Krux5506

Seems to me in my region people kind of have things backwards and they are practically all fair weather, summer months bass fishermen. I've grown to be the opposite where early pre-spawn bass and late fall are the best times and also the quietest times on the water. In the fall I assume it's because a lot of fishermen are hunters, a lot of people just flat out don't like cold weather, and a lot of people start targeting the salmon and trout runs instead. The only boats I've seen out this fall have been perch fishermen - I've fished more this fall than I have in a while and have not seen one bass boat! Maybe once tournament season is wrapped up they just no longer care.

That kayak is pretty common and therefore I don't think selling the drive would be all that out of the question. I'm not sure you'd really get top dollar for it but there's definitely value there that could help offset the cost of the motor.

my 17' Lund is fine to fish in with two people. Any more than that, it's too cramped. It can be done but I just don't enjoy it. I think you should be looking at bigger than 16' if you're intending to have more than 2 people on it whether just cruising around or particularly for fishing.

November in upstate NY can be treacherous on the water. The periodic good November days are some of the best fishing times of the year, but the bad weather and high wind days (which is often) really put you in check.

Just weird to me how polar opposite they act once they get into the bays. You must know that's my home port, actually taking the day off tomorrow to be out there. This is really my favorite time of year for bass fishing, and to top it off everyone else is always distracted with either perch fishing, trib running salmon/trout, or hunting. Barely ever do I see any bass boats out there around this time. I'll be experimenting with blade baits a bunch tomorrow...

J, being from the same immediate area, have you always known smallies to migrate into our bays from the big lake from say October and hang around until the "actual" spring spawn, then move back out to the lake? I never remember this as a kid, however I never really fished in the fall until my adult years with my boat. A couple things I notice about this movement - Only some and certainly not "all" do this. Curious why many do and many do not make this migration. The other thing is they behave completely different in the bays vs out in the lake. For me it's all about finessing them in the lake. Once in the bays, they can be more aggressive than largemouth when it comes to chasing.

Thanks fellas. This was the second smallmouth I've ever kept so I've never gotten a look inside one like this.

Do they just drop those eggs throughout late fall and winter then re-up around the actual spawn time? Those fish aren't actually bedding up to spawn right now, right?

Yesterday my 3 year old daughter wanted to catch a bass and eat it for dinner, so for the first time in years I kept a nice size Lake Ontario smallie. I was pretty surprised to see it full of eggs upon fileting. Is this normal for a late fall smallmouth? Reading into it I saw it can happen when water temps are warmer than usual in late fall but they are currently reading 50 where I was which doesn't seem out of the norm at all. Any ideas? Also maybe worth noting I kept a big perch that was also filled with eggs!

Sorry I didn't read through this entire thread but are you opposed to a small kayak trailer? I used to haul two kayaks with a nice Yakima roof rack on a chevy cruze. Worked fine, but it was always a pain getting my 12' fishing yak up onto it. My wife's cheapo Pelican was super easy though just being as light and flimsy as it is.

I wish we had a decent bass oriented local tackle shop in my area but it seems to me anything reasonably close by is practically always geared toward the big lake trolling crowd. Yeah they might have a small section of senkos and basic soft plastics but beyond that forget it. I'm not sure how you can really make a living with a tackle shop nowadays.

I bought most of my lower end gear several years ago and some of it is seeing the end of it's road now. The stuff I use the most, like a rod exclusively for spinner baits, is what I'd replace with something of higher quality. I did the same with a finesse rod for ned rigs. Basically, whatever lures/styles you like fishing the most, I'd say spend the money on higher quality gear for that application.

Actually setting everything up is easy, but figuring out what mounts and other stuff to buy was a pain for me. I ended up getting this from yak attack after what felt like quite a while of finding what would work best - https://www.yakattack.us/rectangular-fish-finder-mount-with-track-mounted-locknload-mounting-system-ffp-1003/ I use this battery, which so far so good - Have gotten over 8 hours at a time with it and still didn't die. Time will tell I suppose but for now it's great. https://www.thegpsstore.com/Holiday-Gift-Guide/Nocqua-10Ah-Pro-Power-Kit-for-Electronic-Devices?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI68Gv5pW48wIVHW1vBB1dEwN-EAQYASABEgJr3vD_BwE Mounting your transducer may or may not be tricky but on my Old Town Predator I bought a scupper mount from Navarre Kayaking which is a cleverly designed and 3D printed mount that is pretty simple and works good.

Maybe I'm wrong but I think when building on Lund's website, everything goes by MSRP and it's not exactly what you'd really pay from the dealer. I'd also skip getting all the electronics and Raptors from Lund and just buy them elsewhere and have the dealer or someone else install them. I bought my trolling motor off ebay brand new from some marina store and my talon. At the time it saved me quite a bit and I've never had any issue with either of them. Certain online retailers depending on their states also do not charge sales tax. Eco Fishing, GPS store to name a couple. When buying a few units, that adds up to quite a bit. All in all, with everything you added onto the boat, 73k does not shock me one bit. Here in NY though, it would incur another $5,840 just in sales tax too.

I really like Simms clothing. You'll probably spend a bit more than Carhartt but all of my Simms stuff has lasted forever. If you want a good step up from that even, look into Filson gear as a "buy once cry once" type of option.

This is fair advice that I probably wouldn't think twice about if my 2010 Lund didn't need a new floor. Lifetime warranty on their floors but only if you're the original owner. So, yes, something to consider for sure!

Now I get it. The drawing calls that the door assembly and yes I see it's unavailable. Part number 879330A52 but it's been updated. Here's the only one I found.... https://trollingmotorparts.com/motor-guide-gator-360-flex-door-assembly/

This same exact thing happened on my Motorguide that originally came on my Lund, also 46# thrust. It pretty much made the TM useless and at the time (I think in 2016) Motorguide customer service had absolutely no idea what I was talking about or how to help me. I'm pretty sure they understood the part I needed but I recall them not having it available for some ridiculous reason. I ended up selling the motor for practically nothing and got an MK Fortrex and said I'd never deal with motorguide again. The kid who bought the MG from me ended up just wrapping a bunch of electrical wiring around the shaft to stabilize it, lol. I also talked to another Lund owner on the water a few years ago who didn't even have a trolling motor on his boat, because the same issue occurred! Is this the part you're looking for?? If so, it's in stock... https://www.boats.net/product/mercury/8M4000305?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9vjS0OCX8wIVCuazCh1_KgJQEAQYBiABEgL-NfD_BwE

I do all those things too J, perhaps not as much as I'd like though. My daughter is almost 3 and she's gotten super good at riding this 3 wheeled scooter thing so now to keep up with her I'm back on my skateboard. Felt goofy at first riding around my neighborhood every night with her and the neighborhood kids (or parents for that matter) not knowing what to make of a dad who skates but now it's just fun and she gives me the excuse to get back on it. Anyway for the actual topic at hand...I really just stand up to stretch and cast a few times but if hooking into something big I think I'd just sit right back down. I really don't like standing and having no control of how my kayak is drifting, since every time I'm out there it's windy. Standing does give you a nice vantage point though on a yak, I just hate drifting off course

If they are into chasing I'll fish a spinnerbait all day

Random story but this thread got me thinking about it - years ago an old timer fly fisherman told me fly fishing is the cheapest kind of fishing. I was perplexed by this, as I was standing in his shop pretty unenthusiastic at the price of an 8wt salmon rod/reel I was thinking I wanted, and then thinking of all the other necessary gear I had bought over the years. He told me to start adding up the costs of bass fishing with all the lures, rods/reels, boats, kayaks, trucks to pull the boats, electronics etc. At the time I barely bass fished so I just shrugged it off as being part of his sales pitch. Fast forward a decade and I think now I know exactly what he meant.

Merc is fine for getting parts, probably the easiest actually. I do love my 4 stroke though.

Yup. I used to always buy them at Field and Stream but ever since it's changed to Sportsman's Warehouse plus whatever stuff with covid I haven't seen them there. In fact their spinnerbait section is pretty bad now, which is why I was resorting to z man. I never buy tackle online but I feel like maybe I should at this point. At least Walmart still has some decent SK spinnerbaits for cheap. Those Siebert's baits look pretty nice too, never even heard of them.

I might be the only one here who likes a Strike King Banshee...something about the way they flow through the water on a fast retrieve is nice. Caught more bass and pike on them year round than anything else quite honestly, but spring and fall are always the hot times. Lately I've been buying the z man ones here and there but I don't think they are any better than strike king, plus they are more expensive. I've had a few break rather quick too. I'll try just about any brand if they look nice and aren't over $10 each.

I came here intending to say my go-to would be a ned rig on as light as possible line with long casts. But, I've literally never seen it referred to as "gen clear"