the reel ess

The right rod can do a lot of the work for you. I don't own the correct rod, LOL! But I do use a M 6'6" that loads up pretty well before casting cranks and other medium-to-heavy treble baits. Standing helps, but I can't do it from my kayak. Welcome to Oldsville, population you (and me). If I have to cast a BC combo with a heavy bait a lot for 3-4 hours, I'll usually feel it in my right shoulder at least the next day. If I have to stand a long time I feel it in my lower back that night.

I do. They're the best eating. And they're the only ones I keep.

Any species of gamefish in the striped bass' range is another source of food.

I voted wrong. But to tell the truth, CA's laws are so stupid I'd disobey most of them whenever I could get away with it. That state's elected officials have decided to screw the entire state into the ground forever. They always choose the stupidest, least logical, most expensive option and put the pedal to the metal.

Good luck. Let us see them when finished or through the process. I understand the desire to catch fish on something you make. You'll probably spend more than a good one from Walmart costs unless you mass produce them.

I only have 2 custom touches to my kayak. A free milk crate with 4 PVC rod holders zip tied in that I bungee to the rear well. A zig-zag cleat I intended to use for an anchor, but I never use it or an anchor. just too much trouble. I'll take up to 5 combos to fishing already rigged with what I think they should bite and a few bags of plastics. You can make this hobby as expensive as you want. That's not why I got into it.

Yeah, that is the hard part. If you want the bass to get bigger, you have to remove them anyway. Even if you don't eat them. Nobody wants to do that unless it's a wall hanger because it feels like wasting them. So the balance will never be restored toward big bass unless it's drained or poisoned and started over.

The only way to change the bass trend and restore the balance is to take a lot of them. My friend doesn't mind this issue at his pond because he likes catching big 'gills. They are awesome. They'll bite Roadrunners, inline spinners, micro Rebels and even small Rapala minnows when they're hungry. The small bass will bite the same things so I use a light rod with an UL spinning reel and 6# mono. Then, when you hook a 1.5# bass, it's a great fight.

If you can get into an inlet or river or creek, your odds get better with the reds, flounder and trout. And it's a lot easier to fish and cast in the skinnier water. I was using a kayak that day. You can rent them near most beach communities and they'll even bring them down to the launch or beach for you and come back and get it when you call or at a prearranged time

That spinnerbait looks like a decent one for reds too. Although they might rip it to shreds if it's not sturdy.

Well, I went to BPS at Myrtle Beach and picked up all the shiny stuff I see on TV. Then I found an associate and asked his opinion and he told me to put it all away and gave me 2 lures: Gold Johnson Silver Minnow and White Gulp Mullet. He handed me a popping cork and jigheads. He said that would cover redfish, flounder and trout. I caught 2 flounder, keeper size, though I didn't keep them. The popping cork with jig was for Trout/reds. The Johnson spoon was for reds. You can drag the Gulp Mullet on the jighead for flounder. If you get a bite from a flounder, let them take it for about 12-15 sec. It takes them a while to take the bait.

Some of the biggest panfish I've ever caught were on a Teeny Craw. I love it in rivers and streams because it catches all bass and big sunfish.

Pg 5 of this document explains the imbalance that exists when there are small bass and big bream, which is the case at a couple ponds I fish. http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/fishing/pdfs/pondchapter4.pdf Overstocked bass (stunted), most bluegill get eaten by bass. The few bluegill that do survive to a size too large to eat have little competition and grow large. That's what I meant by big average bluegill = smaller average bass. It's a pond out of balance, unless you really like trophy size bluegill. Nothing wrong with that.

That seems to happen a lot to me in fall on bigger lakes. Too much bait for bass to show interest in an artificial, especially if they're not even interested in the real bait. I usually try a bottom bumper like a T-rig in that case.

I've fallen out of my kayak, but it didn't flip. I just slid out of it. It would be difficult to flip mine. Didn't lose anything but my pride. But I did wrap braid around my leg and accidentally step on my reel bail on the bank. Be careful when setting hooks. Be prepared for no resistance on the other end. That's how I fell out. I'm mostly using braid and good quality hooks nowadays so big homerun swing hooksets aren't necessary. It'll take a few minutes, but you'll get accustomed to balancing quickly every time. If you're slipping in from a dock, put your hand in the center of the kayak somewhere. Same when you exit. If you reach out and grab the right or left, no support. I try to put a hand on the backrest in the center. Better yet, walk into the water and sit down when possible.

I feel just the opposite. Longer rods can play fish around the bow. Otherwise you might end up with a monster jumping on the left with you trying to play it from the right. This happened to me once anyway when a 6# fish pinned me against a dock. It was very fortunate I landed it anyway, but it certainly wasn't textbook. I had to just lock down the spool down with my thumb and drag the old gal back with the rod up to the reel itself underwater. Could have broken line, or worse, the rod or guides. But the added challenge is part of the attraction. After a while, it becomes an advantage. I had no idea I'd catch more and/or larger bass from a kayak than I do from a boat.

A Deep Wee R in silver/blue is the first crank I ever owned. It sure caught a lot of bass because in the 80's all I used was this and a 6" purple worm. I have a jointed minnow that seems to do a good job of culling small pond bass. I love the Wee Craws and I have a Crick Hopper and Bumble Bugs. These do well in creeks.

The huge bluegill generally will mean small bass.

However, the bass on the reservoir I fish most really like Trick Worms and Rat L Traps. So I'm sure to give those a try almost every time out. In winter, I can pare the list down to Trap and spinnerbait and only fish a few hours in the middle of the day. There's a reason the crank works so well for you. You should stick with it and experiment branching out. There will be times they either won't hit a reaction bait or a different bait will produce better. More bites = more fun.

I like topwaters very early. I'll have a buzzbait and a popper or walking lure tied on too. When/if the buzzbait won't work, I'll try the hardbait. If the buzzbait works, but bites trail off, I'll go to the spinnerbait. If the spinnerbait works, I'll keep it up. If it fails, I'll go to other reaction type baits, but keep the SB handy. If other reaction baits fail, I start with the soft plastics. and work them slower into the day. I'll do the reverse late in the day, trying topwaters until dark. But I keep 5 combos in the boat or on the kayak so I can switch between them whenever I see something that makes me want to try another bait. Some days, I'll catch one on every combo. You can fish a Pop-R or other topwater in the middle of the day on occasion if the fish tell you they want it, but generally, it's not going to produce all day. There are always exceptions. I caught them all day on a Torpedo once. Caught over 50 small bass. But it was overcast and even raining part of the day. I was able to paddle the kayak back into the feeder creek amongst the flooded timber and cypresses. 9 time out of 10, that approach would yield fewer bites.

They grow maybe a pound a year down south, given the right conditions. In a big lake full of shad, you can just about tell a yearling bass when you catch one. Water quality and unlimited bait supply will allow a healthy growth rate. But I have fished many places where the sexually mature females (the ones loaded with eggs) were a pound on average. That indicates a limited food supply and overstocking. Never feel guilty about taking fish out of a place like that unless the owner doesn't want you to. You'll be doing them a favor. I caught 23 at my buddy's pond two Fridays ago. Not one over 1.25 lb. I left him 12 eating size in his basket and didn't take any. The last time I caught one over 2 lbs in there was 2 years ago. I put it back because it's a big fish for that pond. I'll bet that fish was 4-5 years old. I caught one 6.5 lb in there 10 years ago.

In the spring, I like to find places where crappie are bedding and walk in. I'll even beach the boat sometimes and walk. I'll do the same for bedding bass. If you have a canoe, kayak or waders, you can get to bedding fish from March through May around here. If I spot some bass beds, I might walk the bank or wade and pitch to them. Then, if you time your trips for near full moons, you can find bedding bluegills and shellcrackers into June and July. Bream, as we call all smaller panfish around here. Most of this can be done on the cheap. The bass require a little more expensive equipment and tackle.

Yeah, there's bass, bream, crappie, gar, catfish and stripers in that river. probably white bass too. Not sure about that because white perch have displaced the white bass in L Wateree. In that Youtube video I pasted, those guys are catching bass at Landsford Canal St Park. That's On the Catawba R just upstream from the Hwy 9 bridge.

Berkley Big Game mono line. The Trion is the best deal in spinning reels right now, bar none.

Yeah, I meant just wade in. LOL. Yeah, when it's low you can walk. Might get wet, but you can. You can fish the Lancaster Reservoir Thurs and Sat. You can find it on a map. I've fished it twice and haven't caught a thing. Once walking and once from the kayak. My buddy says he's caught a good many crappie in it. I see cars parked near the 521 bridge that crosses the feeder creek. When you see this, crappie are biting under that bridge. If you get there or upstream, you can fish any day. There's a boat ramp on the other end. Don't get caught fishing up there any day but Thurs or Sat. Sunrise Lake in Heath Springs is another public lake, managed by DNR. I think the same days apply. I've never fished there, but the map looks like there's clear shoreline for maybe half the pond. You can go under the Hwy 9 bridge on the Catawba R, but there's not much shoreline you can access. Andrew Jackson St Park is another option that you can walk a good bit of or even rent a boat. You can paddle or bring a trolling motor and battery. I've fished there too with no luck. I think it's pretty pressured. But it was the dead of winter and frontal conditions. I just had cabin fever. Your odds would get better in a boat. I'm not afraid to ask permission when I hear of a pond. All they can say is no. Make connections with other fishermen. They'll want to take you along.