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Yeah, I think this is the best way to go. Between these 3 setups and a ML/F spinning rig for finesse stuff I should be good to go this year. Of course, just one more reel and I could have a MH/F setup for pike and trolling... hmmm.

I'm up to a whopping 3 baitcasting setups and figured I'd look for some outside opinions while I wait for open water season here. Fish mostly out of my kayak, usually for smallmouth, usually on rivers. Lean more towards topwaters or shallow crankbaits, but will fish just about anything. So for rods I've got: Mojo bass glass 7'2 medium moderate Bass-X 7'2 medium heavy moderate Vengeance 6'6 medium fast Reels: SLX DC 150 8:1 Revo SX 7.2:1 Revo STX 6.6:1 The STX and Vengeance rod are new, haven't used them yet. Currently have the DC on the Bass-X rod, and SX on the glass. Thinking of throwing the STX on the glass rod, SX on the B-X, and DC on the Vengeance. I do have an old Convergence MH fast but I should probably buy another reel to put on that..

I normally use 832, but picked up a spool of X9 and X5. Hopefully it's at least as good as the 832.

Beginning of March to second Saturday in May, mainly because bass season is closed during that time here in MN..

I've been tempted to scupper mount my transducer, but I alternate between lake and river fishing pretty frequently. I use one of the rail transducer mounts and just leave the whole setup at home if it's going to be a river day.

I've got a 73sv w/ GT54 I use on the Kayak for the summer, and as a livescope setup for the ice fishing season. Works great. Tried the livescope on the kayak but waters I fish don't really need it, and the extra space it takes up just doesn't make sense for most of my fishing. But even the 7" screen gets the job done quite well.

I stocked up on quite a bit when those Pure Fishing codes were going around. 50% off is tough to resist.. Most excited to try out my new Revo STX / Vendetta combo and the 8wt fly rod for some smallies.

I picked up a Berkley Wake Bull a couple years ago, not really knowing what a wake bait was at the time. Worked great that season, managed to pick up another after finding out Berkley discontinued them. Pretty disappointed in that. I picked up a few Strike King Hybrid Hunter Shallows and they've also worked really well. Can fish them slower near the surface or get them to dive 3-4 foot pretty easily. Most of my fishing is in the 1-8 foot depth range so that works for me.

I went from an anchor, to an anchor trolley, to power pole. Been really tempted to bolt a trolling motor up but I fish a lot of rivers. Power pole works great and I beat the crap out of it.

My kayak anchor now consists of a power pole, so I make as much use of it as I can after spending that much money

Most of my baitcasters have been switched over to 832, but in 15#+. Haven't noticed any fraying even after 2 years with the same line.

I had one of my most memorable catches on a rip-stop a few years ago. River fishing and threw the rip stop in a large, shallow bay on the river. Large smallie just smashed it.. from about 20 feet away. One of the few fish strikes that I really really wish I had a go pro running. Made a wake like a torpedo going after that thing.

I guess I'll start off the pics with my first bass of '23 Itchin' for open water season already. Picked up an 8wt fly rod to try for some bass / pike on the fly, and also a new 6'6 m/f baitcaster setup for jerk baits.

Buddy of mine just sold all of his Lowrance stuff (9" screen, active target) to switch to Garmin after seeing my Livescope setup. One thing that really changed his mind is that he's color blind and Garmin has way more color pallet options for livescope vs. the Lowrance.

I just considered the 50 years in MN as being native. If you've stayed put for that long in this hell hole that's the least you deserve

Montesippi park. Very popular, especially on the warmer winter days. It's gonna be packed this weekend. A lot of people up there use minnows on a bottom rig and do very well. It's really just shooting fish in a barrel at that point.. I've got a couple 18" or so smallies throwing jerk baits / crank baits from the shore, I'm not much of a live bait guy. It's fun fishing but be prepared for your warm weather gear to misbehave if you're fishing well below freezing.

That's still in MN, so I think it counts as staying put

Minnesota native and I can't ever seem to think of someplace that would be better than here.. I'd probably choose some place on the upper Mississippi. Really anywhere from Aitkin to Elk River, so many good spots to choose from. Otter Tail chain would be a very close second. River smallmouth are the best kind. I've got my eye on a few properties in these areas, I've already decided that if I'm going to have waterfront property it's going to be on a river. One that doesn't really flood all that bad.. and if it is in a bad flood plain I'll just have tent sites on it.

At least the opposite happens, buddy caught a decent sized smallie that puked up a catfish this past summer.

That's neat, but sounds like it's $8-10k starting price and 200 pounds. Not gonna drag that through the woods ?

That's why you get a kayak / canoe and get to all those places that you can't bring a boat loaded with electronics to ?

I've actually pondered that quite a bit while out on the water with my Jackson. It uses fiberglass rods to control the rudder, and replacing them with a linear servo like this would be relatively simple. Add a servo controller, build a small box to mount that and some batteries and there ya go. The linear servo is IP54 rated so if it gets dunked it would probably be toast, but should survive splashing water.

Someone may know where it is but I ain't tellin' ?

Never shared the water with wake boats in the canoe. No issue with ski boats, though. Been around some wake boats with the kayak, also no issue. I really don't like fishing boat infested waters anyways.

My first fishing vessel was an Old Town canoe, looks like it's out of production now. 2 person, 13 foot long, 40" wide, fiberglass construction. Not too heavy at 65lbs. I'd throw a cooler in the middle to use as a center seat. Could easily stand up in it. Biggest drawback was that it's not very maneuverable and slow. First few years I used it on the Mississippi, beat it up pretty good but it never failed me. Eventually developed a very slow leak. One winter season I sanded the bottom down and put another layer of fiberglass down the entire keel and repainted. Solved the leak. Messed around with a trolling motor on it for a year or two before deciding it was time to get a fishing kayak. If a canoe is what you have access to, nothing wrong with fishing out of it.