alexandboi

Well I figured I'd spend 1000 on the kayak and set about 500 aside for a nice paddle and pfd. Although I also want to put in a fish finder so I guess I need to do some more saving. Anyone have a good recommendation for a fish finder? I've been looking at the lowrance elite 4x dsi. Anyone have experience with it?

Depends what your definition of swimbait is. One of my friends did okay on swing impact fats. But if you are talking about big swimbaits then I am not sure. Although I would imagine a bluegill swimbait closer to the dam working well if anything.

I was throwing the keitech mono spin jig in the bluegill tiger color. Its a small jig so you might get a lot of the little guys, but once in a while a good one will hit it.

I never pay attention to the moon phases haha. I just fish whenever I feel like it. I did decent on a finesse jig... Could be better but oh well...

I was there for a bit today. Launching a boat is fine, but I would be careful of the underwater hazards. I was there for 4 hours and caught 5 fish. 4 1-1.5lbs and one that was around 3 lbs. This was from shore fishing though so I can't say much...

Thanks guys. I would love to sit in one before purchasing it, but I do not think there are any stores that carry the kayaks that I am interested in. I will definitely look into the recommendations though.

So I've been debating if I should pick up a kayak during the winter for next year. I've been doing some research and narrowed it down to either the native ultimate 12, or nucanoe frontier 12. Which of these would you guys recommend? I will be fishing reservoirs most of the time, although there is a river nearby that I would like to explore once I get a kayak. I also would like something stable enough to stand on. I am open to other recommendations but in the 1000-1200 price range.

Well first off Eastman is my favorite lake so here goes... but before I get started, I fish from the bank so my experience may be different, although this is a lake that I have fished for 10+ years. The water level is very low now, so I would be careful of underwater hazards. I do not normally fish into november either however, the last time i was there was last week and the water seemed to have cleared up a bit during the government shut down. From what I experienced last time, I believe most of the bigger fish may have moved deeper because of the cooler weather. The lake pretty much has no cover. In the mornings I would throw a topwater lure like a spook, or jerkbait. As soon as the topwater bite dies, maybe move onto a jig in green or brown. If not then a texas rigged bursh hog, or lizard. You should also watch the shorelines, especially near the boat ramps, to see if the bass are hitting the bluegills. If they are throw are spook or a jerkbait at them. If you can get them, try weightless nose hooking a bento minnow in the dace color and working it like a jerkbait. That lure has literally caught me 100+ fish this year at Eastman. There are also fishing reports on the fresnobee that may help. The lake does hold some very good fish. There were multiple DD caught this year in early spring. And I've caught quite a few 5s, 2 7lbers, and one that ran ~9 this year.The hard part is getting away from the small ones and hooking into the bigger fish.

The way I see it is, use whatever you are comfortable with. Although, it doesn't hurt to try a baitcasting combo, who knows you may like it better. As far as accuracy goes I personally am a little more accurate with casting gear, although anyone can get accurate with either one. It just takes a little practice. Overall I think I cast just about the same with both spinning and casting gear, but again I think it has a lot to do with experience, since a lot of people tell me that they cat further with casting gear. I usually carry 2 rods with me, one casting and one spinning. I can't say if I am catching more fish, but it does make it easier to switch lures, and two rods lets you do more things. For carrying, find a back pack with the rod carrier/holder on the side. It'll keep your hands free and you won't have to worry about people stepping on your gear.

+1 One of the reservoirs I fish has very little cover, so most of the time I am casting into open water. However, one of the things that help me find a spot to fish, is to look along the shorelines and my surroundings. Most of the time the shorelines and your surroundings are similar to what is in the water. For example, when I walk along the shore and see gravel along the shore I will make a cast and try to determine what else is under the water. If its something I think will hold fish I slow down and work the area thoroughly. When it comes to depth, I won't be accurate or maybe not even close, but depending on how long it takes my lure to hit the bottom, I get an estimate of how deep the water may be.

I fish from the shore, and the lakes I fished are highly pressured. On average I get 15 or so fish per trip. A some 1s and 2s, and a few 3lbers. Sometimes I will get a 5 or 6 lber. Although there are some days that I do very well and can manage 30+ in a few hours... Although this is a lake where I have fished for as long as I can remember fishing, so I know the lake very well.

Someone else in fresno with the same favorite lake as mine haha. I agree though. I've caught myself some pretty good fish this year at eastman...

I almost bought a X7, although I thought to myself, and I honestly can't bring myself to fish with such an expensive rod haha. I wouldn't even want to scratch it, so I figured if I wasn't gonna fish with it then there was no point in me buying it. Not to mention such a rod would need an amazing reel to match it... Now how does it fish? I will never know, although it does look like and amazing rod... But again, at that price I can almost get myself two rep sample NRXs.

Can't say much about the others since I've never really fished them, but I own a recon2 715 and its a great rod. Incredibly light and pretty sensitive too. Although it does have a softer tip so I do not use it for jigs often, however it does great with plastics. It also makes a great all purpose rod, not to mention the rod looks amazing too. When I can only take one rod with me that's the rod I choose.

For reels I've pretty much settled down on Shimanos and Daiwas... As for rods I'm all over the place. I have loomis, phenix, shimano, daiwa, and will have a megabass in a few weeks.

Its been horrible for me so far. Pretty much all lakes about 1.5 hr or less away are closed due to the government shutdown, so I haven't even gotten the chance to get out there haha.

I think it just depends on the fish. I used to believe that as long as the fish was hooked it would not hit again, however I once fought a fish till it got to the shore and broke off. I caught it on the cast right after that and with my lure still in its mouth. I have also caught one once and released it, and a friend caught it right after I released it. I knew it was the same fish since it had the same black spot on its side, and had the same hole where I had hooked it earlier.

Well if there is only one dock then that makes it easier, since you won't have to check more than one haha. The reservoir I fish has become a tiny mud puddle this year and I still do pretty well using what I said earlier. Not sure if it will be the same there but I usually see the bass hitting the baitfish like crazy around the ramps. Or you can just walk around and see if there are any baitfish gathered up around there. Just cast a lure there and hold on.

I mainly fish a reservoir that does not have shad, and similarly the main forage is bluegill. I fish from the shore the majority of the time though and here's what seems to work for me. I find that the baitfish seem to be more abundant near the boat ramps. So you can maybe start there. For lures I'd say a fluke or some sort of soft jerkabit should be fine. Just make sure you do not get in the way of boaters and stay off to either side of the ramp and start casting. I've been doing very well this year using this method and have caught several 5+lbers in a highly pressured lake. I'm not sure if there is trout stockings where you fish, but I have caught several big girls near the boat ramp too since that is where they release the trout and the big girls get easy meals as the trout are released.

Just because I like using them, but maybe a jerkbait?

Swimbaits and jigs. I am pretty confident about jigs, but would just like to improve more.

I always try to catch the big ones, although at the end of the day if I haven't caught anything I will switch lures to something I know will get bit. Just because at that point I'd rather catch at least one then none haha.

I used them my last time out. I can't say much on the action since I was night fishing and didn't really look at it in the water, but it did catch me a few fish. In my opinion if nothing is wrong with what you are using then there's no reason to change haha.

My two favorites are a jerkbait and a lipless crank. These seem to produce the most fish for me and I also fish from the shore the majority of the time.

The opposite happened to my friend last week haha. Hes relatively new to fishing too. He set the hook on a good 5 or 6 and was reeling it in fast (he was using 8lb fluoro) and i could see his rod bending so I yelled at him to back off the drag. But I guess in the excitement he didn't hear or pay attention to me and as the fish got to the shore she made a quick turn, and SNAP! haha. The looks on his face was priceless haha.