Fishingmickey

I know your itching to try out your new yak Pond Bass. I'm not sure what the weight capacity is and what your weight is. But a 10' yak is kind of short and most likely designed for smaller sized individuals. If your of the larger size like my self (175lbs and up). You might have to upsize your kayak. It is winter time and even in Florida the water might get a little chilly. We're hitting mid-fifties here in Texas. Be careful out there and until you know your abilities and limitations always go out with a friend. It doesn't take much for a kayak to flip especially if your larger sized in a small sized yak and you get your center of gravity/balance outside the yak. It will go out from under you like a soap dish or bananna peel and you'll be swimming. Good luck and please be safe! Fishingmickey

B n B, Don't bother, it will detract from it's resale value. Paint will not stick to the plastic long term. It flexes more then the paint does. If you do go out on bigger lakes. It is good as Turtle mentioned to be seen. You do not want to become a camouflaged plastic speed bump. Bright paddle blades also increase visibility. Live long fish strong! Fishingmickey

I have several Kistlers (7-8), two are the Helium3's. Kistler brought back the Helium (due to popular demand) "lighter then air" LTA series a few years back. Not sure if the one your looking at is one of the original or the newer model. It sounds like it would be a excellent all around rod for use with 1/4 - 5/8 oz lures. I like my Kistlers a lot. Fishingmickey

Might want to look into a plastic fantastic (kayak).

Hi Reel, Here's my two cents on the subject. It would depend on the size of the fish your targeting. Pricing is slightly higher so you might have to pay some additional bucks or two I believe for the 130 WP. I am not a fan of the 90's. I have throw them both and the 90 if it gets a little piece of grass or something fouled on the blade it will spin the lure on the retrieve or if your try to burn it back after your out of the strike zone it has a tendency to spin. This will give your line problems with the excessive twists. You might look at the 110 size. I feel it is a good in between size. Fishingmickey

I/M, on your number #1combo, I would avoid using fluorocarbon on the spinning reel set-up. Mono, copoly or braid and a leader of fluoro would be a better choice IMHO. Fluorocarbon is just too stiff and springy. Fishingmickey

7' St Croix Mojo Bass MH fast

Was in the local San Antonio Academy store. They had Shimano Casitas reels on sale for 89.00 normal retail is 119.00. FM

I'm a little short on posts... maybe next year. FM

Just a FYI here, Lake Fork Marina and Motel has 25% off all fishing tackle for the month of November. A pretty good selection of high end tackle, some rods and reels too. FM

Might check out the Fenwick methods travel rod. It comes with five sections. You have a handle section, two middle sections and two top sections. I have one that is a medium and medium heavy and a moderate and fast tip sections.

Shimano Metanium, 150HG 25% off. It's on the way.

At Bussey's?

Hi Mich, I have both the Caenan and the Casistas (two of each). They perform very well and have proven to be good and reliable reels. I also have two of the Curado 70's, four Curado 300e's, one Curado 200e, a Curado K, a Citica Xship. two Chronarch's (CI4 model), a Scorpion JDM, one Tranx and a Metanium MGL JDM. So I might be a little Shimano biased. Not going to say anything about the Tatula's I've never tried them. From what I have seen here, elsewhere on the web and in the tournament circles the Diawa's are fine reels too. Regards, Fishingmickey p.s. I wouldn't pay a lot of attention to the number of bearings, it is the quality of them that counts.

Welcome aboard Pitch, WRB is spot on the line weight, 20# Fluoro is overkill for worm fishing unless your throwing a 10" worm and using a 1/2 oz weight. Try something in the range of 12#-14# Fluoro. There is a big difference between brands as far as the stiffness of the line goes. Some of the brands are very stiff which can really add to the backlash problem. I prefer the Sunline Shooter or Sniper. Seguar Tatsu is one of my favorites too, it is on the high end of the price spectrum. Seaguar Red label is a popular one also. I feel the backlash problem with fluoro is very much related to how stiff the line is and its tendency to self uncoil because of the stiffness. You might try some of the co-poly lines. Pline CXX and Yozuri hybrid to name a couple that get good reviews. Both test way over the breaking strength they are rated at and the diameter of the line shows that. So a 10 or 12# Yozuri hybrid or CXX will test out and have the same diameter as 15-20# fluoro or mono. There is nothing wrong with using mono either. I was a long time fan of Berkley 14# XL for castability. I have friends that swear by the Berkley Big game. Hope some of this convoluted conversations makes some sense to you. Regards, Fishingmickey

Here's one for y'all. some of you older gents might remember it. Heddon Dying Flutter in bass coloration. It might still be my personal best five fish stringer. This was the wooden (cedar) version. I wish they still made them. Fishingmickey

Hi Rock, What is the forage species in your lake there? Try to match the hatch. If it is crayfish, shad or minnows try those type lures. With very clear waters and bright sun it is a tough bite. You might try some top water lures like a popper or the original Rapala floating minnow. Fish them slow on light line. Another to try would be a rattle trap and go for the reaction type bite. I would try those in early morning or evening low light conditions for the best chances. The "magic" hours. The first hour from sun up and the last hour before sun down might be your ticket to catching some of the bigger bass. Good luck! Fishingmickey

Three colors for a spinner bait... They are Chartreuse, White and Chartreuse/White.

Bass, Here's my quick two cents. Bass when they jump and head shake with a large spook type bait with trebles can easily throw the lure because of the lure's weight being "flung around in their mouth" by the head shake. That's where keeping the line tension up and trying to keep the fish from jumping come into play. Early hook setting is or can be a real issue too! Like the one's you described that just pulled off while they were pulling drag. Big bass didn't get big by being dumb. A lot of learning is time on the water fishing and learning to wait that extra beat before swinging on the hook set. Also with top water lures I sometimes feel it is much better to use a sweep set instead of cranking down then swinging for the fence. Fishingmickey

You might check this out. https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/catchrelease/bass_length_weight.phtml Fishingmickey

Bat's underneath the Congress street bridge at dusk.... Yeah I can see that. Fishingmickey

Howdy Y'all, I figured I'd throw my two cents into the hat. I've been bass fishing for many years (40+). I fished Berkley 14# xl as my main stay line for years and years. I liked it better then Stren. I got into tournament kayak fishing a few years back and started trying out fluorocarbon and braid. I've found/figured out that fluoro can be a very good line if you get the better brands, FC Sniper, Seaguar Tatsu are the two I probably like the best. I've used the Sun line and Seaguar red they are good too but are somewhat stiffer. With fluorocarbon and baitcasters you have to be very careful when you pick out backlashes. I feel that Fluorocarbon really hates to be bent or kinked much more so then mono and you must cinch/tighten your knots much more carefully to avoid damaging the line. I have begun experimenting using braid (20,30 & 40#) with crankbaits and a moderate action or hybrid glass/carbon rods. Braid has another whole set of issues of it's own. I try to avoid using it, but if it gets me good fish in the boat and fills a bill that Fluoro and Mono can't fill I'm trying it out. Fishingmickey

Got some good Smallmouth to about three pounds and several northern to maybe 5-6 lbs. Didn't get to fish as much as I would have liked to. I did find a couple of good spots. The Smallies (most of them) came off one point and the Northerns were behind a island with weed patches growing to about five feet in 10-11' of water. Fishingmickey

P32 (aka John Wayne ala USMC), The reason there is problems with using fluorocarbon on a spinning reel is because the stiffness of the line. The stiffness causes it to come (fly) off the spool and not stop coming off when the cast is finished (lure hitting the water hopefully). Tatsu and Invisx are two of the more "limper" fluoro's. But they will stiffen with age and you can try to extend the life by using line conditioner. You can help eliminate some of the problem by feathering the line as it reaches the end of the cast with your fingers. Then close the bail with your palm as the cast finishes. If you go with the higher lb test lines (above 8-10 lb) it is so stiff the line doesn't want to feed through your first guide easily. The line slaps against the rod between the first guide and the reel. So my recommendation is to use mono. Berkley XL 8,10 or at most 12lb. If you want to go with the braid and fluorocarbon leader route you have to learn the knots. Albert or FG knot I think is the most preferred. Best Regards, FIshingmickey

Well I pulled the trigger on a "camp" yesterday. Got reservations for 9/4 - 9/7. Going to be fishing Great Pond and probably Long Pond in the Belgrade lakes chain. I will nail down the boat tomorrow. 17' aluminium with a 25hp Honda. Any fishing tips would be greatly appreciated. Did some research on you tube and it seems like Smallies and land locked salmon are the major targets. Not sure on the Pike populations there. Thanks in advance! Fishingmickey