the reel ess

I bought my daughter a kayak like the Bali, but she was petite and about 10 at the time. She ignored it after a while and we handed it down to her younger cousins. One thing I remembered about it is the scuppers always allowed water in and she would be soaking wet when we got in the truck. That's fine when it's 90 degrees, but when the water is in the 60s, not so good. You can put the scuppers that came with it in, but water will drip off the paddle and you'll still end up wet. If you think your boy will get a lot of use out of it, go for deal 2. I still own my first kayak with the molded-in seat and still use it sometimes. It's only good for a few hours before my butt and feet start falling asleep. But it's good for swampy places with stumps. I use a stadium cushion in the seat. The upgraded seat makes all the difference between getting tired of it after 3 hours and fishing all day.

The Wahoo spinnerbaits I see at Academy look pretty good as well. I'm really partial to the War Eagle gold series simply because of the gold blade/skit combo. It has been responsible for a PB.

Water temps in the 50's is middle of WINTER here. That would probably be jig/craw, lipless crank and a spinnerbait with single, big Colorado blade. We do get periods of Indian summer though. Some years, I've taken pictures of my fish in a kayak wearing shorts with bare feet. I like to put it off as long as I can.

Good replies. I didn't feel the need to change mine and I've caught a couple of fish over 6 on it. I think my buddy was swayed to do it because he lost a big fish. @primetimemy Chug Bug is a newer one as I only started fishing it in the last 2 years. Yeah @smalljaw67it is a unique action to topwaters. Half Pop R and half Spook.

You will if you fish the spawn, if you don't have a personal issue with that. It can really help you spot the bass before they spot you and get a long pitch to them. You don't really need to remain standing, just get a good look at all the beds in an area.

I throw them all together so that when I need one, they're hopelessly tangled up and my buddy catches a couple fish before I can get one tied on.

My buddy lost a big bass on the Chug Bug recently and decided to go one size bigger on the hooks. I've never had an issue with them. Does anyone change them out s a rule? Do you go a size bigger or just better quality?

Oh, those el cheapo spinnerbaits you see in the store brands catch fish as well for about $1 each. I still have some BPS Uncle Buck's brand spinnerbaits that are about 20 years old that work well. Take a little time and wire tie the skirts and they'll last a lot longer. Or you can get good "collared" replacement skirts from War Eagle, among others.

Norman's line of crankbaits can still be had for under $5. I think there are two grades of them and the higher grade is over $10. But the cheap ones with cheaper paint jobs catch bass and other species. Be careful though. Stripers can the the back hook off if your drag is too tight. Bandit crankbaits are a nice lower-priced bait, though not bargain basement. Over the years, I've mostly settled on mid-range baits. They catch fish without breaking the bank. So far, I've never spent more than about $16 on a single lure. Soft plastics are cheaper, but they do get used up and need to be purchased again. I have other expenses and it's hard to justify extremely expensive tackle.

I pitch a lot form the sitting position because I learned in a kayak that wasn't stable enough to stand in. Make your cast much like you do standing with a spinnerbait-more of a roll. When the bait touches down, thumb the spool and let the rod tip slow it down. You'll get a quiet drop in. As for skipping it under stuff, that's something that will require a lot of practice. It's hard to let go of the spool knowing you'll be putting the bait on the surface and expecting it to go past the first bounce. There's the method of starting your skip earlier in the cast as you do with spinning gear (or skipping a stone). But I usually do the same as I described before except I try to slow the landing instead of stop it. At the last moment, feather the spool and lift the rod tip for a gentler skip at the end. When it comes to getting back into the sticks and under overhanging stuff you just have to sling it in there. That's where the big mamas live and feel safe.

The big bass breaks the 6lb test line because it surges faster than your drag can keep up. It stretches the line to the point it loses its original shape. Once that happens it's compromised. Also, if you're crappie fishing, you aren't going to retie after every fish because even trophy crappie aren't going to break that line. You probably aren't even going to respool as often. The cheapest line is usually good enough for crappie, but not the larger bycatch.

In my opinion, it's a violation of man law to wear a jersey of the other sports if you are only a spectator. But at least the fishing jersey is functional.

Slower water, deeper pools. Wherever something breaks current. Wherever there's that little line between the slack water and a good flow, bass will like to sit just in the slack side in wait for food washing or swimming downstream. That goes for bream and catfish as well. In a big pool you'll sometimes see a bass or several cruising it. But they'll be easily spooked because, if you can see them, they can see you. After you've fished it all a few times, you'll take the mystery out and be able to go straight to the high percentage spots.

I like to use them more than diving ones because I fish a place that's pretty weedy most of the year. Even in winter there are weeds there. I can fish the lipless ones very slowly deep or speed them up a bit in the shallows and barely contact the weeds. I have no problem with strike detection as the fish normally slam it.

You can buy mid-to-high quality used reels off Ebay all day. But they'll usually have a worn out cast control or drag. Many of them are trade-ins that a tackle shop is trying to recoup some on. If you're reel-savvy, you can fix it and make out pretty cheap. Sometimes, you can take out the cast control washer, flip it and replace. Or you can send to BPS reel and rod repair and they'll usually fix it for the min fee of $19.99, especially if it's their brand. They have parts for almost any reel ever mass produced. I've done it with two reels and they never were "like new". I still ahve one and I use it only with heavy lures because it has a tendency to "professioanlly overrun." But used reels might be better than you can afford new. I eventually settled into the $100-130 range for new reels that will last for years to come. I just added 1 a year until I had a stable of 5. Most are Lew's Tournament MB.

Even if they don't come back, we are on a better trade footing with most other countries. China cheats at every turn.

Bingo! As with the NAFTA jobs that went to Central and South America, as soon as there is a cheaper or less costly alternative, they'll leave and go there. Corps have no choice but to remain competitive.

If you decide to add a rod you can easily add a flush mount rod holder or two. My Perception came with only one and I added one on the other side. After looking at the Perception kayak your wife likes, My Pescador has the same seat. Thecall it their Comfort Seating System (CSS). I added a little comfort by just using a stadium cushion in the bottom.

Kayak is the native American word for backache. Get one with a stadium seat. And I echo the sentiment that you should buy used. You'll get a lot more bang for your buck. I own two. The first one I bought was a Perception Sport Pescador 12'. Tracks well. semi-stable (can't stand on it). It has a padded seat and back, which was a bare minimum requirement for me. It was the old Wilderness Tarpon mold. It was and still is $599 at Academy Sports. There are a few kayaks in this range with better stadium type seats now. There were not when I bought it. It has since been redesigned, but not by much. It served me well for about 6 years. I upgraded to a Feelfree Lure 13.5. HEAVY, doesn't track well, really needs a rudder, has a comfy seat and even has the upgraded high back seat. I ended up trading for another of the same model, but with a stern-mount trolling motor kit. But I kept the first kayak because I can easily throw it in the truck and it only drafts a couple inches, so it's good for very weedy, shallow ponds full of stickups and so-forth. If I'm only fishing a couple hours or if I'll take some stretch breaks, I'm taking the smaller one. It's also a pretty gone one if I'm taking a friend or my daughter.

Yes. I don't use any fluoro either. Lately, I don't use any leader with braid.

I caught a bass once that had an offset shank (T-rig) hook in the roof of its mouth half rusted out. Most likely, someone broke off setting the hook. It was healthy and still eating. I kept and ate it though. It might be harsh, but I'd kill that fish to get my frog back unless it was some kind of trophy already. In that case, you could probably get your fingers to it. Killing an occasional fish is unavoidable if you routinely stick them in the mouth with sharp objects. Just remember the pliers next time.

Right. I get outfished routinely by my buddy, who until recently didn't even own a baitcaster. If I was a pro and spent 3 out of every 4 days on the water, then I'd want the best. Although I've seen a a lot of BPS Qualifiers on pros' decks over the years. They're probably specially tuned. My best combo is a $125 Lew's reel and a $130 Falcon Lowrider rod. But i bought the rod for $50 used. I cut corners where I can. I have two Lightning Rods for techniques that don't require sensitivity. They're light and have a great action. In fact, I caught a 7 pounder this spring on a decade old BPS Johnny Morris reel I bought used and a fossil of a Mitchell "100% graphite" rod that I know is more than 30 years old.

One: Texas rigged 6" worm, purple. But I was really bad at setting the hook because I had only caught bream and crappie before that. I mean, I'm sure I used an inline spinner like a Mepp's Comet and caught bass, but it was more of a catch-all-species lure for me. A little later, I got a second combo and used the Rebel Deep Wee R with some success because fish would hook themselves.

I guess the left one is the one the Pentagon prefers.

I used Daiwa when I was young because Bill Dance did. Now I don't want to buy their top of the line reels because I want to have 5 baitcast reels on the boat and I can't justify $2500 worth of reels on a kayak. So I settled in a comfy spot with 3 Lew's reels, 1 H20 and 1 BPS reel that fit my needs at a price point I didn't have to feel guilty about. I didn't buy all those Lew's at once. I liked the first one so much for my preferred price point that I kept buying them. I just like to stick with what has worked well for me and is a known quantity. I under stand some reels of different brands and store brands are made by the same factory. I have less brand loyalty with rods. When it comes to beer, I buy whatever strikes my fancy. I rarely drink the same one twice in a row.