MIbassyaker

Right on. 👍 Way to call the audible.

Any of the less expensive ones because I'm probably going to lose it.

Congrats on the first! Here's a White for comparison -- notice the vertical barring of spots on the sides, while your Black Crappie's spots are evenly scattered: Not a foolproof distinction, but pretty reliable as a rule-of-thumb. Dorsal fin spines should be counted to be sure -- blacks have 7-8, whites have 5-6. I tend to find more white crappies in the river systems here and more black crappies in the lakes and ponds.

Still the Pad Crasher, although I haven't bought any new ones in a few years. I like the Pad Perch too.

Rating varies from about 1 to 4 depending on what I'm doing. I may be walking a bank and occasionally wading with a rod or two, and a pack. I may or may not have waders and a net. Or I could be in an angling kayak equipped with a sonar unit with gps, map-creation, down-imaging and side-imaging. 5-6 rods of varying powers and actions, anchor, net, digital scale, measuring board. But no FFS, no more tackle than I can fit in a crate behind me (and usually less), and no motor of any kind other than a paddle. 💪

Chartreuse with a black back gives the crankbait a color pattern that mimics countershading --dark on back, lighter on belly-- which is extremely common throughout the animal kingdom, including most of the baitfish and other critters bass eat. Does that make it better? I dunno.🤷‍♂️

If it really is a bass I'd like to see it... but to be honest, it was probably a pike.

Coupla beasts!

Oh yes, even in clear water, shallows are attractive to bass because there is potential for a lot of food. As long as there is good cover (especially shaded, overhead cover), you should be able to find some hanging out up there. I do fish a couple small, clear natural lakes in which there don't tend to be be many larger bass up shallow in the summer, but it's not a universal trend. A frog, swimjig, and a t-rigged ultravibe speed worm are great to try around shallow pads & reeds in clear natural lakes.

I'm pretty new to trout, but they're very popular here (traditionally much more so than bass), with lots of good coldwater streams in my area, as well as the anadromous runs starting in Fall. I've been here 15 years, and only in the last few have I really tried my hand occasionally at fishing for them. It's a nice change of pace.

Little brownie.

I was just thinking -- My overall average catch rate over a typical season is about 2 bass per hour. At 4 hours per trip (also typical), and 2 trips per week (which is usually the most frequent that I can manage), it takes me a little more than 2 months of fishing at my most active to catch 154 bass.

Yeah, not much space, so you learn quickly what's essential and what is not! I don't doubt your wrist is hurting, after the workout it's been getting the last couple weeks.

How'd the kayak feel?

FWIW, as a great enjoyer of gallows humor, I also laughed.

That's when you go find moving water and do a float for river smallmouth.

Meow.

Post frontal morning, foggy and calm. Launched at 5:45am, 30 min before sunrise. Stayed 4 hours. Three small buzzbait bass pretty quickly. Then things were pretty slow; just two more 12"-13"guys, a spinnerbait fish and a senko fish: Big fish was not a bass, but a channel cat. I caught one here last year too on the same bait, a Siebert Fogy, Today's was a bit bigger:

My favorite method is in the morning with nobody around.

Looks exactly like the type we have in the natural lakes here -- P. perfoliatus. Known regionally as "cabbage." The stuff can reach the surface in 15' of water, and bass could be hanging around at any depth.

This is a hill I will die on: There is nothing about baitcasting gear that makes casting inherently more accurate than with spinning gear. It is the angler who is more or less accurate with one than the other, not the rod and reel itself. There exists no great feat of accuracy one person can do with a baitcaster that another cannot do with a spinning rod and reel, given experience and practice.

I have a 7'0" MF Fenwick Techna (rated for 1/4oz to 5/8oz) that gets a lot of utility duty like this -- smaller squarebills and topwaters, smaller spinnerbaits, light t-rigs, finesse jigs. I also have a 6'6" MF St. Croix Premier that serves the same role for more close-quarters work, like when I'm floating a small river.

Well, if New York City can have a Naked Cowboy, then I suppose Kalamazoo can have a Naked Angler...

Very similar timing and situation on my lakes right now. The last few times out, a weightless Super Fluke has been good. Yesterday I got a few to hit a popper.

Pure Michiganᵗᵐ