the reel ess

I'm all for the big baits until I don't get a bite three straight trips. This is my philosophy. Big bass will bite small baits or large baits if you present them an they're hungry. My 2nd biggest bass, and very close to my biggest, came on a 5" SK Ocho. My big bass baits are jig, T-rigged worms and craws, spinnerbaits, bigger topwaters.

Yes. In most of my experience, pond bass are not "schoolers".

It probably would work just fine. But since this is a state managed fishery, the DNR might frown upon it. On the other hand, they encourage people to put out Christmas trees in the big lakes.

I had a canoe, a 13' Old Town. I found it difficult to paddle from the rear in any breeze and too wide to paddle from the middle. It was more exercise because mine wasn't as light as yours. Traded that canoe for a Browning Buckmark pistol, which I parlayed into an AR-15. I'm getting sidetracked. I loved the canoe for 2 people, not so much for just me. And I like to fish alone a lot. I'm my favorite companion.

My current kayak is a Perception Pescador Pro 10'. I bought it for the stadium seat. But I saved $200 by not going with the 12 footer. Both my older kayaks were 12' and they tracked better. I've wished I got the 12 since I bought it. It's stable enough and easy to paddle and maneuver. No stable enough for standing, at least not by me. I see your canoe. Do you also kayak fish?

September is just summer pt II in SC. ?

Variety is the spice of life, especially when your usual water hole becomes the Dead Sea. My buddy texted me he caught 2 tiny crappie at the usual location. I have another small pond I have access to where the fish are stupid and hungry. It's a good place to get your mojo back when you can't buy a bite. Dog days are tough in SC unless you night fish, which I do not.

This. It's pretty common in the south. Just stakes driven into or anchored to the bottom to allow loose cover/structure for fish in a body of water that's devoid of any. The cool thing about them is they're easy to find and they concentrate fish. But DNR should have done several of them in the deepest area.

That stake bed was in about the deepest spot, probably in the creek bed. I can see why they had a fish kill. I could have caught all the fish in 30 minutes and gone home in time for dinner. ? I imagine they spread out in cooler water. A place with that much shallow water would probably be fun around the spawn. Well, I had the place to myself (I see why) and got my exercise in. The fish were very healthy and didn't know when to give up.

It's a 25 acre public, DNR lake (think big pond) that's about 7 miles from home. There was a fish kill there years ago and they restocked it and added stake beds and concrete drain tiles. I started off by fishing a stake bed. Caught two and got hung up on some old fishing line. I figured I'd spooked any remaining fish out so I paddled on. I discovered that at least 23 acres is 2' deep or less. Went all the way around the place without a nibble. Went back to that one stake bed and caught 4 more off of it. It's just funny to me the only piece of cover/structure I could get a bite off of was that one stake bed. There were others. They just didn't produce a bite. I probably won't go back.

The problem with your friend's stance is they were always biting yesterday. You should a been there! You know, to each his own. Most of us on this board are pretty much fanatical about it. But the vast majority of people don't get a lot of enjoyment out of grinding out 3 bites in the dog days heat or 1 bite in the winter.

Feed at night. I would try to punch the mats because I'm better at that type of approach.

South Carolina's pretty nice for fishing and weather. But leave California behind if you come to stay.

@Eric 26 I agree that a light is the better compromise if you're after everything from bluegill to bass. It suffices from the creek to the lake.

Are you looking for extreme sensitivity? You can buy UL rods for around $20-30 at BPS/Cabela's or Academy. These come to mind. You'd probably prefer a faster action for bass than you would for crappie and bream. I find that a moderate action allows the bass to shake the lure faster than the rod can react. They make slack in the line this way. Many times I've fought a good bass for a long time while it took drag only to lose it. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-micro-lite-glass-spinning-rod

I did a quick Google. The parent company of Lew's and Strike King acquired Zebco/Quantum in 2021. So they are still two companies in one. https://michianaoutdoorsnews.com/news/national/3011-zebco-quantum-sold-to-company-that-owns-lew-s-strike-king

The only Quantum products I ever owned were a pistol grip 6' BC rod and a spinning reel. No, I wasn't using them together as a combo. ? The quality of both was suspect. I mean the rod functioned as is should. But the build, the guides and the epoxy were inconsistent. It looked like someone's first attempt at a custom rod build. The reel was one of those with the auto bail flip thing that broke. I took it off and kept using it. But it was forever out of balance. I was young and I fished with cheap stuff then. If I'm not mistaken, didn't Quantum start off in the late 80s-early 90s as a higher-end branch off the Zebco tree? I know they got better since then, but I never bought anything else from them, even when Bill was hawking them.

I had one like that on my phone, but I must have deleted it. The soles of my feet were cut up from oyster shells in the mud.

I've fished some inlets and creeks from my kayak. So far, I've caught a few flounder and a toadfish. I've never gotten out in the "ocean". I see people doing it from the Garden City Beach though. If you put in in an inlet or creek, check the tide and go while it's rising. You don't want to have to walk back in the mud. Ask me how I know.

Double digit bass can't be caught just anywhere. I spent two days in So FL with a guide. We targeted bass the fist day in an Everglades canal and peacocks the second day. That day we actually caught a 7 pound largemouth.

The best

They got a lot better when Quicksilver bought them. But then, they were basically rebranded, low frills Mercs. I remember trying baseball for the first time. I stunk. I couldn't hit and was relegated to right field, swatting gnats with my glove and kicking the dirt. I wanted to quit and I thought my dad was going to tell me to stick it out. So I told him and his response: "Good, let's go fishing." That started me down the path to something I love so much it's a spiritual thing to me. I don't even like to watch baseball. And if I had liked it, it would have eventually ended for me.

I would have fished more. I wouldn't have married my first wife, though it all led to the wonderful family I have now. I would have left my last job sooner.

Well, I actually have an 8 wt with dry line that I hardly ever use. So, I guess I have bass covered. So I'm feeling like the 4-5 wt is the one for me for trout. Maybe an 8' to 8'6"???

Well, yes and no. In trout waters it will be kind of tight. But I also kayak fish. That's where the panfish and possibly bass come in. In that case, there are no back cast obstacles.