Boomstick

Hello and welcome

What he said. We get a couple inches of snow and then it's going to warm up again and it should stay warmer in the foreseeable future.

That's unfortunate, but I get it. Personally, I would like to see them find a way to do an online ICast so we can watch while safely quarantined in at home

Yup

Well I downloaded the instruction manual and started looking over assembly. They say 25 minutes but I could see it taking me 25 minutes to verify all of the parts. But it is only a few pages in the manual, basically connect the crossbars which are pre-wired. It's not like I have a garage floor to work on -- which isn't recommended anyway for the risk of scratching up the trailer so I'll be doing this in the backyard most likely.

Well I really wanted a bass boat but I decided to get kayaks instead. I did a bunch of research and got myself just about my dream kayak, the Bonafide SS127. Then I got the boys something nice they will have for many years to come.

Well I do know that most stations authorize $100 at a time for gas when you swipe your card, so any more than that is pretty weird. I mean it's pretty universal at least up here in the northeast where there's a good amount of gas tax.

Oh that's pretty sweet! I might have to consider something like that but I would need a bit more width in the middle. I have used a Flambeau Bazuka Pro to date to transport rods in the back of my truck with no issues. To be completely honest, I could probably mount that. I just ordered a Yakima Rack and Roll 78". The final selling point was that I'll be able to fold it up and store it on my porch (if my dad doesn't let me use his garage) for the winter. It's from a vendor I purchased a Black Pak from and at arrived in two or three business days, so it should be here for next week. From what I gather, they are also super quick to assemble as well but I still have to get it registered.

Yup it would be a pain but the only time I need to do that would be camping too -- specifically camping this year if it happens when I don't want to spend more money right away I think I am going to look at one of those PVC rod holders to throw on the trailer too at some point.

I have not caught a bass yet, but I've been out only a handful of times and the water is still cold. I find they bite later in the year more than they bite at the same water temps earlier in the year. I experienced the same thing last year.

Yeah. On a side note if I get a one level trailer like a rack and roll, I should be able to stack the Voodoo and another kayak I would just have to remove everything from it so it's perfectly flat. I only need to store all 3 on the trailer when camping and trying to carry all of my camping gear. And there's always the cradles/racks too, just the good ones that will mount a smaller bar are expensive.

That's what I like about the Yakima! There is a lake I will fish a lot where I have to carry the kayaks quite a ways and it will serve as a cart for me and it should be quite easy to load. My kayak weight total is 253lbs, so barely over the 250lb capacity. I should be able to carry the Kaku Voodoo in my truck bed most of the time. I won't know how well it sits in there until I get it, but I'm fairly confident that will work. If I can't manage to store it in the bed of the truck with the tailgate closed, I might have to find a way to get it on the trailer when camping. I also have to be able to carry it up my hill because my road is barely wider than my truck, so I will have to carry it up the hill by hand, so that rules out snowmobile trailers -- just too heavy! The Sports Rig Adventure XL looks absolutely perfect and gives me an extra level. The only downside is a 3-4 week ship time. I'll be on the water 3-4 times a week by then.

Well so far I have 2/3 kayaks, still waiting for the Kaku Voodoo to arrive. I will say the Topwater is definitely priced right and well equipped and pretty much ready to fish out of the box. I will say if I got one for myself, I'd also be very happy with it. At the same time the little things they thought of on the Bonafide SS127 are amazing, from seat adjustments do the storage layouts. This has been my realistically obtained dream kayak for some years now. The YakAttack SwingBlade rudder installed so cleanly that I'm surprised it was not a Bonafide provided option as well - Delaware Paddlesports installed it before they shipped it to me, since I'm a little antsy about doing a major project like that and they did a wonderful job. What would you recommend? Currently the only Harbor Freight store within a 3 hour drive with an appropriate trailer in stock as of two days ago is almost two hours away from me and by the time I can even get there due to shorter hours and work, I'm sure it will be sold. Northern Tool will ship a similar but much more expensive Ironton trailer but they are sold out. Amazon has an even more expensive alternative. So I am seriously considering going with a Yakima Rack and Roll 78". I would probably want to finance it to keep some cash in the bank but I've heard others put a lot of miles on theirs and they can handle 85mph. It's a bit of a price hike though for sure. Ideally, I would load the Kaku Voodoo in the back of my truck, either out of the tailgate or over the roof and tied down but if not I will have to buy 3 kayak racks and mount them that way.

The 804CB might be better for throwing the 3/4oz cranks, but overall it's personal preference. The 804CB will cast further and keep you in the strike zone a little longer but the 764CB may keep them pinned better on smaller cranks. Also if you have a steep drop-off along a shoreline with overhanging trees - which is not a normal scenario but I do know a couple places that fit the bill, the 764CB will be easier to cast.

While most people will tell you 55 or higher water temps, I have also heard of people killing it in cold water in the 40s with buzzbaits and smaller sized poppers. I can say this is definitely true at the end of the hear as well, but haven't had much luck on topwaters yet this year or in spring water below 55 degrees or so.

I have a BG 2000 with an Avid X ML/XF rod for drop shots and ned rigs.

Oh, how did I ever forget the Daiwa BG? Probably the best reel under $100 retail.

I have three older Tatula SVs and will likely pick up probably two more later in the year or maybe on this year's Black Friday specials. While I currently have 12#, 15# and 17# fluorocarbon on each so I'm obviously not using them for the heaviest of applications, I don't see any reason why you couldn't use them for heavy applications. If you manage to spool them, that's an impressive cast. They should hold something minimally 80 yards of normal width 65lb braid (depending on Diawa's definition of 16lb line diameter). The way you generally use these reels is you set the tension control knob to the point where the reel just stops clicking with the button pressed and that spot works for most lures, occasionally when throwing heavier lures I might tighten it a little bit, but that's the only time I touch it aside from when I'm threading line through the guides on a rod. I will generally set the braand the brakes set between 6 and 10 depending on the rod and weight of the lure I'm throwing, but for skipping you just turn the brake up to 20 and it controls for you. As far as pitching goes it's a good reel to pitch with but I can pitch almost equally well on most reels, so it's not like it has the same effect on pitching as it does on skipping..

Well the Lews Mach 2 combo isn't half bad for $160. I also hear the Daiwa Aird rods are pretty good (I only have Tatulas myself so I can't comment). The Fuego shouldn't be a bad choice either but you can get a Tatula CT for under $100 on ebay so that's kind of hard to beat for the money. If you really have to keep the cost down, get a Berkley Lightning Shock rod and an Abu Garcia Black Max. Definitely not the best, but I learned how to use a baitcaster on a Black Max and a rod not even that good, and it definitely does it's job!

If it works it works! This is basically my bass boat. I have had a few obstacles with a bass boat -- finding a place to store it, my funds getting wiped out when I was diagnosed with cancer a couple years back etc. so I made sure to get something I was really going to be happy with because this is going to be our fishing platform for years to come since the boys will be in college pretty soon! Also I'm a fairly big guy so the Bonafide gives me extra confidence of not going overboard which was very important for me. The Old Town Topwater was at a local store and it comes with 3 rod holders and cup holders and looked like a very nice fishing platform, and when I looked up reviews people really liked them so I got that for my youngest son and the Voodoo well it wasn't the SUP I intended, I actually wanted the Crescent SUP+ (they track real well) but they were sold out virtually everywhere and with the 15% off accessories I got from Austin Kayak, it paid for most of the difference and it should be stable enough and track well enough so that my oldest son should be able to fish with us without any added difficulties as many SUPs don't track too well. I would have considered getting my youngest a Predator, he's small but he's also a beast of a rower -- I'd never be able to keep up.

It's expensive, but my most productive popper for popping or walking has been the Megabass Pop X or Pop Max depending on the time of year. It's not a lure that I lose or damage too often, so that helps justify the cost. They just have a great action and the water intake really lets you pop it hard without going overkill. Of course I also carry some Pop R/Maxs and they work well and are cheap. I will usually use them if there is anything I can snag or damage the lure on.

From my experience, some more expensive and realistic looking lures do work extremely well, but it's really the action of the lure that sets them apart in my opinion. For example I have some fancy shiny crankbaits and some cheaper ones with nearly the same action with the only difference as far as I can tell being in how realistic they look, but they work the same. In some cases the cheaper, planer crankbait has caught me more fish than the more expensive version. And of course if you are fishing super clear water, it's likely that the more realistic looking the lure, the bigger the difference may be. Sometimes it's the little things. My most productive popper just popping it is the Megabass Pop X. The primary advantage of these lures is usually that you can walk them where a cheaper popper doesn't walk as well, but the water intake also gives them a very nice advantage when popping them and helps it from making that massive "glug" when you pop it too hard.

Bigger baits will catch bigger fish, but it's also quite likely bigger baits may also get you skunked at the same time if you aren't getting them in front of bigger fish. So what I would do is like others have said either try a jig (3/8oz or 1/2oz should do - use a football if you have rocks or pitching for weeds) or T-Rig a soft plastic with a larger profile like a Rage Tail craw. This way you won't limit yourself to only bigger fish, but bigger fish will definitely hit them too. As far as jig colors, I tend to keep it pretty simple - dark and light -- I don't really care if it's white, just lighter than green pumpkin -- I like the Dirty Jigs Alabama Bream I think it's called for a lighter color. And sometimes I carry black, and I have a few with some brighter chartreuse tones to for stained water but that's a luxury not a necessity.

I plan on fishing Emerald Lake frequently which has some shallow areas to target but to be honest given that they have primarily smalies and I'm not fishing the frog, I would be more likely to park on the lily pads and fish alongside of them -- I've caught a few that way. Then there is Lake St. Catherine which has a lot of weeds in shallow areas I could use something like a Power Pole -- however I did get a rudder on the Bonafide which interferes with a power pole install but should assist with anchoring somewhat. But like you said a lot of the lakes do get pretty deep pretty quickly. The other spot I would target at Emerald Lake I believe is around 70 ft deep with a steep drop so I'd anchor on the shore near that. There are lakes like Lake Dunmore which is the clearest water I've ever fished and there's very little cover, but in that lake I usually go from dock to dock and skip docks there or look for bottom structure to target, but for the most part, skip docks so I allow myself to drift as I work a dock. I have some other things I will want to buy too but this is why I'm going with just the anchor and anchor trolley setup for now. I have cheap orange Cabela's life vests and will like something more comfortable. We got my oldest son a comfy looking pocketed one for his bday but as soon as my bank account recovers I'm getting something similar for myself -- possibly the same one if I like it when it comes in. I also need some 3600 sized tackle trays that will fit in the blackpaks since the 3700 wont. I will likely carry my tackle bag in the truck and load a few 3650 dry boxes with the appropriate tackle for where I'm fishing on any given day but I only have one at the moment, which I use when I rent a boat for the same purpose.

^8. RIP John Prine. Here's a classic from someone else who was diagnosed with the Coronavirus back on 3/28. I haven't heard any updates since but I wish him the best. I've seen him countless times and met him and he's always a very nice guy.