bigbassin'

That’s not hydrilla. If you break a piece off is it firm or does it turn to mush once you pull it from the water?

I’ve seen more wild blue craws than any other color pattern. Very dark green with blue or orange highlights being the only other color pattern I’ve seen.

There are some good fish in there but it can be tough from what I’ve always heard. I’ve only tried Istokpoga once. Didn’t get a bite in 10 hours of fishing.

I had planned to use the kayak as a blind, just throw some camo on top and back up to the grass line. Are puddlers too spooky for this?

I was figuring something similar on the sled to carry decoys. I think a dog on a kayak wouldn’t go well, figured a rod with a snagging hook and a 1 ounce weight would be my duck retriever. WCS, I can just wade out and grab the duck...if I even get one.

Depending on your rod holder location I could see the concern. I’m always worried about using the rod holders behind the seat for that reason. I’ve got a rod holder situated slightly in front of me where my hand would naturally rest, so I could keep a hand on the rod without any discomfort.

I never have tried trolling with an A-Rig, thought about it often but just never bought one. I used a small white crankbait that dives about 6 ft, I caught more bass (mostly spots) moving between areas then actually hitting the areas I wanted to. I figure you move at trolling speed in a kayak anyways so I just brought a designated rod with that crankbait. If I was moving, I had that rod out.

Creek channels tend to be a term more applicable to reservoirs rather than natural lakes, which based on those topos you are dealing with a natural lake. Main lake points are often less common on natural lakes than reservoirs, however it looks like there is on at the bottom center of the lower lake. If there’s any cover at all in the area it would probably be a good place to start. The mouths of the creeks entering/exiting the lakes should get some attention as well, current helps regulate oxygen and creates ambush spots were predators can wait in the slack water for bait to drift by in the current. Depending on time of year and how strong the current is in those creeks, bass, shad, and panfish may all move into the creek to spawn.

Personally I like the look of the furthest right location adjacent to Phoenix Drive NE. I’d try all the docks along the creek bed, but the short point/hump combo on the bottom left corner of the box is what catches my eye the most. I’ve had a lot of luck in North Georgia on similar looking areas with a rattletrap, mid-range crankbait, or top water. Do you troll between spots?

I figured out how to access the inside of the kayak with a wrench, I’ll be going with the bolt, rubber washer, nut route. Size 10 bolts matched the existing holes. As for the drive cables, the rudder seems to operate with the least resistance putting one cable on either side of the rod holder. I’ll add some pictures once complete.

@bulldog1935 thanks for the info. I don’t believe I will be able to access the inside with a nut driver or wrench, I need to check this.

Any round head or arky style will skip just fine. 3/8 or 1/2 ounce are easy to skip, I tend to go with 3/8 unless I need to get a little deeper or am fighting current. Pick your favorite brand and skirt and you’re set.

Has anyone had the stock flush mount rod holder pull out on a Native Slayer? Got caught on a rock in bad current and flipped the kayak, when my rod hit the bottom the rod holder popped off the kayak. Probably saved my St Croix from snapping so I was glad it had the give. Now I need to get the rod holder back in place and I’m running into a few issues I was hoping someone may have experience with. The bolts are slightly wider on the bottom to hold into the kayak holes, no threads. They also have completely round heads, they will not take a drill bit/Allen wrench. Additionally, the cables that control the rudder are straight down from the existing hole so the rod holder hits them when I try to slip it into the existing slot. If need be, I can drill holes offset from the existing and switch the bolts to ones with threads but I was hoping to not add holes if possible.

All the one’s I’ve tried work. There was a while were the prop bait with a bluegill profile was the only top water I threw. The wake bait has caught several fish for me over submerged grass, the jerk bait shaped like a mega bass has produced as well.

They are fairly interchangeable in my opinion, although the profiles are different as mentioned above. I tend to throw the swimming worm around vegetation and the swim bait around hard cover. No reason you couldn’t switch that around but it just helps keep it simple for me.

I wouldn’t consider 6’ electronics territory, you should be able to count down a lure pretty quick and figure out the depth in that scenario. 6 to 8 foot of water allows you to throw just about whatever lure you want and still make an effective presentation. As far as finding fish in 6’-8’ of water and what type of cover there is, that largely depends on where you are. In Florida, 8’ is on the deep end. On the other hand 8’ is pretty shallow in a mountain reservoir. The fish still want cover, food, and fresh water. If you’re in an area with 2 of the 3, you’ll probably find bass regardless of depth.

The SK rage blade excels at this. The design seems to give it more lift than other chatter baits, allowing you to wake it at slower speeds. Green Pumpkin or Black and Blue with a paddle tail trailer waked over nearly topped off grass in late spring/early summer has produced some nice fish for me.

The creeks off the Chattahoochee are good if you’re ok with catching anything, just a 2” grub on a 1/16 oz jig head will get the job done. They pretty much all hold at least panfish, some have bass as well. Specifically for bass, I had luck at Allatoona from shore. Be prepared to walk through the woods to get to good spots. Study topos, points with either a hump or drop off produced the best for me. Randomly bank fishing out there without looking at a map would probably waste a good bit of time. If you’re good with wading and about a 1.5 hour drive, the Flint river around Big Lazer PFA was hands down the best bass fishing I found without a boat in Middle/North Georgia on public land. Having a good number of shoal bass was a definite plus. I never tried the lake/pond their, DNR promotes it as a good largemouth lake so it may be worth a shot as well.

Still need to learn my ducks...mallards and coots are the only ones around me I can pick out at shotgun range.

Are you working the North or South Side of the lake? I was down on the south end last week and couldn’t get a bite around wood.

I’ve fished Kissimmee once this year, got 2 14” bass on rattle traps. Both looked sucked in and starving, open sores on them. All of the grass l saw looked dead and the water was pretty dirty. That was my first time on the lake so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but the grass situation definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. I much preferred Toho, water was cleaner, bass looked healthier.

I keep them inside a cup. I tie one on in the morning if I think I’ll throw it that day, keep it on until I get back home. Probably not the best solution but if it ain’t broke...

Punching/Frogging - Drag is locked down and doesn’t get touched. T-Rigs/Jigs - In open water I’ll set the drag to about 3 pounds of pressure. If casting to a target such as brush that a fish could get tangled in, I’ll lock the drag down until the fish is out of cover and then adjust if needed. As long as you keep the fishing coming your way, you won’t need to adjust Trebles/Chatterbaits/Spinnerbaits - 2 to 3 pounds of pressure

Anyone duck hunt out of a kayak? Thinking about getting into duck hunting next season, kayak would be my only form of boat to do it.

I just shove the bait into the keeper and haven’t had any issues, might be a problem with elaztech but regular plastics have held together fine.