CountryboyinDC

Creek smallies are fun, certainly not as educated as reservoir bass usually are. I think what you have should be fine, tackle wise. If you find yourself getting hung up with what you have, you could get some offset worm hooks for those soft plastics you have and maybe some light bullet weights. I think what others said about small topwaters is good advice too. I stopped fishing creeks. Folks that own land on them tend to be territorial, even if you can canoe up it making it clearly 'navigable'.

My dad's drink was a gin and tonic. Sometimes I have one in his memory. I'm not a big consumer of liquor, but if it's really hot out, they do hit the spot.

What is that? It is a farm that city dwellers visit to feel like they've been to a farm, kind of like a dude ranch.

My neighbor got this when he went out to a local dude farm and brought one to me. I really like that neighbor.

There used to be only one at that price point, the Perception one. I would say that @Tizi is spot on for cost and feature set. The pedal drive is the same as the one I have on my pedal kayak (OT Predator PDL) and it's confidence inspiring in terms of build quality. At 10' or whatever it is and I'd guess from the ones I've seen 34-35" wide, it's probably not the most efficient kayak built. But these pedal drives are so much easier than a paddle to use for propulsion, I don't think it'll bother you any. And that short length keeps the weight down and makes it handy.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that it's not made from carbon tetraiodide. Otherwise you'd need to store it in the freezer in a vial wrapped in tin foil. It's good if you want to iodinate an alcohol, where you plan on subsequent displacement of the halogen. In water, it becomes molecular iodine and iodioform (not sure on the spelling, aka carbon triiodide). Not particularly good for any part of a reel.

Of those I'd pick the St. Croix Avid-X, having no experience with any of these exact models; I do have a 7' MH/F Avid. I'm not crazy about the guides, they're micro guides, and I think the rings are something other tha Alconite. IMHO, the Avid (not -x) is a really good all around rod, and it comes with normal sized guides (Fuji stainless) with Alconite rings. It has the full cork handle. The Loomis Mag Bass tapers are favored by a lot of folks, but I like the Avid's better. I haven't been all that impressed with the E6X rods I've tried. I don't know about the Dobyns XP. I think if I can find a sale, I'm going to get a Avid MH/XF as a worm jig rod soon. I like my Avid for that too, but it's so good for so many things I almost always have something else tied on.

The FKs are the discontinued non-Ci4 Stradics. I got a new FL on discount when the vendor sold more FKs than he had in inventory and substituted the FL. It seems to have a longer (maybe wider, I'm not sure what that dimension is called, but it's not the round dimension). Otherwise, from reading the feature list and handling the reel, they seem to be the same. I haven't fished that yet. I put a Ci4 on a rod a while back, and it felt cheap/light. I traded for the FK, no problems. I know it's not, but I feel the same way about a Chronarch MGL baitcaster I have. I don't know why, I just don't like the feel.

I would have never thought it. Mine are in clear plastic boxes. I really need to watch them more carefully, I guess.

Wow, I worry about soft plastics melting in the sun, I never even thought about hard plastics. What kind of box are you using to store them? The boxes in the background seem to be for other purposes. That's bad luck, for sure.

I've never seen one of those - it still needs a 2 pole 50A breaker, so it doesn't help me personally. It reads as though it would be good for people that have electronics not plugged into a UPS or something else that reduces surges, and it would be very practical for that. It does say it doesn't protect against direct lightning strikes, which I wonder if anything would, considering the carnage @Ski213 reported.

There are certainly canoes that can be pitched from standing up, like the Sportspal, or you can go the way of @MN Fisher and put outriggers or Wingman cooler holder (I guess they sort of accomplish the same thing) on a canoe for stability. Since you're borrowing it, I wouldn't go too heavy on the modifications, even if the owner didn't mind. I would just pitch sitting down. It's not as easy, and I dare say not as accurate, but with practice, it should be more accurate than an overhead or roll cast. Realistically, you probably won't need a broomstick with 65 lb braid on it - a spinning rod with 8 lb test will usually pull a canoe along unless you're pulling straight up. Remember the old adage about fishing out of a canoe or kayak, "If your head goes over the gunwales, your body will follow." It is easy to forget when you're trying to cast to a difficult spot or fighting a fish.

For that kayak, I would start with a pair of anchor trolleys. It's one of the nicest fishing kayaks available, yes, but for bass fishing it doesn't have a hands free reverse. I have a pair of YakAttack Leverloc HD trolleys on my pedal kayak (a Old Town Predator PDL), and I use them for stakeout poles as well as traditional anchors. The others, including those cobbled together with Harken pulleys work fine, but the Leverloc HD comes with backing plates, which for some reason I feel is necessary. If you were used to kayak fishing, you may be fine with using a paddle in your lap. The Hobie PA comes with pretty much everything you'll need, except for a PFD. You want a comfortable one of those with a very high back so you can take advantage of the best seat in the business, which you have. If your plan is to move to a powerboat relatively soon, I would try to avoid going overboard with electronics and gadgets. The resale value for you is in the kayak, the other stuff is going to be hard pressed to be anything other than depreciation. You may decide that you really just like kayak fishing. I like that I get a little exercise, and I have one less thing with an internal combustion engine, insurance, and other headaches.

That was quick thinking and good action on your part OP. I'm glad it turned out as well as it did for you. I think something like this is what you mean. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Siemens-20-Amp-6-5-in-Whole-House-Surge-Protected-Circuit-Breaker-QSA2020SPDP/202562776 They work, and if I had any space in my main panel (and they made such things for such an ancient breaker box), I'd put one in.

I've never been on the Huron, but it is supposed to be a slow moving river. I would say it depends on your skill, but I would want something that paddled fairly well more than something that maneuvered well. There are a lot of choices, but something like a Wilderness Systems Tarpon (12'), Ocean Kayak Trident (13') or Old Town Predator (13').would be at the top of my list. I'm also hearing good things about the Crescent Light Tackle, which I've seen but not paddled. An online spinner is a favorite of many; I use Mepps Aguilas and Blue Fox Vibraxs on occasion. I would say that soft plastics are generally the best baits in the warmer months. There are a lot of them to choose from, so if everyone seems to be using the same colored Case stickworm, that's probably a good one. Whatever you do, get a PFD and wear it. I see posts about folks drowning all the time, and unless it was them taking the wrong line at Great Falls, it's almost always because they didn't wear their their PFD.

Depending on what's on it, that could be a pretty good price. Graphs are pretty wide ranging in price. That one has the rudder, which isn't mentioned. Unless the graph is a real high dollar one, I'd imagine $900 or so is what it should go for. You won't be standing on that one, but you will go pretty fast for a 12' fishing kayak. It's a good all around boat.

Usually a better place for WW and touring type boats is https://canoes-for-sale.com. Occasionally, they'll have a fishing type kayak. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are the places people sell these types of things normally. Make sure you know the regular retail price for kayaks. Used ones, even lightly, should be substantially discounted. Kayaks go on sale every year at the end of the paddling season.

I've wade fished around Violets Lock about 9 years ago. I didn't have great luck. You've been everywhere else I've been within your range and you caught a smallie at Chain Bridge! That's pretty great. I'd recommend Don and Front Royal Canoe for your Shenandoah trips on the South Fork. Right now he's only running a few of the trips, so I might call and ask Will or one of the others that does a lot fishing which is best. Down River is also a good outfit, and they have some pretty money trips, but they've decided not to open for 2020. I've never used Shenandoah River Outfitters, but I'd like to try some of their trips. I think they're out of Lurray or somewhere. Under normal circumstances, I'd advise someone in your circumstance to join Potomac River Smallmouth Club https://prsc.org. Since you're sans kayak/canoe and wheels, the club would offer you the opportunity to do many float trips. Several of us have a canoe or kayak we'd be glad to lend, but the trips are restricted to members. But with COVID-19, there's no trips, meetings, etc. If you've found someone that likes fishing and will drive, the opportunities open significantly. There some really good spots on the North Fork of the Shenandoah, I'm told, but I've only ever fished where the 7 Bends State Park is supposed to be. There's not a ton of access otherwise, but if you find a legal way to the river and it looks good, I'd wet a line. The Sheandoah River State Park is really good for wading. The Rappahannock from say Summerduck to Motts Run can be good where you can get to it. And farther up the Potomac, around the Brunswick Bridge is prime wading smallmouth territory for the area. I've yet to venture out this year, but by this time of the year, staying around the riffles in the morning and early evening usually is high percentage. Soft plastics rule, and I don't know how important the exact selection is - I see people that are successful with chartreuse small lizards, natural colored TRD worms, flukes, etc. I have been using a Nikko Zaza helgrammite on an Owner jighead, and having pretty good luck the past couple of years. Senkos (3 & 4") are fallbacks for me. If you can manage 2 rods, I'd put a topwater on one. A buzzbait on the smaller size, tiny torpedoes, and Zara Puppy to Super Spook JR size walking baits are what I use, but some swear by Pop-Rs, etc. The Whopper Ploppers were really catching them a couple of years ago, but I think a lot of the fish have seen them now, and I had no luck with them last year.

Okay, I have a 7'2 MH IMX JWR, and if you like that for spinnerbaits, you'll probably like the spinnerbait model. I didn't throw anything but a 1/2 oz double willow spinnerbait, but if you don't mind a shorter rod, it would probably do well for jigs and maybe even a shakey head.

I've used the IMX for exactly one morning a spring ago. I was fishing in friends boat, and I borrowed that one. It's a little fast taper for my taste, I remember pulling the bait out of the mouths of the first three fish that bit with a trailer hook (not stinger), so it took some adjustments to get in the groove on my part. At that time, I was used a Falcon rod that was probably a Mod-fast to Moderate taper. That Loomis was an accurate caster for me, and definitely sensitive. The taper helped to jerk free some fouling (we were fishing an emerging grass line). So it may be what you are after; I'm still kind of looking for something like that Falcon.

I got a pair of Chums from Don at the canoe outfit in Front Royal. They're definitely capable of floating the heaviest spectacles you care to put on your nose. My sister gave me one she got at Dollar Tree, and they work fine for plastic lens Oakleys, and more comfortable. They held up all last year too.

I have one zip tied to my truck's antenna so I can help it develop a good squeal, squeak, whatever you want to call it.

Idk about the battery management issue that @Smalls spoke of, but that definitely sounds like it would be worth checking into - I see that the graph draws 18W, which at 12V is 1.5 amps if my math doesn't fail me. I did see on the WS website that there was a 2019 update to this battery for the higher-amp-draw graphs, but it doesn't list what it's capabilities are for this parameter. FWIW, I have the 10 AH NOQUA battery, but for a smaller graph. I'm not familiar with the particular graph you're talking about. I have a 7" Lowrance HDS Carbon, and it looks pretty hulking on a kayak, that 9" graph will be huge. I'd only be able to comment on the overall setup. If you plan to use the kayak with and without the graph, I'd probably just opt to get a second dry pod. That way you just take the whole graph, battery, and transducer out as a whole. For the mounting, I prefer Ram mounts, but what you listed should work. If you consider Ram, a mount like https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-111U would allow the Ram ball to kind of take the place of your Mighty Mount, and then you'd just put the OEM gimball mount on top of the overall mount, like with the YakAttack one. I feel like the Rams are more sturdy and easily adjustable than the YakAttack ones, but realistically you're probably not going to be adjusting things all that often. Should be a nice setup.

They definitely work, the charitable organization I volunteer for uses them on their rods. Honestly most of my baitcasting setups float. For me, whatever is not on the deck of my kayak is tied down in some manner.

Definitely an established brand. I use their swimbait jigheads; they're good. I have a chatterbait they make. Kind of like a lot of chatterbaits I've tried, I haven't figured out how to hold my mouth right to get the fish to bite it, so I can't say much about it.