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One problem I see with the NRS Ninja, and while it is certainly less bulky, is that it comes down pretty low on your back. In a kayak, that may or may not be a problem, as the backs of the seats tend to be pretty low and the seat itself is pretty short. So you'd have to sit kind of forward on the seat and have the PFD between you and the back seat. I have back issues, and that would cause a great deal of pain for me in a long fishing trip. The NRS Chinook and Stohlquist Fisherman looks like they ride higher up on your back, possibly above the seat back, just like your Onyx MoveVent does. And the NRS Chinook does look as though it extends lower in the front and is a bit less bulky around the front and sides, so it might be a good choice. What don't you like about your Onyx MoveVent specifically (where is it too bulky) and what's the reason for not wanting an inflatable PFD, if I may ask?

I've had good luck with vinyl repair kits in that they fix the tear in the vinyl, and it doesn't come back. It's virtually impossible to match the color or texture, so it's going to look like it was repaired. Also, if the vinyl is old and it cracked from exposure/use (in other words if these are the original seats), then it's probably best to replace them (or have them professionally recovered), as new cracks are bound to keep popping up. 30 years was a good run for outdoor, vinyl seats.

They're pretty much all the same, unless you're traveling over soft sand often. Then get the beach wheels, as they're wider and won't sink as deeply. The narrower tires will be a bit easier to turn and navigate around obstacles. But if you mainly travel across boat ramps, grass, and compacted sand, then I doubt you'll notice a difference either way.

For me, it's whether or not I want to catch fish. If I'm trying to catch fish, I'll throw a bladed jig. If I just want to cast mindlessly without distraction, I'll choose a swim jig.

Just about everything other than a crankbait, Texas-rig and shaky head. Those are the only three techniques I can remember coming rather quickly to me. Everything else has been a struggle to learn. Probably none more so than the jig, though.

My main lake gets down to 100 feet deep, and is generally around 60 feet though most of the main lake parts. I don't you'll ever catch anything below about 30, maybe 40 feet. The reason is the water is pretty stained, and at those depths, it's pretty much pitch black, even to the sensitive eyes of a fish. Plus, there's probably not a lot of oxygen down there, as it doesn't get mixed up much with the water at the surface.

I'm jealous! I get as much of a thrill out of catching tiny bass as I do big girls. And I've certainly never managed to hook one that small!

Studies show a PFD reduces your risk of drowning while out on a boat by around 85%. For comparison, a seatbelt only reduces your risk of dying in a car accident by about 45%.

You just need more experience. The basic retrieve part of crankbait fishing is easy. Getting a feel for things like bites vs. obstructions takes a lot more time. Same with handling crankbaits in your boat or in a fish's mouth.

Fish don't live in air. They live in water. So the air temperature doesn't directly affect them. Sure, the air temperature affects the water temperature, but water changes temperature much more slowly. And the depth, clarity, and how the water is supplied will all have an effect on how quickly those changes can occur.

According to the guys at the dock, it counts as 1 and you don't get to add the customary 2lbs of weight you normally get when forgoing the scales. If you boat the bass, it counts as 3 for the first three catches, and then 2 for each additional catch after that. And remember, after your total score passes 15 (i.e. 6 boated bass), then you get to round up to the nearest 10's place.

I've got a theory that keyboards bring out the worst in people. There's something about not being able to see or hear the person you're talking to that causes you to neglect their emotions and instead dwell on your own. Thus it's much easier to internalize anger and harder to repress negativity. Or so I believe. I know I am much more confrontational and aggressive online that I am in real life. And I'm not proud of that. And I'm working on bridging that gap to make my avatar more reflective of the person behind it. And in my experience, I'm not alone in this struggle. I think most people are better people in real life than their online presence suggests.

In Oklahoma, we're not required to wear one, but we are required to have one on board for each passenger. So if nothing else, wearing your PFD will take up less space. Also, I know two people who have drowned, and both were excellent swimmers. People don't usually drown because they don't know how to swim. They typically drown because something unexpected happens that they can't recover from. I was talking to a lake patrol officer a while back, and he told me that he makes people wear them if they're kayaking alone. If they're kayaking with others, then he's more lenient. He might not be able to ticket you, but he can pull you over and kick you out of the lake (they have the power to remove anyone from the lake for any reason, or no reason at all).

You should always charge it again, as soon as possible. When the battery sits with a partial or no charge, the plates get damaged. 4 years for a flooded lead acid battery (the type you have) is probably about average. If you take proper care of them, they can sometimes go as long as 10. If you abuse them, you might get one or two years out of them. Do this. Charge it up fully. Then let it sit for a day to wear off the surface charge. Now take a DMM and test the voltage of the battery with nothing hooked up to it. That'll tell you what percentage it's able to hold now compared to what it originally provided. There are charts online that will tell you the approximate percentage of charge remaining and how it compares to voltage. For example, a new battery will be around 12.6 volts. A battery that only charges to 80% will be around 12.4 volts. A battery at 50% power is around 12 volts, and basically on its last leg. As for when to replace it, that's up to you. It's your money. Sometimes a cell can die and the battery can become worthless in a second. That can happen with a brand new battery too. Other times they gradually die a slow death and you have plenty of time to prepare for a replacement. They can circle the drain for years, being frustrating to use, but still functional. There's no predicting the future.

I just snap a photo on my phone. From that, I can tell what, when, where, and how. My phone logs all but the how in the what and how in the metadata. The coordinates aren't always super accurate, like they might point to the wrong cove, but I can usually figure out what it's pointing to when combined with memory and what's in the background. The what and how are both included in the photo (fish and lure). I can also usually tell approximate depth by the distance from the bank in the background. It doesn't keep records of the weather, but I can usually tell wind speed by the waves, cloud cover by the shadows, temperature by what I'm wearing, etc. Mostly though, I just rely on my memory. I certainly don't remember everything. Far from it. But I tend to remember the details of the best events. Like I don't need to remember that one time I caught one small bass in eight hours while canvasing the entire lake in February. But that time I was catching them on almost every cast off point 17 in about 12ft. of water on the flat with a shaky head with a bright orange Zoom trick worm on the first week of March starting around 3p.m. when the wind was about 10mph out of the east and a weak cold front had just passed through the night before that brough a light rain but didn't break the overall warming trend but by about 3 degrees... well, you get the idea.

I never yell at strangers, never get angry, and never let the confrontation escalate. But I don't back down and I don't show fear either. So I will sit there and calmly explain to the guy why I'm disappointed in him. Rather than call him names or get angry, I'll just point out that he wasn't being very considerate, and let him know that I am used to dealing with better people. I won't expect an apology (because my opinion of this guy is already very low), and I'll graciously accept one if given. I may even apologize in return, just to be nice. Overall, I try to be the model for the kind of person that he should have been. Once they're ruined your spot, it's ruined. Getting angry and yelling won't fix it. And it will give them power over you. It shows them that they can control you through their actions and words. It proves that they matter to you. Don't allow them a foothold on your mood. Show them how little they mean to you by showing them how they cannot affect you no matter how agitated they become. Treat them like an animal at the zoo. It doesn't matter how ferocious they think they are, they couldn't pose a threat to you if they tried. Because at the end of the day, you win if you forget all about the confrontation and go back to having a good day. And you lose if you get put into a place that you can't move past.

Brakes shouldn't matter for pitching. You're not flinging the bait far enough or hard enough for them to really engage. If I'm going to be doing a lot of pitching, and won't be using that reel for anything else, I'll take all of the brakes off, just in case they might accidentally engage. Same with spool tension. I'll remove that completely. For pitching, I like to rely on my thumb for everything. If I'm switching back and forth between pitching and casting, I'll just leave the brakes set to wherever they need to be for casting. Sometimes I'll mess with the spool tension if it's windy or I'm trying to bomb the bait when I switch back and forth. Otherwise, if I'm worried about overruns, I'll typically just use my thumb to slow it down. Ordinarily, when I'm mixing pitching and casting, I'm not doing long, hard casts.

I'd get some crankbaits. Maybe a few squarebills and deeper divers. Ones in natural colors at various depths. They're pretty easy to fish if you're not super experienced, and it'll give you something different from what you're already throwing. The Rapala DT series and Strike King KVD at good places to start.

Are you sure there are fish in them? If it's full of algae already, there's a good chance that it overruns the pond by summer, and might kill off any fish in there. Otherwise, I'd probably stick to topwaters. Maybe a frog, popper, Torpedo, etc. I've not had much luck with anything coming through algae without getting fouled up. It's best to avoid it were possible, in my opinion.

Just get whatever is cheapest. I've bought a lot of different brands over the years. I own more H20 (Academy house brand) covers than any other, but they all work about the same, as far as I'm concerned.

I've learned it's best to keep those things to yourself until you've found the right moment. Before a trip, and even the first day or two, everyone is stressed out and you don't think there's going to be time for anything that's not on the itinerary. But after a few days, things slow down, possibilities open up, and everyone is feeling more relaxed and open. Sometimes a little bored even. And that's the time to reveal your big plan.

Nope. Life is full of regrets. I made my decisions the best I could with what I had. Were they the right decisions? Probably not. If I could do it over, knowing what I know now, would I change them? Sure. But I didn't know then what I know now. And I'll learn from my mistakes and grow from them. So I'm not going to second guess myself, especially since it was just a guess to begin with. I'll take the day's experience and learn from it. My goal isn't to be a good angler. It's to be a better angler. And failure, as they say, is the best teacher.

I was fishing a small lake the other day that was littered with turtles. Many were checking out my lure. I was scared to death that I'd hook one, as I've done that before and there's no getting your lure back from that.

I use most of the lures mentioned pretty regularly. But I guess I'm slow to adopt to new lures when the old ones still work. I trust my own experience over advertising. For instance, I've been sleeping on the shaky head for too long now. I thought, I have ned rigs and T-rigged worms, why do I need another worm? I just tried one out for the first time this last weekend and was getting bit on almost every cast once I figured it out!

That's it! I'm making finger puppets shaped like minnows!