Turtle135

Stanley

Have you been fishing the Upper Potomac River (known for the smallmouth bass fishing) or the Lower (aka: Tidal) Potomac River (known for largemouth bass fishing)?

They do have a note that you have to ship the "item" back to them. I imagine shipping something back to China with "trace ability" is not an inexpensive endeavor. If it is a ripoff I wonder if they are counting on a percentage of purchasers to just give up on their $ 30.00 out of pocket and not ship anything back.

I also own two of the Lew's Speed Spool LFS Series, Model: SSG1H. For the money they are hard to beat. I also have 4 other Lew's baitcasters. Lew's has become my favorite brand so I decided to try out of couple of the LFS. Right out of the box I was impressed. In my opinion these cast smoother with better distance than equally priced reels. I have had the two LFS reels for about 6 months. I am not sure about their durability over the long haul but that is just because I have not owned them long enough to know first hand. So far, no problems.

I will take the typical tandem spinnerbait and remove that front blade assembly. Since the blades are on a split ring you can purchase separate size and color blades from Janns Netcraft, Lure Parts Online, etc. and swap them out.

here is a tip on casting lighter weight presentations with a baitcaster

I do not but check this website: http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2012/02/kayak-fishing-monopod-conversion-for.html

I like single bladed spinnerbaits for erratic retrieves and in cold water situations. Pull the spinnerbait over a limb or other piece of cover then let it flutter down on the other side. It seems to me that a single blade "helicopters" better on the drop. For slow roll retrieves the blade gets rotating more quickly than a multi-bladed spinnerbait.

is this the older model which was tip heavy in my opinion?

I second the chatterbait and dark colored jig approach as your one/two punch. Under those conditions pat yourself on the back for the 3 pounder and the other bite. Realistically down at that water temperature that is what you are fishing for over the course of a day (just a couple of bites). The positive is that you can also catch the biggest bass of the season (which is what keeps me fishing through the winter). My personal experience in cold water is that a lot of lure changes never got me anywhere. I will stick with 2 or 3 proven presentations and just keep grinding. It is more about location and persistence. Also, I think the backwaters would be the place to be right now. Bass will be looking to get out of current and if you can find banks that get the most sun you have tilted the odds in your favor. Good luck! Hope you stick a big one.

Nice largemouth! Maybe carry a plastic trash bag, place that on the ground & the bass on that. Easy to stuff into a pocket and I would think that would keep the bass clean and protect the slime layer pretty well. Fill it up with any garbage on the way out and you have left it better than you found it (and gathered some good fishing karma to boot!)

I always try to let the jig fall straight down on a slack line as that generates more bites on the drop for me. I estimate that 75% of the strikes I get I feel either a "tick" or a preferably a "POW" travel up the line. I fish jigs on a baitcasting setup with heavy monofilament line. For the other 25% of the time I generally detect a different feel when I "weigh my jig". If the weather conditions are really crappy then most of my casts will be short (like 15 to 25 feet). I catch them at night on jigs when it is totally based on feel. As to when is a good time to throw a jig I subscribe to the "always" theory! Good luck and keep throwing jigs.

I remember standing in a Hudson Trail Outfitters back in 1991 having the same internal debate. Kayak versus Canoe (I wound up choosing the kayak). When I am bass fishing in heavy cover I do make a lot of micro adjustments with my paddle to change the presentation angle. With a sit on top kayak that paddle rests quietly in my lap. It is easy to pickup that paddle and do a one handed paddle stroke. My Ride 115 is easy to stand in particularly with the latest and greatest seat they came out with last year. I have always felt that due to the ease of getting on and off the water (I have a pickup truck) that I fish as much or more as anyone with a full time job. Good luck in your choice!

We had the dreaded spring cold front pass through Friday night just as the water temps were hitting the 60 degree mark. Was fishing with two other anglers on Saturday and we all struggled to find the bite. I got 3 bass in a full day of fishing but at least they were all quality fish. I was pitching a 1/2 ounce Stanley Spinnerbait around shoreline wood.

I fish straight through the winter here in Maryland. Water temperatures at their lowest can be in the mid to high 30's. Mostly I deal with water temps in the 40 - 45 degree range. I wear a full drysuit and have my PFD on 100% of the time. I have practiced deep water re-entry into my sit on top kayak. In my opinion a sit inside kayak or a hybrid is not a great choice in cold water. If you turtle and swamp either of those you could be in serious trouble. At least with a SOT, if you are able to re-enter your kayak, you stand a better chance of surviving.

Great looking bass! So your wife had to get you away from the TV and your Mom had to teach you the value of fishing slowly?

nice largemouth, I fixed your picture!

I think you need to give the Ned Rig a try. If the pond contained mostly small bass typical sized bass presentations may be too large for those fish. The Ned Rig will let you know as even tiny bass will inhale that presentation. If you are still not catching them with the Ned Rig then there maybe a serious problem with the number of bass remaining in that pond.

Congrats on the new yak! I have been fishing for bass from a kayak since back in 1991. I have always felt I got more than my monies worth out of every kayak I have owned.

One of my fishing buddies has an ATAK. I think the removable console for the whole fish finder assembly is pretty useful. He cartops so he can remove the whole console and fish finder very quickly. I am not sure how the Lure handles that issue. Can you get a test paddle in with each? It may come down to which seat you prefer.

Yes, that is a lethal looking hook on that jig!

I would say you are correct in that is does not happen 99.9% of the time. A case in point would be the Potomac River in my area. A river that is 405 miles long with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles and contained zero largemouth or smallmouth bass until they were introduced there by man in the late 1800's. If the bird transfer theory was viable I would have expected that the range of the largemouth and smallmouth would have expanded coast to coast long before modern man came along and bucket stocked all these bodies of water.

A while back I had picked up some 3/8th ounce Grid Iron Arky Jigheads from Seibert Outdoors. That is a really nice jig head with an extremely sharp Owner hook. I tied a few up Saturday night with about a tab and a half of round rubber (brown, black and tan) and used a Netbait Baby Paca Craw in Alabama Craw as a trailer. I planned on fishing the upper end of the local reservoir where the prespawn largemouth first start showing up in spring when the water gets to 55 - 58 degrees. I found fish on banks protected from a NW wind with a fairly fast drop into 3-5 feet of water. Almost always tight to the shore and laydown logs. That Arky Jighead allowed me to skip that jig right into the heart of those laydowns. The first two bass are the best from Easter. The others are some better jig bass from earlier in the season.

I am pretty sure Zona is using the screen name "Kamala"

nice looking kayak! I believe you chose wisely, finding a kayak that is easy to get on and off the water with leads to more frequent use