MassYak85

I fish my my kayak usually but if I only have a couple hours before dark I'll grab a couple rods and go fish couple ponds from the bank. There's almost something I like about fishing from the bank more. But that's probably just having solid footing. My go to techniques are a spinnerbait or a weightless worm. Although my favorite thing to do is fish a wakebait or other topwater right at dusk.

I'll say! I don't think I've ever even heard of a 5+ lb smallie in the state aside from out of wachusett and the quabbin

My dad also has the hullivators and they do work very well. They should handle the perception without any issue.

Correct. And as far as price range I'd be interesting in anything under 50 bucks. Thanks for the replies so far guys. Some neat looking hand made ones mentioned.

A 6.9 Smallie? WOW!

Considering I have a milk crate with 5-6 plano boxes filed to maximum capacity with lures....you did very well.

I'm hoping to go out on Thursday in my kayak. Nice warm weather this week should get them active again and come Friday another front with rain is coming in so hopefully they will be biting good Thursday.

Lol, I don't know why I didn't think of this in my first post seeing as they are the biggest change I have made to my kayak. I would actually have to say my outriggers. They are made from some PVC components and some bullet shaped buoys. Without them I would not be able to stand up in my kayak at all. I don't always bring them as they do slow down travel but they are awesome to have some times.

I know there are a ton of rat lures out there, some of which can get well over a hundred dollars or more. I was wondering if you could only have one large rat bait (let's say 5"+) what would you pick? I've been looking at a lot of them over the past few months and the two that really peaked my interest once I factored in costs were the 50 size Spro Rat ("only" 30 bucks for a fairly large bait) and the Moreau 5" Rat (which has the look of some of the higher end rat lures but is a little bit more sensitive on the wallet than many of the custom ones). Do any of you have experience with either or both of these baits. Thanks.

I would also tell people not to give up on it when trying to tie it. It can be frustrating. I actually wasn't able to consistently get it to bite down and had it slip while fishing when I first started and ended up going back to the Uni to Uni knot for a little while. It wasn't until I lost another fish due to that knot that I decided to give the FG knot another chance and man was it worth it. I actually tie it a little different than the video recommends if I recall correctly. I do 20 wraps then finish the wraps with an overhand knot. I should mention THIS is the time you should cinch it down and make sure it won't slip. At that point the knot is at full strength, and everything else is just to prevent it from unraveling. I then do 5-6 overhand knots around BOTH the main line and the leader tag end, then I do another 5-6 overhand knots around JUST the main line. All the extra overhand knots just ensure that if the knot does start to come undone it's the overhand knots and not the actual load bearing knot. Then I attempt to "push" the knot so that the overhand knots stretch out over the main line and leader to the maximum they might under normal conditions, and THEN I clip the leader tag close to the knot and finally clip the main line tag. It might seem overkill but it hasn't failed me yet and it's what has given me confidence it will never come undone. I don't use any superglue like some do though.

Me and my dad went to Quaboag on Saturday. It was kind of miserable conditions, raining, cloudy and windy in the 50's with the water temps a pretty consistent 52/53 around the whole lake. It started off really slow with only one pickerel. We went into one of the outflow rivers and started catching a few. I finished with 6 bass, 3 were dinks, a couple keepers and the biggest was a decent 2 1/2 pounder. All caught on a green pumpkin chatterbait. My dad ended up catching 2 more pickerel. There was a club tourney going on while we were there and we saw one guy catch a 4-5 pounder.

I use the FG as well. I had used the Uni to Uni for a long time and liked it because it was easy to tie but I ended up losing some fish last year breaking off on hooksets, and guess where the failure point was.... The FG goes through guides great and will even go into your reel without issues if you tie a really long leader like I do sometimes. It is the thinnest possible leader knot because the fluoro/mono never actually bends, it is kept straight and the braid merely wraps around it like a finger trap. When I first saw the knot I thought it was a joke because I didn't understand how it worked without the leader material actually being "tied" in the conventional sense. It's also seriously strong. If you tie it correctly it will NEVER break, the knot to your lure will fail first. The only downside to the knot is how easy it is to tie. I had to sit down for a couple hours tying it over and over again before I got it down. But once you finally get it it is worth it. For people that tie short leaders the alberto might be better. But usually when I tie a leader on it is 5+ feet and will last several trips, so spending 3 minutes tying it at home before heading out isn't a huge deal. Tying it on the water is a chore though, and you can almost forget about it in a kayak. The video Mojojojo linked is probably the easiest way to tie it.

Tough to pick. I'd have to say my milk crate just because how convenient it makes storing tackle and rods behind me and out of the way. A close second would be the AquaBound Manta Ray Hybrid Paddle I bought last season. Makes a huge difference paddling a long distance over the aluminium one that came with the kayak. Although I just installed an 8" rail on the front to hold a mount for my phone and I have a feeling that will be my favorite one this season.

I have two and like them

The ones I like most are TackleJunky81, Fluekemaster, InformativeFisherman, KeepinItReelFishing, LakeForkGuy and Matt Allen's channel

Another vote for War eagle, they're all I use now for the most part

Well, considering the title this is cheating a little bit, but I'll say it anyways. Last year I was dragging a t-rig on the bottom and it started to feel kind of weird. I reeled it in and realized I had snagged some broken off line that was on the bottom, which isn't that unusual. I start pulling in the other line after I get my t-rig untangled and to my surprise a small catfish is still alive and attached to the other end. Unhooked the little guy and threw him back.

x3 love mine, lightweight, very smooth, and you can find an LFS new for 80 bucks. Lews also has great customer service. I called them looking for a tiny plastic part on the side plate that I accidentally broke while reassembling it after cleaning. Not only did they send the entire side plate assembly, they didn't charge me a cent (and I didn't even ask for them to cover it), and they sent it priority mail and I had it within a few days.

another vote for the Pflueger President

I'm trying sniper this year (20lb for jigs and T-rigs) and I really like it so far. The only thing is I had a weird break off on a hook set about 10 yards from my lure on a long cast. I barely applied any pressure at all before it broke which didn't feel right. I think it was my fault, as I recall the line getting pinched in the spool on a backlash earlier in the day, but it has me on edge a little going forward.

I know, I know....I should wear it all the time.

Savage Gear 7" 3D trout and a swim jig.

I usually bring 3-4 rods, but if I really felt compelled to my kayak can hold 7 the way it's rigged. I don't even have 7 rods though. I have 4 PVC homemade rod holders that are attached to a milk crate. Three are on the backside and are used for rods, one is on the front and I use that to hold a small net. Then there are the two flush mounts that came with the kayak that I usually put whichever two rods I am using most in. As far as tackle I can fit about 5-6 plano boxes in the milk crate. In the cockpit I either have the PFD on me or right behind my seat, some stuff to deal with fish once I catch them (rag, pliers, knife, clippers, scale etc.), an anchor, a water bottle, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat if it's really sunny, some snacks, a small waterproof box for my phone + wallet + keys. Sometimes I'll bring a stakeout pole (it's just a paint roller extension arm but it does the job). Usually I'll bring a couple small spools of leader line too. And if I feel like standing up I have detachable home made outriggers I'll bring.

Thanks! I actually am also in a camo Ascend.....FS10 though.

I think the bluegill inside the stomach's of some of the bass I catch would respectfully disagree that they are living in perfect harmony with the bass.