primetime

Your thought process is flawed....You should be trying to figure out how to fit all those lures into less boxes by jamming them full, trust me, you can always fit a lot more than you would think, and it still closes...Cutting back on tackle is logical & practical, but I find it more of a challenge to figure out how to cram even more in less boxes......I would suggest selling the lures you never use, if it is in your box and has never seen the water, sell it, and then buy extra's of the colors and lures you use the most....You never know when your favorite lure gets discontinued, so stock up, cram, and a scratch is ok even on nice lures, the fish don't seem to mind, wrapping the trebles with rubber bands, tape etc...helps you jam a box like a pro....

often the kits are so cheap like a bass bucket as the baits are slight color blemishes or disco'd colors or baits that did not sell....I know I was given a kit of tubes for Xmas one year and all the tubes had tangled and messed up tenticles...You are better off buying the colors you want in bags and the Jigs you prefer imo.

If you google lipless crank In Fisherman breakdown, they once did a chart that broke down every major brand from Hi Pitch, Low Pitch, Slow Cycling, Fast, how they sink, how they handle weeds, silent, one knocker...If you were to compare the sound of the Live Target Golden shiner and Yo-zuri Vibe you notice that they are what I call High Pitch, lots of small bb's, similar to the original bill lewis rattle traps, then if you grab a Spro, Ima, or other brands from House brands etc. you notice that some are mid range, some are low range, kind of like how Bomber makes the HI-Pitch and Low Pitch Badonk a donk, and a one knocker is totally different than hi-Pitch vs. Low Pitch at least from what I have understood, I love a 1 knocker and also love a silent at times, but it is rare that 2 baits sound the same from different companies, but check out that chart, it helps figure out which baits to choose for ripping and swimmning and which baits glide on the fall, sink like a rock, etc.... If you fish lipless cranks as a confidence bait, you start to notice that if you have 3-4 brands tied on at one time, one will get more strikes even if all are chrome blue color, also size makes a huge difference...I always go silent or 1 knocker if going behind other boats, most people throw the standard lipless cranks. As mentioned, the Bill Lewis line up has good quality lures that will produce as well as any in my opinion, but they have probably a dozen models that are all different sounds, actions etc....

Actually, I usually grab my spinning rod and go lightest line as possible and then fish a smaller bait like a grub etc..I am a believer in line size and color to be extremely important...Someone said it above, use what you have the most confidence in, and maybe fish it a bit different than usual.....Some days they just won't strike, it is what it is, but I also believe that somewhere on the Lake there is active fish, so maybe covering more water with your go to presentation that covers water would be the way to go....If I am fishing a pond and not doing well, and I know fish are in the pond, I will usually walk the shoreline and cast the shorelines and fan cast outward with a lure that I can bomb and trigger active fish or a reaction strike..Usually I am most confident with smaller baits, a small wake bait or super shallow crank, spinnerbait, or soft bait like a grub or 3.5" swimbait are tough to beat and if they won't hit that, I go Tube or Weedless spoon tipped with a grub.

Golden Shiner.....Actually a 3-4" grub on a 1/16-1/4 oz jighead either a darter head or ball head jig, or if fishing weeds I like to use a 1/0 worm hook or weighted keep hook style hook with the hitchhiker for easy rigging and the weighted keeper hooks in size 1/0 fit a 4" grub well, and you can cover a lot of water and fish the grub as a buzz bait/topwater like using a speed worm, let it fall with an unpegged worm weight to get that erractic fall like a tube, or simply nose hook it and put it behind a split shot with a 1' leader and swivel...For color, I usually go with white ice here in Florida or Smoke with silver flake, or something with a firetail, black/blue, black/chart.....laminates are great for stained water and the best grubs on the market are hands down the following... 1- GYB Grubs- most colors and heavy, offer all kinds of sizes and colors fish rarely see 2-Kalins Lunker Grubs- Kalin's grubs have the thinnest tails and for swimming they are hard to beat. 3-Zoom Fat albert and Tab Tail grubs are good options at a great price, Bass Pro XPS grubs as well....Berkley Gulp is another killer for pressured fish, I have been swimming grubs more this year than ever before and I love dropping them after coming over pads if they are not smashed right away and often they get bit on the way down....The GYB grubs, Kalins, CHompers etc..all heavily salted and can be cast far on braided line and casting gear if need be and you would be surprised how well a grub works in areas everyone else is throwing a toad, frog, paddle tail grub or swimbait.... Grubs are inexpensive but work well, The ZMan Floating grubs are something I have just started using and quickly becoming a favorite rigged on the ZMAN Trigger Hooks 3/0-1/8 or 1/16, they float and you can cast them a mile.....

Its always a good idea to have a one knocker lipless crank as well, you can usually get a couple fish after fishing an area with a lipless crank like the Red Eye Shad, Spro, Bill Lewis rattle trap, Yo-zuri Vibe, and really any lipless crank is good as long as you have confidence in it. For the 1 knockers, I like the Xcalibur xr50 5/8 or the Rapala Clackin Rap but almost every company that specializes in cranks will have a good one knocker. Something about changing up the sound is a benefit. I also think it is important to have a lipless crank without rattles as well, the Sebile Flatt Shad is a great bait in all sizes, silent Red Eye shad to name a couple. It is important to understand and practice with different brands as some have the nose down action, high pitch or low pitch, and some fall better when ripping out of weeds. The Red Eye Shad and Rapala Rippin Rap are great for using the Yo-Yo Retrieve, and I like the XCalibur and SPro lipless as well as the Bill Lewis rattle traps that come with triple grips to use on a steady retrieve....You can find articles that break down the different actions, because if you try to use the Rapala Clackin Rap, Diamond Shad, or many of the lipless versions that sink like a rock, you will not do as well as someone ripping a Red Eye shad if that makes sense..They all look alike, but I group them into the following catagories and it may seem like a waste of time but it makes a ton of difference. If I was to only have $20 I would buy 2 Red Eye Shads, 1 Spro Akuru, 1 One knocker Lipless crank to get started....If you can find a Sebile on sale on Ebay that would be my suggestion for a silent version as the flat sides and weedless properties, flash, make it great for cold, weeds, or pressured fish..Also important to have a bait in 1/4 size and later in summer a 3/4 size, Academy has a good bait that only costs $1.99 or $2.99 and you can get some cool color patterns, same with the bass pro rattle baits and Xcalibur etc..You can find articles on this site to explain the differences since all lipless cranks are designed for a purpose. Rapala makes it easy, the Rippin Rap for Falling action, the Rattlin rap for cranking, and the Clackin Rap for a one knocker....Can never go wrong with all the Strike King, Rapala, or Original Bill Lewis lures.

I have the same problem you have, when fishing a soft bottom I have a hard time telling if I am getting a strike since hits feel mushy just like weeds feel. I have been doing better since switching to a Med Heavy Fast Action Spinning Rod, 20 lb braid, and a 20lb Mono leader with as light a weight as possible, since I now use a side swing to pull the bait and then a pause.....Sometimes I will have a fish and if I do, I then give it another swing to burry the hook, I put a ton of Megastrike on my soft baits and the fish do not let go.... Lately I have been doing better on soft bottoms with longer leaders, and the Stanley Wedge head shaped Weights, with braid you can still feel that tick or crunchy feeling telling you it is a fish and not weeds, also if you gently lift your rod, you will feel the thump if in weeds, and with megastrike soaked floating baits, they smash the soft bait pretty hard...I like to use the Strike King Zulu Flukes, or lately the Zman Floating Minnowz which are 3" and same size as the baitfish, they float well so you can use fluorocarbon in clear water since I do believe you get more strikes with fluoro, and the Elaztach baits, especially the larger Zman and Strike King baits will float a 5/0 owner offset no problem.... I have noticed that once you feel hard bottom or weeds it is a good idea to pause the bait and hold on, the srike usually occurs any time you hit any object or weeds, and reeling steady with a swimming worm works well with a long leader...I am still learning how to fish the C-rig, it is boring at times but you can get creative and even throw on a small square bill if you know how high the weeds are....I fish a lake where the bottom has weeds that only grow 2' high, so I put a 3-4' leader and a 1.0 sized chrome squarebill on with a 15lb fluoro leader and it actually works well, you keep your crank in the sweet spots longer...Hope that helps, but each time out I learn a new wrinkle, lots of guys use really small baits like the ring worm for example in 4".

Luhr Jensen Speed Trap for shallow, for lipless, I like the Suspending Flatt Shad 77 size by Sebile, it only dives a foot or so and stops on a dime, does not have rattles but puts off plenty of vibration, plus they are weedless if you want to change to a double hook and feather on back instead of paying more for the snagless, plus only the 77 size suspends and has the translucent glitter scale falling off effect and nose down suspending wake action and come with owner trebles.... Overall I probably throw the Bandit footloose and Mann's wakes for cranks the most during summer, and for a sinking lipless I like the Spro lipless in chrome blue and orange craw depending on time of year but I feel the Spro lipless crank catches fish all year and is good to fish out of the box at a good price... Hope that helps, The Wordens Timber Tiger is a great lure for fishing around heavy cover as it never snags and backs out of anything, and for a super small effective bait the Storm Subwart and Cordell Big O are winners for sure, especially early spring when bait is small.

I believe Patents are only good for a certain amount of time, kind of like a new prescription drug, after I think 10 years the generic versions which are less expensive can be released, but I am not certain about all the loopholes and regs,but I don't think a lot of companies look to patent soft bait designs since almost every design is basically either a Grub, Worm, or craw etc...I know some baits will have Patent Pending on labels, and I think it is also expensive to fight copies of patents in court if you are a start up small company. If you go back over archives of lures designed in the past, you will find lures that are similar and obviously inspired the new creation. I also would think that if an OEM and The Engineers or Designers who work in the Factory create a new twist on a soft bait, it probably gets shopped to the larger brands and most smaller companies can't afford to get any protection which is why you see some if not many of smaller companies using straight up clones, re branding, or just changing color and maybe size, types of trebles etc... Since the Megabass Ito Vision jerkbait became popular, almost every company is now adding a similar style, I am curious as to how international patents and trademarks work since you would Think Keitech would have locked down the Swimbaits, and Megabass would have tried to protect the 110, but then again, the keitech swimbaits are simply a ribbed grub with a paddle tail, and a suspending jerkbait has been around for ever so they probably figure its better to focus on marketing which is really the key. The Swing Jig which I think Gene Larew first created with the baffle bug seems to be selling really well and taking off, but I am sure there was something similar at one time which is why all companies are making one. Good question, and thanks for the explanation of the differences between trademarks and Patents etc...I wonder how much Zman or Renosky has spent fighting the chatterbait as I know they went after a few companies and stopped Berkley which is Pure Fishing, but now I see Strike King and other companies flat out making them now so not sure how that went down. I should google that, I am sure Tackle Retail magazine has articles about the chatterbait. I know a bladed swim Jig was made in the 60's and looked just like the chatterbait which always puzzled me......

When I first fish a Florida pond or golf course pond I always start with a 1/4 ounce lipless crankbait in Tilapia or baby bass color. If water is stained or tanic like many, something with chartreuse is always a good choice. If the fish do not get a lot of pressure they should hammer the lipless crank all day long. Once I find a good area or spot holding fish, I slow down and wake a J-9 size Rapala Jointed Floating Minnow or a small crankbait like the Strike King 1.0 size, and a fluke or trick worm should always work as well...Most Ponds have Tilapia as a major food source so if you are seeing deep craters which are tilapia nests (Tilapia are on the nests in many places right now, but they spawn up to 4x per year and most companies make a tilapia colored bait but all you need is a bait with white and blue in it). All the ideas above are options I would also suggest, lately I have been doing well with Red Shad and darker swirls like black and blue, and green pumpkin blue...Also, a 1/4 oz rooster tail spinner on light line is a killer in ponds as well....Good luck, sometimes you need to make multiple casts in the same area to get a big fish to strike, they will not usually move far to strike.....

I like to use the smallest hook I can get away with while still having plenty of hook after pushing down the worm on the shank. I would think most brands in the 1/0-3/0 would cover the 2 baits mentioned, but thickness matters as well. If using light line, you can use a thin wire hook and if in open water you can keep your drag loose and the lighter and smaller the hook is, the better action the bait has when rigged weightless or with a light weight... Hook size and style is personal preference, sometimes I like to use oversized hooks on Grubs when using them as buzzbaits over cover on braid, I know the GYB site recommends a 5/0 offset worm hook for a 5" senko, but I often use smaller hooks when fishing them weightless & different brands have different gaps etc... Lunker City makes a hook called the Texposer and Tackle warehouse sells them, I find that they are the best for weedless rigging and keeping the worm perfectly straight on the hook. I like Owner hooks for light wire hooks and most worm hooks in general, the sizes fit most baits really well and the keeper hook style owners are fantastic.

I agree with the above post in regards to when I usually choose a topwater lure, however they make a few sizes of both the Gunfish and Sammy and offer so many good colors that you can throw either one in almost all situations and have success depending on what the fish are feeding on and activity level...The gunfish walks really well.

They might be poured in Alabama, but I know the Yo Mama is poured in Georgia by a plastics manufacturer, I think D&J Plastics....It is rare for an American Soft bait company to pour baits in house, I know Producto here in Florida pours their own baits and has the facility to do so, and I am sure a few other companies do as well in other states, but for the most part there are 3 factories in the United States that pour the majority of soft baits.....

I have seen the potential of the A-rig but I have rarely used one, I always felt they were too heavy and almost like trolling with an umbrella rig which I never enjoyed even as a kid, but I am cool with anyone else who likes to use it, I think you are talking about the new versions with teasers and are lighter....I just saw Jimmy Houston on TV Sat Morning and he had 4 small grubs rigged up front without hooks, and then a crankbait on the back, and he was talking about how those booyah rigs allow you to get a square bill or minnow bait down 20 feet if needed, but it seemed they hit the teasers often, and you end up setting the hook and foul hooking the fish, he mentioned it is common and that makes sense. I have been thinking about getting a few since the fish are schooling in many of the deep pits we fish on a preserve, and the lakes are clear and you need to make long casts, so I was planning on trying this rig....Lately I have been using 2 hooks on a c-rig and it is pretty good, still can't figure out how to make them not tangle, I had that problem with the A Rigs that first came out as well, I just felt it was too much, but the new versions look promising, I would hate missing all the fish that hit the teasers however..... I have a friend who trolls the original Mann's A-rig and uses hollow bellies, and he lands more big fish than anyone who flips, or almost people using live bait, I guess covering all that water is key...I would get bored, but whatever you are into is cool with me, he has had double headers with 5lb plus fish.... Congrats on finding a new method for numbers and size...Speeding up the process is the goal..Now I will google flash mob and buy a few.....THanks

I always have one tied on all year long, I take a few casts even in winter if in an area that is getting sun or Is shallow....I know people catch fish on buzzbaits in the winter but I have never caught them on a buzzbait or aggressive topwater in the cold...I like to try a small walker or a glide bait/sinking twitch bait worked on the surface. A floating minnow bait works all year long, sometimes the key is just finding healthy weeds, and casting to targets and simply shaking the bait and barely moving it, or the opposite, rip it fast and kill it so it looks like a baitfish taking its final kick, I have used floating rattle traps and suspending lipless cranks in winter as topwaters and have done well on days, if you put a trap in the path of a fish facing the lure, a big bass is rarely going to move out of the way, instead will just grab it or swipe it away, but either way job done... I consider any bait that floats a topwater since you can walk a rapala minnow on the surface if you choose, plus swimming or pulling certain style poppers under water to create a loud commotion like the Lucky 13 often works, I use the Sebile Splasher all year and will get hits when I steady pull it and kill it....Hope that helps but you never know what they will want unless you try, I would think a buzzbait would be good because you can slowly work it as well......I do not use buzzbaits often so I just don't have the confidence to throw them on cold days.

I would ask saltwater charter captains all the time when I would be spooling their reels for them and I would always ask if they use UV Pro Cure, or UV baits like Grubs, Shad bodies etc..I would say 75% of the offshore charter captains who fish for Grouper and Snapper would all say they used some type of glow bead, bait button, trailer on a bucktail, since all fish see in deep water is UV and Fluorescent colors since the gray scale takes over...I think a lot has to do with what species you are fishing for, some fish rely on Sight more than others, and some are attracted to brighter lures (See the legendary REd and white Daredevil spoon, and all the Electric chicken colors for saltwater baits... b Tightlines is pushing UV baits and are based here in Florida and some people love em, some think they only make a difference when trying to get a fish fired up or it's territorial instinct to kick in...I have used the Pro Cure UV gel on big Sluggos and Senkos when working them fast like a jerkbait under the surface, and have had days when the choked it, and days when they would not look at it..I am not 100% sold, but this I can say with 100% confidence. Glow colored soft baits sell better than other colors when it comes to crappie baits, shad bodies, grubs, and even swimbaits and flukes, so obviously they work. I think color has a lot to do with confidence. Also, the Banjo minnow is still a top selling item, #1 fishing item on a few popular sites, I am always surprised when I see how many they sell, and that mighty bite kit sells thousands per day just online on 1 site... If not for the Banjo minnow, we would maybe never lip hook swimbaits or never have seen the Imakatsu Javaolon, Magic shad, segmented swimbaits, they flat out worked, people just could not get over the infomercial, and the colors which are goofy, but they are simply a soft swiimbait that has multiple segments similar to the baits we now pay huge money for...Mighy bite seems to be a scam, but if It gets new fisherman to join the market it is a good thing, the Flying lure was a scam, and so was another lure I purchased at a fishing show, it was a drill bit shaped spoon, looked awesome and my father purchased 2 for $10 each back in the late 80's so big money for lures...we could not get a bluefish to strike it and would troll it through schools of them, never have seen a shiny object a bluefish would not hit....

BIg bite is good, But I would switch to Trigger X as well, I will take a good quality Rapala Bio bait or Berkley Gulp over most soft plastics except for Stick worms and Sluggos which they don't make...Trigger X has a limited product line but what they have is awesome, colors are great, and it is almost like using powerbait for the first time back when Culprits were the best, but the Power Worm just was better.....Now Gulp, Trigger X, big bite makes a bio bait but the shapes are terrible and so is the texture, the Slop hopper, craw, Probe worm, saltwater minnow or fluke, paddle swimbait from Trigger x are my new favorite soft bait this year....Gulp is lacking in quality and also designs, Powerbait is still awesome however.....Big Bite has the warmouth and shad frog style soft baits I like, you can buy the Yo-mama beavers from Lockett direct for 1/8 of price if you have a wholesale licence, or only pay $5-$6 for 25pk, $12 for 50, same with a few of their baits and the gander sticks are made by locket as well.. I would have thought Big Bite would be made in the Alabama Oem who makes most baits, but now that I think about it, I guess Locket pours for Big Bite or at least some of their line up. The Locket Trick sticks are identical to gander sticks...They also have craw baits identical to Big bite but I never asked the owner if he made them or took a trip to Locket, only used them back in the day when I needed a lot of a certain color stick bait or grub cause they make quality at prices really good to the public especially, They also have a swimbait similar to the owner swimbait, or slop hopper but is not a bio bait....Locket is good stuff good way to save as well, good people

I like a Nike Gym Bag, has a nice pad and is comfortable, fits 5 large boxes, extra reel or 2 plus spool of line, few pounds of plastics, and a few small boxes of terminal tackle, and inline spinners, panfish drop shot streamers etc....I could not find a "Fishing Bag" large enough but my Gym bag is awesome, has 4 outside compartments, and is top quality and probably waterproof since it is a Nike Gym bag... I also like paying $25 instead of $80 while having more space and is more comfortable and easy to transport and fit or move when needed, I use a back pack for shore fishing.

I wish they offered more colors and a few similar to the original trash and garbage fish, but I really like these swimbaits since they give fish a new look, and in clear water they look super natural. People complain about their texture being too hard, and using the microwave to soften them, but I find they work great as is, and if you want them to be a bit softer, simply leave them in the sun for a few minutes. I like to use all sizes, smaller on a drop shot or jighead, darter style head for suspended fish, but I love to use it on a c-rig in places where fish are feeding on panfish, clear water, and I will simply drag and pause...I fill em with Megatstrike scent, lip hook them with a split shot hook by Gamakatsu, or use a Keeper style hook. They cast well weightless on spinning gear and are great to walk near the surface, they don't have a ton of action, but you can also cut the tail to give it more action, the trash fish had a great shiner color and the 2 I had were great, but for 3 fish and then expensive glue, tail pulled off in first half hour, I did just as well throwing a money minnow that was missing eyes since they were purchased as seconds from the factory and I gave them eyes with a spike it marker, so white 5" hollow belly, chartreuse eyes, ended up doing just as well all day, fish were striking out of reaction and if the Trash fish was the same price I would buy it, but the Havoc is plenty good if put near fish....The good thing is Berkley never stole the design, from what I read Skeete Reese was buddies with the Owner and he was not doing great since he hand pours each bait and Reese fell in love with them and asked for his permission....My guess is permission was a loan of some sort but just speculating...Trash fish is great if you can afford them and Sick Fish is impressive for $3 for 5 pk, 2pk and 1 big size, much more durable as well depending on what hits it.... I hope they add a few colors that Havoc sells for all other baits, I would love a purple and a dark orange and black, vampire I think...

This one is easy, I fish all of them, but the easiest bait to walk, glide, walk it as fast as you can, sharp, cast a mile, is the Rebel T-10 Jumpin Minnow and the Larger T-20 size is easier, both cast further than a spook or Sammy, the T-10 is similar to the Ima Skimmer but the Skimmer takes a bit of time to learn how to get that tail to kick out water, the Rebel is the best to teach someone since you don't have to raise your rod tip on long casts, and it casts like a bullet, and it sits vertical in the water so the extra weight allows it to walk so easy. It also has smaller trebles and no feaher so less drag, but smaller lures like the Sebile Bongo minnow are tougher, the GYB Pencil Tate 76 is not that easy, and the KVD has a concave face so I find it is not the easiest to walk, but it is a good lure since it pushes more water than other's, the spook and Sammy are built to have one task and that is to walk....Walking a Gunfish is easy once you learn how to walk the Sammy but sometimes it works best when you just give it a few pops and a pause....I find the KVD to be good for creating a ruckus without much rhythym... Throw a Rebel T10 and I promise you will be amazed how fast and sharp it turns and it responds to the slightest twitch...It also has a good hook up ratio since it sits completely vertical which is a nice feature if in open water. The Spook is pretty easy once you adjust the line tie especially on the older ones, the Sammy is easy to control as well and I would never leave home without those 2, and the Chug Bug which walks surprisingly well and easy as well...heck, the rebel Pop'R walks easy especially with braid, but the Popn image is the easiest of all the short poppers in my experiences, I would say Zell Pop but they are the same lures, only the Zell pop is sanded down 1/10000 of an inch and costs 3x the amount...I still use my Zell Rowland Rebels...

If that was your picture that we thought was a Matzuo, I just realized that it is a Megabait....They used to be made by Pace industries and are a Japanese Company who has come and gone a few times and I don't think they are in business anymore, I just had to pay a nice penny for some Megabait Charlie Swimbaits that used to be $7 and were the Icast winner in like 2004.... I remember that holographic paint on the popper without marking and remember them from a local store as they never took off since Japanese tackle was not considered quality at one time, kind of like Japanese cars.....Megabait made some good lures, the crankbaits were hit or miss...Check it out if it was the Nano popper looking silver popper. Hope that helps, you can find em on Ebay or overseas direct for a buck or two.

Bomber Jerkbaits are one of the most popular Jerkbaits or Minnow baits here in Florida and the Horton Suspending Pro's with new paint is a steal, looks like a Japanese lure with the ghost patterns, comes with quality trebles, casts a mile, has the bomber roll..The long A floater 15 size is my favorite post Spawn to Fall hardbait for shallow water/topwater fishing, or waking, the 14A is great for ponds, or when baitfish are smaller, or when the bluegills are at that quarter to half dollar size...Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, I go Bomber Jerkbaits all day long....The Regular Pro Long A suspenders are good as well, however they have more of a side to side action, the Timmy Horton Pro's have a nose down vertical diving action and come ready to throw out of the box, They will catch any gamefish that swims.

The Smithwick Super Rogue ard1200 JR. is the size you would want, the Perfect 10 is larger than standard as is the suspending super rogues...The suspending Rogue Jr. is a great shallow 0-5' jerkbait that is perfect out of the box and will only run you $5 tops. Personal Favorite-Timmy Horton Bomber Pro Long A, Rapala Max Rap for super shallow, and XRAP or Sebile Slender Eel for eratic action and the Sebile for pressured fish since it is thin & light but flat out catches & like most Sebile lures it can do tricks.

Nice, a night time Lunker....I will say 5lbs but that fish looks healthy and pictures are tough for guestimates, but a 21" length would lead me to believe that it is 5lbs 2 oz. and the .2 are extra points you are awarded for measuring after dark. That fish must have had your heart pounding after it first broke water or peeled some drag...or in a perfect world it was caught on a topwater....Big fish either way. Congrats.

The guy who was on a kayak and decided to bring his 10lb dinner bell dog with him to a lake is just dumb. That story is the story everyone uses about what not to do when in a kayak, it is like living on a lake, and leaving your dog chained outside and then wondering how it ran away? If Kayaks were Dangerous because of Gators, They would not rent them at Every State Park, Lake Toho, Harris, and have Kayak trips on the Hillsbourough River here in Tampa where it is loaded with Gators. If people were getting attacked they would not be renting them since insurance would put them out of business, plus it was common for Guides and older Angler's to Wade Fish the Shallow Florida Lakes on the Kissimmee Chain like Toho, and I read Larry Larsen's book on Florida Bass Fishing and he pretty much spent 30 years wading in salt and Freshwater with Sharks and Gators, people still fish out of a Float tube on Lakes, water Ski, I could go on and on...You are more likely to get killed driving to the lake or drowning due to your boat or Kayak sinking and not having a life vest, crashing your bass boat while doing 70mph after naming it the "Intimidator" in 2.6 feet of water in an airboat trail 5 feet wide, getting lost in the fog without a GPS or Navigation system etc. Last year 2 fisherman drown here in Lake Tarpon while Crappie fishing in their Jon boat while anchored in 14' of water in an area where the wind picks up quickly without warning and can cause some pretty big waves that just so happened to be large enough to come over the bow and sink the boat. They 2 guys were only maybe 1/2 mile out on a lake surrounded with houses all with boats tied up to docks, restaurants, parks etc, but they did not have a flare gun, whistle, ability to swim, nothing in the boat as a floatation device. I understand your logic and it is quite common for people to avoid certain activities for safety reasons and I do not fault them for that since we all have fears of being attacked by a Deer while filming nature, or gators, or whatever....I have made many mistakes on the water in my life and I have learned from them and I simply respect the outdoors, prepare for the worst if it happens, but if I were to be attacked by an alligator while fishing and not breaking any golden rules of safety then so be it...I am much more likely to die by lighting strike to be honest since I often push that one a bit too far when the fishing is good (I use my fiberglass rod to be safe)... People swim with Great White Sharks, I like to Bass Fish at night, and I know how to swim, navigate, and I do not float tube personally although when I lived in NY and was in college I did it all the time, and people would always tell me I am crazy because of "Snapping Turtles"...fear of the unknown is normal, but I still feel like the fins on my feet make me look like a giant turtle in a float tube, so I do not do it, but when I see someone else doing it I just figure they know the lake and habits of predators in the lake.....Sorry for the ramble, I get frustrated when friends from work will ask me to take them fishing after work and when I tell them that we are taking a hike into the woods and fishing till midnight, they skip out because I am crazy and that is dangerous, so they go to happy hour instead, have a few drinks, and drive home nice and relaxed thinking how I take stupid risks just to catch fish....