MDbassin

So if I went with the the lowrance elite TI the side imagining wouldn't work cause the transducer sits flush with the bottom it doesn't hang lower. The kayak that comes with the dragonfly is a big rig. But if I decided to go with side imagining then I will either still go with the big rig or I will be going with a atak 140 or lure 13.5. The atak and lure have a thru hull transducer section and the big rig has a oversized scupper to fit a transducer so either way the transducer will be in the water (I've seen some photos where people had the transducer inside the hull of the kayak so it had to penetrate the hull to get a reading) but surrounded by the hull not hanging beneath

I'm just trying to get water temps, exact depth and bottom composition/structure. Not trying to use it to see fish. When I say shallow I mean 8ft or less the waters I bass fish are old mill ponds/lakes that are 40-50 acres and the deepest is 8ft but the avg depths throughout is more like 4-6ft. would down scan work for what I'm trying to use it for at that shallow of water or should I invest in side scan? Im looking at a kayak and there's a package available with all the bells and whistles but the fish finder that comes with it is a Raymarine Dragonfly which only has down scan. Or should I go with what I was looking to get if I didn't get the package deal which was the Lowrance Elite TI

I definitely have my homework to do. I am considering the lure and atak cause of there stability, open deck, and the fact that both have an area for the fish finder and all its components are in one removable section and the transducer is in the water and protected as opposed to over the side or inside the hull. I had considered the nucanoe frontier but it's just to blank of a canvas for me. the only thing that sucks about this is that the closest dealers for wilderness systems and feel free are 2 hours away from me and in opposite directions so I won't be able to demo them side by side The tracking or speed isn't a big issue for me as the waters I will be fishing them in aren't huge so I won't have to paddle very long distances unless the tracking is just god awful like you have to paddle on the right like 3 times on one side vs 1 stroke on the other just to go straight but I would hope that a kayak like that would never even make it to market

After some thought I've come to think that the mirage drive may not be the best for the waters I fish and the big rigs deck just isn't quite open enough for me and overall the price range may be just to much for me and my family right now. So I was thinking in a different price bracket what are you thoughts on the ATAK140 or the Lure 13.5

Where I fish has quite a bit of vegetation mostly rooted but in the summer it gets this vibrant green stuff that just goes around the lake just under the surface in patches we always called it snot grass cause it's slimy don't know what it's actually called

(SEE FURTHER DOWN FOR ATAK vs LURE) Looking to get a Jackson Big Rig pro or a Hobie Pro angler 14. The big rig pro is $100 more and you get the jkrate, power pole micro and raymarine dragonfly 5 where as the Hobie as you all know would just be the bare bones kayak. Is the bare Hobie worth it? Or with the added features of the big rig pro would you guys go with that one. Theres place a couple hours away but there next demo day isn't until July to try them out. But in reality it probably wouldn't be until then that I would be able to afford such a purchase but I would still like your thoughts

1/2 oz chartreuse/white with white zoom split tail trailer. We had the boat in 8-10 ft of water my guess is that it was around 3-5 ft of water they were hitting in at. i fished it like I do a spinnerbait I keep just deep enough to still see the lure. was using a 7 speed curado at a steady pace. To slow they didn't want it to fast they didn't want it. they were all coming off rocky banks

Dobyns 705CB 7ft MH/MF lews tournament pro g 6 speed 12lb sunline shooter FC. This is also my squarebill rod

Just pick whatever you want even crawls and beavers work well on a shaky head. i like trick worms for dirtier water the big worm has a bigger profile so it's easier to see for the fish. if I'm fishing cleaner water I'll use a smaller worm. I've had success on trick worms, dizzy diamonds, plasma tails, any finesse worm, I like the zoom shaky head worm they have salt in them but the tail is tapered all the way down to a point so there's less plastic and salt at the end so it will sit up higher like you want when shaky head fishing and when you twitch it the tail shakes pretty good. My buddy has used curly tail worms on shaky heads and has caught fish

Well guys luckily they were biting a chatterbait all day so I didn't have to worry about about the senko. Thanks tho for all the good advice. I will keep it in mind if they are biting senkos and the wind picks up. I just up sized my chatterbait when the wind picked up. Took 2nd in the tournament all on a chartreuse/white zman chatterbait custom

The creek arm we are going to he said is know to be fairly clear. The main river where we are to start the day throwing cranks and chatterbaits not so much.

I've got a tournament tomorrow on a tidal river and my boater says we're gonna be fishing crankbaits and spinnerbaits as the tides falling and during slack tide make our way to one of the creek arms and work our way out as the tides coming back in throwing senkos. i know I don't have to copy what my boater is doing but I e never fished this river so I'm going with his recommendations. My problem is that it's gonna be a windy day and colder then it has been the last week I'm use to fishing senkos weightless and unless this creek arm is protected from the wind I dont think I could manage that. whats the best way to fish a weighted senko? I was thinking a split shot/"Mojo" rig what do you guys think? temps have been in the 60-70 during the day for at least a week now but tomorrow will be low 50s while the tournament will be going on low 40s at start of tournament

I did a little review on the 735C a little bit ago if you want to check it out.

I use the 704 for my jig and T-rig rod I use 3/8-1/2 oz works great. Although it's the Champion model not the fury. It seem the higher in the lineup you go with Dobyns the closer they are to the power ratings on the rod. That being said I do own the 735 in he fury line and I use it for frogs and C-rigs works great I fish mostly 1/2 oz C-rigs. Long story short a 5 power Fury will work fine for you

I'll echo what Dave said for some weekend fishing having fun dingers and stik-is are fine but in a tournament situation I will only be bringing senkos and or sassy sticks

I go to dollar tree and get those little black rubber bands women use for there hair and double it up and stick the hook through where they cross over. You get 500 rubber bands for $1.... also use them for keeping chicken liver on a hook for catfish

I use the Abu Garcia IKE series rod it's the 6'4" delay series it's shorter so your rod won't hit the water and the handle is shorter (12") so you won't hit your arm either whether you twitching it or or really yanking on it like kvd

Dobyns DX704C. I myself am a fan of Dobyns and even tho I've never fished there top of the line rods the Champion extreme HP I have fished there fury line and the Champion XP line and both feel like a more expensive rod. I can only imagine what there top of the line rod feels and fishes like. Donyns Champion Extreme HP:DX704C it's a 7 ft heavy power Fast action rated 1/4-1 oz lure recommendations are Carolina rig/horny toads/jigs/spinnerbaits/Texas rigs I use the 704c in the next step down the Champion XP for jigs and Texas rigs and it's amazing

I've used reel snot and the braid aid stuff I can't remember the actual name of it... it's on TW but they both work great I noticed I little bit more distance and it REALLY helped with my cranking reel with flouro on it. I tend to stick with reel snot my self no particular reason other then they are local to me

Anybody fish this? I have a tournament this weekend and me and my boater got blairs pond I've never fished it before. What can I expect

First off welcome to bass resource. Second what's your price range?

The fury will serve you well and for $20 cheaper then the Mojo. The mojos are nice but after handling both IMO the fury is the nicer rod. As for reels the curado is good but you already said it feels like a toy. You mentioned Lews, the tournament MB is a nice reel I would look into that. For a little bit more you could look at there tournament pro g. I went with the pro g cause it just seemed to palm better for me The Daiwa tatula Ct is also a good reel and is often compared to/with the curado but my reason for choosing the curado over the tatula is the same reason your not a fan of the curado it felt like a toy in my hand. A Dobyns fury and a tournament pro g will run you $310 well within you budget a fury and tournament mb will be $250? Can't remember if the mb is $130 or $140

That was the problem I was running into I could find clubs closer to me but on there Facebook or there website the most recent thing was from either 2015 or 2016 I didn't see anything for this year. I believe Dover bass club is only looking for boaters right now but I'll give it a check

I've been looking for a club near me but everything seems to be either southern PA or on the Western shore of MD and all of them seem to be about a 2 hour drive so I wouldn't be able to go to any meetings. looking for a club on the eastern shore of MD I live in Kent county. Or in DE that is looking for a rider/non boater/co angler whatever the term you may use. Anyone know anything?

Sounds like fun how many members you have so far?