FishTax

That's pretty cool!

@Darth-Baiter I actually got an inflatable 2 person kayak for $100 I'm going to start taking him on to see how he does. Will probably be rough for old dad to paddle that thing, it sucks by myself because it's basically a glorified air mattress but I already confirmed I can catch bass out of it so it'll do! If that goes well, we'll see about getting him a real one. I saw a cool thing someone rigged up in their Old Town front storage hatch, basically turned it into a kids seat. I think I could do that if I clean it out, not sure I want to clean it out though

Back on topic... I have an old town pdl 106 and love it as well. I can stand in boat wakes most of the time as you said. I don't have location of everything figured out yet, still getting it set up but I am not tempted by a bass boat at all right now. I think as my kids get older I may want to get a Jon boat so they can go, but that's the only reason I'd change. And I may just get them yaks and solve that too!

@Pat Brown incredible fish! Great to see a monster come from local waters, especially this time of year, that's nuts! Motivated me to keep getting after them even mid day. What an awesome story and fish!

I dangle my feet while I fish from kayak. I also wear a mission hat that works like a snap towel so I wet it when I get hot and it cools me off fast. I'm relatively comfortable up to low 90s in that setup and with sun clothes covering everything else.

Bass talk live podcast just did a good episode on these and talked about different ways to use nail weights on toads along with retrievals, etc. I'm going to try to find the video version because I listened in the car and felt like I missed parts from audio only.

I made a little trip to academy after work yesterday. You guys convinced me I need to try spoons on these fish who don't like me, so the bait monkey won this round. Also going to try a much larger lipless (5/8) than I usually throw (3/8) to see what the fish think. If only they'd tell me...

I have a crappy one and can see it. Try going to deepest part of lake, turn sensitivity up, and look for it. I just saw it for the first time this weekend and was more excited about figuring that out than catching a fish haha.

I love @Team9nine Dr. P shirt, clearly the bass did too! Maybe he has it dialed in on the fashion side and we need to get on board with ripped jeans and Dr. P shirts to catch more bass!

I lose mine in wood too frequently to wear them out. I do have one I may need to sharpen soon, checked it this weekend and it still drew blood but not as fast as the others…

Thanks! I don't have a spoon but have several lipless. When you say flutter, do you mean just let it sink for a few seconds? I could burn a lipless through the shad ball also, right? I've never caught one on any type of crank so I need to build some confidence there for sure before I invest much more beyond my one box that's full of skunk baits! Now I'm excited to try these techniques, thanks guys! Funny thing, I saw probably 15 people fishing besides me, everyone else was burning the shallows, I've noticed no one fishes off shore on this lake except crappie guys which seems weird since I can clearly see the bass on my sonar. Everyone also says this lake is really tough, which just motivates me more to catch them! I'm hoping with these tips I can hit some much less pressured fish and start increasing my numbers each trip. Thanks again, y'all are the best!

I've run a toad with 4/0 ewg hook in shallows for a morning top water. I prefer black. Caught several that way. I like to run it where is just barely breaking the surface, with some pauses, and sometimes I'll even kind of pop it for something different. To set the hook, I try to give them a couple seconds after the hit before I yank it hard...

I just picked up some horny toads but haven’t thrown them yet.

I’ve experienced this. No great solution but am experimenting with different brands and following this thread. I think it’s the strike king toads I’ve had this problem with on a 4/0 ewg heavy hook.

@WRB thanks Tom I'll try to find that tonight!

This seemed to be the case for me yesterday. I couldn't catch them, but was still a good day because I learned several things. First time I've clearly identified thermocline, and you are correct they were sitting right above it, clear as day even on my old depth finder. Now I can locate the fish quickly in the summer, I just have to find a presentation they like and I'm in the money. I guess I need to consult the bait monkey and then head back out soon to test my theory!

I've been on those lakes in a 17' xpress my buddy runs. On Norman, it can get a little rough in the middle with traffic or wind. On the smaller lakes I feel like it's totally fine. I won't fish with tons of ski boats no matter the type of boat I'm in so that wouldn't be a factor for me personally. I'd definitely choose aluminum if I were in your shoes! Put that extra money into electronics!

@Pat Brown great story and really awesome fish! Sounds like you got the frog figured out, hopefully you keep getting then on it and I look forward to reading more stories like this one.

Thanks! Never too late, I'll be back at then again soon and will try both of these.

That happened to me at least 3x today. Not sure if I'm more frustrated with myself or the fish lol

Well I got skunked. Found the fish easily, but they didn't like what I was showing them. They were just above the thermocline at about 20', and suspended at about 15' everywhere else. They were hitting surface shad this morning but didn't want a buzz bait or spinnerbait. I'm stubborn so I'll keep trying until I figure out, which is why I was out 5 hours getting cooked until a storm popped up and I had to get off the water. Any other suggestions on presentations would be greatly appreciated!

@Nathan Garlinghouse my lakes are mostly veggie free, so no issue there. I'll check them out for sure!

Do you guys throw the Spinnerbait this time of year even if there is minimal wind? Not sure if the wind stuff applies when slow rolling the bottom or not?

I’ve never tried one. What areas and condition do you like to throw it in? The bait monkey has been whispering in my ear this week, I may be adding to my stash again soon…

Anywhere northeast of Badin in the state and I'm in. I like winter fishing in NC, usually enough warm days to be comfortable and I seem to catch my biggest fish in winter.