Alex from GA

Saw a bunch of fish below me and dropped a spoon. Couldn't get it off the bottom so thought it was a big catfish.

When I lived in So Cal I fished mostly in salt water so the Fred Hall Show was a yearly thing with me. We moved to the Atlanta area 20+ years ago and there was a fishing show every winter that I went to until it expired. It was a lot of fly fishing with very little bass people. Now all I do all winter is fish.

If the lakes aren't very big and the wind isn't blowing a float tube is a great way to fish in places others can't. As c-b-f said any cover is where the bass will be.

I fish a deep GA lake and know where a lot of the structure is. Man made brush piles are the main structure and they're usually in 15-35'. If the fish are out in the middle of the lake chasing herring or shad I'm lost.

Thanks, that gave me the laugh for today.

Took my kids, 8 and 3 to Castaic Lake for a fishing outing. We got to a place where they wanted to get out and fool around on shore. I let them out and fished the cove near them as they threw rocks in the water. The bass must have liked that because I caught a limit of 3 lb bass in the hour they were on the shore.

Happy for you and the fish.

I prop up the phone or camera and take a delayed exposure. My phone has either a 3 or 10 second delay and my camera has a 5 second delay and takes 3 pictures, with about 3 seconds between them, with one press of the shutter release.

Got out @ dawn and fished until it got too hot @ about 11. Used top water, worms, homemade maraboo jig and worms.

At least you got out to fish which is always a good day for me. Plastics are my mainstay along with lots of other people's. When I kayak fish I only bring one rod, hooks, slip sinkers and, usually, 3 bags of worms in my PFD. I never feel under gunned.

Jackson Coosa. I don't have one but I've used one on several floats and it's the most stable I've been in. Even with the seat in the high position. You can stand up easily also.

It's really hard to flood a Mercury 2 stroke. What others have recommended are the things I would try. Check for the right spark, blue not orange. New fuel lines and a Mercury bulb. New filter. Run it with another tank if you can, that'll eliminate bad gas.

About 20 years ago I wanted to fish the small rivers and creeks that my boat couldn't get to, so a kayak was the answer.

You applied the KISS principle. I do the same with the fitting on the engine also, right to the pump through a filter.

Not even close.

Caught this this morning and I weighed it. Take a guess.

Monday evening I had one break off on a run after the set, check your line stupid. The next one came unbuttoned after about 10 seconds but I finally caught a 3.29 Alabama Bass about dark. Sometimes you just lose fish no matter what.

Give the palm swell seat a try you'll like it.

Read my post "Reel seat". It was uncomfortable to use so I changed it.

Figure out where you're going to use the kayak. Big lakes, small lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks or all of the above. All I use mine for are rivers and creeks so mine is shorter and lighter than a big water one.

I think you're going to dislike that reel seat but hope not. Sorry to be a pessimist.

If it's like a Merc it's a piece of cake. The hardest part is removing the nut that holds the gears in the lower unit. Remove the nut and jerk on the shaft to remove it from the housing, slip it off the gears and send it off or replace it. Replace the seals and o-rings while it's apart.

A few years ago I built a light spinning rod with a skeleton reel seat that I hated once I started using it. It had a cork butt and fighting butt. I have a couple of rods with the palm swell seat that I like so I cut the skeleton off and installed the palm swell from the butt end of the rod. I had to use eva for the grips to slip on the butt and it worked fine. I used drywall mesh for bushings which worked OK too. The rod is, to me, much more comfortable to use. I'm sure people have done this before me.

I've fished the forest several times in the past 5 years and always caught fish. I drag a kayak to some of the smaller ponds/lakes where not many people go to. It's an adventure. Only 1 time I had to poke a gator with my paddle to keep it away.

I have fished from Maine to CA and lots of places in between with a Zoom finesse worm. Lakes, rivers, creeks, canals, ponds, it works.