IgotWood

Just a funny realization. The lake I haunt on the regular has always fished well with green and chartreuse. But for some reason, this year since late winter, I only seem to catch on black/blue. The water color and clarity hasn’t changed. The lake doesn’t get much pressure. I even went to some new water recently and couldnt buy a bite on the trusty coreshot chartruese senko that i normally fish everywhere else. Put the black/blue on and BAM! This is only my third season of bass fishing. So this change in trend is rather new to me. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Have you been able to nail down a reason for the change?

Simms has an ultra-lightweight pants. I've got a few pairs that I bought several years ago and I love them. Super light, and they dry very fast.

One major thing to keep in mind that many people do not consider before going to pedals, is the ability to make position adjustments without moving the boat. In other words, I can't turn my Hobie on a dime to point the boat exactly where I want it. I have to gain speed in order to gain steerage from the rudder. With a paddle kayak, I can simply hold the rod in one hand, and make a half-hearted paddle stroke with the other to tread the wind, or to turn my boat just slightly to help me effectively stay on my target. For bass fishing, my exact position is more important to me than being able to be hands-free while underway. I don't typically have to paddle far on my lakes and I don't troll. However, saltwater fishing is a different ballgame for me.

I agree with every previously mentioned. One thing that I do is I normally begin my retrieve with my rod tip high, pulling on the bait to keep it from diving right to the bottom, and lowering the rod as my bait gets deeper and further from the bank. I watched Timmy Horton do this on one of his shows. He was fishing deep divers off a bank from 1' down to 8'. I've done this in my home lake which is loaded with grass. if you know the area well, you can keep the bait just above the grass. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I switch to a lipless crank, spinner, or weedless swimbait.

The two major differences I see are profile/bulk, and contrast. The skirt will add bulk to your bait. The bulk of the skirt can help you adjust your fall rate if your typical 3/8oz t-rig is falling too fast for the fish's mood. The skirt is also moving at least slightly while the jig is soaking, which is when most bites occur. The skirt also helps adjust the overall color of your bait and can add contrast. Often times contrast is a what the fish seem to key in on. I find that contrast helps generate a bite when the fish are in one of their finicky moods...like when they are showing signs of activity, and react to your bait, but do not bite. Or when fish have green pumpkin baits falling on their heads all day, and then you come through with a green pumpkin trailer on a black or brown jig. I catch fish on both jigs and t-rigs. To be honest, I prefer t-rigs because I get better hook-ups than with jigs. And it's convenient to swap baits rather than having to tie a new jig and rig a new trailer. Ultimately, if I feel I need to fish slower, I'll switch to the jig.

I kinda do the same thing with matted grass. And if it's not windy out, I can come back an hour later and still see the trail my kayak made in the grass which also helps.

I have never seen any LM bass in the "Naugaflush". There are, however, some smallmouth. I haven't targeted them there, but there are is a small population in the lower section of the river. You would probably have a much better time floating the Housatonic. The Bull's Bridge section has fantastic smallmouth fishing, and some very large brown trout as well. For many years I've fished from Bull's Bridge all the way up to Falls Village. There is plenty of beautiful water. I haven't tried floating it in a kayak, but I'm sure you could do it in the right boat. Any small plastics on jigheads work very well. Also, in-line spinners, and even poppers once the water gets into the mid 70's. FYI...you're going to donate a ton of tackle to that river, but it's worth it. Most of the smallies on the Housy are rather small; 6"-12", but they've got a ton of might! Over time you will learn where, when, and how to catch the larger fish, which there are plenty of. I've taken smallies to 4lbs on the Hous. When you hook one of those, you'd better be ready to chase after it. There used to be a tackle shop in New Fairfield (I think) near Candlewood. I can't remember what it was called. If they are still around, John, the owner would be able to give you some really good info.

They all seem pretty reliable. I personally am a Hobie guy. They have been around for a long time, the boats, drives, accessories, etc are all top notch. Fit and finish in all of there products are second to none. Customer service is great. I fish lots of grass and wood, so the Hobie is my choice. It goes through the grass ok, and if can avoid damaging the drive by simply holding a pedal all the way fwd and flattening the fins against the bottom of the hull. I don't have to life the drive up to avoid hitting wood, rocks, etc.

New water is often a slump buster for me!

Hobies are cool boats for sure! I fish out of an Outback. One thing I've missed in a conventional paddle boat was the ability to turn on a dime and make tiny adjustments when fishing tight to structure. You have to back up, then fwd again while gaining enough speed for the rudder to engage, and then into reverse again to stop. Such a pain, but I've gotten used to it. What I've been doing now is I just pull the rudder up once I get to the area I am fishing, and I use the paddle. Once I get here, I don't have to travel very far in between pieces of structure. Just be careful how you pull on the cables. The pull cord is simply a piece of threaded plastic screwed into the levers. I broke mine off with the plastic threads stuck inside. Had to replace the cords, and the levers. Not really a big deal, but for the money I spent on the boat, I was expecting a little bit better design. Good luck with the boat. Have fun!!

I normally use a rubber stop, and yes, sometimes I slide the peg up my leader a little bit if I change bait to something more like a worm or something I will be covering more water with. But what I will tell you is SNELL your hooks on. It's amazing how much your hookup ratio will increase. And you don't have to worry about your weight coming in contact with your knot. The snell is super easy to tie, quick, and very effective, ESPECIALLY on a flipping hook.

To be honest, I would stay away from the brands like Pelican, and the store brand kayaks from Basspro and Field and Stream. And there arent very many tandem kayaks out there, especially performance tandem kayak. The Ocean Kayak Malibu is probably the best bet. It sounds to me like he and his friend are only going to use it to get from A to B to open up new opportunities. The Ocean Kayak would do that perfectly. Their hulls are very efficient for dealing with tide, currents, waves, etc, which is perfect for what he will be dealing with. However, no matter what kayak he is in, he will still need to pick his days and pay attention to the weather. I've paddled one several times. They paddle well solo, and tandem.

Since you're a well seasoned angler, tying the same knots for years with no issues...I wonder if you simply got a bad batch of line. It happens sometimes. I worked in a tackle shop for years, and we've had to throw out a few bulk spools because of that.

The best thing you can do is get out there with the gear that you have now. Practice flipping and pitching with it, and you will quickly begin to notice things you like and dislike about that particular outfit for that application. Then you will know what you're looking for in your next rod. Ironically, my everyday jig rod pulls triple duty as a pitching rod, t-rig rod, and whopper plopper rod.

I fish the Neko on my home lake. It's covered in hydrilla and pond weed. I use Gamakatsu Light Wire Worm hook, size 1. It's just a standard O' Shaughnessy style hook. Rig it just as you would any other flipping bait, but rig it through the middle of the bait. You do lose a little bit of the action than if you were to use the normal wacky style hook, but if you're using a 7' bait you won't really notice a difference. I mostly notice the loss in action when i neko rig a senko like this. Overall, it's pretty weedless, and it still catches fish.

Where the heck have I been!?!?!? The Menace is one of my best baits, especially for a jig trailer! I always bite off a bit of the head to shorten it. I need the babies!!!

Same here! Blk/blue, or junebug are good colors in dirty water. The only other color I carry is core shot luminous, which is my favorite for any water conditions. Two of my personal tips...if Texas rigging, I use a very light wire worm hook with no weight. I like the Gama superline EWG in a size 1 or maybe a 1/0 (?). It allows my bait to fall super slow and HORIZONTALLY, but it's super sharp and all I need to do is reel down on the fish to set the hook. But don't be afraid to try wacky rigging it. Some days they want texas, and other days they'll only bit a wacky worm. Also, when I am having a tough time getting a bite, I'll downsize to the 4.5" senko. This has proven very effective to me many many times. Typically, when the water is colder than it should be, like on a cold front, or obviously during the winter, the smaller bait will get the bites. Just be patient and keep using them. There has to be a reason why nearly EVERY fisherman has a bag of them on hand at all times.

I'd say that the most consistent pattern I get into is on standing trees. I fish a small lake loaded with cypress. Most of it is 2'-6', with a few trees going down to 10'. The bass seem to relate to the wind or sun in regards to their position on the trees. For example, right now, I seem to be getting more bites on the sunny side of the tree. It makes perfect sense...the fish are staying in the sunlight because it feels warmer. So obviously, I am going to fish the sunny side of the trees first, and more thoroughly. The pattern changes with the season. During the heat of the summer, they prefer the shady side of the tree. And in the evenings around dusk, they often appear to come near the surface and patrol around the trees. Maybe they're surveying their "house" before dark, or perhaps looking for something to eat because the panfish are usually eating insects off the surface at this time. On a breezy day, they seem to set up on the lee side of the tree, which also makes sense to me. To be honest, this is the only consistent pattern that I've dialed in on. On other lakes, I'll usually "junk" fish until I get a bite or two, then I'll stick with that bait, color, depth, cover, etc.

I have a Hobie Outback, and a NuCanoe Flint. I love the Hobie. It's a solid boat. The 180 drive is nice, and of course pedaling is a nice way to fish while underway. It's fast. I can stand up on it just fine, even in some chop, but the deck is small and you cant really move while standing. The seat is SUPER comfortable, and adjustable. The front hatch is big, and offers plenty of storage, and it stays pretty dry in there too. I fish flats a lot, which is why I bought the NuCanoe. I always get stuck in the mud with the Hobie. The NuCanoe Flint is great!!! $999...It's light (63lbs), the seat is very comfortable. The deck is flat and wide open, and absolutely no water pools on the deck. It handles chop very well, paddles as good as any other quality kayak, and it tracks like a laser beam. The stability is fantastic. First time out I stood right up on it. The deck is spacious which allows you to move around while standing to adjust your position. Plenty of storage on the deck, but none inside. I bought the Flint specifically for fishing the flats and a couple of tight bass spots. Since I've bought Flint, I haven't used my Hobie once.

There is no night fishing where I live, but back home in Connecticut I almost exclusively fished at night. I use a headlamp with a red filter. I don't want any of my light hitting the water. The red light is dim, just bright enough for me to tie a knot or pull hooks out of a fish, and it hardly penetrates the water. My light is only on when I am doing something; tying a knot, etc. Or to signal to another boat or fisherman where I am.

Crocs are a cheap solution. I just don't like that sand and gravel don't drain well out of them. If you don't mind spending 100 bucks, Simms Curretns Shoe, and Riprap Shoe are great options. I've worn older versions of both. They drain well, dry fast, comfortable, and no stink!

Man, some spots just require you to donate some tackle if you want to catch fish there, unfortunately. You said you tried unweighted flukes...Perhaps try a lighter gauge hook. Flukes are rather small and very soft. I don't use heavy hooks with them. You could also try a smaller fluke on smaller hook.

Oh man...I didn't read every post in this thread. I didn't realize you had already bought something. Lol! Glad you're happy with your choice! I have never heard a bad thing about the Lure. I may see you on one of the rivers pretty soon. I'm dying to get up there this spring. Cheers!

I just bought a NuCanoe Flint. Fantastic boat for $999! It is super stable, and it paddles just as good as most other kayaks out there. The deck is wide open and flat. Lots of space for gear, or just to stand and fish comfortably. You can literally walk around on this kayak and it won't tip. The seat is very comfortable. And NuCanoe has a specialized cart which fits through a factory made hole in the transom. You can very quickly and easily fashion a little piece of wood, or plastic, etc to the transom to allow you to leave your cart in the hole while holding your wheels up out of the water. NuCanoes are also known to handle river runs very well. My favorite thing about this boat is that it is under 70lbs. It's so light, and so easy to load/unload, and drag in and out of the water.

I use jig hooks with a tungsten cone on the head. I like the Owner Deep Throat hook. I like to finish my jigs with a Fish Mask, but I hide 1 or 2 large tungsten cones underneath the mask. Then simply build a small thread dam in front of the mask to keep it from sliding up onto the angled part of the hook up to the eye. Simply add lead wraps to the shank if you need more weight. you can also add more tungsten beads by tying a piece of wire under the belly. Youtube "belly scratcher minnow" to see this technique. I talked about this with someone else recently and have been wanting to post a few pics, but I recently moved and haven't been able to unpack my tying gear yet.