the reel ess

Get a wood cover and put the queen back in the garage. Even if you cover the boat well, you're still exposing the trailer and tires to the elements and exposing the boat to temperature swings, spiders, cockroaches, lizards, squirrels, etc.

I'm really sorry for your loss. My mom died a few years ago just a year shy of her and my dad's 50th. You could tell it never crossed my dad's mind that he might live longer than Mom. He's done OK. He's become much more sociable because he simply got lonely. He has a circle of friends he eats breakfast with every day and some family who check up on each other all the time. He's tried dating a few people, but always finds that they simply aren't my mom. Hang in there. You never know what the future has in store for you. And keep fishing, by all means. It's what keeps us sane.

The classic Spook. I caught 5 fish on 5 casts with this thing. I didn't retie because I was so excited and #6 broke me off. I didn't have another so I tied on a Pop R and couldn't catch cold. Then I proceeded to not catch a single fish on it for about 10 years. I started trying a Jr size with a knocker in smaller waters with some success. The chug'n Spook Jr has also been a good one for me. T-rigged craws. No matter the brand, but I've always had better luck with black/blue.

I bought a fish/ski when my daughter was very little with the idea that we could enjoy watersports as a family and I could also get my fishing needs fulfilled. WRONG! We've almost never used it as a family. My wife has only been in it once. Later, I bought myself a kayak and my daughter one when she was finally old enough to enjoy it. That has been a lot more useful. If I had it to do over, I'd have bought an aluminum bass boat of some kind for fishing when it's too cold for the kayak.

Go to small finesse baits. Google Ike's Panic Box. Especially the small finesse worm. Brand doesn't matter that much. I like a C rigged Zoom Finesse Worm with a lighter bullet weight, like 1/8 oz. You can also do a spit shot rig, but the weight can damage your line if it's mono or floro. Pick a more natural looking color like watermelon or pumpkin.You'll probably catch smaller fish, but there can be big ones mixed in. Good luck

What problem?

You look like Tim McGraw if that's your picture.

C-rigging a Rapala sounds like a big fish bait.

World's most dangerous baby mobile. I caught a bass on a T-rigged weightless Gummy Worm once just to prove I could.I also have a wrench rig I made, but I haven't used it yet. I've thought about dipping it in gold because there are golden shiners where I fish.

PSSSSHAW!!! Standing is overrated anyway. The only time I need to stand is spring, when fish are bedding. Then I go with my bud and fish from the back of his Tracker. Then I go back to the same spots with the kayak. I've fished the same spots enough years now that I know where to go without needing to stand. You do gain an advantage from the fish not seeing you standing 7' over them, but lose the ability to see exactly where they are, but you can still see the beds. As you may have guessed, I have one you can't or shouldn't stand in. I'll get an SUP one of these days when I quit buying rifles and have my hot rod already built.

Hi and welcome. Search the videos for beginner bass lures and techniques. You'll find something you can do. As mentioned before, throw that 6" Texas rigged plastic worm in any color as long as it's a shade of purple. Kidding of course. Buy a few spinnerbaits to cover the middle of the water column and a few topwaters to cover the top and you'll be off to a good start. The topwater bite should be cooling off now. Anyway, read and watch everything you can. This Interwebs didn't exist when I was learning and I had to rely on what others showed me.

Perception Pescador 12. Not the latest PRO upgrade, but the original. It's the Tarpon from a decade ago. http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/perception-pescador-10-sit-on-top-kayak#repChildCatid=1376725 Here's the 10'. I don't know if they still sell the original 12', but that's what I have. Even better would probably be a used higher quality boat with a stadium seat.

Yeah, I'd like to run into her in the spawn.There are a lot of bass in the 5-6 lb class in this place, but they usually have no gut except right before they spawn. They don't seem to follow the pattern of gorging on bait in the fall.

And I got her with the trailer hook. People can say what they like about not using the trailer, but I would have missed a PB without it. And caught her on my cheapest reel.

I took the day off and got out after sunrise. I caught several smaller bass on the Pop R and the morning bite ended. I went home and had a sandwich and went back. I was halfway around the reservoir without a bite and I hooked into this big gal on a white spinnerbait. The old cheap BPS Uncle Buck brand spinnerbait. 6.75 lbs. It doesn't get me into the monster bass club yet, but it's bigger than the 6.5 I've been stuck on for a decade. I will continue my quest for an 8, 9 or 10 pounder.

That pond so small you can just get in it and try stuff. My fav pond bait is the Zoom Trick Worm weightless. The spinnerbait is awesome as well, especially when you bump it off the timber. If they won't hit reaction baits, try the old T rigged worm. I want to hit the side that gets more sun with topwaters first, then mosey over to the shady side after the sun climbs a bit. then take that old spinnerbait and get the ones that started shying away from topwaters. After that, it's trial and error. It seems to me you ahve the basics down. I rarely catch any catfish in ponds and I don't know why. They're there, they just don't bite my offerings. Granted, I'm bass fishing, but they bite bass and crappie lures in lakes.

I retract my statement. Don't kick me off, mods!

edit

This right here! Getting a kayak and fishing smaller waters was the best thing I ever did for my fishing. I might have quit fishing or greatly reduced the regularity of it if I had to lug a boat to the lake every time I wanted to catch a few one pound fish. And I get exercise at it! There's no feeling like hooking into a big fish on a kayak and going for a "Nantucket Sleigh Ride". I still have my big boat, but it's only for fishing a local reservoir in the winter. This winter I'm going to brave it in the kayak.

a buck and a quarter

No, it stays fall here for a long time. I'm still getting bass on topwaters early. When they stop chasing reaction baits, just fish cover with a worm, jig or craw. You can really do that all winter until the big mamas start feeding up for spawn. Then I usually use a gold Rat L Trap and a black spinnerbait with a black Colorado blade as spring creeps in.

I don't know. I almost always have a weightless Trick Worm tied on and sitting in front of me in the kayak. It's usually bubble gum or limetreuse. But I usually don't think to follow up the miss with the worm.

I use braid, no leader for all single hook presentations. The water has a permanent tea color at best all the time here and the braid helps drive that hook home and adds sensitivity as previously mentioned.

You can catch your biggest bass of the year in February, but it might be the only bite of the day. A days-long warm front will usually increase the bites as the big girls are feeding up for spawn.

Congrats. You're hooked for life. A healthy addiction.