I've been in a fishing funk lately between not wanting to fish and not fishing well, but I got some of my mojo back today.

I fished a place that was new to me, High Falls Lake. One reason I picked this lake is because it has a 10hp limit and I didn't want to have to deal with wake boats, pontoon boats, and jet skis. High Falls State Park is there, but I didn't launch there because they have a $10 parking fee. I though I outsmarted them by launching from a ramp down the road in a residential and commercial area, but it turns out that's park property as well so I still had to pay the $10 fee. In my opinion, that's way too much, especially for the rutted parking lot and ramp.

The water wasn't just stained today, it was dirty. Chocolate milk dirty. It's only a 650 acre lake, so I made my way north to feeder streams looking for cleaner or transitional water. There are also shallow flats up there, and with the water temperature in the low to upper 60's throughout I was hoping to find bass in that area getting ready to spawn. As it turns out, the feeder creeks were still pushing silt and there was no clean water up there as well.

I saw lots of crappie, bait fish, and a few catfish on livescope but nothing that looked like bass. I switched to perspective view in the shallows, but again saw only baitfish and smaller fish. I ignored the livescope and fished some points and laydowns on the way there, but didn't have any luck. So I headed down to a southern creek arm that showed some clear water on satellite imagery from 3 days ago.

Once I found some rip rap everything changed. I got a hard hit on an underspin and landed an 18 incher. It hard enough that it took the blade off my brand new, Dirty Jigs underspin. The fish was also a healthy green instead of the washed out colors you usually get in silty water. That told me the heavy staining was relatively new and with that I might not need to find clear water.

Not wanting to tie on another underspin, I grabbed a rod with a Golden Shiner bladed jig on since it had the gold blades I prefer on sunny days in heavily stained water. They hit that as well. All-in-all, I caught five keeper +1 for the day. Everything was 14" - 16" except that first 18" fish.

I had planned to take some GoPro and drone footage today, but I couldn't get my GoPro to turn on. As for the drone, I passed on it today. I wanted better looking footage then that heavily stained lake. Anyway, I had some fun out there today. I'm going to skip my next tournament on Hartwell next weekend, simply because I didn't get to pre-fish out there, But I'm sure I'll find other place to fish!

Excellent, I thought you'd like High Falls. A $50 annual State park pass will open up more places and save you some money.

13 hours ago, Kayak Koz said:

It hard enough that it took the blade off my brand new, Dirty Jigs underspin.

Been there. Even using my VMC heavy duty underspins, I still lose blades.

13 hours ago, Kayak Koz said:

Anyway, I had some fun out there today.

Nothing better than ^this.^

Glad you got on some! Weather had been so crazy here.. I’m ready to be fishing constantly lol.

Where do/are you postinf your go pro videos? I post my stuff to instagram. If you would to share PM your link so I can watch it!

14 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

Glad you got on some! Weather had been so crazy here.. I’m ready to be fishing constantly lol.

Where do/are you postinf your go pro videos? I post my stuff to instagram. If you would to share PM your link so I can watch it!

I'm not posting anything publicly yet. When I do this, I want to do it right and I just haven't had the time to get done what I want to get done and exactly what I want to do.

What I need to come up with is a "hook." I need to find what would make it interesting. Why would people want to watch? What would make people watch an everyman grinder out there on the water? Right now my working title is, "The Miscellaneous Adventures of Kayak Koz." It may include more than just fishing. I'm experienced in editing video, so that shouldn't be an issue. The next step is to commission someone to come up with a logo/artwork.

But the other thing is that I'm really getting into using AI to help me create music. I've posted a few songs here, but I've been digging deeper into this and have come up with what I think is some pretty good stuff. I'm working on "Bait Monkey Blues" today. Once I have 9 or 10 polished songs I'm going to make them available on different services. Since YouTube and Instagram will be part of that distribution, maybe that's the hook to tie in fishing videos.

Unfortunately drama, female bodies, and making a fool of yourself do best. Most people do not want to see a normal dude grinding it out no matter how good it’s edited. It’s a tough go. For me watching your videos would probably be as close as I’m going to get to fishing with you.

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

Unfortunately drama, female bodies, and making a fool of yourself do best. Most people do not want to see a normal dude grinding it out no matter how good it’s edited. It’s a tough go. For me watching your videos would probably be as close as I’m going to get to fishing with you.

Idk about all of that. I watch a few channels for the person's personality and the fact that they share technique/information/catch good fish. Yes I realize it's edited but still...

@Kayak Koz I would keep it simple, "Kayaking Koz". Or use Kozmo like from Seinfeld. Add a giddy up now and again lol. Idk if a hook would really change anything. Or rather a hook will only go so far. You're either going to be likable or not. I'd suggest focussing on diction and I guess "acting" (even tho you should kinda just be yourself). Just my unasked for two cents lol

1 hour ago, Kayak Koz said:

I'm not posting anything publicly yet. When I do this, I want to do it right and I just haven't had the time to get done what I want to get done and exactly what I want to do.

What I need to come up with is a "hook." I need to find what would make it interesting. Why would people want to watch? What would make people watch an everyman grinder out there on the water? Right now my working title is, "The Miscellaneous Adventures of Kayak Koz." It may include more than just fishing. I'm experienced in editing video, so that shouldn't be an issue. The next step is to commission someone to come up with a logo/artwork.

Here's a little friendly advice from a very amateur content creator.

First off, the journey can be rewarding.

However, IMO, it requires focusing on intrinsic joy over immediate growth.

Creating content that you genuinely enjoy making and watching is essential;

if you wouldn't watch your own video, it is difficult to maintain the passion required to succeed,

often causing many to burn out trying to chase views.

Starting out solely for views is a tough road, as it often leads to low-quality content and lack of consistency.

Genuine passion drives consistency, helps me improve, and builds a stronger community.

When I enjoy the process, I create better, more authentic content, allowing me to turn a hobby into a fulfilling creative outlet. Bottom line: make stuff you like to watch while staying true to yourself.

In 15 years, I've posted over a thousand videos.

Views are pretty minimal.

Not doing it to make money.

Good Luck

A-Jay

I 100% agree with A-jay. Chasing views is extremely hard. I’ve had some stuff go viral. I’ve had stuff that I can’t understand why it didn’t do well. My follows are always a very very low percent of my views.

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Here's a little friendly advice from a very amateur content creator.

First off, the journey can be rewarding.

However, IMO, it requires focusing on intrinsic joy over immediate growth.

Creating content that you genuinely enjoy making and watching is essential;

if you wouldn't watch your own video, it is difficult to maintain the passion required to succeed,

often causing many to burn out trying to chase views.

Starting out solely for views is a tough road, as it often leads to low-quality content and lack of consistency.

Genuine passion drives consistency, helps me improve, and builds a stronger community.

When I enjoy the process, I create better, more authentic content, allowing me to turn a hobby into a fulfilling creative outlet. Bottom line: make stuff you like to watch while staying true to yourself.

In 15 years, I've posted over a thousand videos.

Views are pretty minimal.

Not doing it to make money.

Good Luck

A-Jay

I'm not doing this to make money. I don't care if I make a dime. I'm doing it for myself and posterity - if I end up doing it at all. More memories for my son and family. That being said, I like to try and do things the right way. That's all part of the journey and the fun.

Years ago I did a YouTube channel for my son for a little while. Again, that one wasn't about trying to make money. He wanted to document some of his adventures when we traveled. Sorting through hours and hours of video is time consuming and not a lot of fun. Well, at first it's fun, but it does become a grind after a while.

I do a lot of public speaking throughout the year, but speaking with just me in front of the camera is not my cup of tea. What I am interested in now is the technology and how AI could possibly make it more of a cinematic experience. I have some ideas on that and I want to try them out. Chances are it never sees the light of day, but it gives me something to do every now and then.

On 3/15/2026 at 3:23 PM, Kayak Koz said:

The next step is to commission someone to come up with a logo/artwork.

I understand that leading with music and a logo makes one look a little like Roland Martin, but I consider such things to be annoying filler. I prefer fishing videos where the content creator is fishing. I don't need to see them driving to the water, launching the boat, goofing with their buddies, etc. And I sure don't need a video that begins with 30 seconds of music and slick graphics. And most of all, don't talk post a title about fishing for giant bass and then land a three-pounder.

For a brief time in my career, I had opportunities to fish with guides for free and stay at fancy resorts for free...for fishing articles. It was brief because I didn't enjoy it. It turned fishing into working.