haggard

$400 should easily get you a kayak that will get you off the bank, especially if you're not looking at big water. Sundolphin makes some good cheap yaks. I got a Journey 10 SS sit-on-top ("F/V Last Resort") a couple years ago for $185 from Walmart on rollback and while it has its quirks, it does the job. The ads say "stable" and "tracks well" but, well, just no, that's just not true in my experience. But if you keep your mass down low and are willing to make frequent corrections with the paddles, it actually works out pretty well, especially for the price. I'd recommend a sit-on-top style for angling. Besides, if something goes wrong, you have a better chance of escaping vs. a sit-inside. If your budget for a kayak alone is $400 you can probably find better options. That said, I love this thing.

For me, wind sucks the joy out of fresh water fishing, regardless of boat type. If it's 15+ mph I generally don't go out, but if I do, stick to the leeward side of an island or bank, or go to a sheltered pond with steep banks.

Curado felt big to me too (not saying that's bad). Try the Curado 70 (71) or Bantam.

I love the curly tail grub. Favorites include a 2-inch version can't recall the brand) bought at Walmart, on a small jig head, and a 3-inch version (Powerbait neon/chartreuse) again on a small jig head, say 1/8 oz. Catches panfish and largemouth no problem. I've had good luck with the 3-inchers in slightly stained waters.

- Texas rigged 4-inch worm with 1/4 oz bullet weight for mid/bottom of the column - Whopper Plopper for topwater (PopMax is nice but may blow the budget...) - skirted jig with trailer of your choice for the bottom (or swimming jig for mid). Football style, or maybe swim jig style for more versatility. Cheap, simple, effective, covers top to bottom.

Hi Dan - Luck was it; it's rare for me to get 5 fish in a day. All were near the bottom, at the north end of Goose where it gets shallower and weedy, but not as far up as the real shallows where the pads are in the summer. Fished from a cheap tippy yak so took a minimalist approach, brought only 1 combo, a 6'6 L/F spinning, and used only 1 lure, a 3-inch curl tail grub on a 1/8 oz jig head. Tossed it out, let it sink to the bottom and dragged/hopped it back at a slow pace with occasional swimming. Repeat. Grub on a jig head is my go-to lure on the L/F panfish combo and it rarely gets swapped out. The tail has great action on the retrieve, even at a very slow rate. See you and the Surly Mermaid on Mousam again this season.

That belongs in a frame ?

Fished Goose Pond today targeting panfish but was pleasantly surprised to land 3 largemouth in the 2-3 lb range. Followed by two toothy chain pickerel. Social fishtancing...

Whenever I come home skunked, it's always been a good day outdoors, call it practice and training.

Consider an insulated lunch bag (filled with crushed ice or a couple refreezable ice blocks) that will fit inside a backpack. You'll have many more choices available, compared to trying to find a backpack with built-in insulation section. As for the water bottle holster, maybe just get a carabiner that clips to the pack and a water bottle with a compatible lid, and just hang it from the pack.

Looks like the barb is all the way through. This would be a great time to have a set of 6-8" flush cutters. I carry one for gut-hooked situations, to quickly cut/clear most of the hook, plus lure and line, as quickly as possible to facilitate the rest of the hook removal. When I hooked my foot I was glad to have them on board because needle nose pliers and forceps wouldn't have cut it (pun intended). Cut off the barb section, back the rest out. In my case (even though barbless) it wouldn't back out so pushed it through, cut it off, backed it out and continued fishing.

Cash is king

Tiny home office here so I hang them on the ceiling using cheap Home Depot hangers. Works great and keeps them safe. They're secured with screws going into drywall anchors.

Aside from the original COPS back in the day I've always found the highly scripted and so-called "reality" shows anything but, and I gave up TV at least 10 years ago and don't miss it (I watch an unhealthy amount of youtube). That said, after a day of fishing, a good meal, an night by the fire and crawling back into the camper, there's nothing more enjoyable and entertaining than watching episodes of Wicked Tuna, Fargo series, and even some ridiculously bad movies. Reality is what happens when nobody's watching

Better for what. If you need to bring fish in as quickly as possible, like if you're power fishing in a tournament, a higher gear ratio will let you do that. Given that you're fishing a wide variety of lures in various waters it sound like you need versatility, which the 6.4:1 should do very well. I prefer a 6.x for versatility (I use mostly 6.2:1), and more torque less speed. I've never brought a fish in thinking it took too long. Keep it!

Bantam MGL. Rigid one piece metal frame construction, brass main gear, 6.2:1.

I have the same yak - what a great little boat for short money! I use mine as a "grab and go" yak ("F/V Last Resort"), totally minimalist, so I don't run a finder on it. I run a finder on my bigger yak and even when the transducer is covered with a light layer of weeds it has trouble, so I don't think you'll have good results going through 2 layers of plastic. The SS10 doesn't have much in the way of solid mounting surfaces either... EXCEPT the paddle storage indentation and stretchy strap on the side of the hull. I bet you could put a paddle-size pole section on there, maybe just a couple feet long, which gives a reasonably rigid mounting surface, and from there clamp on an arm with the transducer at the end. A no-holes-drilled solution. As for the finder head unit you could probably use the built-in socket for a Scotty-style mount.

If you have the room (SUV etc) mounting them to the inside of the roof keeps them mostly out of sight which is a good deterrent.

Congrats on your first decent smallie! I'd estimate a couple pounds. My first was also a smallie, about the same size. You'll remember that catch forever, even after you've caught bigger ones.

"Hold my beer."

I've used a PA 12 for two seasons now and while it's expensive it's awesome. High quality, attention to details and certainly very stable for standing. I use it in fresh water lakes and strong salt current. If you have any questions about it let me know, here or PM.

Sounds like the Aldebaran 50 MGL. I know you asked for UL baitcaster but unless you have the budget and the patience, I'd go with spinning for UL. If you insist on UL baitcaster, the Aldebaran is probably among the best. As for the $420, this is what you get into with light baitcasters. If you go cheaper, you'll probably get what you pay for, which could be frustrating. Welcome to the rabbit hole of ultralight baitcasters.

I've seen some posts on craigslist for used. A few blemishes but much cheaper

I lipped a small trout and it wasn't bad, felt like sandpaper. But would never want to lip a pickerel. I enjoy catching them but don't even want to hold one due to the slime factor. Lipping? No way, too toothy.