Kayak Koz

I don't mind having to work to have a decent day fishing. But it is frustrating that not only is bank fishing limited in the areas I have tried, but those areas are not where bass are likely to be found. I know where I should be fishing in some of these lakes, but I just can't get to them on foot. I went to Lake Robinson this weekend and intended to rent a kayak. But with the impending thunderstorms I decided not to waste my money. Maybe next weekend. I may give Lake Cooley a try and rent a kayak.

Frustrated? No. Do I find it enjoyable to catch dinks all day? Not really, although some days my son wants quantity over quality so we'll do that for a day. But me, I like big bass, In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to break out in song: I like big bass and I cannot lie You other anglers can't deny That when you get the bite and land an itty bitty dink All you can do is sit back and think I've spent all day sitting on my @$$ And all I want is a great big bass Baby got bass Lyrics by Sir Fish-a-Lot

I forget what originally brought me to YouTube tonight, but after I watched whatever it was I started looking at the Up Next videos and ended going down the rabbit hole of 80's (and some 70's and 90's as well) music and music videos. Man, that was a great time for music! My iPhone has a ton of music including classic rock, classical, country, 80's and 90's, and even a few from the last decade or so. But I tend to get stuck in a rut with what I listen to, so it was kind of fun to listen to a song then peruse the sidebar, listen to another, and keep going. You ought to try it some time. Some of the artists that I listened to brought back a flood of memories: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Paul Simon The Go Go's Smashmouth The Black Crowes Jet The Hooters The Outfield Simple Minds AC/DC Meat Loaf The Kinks The Clash Warren Zevon Talking Heads R.E.M. Billy Joel Modern English The Cars and a lot more Anyway, a lot of good songs and fond memories even if these bands weren't my favorites way back when. Hard to believe it was all so long ago. I'm getting old...

The beetlespin is my go to bait when the fishing gets tough. I caught a bunch or 4 and 5 pounders on them during the late winter / early spring period.

I agree that was pretty lame. All that water to cover and they fish right on top of him. I'm still made at Ike because he never sent me the gift package he promised when I was on his Ike Live show.

A challenge is fine from a boat or kayak, but when you don't have those readily available I don't find the challenge of landing a decent fish from a 100 foot stretch of shore on a 600+ acre lake very appealing. I'll rent a kayak next weekend and see how it goes. I have thought of buying a kayak, but for me that would also mean I have to buy a new vehicle. I kind of like having no car payments right now.

That for the past decade or so I was extremely fortunate to be able to fish in the South Carolina Lowcountry. With that area being on the coast and the high water table there were thousands of retention ponds in my area and almost all over 8-10 years old held bass. Many held big bass. In fact, unless I fished a dink lagoon the average size bass I would catch was between 2 and 2.5 pounds. If you fished two or three times a week you'd usually catch one or more for or five pounders. We do have some lagoons where you can catch a ton of dinks in an afternoon. My son loves those - I don't. With all of those lagoons there was plenty of shoreline to traverse and bank fish. If one lagoon didn't pay off I'd simply walk, bike, or drive to another nearby lagoon. There was no shortage of places to fish and with so many options there was never any competition for fishing spots. I moved to Upstate SC a few weeks ago and while I've only logged about 4 hours of fishing I have fished three different lakes and not had one single bite let alone landed any fish. Bank fishing spots are few and far between. I did find one 18 acre lake where I could traverse most of the shoreline but there appears to be a lot of fishing pressure there (need to bring spinning gear and a ned rig setup if I try it again). I found a minor point to fish from and started fan casting but the next thing I know two people set up next to me and I can't cover any water. I don't know if it mattered. The only thing I saw in the water was small bluegill. I've talked to some anglers at these places and while there are legends of bigger bass these guys are pulling out dinks. A two pounder is considered big. With all of this I've lost my enthusiasm for fishing. For example, today is a beautiful day and I have no desire to head out there. I do have a planned trip to rent a kayak at Lake Robinson next week so maybe that will get me back in the groove. Maybe I need to change my mindset. When I fish my purpose is to catch big bass, not go after quantity. I see no fun in catching 50 one pounders in an afternoon. I'm even starting to miss the alligators. I'm homesick for a lot more reasons than just fishing, but I was hoping fishing up here would help me pass the time. So far that has not worked out. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.

We did a lot of family camping when I was a kid, mostly at Bantam Lake (CT), Lake Bomoseen (VT), and Lake George (NY). I don't recall catching any big fish, nut most of what we landed were bass, yellow perch, and bluegills. I remember using nightcrawlers and Mepps spinners, and a Red Devil spoon for baits. For a while I lived close to a decent sized pond in Newtown, CT and we would ride our bikes and fish there for yellow perch and bluegills. When I was in my early teens we made a few trips to Lake Nipigon up in the province Ontario for some pike fishing with live bait. Nipigon is actually north of Lake Superior.

I had not seen that. Thanks.

I wear half finger gloves, but there's a catch. I use my left hand for holding and lipping bass and I found that my Columbia sun protection gloves were always snagging on the teeth of the bass. And because my hands are not calloused the teeth would start sinking into and ripping my skin as well. My solution is that I wear a bike glove on my left hand. it offers more padding, especially in the thumb area. But it gets really stinky with sweat and fish smell and needs to be washed once a week. I wish someone would make sun gloved with a padded thumb. One of these days I'll probably get around to sewing a leather thumb pad to my sun gloves, but as of yet I have not found the time.

Left hand retrieve on spinning gear and right hand retrieve on baitcasters. My son learned how to use a baitcaster with my RH retrieve gear but when it was time for his own reel he thought he'd be smart and get a LH retrieve baitcaster. He hates it. I tried it for a few casts and didn't like it, but I suppose if I used it for an hour it would be OK. I will say that when I first started using a baitcaster not only did I find it awkward to crank with the right hand, but when I hooked into a decent sized bass I felt like the bass would rip the rod out of my left hand. But after an hour it was no big deal.

This one is a bit more philosophical than funny. I have always been fascinated by space and space travel and the thought of outer space being infinite just boggles my mind. How can something that is physical (as opposed to say, numbers) go on forever and ever. But if space is not infinite, what lies beyond it? For example, a shoe box has finite space, but there is something beyond it. So what would be beyond space? Nothing? But what exactly is nothing? In the world we live in everything is something, not nothing. And if space is constantly expanding, what is it expanding into? And somewhere in this equation of infinite space and nothingness is time. And with time comes general relativity and special relativity. And now I've gone down the rabbit hole...

I have both the 110 and 130 size Whopper Ploppers, but if you pick up the bigger 130 it's probably best to throw it using a heavy rod. Of all of the sizes I prefer the 110. I don't like the 90 because it doesn't engage quickly on a long cast (even keeping the rod tip up) and it's susceptible to getting fouled by the tiniest of weeds. I do know a lot of people like the 75, which has a different shape than the traditional WP. I have not tried that one yet. I have found the WP to be both extremely hit and miss. In some waters the bass go nuts over it and in others they won't ever touch it.

I actually went to that tackle shop the other day to ask about fishing in the area. The old guy behind the counter was dozing off and his wife was plopped down in a reclining chair right inside the doorway watching Dr. Phil. The place smelled of urinal cakes and death. It was a bit comical. But I bought some trick worms and picked the guys brain when he woke up. I did see that he charged $2 or $3 to bank fish there, but it did not look promising. Maybe I'll give it a try anyway. I have to be out of town this weekend, but in a few weeks I was planning to go to Lake Robinson and rent a kayak for the day. I heard there are some good sized bass in there.

Yes, the Pop-R is a topwater. You could also use something like a Whopper Plopper, but instead of reeling it straight in pop or twitch it a few times and let it set, reel down the slack, and do it again. Any topwater that can make some added noise to tick them off will do. For shirts I have the Columbia UPF 50, moisture wicking long sleeve shirts, but there are others out there. I bought the Columbia because they were on sale. I would make sure the shirt is at least UPF 50 and that it is moisture wicking. To protect my face I use Huk gaiters. Again, plenty of other brands out there. While I sometimes wear a baseball cap for protection, recently I bought a Sunday Afternoons Charter hat with UPF protection. Both Texas rigged and wacky rigged Senkos have done OK for me in the heat this year, but by far a Strike King Sexy Shad buzzbait and the Pop-R have been more productive this summer. That being said, if tradition holds when our waters reach their peak heat in August and September soft plastics and Ned Rigs will probably be more productive during the daytime hours. Smaller jigs tend to work better for me then as well.

I bank fish in the brutal summer heat of SC so I have some experience here. As others mentioned, you need to stay hydrated and cover up. Believe it or not, wearing a long sleeve shirt with UV protection and moisture wicking capabilities keeps you cooler than just a regular short sleeve t-shirt. I was skeptical at first, but it works. As for the fishing, any bit of cover no matter how shallow has the potential to hold bass. So make sure you fish tight to shore where there's any aquatic vegetation. Make multiple passes at those spots before giving up. I've had a lot of success fishing a buzzbait or Sprinker Frog along lines of vegetation along the shoreline. Bass are also going to be found offshore from the banks as well. They may be close to the bottom in little dips or hollows or they might be suspended below the thermocline. It is my experience that while these bass are not actively seeking food at this time you can tick them off and get them to strike. It is also my experience that during these periods of rest bass are less likely to chase a fast moving bait. One way is to drop a bait right in front of their nose but the odds of doing that from the bank and no electronics is pretty slim. That's why a lot of folks suggest fishing slow along the bottom. It works, but it can be boring. One of my favorite ways to tick off these bass and get them to strike is using a Pop-R. It makes a big noise and you can fish it at different speeds to get their attention and get them to strike. If you can stand the heat, don't pass up fishing between 11 am and 2 pm. I've caught a lot of big fish during that time frame even on blistering hot days. I seem to remember that Toyota has a program in Texas where they collect data on catching bass and the biggest bass were usually caught during that time frame.

To be fair, online shopping is taking its toll on all brick and mortar businesses, not just Cabela's. One of the reasons why stores carry less and less merchandise is it doesn't make sense to tie up all that cash in store inventory when people are ordering online. To me that's a double edged sword. Often times I want to inspect the merchandise before making my purchase. For example, I would have a hard time buying something like a sofa online without checking it out in the store first. I want to make sure of comfort and quality first. Clothes and shoes are another purchase I prefer to do in the store rather than online. But stuff like lures, reels, electronics, tools, and other stuff I have no hesitation to purchase online.

I fished Cunningham for about an hour this evening down at the fishing pier. Tons of lily pads but I didn't see even bait fish let alone bass. I brought only my MH rod with 30 pound braid today so I didn't fish deep in the lily pads. I'll bring a heavy rod with 50 or 60 pound braid next time and fish a frog or punch a jig. I talked to a teenage kid there and he said all he has caught is one and two pounders, but he could be a lousy angler. In the next few weeks I'm going to try Lake Robinson and rent a kayak for the day.

Next time you're in that situation use two pieces of fishing line and cut one to the length and one to the girth.

Thunderstorms are a way of life nearly every summer day in the south. If I didn't fish between storms my fishing time would be cut in half. FWIW, I have the Weather Channel app on my phone and turn on lightning alerts so I get a warning every time lightning strikes within 6 or 7 miles. That's when it's time to pack up and leave.

Unfortunately, even if he loses his fishing license it probably won't stop him. Do you ever watch Live PD? Look how many people they stop every week that have no driver's license yet continue to drive. You can't fix stupid.

I've never seen a real frog "walk" back and forth like a spook. Instead, they scoot along in one general direction and sometimes pivot between scoots to change direction. As far as what you're doing with a frog or any topwater bait it's all about creating the kind of disturbance that is going to attract a bass on that day. When I frog fish I usually will give the rod two or three pops so that the frog scoots, then I pause. I may try soft pops or hard pops to see what ticks off the bass enough to get them to strike. I also might try short pauses or longer pauses between pops. Really, there's no wrong way to fish it whether you are trying to walk it or scoot it or whatever. It's all about finding out what ticks off the bass enough to get it to strike.

Personally, I can't see spending $100 or more on everyday knock around sneakers. It's also getting harder and harder to find anything decent under $60. I was actually in the market for a pair the other day and hit the outlet malls. I passed on Nike because I don't agree with their stance on many issues. I also find it ironic that they take stances on certain issues while their products are made in sweat shops. Anyway, Skechers was having a buy one, get one half off sale so I bought a pair of sneakers and some trail shoes for a total of about $110. I can live with that price.

While I don't have a pizza oven, I have a pizza stone and make my own dough and sauce. Certainly better than most pizza joints and definitely better than the chain pizza places. Here's a tip for free DiGiorno pizza if you like that sort of thing. The next time you get a bad pizza from a place like Domino's, tweet about it and in the post include something like "next time I'll try DiGiorno." DiGiorno will usually contact you and send you coupons for a handful of their pizzas.

One of the benefits of my move this past week is not having to deal with hurricanes anymore. By the time they get this far inland they'll be tropical storms (Survived a number of those as well). Over the past few years or so we evacuated for two hurricanes and rode out one more. I won't say never again, but I'm glad for the respite.