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I tend to catch more and bigger fish off of a buzzbait. But they're an aggressive, reaction style lure. And they're no good when you need to slow it down a little, which is when the Whopper Plopper comes in. The trick to a buzzbait that I've found is to bend the wire so the blade just ticks the jig head as it spins in the water. Not enough to stop it, but enough to give it some extra sound.

It's not something I've ever really thought about. It just kind of comes naturally. But I think I squat down and then lean back into the chair. I'll usually reel all the way in so the rod is almost pointing directly at the fish, and then slowly pull the rod back with one hand to maintain pressure on the fish to give me time to sit. I do this a lot for one reason or another (like if I have to grab a net or something). My kayak is a Lifetime Yukon, so it's far from the most stable. Add to that that I have a 65lb battery on one side in the rear and a trolling motor hanging off the other side just behind me. So I'm pushing the maximum weight limit, and the weight isn't very well balanced either. But I've never tipped it over or fallen out. The key is to not lock your knees and maintain your balance with your hips. Just practice pushing it to it's limits and sitting down and standing up. Eventually, your body will learn what it can do and what it feels like, so moving around in it because very natural. When I first got it, I was often finding myself in those scary situations where you almost fall out. But over time, you adjust. Now that kayak feels like pontoon boat for me.

I'd also recommend a Berkley Dredger 25.5. They're a bit smaller, lighter, and get down quicker than most of the other crankbaits I've used that get down below 20ft. Plus they don't seem to pull as hard. I'm not a huge Berkley nut for crankbaits, but they did right on this one, in my opinion.

I use the FG knot for leaders as small as 6# fluoro with 10# braid. I've never had one fail, and I get hung up all of the time. Every time I have to break off (which is way too often), it always fails at the terminal knot or somewhere in the middle of the leader. The trick is, as mentioned by others, you have to keep the knot tight as you tie it. And in my opinion, smaller diameter lines need more wraps, not less. 15 wraps should be good for you. I'll go 20 for that 6# fluoro I mentioned above. Since it doesn't dig as deeply into the line as it will with a thicker leader, it requires more wraps to create the same amount of friction. I will cinch mine after each wrap. So when I get to the end, I don't cinch it any further or even wet it. No need. At that point, trying to cinch it further will just stretch the fluoro and weaken it, because the knot isn't moving anywhere otherwise. It really helps the knot hold better, in my opinion, versus waiting until the end to try to cinch the whole thing. That knot is too long for that. It does take longer to tie though, and can make it a bit more difficult to tie. But once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad. And while I'm tying it, I'll keep the knot pinched with my left hand, so it doesn't unravel after each cinch. I'll shift my pinch further up the the knot while I'm cinching it, so it remains under pressure the whole time.

Unless the old bearings are damages, then no. I once replaced an old reel's plastic bushings with ceramic bearings, and it didn't do me any good. It actually made the reel noisier. Reels aren't high speed, high precision or high load devices. Plus, most reels will spin faster than you want anyway, which is why they have a spool tension knob to slow them down. That's what I discovered when I replaced those bushing with bearings. I got a whole lot more free spin, but when actually casting, I had to apply more spool tension to keep the reel from backlashing, so I didn't gain any distance. And the smoothness of the reel is more determined by the rigidity and precision of the frame and fit of the gears than any bearings. Reels don't even really need bearings. They could work just as well with some good bushings and the right oil. I have a few older reels that prove that point. But the one thing bearings do offer is they require less maintenance than bushings. So you don't have to tear them down to clean and oil them as often to keep them working at optimal performance.

Not really. Braided line is plastic, so it doesn't absorb dye. You could paint the outside. Some people do that with a sharpie or whatever. But it's a whole lot easier to go from light colors to dark colors than from dark colors to light colors. So you'd have to fade the line first, then paint it, and then reapply the paint because it wouldn't last long. Even then, it wouldn't be as bright as line that was made that way from the start.

You really have to know the whole equation to know what you should do. It's easy to do more damage than good if you don't have the full picture. But generally, yes, if all you're seeing is small bass and there's a ton of larger baitfish, then you probably have too many bass. Though the problem could be elsewhere, and culling a bunch of bass might make it worse. We had a bass virus pass through here about 15-20 years ago. It killed off a lot of black bass in my local lakes. Some were good fisheries for black bass before that. But after large numbers of black bass were killed off, the white bass, crappie, and catfish populations exploded. They've spent who knows how much time and money trying to rebalance the populations to bring back the black bass, but nothing ever works. Once the balance is disrupted, it can be next to impossible to re-establish.

Drop shots are what I primarily do with those. Sometimes, if the bite it tough, I'll go weightless and fish them like a jerkbait. Or if I need to go deeper, use a weighted hook or jig head. I prefer the weighted hook over the jig head because I can rig it weedless, and it seems to have better action. But the jig head also allows for it to dive, head first towards the bottom, like a feeding minnow or something. Sometimes I'll also fish them like a worm on a T-rig or on a mushroom head jig like a ned rig. You can even use one as a trailer for a jig or spinnerbait. They're extremely versatile. I tend to reach for them more often in smaller ponds or times when the bite is really tough.

Lithium batteries for lightweight. Torqueedo for more speed (all trolling motors will basically run at about the same speed, though more powerful ones can push more weight around). And perhaps look at a plastic fishing kayak to help with the speed. An inflatable boat of any kind is not going to be very hydrodynamic. You want something a little more streamlined to help you cut through the water. Then, get a kayak cart to help you roll the kayak onto shore. Or better yet, get a small jet-ski style trailer and load the kayak onto that. Then you can pull the trailer up with a riding lawnmower or automobile.

Anything power. About as far into the finesse fishing spectrum as I care to go is a slowly dragged C or T-rig. I have no confidence in anything more finessey than that. Otherwise, I'm most confident in whatever I caught my last bass on. At this minute, that happens to be a crappie jig. It's been a rough month.

That's what I'm thinking. If you're using 25-30' of leader, then why even mess with the braid? With a leader that long, you're getting all of the disadvantages of using braid, without any of the advantages.

Definitely Photoshopped. If you look closely, you can see where the real fins end and digitally drawn fins begin. It's especially evident how the color abruptly changes (though a subtle change) on a hard line on the anal fin. And you can notice the shadows under and on the new fins aren't in agreement with the rest of the shadows. Plus, where the dorsal fin was removed, it's a pretty rough cut job. And, if you look closely, you'll notice several areas that are smudged, right next to areas that are clear. That won't happen with an unedited photograph. Lots of clues here and all pointing to a rough photoshop job.

Follow the baitfish is how I fish in the fall. Wherever they go, I go. Unlike the rest of the year, in the fall I'm not looking at depth, structure, cover, etc. I'm just looking for baitfish. If they're deep in the weeds, I'm deep in the weeds. If they're in the middle of the lake in open water, I'm in the middle of the lake in open water. I watch my graph, the birds, and the surface of the water.

You've been fishing for 13 years. By now, you either know what a bite feels like and how to set the hook, or you'll never know. Giving you a mental checklist will likely make things worse. If you've got the yips, you just need to get out of your head and let your subconscious free. Rely on your instincts. A bass can spit out a lure in far less than the time a human needs to react. So there's always a chance that you can't be fast enough to react. But your best chance is use those instincts you've developed over those 13 years, and react before you have time to think. Even then, you may not be quick enough some times. And that's just how it goes. My guess is you're dealing with a lot of panfish right now. I know I am. They seem to be occupying the places where bass were a month or two ago, and they're larger and more aggressive now than they were earlier in the year. So they're attacking my T-rigged worms and craws, almost like a bass would. Only, instead of swallowing it whole, they're biting off small chunks. I'll frequently reel in my rig to find the tail bitten off my worm or the claws or legs off my craws gone. That's how panfish feed. They try to disable their prey first, so they can devour it in chunks, instead of all at once like a bass.

I'll fish them like a swim jig from time to time. Speed worms work great for this. Especially with a brass bullet weight and a glass bead. The only wrong way to fish a T-rig is the way the fish won't bite. So be prepared to try anything. Fast, hard jerks off the bottom. Slow drag. Small, slow hops. Fast swim across the top like a buzzbait. Fast swim in the middle of the water column with frequent pauses. It all works, just not all on the same day. As for wrist or arm, either or both. I'll frequently switch up and just go with whatever is most comfortable. I don't give it much thought. Sometimes I'll even hold the rod kind of loose and just use my finger tips to vibrate the rod tip. Almost like tapping out a drum beat on a desk.

I have something like that and found out it doesn't work as well as I'd like. The problem is, it can only really block the sun when it's low in the sky, and pointing at the right direction. It's better than nothing, for sure. But I still have to use my hand to shade the sun frequently.

About the only reliable bite I have going on right now is the early morning topwater. Outside of that, the bites are few, and far between, and don't exhibit a pattern (that I'm seeing).

I have a Perigree II rod, and it's just okay. At $50 with two tips, they're a good deal. Good line guides and a really nice handle and seat for the money. But the blank is kind of heavy and not very sensitive, though not to the extreme. It's still a decent rod. I use mine for spinnerbaits mostly, and it works fine for that. The only other $50 rod I've owned to compare it to was a BPS Tourney Special, and I thought that rod had a slightly better blank, but much worse reel seat and line guides. Either the SLX or the Tatula would be a fine choice. I have a few Tatula CT's, and they're great reels, especially for the money. Personally, I'd go with the Tatula over the SLX because I like the braking system on those reels better than the centrifugal brakes. However, I'm betting that I'd like the SLX rod a lot more than my Perigree II, just based on Shimano's other rods around that price range. So the SLX combo is probably your best bet for the money.

This summer has been pretty good to me. In that I have been able to get out and go fishing pretty often, even if the bite hasn't been good. I'm pretty good about setting up a strict schedule and including half a day of fishing a week into it. I'm making up for the late winter and most all of the spring when the wind wouldn't cooperate.

That's where I'm at. Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong with any of the three choices. I've fished both buzzbaits and T-rigs on all three line types and never had the feeling that one was vastly superior to the other. I think you're better off pairing the line to the rod than the bait in this case. Unless of course you're throwing those T-rigs into heavy slop, along something abrasive, or in ultra clear water. Then I might consider switching to braid or fluoro to deal with those specific issues.

At best, gradual changes in the contours often indicate a softer bottom, as it's hard for soft mud or sand to produce a steep cliff without eroding away. And while gradual slopes might indicate a soft bottom, large flats surrounded by steep elevation changes might indicate shale or something like that. Rough bottoms with lots of quick, extreme elevation changes might be hard rocks. But all of that is just speculation. There are many reasons why the opposite could also be true, like the effects of currents and the shape of the water body around that area. So you can't really do more than a rough guess with just a contour map. Barring sonar, the best way to determine bottom composition is with a heavy jig or Carolina rig or something. Just drag is across the bottom and get a feel for the resistance. Sometimes you can feel the difference between mud, sand, riprap, large rocks, or shale. Or maybe drop and anchor and see what it pulls up or how it digs in. And if you're near the bank, sometimes it's easy to guess what's below you by what runs up the bank.

I live in Oklahoma. Our tourism industry relies heavily on extreme and unpredictable weather. Living here, you learn to take anything a meteorologist says with a grain of salt. You don't base plans around the weather, because you know better than to trust what they say. If they say it's going to storm, you pack up your gear and get ready to go until you see the storms yourself. If they say it's going to be clear and calm, you frequently check the weather radar app on your phone while out on the water. And even then, expect get surprised every once in a while. You learn to play it by ear and be prepared for anything. I always find it funny to watch them during tornado season when they're predicting tornadoes, and none show up. They'll talk over and over again about how lucky we are, yet you can hear the disappoint in their voice and see them deflate when the hook echo in the mesocyclone breaks apart. And when a tornado does show up, you'll hear them talk about how horrible it is and all of the damage and lives ruined, yet you'll see them perk up and hear them get really excited in their voice. Their words and their actions don't line up. And you can't blame them. We all do it. It's just human nature.

I just experiment with it until I find a setting that works best. Some lures it seems to work best fairly loose. Others, it seems to work better if it's tightened down more like a regular baitcasting reel. Like the brakes, you just kind of cast it out there, and decide if it needs more or less tension. Eventually, you'll get used to it and can predict kind of where it needs to be based on the lure, the line, the wind, and how you're casting.

Pretty much. And it does seem to help because I've never had one slip out on me. It seems to snap the line, just above the knot before it slips out. With braid, you'll also want to use a few more wraps than a standard uni knot. I usually go 7-10, depending on line diameter (thinner lines get more wraps). I prefer it over the Palomar with braid because it wastes less line and I'll reuse the same roll of braid for years. That, and the Palomar can be a bit finicky. If you twist the line while tying it, it'll greatly reduce it's knot strength. But I still use the Palomar for smaller lures, as the Fish N Fool is not a small knot.

About 4-7 hours on the weekends, depending on what time I get up and how long of a drive I make. I'm usually home by 2 in the afternoon. I also fish during my lunch break. I get about 20-30 minutes of fishing in then. I rarely catch anything in that time period.