Darren.

Welcome aboard! I use braid + leader all the time, for many of the reasons above, and one more. Cost of braid for mainline. I prefer to keep my braid as long as possible. I retie, often, many times when out on the water, so cutting down a leader saves braid...FWIW.

Fantastic! But. I think you need a bigger ruler

There are many great options out there for either buying outright or DIY. CTug is good, here's another one that is what I based my DIY on. Trail Trekker: http://paddlelogic.com/trailtreker-kayak-carts.html They also offer a lifetime guarantee on all parts, fix or replace free. If I had the $ to buy one, I'd have bought one w/o question. The CTug did not work well with my Native Ultimate, but does with a great many yaks.

Good luck. Heavy jigs into the wind, otherwise cast with the wind at your back if you can. Use it to your advantage as best as you are able .

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard! Some beautiful pics of the river!

Geez Louise! What a hawg!! Congrats all around!

Native Ultimate 12 (2008 model) Pic below of older motorized setup. Better setup now, but don't have current pic. Pros: Massively customizable Stability, esp. secondary stability Ability to stand and fish Bare boat only 55-57#, easy to load Hybrid between kayak/canoe Easy to paddle Easy to outfit with trolling motor setup Cons: No scupper holes (minor issue to me) Umm, can't think of much else

I use the uni-to-uni with braid to fluoro with no problems at all. Usually 5 loops for each, unless I'm using a fluoro in the 6# range, then I'll use 5-7 loops. But I also use the Alberto/Mod'd Albright. Used to use it exclusively, but went back to the double uni years ago as my main line-to-leader knot for it's simplicity. Granted both are "simple", double-uni is simpler for me when on the water. Mostly.

Yup. Well, just the rod, since it was a 10' long pole with a line attached. One of my sons wasn't paying attention and it was pulled right out of his hands and across the pond. When retrieved it had a 2 pound bass attached!!

Welcome aboard, Marcus!

Shi-Diawa-mo

Wacky- often weightless, but if the wind is up, that can make it difficult to get the bait down due to waves and wind bowing your line, etc. In that case, I go with a weighted wacky jig, or I'll put a bull-shot on the line somewhere to pull it down. T-Rig- again, wind often dictates to me whether weight or no weight. T-rig does pull thru vegetation better, but wacky is effective there, as well. Sometimes I change to a T-Rig just to give the fish a different look. If I want to fish deep, gotta have a weight.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard, Graham!

No can help, but as it's your first post, welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard, Scott!

Welcome aboard! Is there a reason you wouldn't simply use a leader and put braid as your mainline? Line management would be much better than 10# anything on a spinning reel for bass fishing (IMO). I've put 10# copoly on spinning reels and it can coil off like a spring - even with line & lure conditioner. Another benefit of braid + leader is you can vary the leader to any pound test for many techniques. Just curious...

Welcome back!

Welcome aboard, @Julian! To the OP, I have only handled the new CLs in-store, but I do own 4 previous versions (2 black, 2 white) and they are great rods. The rods you mention would be great for frogging. Based on specs it appears the only real changes beside color are Winn grips and new guides.

Best site for learning bass fishing...period!

Welcome aboard, Mike! Nice hawg!

Fantastic outing! And congrats!