Felix77

37 - Turning 40 this year. In 3 years I have learned a TON ... if there is one single thing which I learned is that confidence is key! Do what you must to gain confidence in a lure, technique etc and you will be a better angler for it. Period.

To me it's all the same ... gear vs tackle, baits, lures etc. If I had to separate them then I would say the "Bait Monkey" is worse than the "Gear Gorilla" for me. Buying bait is like "Death by 1000 cuts". One bag here, two bags there, a rainy day order from TW, BassPro etc and you end up with a hoarders room filled with tackle. LOL

I have to agree with Farmer. This is as good as it gets for a starting kit. Master these and you will be well on your way to wasting money on everything else WalMart sells. LOL

1 - Sexy Shad 2 - Green Gizzard Shad 3 - Chartreuse Perch 4 - Chartreuse/Black Back

Do you have a picture of the boat? Either yours or something similar.

I kept it simple ... I have the Elite 4x. Cost me around $100 at BassPro on sale. Basic color fishfinder. As long as I can mark water temp, depth and bottom contour I was good to go.

x2 on this ... I use all Seaguar stuff but the lb. test are the exact same that I recommend.

Congrats!

Find the weeds and you will find the bass. Brush hogs all day!

I occasionally have the same problem. A lot depends on how far you cast and your equipment as well. I find longer and stiffer rods help. Especially on long casts. In general my setup is as follows Spinning - braid with leader. 6'6" mh and a 7' m Baitcaster - 15lb FC 7' m I use the lightest wire hooks I think I can get away with.

I tend to fish a ton of weeds and here are the setups which work for me Spinning - 6'6MH - 15lb Braid, 10FC leader - Weightless senkos, light t-rigged plastics like baby brush hogs Spinning - 7' M - 15lb Braid, 8-10fc leader - Mojo Rig, Drop Shot Baitcaster - 40lb Braid - Flippin & Pitchin Baitcaster - 20lb FC - All Purpose

x3 with one difference. I tend to use Spinnerbait our Chatterbait. Lipless is a 3rd option for me.

I am a few hours at a time kind of guy. My work and family commitments don't give me much choice. I will say that even when I have "all day" to fun fish I tend to neglect food/drink and it drains me in a few hours as a result. Better preparation and I could be on the water forever.

I have been personally torn about this since I learned about the difference. I carry 2 pairs with different tints and as a co-angler I tend to neglect my sunglasses and lost a few as a result. With that said I find that the new Strike King S11's are a decent compromise. Inexpensive and give me a "good enough" polarization to get the job done. I went as far as to swap glasses with a friend who swears by his Maui Jims. Now I will say they did do a better job but not good enough for me to invest in them. For less than 1/3rd the price I got two glasses which I am very happy with.

That is where the fishfinder came in handy. Once I found that weed edge the only challenge was fishing and controlling the yak over the areas. At least you were out! I was skunked on day one. Day 2 and 3 were much better.

Texas, Mojo, Shakeyhead

My family and I spent the 4th of July weekend in the Adirondacks at Moffitt Beach State Park. The beach was on the northern portion of Sacandaga Lake. Got in a lot of quality time with the family and also brought my kayak for some fishing. The only issue was that the winds were between 10 and 17MPH all weekend. I had never been on my yak in those windy conditions. You could clearly see in the main part of the lake the white caps. I decided to take extra precautions but go out there anyway. Boy was I glad I did! The Ride 115x held up like a charm. If there was ever going to be a weekend when I flipped it was going to be this one. Paddling out water was coming over the bow. On occasion waves would hit the side and spill over into the seating area. Some of the big wakes from pleasure boats on top of the waves which were crashing in and around me were pretty intense and still I felt completely stable on that thing. Had a few "scare" moments when a wave would hit and I was seated just so to make me feel like I was just about to tip but it stabilized nicely. What a great ride. Pun intended! The most important thing is that I found fish! Not the typical bank beating style but by using my fishfinder I was able to find weeds just at the edge of a rocky drop off in the 12-15 fow range. I concentrated specifically on that area and caught some nice smallmouth. This was a true first for me. Finding fish by interpreting my fishfinder correctly. Feeling quite accomplished and thought I would share. I am SOOO loving Kayak Bass Fishing and my Ride 115x!

x2 ... This beast of a worm rocks. I am partial to the Watermelon and Green Pumpkin Magic colors.

All you can do is try. Not much else you can do really.

What he said ...

Walmart has the Vendettas and they are pretty good. Especially in that price range.

Salsa ... and not the sauce. The clip is of me and the wife dancing some salsa. It's how we met. There is another clip shortly after dancing with another friend. http://youtu.be/vLRJcRvIRik?t=1m49s

Another vote for the Super Spook Jr. Chrome/Black Back Chartreuse/Black Head Bone

Right on the money ... I have one reel spooled with 20lb AbrazX. I also have one with braid that I have added a leader to when I end up in rocky bottoms OR around Zebra Mussels.

Just finished my tournament this past Saturday. Definitely very different than any fishing I have ever done. Muddy ... and I mean muddy waters. Less than a few inches visibility. The fish I did catch I caught dragging a black tube or t-rigged senko around. That seemed to be the only way to get a bite where my boater and I were. FWIW ... I did learn one precious thing though. Just because it's like chocolate milk doesn't mean the bass can't see dark lures dragging on the bottom. I tried bright white colored lures and they just downright ignored it. Went black and the bites started to happen. I lost a very nice Smallmouth on a senko. Got bit, began reeling it in and then it jumped out of the water. When I reel the line in my senko was split just short of the hook. I don't think the SMB ever had the hook in its mouth. Amazing how strong they are. It held on almost all the way to the boat. I will get my revenge Mohawk.