Brad Reid

For sure! My "second" rod to carry out would likely be a long caster for tossing toward schooling bass we have here on Lake Athens. I'm speaking of all the times we do short work in kayaks/canoes, taut line presentations when I speak of short rod advantages. When you float up to a boathouse, want to cast 10 or 20 feet under it, back into the shady parts, you just have to try a short rod to feel the difference. I should add on the "power" topic that a parabolic or moderate tip is more "powerful" than a fast or extra-fast tip. As a big bass battles you on a moderate or more parabolic rod, the rod bends farther down and nearer the hands. In effect, its lever becomes shorter and shorter. I think most anglers think a softer, spongier action is less powerful. No. The harder that bass pulls against you, the more the rod's lifting point shortens. You gain more leverage than you do with a fast tip. Fast tips have "other" attributes. Power isn't one of them. Yes, a kayak/canoe is less "anchored" in position so it moves a bit toward a hooked fish. All the more reason to want a rod that loads up well, and deep, to maintain pressure on the fish. We lose more fish when the rod straightens out, pressure comes off the line. At least several experts recommend using one rod power down when fishing from a kayak for this very reason, to keep the rod more fully loaded. Where a MH might be best from the bank or a boat, a M might be better from a kayak. I have found this to be true. For sure on hook setting. Proof? When you see someone, or get hooked yourself in a finger or thumb, it doesn't take much force or effort to penetrate human skin. Same for some areas of a fish's mouth . . . though there are some areas that are denser bone and cartilage. When you see rather violent hook sets, say for some jig presentations, at least part of the reason is they are trying to respond very fast before the fish spits it out. It is often more about time than force. Brad

It is generally because if, like me, we are talking about a 5'6" rod, fishing from a kayak, using presentations with a taut line, we just don't have enough line out (rarely more than 50 feet) where the hook set is disadvantaged in terms of the speed of movement whipping the rod. And, with spinning gear, light wire hooks, most of us use sort of a sweeping hook set anyway. Power? Put a 10 lbs. barbell plate on the garage floor attached to a string further attached to a 5'6" stick, then a 7' stick, see which lever has more lifting power. Of course, we are speaking of less "negative" leverage as the fish is on the correct end of the wrench. If we needed power over fish, we don't often, a rod would be built like a shovel. A-Jay and maybe others mentioned fishing vertically using short rods. If you are pulling a really big fish off the ocean floor, it better be short. And, you better hang on tight. In a kayak, two of our great advantages are stealth and close approaches to target areas. While we are certainly not fishing vertically most of the time, having only 30 to 50 feet of line out neutralizes many of the advantages of a 7'+ rod. I do fish standing up quite a lot, still prefer the shorter rods though I'd definitely have a 7 footer on board if I am slinging for distance. Lots of good opinions here fitting rods to our circumstances! Brad

The one rod I always carry along, ALWAYS, is my PS56MF St. Croix spinning rod. 5'6" M powered, fast. I have a Stradic Ci4+ 3000 mounted to it, 10 lbs. braid to an 8 lbs. fluoro leader. Keitechs, drop shots, wacky worms, etc. This past 10 days or so, I have been out about 5 times, going out for a few hours in the afternoons mostly, going out minimalist. I took the 66" rod every time, nothing else (I was fishing back in the cove I live on). I get others' reasons and preferences for other lengths. For me, I am almost all finesse, shallow water, and I fish up close to my targets. I can sit or stand and pitch with this 66" rod, I can sling baits way far under docks and boathouses, and its accuracy is off the charts. Because the short rod has a comparatively short lifting point, it handles large bass effortlessly, especially since we use our rods and drags with spinning gear to battle fish differently. I also have a 5'6" casting rod. I love it, too. I would bet that any kayak angler who buys a short rod will never leave home without it. No issues carrying along a 7+ footer designed for long casts and that'd be a good idea where you know you will make such presentations. Brad

I have some tiny swivels for experiments with ultralight gear but I'd have the same reservation FryDog62 mentioned related to it still damaging rod guides. And, excepting a possible advantage related to line twist, in the end you now end up needing to tie 2 knots, not just one. 2 knots double the chances of knot failure. Brad

For sure! A Meyers Sportspal S-15 isn't cheap at around $1400 or $1500. To your anchor plans, I'd carry along a stake-out pole, another handy device for canoe anglers. I fish shallow water most of the time, find it easier to deploy than an anchor at times. Looking forward to seeing how you do your electrical! Brad

I use 2# Sufix Nanobraid (not to be confused with Berkley Nanofil, another good line). Sufix makes this particular braid up to 14# and it has the same size, as I recall, as Sufix 832 in 10#. I'm up to 3 lbs. white bass, about a pound more in a LMB, same 4 pounds or so for a catfish. Nothing yet has broken me off. A great line, smallest diameter I have ever used at .001". That does make knot tying a bit more difficult but I love the casting distance, the strength. If you are a braid lover, even the 6 lbs. in this stuff is so thin and it might be easier for you to manage. Brad

Correct. Wind can create some of the circumstances but not all of them that create these knots. Brad

I'll follow along, too. I often fish out of my Meyers Sportspal S-15 and I also have 3 seats. The factory installed a seat "midships" for me in addition to the bow and stern seats that were standard. To make canoe fishing easier, your goal I believe you said, any and all efforts to work out anchoring and other "holding water" techniques and details is time and money well spent. Best of luck! Brad

BigAngus752, yours is a case of classic wind knot. Do take a look at how the line is stacked on the reel's line spool. If it isn't flat or evenly distributed, that is, there is more line toward the back or the front, you need to add or remove a washer to adjust it. Many models are shipped with an extra couple of washers for making these adjustments. I'd also watch for spool face crossings where a loop of line is only partially lying on the spool and a part of it is over the lip. This is the source for many wind knots where that misplaced loop is grabbed by the line going out and it can get really ugly fast after that. Brad

Minnow, someone ought to make these but the closest I know of would be a VMC 28 degree angled jig hook. It'd be worth a look to see if it'd work for your intended application. Brad 28 degree jig hook with flat eye And, these, but small sizes only. flat eye streamer hooks

I saw and took advantage of St. Croix's special that week, Reign rods with a reel. I bought one of each: a spinning and a casting combo. I have the rods already, they use the same material and many of the same components as other St. Croix rods and they look great. Reels are being mailed separately. I think the spinning combo was $79, the casting combo was $109. Brad

One of the best primer videos on this technique is given by Matt and Tim. I believe this is similar to what Tom suggests in a post or two above and you can see it here. I haven't watched the video in a while but I recall Matt and Tim use different sorts of bobber stoppers to achieve the same result. And, if you search their videos, there is another I believe with more details regarding how to rig it up, the specifics. Looks like a nice technique, as they say in the video, once water temperatures get cold, 50 degrees or colder. Brad Matt and Tim on Float N Fly

Glenn. A thorough primer, for sure. *** Do you have a recommended site or two, a supplier name for Lumaflex skirts? Brad

I fished very little over the years, too: college, athletics, marriage, career, kids and grand kids. Then, I started back in earnest about 5 years ago after retiring early. For you young pups out there, you will cross paths with thousands of others who love to fish, but don't. For this very reason, if I could do it over again, I'd buy a good boat, take my family out, of course; but, also my "bosses," my clients/customers, my suppliers, neighbors and more. In the same sense that a game of golf can be an outing that "cements" relationships, fishing would do the same. Tell me when a big company lay-off is in the works, if the guy who takes the boss fishing in his boat on occasion, gets to know him a bit away from work, if he gets the pink slip or someone else? Who does the customer give the order to? Y'all get the idea. Close that 37 year gap! Welcome aboard!!! Brad

RHuff, this is one of my reasons for being interested in developing my spinnerbait technique, delivery. I'm in Texas and I see these videos of anglers fishing down on Falcon, other Mexican lakes with guides, catching absolutely huge bass. For whatever reason, it seems spinnerbaits are often the lure of choice. Brad

Thanks, everyone. Tons of good info! Brad

I'm curious regarding whether anyone here fishes spinnerbaits without trailers? Between the blades flashing and vibrating, the skirts pulsing and adding attracting colors, what would one expect or think the net pick up to be then attaching a plastic trailer? 20% more effective attracting and catching fish? Same general question regarding chatterbaits. I do "get" using trailers in circumstances where you drop it to the bottom, maybe let it sit and work it up and down . . . more like a jig. I am thinking more about active retrievals where they are moving. Looking forward to hearing how everyone dials this in! My ulterior motive? I am just not a very good spinnerbait angler . . . looking for some more clarifications. Brad

I used your markers, found the pond easily on Google Earth. Normally on large lakes, what you can do is work back through time with images, find the lake at its lowest water level, spot all sorts of interesting places. Not so on this pond; there aren't any images of it without about its current level of water. No, what I think you have there is likely a man-made pond to catch water from the neighborhood. I bet it is generally featureless, just dug out with a tractor. I see multiple concrete drainage ditches off of a series of cul-de-sacs in the neighborhood where run-off from rain and sprinklers ends up. On that note, these drainage points into the small pond? My guess is they'd represent solid places for fishing. Fish often set up in such areas awaiting a meal floating into the pond. Brad

One possible "tip" for top loading a heavy kayak onto a car is using a C-Tug cart and simply inverting it, wheels up. You put the inverted cart in a proper position, strap it down, so that you can lift the bow of your kayak up onto the wheels, then get behind the kayak stern . . . and lift and push. Not sure on a hatchback where you might mount the inverted C-Tug but worth a try. There are a few YT videos showing this loading technique. Brad

Well, it was too much of an opportunity to pass by, to not comment on good spelling, word usage, even though it can be a "fishing forum faux pas." I hesitated. To visit the Texas Fishing Forum and read posts there is, well, don't get me started! Ewe guise no its reel. Ha! Brad

"A mono might drop a little faster, and they tend to hit it on the fall." No, with mono, it (a Senko) would drop a little slower than with fluorocarbon. And, it (mono) would create more lift on any actions where an angler lifts or scoots a lure along the bottom to attract a fish's attention. Still, not a huge difference. Glenn acknowledges this in his video and goes on to say that some will be more comfortable using something other than a copolymer, that it is just one of those slight adjustments that help. Brad

I commend you, Gundog! Three versions of the same word sound in a single sentence, all spellings/meanings used correctly . . . on a fishing forum. My faith in high school English teachers is renewed! Too, to, two. I forgive you for "its" because the good you did overshadows a slight mistake. Cheers! Brad

Paul and @reason have it dialed in correctly. There is no statistical requirement that two people flipping a "fair" coin 10 times will each have 5 heads. And, if you fill an auditorium with 1024 people, one "lucky" person will statistically flip 10 heads in 10 attempts and it fits within the assumptions of a bell curve perfectly. It is the same fishing, side-by-side with close to identical gear, tackle, presentations. The results won't likely be the same. Still plenty of room for a higher power to interject a bit of favoritism but it can be explained statistically. And, the more you fish with someone else, that is more statistical trials, and if that angler out-fishes you rather consistently, the angler IS more likely more skilled than you, doing something different though not always hard to narrow down to "this or that." Brad

Good advice here regarding the tying of knots trumps the knot chosen. Denser fluorocarbon lines are just harder to cinch down into a tightly formed knot and the wraps don't embed themselves into underlying line (the part of the line wrapped over) as readily as softer monofilaments. Maybe a decent analogy is trying to tie a simple overhand knot in a thin gauged length of copper wire. Yes, you can do it, but it is hard to pull down to close it all the way. This is, by the way, why it is more important to lubricate a fluorocarbon knot more so than a mono knot: it helps it slide into a tighter formed knot. It has absolutely nothing to do with the line being more subjected to "burning" than mono. It is actually the opposite. *For braid, lubricating a knot makes no difference much at all. When I do it, it is out of habit. Brad

Glenn makes your exact point in his fine primer today on split shot Senko finesse fishing, that he wants the Senko which is dragging behind the lead sinker (up the line about 18") to bounce or float up each time he lifts the rod tip in his retrieve. Glenn is, in essence, recommending re-creating the dropping sensation the Senko is famous for several times after its original fall through the water column on a cast. In his video, he is using a copolymer line over fluorocarbon but generally recommending a line that is lighter than the latter, more invisible in clear water than braid. A top monofilament would work great for this presentation. Brad