kikstand454

I echo the above. I liked the bps superlock hooks, until I found academy. Now my "disposable" hooks. .. ( t-rigs around riprap, pitching into submerged bushes. ..) are h2o express. Gammy for everything else. Well except punching mats. ... trokar or vmc for that.

I was going to suggest that area where the old bridge was. ...before you told me it was an old bridge. Now i REALLY suggest it!! Lol. This time of year, I would concentrate on that bridge area, heading southeast along that break down to where 17' starts. If the countours are rugged enough to show up on this map. ....then in reality its probably full of offshore humps and structure. C-rig, football jig, big worm, deep crank. If the dam pulls water or you have any decent flow. .... I would make sure to see how the current is on the jetties in that area on both sides of the lake. Could be an awesome squarebill spot. ....

This is all good advice. ....but I'm confused about the advice against an older tarpon. I've been paddling my '09 tarpon - the model the pescador is based on- for 5 years now without the fist single issue. I run it aground on oyster bars, drag it through beach sand and strap it to the top of my Cherokee with two straps and drive 70mph. Its bulletproof. it has caught hundreds of fish. It looks like the bottom went through a woodchipper- yet I have NO thin spots still. Wilderness systems makes solid, sturdy, lifetime kayaks. You can't go wrong with them. Other kayaks manufacturers are amazing as well. ...but if your thinking of fishing on big water, that tarpon140 can not be beat. Its not even that old- as it has the slide trax and improved dry hatch cover. Mine has neither of those things. Lol. At your pricepoint and fishing average ponds, lakes, rivers.... I would get a 12' pescador. Also, since you're new to it. .....don't throw down on a high end paddle just yet. Spend $50 on a Carlisle daytripper paddle. Best paddle for the money. Don't buy any add ones or anything else yet. Just a comfortable pfd that you will WEAR. Take you're new yak out and fish. Take it 5-10 times. Spend a few hours each time. ....fishing and paddling and getting to know your ride. THEN you will know what YOU need to effeciently fish the way YOU want to. Alot of people go and dump a bunch of money, and drill holes in their yak, and mount things and add things. .....and find that its useless/inconveniently placed for how they fish.

My c-rig rod is a shimano crucial 7'6, mh/f and I recently put a 7.1 pro qualifier on it. 15#yz hybrid. I will throw a c-rig first. ..always. ... if that's not the ticket and I know I'm in the right spot, I will then t-rig a big worm on that same rod. Its perfect for both techniques IMO.

Yeah ....in freshwater I do basically the same. Every once in a while I use my net. ......mostly when Im using treble hooks. But I use it fairly regularly in the salt.

H2o express. In all honesty, its seems like thats all I buy anymore.

Get off the bank. The fish have. ...... ( or punch mats)

I use the frabil trout net, with rubber mesh. It is the perfect size, weight, and ease of use. I clip it to the top line of my anchor trolley and put it my factory flush mount rod holder ( otherwise useless. ) Its fairly cheap, and will handle fish up to 27" or so before you start to wonder if they'll fit.

Yozuri hybrid. 15# 12# 8# Respectively.

80% of the time, I'm using a zoom trick worm. The rest of the time I like to have an elaztech fitness worm on.

The 7'm/f veritas I have is the most versitile stick I own. It will do all those things and have plenty of backbone. It is good for t-rigging up to medium cover. If you're going to be around thick grass or pitching to bushes, then step up to the mh.

OP- Are you asking about punching mats with tungsten. .... or just general flipping? I ask this because here in Florida, the term " flipping" is often used to mean " punching". The problem with that is that you get fabulous flipping advice like above- that is completely useless to you when punching mats. I see that you said you have switched to 50# braid and snelling your hook- so I am going to assume you mean punching. In that case. .... I agree with the " lean into them" method mentioned above. I found that a properly rigged, sharp flipping hook snelled on braid does alot of the work for you. I tend to feel the bite, and reel into the fish. When the fish reacts, lean back into them hard. Don't " snap set" like you might do a t-rig. .. ( I don't do it then either) . Just solid forceful contact and let your equipment do the work its designed to do. Ill also add that punching is alot like frogging- your hook up ratio well never be super high. Many times the bass just swipe at the falling bait like a cat does, and it never goes in their mouth.

^^^^ that is generally good thinking. But largemouth especially will take on much larger prey than you would expect for their size. I catch a TON of 1lb bass on a shakey head trick worm. That's a 7" bait.

Boom ! http://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-Permethrin-Clothing-Repellent/dp/B00MA950E0 You're welcome Snook. ........

They're good solid baits. As with anything though. .... you stumbled onto the right lure at the right time. Many people have a phenomenal day with a "new to them" lure and rush out and buy a stock of them. ..... only to find they are no more or less effective than any of their other lures. I find the vibe to be good for me when I'm fishing clear water as its tight wiggle and relatively quieter rattle is the slightly more subtle approach I feel i need. If there is a subtle approach to a lipless crank. Lol.

Your hookup ratio dropped because a 2/0 hook t-rigged into a senko is borderline too small. Move up to a 3/0 hook and watch that t-rigged senko shine. And for the record, the zoom trick worm will do all those things and catch numbers AND size. *shrug* ( I am not suggesting that the trick worm can replace a wackyrigged senko- but a weightless trickworm t-rigged does the job in the same setting many times. )

Anyhing with treble hooks.

I don't remmember if this tip is earlier in the thread. .... but if you pull a long casts worth of line out and place a small piece of tape across your reel..... you will save yourself the headaches/cost/ frustration of epic backlashes. You will instead have " professional overruns" that you can practice the " thumb trick" with and easily get back to casting.

IMO my frog set up is much too stout to comfortably work a spook. I like a mh for both but i like a slightly softer tip for topwater . Also my frog rod has braid so. .... that's a no go.

Oh. .... OK. Well I'm glad you guys set me straight then. I was apparently imagining the rod butt fatigue because I was brainwashed by marketing strategies. I will now go forward and know that its all in my head. Thanks!

Lots of punch fisherman use them. .... jamming the rod butt into your ribs for 8hrs starts to suck. ESP for us old guys. ( I don't own one. ...they're cost prohibitive for me)

I own an older crucial with cork handles 7'6"mh. ....it has been an awesome c-rig rod for years and years. ...and its still going strong! Those new green ones feel awesome!

Yeah^^^^^ that's two different things. I fish a shaky head whenever I physically can and not spend the entire time hung up. If its too snaggy, I got to a t-rig. If they were biting the shaky head, but they're not hitting the t-rig. .... then I t-rig an elaztech worm and have a weedless shakeyhead.

12# YZ hybrid 10 if you're trying for that +20' mark.

Swimbaits. But honestly, it may make a d**n good punch rod.