Darren.

Nice haul!

I would say yes, I have tips...but like you, it is a 50/50 crap shoot if they will work. If I see one in the line as I reel it in, I'll try to work it loose - if there's a loop in the line, that makes it easier to try and untie it. Sometimes I've pulled the ends and poof, it comes loose. Other times I've had to cut and retie. I've taken a hook and tried to loosen it up, sometimes that works. And I'm using 10 and 15# Power Pro braids. I don't think there's a foolproof, works every time tip for wind knots.

I think I use the uni snell... Haven't used the snell in a while, but I do like it a lot, used it on worm hooks, wacky hooks, drop shot, etc. Great for making own snelled hooks for saltwater. I can see them used for punching and flipping. Good, strong pull on the hook shaft. But be careful for some hooks where the eye bend around to the shaft isn't "clean". I bought some Daiichi hooks years back that I couldn't snell because every one of them had a sharp portion of the hook eye.

Congrats!! Great catch!

Welcome aboard! Unfortunately, I've got any advice for you, but this is a great forum and I'm sure many will chime in with their experiences.

Indeed. When she's 12 or 15 or 20 pounds!

I still have one! Was part-n-parcel of my spinning-is-fine period of adjustment. Needed the money then, too.

Picked up a BPS MicroLite 5'6" L 3-piece pack rod 2 years ago for a trip and holy cow was it impressive! I still use it. Despite being a L, it fishes far more like a ML with a solid backbone. Good stuff.

I'd like to be equal, but once I sold one of my Chronarchs I had an extra casting rod. So I swap the 50e between them, one is MH, the other ML, so good for multiple techniques. As for spinning, equal for the most part. An old Stradic is in need of repair, so I have a Spirex 1000RG on a rod. That's 4 Stradic setups and a Spriex setup. Wait. Just counted again. Rods outnumber reels by a small margin.

I get your aggravation. Been there but in much closer quarters with two idiots -- who were only putting their boat in when my kayak buddy and I were already fishing a dock. These knuckleheads decided to fish the dock, too, and fished in between my buddy and me - and we were only 40 yards apart!! I caught a 3 pound bass on a jig right where they were fishing. Made sure to holler at my bud, lift it up high for the maroons to see. It got way worse, I'll just leave it here.

Welcome aboard!

Congrats! 17" is in the range of high 2s to 3 pounds based on some charts. Depending on belly contents and all that, could be more if full of food. In-Fisherman's chart about the same: Largemouth Bass 12 in 0.90 lb 13 in 1.16 lb 14 in 1.47 lb 15 in 1.83 lb 16 in 2.25 lb 17 in 2.73 lb 18 in 3.28 lb 19 in 3.89 lb 20 in 4.59 lb 21 in 5.36 lb 22 in 6.22 lb 23 in 7.17 lb 24 in 8.21 lb 25 in 9.35 lb 26 in 10.60 lb 27 in 11.95 lb 28 in 13.42 lb 29 in 15.01 lb 30 in 16.73 lb 31 in 18.58 lb 32 in 20.56 lb http://www.in-fisherman.com/in-fisherman-blogs/bass-length-to-weight-conversion-chart/#ixzz5Gp0DB0Bb

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Well, yes, minimalism to me means maximizing what works and minimizing what doesn't. So I've been on a trek for years, bait monkey riding me for a while, then realizing what takes him off my back. Altho he still finds ways to jump aboard. This includes a course correction from trying to go all casting back to mostly spinning. (We're all different). To realizing that soft plastics work best where I fish, so maximizing that, but not eliminating other baits, just slowing down on trying to learn everything fast. Money does not grow on trees in my yard, and I spent some $ that I didn't have, so had to learn to pare down and use, and be satisfied with what I have.

Wow, some nice size gillies! Tasty fish fry!

Gosh, what a bummer. Only ONE bass all day??!! LOL. Very nice catch, indeed. Congrats on the DD!

I'd say BPS Stik-Os nose out Zoom Finesse and Trick worms by a very slim margin in my arsenal. But I've got a lot of all three.

Welcome aboard, Michael!

Welcome aboard! No pics no PB!

Congrats!

Paradise, indeed! Although some would call it a jungle with too many beasts that can kill ya! (Not me, but some, LOL). My older brother and I would love to participate in a python round up down there! However, I'd be tough to pull from hunting peacock bass to snake hunt.

It just couldn't resist whatever you were offering! Nice coloration on the crappie.

Holy cow! You ain't kiddin'!! Congrats on some real lovely ladies!

Hi all, there's been recent discussion on how to car top a kayak. So I thought I'd throw out my own DIY to y'all. Hope it helps someone out! The suction item is from Northern Tool: A Grip 4-Head Suction Cup Dent Puller, cost is $10, I cut it down the middle of the handle to break into two pieces. A 1 1/4" PVC slides over it securely, but you can either heat-gun the PVC and press on to mold it, or you can drill in and screw to handle, etc. Since I have a fairly wide hull with my Native U12, some side-load ideas just wouldn't work. So I took general ideas and made a mount that works for me and might for you. Pix below, captioned but I didn't post lengths of the PVC as each person's modification should be made to fit their hull. Starting with the complete setup, kayak mounted so you can see what it looks like first.... Weight may be an issue for your yak. Mine is 55# empty, this supports and rolls just fine. To beef up you can use suitable wood dowels through various parts, and simply gluing it all together will also add rigidity. Part II, breakdown.