Fishingmickey

Regarding the WP's I really like the 75 size over the 90. The 75 has a shorter fatter (more keel) body then the 90. I have had problems with the 90 picking up weeds or fine trash and spinning (the body) on the retrieve. It creates line twist very badly in a very short amount of time. The 75 has the same sized spinner fin as the 110 also. FM

Your battery was under water for a period of time? it might be shot. What did your trolling motor battery meter say? Remove the battery from the boat, clean the terminals, put the battery on a charger over night. FM

First things first, get it all dried out and cleaned up. Then (if you know how) get a multi meter and check out your batteries and see if they still have a charge. Check all of your fuses. If you have one (or you've got a charge on your other ones) use a battery and start checking individual components (fish finder, trolling motor, bilge pump lights etc one at a time. If your not familiar with a multi meter, take it to the shop or bribe one of your fishing friends that is electrically inclined with a fishing trip or beer to come and give you a hand on checking it all out. Good luck and hope you get it sorted out with out too much damaged to the pocket book. FM

I disagree. 50# is overkill. I'd go with either a 30# or at most 40# on the braid. I am going to assume that you'll probably not be using much heavier then a 15-16# leader if not 10 or 12lb FC or mono (think light topwater plugs for the mono). Lighter lines will "fit" the rod and action better and your lures will have better action with lighter line. Also with a medium action rod you won't be throwing heavy baits or I hope not anyways. You not trying to wrassle big'uns out of thick cover (info from your original post). The line diameters will match better which IMHO make for better connection knots. Also again IMHO learn to tie the FG knot because it is the best braid to leader knot out there. Let the disagreeing begin. Fishingmickey

I really like my Scorpion DC. Love the zing. FM

There really isn't much difference in size "gap" wise in between 3/0 to 4/0. When I size match a hook to the plastic I am using. I want to make sure there is enough gap behind the hook. Too small a hook means too much plastic on the hook before the shank. With small robo or robo "like" finesse sized worms I'll drop down to a 2/0 or 1/0 hook. That's because this thickness of the plastic is much less. So finesse sized worm is maybe 3/32 - 1/4" in diameter. a 7" worm is 1/4" - 5/16" in diameter a 10' worm is closer to 3/8"-1/2" in diameter. I hope this explains it better. FM

Hi Paul, My favorite straight shank hooks for worm fishing are the Gamakatsu round bend worm hooks. Owner makes a good straight shank round bend too. For the 7" worms I like the 3/0 and for the 10" and up (the thicker plastic worms) I go 5/0. The bronze gammy worm hooks are needle sharp too and work great for finesse T-rigged worm fishing. The reason I like the lighter wire hooks for "thin" worm fishing is because the force needed to penetrate the fishes mouth much less then with a thicker wire hook. Basically less force required to "set" the hook. FM

Queen sized air mattress here with the accessories.

I'm also a proponent of the dumb bell for an anchor and 50 to 75' of 1/4" rope. I use a 8lb anchor for mine. They come up a lot cleaner, easier to get muck and grass off of and I haven't had any snagging problems (yet). Been tournament kayak fishing for five years now. My advice as far as finding a good fishing kayak on a limited budget is to buy a quality name brand kayak used. There are some very good lightly used kayaks that people bought and figured out that kayak fishing wasn't for them. Avoid the cheap under sized kayaks. Remember that the seat is everything! A cheap crappy seat will leave you "sore" in no time. Name brands like Wilderness systems, Nu-Canoe, Hobie, Jackson, Feel free, Native are going to make your fishing time way more enjoyable. Good luck, FM

Yes, using a second anchor would keep you from swinging on the pivot point of the power pole. By really thinking how you deploy the anchors. You should be able to anchor quietly. Drop that front anchor and pay out some line. paddle/pedal back and to the side. Set you power pole and then take up the slack on the bow anchor and secure. Anchoring properly is a lost art form FM

HI Elijah, That Shimano Sellus you have is not a bad rod for the bucks.I have a couple of them and they are good with both reaction baits and bottom contact. You might check out the Berkley Lighting or Shock rods also. They are also a decent "cheap" rod. Often times you can find them at Wal-mart for under 30 bucks. Good luck in your hunt. FM

See if you can find some of the Bill lewis floating traps and use some suspend dots to weight them. FM

I noticed that too. It has gotta be bassackwards. FM

Know the location of the nearest bathroom. I second beetle spins, small crank baits and split shot finesse worms. Might bring along night crawlers or crickets if ya can get'em. Are the john boats going to be equipped with trolling motors or something to control boat positioning? Good luck! FM

This topic hit's a nerve with me. I kayak tournament fish and I really like the CPR format. In five years time I know I have caused the demise of at least one fish. I think about the some terms we as bass fisherman use to describe catching a fish. Ripping lips is probably foremost one that comes to mind. Seeing pictures with blood dripping down the side of the fish or covered in dirt of grass. The hero shots with holding a obviously large fish by the bottom jaw horizontally and no belly support at arm's length. Holding five fish in two hands. I'm not a namby pamby tree hugging attributing human feelings to fish kind of guy but I also believe in not giving non-fishing people and PETA types ammo to crap on my favorite past time. I'm probably going get fried in oil and burned at the interweb stake for making these comments. Anyone else feel the same way? FM

Here is a pic of my transducer set-up and fish finder on my Diablo amigo. I changed to a 1.5" ram ball mounted to the deck instead of the railblazer mount. I liked this setup because it allowed me to remove everything for car topping. Kind of hard to see but the Ram transducer arm mount is attached to a ram 1" ball track mounted. Hope it helps. FM

Take your two best spinning combos use them for light weight baits. Ned rig, drop shot. Senko and small jigs. Take your two best casting combo's. Tie on a 7-8" Texas rigged worm with a 3/16-1/4 oz weight (Green pumpkin, black/blue or Pumpkin seed) on one and a Jig 3/8-1/2 oz with a matching trailer craw (using the same colors) on the other. Fish the worm and jig till your arms fall of then fish them some more before picking up the spinning rods. The best way IMHO to become a really good bass fisherman is to master the worm and the jig. Imagine the bait falling through the water watch your line as it falls. Be the bait, feel the bait and then you'll get bit. the bite will feel "alive" you'll know it is a bass. Only after your arms have fallen off and your eyes are crossed can you pick up one of the spinning rods. The Texas rigged worm will catch better numbers I think and the Jig will yield better sized fish. Carry a original floating Rapala, a size 5 or 7 Rapala shad rap and a 1/8 oz jig head for the spinning rods. Remember the KISS theory. And always slow your retrieve down when fishing worms and jigs. FM p.s. Accurate short casts are much better then long inaccurate casts. You can feel the bait and set the hook much better the closer the bait it is to you.

I've had it get blown out of the water a time or two. I've also had a five or six pound bass gently pick it off of the top and suck it down like a trout slurpng a fly. That was something and talk about heart pounding. I saw the fish slowly come up and just look at it for what seemed like an eternity then it committed came up the last 4-5 inches and took the bait.

XT is pretty much the same as Big Game IMHO. XT stands for extra tough. XL stands for extra limp. I think without fact checking that XT is a slighty larger diameter then XL and is about the same diameter as Big Game for the rated breaking strength. I used to use the XL for many many years until fluorocarbon and Sun line came along.

I find the Clear Tiny Torpedo to be the bomb (good) in the summer time in lakes with shad. FM

I'm in the no trailer no trailer hook camp. I have fished a spinner bait for many years and one is always tied on. As far as losing fish I think it is a inherent trait of the lure itself. I have noticed maybe more so then any other bait. I will get hit/bit the first instant it hits the water. I swear the some of the bass have to be tracking it in the air to hit the lure so fast. If you don't get a good hook set right off the bat and concentrate on keeping the fish pinned when they jump and head shake you'll get plenty of paaaahtoouy have you spinner bait back returns. FM

Here is a picture of a M-Pac jig head. they also make a full line of jigs. Might be a solution to fiber brush guard possible missed hook sets. I have not used them much. FM

When I helped (built) my step sons Pinewood derby car. I made it along the lines of the old time F1 race car (simple but cool shape). I used lead egg weights drilled a slightly smaller hole then the egg weight and forced fit them. Painted it emerald green metal flake and added number decals to each side and the front. Took it to the post office to make sure it weighed right at the max. Dry graphite powder on the wheels and axles for sure.

NuCanoe hands down...

Might check out the Feel free Lure 11.5. Vibe makes a pretty good Kayak IMHO and they have a excellent seat. FM