Darth-Baiter

oh!! I do the same thing. truck bed transport. also with an ARE topper. I can close the glass lid with my kayak. suggestion: not mandatory by any means, but I bought a Bed-Extender. I opted for the Boondox version that is curved so I dont hook any hard edges on any steep approaches or departures with my truck. WHY? it isn't for the kayak stability in the back. it helps, but my kayak is on the cusp of not even needed the bed extender. so why use it? it saves my back. imagine the move of picking up one end of the kayak and putting it on your tailgate. you have to lift the load in front of you, turn at the waist to face the tailgate and extend your arms to put the kayak on the gate. WAAY to much twisting for my back. with the bed extender, I lift the kayak in front of me in a curling motion and the load held very close to my body, not cantilevered out (safe). then I side step while holding the kayak in the same position and step between my tailgate and bed extender. ZERO back twisting. then lower the load with my knees until the kayak touches the bed extender cross bar. I havent hurt myself yet!! at the end of a big fishing day is when I will hurt my back. I just know it.

my friend has this one. I stare longingly at him when I am shivering in my deer hunting clothing. hahah..

solid point about the battery!! I forget it doesn't come with one. I am so tempted to "Buy my wife an Autopilot 120". ahem..I think she will LOVE it. I like the 24V - 50 aHr battery option. my feeble EE education tells me it is the same is the 12V - 100aHr version(?). sorry, I got a "C"in that class.

yup. I vote this guy as our resident PFD spokesperson. ^^^^. harrowing story from this one.

I have tried peanut butter in oatmeal. very good.

I do pity the person that doesn't get enough fiber. especially insoluble fiber. I am often that poor soul. I buy the big (Costco) Giant box of Bob's Red Mill, Steel cut quick cooking oats. it's like two gallons worth of stuff. I am about down to my last bit. truth be told, I am NEVER inspired to cook and eat oatmeal. but when I do I make a bigger pot of it for the leftover. I LOVE it when I do eat it. just a touch of real maple syrup. it is totally enjoyable and will fill me up way beyond lunch. I should eat it every morning!! but nope. I venture in the breakfast world. a crappy donut to egg, etc. I think I am gonna make it more often. oatmeal. you like oatmeal?

Fishing? I am a pretty good trash talker. with friends. I can always seem to dunk on them verbally. hahahah. sucks when they out fish me tho. grrr.

what a giant body of water!! I imagine myself bobbing around in that monstrosity of a lake in my kayak, and it is daunting. I am thinking of launching near Catfish Beach and fishing that end, but trust me when I say..I could almost throw a dart for my starting point. I have ZERO intel. none of my friends are willing to venture that far. Me? a hotel room so I can sleep and dream about giant California Smallmouth bass. I can do this/ can anyone help me on some info? not sure I can sneak off this year but next last spring, I am going. the lake looks amazing.

I grew up on that line!! but yea.. I think that is a monofilament if I am remembering correctly. you got my juices flowing about Texoma.

My winters are easy. my only problem is loosening my PFD straps to fit over my hoodie and down vest. and I tend to stay in very small lakes and close to shore. I have done bigger lakes but I wear my dry suit, and that isn't very comfortable.

14lb flouro isnt "thick". not to me. my spinning I run braid to flouro. I was using 10lb leader and got some big fish at Texoma. if you reel your leader knot up into reel, the Daiwa is "okay". that t-wing thing isn't really knot friendly. even my best FG knot was felt. I my Shimano with braid I dont use leaders.

maybe you and I were separated at birth?

Dude. I can feel the excitement in your post. my kayak changed me and my fishing profoundly. and in good ways. I am making new friends, catching better fish, and oddly coming to grips with my burgeoning anxiety. if I had to come up with some negatives, it might be I now own too much crap. baits, rod/reels. it is a bit much. your rabbit hole. slow your roll. BUY a pfd first. I actually brought my first kayak home and couldn't have my maiden voyage for two weeks because all the PFD's I wanted were sold out. some supply chain situation I can't remember the cause about (sarcasm). I jumped at the NRS Chinook, and now think I would have gone a different direction. even tho you have propulsion figured out on your boat, IMHO, you need a paddle still. and transport wheels. Life jacket, paddle, and transport wheels. that would be my jumping off list.

I fish from a kayak, and I know the general vicinity of two great jigs with lure knockers sitting next to them in trees at Lake Sonoma. I suck with them. I have one lure knocker left and I dont have that warm/fuzzy feeling. my friend bought a telescoping setup that his giant ProAngler has room to carry. so the best telescoping lure retriever possible, is a friends telescoping lure retriever

I fished the banks at Texoma with my Curado 200K. (14lb flouro) I was flinging them plenty far. I also palm the thing. that last trip there I discovered I simply like fighting a fish on a bait caster better. especially if it is a bigger striper. we already booked our campsite for next year. I will bring the Curado K and a Daiwa Tatula SV TS for kicks. I always bring a spinning set up, just in case I need a little bit more reach on my casts. of the two, I would go with the 150mgl. I love mine. I have two and I can cast pretty dang far. I'm flying, so I can't bring EVERYTHING.

thanks. just goes to show how little I knew about crank baits.

Thanks.

a glass crankbait rod? what do you think? what line are you using specifically for crank baits? straight braid? with braid, I think a crank bait rod would be a good combo with the parabolic action, no? maybe I am thinking all wrong?

I think we should let TNriver46 lead the spinnerbait discussion. this year, I learned a square bill, and lipless is a summer bait when the bass are in deepish water, nestled in the grass. ripping them thru the grass is exciting. I didn't kill em, as I was working out the kinks in the presentation. but the ones I did catch got my heart pitter-pattering. I had a somewhat difficult time telling when the baits hit the grass and it was time to "rip". but it got better. using lighter braid was the key for me. way more tactile of a feel (I could feel the lure stop wiggling as it entered the grass), and the line seem to slice the grass easier.

not boiling water. very hot water. I helped a pro butcher shave hogs. he told me hogs need 145 deg water only. he had a trailer with a thermostat regulated water bin. he had me stuff my arm in the water and it was Hot as heck, but not boiling. we would bob a hog in until we could pull off some hair with our hands. the he flipped a switch that turned rubber tipped fingers that peeled the pigs. so fast. he told me same goes for ducks. soak them until feather come off easy with hands. then get to work. the butcher was so fast in throating the hogs. I wanted him to show me the location, but he was just so fast he couldn't slow down for my stupid questions. it wasn't slit the throat like they depict in Hollywood. he poked a very localized hole and it just gushed.

my buds got into some fish. one guy found a good cove and got 7 decent fish. oh, good for him!! I found a super quiet cove and decided that it looked like a good time to try skipping. I stood up in my kayak, looked around to see if anyone was looking and let it rip. I think I got the thumb control down. using my brand-new Tatula SV TS, and a Levante Perfect pitch. line is 50lb braid. I had some pro-level skipping. tight, fast, that cool as heck sound. oh, bait was a small brush hog, t-rigs with a 3/16 tungsten bullet. I think I could have taken the time to tie on an even skip friendly bait, but I was lazy. I flubbed plenty, and backlashed 4x. but I was able to pick them out an try again. (and again). I need to work on having the bait hit at the same repeatable spot next to me. roll cast was No-Go..I just had to straight forehand cast it with moderate speed. I think I spent 1 hour in that fish-less cove working on my moves and untangling things. I eventually got interested in fishing again and found my buds out on the main lake. they were approaching double digit bass numbers!! oh-o. Steve asks, "what were you doing in that cove for so long?". without saying a thing I picked up rod and skipped my bait past him..hahah.. he goes..."OOOHH!!!" got lucky and could not repeat it with an audience. I am going to keep practicing. maybe with a weightless 6" Senko. something easy, trust me, if I could find a flat rock with a hole in it......I do not think I can hone my skipping skills while fishing. I have to put time aside and just focus on the task at hand. it is just how my mind works.

showoff!

dont believe everything you think.

I decided to pass. my local delta guy told me fishing has been tough!!! I just dont do well on a Full Moon in general, but I do realize it plays a different role in the Delta. it exaggerates the tides, and that I think is a good thing (?)

rookie!! I am four fish ahead of you. at least it only took me 3 seasons. Congrats!!!