the reel ess

You can actually get your hook point through the braid. Bad scene. Since braid is limp, it won't get out of the way when you twitch the bait left or right. I find 15# mono to be the best line I've ever used with topwaters-except frogs. It has the stretch to keep you from yanking the hooks away from a fish or ripping them out when you do make contact. If the fish are really after it, they'll get some hooks and you'll have at least a full second to react. I caught a bass mid-summer that ate the plug so well, I picked out a backlash before I set the hook and I landed it. I use Berkley Big Game specifically for topwaters and I tie directly to the eye with an improved clinch knot, no snap or ring. The bouyancy of a heavier mono also can't be beat for the action of topwaters. Braid and FC sink. Walking baits are easy to use and don't require limp line or hardware to help. If you really want limper line, try Trilene XL in a heavier weight.

Unless you are fishing deep you probably don't need any bullet weight for a Senko. Part of their appeal is the slow horizontal fall and wiggle. The slower, the more real it looks. Most bites will come on the initial fall. For that reason, if I'm hitting specific targets, I'll use it wacky rigged. More wiggle when you do twitch it.

I had one and wanted to put a longer trigger stick handle on it. I tore the cork pistol grip off but couldn't figure out how I could increase the blank length to accomplish my goal. I yard sold it and another for $4. They were both Shakespeare 96% graphite rods from about '90. They served me well in their day though.

I'm gonna buy another 30 size Trion if my other BPS spinning reel breaks. It's kinda worn and I stepped on the bail this spring but it just keeps landing good bass.

If I had only one BC combo it would be 7' MH Fast. More to the heavy side. I do like 7 footers partly because I usually kayak fish and it helps fight a good fish around the bow of the boat. In all, I have these combos for bass: 1 7' BC MH-Frogs, T-rigs 1 7' Spinning MH-T-rigs 1-7' Spinning M-light trebles & wacky rigs 1-6.5' BC MH-Spinnerbaits, single hook 1-6.5' BC M-heavier trebles, cranks, topwaters

I was kayak fishing a reservoir with my best friend. We caught two very nice bass. His was his personal best. There was another boat in there with three bucket brigadiers in it who didn't see us catch them. They come out of a cove and we chit chat about how we're doing and soforth and my buddy says "We just caught two over 5 lbs right here!" I caught another good bass in front of them a ways down the bank that they asked me for and I declined and let it go. Later I asked him why he said that because they'll certainly be sitting on that spot next time I go. He said he was so excited he couldn't contain himself. Plus he doesn't fish there much anyway. I fish there once a week. I told him he needs to act like he's been there before. But they got their privileges revoked soon after anyway because they angered the landowner. They were actually sneaking in that time.

Hey, when you're out there and you don't have a fish, where are you gonna go? Where you know there is one. It's human nature. Two people can only keep a secret when one's dead.

Same stuff but maybe bigger. Whatever they were eating tin the spring, if it's an annual hatch that usually die off like shad, minnows or shiners, are bigger now.

Took my boat to a rural boat ramp on Stumpy Pond on the Catawba-Wateree R chain. I had a 2WD Ford with the V-6. The drive out was so steep when I left it took me 3 running starts to get out.I thought I was gonna have to spend the night or walk out. I also got that same truck stuck with one trailer tire off my parents' boat ramp on Lake Wateree. I dumped the clutch and spun one tire until it laid down enough rubber to catch and pull out. The clutch was still stinking when I got back from fishing. My current truck is a 4WD Silverado with the 5.3L V8. No more getting stuck.

I bought the Marshland Waterproof Boot from Walmart but didn't get a chance to use them before it got warm. I also need to raise my butt up a bit off the kayak seat because it gets soaked.

Switch your plastics to Berkley Powerbaits. Fish will hold these like they're chewing tobacco even when they feel your resistance. They'll fight you for it! I kinda jokingly say they smell like a seafood restaurant's dumpster.

I heard Roland Martin say once he was in a saltwater creek and ran his boat aground. Tide was falling and he had to wait on it to rise before he could get off. Worst sunburn of his life.

One spring after high waters receded we could see someone ran over and scraped our dock with a Jet Ski.

Dad backed the boat in with the straps still on. The boat actually floated the trailer.

My dad and I took off from his own boat ramp without the drain plug. We barely made it back under power. Had to winch it on the trailer and drain it before we could go again. My dad and his friend threw a big brushpile off the front of our pontoon and the rope they used to secure the blocks got looped around his friend's heel. It yanked his feet out from under him and he went in. But it didn't wrap either foot. That could have ended a lot worse. They did it at night so no none would see their honey hole. I got my kayak to the reservoir with no paddle. I was just about to take my boat to a mechanic when my dad asked if I'd checked the kill switch. Son of a !@#$*! I missed most of a fishing season because I didn't really have the money for the mechanic. My mom, God rest her soul, made the mistake of walking up behind my dad while he was chunking a crankbait. He hit her right on top of the head, but she got no hooks. He never lived that one down.

They do like the Devil's Horse according to a friend of mine who's fished the Savannah R. I've fished 2 places that supposedly have them but I haven't seen one. Keep your clippers handy.

Most of the time people ask what they're biting when they should ask where. And not a specific waypoint, but a general zone. Like the first third of creeks, 10' deep.

I'll do that. And I'll put them on some old Uncle Buck SBs I have that bare still in great shape. I wish BPS had never stopped selling those. I just read another way to make the skirts last is to twist some light gauge ware around them. Rubber bands are have a short life.

You could see a black bear and very likely a gator!

BTW, where did you say this creek was?

I think up that far is always freshwater, right? My guess would be all the same things you normally use. That's a slow, flat river. Find inside bends with some depth and current breaks. ie: Shoals, logs, pier pilings, trash, tires, junk, etc. I'd take a T-rig, a craw crankbait, spinnerbait for starters. That's how I started fishing a local river from the kayak. I have yet to be shut out. Cast to everything that breaks current. You might get a gar, pickerel or bowfin as a bonus. Good luck and let us know how it went. I want to fish the Black R next time we stay at Pawley's.

And some will cash in and take them all. Some can't resist the urge. Last time I ran into a boat full of bucket fishermen on "THE RES", I caught a 5 lb in front of them on a topwater. THEY ASKED ME FOR IT!!! The balls on those guys. I let it swim away in front of them and said NO. I found out later they were trespassing and keeping everything The landowners asked DNR what could be done and they said they'd issue permit cards and patrol the place fi they could get in a gate. If they got caught it would be trespassing. 2nd time would be a higher charge with jail.

I caught a small striper on one last summer. It's culls none!

That's more believable.

Don't bass usually swallow head-first?