop your butt in a creek, stream, or light flowing river. Do some research in your area for wade fishing. I don't have the luxury of smallmouth in Louisiana, but you can bet I have done some serious creek wading for spotted bass. They are willing biters and are the most active bass that I can find in the summer. We kayak fished a moving creek yesterday and were catching spots on TOPWATER lures (prop baits mainly) at NOON! Tossing them in shaded areas and one good rip produced many a spotted bass. We also tossed small tubes and did well there too. Small spinnerbaits and squarebills produced... Get the point? There is no shame in finding some moving water and giving it a shot. Read a few articles about fishing riffles, current seams, undercut banks, inside bends, and go try it. Make sure the bottom is safe to walk on. A wading staff is nice, but I don't wear waders. If they fill up, you are in trouble. A pfd is not a bad idea if there are deep spots. Go forth and slam some stupid river bass!

x2. But I don't think I would KILL you. However, it may be something similar to the interrogation scene in Pulp Fiction! But really... My typical sleeper Is ME sleeping in the passenger seat on the way home from a morning fishing trip. I drive in the AM, the girlfriend drives the truck with the yaks home while I nap. To be fair, she is a night shift RN, she can take those early mornings better than I can! Haha.

Agreed. I have permission to fish the pond on the private property of a very large local store. There are signs that clearly state "No Fishing" around the perimeter. I will only fish from daylight until about 15 minutes before the store opens, or at night. Mr. Sam raises a great point. Just because you have permission, it doesn't exonerate you from showing courtesy and using common sense. I don't need customers going into the store and telling people "There is someone fishing outside!" just to place them on the spot and explain that I have permission. It's just not right. I have landed multiple 4+ lb bass from this pond and many times leave the fish biting at 8:45 am. A little common courtesy will keep you welcome on the property. Whether it seems like it or not, getting permission to fish/hunt opens owners to a lot of liability and should be GREATLY appreciated and not taken advantage of. It means a lot to show respect, especially in this day and age. Besides, it keeps the good (untouched) fishing holes for us gentleman.

Very nice trip! My bass were in prespawn mid February and were post spawn by mid March. I caught a few tubbies but all of my bass now are already skinny summer fish. I do hate the cold, though. It's not so bad.

Anyone have any experience with these? I have really been getting some good bites lately on mouse type lures (in some places out fishing frogs 3:1) and was wanting to give these a try. I like the idea of the weedless Muck mouse, but I don't know how comfortable I would be flipping a $25 lure into heavy vegetation anyway. Spaz seems like a good choice for grass edges, submerged grass, shoreline cover, etc. Anyone have any experience with both? Only reason I ask is to compare the hookup effectiveness versus Spaz (two treble hooks) vs Muck (single top hook and an EWG on the back). Think the trebles would hook up more consistently? Thanks a lot in advance guys. Have a great weekend!

My offer as a product tester still stands! I'll thoroughly test their skipping potential from my kayak while wacky rigged

I'm with Mr. Kent on this one. If you look closely, the center plastic is indeed different than the ends. It is not ribbed at all. If it was more dense than the ends it would produce a great shimmy on the fall. The color in the center (where the hook is) seems like a great idea as well. If you need a tester, let me know! P.S. If you remove the Megastrike logo, it will catch quite a few more fish. Bass fear that name!