the reel ess

NM Merry Christmas!

And I quoted him. He was referring to a backup $5 scale

He said the $5 spring scale

Spring scales are almost always wrong and that will be in one direction so that everything you weigh will weigh either lighter or heavier than it really is. At least the length average is dead in the middle of the bell curve.

I'd trust the length-only method more.

Welcome from a fellow SC fisherman. My aunt lives in Irmo. I am up around Wateree. But I usually fish local ponds and private waters from a kayak now. Occasionally I make a trip to the Wateree R or the lake. I've been on Murray, but it was for stripers.

I learned to downsize to catch fish when it's really hot in the middle of the Dog Days. I reverted to the ol' Do-Nothing split shot rig. Later I changed it to a light weight C-rig with a T-rigged Zoom finesse worm. I learned that the loud colors like bubble gum and lime don't work as well as pumpkin and watermelon when the bite gets tough. This is really hard for me because I LOVE to fish and don't get to nearly enough by my estimation. My 12 YO daughter has a kayak as well and I like for her to go with me. But she bumps into me, slaps the water and makes a general racket. She's just not into fishing and she told me she was just about done kayaking with me because all I do is fish and it makes me sad. She was so excited when I first bought the kayak for her in the late winter that she would go outside and sit in it. I asked her if we could do one more trip when it warms and leave the fishing rods at home.

You can use larger lures. Huge ones even. But you'll run the risk of days with no bites.

From a kayak you can lip them all. In fact, I'd probably lose more trying to get the net ready and keep the fish hooked up. If they're heavy you just let them rest with most of the body in the water. It's better for them. I haven't caught the bass I won't lip yet.

Count the days. I usually keep trying to fish. But this year, circumstances have conspired against that. Family obligations have dictated my activities. My daughter is also involved in an activity that will take up a bunch of Saturdays in Jan & Feb. I will try to get some Sunday afternoons in in February though, weather permitting. I'm replacing the trolling motor on my big boat with a spare one my buddy has. It's a Minn Kota foot control 46 that comes with the Bass Tracker. He replaced it with one with variable speed control. And I'll buy and set up a new combo.

Especially in rocky areas. Don't be afraid to retrieve it over logs and limbs. A lot of bites will follow.

I've floated down a local river a few times and always caught bass behind wood and rock current breaks or behind an eddie. Look for places that completely block the flow and drop a bait right behind them. You won't catch many largemouth in a rapids section. They prefer places where the flow is slower. Bass will be hiding in the slack current watching for bait to wash by. I've mostly used cranks for this. They love the Rebel Wee Craw.

There was a time in my fishing "career" where I thought Lightning was a top quality rod. I have older MH and a M 6-6 BC rods and a newer M spinning rod. All of them are for presentations that don't require sensitivity. In fact, you can benefit from the lack of sensitivity.

Fish more often Get a new PB. Meaning, fish more for large bass.

Cinder blocks make good, cheap pontoon boat anchors. If you lose one you're out about 40 cents. On a really breezy day, use two.

The first time I ever used a Spook, the classic one, not any variation, I caught 5 fish on 5 casts and the 6th broke off. I didn't have another one so I tied on a Pop R and didn't get another bite. I think a Spook is a good search bait. It hits the water like a brick so you probably don't want to cast it at targets. As mentioned above, poppers are a little more spot specific. So I really don't know what it is that would make fish differentiate. A Spook is a quieter bait, so I think it needs to be calmer for fish to locate. A Pop R will sit in place longer if you want to make shorter or less frequent pops with it. However, I have two Spook, Jr's now with knockers and one has a chugging face. I think it helps draw fish from distance. Sometimes, when i really think I'll be getting some topwater action I'll tie a Spook on one rod, a Pop R on another and a Frog on yet another. Or I might use a buzzbait or a Chug Bug instead of one of these. That way the fish can tell you. If you are with another fisherman, don't be using the same bait as he is until you're sure fish want it more. And vice versa. The Chug'n Spook, Jr and the Chug Bug are hybrids of these two baits.

Kayak, paddle (you will eventually forget this), paddle leash, PFD, Homemade crate with rod holders. tackle box I leave in the truck. One small clear Plano box in the crate. As many combos as I think I might need already rigged with what I think they'll bite. I have holders for 7, including in the crate. Usually I take 5-6. A few bags of the soft plastics I plan on using. Pliers. A weight scale. Sometimes scissors if I plan on cutting braid. My phone in a waterproof, floating case my family gave me. I have a T-rig combo, a crankbait/topwater combo, a spinning jerkbait combo, a frog/hvy jig combo, a spinner/buzzbait combo and a spinning combo that I usually have a weightless Trick Worm tied on. These will cover any presentation and I can go back to the truck if I need something from the tackle box.

Well, I've always made that assumption because it's a "floating worm" but I just Googled it and it said it made the bait denser and therefore easier to cast.

I love these! This past summer the bite got extremely slow around here and my buddy turned me on to the old do-nothing 4" worm. He had a few in the box. We rigged them like a finesse C-rig and caught some bass and salvaged the day. I got home and started digging around in my box of surplus soft plastics and pulled out two bags of these. I rigged them up just like a down-sized C-rig with an 1/8 oz bullet weight and a straight shank offset worm hook one size smaller than normal and they did the trick for a couple weeks when bigger worms wouldn't work. And this was much more weedless than the old 2-hook do-nothing.

I had to get back to basics this summer with the ol' Do-Nothing worm rig.

I have a bigger boat, just don't use it. That's a matter of opinion. I can load it by hand and put it in anywhere I like and it burns no gas, requires no battery and give me exercise. Plus I know that I catch more and bigger bass from it since I mostly fish smaller waters. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to have what you have for fishing a little bigger places. But for now there seem to be other toys I want more. If I did spend the extra, and I probably will one day, I'd get a better kayak. It's my thing.

I use a cheaper graphite 6-6 M/MF BC combo with a fast reel for pretty much all my trebles because sensitivity is not required, maybe not even desired. Sometimes when I just about know I'm gonna get some topwater action, I'll use another MH rod just because I don't have 2 M BC combos.

Pfleuger Trion is the best spinning reel for the price ($40) I have seen, IMO. When the end of your braid gets old and highly visible reel it off one reel onto another and you'll be using the new end (for maybe three more seasons as it lasts as long as you can stand to look at it). Use cheap mono for backing of course. No need to use up the whole spool of braid on one reel. Berkley Big Game!!! 1/2 or 3/4 oz spinnerbaits are all you need. If you try you can get by with just a few and mix and match skirts and blades as needed. I don't mean that's the only bait you need. Just that a couple SBs will suffice. I use a kayak. $600 vs whatever you can stand to pay for a bass boat that depreciates faster than a new car.

I do 1, 3, 4 & 6. Except I don't use leaders for the most part. My topwaters, cranks, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits rods are Berkley Lightning Rods that I bought on clearance. Light and insensitive.

When using Trick Worms, the nose of the worm will get chewed up after a couple catches. Just bite (or tear) off about 1/2" from the nose and re-rig the worm for a couple more bites. Fish really don't care. Use thin gauge wire to tie around skirts on baits so the rubber band doesn't rot off. Many times I've pulled out a spinnerbait that hasn't even been used and lost the skirt soon thereafter. If you do lose the skirt, grab a fluke or soft swimbait of the same color make do in a pinch. You can use a toad or craw on a buzzbait. The Carolina Keeper is a small section of what looks like very thick weedeater cord with a slit cut down the middle. You compress it with pliers and slide your line through it. It acts as the swivel on a C rig and you can adjust the leader length without retying any terminal tackle. If you break off you only lose the bait instead of your whole rig.This is maybe more time saving that $.