hoosierbass07

Are there any Shimano Sahara reel fans out there? I'll admit all of my reels are Shimano but I think they are one of the best values for the money and solid quality. I recently bought another companies spinning reel and took it back end exchanged it for another Sahara. When I got that first reel home I could tell the quality was no way near Shimano quality.

Since I have a fishing kayak ordered and I'm getting a fish finder for Christmas, I hope to work on transitioning from bank fishing to kayak fishing along with canoe fishing. I mostly used plastic worms this year so I hope, being out in the water and being able to go where I want to in a kayak, I will find a few more places where I can use other lures a little more, like spinner baits. Oh, and I want to focus on catching big BIG bass and not simply any bass.

I'm getting the low seat in the 115 Ride. I used life jackets before but never bought one myself. Do good ones keep you afloat even if you have heavy clothing on - say blue jeans and a heavy jacket?

How do fishing kayaks hold up in cold weather? I mean, when I get my kayak I will probably put in in an unheated shed. Can really cold temperatures, so around zero degrees, do harm to kayaks?

OK, I ordered my new fishing kayak - Ride 115. I hope to pick it up in a week or two when it arrives at the shipping office. I'm not going to rush into buying a nice fishing life jacket and paddle but I want to start looking. I'm thinking in late winter (February) I will buy me a decent/nice fishing life jacket and paddle. So what kind of paddle should I look for? How long should it be? I'm around 5'8" and 170 pounds. Next, what kind of life jacket? Are there life jackets made specially for using in fishing kayaks? Thanks!

Well, I made my order - I bought a Ride 115. I called the store selling it on ebay a few days ago. First they said I would have to pay $99 to ship it to my back door or the local shipping terminal (seventy miles away). I did not order then though. I called today to order and the guy on the phone said they have always offered free shipping to the local shipping terminal. So I placed my order over the phone - Ride 115 with free shipping. Total is $675.00 When they ship it to the terminal/shipping company near Indy I'm supposed to go and pick it up. I need to examine it to make sure it arrives safely. This is my first kayak so are there certain things I should look for when looking for damage and things? If they do ship this out and I end up getting this for $675, I think I found a good deal.

Thanks for the help. I ordered one of those b&m sixteen foot poles. A sixteen foot pole he wants, a sixteen foot pole he wil get. lol. He already has some giant long poles from Japan that are nice. I guess he wants a collection of long poles.

I'm still not sure what rod I need to look for. Are there rods made for underspinn reels? My brother only wants a sixteen foot one.

One of my brothers wants one of those underspin/triggerspin rods. He wants one to go after crappie. I didn't even know they existed until he showed me one of his old underspin reels. I'm not even sure what kind of rod you are suppose to use with an underspin reel. My brother wants a long rod - something from sixteen feet to twenty feet long. So can anybody recommend a decent rod for an underspin/triggerspin reel for crappie that is around sixteen + feet? Thanks!

If I buy the Ride 115, they offer two versions- one low seat and one high seat. The high seat adds $25 to the price. Do you know anybody that has the Ride 115 with low seat and high seat? I'm not sure if I want the low seat or high seat.

These last few months I've been wondering why some of my plastic worms are flat and how to rig them with the hook. So now I know - the flat bottom is supposed to go on the bottom/is the bottom of the worm, correct? So when I Texas rig a flat bottom worm the hook point will be buried in the top round part. I did not know the flat worms glide a little. Cool.

I'm still considering buying my first fishing kayak for Christmas if I can find one for a nice price. I found a seller on ebay who offers tons of Ride 115s from California. I was wondering - do any of you know this seller/company? They call themselves Kayak City. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilderness-Systems-Ride-115-Advance-Camo-2013-/161171416393?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258690a549 For $700.00 plus free shipping to an airport (I think that is how it works) it might be a something I might go after. There really aren't any places around me that sales the Ride 115 and even if there are I doubt I could find it for this kind of price. Thanks

I would throw more tubes but I'm having a hard time finding good hooks that will allow me to Texas Rig a tube. Either the hooks are too large or too small and don't have enough gap. Do they make hooks specially for tubes where the hook can be buried like a Texas rig?

What's the point of having an off set point anyway? I bought some by accident over the summer and I was upset the point was not straight and I could not do my regular Texas Rig. I almost always look at the hooks closely now to make sure their points are straight.

Since I don't live in one of the southern warm states, and I'm finding bass season is over in the winter time, I'm going to take full advantage of catching bass during the spawn. If that caused a problem I assume indiana would have laws dealing with it. I buy my license, I catch and release, I fish.

I've had the chance to read some of In Pursuit of Giant Bass. It's becoming one of my favorite books now even though it was centered around California big bass. I'm learning a lot and I'm glad the writer had such a high opinion of my favorite lure - plastic worms.

I just got In Pursuit of Giant Bass in the mail today from amazon used books shops. From scanning the first few chapters I think I already like it and can't wait to read the whole thing. I was glad to see him have such a high opinion of my favorite lure - the plastic worm!

Interesting looking book.

I agree. Amazon used book stores are the way to go. Nothing like buying a book for a few cents or even few dollars plus shipping.

Cool. I think I'll order it for Christmas. Then find a way to rig it up in my canoe or kayak (when I buy) and hit Lake Waveland in the spring!

I also have The Bass Angler's Almanac - More Than 750 Tips & Tactics by John Weiss. I like it a lot.

I'm planning on ordering my first fish finder for Christmas. I think I've narrowed it down to a Garmin Echo 200. I was on amazon.com and all the reviews were great. They said it showed the fish clearly and structure clearly. This would be my first fishfinder and it will go on a Royalex canoe and/or kayak. If I would get this thing how would I power it? Also, are mounting transducers easy or are they problems to mount? For the price this fish finder looks good. Nice sized screen and great reviews. What do you all think? This would be for small/medium ponds and small lakes for bass and maybe in the future Muskie. Thanks!

So I plan on buying my first fishing kayak this Christmas. I'm thinking about getting a Bass Pro Shops Ascend sit-on-top kayak. The only problem is that I have to order it online. I don't have any Bass Pro Shops near me. I like the price they are offering them. Can anyone give me their opinions on this kayak? I'm not sure which size I want to get - ten foot or twelve foot. I would like to get one that is easy for one person to handle. I want to be able to load it in the truck by myself and unload it by myself. I will use mostly on ponds/small lakes for bass fishing. Thanks!

I picked up some In-Fisherman DVDs a month ago at Gander Mountain. Online a store wanted from $9.00 to $14.00 for each. I was happy to find all the ones I wanted on bass from $5 to $10.00. I ended up buying four of them and felt like I walked out with a gold mine! lol. Check out the video sections of your favorite brick and mortar outdoors store. You just might find some good DVDs at a nice price. Also, I just received Lurkers Love Night crawlers. It has a lot of good chapters on the basics of fishing. After reading so many good things about Bill Murphy's book I ordered it tonight.

If you have a Roku streaming box, you can subscribe to their Roku channel. I did it for one month for around $7.00 a month. For that price you can stream all of their DVDs as many times as you want and other videos and their Angling Edge programs. I would not recommend subscribing until they do their big update though. When I subscribed for one month some of their DVD titles would not play. I emailed and they said they were having problems with their server and in the process of moving things over to a new one where they will have complete control over it. I was a little miffed that I paid $7.00 and could not stream all their DVDs. But I could stream most of the ones I wanted to watch so I was not too unhappy. Actually, for the low price I felt I got my moneys worth even though I could not stream 100% of their DVDs. On their Facebook page they said their update is almost done and will be offering a new introductory price of $2.00 or $3.00 a month for two months or so. Then you will be able to stream ALL of their DVDs and programs. They also plan on streaming live talks they give to groups and I think question and answer videos. As soon as they get the update done I'm definitely subscribing for a month or two. I assume it will be like it was - you can cancel any time.