Darth-Baiter

that tiny boat guy is killing it. i would love to build something. but i have zero skills, zero patience. not that much money. recipe for disaster. your new boat is sweet!!! a huge hurdle for me is that i drive a toyota tacoma (just bought it actually) . and i dont think i can stomach the gasoline consumption of a big boat. if/when i am going in the direction you did. but with a bigger motor. congrats.

AWESOME!! i hate that sinking feeling where the needle on the "confidence meter" is jittering lower and lower. it just takes one puzzle piece to drop into place.

Right or wrong, I feel bassboat is one thing, kayak fishing is another. They have unique challenges. this is my new big-bass off the kayak. All morning was socked in fog. Zero visibility. I made it across the lake using only my fish-finder waypoints. in the fog: 4-5lbs hitting the jig…and 5” Magdraft. (Separate thread about the magdraft later - I’m mad at the lure) The sun fries off the fog and I move to deeper water and fish a steep drop off. Hhmmm, hungry. So w sandwich in one hand, rod in the left hand I got hit hard. One handed hook set; it was a really good sandwich!….i set the sando down on kayak and got to fighting. It pulled hard until it didn’t. Pop…. Slack. I was bummed. It felt big. I check bait, and pitch it back out, pick up sandwich and TICK! This time I spike the sandwich and set the hook properly. It felt good! The fish saw my kayak and then it felt REALLY GOOD! She barely got into the net. I guessed a solid six, but in my scale it wobbled between 6.9-7.1. I averaged it. Call it a seven! my bassboat PB is almost identical weight. Apparently I have a type. best day ditching work EVER! Fishing was crazy.

I just failed miserably trying to find last minute 8” lizards. For tomorrow:(

this is a kayak situation. boats are a whole other conversation, i suppose.

i'm there with @GRiver. i think i have taken 3 fish with a chatter. i dont have the juice. oh....mental image isnt working for me. hahaha...i might need minds-eye bleaching.

OP. i wouldnt get mired down in the baits and gear. especially the baits. it could result in a pile of tragic failures. trust me on this one. you have a boat, so that is head/shoulders above most rookies. i think just start going and putting time on the water will be the best investment in your experience. my rookie experience was to look at threads like this and buy the bait suggested. what a cluster-F!

my post didnt survive the review process. what lizard @BrianMDTX?

i parrot the sentiment above. that sucks!!! you all seem like a good group. i am not convinced my homies will bag a trip if i come down with a terrible affliction. they would hit me up for gear i've stowed up. best wishes to your friend.

wow. i have this exact tube. i got this weird open sore in the back of my head and my doc prescribe a tube for me. it is so fast acting!! when i run out, i am going to send my doc that exact same pic of the sore i had and pretend it is a new sore and beg for new tube. to add, i hooked my hand in Mexico. friend and i doubled on bass and in my excitment to get ready for pic, the bass zigged, i zagged and it punched thru. i yanked it out with pliers before the pain set in...it bled and i let it. i think bleeding is like self flushing out bacteria and germs. i did tape it finally. at camp i washed it again and again. zero issues now except the tiny scar.

thankfully my mom made the call herself. safety for herself and others was paramount. my mom knew it herself, early. phew!!

i think size matters. you have to give them options. sometimes they want appetizer sized. sometimes, they want bigger bites. it is weird, frustrating, and exhilarating all at once.

my catchingest shallow crank is a Bill Lewis (i think)..maybe the ATV. i throw it into grass and it yanks out beautifully. the bass crush it as it comes out. it is nuts. i have this ugly orange brown one. our local Delta bass love it.

ploppers and popper when i feel like i am off rhythm wise. usually early morning darkness or late evening darkness. if i am walking them well. the kicknocker or megabass popper. frog when things get snaggy and the bass are under the mats looking for shade. bright days. having said that...i suck at topwater in general. i have the gift of yanking bait from their mouths.

^^^ thanks. i will let my brother who is going to OK this year, and not me (work meeting) have first crack at them. i will buy $50 to get free shipping. hahah.

in Mexico. the 8" lizard was king just a month ago.

can i change my answer to Maine? and i personally have always wanted to fish Cayuga. seems like a neat place. in videos.

i dont love my kaden spinning. way too parabolic for me.

this is so well put. matches my mindset 100%. i should just cut/paste this into my vague-arse response above.

733. i'm the opposite thought. i think the Fury punches better harder that it's weight class. it casts awesome. sensitive enough for bottom contact (for me). i have had 4 at one time.. which brings me to the negative. it is by far the most easily broken in half rod of my life. i think i have broken 3 rods since my "fishing hobby resurgence thanks to Covid" experience and they have all 3 been Fury rods. i have two left and i'm half tempted to get rid of them by now..i am less beer budget and more champange taste.

dang.. i am going big game bass hunting for bass tomorrow. a 8" lizard is a good idea. side by side, i dont feel they are that much bigger than a 6". i hope i still have a few left.

i kinda think jigs, shakeyheads, tex-rig...etc. all of it can be compared to mexican food from Taco Bell. you really think about it and pay attention to the taste...it is really all the same food in a different package. i'll never pretend to understand why a bass will not eat a jig, but eat a tex-rig crawbait. its really all just a taco-bell-grande.

July? hmm...the California Delta. bad thing is: our guides are more than $350 a day. but in the summer, i feel the bass are way more predictable. i am still trying to prefect my "punch-game" but get the tides right, and you can find them hiding under the weed mats. plus when you are not fishing, you are eating good food, drinking great beer/wine, and not sweating balls in some areas.

nobody? i do have cash. hahahah

I have an auto inflate for something to wear when I fish off a boat. I don’t like doing the pre-wear inspection. for my kayak I wear a regular one. I like the pockets, I like lack the of inspection. It just works no matter what.