Fishingmickey

I had that, it didn't help. I did catch about a 6-7# catfish using FFS during the tourney. It had me going for a minute or two. FM I believe it, I'm sure they are there. but that time anything I casted to on the "scope" just turned and swam away or ignored my offering. FM

Hi Zcoker, I fished a tournament there Sept. 14th. The lake had gotten a serious flood like a week or so before. The lake level rose like 6-7'. It fished very tough. I caught three small fish. First place was 83.75". It was ugly. Here is a link to the results from the TX Bass nation side: https://tourneyx.com/leaderboard/standings/west-texas-kayak-fishing-lake-ivie-2024 I think the majority of the teeners that have been caught from there were pre-spawn fish in January, February and March. So Koz, I think you're right to avoid going to OH Ivie. The lake has arces of salt cedar brush that is impossible to navigate through. To be honest I went into that tournament blind with no pre-fishing. I thought I had a pattern going and then the bite died. Best, Fishingmickey

If you do decide to come this way Koz, There are some very fine lesser known then the trophy lakes in east Texas that have some serious sized bass. Lake Naconiche, Bob Sandlin and Lake Murval are a few that come to mind. They are not far from either Sam Rayburn or Toledo Bend. FM

I with WRB, even with me living and fishing in Texas. Finding the ++sized bass can be hard to do. I think for numbers of places to go Florida might be best. The canals and the Everglades besides those premier destination lakes are fairly close together compared to Texas. The driving also will cause you to lose a couple of days of fishing. Good luck and post pic's! Fishingmickey

I just checked TW, I really like Diawa Samurai Hidden but it is pretty pricey at 45.99 for 220 yrds. I haven't tried but I just might. OMG cheap. TW has the Diawa J-Fluoro for 14.99 for a 200 yrd spool and it doesn't make a difference what lb test. All of the spools are 200 yrds @14.99. For that price I'll get a spool just to test and see how manageable it is. FM

That was my first bait caster on Shimano 6'6" bullwhip rod. Sweet, sweet find. FM

I was a young buck in the Marines at that time. I fished Lake Casitas the week after a 20 or 21lber was caught (maybe by WRB). There was myself and two of my fellow jarheads. We were fishing out of a rented 14' jon boat with a 9.9 hp kicker on the back. The was boats everywhere on the lake. It was a weekend. We were fishing with a snelled #6 eagle claw hook split shot rigged with night crawlers on light spinning tackle. We caught a bunch of small bass. I don;t think anything was over 2lbs. It was great! The looks we got from the serious bass fishermen when we caught a fish and we were hooting and hollering with each one. We camped out in a tent at the lake that Saturday night and I experienced my first and only earthquake. The Coleman lantern we had hanging from the tent poles was swinging and we were looking at each other saying I don't understand and it was over. I think it was the summer of 79. FM

Hey Pat, The 200 Coastal HSL with that big handle and at 7.3:1 ratio should fill the frog rod bill very nicely. The Coast 150 HSL is on sale ( 50 bucks cheaper at TW) and should still work fine. But for winching a big'un out of the slop I'd go with the big handled 200. Might check the JDM sites and be able to get a better buy. Also it would be a good for a dual purpose salt water "coastal" reel. FM

I fish crank baits with braid. I have Shimano reels on Diawa rods and Diawa reels on Shimano rods. Fishingmickey

Heck Funct, at least it is this year! And it is not a multi-year old retrieval from the depths of the archives. FM

I have a couple of the one piece black labels and a number of travel rods from Japan. IMHO the travel rods from Japan are fantastic rods. I have three, four and five piece rods. It is hard to tell the difference between the one piece and the multi piece rods. They are all spigot ferrules and the quality is very high. I use mine for air travel and with the possibility of doing some Kayak bass tournaments that I would fly to. Regards, Fishingmickey p.s. The Diawa Black label rods are very very nice too.

No idea, Mike. I'm down south of you and the Stillhouse marina used to sell minnow's and nightcrawlers. But I think they had a fire and went out of business. It's been a couple of years since I have been there. Good luck! Fishingmickey

White also. FM

Talk to your fellow team mates and ask questions! Does your team have a coach that could perhaps give helpful advice and let you know whats expected? Make sure you have your bases covered. What to bring, what time to be there, food, drinks etc. Know the rules!!! Then you can share it with us! FM

This is my jam.

Slider head? Basically a weighted skirt? FM.

Hi JJ, I have a Malone XT also, I've had it over a year now and have put probably five or six thousand miles on it. I seldom run under 65. I have buddy bearings. I tow with a SUV and I have no problems launching. Retrieving can be tricky depending on the steepness of the ramp. A shallow ramp I have to get out the water shoes and "help" the Kayak onto the trailer. Koz, I have a question for you. Where did you get your tongue extender? Same link for the winch? I think adding a couple of feet to the tongue would greatly decrease the backing and loading challenges. Fishingmickey

I'll take the 6th, 7th and 8th. FM

I use large deep diving crankbaits for a "poor mans" down rigger. A couple of the San Antonio lakes are stocked with Redfish. Trolling/downrigging has been the common method guides have used for catching them. 18 to 25' is about the normal depth I try to fish. I like to use The larger deep divers and remove the hooks. I tie about 5-6' of 20lb Mono or Fluoro leader to the middle hook attachment point. I usually use Storm swim shad in the 1/8 or 1/4 oz on the business end of the leader. I run 30# braid from the rod to the deep diver. The deep diver is usually a 6XD or DD22. I find that the thin braid really helps get the crank bait deep and the crank bait really imparts some excellent attraction and vibration to the swim bait. FM

Great video! Thanks, Glen!

Spot on! Koz. FM

Is the reel seat mis-aligned? FM

Have you coated the knot with UV or CA glue, Bulldog? FM

Hi Cricky, I'm guessing here... Fishing a very large plastic lure (1lb plus) with multiple tails like a jerk bait. Super physical, crank, crank, wind up the slack and "jerk" it 2-3' (ripping). Dawg, shown below. FM

Looks perfect to me. FM