Kayak Koz

That's the biggest drawback of a kayak. When it comes to tournament fishing, that's why it's important to be able to load and unload quickly at the dock so you can drive to another ramp. If there are enough ramps on the lack you can usually hit a spot, load up, and drive to another spot. But it's not great when your fishing spot is 5-6 miles away from the nearest ramp and it turns out to be a dud that day. I'd never fish miles off shore on my kayak. Too many risks. But if you're on a boat and not paying attention to the weather it's just as risky out there. I got hit with a popup storm one time and I took shelter under someone's covered boat dock.

Here's a trick to handle the big photos. I assume you took the photos on your phone. Simply email the photos to yourself and when prompted, choose a smaller file size. Then download and save the photos on your phone or PC and you can upload them here.

Kayak anglers have different reasons for not buying boats and here are some of them. 1. Ongoing upkeep and maintenance costs of boats 2. Being able to car top a lighter kayak 3. Being able to launch anywhere 4. Being able to fish in spots that boats can't get to 5. A much closer connection with nature There's also being part of an unwritten club, especially when it comes to tournament fishing. If you go to a kayak tournament just about everyone is friendly and wants to swap stories and hang out. The same goes if you head to a random lake and run into another kayak angler. I've done both kayaks and boats, and there's just something about being out there in a kayak that you don't get from a boat. The only drawback is speed on the water. You try and compensate with being really quick at getting your kayak off and on the trailer and getting to another ramp.

When people find out how much I spent on my kayak, electronics, and trailer they always ask me, “Why don’t you just buy a boat?” This is why.

I have the Yak Power strip lights. Pros: Makes me very visible on the water Mounted so I don’t get any glare when fishing at night Cons As you stated, they don’t stick well. I used duct tape to hold it up. I may to drill a hole through the rubber tip and anchor it.

I always thought that bass fishing season in Maine was three weeks in July sandwiched between months of freeze out. 🤣

In the pictures below, the open water photos shows the narrow entrance to a canopy covered spot where I fish now and then. The second is what it looks like after you go through that tunnel and under the canopy. It's actually a lot tighter than it looks. There are a few areas where you can cast, but it's mostly pitching and flipping. I also either have to weave all around or lay my rods on the deck so they don't get caught up in low hanging branches. I wish U could say that this is a honey hole, but it's not. I have caught just a few in there. But it looks spectacular in person and it's a nice respite from the sun.

The good news is that there’s no more scorching heat here this week. The bad news is that is has been replaced with torrential rains and thunderstorms.

I love it. I have the 8:5:1 and paired it with a 7’ 6” 5H Kistler Helium rod that I use for frogging and fishing in heavy cover.

Most of my reels are Shimanos. I don’t like the one SLX that I have. My DC’s are fine. I don’t understand the hate. I bought them for night fishing so I wouldn’t get big backlashes if I bounced a cast off the bank in the pitch dark. I really like my Curado K’s and MGL’s. I needed another reel the other day and picked up a Curado M.

KastKing UPF 50 moisture wicking hooded jerseys. I've never used KastKing rods or reels, but I swear by their jerseys and their vented boonie hat. I never overheat out there, even with the heat index above 100. The moisture wicking works and keeps me dry. As for the pants, I have some generic water resistant hiking pants that I bought an Amazon. They do a decent job of keeping me cool out on my kayak. Where I do get hot is my feet. In the summer I wear Skechers slip ons out on my kayak. I find myself constantly dunking my feet in the water to cool them off. We've had a heat index of 100 - 114 for quite a while here now in GA. Other than a few midday casts off the bank at work I haven't been fishing. But the high temp is supposed to be only 82 on Sunday so I'm going to try and go out somewhere and fish.

They attack as a pack. In the really shallow water their backs on dorsals are out of the water and you can see 3 or 4 feeding.

A few years ago I would have said my Shimano Exprides were my favorite. Then I started adding St. Croix to my arsenal and I favored those rods. But lately I've been mainly using Kistler rods in the Helium and KLX series. I still use my entire arsenal, but before I head out for the day I've been setting my Kistler's s my primary rods.

Maybe, but I'm inclined to believe it's the heat. If I get out there, it's for 20 minutes or so around midday and we're running a 105 - 112 heat index. Most of the bigger lakes around here re reporting lake temperatures of 90 - 92 degrees. But even with that extreme midday heat I'm still getting them to hit a frog, even with bluebird skies. I even got them to hit a jitterbug. I haven't been able to get them to hit a spinnerbait or a swim bait or even a minnow. That's OK, because this week I'm breaking in a new Kistler Helium 7' 6" 5H rod. I love this rod. The hookups are solid and it really imparts action when walking a frog.

One thing that I forgot to add is that even when retrieving a bait close and parallel to the shore, the largemouth still hit it perpendicular to the bank. They come in like a freight train straight for the bit and if they miss it they turn directly around and head to deep water still perpendicular to the bank. Again, this might be just a summer pattern or unique to this situation. But it gives me some insight if I want to throw a follow up bait. For example, when I get a blow up and miss on a frog, I notice that if I throw it back in that same spot I don't get immediately bit gain. So I assume the bass immediately retreated to deeper water and didn't hang around.

My new hotels are being built on the GA National Fairgrounds and within the grounds are a few ponds that I bank fish now and then. In one of them, I've had good success and caught spotted bass up to 3 pounds and largemouth bass up to 4 pounds. The water in these ponds is crystal clear. The edges of many of the banks are lines with sediment and in many places there is a 6" - 18" band of shallow water only 3 or 4 inches deep. It's quite easy to observe the baitfish all along the bank. There's no cover or structure along the banks. With that, what I have noticed this summer is the way that the bass are feeding. The spotted bass will be in groups of 3 or 4 and swim parallel to the bank about 5 or 6 feet out. When they see baitfish and want to feed they turn in as a pack and attack the baitfish, then swim out to deeper water. The largemouth bass, on the other hand, will launch a solo attack and when they do they come in directly perpendicular to the bank. They never attack at an angle. It's always perpendicular to the bank. I'm amazed at how fast they hit the bank, feed, and then dart right back out to deeper water. I've seen these same feeding patterns whether they are hitting baitfish or hitting my lure. For the largemouth, I'm sure there actions are predicated upon the water temperature and the fact that there is no cover to ambush from. But I find it fascinating that their attacks are always directly perpendicular to the bank as I can see them coming from 40 feet or so away.

In all seriousness, there was one summer ten years ago or so when it was a ridiculously hot bait. I remember one day there was a 69 minute period when I caught a bass on almost every cast. It was insane. It produced one or two fish almost every time out, especially afternoon fishing. But then it just stopped. Not a single bite. I might throw it once or twice a year, but I can’t remember the last time I got bit on it.

I need to wear my prescription progressive lenses to function in life. As of yet, I have not bought prescription sunglasses. Instead, I use Cocoons fitovers. I have them with amber, gray, blue, and green lenses. Occasionally they run a 2 for 1 sale. I'm very satisfied with their value and their results.

Stormwater ponds can be gold. In the Hilton Head SC region there are THOUSANDS of these stormwater lagoons in all shapes and sizes, and many within each residential community are interconnected. This allows the water to be distributed to prevent flooding when there are heavy rains. I bank fished those places all of the time when I lived there and caught a lot of 4-6 pound bass. But I know people that caught double digit bass from the banks as well. Boats and kayaks were prohibited in most of them.

I have a Falcon Lowrider casting rod and a spinning rod. The spinning rod is a medium and the casting rod is medium light. I’m very satisfied with those rods and they are a regular part of my arsenal. Depending upon your budget, you also might want to look at Kistler rods.

Not me. But when I launch my kayak off of my trailer or bring it back in I'm usually ankle or shin deep in the water since I can't drive my AP120 on or off the trailer. And no, I don't want to back up onto my trailer. I don't mind getting wet, and in the winter I wear Muck boots to stay dry.

Sad week of passings - Malcom Jamal Warner (Theo on Cosby), Ozzy, Hulk Hogan, and Chuck Mangione.

The Whopper Plopper was a hot bait for about a year. And then the bass held a meeting...

I’m waiting for someone else to spend their own money so that I can find out!

Did no one see the K-Rig? I don’t know if it’s absolutely stupid or absolutely brilliant.