Jay Ell Gee

Size 8 to 10 poppers work well. Sinking spider flies, wooly buggers, nymphs, foam spiders/grasshoppers. If you don't use a fly rod look up the float n' fly bobber. Can't go wrong with a rooster tail or beetle spin, though

You are absolutely right. I was joking about the distance. Pitching across my kitchen into a shoe isn't even possible... Very frustrating. I may just strip it and try some 30 or 40. My buddy had some 50lb Super Slick on his reel and it did well. Time for some testing!

I have pitched the same jigs with mono. It is night and day. I'm not so much worried about being able to pitch 40 yards, it's just that it takes so much more effort to get any usable distance whatsoever from it. The brake system seems a bit simple (numbered 1-10) and it is on 3 or 4. Still not much distance.

Hey everyone. Earlier last year I picked up a like new Lew's Speed Spool Tournament MG 7.1/1 for a steal from a board member here. It was shipped to me with 65lb Power Pro spooled up. Now, I have used this reel quite a bit for casting frogs and some ~1oz swimbaits, but for the LIFE of me, I can't get any distance with this thing trying to pitch a jig or soft plastic setup. I have owned nothing but Shimano before this, but I have tried turning the cast control to pretty much zero (funny story, imagine me a week later throwing a 1 & 1/3 oz wakebait after forgetting to re-tune the cast control...) I still can't get any usable distance out of this setup. I really hate to waste a good spool of braid, but I hate to simply have a reel of braid that I almost exclusively use for frogging. Casting jigs "works" but pitching seems fruitless. If I were to add braid to another setup, would 30/40 lb braid pitch well enough to flip plastics and 3/8 oz jigs? Thanks everyone. I hope I am missing something simple here. Joshua

Make sure to post pictures of your grass-dwelling monsters!

Well hello there sir! Don't you mean Watermelon Red FLAKE?!?!? Just kidding. The pearl belly is killer as well. I have a few packs of each on standby. Frog strikes never get old.

Galloway, Try downsizing the weight of your jigs. Lighter jigs won't penetrate the weeds as severely and it may help with the fouling. Also, try bulking it up with a trailer that allows the jig to fall slower. I know it seems like we are splitting hairs here, but it will also help the jig to land a bit gentler (is that a word?) and perhaps keep it from digging in. Rockchalk is right, swim and flip n swim jig types will do a bit better coming through cover. If ordering jigs is an issue, the KVD swim jigs in 1/8 oz could be a great option. It's a light wire hook, so don't throw it with 65lb braid... But it should do!

There is a 2+ page thread on this literally three pages into the tackle forum. It's usually easier to search for topics first. I generally start fishing top waters starting during pre-spawn.

My best piece of advice would be to not worry about counting at all after a strike. Simply reel up your slack line and when you feel the weight of the fish, hammer it. A lot of times you'll see your line cruising away.

Never a bad day when you land one of those! Congrats!

That'll save me some time! Thanks Han!

Hold on now... Are you implying that I can't find bigger fish because of one pic of a small bass? Just kidding! I'll try to find their usernames and give them a shout! Thanks!

My best cold water approaches are upside down bream killers and upsides down weighted spider flies on a light fly rod. They should be up and moving soon. I had a big gill hit my Booyah Pad Crasher yesterday morning.

Smart man! I used to have a TFO Professional I series 8'6 fast action 3wt that I could cast roughly 70 feet before leader. Try catching a gill that far out on a 3wt! What a ball. I regrettably sold it, but I am filling that hole with a new St. Croix Legend Ultra 8'6 4wt.

I'll never forget my first bowfin... I had the flu for about a week a few years back. I had missed two fishing trips and had cabin fever something awful. I managed to get myself out of bed long enough to tie my first few jigs, finesse types. Boy was I proud of those jigs. Finally got out on the water with dad and after the frog bite turned off that morning, I pitched my own black/blue jig between some pads and the bank. Second pitch, the water just ERUPTED. This was the craziest fighting freshwater fish I had ever hooked. My dad just laughed, he knew what it was long before I saw it. After removing the hook and taking a quick pic, I released it. My poor jig hook was all bent and mangled.... Most of the skirt was sawed clean off. I was heartbroken, but darn proud of my jig catching that bowfin.

Haha thanks guys. My fishing partners first bass that morning was a solid 21 inches. There are some serious bruisers in this big public pond. Luckily, 99% of people fish it from the bank, usually for bluegill. Getting a truck this week so I'll be able to fish in the yak any time I want now! A bigger fish will be coming soon!

A fellow member of KBF invited me on my first fishing trip in my new Perception Pescador 12 SOT that I won from Academy/Bayou Coast Fishing Club a bit over a week ago. We arrived before daylight and set up. A front was coming in, along with some heavy rain in just a few hours. Not five minutes in, my fishing partner lands a 21 inch bass on a spinnerbait. It was quickly released after a few pics. After that, everything seemed to slow down dramatically. We were throwing every lure in the box when I finally decided to downsize and idiot-proof my presentation. I tied on an owner weedless wacky hook, tossed on a Jackall Flick Shake 4.8 in bluegill, and went to work. Casting, flipping, skipping... whatever it took to land a bite. After a few minutes, I decided to sweeten the pot with a little megastrike. First bite was a light hookset (still worried about hammering them and throwing myself off balance). Second bite is the same way. However, on the third bite I showed him NO mercy and drilled that tiny hook right through his.... well... tiny lips. I'm shocked that I didn't rip this guy clean out of the water with 20lb braid. Regardless, a fish is a fish and I managed to slime the yak. I gained a lot of confidence in it today and will be taking it out very soon with my new 4wt to tame some large bluegills. So, am I official now guys? Me with junior!

I sell ram mounts at work and was actually looking at those earlier. Seems like a decent setup. I am really just looking for one to put forward of me. The ability to swap out heads seems nice, and you are right... can't beat the adjustment range! I really like their rail system as well. No idea what I would really use them for, though.

I actually stopped by a local kayak store (first time) and they were running a 20% off store wide sale. I went ahead and picked up a YakAttack ParkN'Pole, 6 footer. Very cool little gadget. I figure, the yak was free... I can splurge on a pole. I also appreciate the milk crate idea, have seen a few of those lately. However, the tempress soft sided bag actually has two more rod holders in it. Time will tell if they are sturdy, but I sure am going to try them. Anyone use the Scotty type holders? I use baitcasting, spinning, and fly setups. Can you buy just one base and then get multiple heads to accommodate different types of reels? I would like to keep the yak as clean as possible.

I appreciate the insight. I was looking into building one but I really do like some of the aftermarket poles. The golf ball retriever was pretty high up on my list, as was building one from PVC. I have never been one to use anchors in my bass boat... guess I'll have to learn with my new grapnel. I can see them being useful in different situations. Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm hoping to make it out as soon as the leg heals up! You know how it is... new shiny toy, sitting up and can't quite be used yet. The only thing I can do to scratch the itch is think of ways to mod it to my liking... haha.

My girlfriend and I won a Perception Pescador 12 last Friday in a drawing from Academy. The kayak was rigged by the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club (thank you so much guys!). Along with the kayak, it included a nice paddle, Humminbird 150 fish finder (transducer epoxied into the inside of the hull),12v deer feeder battery, PFD, a nice reinforced insulated soft cooler, two extra rod holders, an anchor trolley and a 1.5lb grapnel anchor. To my understanding, the kayak is basically a 2008 Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120. I haven't got to really test it yet (leg injury) but my girlfriend paddled it around for a little bit and had a blast. I am a little fluffier than most kayak guys but the yak floats just fine with me on it. Just ordered some scupper plugs and a small conversion kit to make the center hatch into a dry storage. As of now, it only accesses the open bottom storage. I would really like to have the spot to put my phone, camera, license, etc. I also picked up an Attwood collapsible net as well as a stick on ruler. I am also looking into the RAM Mount Track Rails to put left and right for adjustable rod holders for my baitcasters, spinning setup, and also my fly rod. It seems to be a nifty little system. Just thought that I would show off my new (free!!!) toy and ask for some input from experienced kayak fisherman. Any particular mods that are a "must have?" If I get a rail system, is there any special type of epoxy or sealant that I need to use when I put screws into the yak? I am also open to suggestions for some DIY projects, particularly a shallow water anchor as well as some type of cart to haul it to the water when I am on my own... maybe even some kind of stringer setup. Pictures would be greatly appreciated! I plan on finding some backwaters soon and try my hand at nailing a few fish. May keep it simple and bring the fly rod for some bluegills, just for the first few trips out. I won a new red tackle box from work in a contest as well as it will have it's own home in the new red yak. I will really have to pace myself when filling this tackle box... if I brought my normal box I would probably end up on the bottom of the lake!

The salt release system used by the roboworm does seem deceptive at first. It will never flat out float on top of the water, but as the salt releases the worm will gain some bouyancy and the tail will float. Pre-soak the pack of worms if you wish to speed up the process.

I appreciate the info. I may just have to snag one and use it as a jig rod. I don't fish enough super heavy cover to justify the heavy. Maybe I'll mount the 7.1 Lews MG and the Chronarch 50e and see which one I like more.

I am speaking for A-Jay when I say this: I hope we get to see another series of strong dock fishing patterns!

Well, my problem is that after a recent breakdown purchase of a Dobyns Champion 703 spinning for 109.99 at a local place, I decided I didn't want it and traded it for a brand new 50e my buddy bought and was wanting to sell. I bought a 50e from the same sale (TW 25% off) and it is now on a st croix legend Xtreme 6'10 M/XF. People punch with this reel all the time. I do have a Lews speed spool tourney MG 7.1 that may work...