Turtle135

Was back out on the same water yesterday. The water temperature had risen to 50 degrees so I was expecting a good bite but six hours in I was still waiting for my first bass. What the heck? I just kept grinding away with the jig. I am in one of those month long online tournaments where you post your best five bass by length for the month. I was tempted several times to abandon the jig and hit some laydowns with a spinnerbait just to fill up my limit. However those smaller bass would just need to culled out so I persevered with the jig. Boom!

10 is a lot, here are 5! Culprit 10" Ribbontail Worm in Tequila Shad Berkley Powerbait 10" Power Worm in Tequila Sunrise Netbait Baby Paca Craw in Alabama Craw Netbait Tiny Paca Craw in Alabama Craw Netbait B Bug in Black Blue Flk

years ago I used this setup

You can mount the transducer in "Plumber's Putty" aka "Duct Seal". See the video below. You do not need to sand the hull and I do not think you should ever sand a transducer. The advantage to using putty is that you can easily relocate it or reinstall it. Personally, I was never pleased with the results from shooting through the hull. I always wanted the immediate water temperature you get by having the puck in the water. I felt the down imaging on my Humminbirds was degraded by shooting through the hull as well. The downside to having puck on a transducer arm is that you will catch weeds and wood cover. My current kayak, the Tarpon 130x, has the Flex Pod, which gives me the best of both worlds. The puck is in the water but it is protected from objects by the design of the transducer scupper. Good luck!

Got out on the local reservoir yesterday. While the water was still only 45 degrees the female largemouth are already hanging around the spawning flats. The other day I was catching males in 3-4 feet of water around laydowns. Yesterday, with the cloud cover, the females were also in 3-4 feet of water but not tight to any wood cover. I think they were roaming around looking for something to eat. A 1/2 ounce jig with a Tiny Paca Craw swum along the bottom with frequent long pauses did the trick.

looks like these guys carry some of their products: https://www.basstacklemaster.com/category-s/159.htm note: I have never purchased from the site

I had the same problem with Vanish. As soon as it got wet it would break!

In short that 12 pound test Big Game was a good choice for starters. Since it sounds like you are new to casting reels I would stay away from Fluorocarbon for now. Monofilament is much more forgiving of overruns. If you get a kink in Fluoro picking out a backlash you may have significantly weakened the line. That stiffness you detect in the Big Game should not be an issue on a casting reel. Casting reels handle heavier and stiffer line much better than spinning reels do. Since you also intend to use that baitcaster for a wide variety of techniques (jerkbaits, crankbaits and worms) I suspect you will also throw the occasional topwater bait with it as well. In that instance you would not want to use Flourocarbon (better to use mono or braid for topwater as those lines float). Good luck to you!

Those Northern Snakeheads are going to establish themselves in Upper Potomac River after a few spring floods. I do wonder how well they will do in that environment. Hopefully they will not have much of an impact on the smallmouth bass fishery.

I was out on Saturday and Sunday. Water temperature was 45 degrees. I was fishing laydowns in 3-4 feet of water. The bass may have moved shallow but you need to figure out what their temperament is each day. On Saturday the bass were hitting the jig on the initial drop. On Sunday the presentation that worked was to pitch the jig into the wood and then just let it sit still for 30 seconds. The bass would pickup the jig off the bottom. All I needed to do was watch the line and then set the hook.

I would recommend assembling your own jigs. There is very little investment in purchasing skirt making material. A 10-pack of skirt tabs costs only $ 2.00 to $ 2.50 at Fishing Skirts (one of the places I purchase skirt material). I also make a lot of jigs with round rubber which is even less expensive when purchased in bulk. Find a jig style you like for bladed jigs and purchase the plain jigs heads painted or unpainted. Your cost per jig that you tie up will likely be less than $ 1.75 total. Finished jigs these days go for $ 3.50 and up. https://fishingskirts.com/ http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/ http://www.lurepartsonline.com/

tubes

completely normal! watch out for those who do not share our addiction, something is seriously off with those kind!

That would be quite the haul to make a tournament that starts at sunrise. They must run most of their tournaments down in the southern part of the state. I have the MAKBF here in Maryland with tournaments in VA, PA and DE as well. About the farthest I have to drive would be 2.5 hours one way. KBF has online state challenges starting in April: https://tourneyx.com/app/tourney/1704-wv-kbf-state-challenge-april-2017

Just a suggestion. Trying contacting 3M (phone, email or chat) and see if they have a solution that would also be removable. http://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/All-3M-Products/Tapes-Adhesives/Industrial-Tapes-and-Adhesives/?N=5002385+8710676+8710815+8711017+3294857497&rt=r3

I have never fished the Kayak Bass Series but I have a couple of friends who fished several of their live tournaments last season. You may want to also check out the Mountain State Kayak Anglers for something closer to home. Their 2017 schedule is up on their website. https://www.mskawv.com/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mskawv/

A Red Swamp Craw from the Tidal Potomac River. Not surprisingly Red Shad Ribbontail worms can get crushed by Largemouth Bass and Blue Cats when the conditions are right.

I like the Netbait B Bug. I fish it two ways. 1. Texas Rigged with a pegged tungsten sinker. I primarily pitch this presentation in heavy vegetation. I will drop it into a hole or fish it along a weed edge. I will let it hit the bottom, yo-yo it a few times, then retrieve for another pitch. 2. As a jig trailer

I am a paddler but I have no problem competing against pedal driven kayaks in bass fishing tournaments. I see the pedals being an advantage in certain fishing situations such as trying to hold position in current and strong wind. Those fins and props are not well suited to all fishing situations however. Many of the places I prefer to fish would destroy that equipment hanging down below the kayak. At the crazy pace that kayak bass fishing tournaments are progressing (like $ 35,000.00 to the winner in this year's national championship and $ 100,000.00 to the winner in 2018) I believe a kayak tournament junkie will likely need a few kayaks in his stable to choose from. Some waters favor pedals, others are more suited to the paddle.

I have not called to check but Triadelphia might be closed to boating and fishing until they are done with the Brighton Dam rehab project. The number to call is (301) 206-4386. "During this time the Triadelphia recreation areas including the boat ramps will be closed to the public." "It is estimated to take approximately two years to complete." https://www.wsscwater.com/brighton

I can't help you. I am addicted to fishing jigs as well. Most days on the water I am not looking for numbers of bass. I prefer fishing for a few good size ones or just one monster would make the day for me as well. There is something about the simplicity of fishing a jig that appeals to me. I know that on some days I am passing on a hot bite but in the back of my mind when I set the jig down I feel like I am missing an opportunity to catch a personal best.

Yes, flyfisher is correct. These tournaments are won with length. Most are your best 3 or 5 bass photographed on a "Hawg Trough" with a unique identifier. Uploaded from your smart phone for judging and a polygraph for the money winners.

I do not want to run afoul of the rule where we should not promote a particular tournament but they have announced a kayak bass fishing tournament where the winner will walk away with $ 100,000.00! I have been bass fishing from a kayak since 1991. I find that it is a great way to get out and truly enjoy nature. I also enjoy fishing my local tournament series. We typically walk away with two, three hundred bucks if we win. 100 grand for a tournament is hard to get my mind around. Crazy stuff!

I would recommend Trilene XT or Trilene Big Game over the XL version for a baitcasting reel. If you take a look at the diameter for 12 pound test XT and Big Game (they show this on Berkley's website and on Tackle Warehouse) you will see that XT is a thicker line. Berkley XT 12 pound test: .015 inches Berkley Big Game 12 pound test: .014 inches XT tests out with a much higher break strength than what the package has. Personally I use XT 14 and 17 pound test on my baitcasting reels. I like the 17 pound test down on the Tidal Potomac River where the water is almost always off color and there are plenty of obstructions that can damage your line. Just my suggestion. Get a spool of 12 pound test Big Game and try it. It won't break the bank and if you find you need to use heavier line move up to the 15 pound test.