Matt Hoo

Think refraction. Kind of like looking at a fish tank from a angle. I have the same thing happen regularly. Close enough that im sure their eyes are open.

Let me clarify for you. I have about 20K in my kayak, trailer, electronics, etc. While there are lots of people with boats that have more than I do in their boat, there are way more that have less. Now when I say cost im more thinking of the 50-100k setups. Yeah I'm not spending that. I also consideration the cost of fuel and maintenance as "A" factor for comparison. Im obviously not going to change your opinion and thats okay, but to assume that its solely a money thing is not necessarily to case.

I gut hooked two fish this weekend. I have typically been successful going in through the gills and getting the hook out. They were both nice fish in the 3.5-4lb range. They were both with a wacky and they were both bites I didn't feel. They were both picked up by the fish off of structure and swam towards me. The first one didn't make it and it really bothered me. I hate killing fish. The second I didn't even both to try to get the hook out. It was deep and I just cut the line. I didn't like doing that either, but i felt it was the best option at the time. I hadn't even considered having a pair of cutters and simply cutting the hook. I'm actually glad I read this article today.

Yeah, I don't know that's actually completely true. I can tell you there is way more tied up in my kayak than most boats I see on the water. There are things about both that I enjoy. I do like the fact I can go to places most boats cant. It has proven to be very fruitful. Would I like a boat, yeah probably. Is it money? Not really. It does deal with a lot of other factors to include cost, storage, maintenance, etc.

Spinner baits were effective early in the year before they got back to full bloom. Frogs on the edges worked well too. If they are spread out a little a frog or spinner bait right through them worked well. In my area carp will load up on them and make it seem like there’s lots of movement in them.

Garmin 106 ultra panoptix Lews custom pro 2 megabass Levante rods lots of other tackle i was really good to me

For lightweight t-rigs I like the Dobyns fury 703. My last catch on it is attached. This was with a 3/16 weight and VMC heavy duty EWG 4-O. I had to pull it through a bunch of water willow to land him. I have also caught a 17lb 36” blue cat with the same rod and landed it. It did take about 5 minutes to do it though.

When bass fishing I’m a 6-10 rods kind of guy. I bring a tuffcrate premium with 5 3700 cases. I have every possibility of lure available. I let the fish decide what they want to bite. Throw in a huge case for plastics, panoptix, and a 106ultra. The funny thing is when I’m inshore or salt water fishing I bring a small bag and 3 rods. Stripers, specs, and reds tend to have a more predictable bite.

I just started throwing buzzbaits this year. I have not caught a bunch on them, but normally it they are biting a frog for me they will bite the buzz bait. I had a hard time initially getting them to work. However after some advice here and some videos I got pretty comfortable and confident with them. I have settled on two that seem to work best for me and run pretty true. The cavitron in the 3/8 and 1/2 I like. If you want a loud obnoxious buzzbait the jackall firecracker is it. Did I say obnoxious……

I also prefer rod the are 7’ or less. I kayak fish and bank fish. For kayak fishing I stand a lot to work the baits like a frog, spook, jerkbait or really anything else that needs action applied to it. I’m 5’8” on a tall day so when im working the bait a rod longer the 7’ tends to hit the water when I work the bait where it’s comfortable for me to do it. On the bank I try to work in and around the trees so a long rod it also problematic. The longest rod I have is a Dobyns Champion 736. I don’t know quite yet if it’s going to work well enough for me. I know that lots of people want long rods for stuff, but I think that watching and listening to Seth Feider talk about his successes with shorter rods and why he switched make good sense to me

I’ll let all the professional fishermen know they are doing it wrong. All the need is skill and technique. I’m just messing with you. I don’t necessarily agree with you, but I also know different people like different things.

Well I did two things today and it made a lot of difference. One was I switched to a stiffer rod. I also followed the advise given to point the rod at the bait as it’s going out and lifting the rod and start reeling at the same time it hits the water. I caught a bunch today including 5 on a buzz bait. I had a huge blow up that missed it which sucked. Thanks for the advice.

30 or 50 pound braid depending on the rod and reel I had it tied on.

I have a sportsman 106PDL and I just bought a pro angler 12/360. I really like the 106, but there were some things that I wanted be able to do a bit better. The 360 capabilities are crazy. I also added a torqeedo 1103. What I have now is probably about as good as you can get in a fishing kayak. I will still say the OT sportsman PDL line is awesome. Outside of the PA I think it is the best out there. I would take the OT over a Hobie Outback 100 times out of 100. The OT will serve you well.

I have about 10 different buzz baits. 1/8, 3/8, 1/2oz. Several brands like strike king, Booyah, and jackall. The jackall worked decent and caught a few fish once I took the trailer off. It is very likely a technique thing that I’m missing. It’s just a little frustrating. Doesn’t seem like it should be this much of an issue.