vtbassin

I started fishing from a kayak a couple of years ago and it is great ;D Although I am not sure where you would keep yak in your dorm room. I use a 6.5 ft med XF and a 6.5 med F spinning rods most of the time. I use 10 power pro or 8lb copoly line. A 1/8 oz buzzbait is my faovrite lure but I also catch them on worms, grubs and spinnerbaits. I would say that I catch 80% of my fish on moving/swimming baits but that is probably due more to the way I like to fish than any scientific study. I would recommend fishing current breaks to start. Have fun with the smallies ;D

:) Very nice kbkindle ;D Looks like a hiogh end tackle shop ;D

I love to fish spinnerbaits too ;D and I am considering building some custom spinnerbaits myself.

I just checked out the yozuri baits at BPS http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=20748&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=5&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse They look great but the cost $8 each I also checked out the rat-l-trap $3.39 http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=7601&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=5&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse The trap bite on Champlain in the fall is great ;D But I always seem to feed a few of them to the Pike I catch a lot of fish with the traps I wonder if I would catch enough more Bass to make feeding $8 RNVs to the pike not so bad?? I guess I will try a couple to see if they are twice as good as the Traps ;D Tight lines

I have a few BPS rods and they work well. I would recommend waiting until BPS has a sale. I don't think you get nearly the bang for your buck at full price. Don't rush they will be on sale and then you may end up with a couple of new rods for about the same money. ;D

I agree with K_Mac that bait casting gear is better sutited for c-rigging especially with larger weights. BUT there are no rules If you are more comfortable with spinning gear go for it. ;D The bass do not care. Tight lines

google - piano hinge stainless steel - a long list pops up ;D

Fish, I see your point but I think I am with Avid on this one. Sharpening "some" hooks is not all bad. I fish mostly in Vermont and some in NY and Maine. A 5 pound fish puts a big smile on my face. ;D ;D AS far as I know only one 10 + pound fish has been caught here, it is the state record. I sharpen treble hooks more than others. A rattle-trap is a good example. I can't see putting $5 worth of good hooks on a bait that costs $3 to start with and that one of those fine Champlain Pike will probably eat for a snack on the next cast. I know the hooks that come on them are not great but I can make them sticky with a little effort. I have landed many fish that just bang into the side of a rattle-trap and get stuck. I do miss some fish on them and other crank baits but I think no matter what hooks are on there I would miss a fish now and then. I will also touch up a spinner bait or a frog. I typically do not sharpen worm hooks or light wire jigs. If those are dull or bent over out they go. It is about 35 degrees here today with a little rain and sleet action going on. I think I will stay in and sharpen some hooks. Tight lines George

I have had good luck with scum frogs over thick stuff and if it is a little more open I like Ribbits ;D

;D ;D I always figure the one that just got off was big now I will probably start thinking it was huge

Take care of the good equipment you purchase and over the years you will build up a great collection of equipment. ;D I am 50 and have a few nice St Croix rods and all the lures I can carry. (still doesn't stop me from buying more ) and I own a 16 foot boat and a kayak. I would like a bigger boat and maybe after the last kid gets out of college I may buy one. : I guess my point is it sounds like you have a good start enjoy it as much as you can. The fish do not care what type of boat you fish from or what rod you are holding ;D ;D

I started yak fishing a couple of years ago. I love it!! ;D ;D I have a Wilderness System Tarpon 120. This is a SOT. And my wife has a Pungo 120. She likes to be down inside with a skirt to keep the sun and splashes off. I have fished a lot of places close to home that I have never fished before and have caught some nice smallies. I would also reccomend looking at RiverSmallies.com they have a lot of kayak bass fishing info. Go for it I don't think you will regret owning a yak. ;D

Big pike will cut braid very quickly with those sharp teeth they have And the pike I have met love spinnerbaits. You may not have a line problem at all. Just stop letting those big pike swollow your baits : and your problem may dissapear. Once you figure out just how to do that please let us know because I would love to stop feeding those big toothy critters my baits ;D ;D

Hi Theresamarie, Yes I ment Ticonderoga. We caught a bunch of fish today. Mostly LM and a couple of pike. Nothing huge, the largest were around 3 pounds. Lots of smaller fish. The spinnerbait rod I made got another good workout today. The smallies are easier to find in the spring. But if I go to the northern area I usually try to start on rocky points or shore lines when looking for smallies. Good luck this weekend. I have a painting project that needs to be finished. The weather doesn't look that great so staying in to paint will not seem too bad. :

Hi Theresamarie, I am a novice rod builder but I have built a couple of 2 piece rods. They were ready to put together as purchased. I did wrap the female ends to give it some strength. I use a 6 RPM motor to apply and dry my finish. It seems to work for me. I am sure some of the more accomplished builders here can/will help answer your questions. I purchased my drying motor from Cabelas. I think it was around $50. Where are you on Champlain? If the weather cooperates I am going to fish in the TI area tomorrow afternoon. Fall fishing can be great! Have fun with the rod building!

I changed a couple of 1/4 OZ spinnerbaits to french blades that I removed from inline spinners. They caught a bunch of river smallies for me. ;D I lost them and a bunch of other stuff in an unfortunate kayak incident. :'( At least I held on to rod I built last winter. ;D I glad I read this post I think I will change out a couple more spinnerbaits to french blades. ;D I suggest you try any blade combination you can dream up and let the fish tell you what is good. Something different may be just the ticket to a boat load of big BASS!!

Vermont New York Maine Florida I need to get out of town more

In that 1 foot area above the weeds try a spinnerbait, lipless crankbait, shallow diving crankbait, floating worm, fluke......There are lots of chioces. Experiment and have fun! ;D

You have some very good advice here. ;D I have had good luck with 20lb power pro in very thick weeds and pads. I fish this on a MH spinning rod. But I am sure it would be OK on anything. Be careful of your rod if you switch to 20 lb line because you may be over the rating for the rod. I would try frogs on top or the brush hog t-rigged is a good choice too. Have fun!! ;D ;D

I would like to fish with any/all of you. Lets get a big party barge and fish jigs off the sides!! ;D ;D

I love the bloopers!! ;D ;D I don't care where he fishes. If I ever had the chance to go to any of those lakes I would be there fast! ;D If I had the chance to go with Bill I would be there faster. Just don't let him near my rods.

I am not totally convinced color makes that much difference. It sounds like you were both using dark colors. What type/size hooks were both of you using what line were both of you using. The fall rate can make a big difference between fishing and catching and hooks and line and the bait determine the fall rate. Sounds like you ar going to experiment some more. Tell us how you make out. ;D

I like to be floating in something boat/kayak/canoe. I do not fish from the bank much.

I will assume that you are fishing the c-rig in deep water working into the shallow water you are parked in. I don't think the trolling motor will be a problem in that case. Also a c-rig is usually cast a good distance away from the boat so I am thinking you are not targeting the fish next to the boat. If you are targeting the fish close to the boat in that shallow water I would try to keep the trolling motor on a slow steady speed as much as possible and avoid bumping it on and off all the time.

My brothers and I were smallmouth fishing on a river in Maine. One of them ties on a large yellow jitterbug. We were giving him a hard time about it being a largemouth bait. So as we were motoring across a shallow stretch he hangs this jitterbug over the side with about 3 feet of line out. You can guess the rest Bam! a 17 inch smallie slams into it and almost takes the rod out of his hand. ;D ;D Who says a motor spooks fish?? We laughed for days thinking about that fish. He never did get a strike while casting that jitterbug. I guess trolling it on a short line was the pattern.