KSanford33

For the tournaments held here, which species of bass typically wins this tournament? Largemouth or smallmouth?

Thanks A-Jay. I used two different setups; one for the Ned rig and one for the 3/8th oz jigs. I used a 5' Quantum ultralight rod and spinning reel with 6lb braid for the Ned rigs. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't use an ultralight setup because the whippiness of the rod caused me to break off more jigs than I probably needed to. I'd probably start with a medium action spinning rod. For the 3/8th oz jigs, I used a Quantum Octane medium action baitcaster with 10lb braid. The feeling is a little more muted than the ultralight (obviously), but the transition wasn't difficult. There's an excellent chance that you or another one of the more experienced anglers on here could offer suggestions on equipment that would help the next person trying to do it. P.S. One thing you'll appreciate about this is every single bass I've caught doing this has been a smallmouth. They are definitely the pound for pound kings.

I decided that I was going to become proficient in fishing a jig recently. This past week, my wife and I went on vacation to Old Forge, NY, which is on the Fulton Chain of lakes in NY. I figured this would be as good a time as any to teach myself how to use a jig. So here's how I did it. I've read a lot of articles about learning to use a jig that say only fish a jig until you catch fish. That sounded a little too much like jumping into the deep end and hoping you can figure out how to swim before you drown, so I took a different approach. I started with a Ned rig craw. I know I can catch fish on this, so I started focusing on what it felt like when the Ned jighead would bounce off of rocks, crawl through weeds, and most importantly, how it felt when it got stuck on weeds (more on why this is important later). This was on Monday. I caught about a half dozen fish; mainly smallmouth bass, with one or two rock bass as well. On Tuesday I moved up to the Ned jig (https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Shroomz_Micro_Finesse_Jig_2pk/descpage-ZMSMJ.html) It feels roughly the same as the regular Ned rig, but with the actual skirt of a jig. I used the Z Man TRD Craw on this as well. It performed roughly the same as the Ned rig, catching about a half dozen fish. The following day I moved up to the 3/16th @Siebert Outdoors jig, tipped with the same craw. I caught three that day, and all three were larger than what I was catching on the Ned rig. Next I moved up to Siebert's 3/8th oz jig tipped with a Yum Christie Craw. I blanked that day, so I went back to the 3/16th oz jig on Friday and caught a few. On Saturday I moved back up to the 3/8th oz jig and caught several fish. By making each step small, I never felt over my head using any of the lures. Also, I used all of these following Road Warrior's Guaranteed To Catch Bass formula of casting parallel to the shore 10-15yds away from shore. I just dragged the jig along each time. I mentioned how important it was to recognize when I was hung up on weeds and here's why: Most of the sizeable fish I caught, I didn't feel them hit it, I only felt the weight on the line. That was the most difficult part of this entire process. Small fish were reasonably easy to feel because it was the typical 'thump thump' that we've all experienced. But the larger fish usually just took the jig and sat there. No doubt I definitely missed some bites as well, but over the span of a week I'm very happy with the results. My reason for posting this is, if I can do this, clearly anyone reading this can do it too.

We'll have to agree to disagree. All the best guys.

This is exactly my point. Kayak fishing limits your ability to pattern fish whereas fishing from a bass boat doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I love fishing from my kayak. But I also acknowledge its drawbacks; this being one of them.

What if you can't get to another spot that replicates that pattern because it's too far away to paddle to?

You can definitely junk fish from any craft, but you can't pattern fish from any craft.

I'm not a big fan of heights or flying, but I can tolerate both. However -and I apologize if this offends anyone- I have a fear of crazy people. Like, actually insane people. I don't like their unpredictability. As someone who has seen similar things devastate people's lives, it amazes me how much of life is dependent upon luck. Which is a little scary in itself, honestly.

I was going by Gerald Swindle's definition, which is simply fishing without a definitive pattern. Which is why I think most kayak fishermen fit this. Most patterns (for example, you find fish holding on outside dock pilings that have access to deeper water) are going to require you to travel around the body of water to fish them. This could be an issue for a lot of kayakers who have to paddle or pedal from spot to spot. I probably shouldn't have said that kayak fishing is exclusively junk fishing, but I think kayak fishing predisposes you to junk fishing instead of developing an actual pattern.

This is where I think kayaks shine. Smaller bodies of water are ideal for kayaks, but I think if you launch on a larger body of water you really need to limit yourself to a specific area. Ideally that area would have the kind of diversity that your favorite raft.

Personally, I'm waiting for their latest creation, the Ned Alabama Rig! ? Here is the Ned jig though: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/z-man-shroomz-micro-finesse-jig-18zmaushrmmcfn18blur/18zmaushrmmcfn18blur?sku=19516258 This paired up with the 2.5" TRD Craw has been killing the smallies locally.

If you think the Ned rig opened your eyes to river smallies, wait until you try the Ned jig...

I fish Round Lake a lot as well. It's still a quality fishery, but the fishing pressure has made it more difficult recently. But like you said, a frog or big worm will get bites regardless.

I had it for ~6 months. MN is completely right. There’s a wealth of knowledge on there, but really nothing you can’t find on YouTube or… wait for it… right here! ?

Words to live by…

It just blows my mind that these guys would pay $1,800 and not catch a single legal fish. Don't get me wrong, they're all 1000% better than I am, and I know conditions play a big factor, but I get mad when I don't put up any fish in a $50 tournament, let alone just south of $2,000.

I think you're right. I'm sure there's times that I've gone in because there was an impending storm that an actual bass boat would've been fine in. Plus, upstate NY rarely has the rapid swings in weather that occur elsewhere in the country. Like you said, it's all about comfort and expertise. As my wife will happily tell anyone who will listen, oftentimes her husband does not make smart choices (except in marrying her).

I was going through the results for some of the previous Bassmaster Opens, and there's always about a half dozen guys at the bottom of the leaderboard with zeroes. Does that mean for a 3 day tournament, they didn't catch a single bass?

Not to redirect the conversation, but I see a lot of the pro-boaters mentioning that you can't take a kayak offshore. Since this is primarily a bass fishing forum, how far offshore are you trying to go where you couldn't take a kayak? I've fished offshore on 40,000+ acre lakes in legitimate chop (waves coming over the bow of my kayak), and never once felt that I was in danger or that what I was doing was even unwise. Granted, I could be woefully ignorant, but even fishing in rough water, I've never once been in a position where I was concerned that my kayak my capsize. Don't get me wrong; I'm a competition junkie, so if owning a bass boat made sense for my situation currently I'd do it. Quite frankly, I'd rather fish in BASS tournaments than KBF tournaments, but for right now I'm happy where I'm at.

You may have missed the most important one: the jig. Either green pumpkin or black/blue. Especially for punching some of those S Florida mats.

No, I was kidding. I went on Ontario years ago for steelhead. It’s a strange feeling when you’re on a lake and can’t see the other side.

But if your pattern is fairly specific, you may only find a few examples of it that are within kayaking range. Whereas if you were in a boat, you could motor from one to the next fairly easily. I feel like kayak fishing requires you to fish what’s in front of you rather than finding specific things you’re looking for. But you’ve already found those specific spots. If you were fishing a new area of Ontario that you were unfamiliar with (if that’s even possible for you ?), you’d need to fish what’s in front of you with whatever worked.

Are kayak anglers junk fishermen by definition? Let's say I put my kayak out on a 20,000 acre lake and I find a pattern of bass holding on isolated docks that are on the south side of points. I might fish a couple of them, but without a motor it's incredibly difficult for me to get to more than a few of them. So most times as a kayak fisherman, I need to fish an area that's roughly 1,000 acres, and even that is probably generous. Wouldn't that make kayaker fishermen junk fishermen by default?

Ha, a fellow Schenectadian as well! Not to hijack my own thread, but I primarily fish the Mohawk, Sacandaga, and Collins if I'm bored. What about you?

Wow, thanks Kent!