detroithiker

I am still very new to fishing, only my 2nd season, and I want to know if kayak/canoe fishing requires a different rod length do to how low you are in the water? I have been doing a lot of research and find everyone using long rods but I think that is mostly due to fishing while standing up on a bass boat, so I figure a canoe or kayak changes things a bit, what is your opinion? Edit: I think I should add that my problem is just when the line gets wrapped around the rod tip and my 7' rod is hard to reach setting so low in the kayak with no place to set the but down like you can standing up.

Ok the title was a little tricky to word right but bare with me cuz this worked for us. So yesterday my cousin and I were experimenting with casting squarebill cranks to the same target, and it seemed to work really well, the theory was to present two shad pattern baits, hoping it would tempt the bass a little more, this was the first time we ever did it and we caught both bass and pike, the water was still very warm but the air was only about 70° so we fished deeper water and hit the weed edges, now we did have to clean a lot of weed off the bait which was a pain in the ass but the results were worth it for sure, I am not saying I made some sort of break through I just had an idea that worked for me and wanted to see what all the more experienced guys thought. So my question to all of you. Have you ever tried to cast more than one rod to the same target and if so how did it work for you?

I am going to pick up another crankbait for fishing near the weeds. What is your favorite color/pattern for fishing the plants? I already do well with a craw in the rocks but I haven't found the right crank for the weeds. I was thinking the Strike King square bill in sexy shad or sexy shad chartreuse.

I would like to learn to pitch and flip. Forgive a newbie but I only ever see people doing this in vids and always standing on a bass boat, it looks like you need to be a little higher to get the underhand swing. 1.Can I do it from my canoe or kayak when I can't stand up in either one? 2. If so will I need a shorter rod to make it work due to being so close to the waters surface?

Yeah this is more like my price range right now. I have already spent so much this year and I think I am trying to dive in too fast.

I would like to get a 2nd rod and baitcaster reel to complement my medium spinninng rod. I need something for my heavier bait like cranks, jigs and frogs, and for bigger fish like pike. I am sure I will buy more rods later but I just need to get through the rest of the season before I buy a 3rd. I have purchased most of my gear this summer and of course I went over board. If you were going to get a 2nd affordable rod and reel as a new fisherman what would you get?

So do any of you think I need to punch through the weeds to reach the bottom? It's sounding like the weight is mostly just for casting power?

How should I be working the weighted worm in the thick weeds? I use a SP worms most of the time as so many others, I see most videos always show a texas rigged worm with weight, my cousin fishes his worm with and without but catches mostly without a weight, and always catches at least twice as many fish as me, is this something most you do as well? We fish the weeds 90% of the time this year, its been in the 90s for weeks here in michigan and that seems to be where the bass are. So if he out fishes me without weight should I be doing the same? I figure its more about the fact that this is what he does most and has become good at it, I am only in my 2nd year and want to improve, I just don't know if I should stick with a bullet weight and learn to get good at it or fish without weight. By the way we are in lower michigan just outside of detroit.

I finally got a hit on my frog and the d**n bass knocked it silly, it was all jacked out of shape and the fight pulled the weight out, I did not catch my first bass on a frog but I did manage to get one to hit it and retrieve my damaged frog. Now I need to replace my weightless frog due to big hole where the weight was, I don't think I can fix it. I picked up the lower priced frog because all I have is a medium rod with a spinning reel and 10 pound line so I figured it was better to avoid the $6 to $15 frogs due to risk of loosing it. (I will be getting a bait caster with heavy rod in month or so I just gotta get by with this for now) Anyone know of an affordable frog that won't come apart?

Being the OP I will say I want to start off with the easy stuff, I just want to have some top water success at first so I have the confidence to believe in top water fishing, the fact that I have never landed a fish on top water is making it hard to resist switching to a soft plastic worm I know I can get hits on, this lack of confidence in top water always causes me to 2nd guess the use of the bait, due to being a new fisherman I am always thinking, "is this even gonna work right now, is the weather right for top water, is it the right time of day, am I doing this right, should I switch to something else?" these are the kinda things that run though my head while I am waiting for a bite, when I know something works I tend to stick with it. I hope that makes sense?

No I have med. rod with spin reel, but I do plan to get a heavy rod with BC reel as soon I can save up the money for it.

So glad to hear I am not alone, so far I can only say I do well with worms, tubes and inline spinners, although today I caught 4 bass and only used skirted jigs, I would not say I am good with them yet but I stuck with it and had success. I can see the logic here, if the fishing is good and you catch one then you at least know the bait can catch fish and this will give you the confidence to take that bait serious, I will take this advice for sure.

I am trying to catch my first fish on a hollow body frog, everything I have read so far suggests to fish em slow, I have checked out many forums and that is what has been posted in the threads I have read so far. Do you prefer to fish a TW frog slow with long pauses or fast with a twitch? Every time I watch MLF those guys are moving the frog so fast, with just a twitch motion rather than a true pause. What gives, can anyone enlighten me here? I really want to get a fist frog catch.

That is something I must remember, thanks man.

I have to admit I have only caught bass on about 10% of my lures, maybe less. Although all my fishing tackle fits in 3 tackle trays so I don't own much and hope to keep it that way, hope being the opporative word here.

Yeah the cousin I fish with the most considers switching color of soft plastic worms switching it up. I rarely see him without a worm on his line, and I have never ever seen him catch a bass with anything other than a worm.

Always give up too soon and switch to something I know I can get a bite on, I have a hard time fishing the lure I can't make work over and over again, all I can think about is if I throw something else I can catch a fish, am I the only one out there that's okay cause this problem

That is something I must remember, thanks man.

I have only ever seen people flip standing up, I never really thought about trying it sitting down but now I will for sure, thx

Yeah that is exactly why I don't learn other baits, I give up on a bait that is not working and switch to something I know, this always stops me from learning. Can I flip in a kayak or from shore? I have only seen people flip from full size boats.

I always see fish hitting the waters surface but never really learned to fish that action.I have picked up a few lures for it but I can never seem to make any lure cause a strike when the fish are hitting the bugs.Now I am not just talking about the evening, I am mostly referring to middle of the day surface feeding.So where should I start? The popper, Jitterbug, and hollow frog I own all seem far to big when they are just grabbin little bugs.I have tried all three and just give up after about 20 casts or so without as much as a little splash.Now I know I need practice before I can catch anything with topwater bait and I have watched videos for each of the three, but it seems like the fish are feeding on such small bugs you would have to be fly fishing to really imitate them.Can anyone recommend a top water that is best for learning?

Soft plastic worms, mostly wacky rig, but texas rig works as well, I can always do good with a worm but I feel I should learn to use more than just worms for lower water fishing, I use inline spinners for middle and upper water presentations. This is exactly my problem, I give up when I go too long without a strike and switch to something I can catch fish with, but this is preventing me from learning other baits, and I feel I need to be able to catch fish with more than just two types of bait. Yeah I figure that is the only logical conclusion, I just gotta figure out what the problem is. I am not getting bit, but to be fair its been very hot for the past 2 weeks and this is the time I have been taking them most serious, I figure if I can catch with a texas rig a skirted jig should not be that hard.

I have loved them for the entire 2 years I have been fishing for some reason I just can't understand. I may never catch a fish with one, I have tried for hours and hours and not a single fish yet, but they seem like a great lure any way. Am I crazy for liking a lure I can't catch fish with? I am only posting this because I thought it make people laugh a little.

Good advice, I will try sticking to using them from my kayak.

Goby imitator...cool idea, I do have tubes