FishTax

I fish in a kayak. Any wind over 10 mph I struggle to maintain boat control and end up exhausted from fighting it.

Excited to see the go pro in use! Hopefully some buzz bait and lipless videos coming soon?

I went out for half a day. Forgot my rain coat and wasn’t prepared for the wind but I pushed through despite being cold and wet. Got a big skunk for my efforts. I think I’ll try a different lake next time, maybe that’ll be the spark I need. All those new lures couldn’t get it done, the bait monkey is an idiot. 🙈

I put a Humminbird Helix 7 mega side imaging on my kayak in Dec. My initial observations of that unit: - Image is great, and I like the screen size - It's pretty big, seems to get loose on the rail (maybe a mount issue so not knocking the helix) and also I hit it sometimes with my rod, but I still have the wires loose because I'm not ready to commit to the location yet. I think this is key not to commit to a permanent install until you test it with your fishing style so you avoid cutting holes unnecessarily and lots of additional work - mapping, if you want maps look online to see if your local body of water is covered by the base map of the unit you're considering. if not, you'll need to buy a card which is additional expense. - custom mapping - garmin can write to a regular SD card per my understanding, which is super affordable. Humminbird requires you to buy 'autolines' card, which is an extra $100. I find this annoying, and decided not to do custom mapping but instead just get a map card which covers the main bodies of water I fish. - watch for sales. All of the big 3 are regularly on sale at major retailers. Also watch facebook marketplace if you're willing to roll the dice on used, but the biggest risk is probably a busted transducer so I"m not sure I'd want to go that route. I started with a simple $100 2D lowrance, and that was very helpful to learn 2D and water temp, etc. I think you can get a lot of value from an inexpensive unit, but it just depends on how you fish, body of water, etc. It'd also be fun to have FFS on the other end of the spectrum...

I've got a 20+ year old zebco 33 micro on an ugly stick UL. Have had some issues with it but I think going to 4 lb test and cleaning it may have solved it. Now it's my 6 yr old son rod. Really fun to catch bluegill on, they feel like monsters on that ugly stick. My dad has an old school 33 that's bullet proof. Probably from the 80s.

This is awesome, the dream! Congratulations, and I can't wait to see the photos this spring. For storage, I'd go with cheapest waterproof bin like you originally posted, but would spray paint it to blend in. I'd also put up game cameras on the land, for security but also for fun as I love seeing what animals are roaming the property. Never know when you'll capture baby bear cubs on camera , and who doesn't smile when they see those 😄

My 3 orders thus far this week. All essential... Stocking up for me and my kid. Throwing beetle spins on UL should be fun if we can get some bites. And a new rod and reel for me from the clearance department. I'm going back to Academy soon as they have an extra 50% off marked clearance prices going right now, too good to be true

I've been on a tear buying stuff on sale at Academy and Bass Pro clearance for the last week. Sometimes you don't know what you need until you see it on sale Not sure I needed another 7' MH combo, but apparently I've got one on the way along with who knows what else. This winter is getting expensive for me, I need to fish more and shop less.

I think it depends on the kid, and the age. I've been working with my 6 y.o., and we are at moving bait phase. He can't stand still and watch a bobber, he wants to chuck and wind. Even at ponds where you catch bluegill on every cast with live bait under the bobber, he's not too interested. I set him up on a rooster tail this weekend, and now am thinking treble hooks are a bad idea so I'm hoping this coming weekend to try either a beetle spin or wacky senko. I don't think he could set the hook well enough on a weedless senko, but maybe if I use a really thin wire hook? I also got him a cast net to play with when the minnows start swimming along the bank. That's his favorite thing because he gets lots of little minnows to play with. Most importantly, I think the key is to focus on them having fun, having lots of patience, and following their lead so when they're done let them be done. I made that mistake about a year ago and turned him off to fishing a little bit, but he says now he's much older and ready to fish like daddy

I had just talked myself out of going by walmart today to check the inventory, and then I see your post. The bait monkey thanks you for your contributions.

I have many worm varieties.. Zoom trick worm in June bug or black never leave my kayak, along with a few sizes of spot remover shaky head. I'll be experimenting with others this year with different presentations, but the above is my #1 confidence bait.

Has anyone tried this rod? $60 is a good price point for me 😄 curious how it would compare to an airdx ? I'm really tempted to buy it and find out but would love any reviews.

I've got my new buzzbait tied on and have dedicated a rod to it, and am determined not to take it off until I start catching them on it. @Pat Brown has inspired me. No time is the wrong time for a buzz bait.. apparently So awesome to see you hauling them in nonstop. And motivating to pay more attention to the ponds around the area for quick stops!

Thanks for sharing when you get skunked. Makes me feel better that it's not just me! When I get skunked, I spend days mulling it over in my mind thinking of what I could have done differently. I definitely grow more from that than from a hot bite. If they're on a strong pattern, there isn't much to learn, just catch as many as possible as fast as possible

The sharp hook discussion probably isn't valuable for someone who has never caught a bass.. definitely read the @roadwarrior thread posted above about fishing a senko. I caught the biggest bass I've ever caught (8lbs) on a knockoff Walmart version of one almost 20 years ago, just flinging it blindly off a dock at my buddies Grandpa's lake House dock. Found out later I dropped it right into a Christmas tree they'd sunk, but I had no idea about that when I cast it. Now I've spent hundreds of hours reading and practicing and thousands of dollars on equipment and still haven't topped that fish. 😂

I went out again yesterday thinking it would have cleared up some. Wrong. It may have been worse actually. There were significant pieces of wood floating everywhere, I got a 4' log stuck under my kayak that I had a struggle getting out. My transducer was constantly covered in junk and my kayak has a nasty mud line stain now that I need to wash off. Never got a bite, I marked a ton of something at 15' that looked like big fish but I'm thinking was submerged debris due to the quantity of it. No way there works have been hundreds of large fish over a half mile of lake?

Here is my bass pro haul from a week ago. Notable items inspired by this forum, the buzz bait @Pat Brown, the snagless Sally @Catt and the blade baits although they didn't have the vault so I got a few others to try. Someone mentioned the steel shad, don't recall who but I went with the big one. No dinks here 😎

I had to drive through Richmond today. Bass pro is visible from I 95, so I had to go in. First tackle store I've found in 2 months with blade bait in stock, and now I may have missed the window but I've got some to try. Anda few other things 😉 Photo coming later, left bag in my truck in hotel parking.

Just left there. Hasn't started yet 😎

Helix 7 does have depth offset feature, I was playing with that setting on mine a few weeks ago. I"m not sure if it works with all cards or not, but it should work with lakemaster at least.

I failed 2024 if we're only counting Bass. January was tough on me. I should have hit some farm ponds to catch a bass with no pressure, but I'm stubborn and like the challenge of pressured public lake on my kayak even when I'm getting skunked. I did catch yellow perch and shad this month so I'm not totally fishless for 2024!

You could tell from my photo of the threadfin in latest catch thread how muddy our usually clear/stained lake is, and that was before all the rain yesterday. This is definitely new territory for me, but I do think it's warmed the water up a little bit (almost back to 50) so hopefully we'll get into spring patterns sooner than later in this area. I'm ready for it!

I need a lipless course. I have no confidence but throw it consistently, I always catch other species but no bass. Somehow I catch crappie on them regularly, which is weird since the hook is larger than their mouth.

6 lb LM is realistic. Would love to nab a PB which would be over 8lbs. They're definitely swimming around me, I just gotta get better and lucky. Lucky is easier than better 😎

I'm also used to clear water and I'd say it was about 4"of visibility this morning. Water temp about 49. I couldn't find them. I think I saw some on electronics but they didn't like what I was throwing, or maybe weren't bass. The debris was slightly better then beginning of month, but still a mess.