the reel ess

He recently bought a kayak and is making more kayak videos.

One reason I stopped using straight mono is I noticed the line memory would cause the bait to move a little closer to me after it hit the water. This might seem like a small thing, but sometimes they'll bite it if you leave it still for a while. Also, the diameter of 30# braid is close to 8# mono so it can cast better. I just loosened up my drag to compensate for the lack of stretch.

Figure of speech. But I didn't realize until I Googled it just now it's actually in the Old Testament. They didn't say "ain't" though.

Ain't nothing new under the sun.

I always used mono with topwaters until I fished with a guide. He had every combo rigged with braid. So I gave it a try and haven't looked back. But I do use a short mono leader to keep the line away from the hooks. I tie direct to the Pop R because it's hard to get a clip in the concaved face.

Baits I can skip with a baitcaster: A jig and craw, preferably a "bug" style like Rage Bug. You need a little weight to keep that spool moving. I find 3/8 oz with a Rage Bug to be about the best combination. I do still regularly get overruns. This is usually when the bass will bite. LOL A T-rigged weightless Senko type bait. I will say that, to me, the Senko is better fished on spinning if you intend to skip it under docks. It takes a little weight to keep the BC spool moving. Just make it a stout spinning outfit. What I mean to say is don't use your lighter spinning finesse combo for skipping under docks and into heavy cover. I use a stout 7' MH with 20# braid and a 15" mono leader if the water is somewhat clear.

My mom used to say when I was a kid that I would go to school in rags, but my fishing gear was always on point. Some things never change. I have to say I have some nice stuff and I'm always looking for more lures. But I could easily spend more. I fish from an $800 kayak. I finally sold my boat a couple years ago after not using it for three. That in itself is a big savings. One of these days I'm going to feel too old for the kayak and I'll buy a jon boat with trolling motor and a trailer.

Since I kayak fish, I guess I'm really a slow fisherman. It's not that I use a lot of slow presentations as much as I just can't paddle that fast and fish at the same time. I think I cover the area a little more effectively than I would if I stayed on the motor all day.

Topwaters in rain. One of my best days ever in terms of numbers was a day with light rain, using a Baby Torpedo. If topwaters don't work, and I mean you tried all types to no avail, I'd move on to a spinnerbait.

Big'uns will lay in the weeds and conserve their energy when the water gets hot, grabbing a meal when it swims by, rather than chasing.

No

I fish a lot of wood cover with them. I started using them because there's nothing more frustrating than pulling up to a promising laydown and getting hung immediately. The spot is ruined. The Trashmaster is more weedless than the usual jigs with brush guards. I've been using them a few months and have yet to lose one. I have found that a "bug" type trailer won't hide the hook point as well as a craw will. And it seems to me you can't set the hook hard enough.

I like T rigged Craws on a superline EWG hook and, right now I like the Catch Co Trashmaster jig with a Rage Bug or Rage Craw trailer. I like the latter when I need to skip it. And since I usually need to skip the bait under things on a trip, I'm usually going with the jig.

My dad used to compare bass fishermen to "gnats on a turd" for the way they run and gun. I like to fish sort of fast when I can. But I'll do what I have to.

I carry a 900 yd spool of Berkley Big Game 15# for just such occasions. It saved my trip once. I don't use mono on every combo, but I can get by with BBG 15# for most applications.

Dropshot. It doesn't look fun to me. I had only caught flounder on them. Then I saw a thread on here about putting a trailer on one and drqgging over the lilies. I caught several first time I tried it.

Oh man! I'm too old to want to do that. It all works for me this way.

When I started fishing most spinning reels were left handed and all BC reels were right. I used them too long to change anything now. But I'll admit, I don't like left handed spinning. My left is very uncoordinated. I'm very right dominant. But I can't cast left-handed, so It's the best arrangement for me. I cast and reel the baitcaster with my right.

I think I've killed fewer bass since I've been kayak fishing. For one, you don't boat flip them. I usually don't even net them. When I catch a big one and want a photo, I get it unhooked and hold it with gills in the water with my left hand as I fish my phone out with my right hand. Then I take it out, snap a few and get it right back in the drink. I like to take that moment and watch it swim away before I start fishing again. It's a good feeling.

Our passion is sticking fish with hooks for the enjoyment of it. You either have to live with the fact a few will die or stop fishing. Of course, you do your best if you're a good steward. But you can eat the fish. If you're concerned it will bleed out, but you're not sure, you can release it. If it dies another fish or turtle will profit from its loss. We can't be part of nature without leaving a little of our footprint on it. The worst I ever felt about it was thinking I may have killed a 5+lb bass. I asked my buddy who fishes that place more than I do if he ever saw it floating or washed up and he said "Don't worry about it. This place is full of 5-6-7 lb. bass. You won't miss one."

My dad referred to bass that weren't white or striped as "black bass". Only later did I learn they were actually largemouth. We don't have "brown bass" near here. It seemed everywhere I fished has 4 or 5 species of small panfish, which we simply referred to as bream. Still do. This covers bluegill, warmouth, shellcracker (redear), long eared sunfish, green sunfish and redbreast. Also, we used to catch occasional small yellow perch while crappie fishing and we had no idea what they were. We just called them "green bream". I called a lot of white bass stripers before I figured the difference out. I've caught warmouth on a topwater frog and a T rigged craw. If these fish were bigger they'd rule the lake.

On the lower priced rods, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of a 6-6 M and a 6-6 MH Berkley Lightning Rod. They were the best I had at one time. But as I bought new rods I moved them to techniques that don't require a lot of sensitivity, like spinnerbaits, trebles and topwaters. I'm slowly phasing them out. I also own a Lightning Rod spinning M 7' rod for lighter trebles.

I wouldn't sleep on Falcon Bucoo SR at the $100 price point. It's a lot of rod for that dough and if I ever see them on sale, I'll snap up one or two more. Probably the best quality rod I own is a Falcon Lowrider 7' MH "big crank" rod. I usually use it for big topwaters (think Whopper Plopper or Spook) and lipless cranks. I got it for $50 used from a guy who was going from fishing to motorcycles. That's about $80 savings over new.

I tried SPRO frog when it was new and didn't get a bite on a few tries. So to the bottom of the box it went, then out of the box. Years later, I started fishing smaller waters from the kayak and I bought a Booyah Pad Crasher. I have no idea how many bass I've caught on this lure. I bought a frog-specific rod because I like it so much. I was the same way with the WP. My buddy started catching a few big ones on it prespawn a couple years ago. So I bought a 110 in bone color. Nada for the first several times I used it. My sister has a vacation home with a canal behind her house and a neighborhood pond. I dusted off the WP there and caught a few. I decided to devote a day to it in my local reservoir and caught a few there too. They don't usually produce numbers, but the fish tend to be quality. Sometimes the 90 size will get more bites and it's a good gateway drug to the bigger ones. I don't like it as much as the 110 because I fish from the kayak and if you don't get the rod tip up high, the 90 will spin until you get it closer.

Big swimbaits. But then I don't use the ones I already have.