Boomstick

Yes I can stand on my yak. I figured it wouldn't matter much in that case, but I hear people like shorter rods sometimes too. I think the H/F would be the way to go, then I can fish the heavy cover with it. I do use my MH/F in open water a lot too, but a lot of times I will also cast and drag a jig on the bottom in open water if I'm not skipping docks.

Hey guys, I currently have the Daiwa Tatula 7'1" H/F but since I will have access to some pretty good cover I don't have regular access to now that I own my own kayak I was thinking of getting a slightly longer rod for flipping/pitching. Or would I be better off sticking with the 7'1" as I'm fishing from a kayak? I know I can definitely compensate by moving my position, but I can definitely pitch further on a longer rod so that lets me cover more ground without having to move but I am sure some of you guys who are much more experienced on a kayak than I am will have some good input.

I would recommend a swivel to help with line twist, but I have fished them without one without any issues. Every now and then, when you reel it in let it spin its way back so it doesn't get too badly twisted and you should be fine -- although a swivel is definitely preferred.

I bought a Coast light as a local hardware store that runs on a single AAA battery and not too large to put on a keychain but it was built like a tank and 20 or 30 lumens. I am not sure they still make the model, it may be a G5 but I think it's closer to the G10 or G19 in size but those are inspection beams (I also have a G19). I carry it on me when hiking, camping and night fishing and it's bright enough to get me to the bathroom when camping without any issues. I since bought the HP7 is a bit larger but pocketable. It has three settings, I usually only need the lowest but I once did drop something and the bright was nice. Mine is an older model and the new one is like twice as bright. Usually the ones I see at Walmart aren't the same solid steel chassis that most of their lineup has, but you will know by looking at it.

I have been using a Daiwa Tatula glass M/R (MF) rod for most of my squarebills and while it's not my favorite in grass or around stumps, it's not horrible either and it has a fair amount of bend to it where it can throw the lighter ones and keep them pinned. If you throw them around grass and stumps most of the time, your M/F might be a better choice but if you are one to get sick of pulling the grass out of the hooks and don't have too many stumps, a M/M is the way to go.

Well in grass, a MH/MF or M/F is quite ideal for a quicker rebound, but in open water, your M/M or M/MF is quite ideal for superior casting distance and keeping them hooked.

Well I don't have any of the tactical flashlights, but I have taken a liking to Coast flashlights, they are bright and survived being ran over with my truck so they may be worth a look.

I refuse to watch The Tiger King -- I might be the only person in America, but the one thing I despise more than dramas is reality TV and I get the impression that The Tiger King is essentially a hybrid of both, so not my bag.

Baby Bluegill, Aaron's Magic and Aaron's Morning Dawn are three of my favorites.

For the most part, I use the same sizes for smallies as I do largies, but I will downsize a little bit if I am fishing a smallie only lake. I will use #1 or sometimes #2 hooks when drop shotting smallies, and instead of using my standard 4/0, I will use a 3/0 or sometimes even a 2/0.

I haven't loaded them on but I have no doubts - it's rated up to 15' some inches I believe and the Voodoo is the longest at 13' even. After dragging it up the hill, I am real glad they were out of the harbor freight trailers. Without kayaks on it it was heavy enough.

I will fish a jerkbait in any fairly clear water and usually on a clear day. If the sun is behind clouds, I may throw a crankbait and if the water is a little stained or there's some waves then a spinnerbait, but you can catch them on jerkbaits all year long and they especially excel in that < 55 degree water

Nice catches! I never specifically target Walleyes because I don't have them without at least a two hour drive so I'm definitely no Walleye expert, but I gather you can target them with anything you'd target smallmouth with. The only one I caught -- just a tiny little one hit a crankbait and I missed a large one when I was in Canada a few years ago on a spinnerbait.

Hello and welcome to the forums

I see what you did there... hello and welcome

@flyfisher so I got the trailer yesterday and got it built today. I started around 11am and was done cleaning up at 5. I stopped for lunch and also had to go out and buy a 22m socket. The assembly would have been much shorter too but I had installed the crossbars on the wrong side - did not realize they were not identical until I went to hook up the electrical connections. That probably added a hour - centering the center bar was easily the most time consuming part of the entire process, so having to do that again added a good chunk of time. If I had an actual flat surface (my lawn isn't entirely flat) I would say I could probably do it again in a hour now that I know what I'm doing. I did not get a title with the trailer however. Mass does not require a title when I register it for trailers under 3000 pounds, but may want the prior owners registration or something with the VIN on it -- which I don't have. So we'll see what happens there. I am not sure if I mentioned, but I mentioned to my dad that I would get one of those J-cradles when I go camping, and he bought a Yakima JayLow -- figuring it would work best with Yakima bars and I gotta say he's probably not wrong. So other than this title thing, I'm pretty much good to go. I was also hoping to add the achor trolleys today as well, but figured I would do that another day.

That's awesome and was mighty generous of this member. I hope that reel catches you many big fish!

I have been using the 7'1' Daiwa Tatula H/F "Jig" rod so far. Now that I own a kayak, I may look at getting something a little longer for better distance in the more distant future, but that is a solid rod for a 7'1". That is paired with either a Tatula CT with 65lb braid or a Tatula SV with 17lb flurocarbon depending where I am fishing. Having a boat changes the game, I can store longer rods that don't fit in my rack inside the hull, and it also changes where I'm flipping or pitching -- instead of alongside a rock wall on a causeway, I'll be hitting targets under docks, in weeds etc

This is definitely true. That said, there's been several times where I saw media coverage from an ICAST show and thought "wow that really is useful" and went out and bought it.

I posted that too early. Looks like they are in fact doing that. Man I feel dumb now

I have been using 12lb Sufix Siege for poppers and buzzbaits and 65lb braid for frogs.

Well I do have a new rod to spool up, have been putting that off as I haven't brought out the frogs yet this season but the majority of my next few weeks will be spent rigging out my kayaks. I have anchor trolleys to add, a rudder keeper and beyond that everything else is figured out which tracks to mount everything to. I also have a trailer to build.

If you are fishing soft plastics slowly then as much as your line going tight could be a bite, it can be pretty hard to tell. And of course if you are fishing a moving bait and feel your bait stop or a few rapid tugs on your bait, then you have a bite. It's generally much easier to tell with a moving bait because most of the time fish that chase will hammer it and you will know when they do. The only thing more exhilarating is getting them to hit a topwater bait.

Hello and welcome

Hello and welcome to the forums. When I was in Ft. Launderdale in 1998 or 1999, they had a 3 story bar mall, is that still there? That was the craziest thing that I've seen.