Ohio Yakker

I always have a spot remover with various types of craw baits rigged up. It will catch fish in any condition.

18 pounds!! I can't even imagine a bass that big. But I don't have much experience with dirty, and deep water. Of the muddy water I have fished they have all been shallow. But from my experiences and what I've heard bass cling tight to cover in muddy water, so I would give whatever structure you can find a few casts. Hopefully he put the fish back so you can catch it again!! Good luck on catching the fish of a lifetime

If someone would pay me to fish for a living I would say whatever they wanted me to. I get why they say that stuff, it's their job. So my problem isn't with the Youtuber, or whoever is making the promotional video, my problem is with the company.

I agree 100%. If I watch a video on Youtube or a show on TV and it is obvious that the person is being paid to talk about the product, it actually turns me off from whatever the product is and makes me instantly not want to buy it. I want to know honest opinions and reviews, I don't care what someone is paying you to say, I care about your experiences, thoughts, and honest opinions about the product.

This couldn't be more true. On a few occasions though I have left all of my money in the car except for a $10 bill if I'm just going in to buy a pack of hooks. (I still end up going down every aisle and scope out what I'll buy next time)

"There's one" or "I got one" and then when the fish is about half way to the boat I sometimes say, but always think "Please stay hooked, please stay hooked, please stay hooked"

Any shade of purple gets the job done for me.

I take 2-3 rods, a tackle bag that holds 5 3500 size boxes and another, small tackle bag that I keep my bags of soft plastics in. I keep both of these in the rear. I have to use the tackle bags because my kayak doesn't fit a milk crate. In the cockpit I keep my scale, pliers, and a fish grip. I have made DIY holders for these three items. I would like to try and simplify my tackle. Cut down to 3 plano boxes and then put only 2-3 bags of plastics in the remaining room in the tackle bag. Occasionally I take a net which I just slide under the bungies on the front of my kayak

Although I've never used one, the Pelican Catch 120 looks decent for that price range. You should be able to stand comfortably on it.The seat looks really good for the price of the kayak, which is just $750. It does seem to have kind of a "boxy" shape to it so it might not be the easiest paddling kayak. Good luck. I'm sure you'll love fishing from a kayak, it's a blast

1. Chigger Craw 2. Paca Craw

I use snap swivels about 75% of the time. I started using them about 2 years ago and have not had any problems. Some people say they'll bend out or break but I have not encountered that. The one thing that I dislike about them is that they do tend to hang up more on grass/vegetation with certain lures. I don't notice any different action whether I'm using one or not. Sure it probably is better to just tie direct, but for me the convenience of them outweighs the negatives.

I was curious to know what you guys think is your most important/favorite kayak addition or modification. Whether it's a fish finder, milk crate, rod holders, rudder, etc... Mine would have to my anchor set-up. I don't use an anchor trolley like a lot of people do, mostly because I put my anchors on before I knew what an anchor trolley was. I use 2 different anchors, one on the bow and one on the rear. I have them rigged so that I can release them or pull them up easily from the cockpit. I run the line through an eyelet on the front and then use a clam cleat to secure the line. I have the same set-up with the rear anchor. The reason that this is my favorite addition is because it can hold me in the exact position I want. If the wind and current are going North/South, I can still hold my boat facing East/West. A traditional anchor trolley only has one pivot point so eventually the kayak would be facing the same direction as the current I would assume. Please share your favorite modifications and why

I think for some people the enjoyment comes from the challenge of trying to figure the fish out and develop a pattern. Some people only get enjoyment from the 'success'. I'm a little in between. To me, one of my favorite aspects of fishing is learning new techniques and trying to develop a pattern to be able to catch more fish. But like you said I also just really enjoy being out on the water on a beautiful day.

My PB came on a crankbait, but normally crankbaits catch me numbers, not necessarily size. Typically the baits that catch me bigger fish are either a topwater frog (hollow body or soft plastic) or a chigger craw on a Buckeye Spot Remover.

Awesome fish! I wish I had water close enough to me to be able to get a few casts in before work.

Healthy fish. I bet it put up a good fight!

If this is what you take bank fishing I can't imagine what you'd take on a boat haha. When I bank fish I take a small BPS tackle bag. It can hold up to 5 small plano boxes, but I normally only bring 2-3 and use the extra space for soft plastics. It has 3 zippered pouches that I keep pliers, scale, and a water bottle in.

I was taking a break from fishing to check the weather. I had left my jig in the water as I drifted in my kayak. Then my rod started to slowly bend and tug in the rod holder. I figured it had just got hung up so I just gave it a few quick tugs...but then it fought back. I knew I didn't get a good hookset and when it came to the surface about 10 feet from my kayak I could see that she was barely hooked. I reached for my net to give me some extra reach to grab it. Then it gave one more leaping head shake and away she went. My PB is just over 5 and judging by what I saw of this fish it was around 7. It was no double digit, but in Ohio a 7 pounder is about as big as they get. I still get mad at myself for losing it. The lack of a good hookset and by letting it jump right by the boat are what did me in.

Said no one ever

Zoom Horny Toad. It can fished fast like a buzz bait or you can slow it down and fish it over the pads like a hollow body. It has a lot better hook up ratio than hollow bodies too. I have tried numerous different colors and they all seem to catch fish at the same rate.

I like a shaky head a lot too. I find that it is a good way to get finicky bass to bite.

The chatterbait is one of my confidence baits so I throw it a lot, in various conditions, and it usually works at that lake. And I was planning on stopping by BPS on my way home from work today to get some swimbaits, so I'll be trying those out this weekend. Thanks everyone for the input!

I use the lightest weight I can to still be able to feel the bottom. Wind and water depth will play a role in this.

I always use a trailer. Mostly Paddle tail swimbaits, but sometimes I'll use a creature/craw type bait as a trailer and that works too. You can always modify the size of the trailer by cutting off the end to make it smaller. That could make a difference. Or by using larger/fatter trailers which will change the profile of the bait. Sometimes small adjustments can make a huge difference.

This is perfect. But I think as long as it is moving and can fit in it's mouth, a bass will go after it.