Fishingmickey

Choporoz is pretty much spot on. The reason for the chain and the longer line/scope it to allow the anchor to "bite". Actually it is called setting the anchor. So when you want to anchor on a spot. Your would drive upwind or up current for the length of scope you want out plus the distance you want to have to cast to the spot. Drop your anchor, let line out till you get it to bite/set/hold and then let out some more line for scope and the boat position distance you want. The boat will swing back and forth on the bow anchor line. When you get to the widest portion of the swing you can drop a mushroom anchor tied off of a back corner cleat to prevent the boat from swinging. The anchor needs to be laying on it's side for it to bite, The chain helps keep it on it's side and adds weight. Practicing anchoring will really be helpful when the wind is nuking or your trying to fish deeper water or set up in a certain spot. In this day and age it is a somewhat lost art. FM

The Diablo Amigo is not thermo formed ABS it is roto molded.

I have a 14" deep vee alum. I use a 15# fluke type Danforth anchor on the bow with 6' of 3/8" chain shackled to the anchor. Depending on the wind and or current will determine how much scope you need. If it is really windy you might need as much as 5/1 scope so 20' of water 100' of anchor line. I also use a ten pound mushroom off the back to prevent the boat from swinging too much. Not nearly as much scope is needed off the back. Hope that helps. Fishingmickey p.s. probably doesn't need to be said, type of bottom makes a huge difference too.

Shimano fan boy here... I have a couple of the "K's and I have a Scorpion DC. I have/am testing the waters with a Tatula SV 105. They are all fine performing reels. The Scorpion DC does very well with the light weight baits. 1/8 oz-3/16 oz T-rigs and shakey heads. The "K"s are just super smooth and fish both light and heavy fairly well as long as your not trying to chunk into a 20 mph head wind with a spinner biat or light t-rig. They are all good reels. I also feel that the Shimano Casitas is a excellent reel for the money. Honestly I feel either way you go Diawa or Shimano your going to get a excellent quality reel. I also have Metaniums, Chronarchs, Curado 70's hence the fan boy.

No set rules on how to work your bait!! Vary your retrieves till the bass tell you how they want it. I like the "gee I fell from a tree" retrieve. Splashdown, wait a couple of seconds slight twitch, couple of more seconds slight twitch, twitch and just pick it up till you feel your at maximum twitch cycle or optimum spalooshing speed and rinse and repeat. Good luck, FM

That's as them Pro's like to say a "Bigg'Un". It looks to be 55-60" and I would guess minimum 45-50 lbs. high end maybe 70. Bet that took you a few minutes to get him/her in. Nice catch. FM

5" KVD finesse worm dirt on a Owner light wire 1/8 oz with a 2/0 EWG style light wire hook. Thrown on a 7' Kistler medium Helium 3, Shimano aldebrane 50 12# flouro. FM

This ^^^^^ is seriously the key. Unless it is one of the higher end wide beam kayaks like the Slayer Propel 10 or the Wildy Titan which is closer to 11'. My sweetheart has a Wilderness systems Tarpon 100 I tried it and flipped very easy. She's 5'8" 145 and I'm 6'1" 250.

JFrancho, How are you liking the Compass? I have been wanting to demo one but it is always rented. I'm thinking about a back up boat for my PA14 and is car top-able. I suspect it is probably faster and more maneuverable then the PA14. Love to hear your thoughts on the Compass so far. Fishingmickey

Semper Fi! Mike and welcome.

Congratulations to your wife, beautiful Pickerel! Hopefully be fishing Maine again this fall. FM

I assume you have come to love it because it works for you and catch's fish. I wouldn't do it, but hey for a buck...try it and see. FM

https://www.walmart.com/ip/KVD-Mustad-5-Split-Ring-Pliers/23704230 See if that one takes... I second them, had a pair for a couple of years now and like'em. FM

The best way for me to describe it when fishing a Texas rigged worm is. When you run into limbs, grass, rocks, stumps etc. They feel dead. Your running or pulling your lure into them. When you get a bite it is different. It's like living thing just struck, bumped, or hit your line. You can feel this difference between live and dead. Bluegill will machine gun tap a worm. Bass hit it and it stays "heavy". Learn to feel the bait at the end of your line. Don't make bomb (long) casts when fishing Texas rigged worms or bottom bouncing baits. No need to. Shorter the line the better your "sense" of feel is. Ten to twenty yards is plenty far, Accuracy is way more important then distance. Yes, paying close visual attention is also paramount. Bait stops sinking/falling before hitting the bottom. Line starts moving sideways or jumps and starts to move. Or it just can feel different. Mushy like, no feel at all or gets heavy. Reel down and set that hook. Fishing a jig is no different. Get good with fishing a worm and the other baits and lures will come naturally. I should have watched the video first.... FM

I wasn't even going there Fly...

Those darn kayaks, I'm proud to be one of them. It goes both ways, I've had Ricky Rocket and his nitro powered bass boat drop in 20-30 yards front of me when I'm running the bank with a spinner bait. Never have had him drop in behind, everyone knows a good yak fisherman leaves no stone un-turned. I do feel your pain and some of our lakes especially the popular ones can be pretty crowded on the weekends. There is nothing like the feeling after paddling for 20-30 minutes to get to a spot and a hundred yards before you get there Ricky shows up and drops in. Courtesy goes a long way and beating on each other just makes things worse. I try my best to be kind and considerate on the water and will continue to do so even when others of both species don't. Regards, FM

I was looking to pull the trigger on a Curado K and a Diawa Tatula rod last night. No sale on these two. FM

Hello Bass, What they mean by this is when a reel is spooled with straight braid (no mono or tape for backing). The entire spool braid can slip on the spool arbor. Braid is very slippery and without the monofilament backing or a couple of wraps of electrical tape around the arbor it will spin on the arbor. Hence the term "tied too loosely". I like to fill my reels (that have braid) about half way or maybe a little less with monofilament then tie a alberto knot and fill the rest of the way with braid. Hope that helps neighbor, Fishingmickey

I always have felt the trick to good results with the original floating Rapala was to wait. Fish it subtly and slow. Cast out, wait for the rings to disappear. Then slowly working it back with pauses and twitches. One of the other tactics that works for me is to cast out, let the rings disappear and then couple of twitches (like it is recovering from fall) then slowly bring it back in fast enough to make a wake and so the bait rolls/swims side to side. FM

Food for thought Quarry man. If you add in three large heavy batteries. A large deck, Trolling motor, couple of six gallon gas tanks, couple of large guys, cooler, loads of fishing tackle, etc. You might find that you have exceeded the boat's weight carrying capacity. it will ride low and slow and be dangerous in choppy water conditions. I do like how the one in the pictures is set up with the additional mounting plates for seating changes while running. FM

Chubaka, Belly boats can be a lot of fun and enable you to get very sneaky. I found using regular swim/diving fins worked much better then what they try to sell as float tube fins. Good for small ponds, lakes and slow moving rivers. As far as leaks go. Bring along some duct tape or a patch kit. Have a inflator/12 volt air compressor in the car. FM

Hi Jason, A couple of things to try or thoughts on my part anyways. Don't overfill the reel, fill to about 3/4 or slightly more. Fluorocarbon is the hardest line to cast without getting a backlash. Because it is stiff it likes to keep coming off the reel. Try using some Berkley XL 12# or 14#. Berkley Big game is another favorite here. Try it in that same pound test. If you want to go to 30 or 40# braid. You might try going out in the backyard and making some short casts before going to the lake. With a baitcaster you have to "load" the rod to make it cast well. What I mean by this is when you bring the rod back it has to bend then start the forward motion to complete the cast. It doesn't work well if you bring the rod back and stop. Stopping lets the rod unload and then you bring it forward and release the reel and it creates the back lash. Last but not least, what your trying to cast might just be too light. That's where the spinning rig comes into play. Good luck and hope some of what I typed makes sense for you. Regards and tight lines, Fishingmickey P.S. I wouldn't go with the bargain basement cheapest you can buy line. That may cause problems in itself. p.p.s.s. ya gotta use your thumb.

I have had success with Chapstick on zippers and boat cover snaps. FM

Two screaming spinning reelS in harmony?

From your picture Wurming It looks like you already have the brass insert. It has discolored/darkened with age. The brass insert works with the "T" handle or lever style plugs. On those type of plugs you can screw the "T" or the lever and it should cause the rubber portion of the plug to expand. I'd do this out of the boat first then insert it in the sleeve/tube and try screwing it tight. It should tighten/expand as you turn the "T" or lever with the plug inserted. If all that is fine. Then a close inspection of the tube is in order. If it leaks at the tube then replacing the insert is in order. that is another "fun" job. Good luck and hope the above helps. Fishingmickey