everythingthatswims

Frogs and jigs are all you need, creatures and beavers with heavy weights are good too. Target open spots and irregularities with the sub surface stuff, but you can use a frog to cover lots of water.

Definitely didn't mean to come across as saying bank fishing isn't ok. I bank fish a lot but most bodies of water where I live don't have any public access other than the boat ramp. My 10' kayak was $200, a little more than what I would spend on a rod/reel (or a lot less for some), just food for thought. I can stand in my kayak, so working lures is not a problem, but you would be surprised how quickly you can adapt to fishing from a sitting position.

Don't worry about them, the fish get used to it.

#1:Froggin, #2:Squarebills, #3:Pitchin Jigs. I have caught so many fish on spooks and poppers that it's just like any other technique for me now, not really one of my preferred methods.

Caught a nice one about 3# flipping a jig into some cattails, she had a belly full of golden shiners that I stocked in the pond a few years ago, now that they have established a population it has really improved the health of the bass.

If you "roll" the fish and it feels your hook, come back an hour or two later. If you don't hit him with the hook and the bait comes flying back at you, just switch baits and they will usually bite again. If you fight the fish back to the boat and lose it, it might not bite again that day, just depends on how long you fought it. For example, if you fight a fish on 6lb test for a minute or so and the hook pulls, that fish will be much less likely to eat again than one that you hooked on a jig and had boatside after 3 or 4 turns of the handle before losing it. Then again, I fish a pond that has bass so stupid that you can release the fish, and cast to it when it is swimming away, it will bite again.

I think a lot of the bank fishermen should invest in a kayak...My alternative to bank fishing is my kayak, it is by no means a fishing 'yak, only 10' long and room for 2-3 rods max. But it gets the job done and is easy to handle, I even have a fishfinder for it. In many cases I can reach fish that people fishing from boats can't, because I only need about 4" of water to paddle through comfortably, and I can get out and drag it if I need to. Many bass get conditioned to the sound of a trolling motor too and will stop feeding when they hear one (I smallmouth fish with someone who uses oars for his jon boat on the river, he absolutely will not use a trolling motor) so a kayak will put you right on top of the big ones without spooking them.

Good job. How long is the rod you use? I find that a 6' or 6'6" rod is best for drift fishing because you can stay in contact with the bait and pick up slack quickly on the hookset, quick hooksets really cut down on the number of gut hooked fish.

Stay away from those snells, the fish see that heavy line and even though you might be catching some, the smart ones are shying away from it. I don't have many issues with gut hooking them on the power eggs, just make sure you stay in contact with the rig on the drift and set it as soon as you feel a tap. Gamakatsu does make some small circle hooks, you might have to order them though. Try some trout magnets too, gold and white are my go-to colors.

Her left pectoral fin is chopped off, must have been from a turtle or something. I have caught her 3 times, but the pond is right by my house and I fish it REALLY often, multiple times a week during the school year when I don't have time to go anywhere else after school. She absolutely will not eat plastics. Caught her once on an 8" bass (with the circle hook), once on a tiny crank pre-spawn, and once on a 6" BBZ swimbait.

I was watching a video of some guys that were getting into some small fish while flipping/pitching, some of the fish were actually coming close to hitting the boat on the hook set! This made me wonder, when 50lb+ braid is being used on a super stout rod, has anyone been hurt by something like a 1.5oz jig or weight flying back at them when they missed a fish? I know that yanking baits out of a tree can be scary (I am guilty of accidentally going squirrel fishing from time to time) and I have been hit by some smaller baits flying back at me, it sure doesn't feel good. So do any of you guys know of any flipping/pitching injuries that have occurred?

I gut hooked one last summer with a 5/0 circle hook (the circle hook didn't do its job) that measured 24". Caught her again this year in march, no hook, healthy as can be.

If you want to stick with them light rod, put some 8 or 10lb braid on it and use fluoro leaders, you'll be set, the braid really helps drive the hook home, and sensitivity is increased dramatically. My finesse rod is a 6'6" fast action ML with 10lb braid, and I always use fluoro leaders, lots of clear water river smallies around here so I gotta have a decent setup for them.

Twitch/jerk it so that it darts back and forth. The only time I pause is when the bait is staying on top and I need to let it sink (hitting the top every now and then is the right depth). Great bait to fish around hydrilla in reasonably clear water, just make sure you have tackle that can bring a big fish out of the stuff if it runs in there, I fish them on a medium action baitcaster with 12lb mono or fluoro. Natural baitfish colors are the best, I use 3/0 EWG hooks for the superflukes (I only fish superflukes) make sure you set the hook hard, flukes collapse on the hook set can be weird.

The BBZ junior produces big fish without missing out on a couple small ones to keep you entertained. Early mornings rock

I like catching numbers if they are over 2 pounds (10 or more 2+lbers over one 5-8lber). If they are smaller, then I have to enjoy the technique I am using to catch them (topwater or cranking is a lot more fun than fishing plastics IMO). Yesterday I got into the 1.5lb and smaller fish on topwater while they were schooling, but after about 20 of them I got bored and went pitching/flipping for better sized fish.

I'm surprised you were able to hook them with a rod that light, especially with a weedguard involved...I have tried to use light and ultralight rods for smallies, t-rigging senkos and finesse worms on 2/0 & 3/0 hooks, but the rod just can't hook them. When I wacky rig or drop shot with smaller hooks though, light tackle is a blast!

I hunt lots of these big birds

Just learn to clean & cook fish, I don't feel as bad when I put a dead fish to good use. Although a dead fish left in the lake definitely doesn't go to waste, mother nature takes care of all that pretty quickly.

I wish there were still walleyes in lake anna...they quit stocking them and they all died out. But starting this year, the department is going to stock 'eyes in the Rivanna River!

I might go "pike fishing" and accidentally catch some bass

Fresh cutbait is the way to go, stinkbait is just nasty and doesn't even catch big ones (cut bait catches them all and doesn't stick to everything you have). Cover is more important than depth. I'd target fallen trees in 5+ feet of water, if it is muddy they may be shallower. The more cover the better, trees and beaver huts produce the most for me. Mornings and evenings are best, but you can catch them all day.

Sight cast with pieces of fresh cut bait, gotta let them swallow it because their mouth is 100% bone and hard to hook. 12 or 15lb test leader should be fine, their teeth just stab, they don't slice. #6 or #4 light wire hook, unless you are fishing for giants (I only fish for long nose gar, haven't caught any over 7 or 8lbs)

Had some issues hooking fish from my kayak today on jigs, I kept on losing fish in the 2-3lb range (didn't hook anything bigger or smaller), they would thrash 2 or 3 times and before I could get them to the boat they would spit it. Didn't plan on fishing jigs so 14lb mono on a 7' MH was all that I had to pitch heavy cover with....I'm hoping that when I step it up to 17 or 20lb mono I will have a better hookup ratio, the 14lb was stretching quite a bit on hook sets and when a fish is swimming through brush, the twigs make the angle of the hook set really weird. Anybody else experience difficulty hooking fish from a 'yak? I know kayaks limit hook set power but I was winding up and swinging for the fences with these guys. This one wasn't lucky enough to spit the bait