Standard

If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of dragging the kayak, I use my Simms G5 boots with some neoprene socks. Overkill? Probably, but otherwise they just sit around when I'm not fly fishing. When I'm just going to be getting my feet wet for launching I'll just use whatever pair of cheapy water shoes I have sitting around.

I only have 2 of them, and I broke one a few weeks ago. I almost cried.. Berkley really needs to start making them again. A close second is the Jackall Mikey.

I forgot the 😁 It may be different elsewhere, but this time of the year on the upper Miss or St. Croix, smallies are already at or near the shallow water, even with the rivers as low as they are right now. They usually smash anything that gets close, so finesse is pretty far down on my list of things to try.

Pike are very tasty, I just hate dealing with the slime and y-bones.

Choppo 120 is my low water finesse lure.. Seriously, we're at the point in the season where big smallies will sit in / near shallow water waiting to ambush anything around. Nothing quite like seeing that big torpedo wake zooming towards your topwater lure.

For anyone interested in the weather, I recommend reading through the forecast discussions provided by the NWS It offers a nice insight as to why the forecast shows what it does, and although it can be a bit technical they provide links for the definition of the more sciencey words.

Love the rod, dislike the trigon grip. This particular rod was the first run of the trigon rods, and it was a warranty replacement that just sat in my garage for a few years as I had already bought a rod to replace it - one of the original grip glass rods because they were on closeout due to the new model coming out. I figured I'd buy the Curado and get some use out of the trigon one, only to discover that the reel seat doesn't cinch down tight enough to hold the reel without some play. Pretty disappointed in that. I even tried a 150 size reel I had sitting around, and it still wouldn't tighten up enough to take the play out. Hopefully they fixed the reel seat, I need to get in touch with St. Croix and see what they'll do to fix it. This past weekend, I put the Curado on an Abu Vendetta MF 6'6" that I also hadn't used in a bit, and really like that combo. Lightweight rod that matched up really well with the Curado for flicking jerkbaits and the like.

Absolutely this! Every time I lose a bass while reaching for my net or even just trying to click my power pole remote, is because I was distracted and lost tension on the fish. A good size net in an easy to grab spot helps out a ton.

I picked up a Curado MGL 70 this season and it's turning into my new favorite reel. The only thing I miss compared to my Zillion is the drag clicker. I have it set up on a Mojo Bass Glass 7' 2" MM rod and it's a nice match.

I'm pretty sure they removed that requirement.

Why not? Smallmouth will absolutely munch anything on the bottom that resembles prey. Popping a chatter bait off the bottom is a great crayfish imitation.

I've watched smallmouth follow around carp that were feeding on the bottom in the Mississippi. Got this guy (while purposely fishing for carp) and then got a smallie not much later

I use one of these Scotty transducer mounts: Scotty Fishing141 Transducer Mount with Gear Head Adapter & 440-4 Low P...Designed for kayaks and small boat use - transducer arm telescopes from 11.5" to 18" and swivels 360 degrees - includes 438 adapter and low-profile track.I don't run sonar if I'm river fishing, so it's nice to take everything off and not have to worry about bashing the transducer on rocks.

Yeah, I'll agree with that. It's rare that I purposely troll, but I'll often do it when I'm lake fishing and heading to a new spot. The few times that I have trolled specifically to target fish (lake trout) I make it about 30-45mins before I gotta switch it up.

Choppos have always been my go-to, but I picked up a walking bait last year and while it hasn't been quite as productive as a choppo, they really crush the walking bait when they do go for it. I did pick up a few buzz baits to give them more of a try this season.

You should upgrade to a motorized kayak, it's easy! Hold the rod in your left hand, right hand covers throttle and graph if needed. Steer with the foot controls

Made it out yesterday, and it was tough fishing. Only managed one.

I wasn't going to add anything big, but once a year I get an opportunity for pro deals on Shimano fishing gear.. so I decided it was time to try out a Curado MGL 70. Only made it out once so far, but I think I'm going to end up liking it as much as my Zillion.

Yeah I've been a bit irritated that the low points in this rollercoaster weather have been hitting on the weekends. I'll be checking out some new waters this weekend.

When I was using straight braid I tied Palomar. Now that I've gone to fluoro leaders on everything, I almost always use the trilene knot. Easy to tie, and with heaver line (30-40lb) I just use 3 wraps.

Here's a good read: https://tforodscom.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/tom-kirkman-rod-failure-rodmaker-magazine.pdf It's so easy to damage a rod and not even notice. I think many failures that are blamed on manufacturing defects (from any manufacturer) could be traced back to external damage / mistreatment.

I'll throw in another vote for the KVD 1.5 Honorary mention to the KVD Hybrid Hunter. Not quite a square bill, but I still consider it a crankbait and it's probably the best producing one for me.

Must be AI, there's nothing like that around here.. should probably go bug @A-Jay on Lake Menderchuck.. Shoot me a message when you're in town, I'd gladly join for a float down the 'Sippi or St. Croix. Renewed the MN license. Wi expires at the end of the month, I'll renew that when I decide to head further east than the Croix.

My SLX DC has mostly just gathered dust since I picked up a JDM Zillion..

Too much wind? When I start getting blown back upstream on the river. It's happened a few times, and makes for a veeeeery long float when you have to actively work just to get downstream.