BassB8Caster

Me as well. Morning dawn in 40 size. Just fast enough to get it swimming.

The thought behind the kayak is that it is very easily moved in the water. So when setting the hook, as tension increases and the rod loads up, it will start to pull the kayak towards the fish. Decreasing the load I'm able to put on the rod, thus decreasing the hookset power. Where on a boat, you are delivering 100% of your effort to the rod and to the fish (through the line). And I never planned on using 8lb. I thought all along it was 12lb mono. Don't recall ever buying 8lb. Then after that night I went home and checked the used spool. So that went in the trash and I respooled with 12lb low stretch. I hear you on the hook up rate with that set up. The reason I like the Texas rigged set up is because I fish a lot of small ponds with lots of grass on bottom. So I can bring it through easily. I will definitely mix it up though as I have some of those jig heads.

I had this happen slow rolling a 5.8 keitech. Fish bit, I set the hook, kept tension reeling her in. She jumped head shaking and spit my lure. Reeled it in and the swimbaits hook was still sitting in the groove on the keitech. This was a 5lb plus largemouth. I was in my kayak fishing with 8lb line. Probably between the kayak and the line I was not able to get a good hookset at all. Hard to say in your case. Amazing to think that a strong hookset with two good treble hooks (that seem to grab anything and everything) don't penetrate the inside of a fishes mouth. Or somehow they are able to shake them look.

That's very interesting. Good to know. I rarely drag baits on the bottom unless I'm shallow and that's mostly pitching into and around vegetation. I will slow roll spinners, swimbaits chatterbaits etc around the bottom. Crazy how finicky some bass can be. Will only strike certain presentations, baits etc while some others are on your lure as soon as it hits the water.

This is a very good lesson for all of us. I'm sure we are alk a little different when it comes to "how many casts" we make at an area. There have been lots of threads about it. I know I probably do not do a thorough enough job. I always try to remember to never make just one cast to an area/spot. Opens up a whole new perspective having to get a bait within 1 to 2 feet of the fish. Really need to pick apart the water column in that case. And really need to be able to identify that 10% of the water that's holding 90% of the fish.

thats a cool looking fish right there. Must have been a good fight

thats interesting. I will try all possible combinations. The lure sure does make a scene. I would assume its either going to scare the fish off or rile them up. the 130 is a big bait and quite a commotion. I can see how it could be a bird, a bat, etc scurrying across the surface. It should work. Should be a good return on energy spent for a bass perspective.

Glad to hear you are having success. I picked up a loon 130. Tried it out for the first time Sunday morning with no hits. It is big. But I think it will work. It casts a Mile and does splash decent on landing. But if you cast beyond your target it should work out ok. I also have the spro bbz1 40 rat which is 7" I believe total length. I have had great results with that up here in Maine, so can't say too big for northern bass. I actually want the spro50 as well. As far as the 130, I tried different retrieves. Reeling fast with a 7.1:1 reel gives the plopping/ blooping sound with a pretty big wake. If I slow down just A bit the sound went away and the wake/splashing was less (but seemed to me to be more realistic). Time will tell with experimentation for me. On one hand I love the versatility and action of it, and on the other it takes time away from the rat. I think the wopper plopper is a great lure, especially at dusk and night. I had one cast out of say 50 to 75 that the rear treble hook caught on the propeller. Other than that no issues.

Thats awesome, congrats! I have a soon to be 1 year old daughter that i cannot wait to take fishing (obviously still have a while to go). I so look forward to those daughter and dad fishing trips.

I have a tough time fishing deep (or atleast having success deep). I like to target bigger fish. I fish smaller ponds out of a kayak without any electronics. I tend to target the thick stuff with texas rigged plastics and do pretty well. I catch 3-4lbers often. I have yet to land a 5+lber. i have lost a few of them. Havent really been able to target them, just hooked them in semi random spots. The biggest fish i lost from a shook hook was in a pond that rose about 2 feet over night. i targeted submerged bushes with a frog. Two other 5+ fish i lost were just outside vegetation late in the day as it was starting to get dark. They were probably up roaming looking for food. The one big fish i lost this year was on a swimbait on the edge of a hump just outside a dropoff. I was targeting this hump specifically for bigger fish. So really, this is the only time i hooked up with a bigger fish in a spot i was targeting with a technique for bigger fish (5.8 keitech). Of course the others i lost in or outside of vegetation could be argued that those were targeted areas as well. To that i would say no because it was not the thickest gnarliest areas that probably had the even bigger fish. So my weak point is success deep. I try to fish the drop offs or adjacent areas (to the best of my knowledge with water body survey maps from the 60's as my only depth finder). After reading some excellent replies here, my goal is to target the thickest spots. Make a goal to try to lose baits, etc. And fish jigs more this summer. I have not given them a fair try. I give up on them too easy. I know they are big fish baits, so i need to use them in the right areas. So location is #1, timing #2, and bait size #3. And of course, a bunch of luck.

Excellent Reply. The information i was looking for. Thank you.

My approach would be to find any gaps, seams, etc that may be void of vegetation, or transitions from one type to the other. I would picture the bass staging/sitting/stalking just inside the weedline (not in the middle of a big patch) where it can ambush prey that comes close. Really anything will work along the weedlines (from plastics, to jigs, to chatterbait, to swimbaits, etc). Texas-rigging a worm and dropping it in spots should work awesome. Maybe a drop shot with the bait just above the weeds.

For those who have caught fish on big worms, set the hook right away? Or wait a second or two to allow the fish to get it all in its mouth?

i have wondered this same thought as i have lost some bigger fish (5lb to 6lb or so). I think its like one of those things that will not have one answer. Unless the answer is "it depends". Seems like the concensus is any where from tossing a different bait in at it, to wait a day, a week etc. I wonder too if it would depend on how you had the fish on. Was it a tough battle with the hook in the mouth that worked its way loose? or was it a fish that was holding on to a bait that it spit loose at the surface without the hook ever in its mouth? One would think that the more pain inflicted in the mouth of the fish, the more she may go without eating. If the fish believes that the prey got away, and has no thought of an artificial bait, she may eat again soon. But no way to really know this unless we can catch the same fish again (with specific markings or one of your hooks still in her). I fish mostly all small ponds that get little fishing pressure. I usually skip around and fish different ponds, or maybe ill hit the same pond two outings in a row (which is typically once a week), and i have yet to hook the same big fish twice. I know this because im talking bests of 4.25 or 4.5 vs a fish well over 5. No comparison to them. So i know for sure i havent missed them twice. Do i catch the same 2.5 to 4lbers? Quite possible. Just not the big girls.

I'm not 100% sure it is an acceptable form of license, but when I purchased mine online I took a pic of it on my phone. So as long as I have my phone on me I can prove I have a license. I also have a copy in my wallet. I have a hard enough time remembering kayak paddle, met, and fishing rods. Don't want to have to remember my license.

I agree. I try to learn from any mistake or situation.

I have not caught anything on a buzzbait. Have had hits/bites but nothing landed. But to be fair, i have not fished it much. Just go watch videos on buzzbaits, the fish blow those things up. And people catch some big fish with them. So the lure does work. I also agree on the tool analogy. No guarantees in fishing, except that if you dont fish, you wont catch anything. And if you do try, you just may catch the fish of a lifetime.

I ordered my first whopper plopper yesterday with the sale at dicks. Bought a savage gear 3d line thru trout too. I bought the 130. it is 5" and ***/8 oz. My mh rods can handle that. I would not consider the 130 huge. I splurged for my first expensive lure, the spro bbz rat 40 that is 7.5" long total with tail. The fish love this thing. i would love to get the bigger one, but its a little too heavy for my rods and a rod upgrade isnt in the cards.

Yep. Hit the veggies. And any close drop offs, structure, cover, travel lanes etc between the veg and drop offs. Also shady spots (docks, downed trees, etc). For me, early early mornings and evenings are sure things. But cannot rule out both sides of noon for big girls out looking for a snack.

Absolutely. No way of knowing how the bass had the bait.

Good tip. Yes i do this. The exact situation that caused me to write this thread was mid retrieve with a soft swimbait. As i was reeling i felt the weight of the fish, set the hook, reeled (fish was on), she came to the surface and spit the lure. Hook was undisturbed sitting in the slot on the swing impact fat. Rod did load up, but after hearing from everyone, the "stretchy" 8lb xl trilene mono didnt allow a strong enough hook set to drive that hook home. New line has been ordered.

Being new dipping into the bigger swimbaits, I gotta ask. Why do you say this? Fishing with braid gives me great confidence in strength. I really don't want to lose any of these baits so any info would be greatly appreciated.

Dicks is having a buy one get one 50% off sale on swimbaits so I'm gonna take advantage and pick up an s waver 168 and savage gear 3d line thru trout. Came out to 21. Needed $4 more for free shipping so I checked at line. Found suffix super 21 mono . 14 lb test 330 yd roll for around $5. Worth a try at that price.

I agree with you. I swear i read to rig the 5.8 keitech Fat swing impacts on a 7/0. Thats why i bought that size. I just looked on their website and they recommend a 6/0. The 7/0 is a beefy hook. But it does sit good in the groove. A strong hook set should drive that beefy hook home in good shape. I have 30lb braid on one of by baitcasters and ill either replace this 8lb mono with heavier mono made for a bait caster or go with braid on both. I was actually super surprised when i read 8lb on the spool i have in my fishing tub. I swear i remember buying a spool of 12lb big game, and i thought that was what was on my reel. apparently not. I think a good thing to learn here is that you need to be ready when the big fish bite. lots of times you get that one chance. And they will expose any weekness you may have between the end of your bait to the hook to the line to your rod and your abilities as a fisherman to handle them correctly until they are in your hands. I am happy i was able to have another chance at a PB, but also frustrated to not come through and make another mistake. I guess thats what keeps driving us. To get better and go get the big girls.

thats quite interesting. Bass sure do love them some live bait.