the reel ess

SOT is THE way to fish!!! Mine is 12', pre-rigged for fishing. A Perception Sport Pescador from Academy. $500 every day. It's held up well for 3 years. Still good as new. If you want to stand up in the thing, expect to spend some coin. This hobby can be cheap...or as expensive as you want to make it. I've made no additions to it except for a milk crate with rod holders that I bungee on. You'll be glad if you get one with at least a back support for the seat. Padded seat is even better. Mine weighs 55#. That's heavy enough for me. One good thing about the kayak is that it's so much cheaper than a boat to buy and operate that you'll have a lot left over for bait monkey, equipment & beer.

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My dad came back to the lake house with 14 stripers once. I informed him the limit was 10. He told me he was catching them so fast, he lost count and thought he had 10 when they quit. Said by the time he had 10, most were already dead anyway in the livewell and he wasn't about to stop while they cooperated. But he would likely never limit out on them again so he was unlikely to hurt the fishery. That lake is stocked based on shocking survey.

Contrary to what people in high places like to tell us, we can't live in the world and engage with it without leaving a footprint. It is quite possible that's not your fish, but at least it's still living and, apparently, still able to feed. One of my biggest bass caught had one eye, sores all over it, some disease eating at its fins, and it was still eating. I wish it had had two eyes if that would have make it bigger and healthier.

If everybody who fished took their legal limit, limits would drop to 2 or 3 with a min size. But it could be good for size. DNR's don't necessarily want a trophy lake with few small fish. To keep the most people fishing, you need a mix of dinks and bigger fish.

There are only a couple so-and-so's I'll fish with. And they're a lot like me.

I'm right there with you. I bought a canoe, then a kayak in an attempt to be ALONE when I go fishing. I started asking and getting permission to private properties. Now I have 4 regular ponds and I also go down a couple rivers, one so small you have to get out and drag your craft several times a trip.

People have good opinions of the Lunker Lure frogs compared to the ones with the rubber skirt legs. But there is the occasional bad rating that says the legs are prone to tear off. So far, I like the Pad Crasher.

Well, they make standup jigheads for them. Not too much different.

A Snag Proof Original Frog 11 years or so ago. But for some reason I got away from it for years. I went two nights ago and tried out my new Booyah Pad Crasher and had a 3 pounder crush it.

I used to have a spot like that on a local lake that would produce several times a day. You could exhaust it with a worm, then switch to a crankbait and do it again. You could return in the evening and repeat. On tourney days there would be boats waiting in line to fish it. We called it "staging". I gave a friend a map with that spot and 2 others marked so he could use it for his club tourney. Next time I saw him I asked how he did. He won and never left that spot. He said he was afraid to because people kept stopping and watching him.

I would have waited him out or fished right by him. If it was tourney day he wouldn't have even acknowledged your presence. Just fished on top of you. I had a tourney guy actually get his trolling motor in my line because he was fishing so close. I was anchored when he pulled up. He squeezed between me and the bank I was obviously fishing and kept on going. When he had to lift his motor for my line he said "It's a big @#$%ing lake." Of course I replied and he kept on going after intentionally ruining the spot for me. This is why I bought the kayak and started pond fishing.

Seems to me that should do it.

You can cast it a mile.

I caught a 3# on my Pad Crasher this evening. I guess it's my current fav.

Please take my money!!!

I must have this. Here's my checkbook, take whatever it costs!!!

Dave Mercer had a show where he thumped SM bass on one of those baitball cranks. Other than that, I've seen nothing that would make me buy them, even on clearance.

The Older generation just didn't get conservation. The original bucket brigade. My dad, probably near the same age as your grandpa, wouldn't dream of throwing back a bass over 5 lbs. He always said as few good bass as he caught he was no threat to the population. He had one in the freezer for mounting once at the lake and the power went out. Had to toss it.

I used Vanish 17# for years without incident. It was my pitching and T-rig line. And I mean the exact same line on the same reel, unchanged. It was extremely sensitive with much less stretch than mono and a little more than braid. It seems the purpose of this thread is to discredit floro. If it didn't have its place pros wouldn't be using it. They would take the check and use something else. I finally changed it out for braid because I wanted that rod to double for frogs. And honestly I think the whole visibility thing is overplayed, especially where I live. I still have a little for leaders if I want to use one.

I'm sorry too. What's a noon?

Just call DNR next time you see them. They'd love to pay a visit. Let them put a couple in the cooler first.

Also, don't reel against the drag. when the drag is going, let it go out. But that doesn't sound like what's happening. I'll tell you I have a buddy who can screw up a spinning reel in a heartbeat. We put our kayaks in the river once. Before we even started paddling he had the line on a spinning reel completely screwed for the day. His personal record is third cast on a reel I just spooled. I said "How old are you? I can fish all day with that combo." I finally gave him a combo so he'd quit messing mine up.