NYWayfarer

My Father In-Law and I had a record day of doubling up on Saturday. Three times we doubled up on Smallmouth and then we had a double when he caught a Smallmouth and I got a Redbreast Sunfish. We were using Zoom Salty Tubes and finesse TRD's

My Father-in law and I took a fishing trip on the Hudson on a cold foggy Saturday morning. The river Smallies were hitting tubes and Ned Rigs all day. I hooked into a 2 and a half pounder with a green pumpkin TRD. This was my PB Smallmouth Bass for the year. I was using my lucky reel, the Kastking Sharky II 1500 size spooled with 8lb Fluorocarbon line on a medium light action Lew's Carbon Fire Speed Stick. It's the same setup I had when I got the 3 plus pound Channel Catfish earlier this year. On Monday, Labor Day, I took out my kayak for some more fun. Fishing with the same setup I landed this 3 pound Smallmouth. New PB for the year. Great fight especially since I went to reach for my net and realized I had forgotten it at home.

I had been fishing this season for at least a month with an expired license. Forgot my PFD and broke the tip of my rod in a doorway in my last outing with my Father-in law. Forgot some reels in a rod locker of a rental boat.

I agree. To be on the safe side though check the amount of bait in each bag. I have seen shorts a few times as some like to take a few out of one bag and add them to the bag they are buying.

I was shocked when I saw Rage Tail at my local Walmart. I had to do a double take.

Sounds like a job for a weightless Texas rigged Yum Dinger.

I throw my 90 on a MH/F casting rod with 12 or 14lb mono.

My next 2-piece rod purchase is going to be the Kastking Perigee II For $60 it comes with 3 pieces. The handle and 2 tips with different actions. You can get a Medium Light and Medium or a Medium and a Medium Heavy. Like getting 2 rods for the price of one. As far as transporting rods goes I can't imagine my Elantra is much bigger than your Focus. If I fold down a rear seat I am able fit my 7' one piece rods down the middle. I only have 2 piece rods for trips where I will not be able to fold down the rear seat.

Somebody at Lew's must love soda pop. Can't be a coincidence that they chose the color orange for a reel named Crush. Good looking reel though. It's on my wish list.

I collect comic books. I have a whole section of the basement dedicated for my books and fishing gear. My wife loves it

The only time my 90 won't spin is when it gets vegetation caught in it. Any of it I can't remove by hand gets removed by tweezers I have on my multi-tool.

I can usually tell a Smallmouth bite. That being said I can usually tell when I have a fish on the line that's not a Smallmouth.

Thanks everyone. I am going to pick up a pack of the coffee tubes and stupid rig them.

I wasn't a fan of the bright orange and greens of the new crop of reels coming out. That changed as I have been doing a lot of kayak fishing lately and like to be as visible as possible. No boat is going to miss seeing those neon green and orange colored rods and reels. I live 3 miles from a Dick's Sporting Goods and I can swear I see them from my house. I do like my rods and reels to match however. Green rod and red reel? Only if I am fishing on Christmas day. I have softened on my stance as I have gotten older. I would never have a Daiwa reel on a Shimano rod years ago, now I am not so OCD about it.

I never thought about this subject until a lady around here got attacked by a rabid Coyote. She had to jump into a feeder canal to escape. I have been more wary when unloading my kayak in the early morning hours at an empty boat launch. My Kershaw or pepper spray ain't gonna stop a rabid Coyote. Wish I could carry but NY gun laws are oppressive.

I am interested in the Coffee Tubes. Can you guys that have fished them tell me if the tentacles are durable? At least more so than the Zoom?

For fun. I tend to stick with confidence baits to shake the skunk. Later in the day I switch up to try new things. This Saturday as a personal challenge I tried to catch 5 fish in four hours using 5 different baits, 2 of which I had never used before. Sadly I was unable to do it in four hours. I did have 4 catches and missed what would have been my 5th. It was a Pickerel that shook my Pit Boss before I could land him.

I should have added this question to my original post. How do you like to rig them? I have been using the weighted tube hooks from Strike King. This works for me in open water and I rarely get snagged where I lose the bait. I see you can Texas rig them, weighted or no weight?

Really loving fishing for Smallmouth Bass this season with tubes. I have been using the Zoom salty tubes however the tentacles are quite fragile. I notice I am going through more baits as they lose so many appendages. Good news is they are cheap enough. What tubes do you guys recommend? I also have Berkley Havoc Smash Tubes (a little too big) and Big Bite Baits salt tubes that work well and have sturdier tentacles. The Zoom seem to work better though.

Good idea with the Gulp. I bought several refill bottles on clearance in the winter. I can add a few drops of that in a Ziploc baggie full of baits. I have nothing against spray scents, I actually have a few. What I found is they don't work well when kayaking. No place to really spray them without getting scent all over me or the yak. I stick to using them when bank fishing. I had forgotten about Megastrike. I am going to pick up a tube. I noticed they sell it at Field and Stream.

I recently purchased some Berkley Havoc baits on sale at $2 a pack if you buy 5 or more. Smash Tubes, Beat Shad, Flat Dawgs and Pit Boss. Other than the Smash Tubes, which are covered in salt, none of these baits seem to be salt impregnated or scented in anyway. Whats a good way besides spray scents to get them smelly? In the past I have put unscented baits into a Ziploc baggie and thrown some torn up Ocho pieces in with them to get that coffee smell.

That Oracle paddle is real nice but it cost more than my kayak Out of the three the OP listed I have had my eye on the Pelican Poseidon Angler. Dick's has their own brand angler paddle which seems identical in all specs but costs double the amount.

This sums it up nicely. Trading one advantage, visibility, for three disadvantages doesn't seem like a good deal. I like Fluoro for Trout fishing but even in that respect if I went down to 4lb or 2lb mono I would probably be better off.

Kastking Assassin or Spartacus Plus and a Berkley Cherrywood HD is a cheap, serviceable combo as you can get. Believe the hype about the Kastking baitcasters. They are virtually backlash free. Someone on this forum posted that they are basically like a spincast in the regards that you push a button and cast with no worries. I have 3 Kastking baitcasters and I can say that is an accurate statement. Once I dialed the brakes in correctly I have not had a backlash that is not a freak accident, like catching something on the backswing. The spool will stop spinning when the lure hits the water. None of my other baitcasters (Daiwa Megaforce, Quantum Code, Abu Black Max, Pflueger Echelon, etc.) can make this claim.

Looks uncomfortable as well. Horrible design on those knobs IMO