Hanover_Yakker

pssst.....they are sneaky good on bedding bass (not just smallies *hint* *hint*). They are also killer during the hot slow days in the middle of summer.....

Confidence Baits 1/8oz Draggin' Head jig and a PTL 3.5" Craw D'oeuvre or Texas Rig Jig in Kitchen Sink or Deep Melon Pepper. If they are super finicky then I switch over to the 1/8oz micro Draggin' Head and a Confidence Baits Little Tube in either River Bottom or Raven (Black w/ Purple Fleck).

No problem Jay - I am not sponsored by Jeff nor am I on their Pro Staff. The reason I prefer the 1/8oz micros compared to other options listed so far is the keel weighted hook design. The flat keel provides three major benefits - one, it allows you to throw your bait into tighter cover without fear of snagging and two, it slows the vertical drop of your tube as the water displaces around the flat keel and three, it prevents your tube from spiraling and lands always upright in a perfect tail up presentation. Another benefit of the Draggin' Head that I have found is that ultra soft plastics like GYCBs actually last longer than one or two fish, because the hook requires almost no real hookset. It is a thin wire super sticky hook and penetrates the mouth of a bass very easily. If you have to replace the bait after a strike, it is most likely from the fish thrashing about not from the hookset. Simply twist the lure a 1/4" turn and rehook it. I'll warn you though, once you start using them, you'll find that they excel for all of your small plastics I have several of the 1/8 oz micro and regular lengths, use the 1/4 oz for all of my 5-7" finesse, senkos and PTL Craw D'oeuvres, and the 3/8oz version for larger creatures and big power worms. I also have a whole tackle tray full of Little Tubes in 3 colors, as well as the alternate rigging method using his micro jig heads that insert inside of the tube, and a variety of his Floating Birds. Jeff is a smallmouth guru and considered one of the best river anglers in the country. I have several hundreds of dollars invested in his terminal tackle over the last 3 years and trust him so much that I don't use the traditional shakey head jigs anymore. I find that they hang up too often, and the spiral lock/keeper pin is not sized for smaller plastics. I'll also say that another tackle designed has a similar jig called the Flutter Head, and that is made by Allen Winco of Winco Custom Baits. Allen and Jeff are good friends and often test/prototype each other's lures. That's another option consider as well.

Try Confidence Baits 1/8oz micro Draggin Heads. Jeff designed them for small soft plastics and I use them on my 3" stick baits and 4" finesse worms. http://www.confidencebaits.net

I think the Crucial is considered by many on here the best all around rod Shimano offers with the Compre only slightly below it. For me, I prefer to spend my money on high quality reels and mid-priced rods. I find very little difference in sensitivity or rod power in that price range when you pair the combos up with braided and flouro lines. You have to remember that your specific needs as an angler dictate which rod/reel/line combinations will work best for you. I fish out of a kayak and do not need nor require the extra heavy rod powers that many boat-based anglers do. I am able to go to the fish if it gets hung up where many boats are unable to go, so they need heavier lines and rod powers to power the fish out of heavy cover. If it were me, I'd opt for the Compre at the price point they have right now, and then upgrade some other items like your line choice to some Sunline or possibly Seguar Kansen braid. You'll find you have some funds left over to even add a few nice lures as well

The 360 degree trebles are called BasStar SpinTech rotating treble hooks. Recently, VMC released a dropshot/finesse version of the single hook called the SpinShot. The treble variety have been our for some time now with mixed reviews.

It is a great tool, but also keep in mind that even your PRIVATE mappings are still public to some extent. I personally would recommend not doing this for your hot spots or fishing reports. There are hoardes of people that do nothing more than troll the web looking for fishing reports in order to make their lives easier on the water. Most of the reports I put out there are very general and don't actually show the hot spot or any specific geographic/topographic hints. Just a suggestion. FWIW, one of my kayak friends even witnessed this in person at BPS. He was looking over some reels at the reel counter when he overheard one of the clerks tell a customer to go to a particular kayak site and read their posts to find some hidden locations. It happens. In reality, there are few unknown or secret honey holes on public waters, but anything you can do to try and minimize burning of your spots helps.

I actually put together the same list already on my blog, but I think after this past weekend's tournament, I may need to adjust it slightly. I still want to be more competitive in the tournaments I am entered in this year, but I need to improve on two specific techniques - crankbaits and spinnerbaits around timber.

St. Croix AVID or Shimano Crucial if you are willing to spend $150 or more. The Shimano Compre Worm & Jig 6'8" rod is a steal right now at $100 at BPS, but the Clarus version for $79 would do nicely if you are cost conscious. I have the Clarus in both spinning and casting and can feel every little tick, pebble, twig, etc.

Yep, that's the one. Great book, too. I have one signed by the author, and it's not just for kayak anglers, but for all bass fishermen.

First off, glad you are able to share your experience. Second, this incident brings to the forefront an important safety message. If you kayak or canoe in colder waters, you need to know how to perform a self rescue. Another safety point is the need for proper cold weather attire. This means layering with a base layer, a fleece layer and a waterproof layer at a minimum for the body. Your head, hands and feet are another area that need prroper coverage as well. Lastly, the other item every cold water kayaker should have is a dry bag with a change of clothes, some kindling, a method to start a fire, a solar blanket, some form of safety kit, some food and extra water.

Sorry thought you said FS10. In that case, based upon the zoomed in photo I just looked at of the DS10T definitely go with Malibu if those are your final choices. Reason being is that the footwell design of the Ascend does not appear to lend itself to proper drainage of any significant water volume that enters the kayak. I see only 2 sets of scuppers on the entire kayak, one set in the tankwell and one in the cockpit/footwell close to the seat. If you take any water over the bow or sides, the location of those scuppers would concern me. I prefer at least two sets in the cokpit/footwell area - one set by my feet and one set at or under the seat. I have a couple friends who fished with me in some nasty waters last summer during an angler club challenge. One was fishing out of a Malibu Stealth and the others were fishing out of Wilderness Tarpton 140s and an Ocean Kayak Trident 13. All of which had no less than 4 total scupper holes in the footwell area. They were barraged with waves and rain for 6 hours straight and were wahsed over many times. At one point, all of them had to bail on the rosks to empty out the water in the footwells, because the waves and water were coming in faster than the scuppers could self bail them. Imagine what would happen if you only had two individual scuppers? This same scenario can happen on a pond, river or lake. I was washed over in my old Ride 135 on Sandy River Reservoir by someone running only a 9.9hp motor on the their jon boat. It can happen even on a river. Don't think it can't. Not trying to scare you, just trying to share a personal experience of how quickly an improperly designed kayak can get you in trouble real quick.

Paddle size can be easily determined by standing with your feet flat on the ground and raising your hand directly above your head. Take the paddle and try to cup the end of your fingers around the end of the blade as it stands next to you. If you can just barely cup your fingers over the edge, then that length will work for you. Anything 10cm longer or shorter may not be as efficient for you on the water. When selecting a paddle, your physical stature is not the only variable to consider. You need to take the proper length paddle and then sit in the kayak itself. If you have a kayak that rides higher out of the water than others or has a higher gunwale (as in the case of the Ascend D10T), then you may have to increase your paddle length by 10cm (ie: a 230cm over a 220cm). Remember, the Ascend D10T is a SINK (Sit INside Kayak) versus the Malibu Mini-X which is a SOT (Sit On Top) - two entriely different kayaks from a seated position perspective. Another variable in your kayak decision process is seat time - I have yet to see any response from you stating how much seat time you have had in either kayak. They both are suitable as first kayaks, but if either or both are uncomfortable after 15 minutes on the water, what will you do then? Get some seat time in both and make sure you are wearing the exact PFD you plan on wearing while you are trying them out. That is the only way you will be albe to test out how comfortable you are. Hope this helps.

The other factor besides your college and monetary situation is also what cover you are fishing. If you are fishing an area with few laydowns or cover variables to get hung up on, then you could go with 10-15lb. In fact, you could go with straight flouro if the water was clear. But if you have any rocks, brush piles or lay downs, then 20-30 is your best option. I have a good friend who is a well known kayak angler that uses 30lb. PP and a 20lb. flouro leader when he uses his spiining gear for throwing lightweight frogs in the lily pads.

The SNIP from Boomerang Tool or just go buy a pair of Fiskars Kid Scissors. Either one slices through 65lb. braid with no issues. http://www.boomerangtool.com/

In a kayak, you have to take into consideration that for the most part you are closer to your target casting area, so distance casts are not necessary. Hence the reason I typically use a roll cast or sidearm cast. Once you get proficient at it, you'll be able to backhand cast as well as flip and pitch from a seated position. Dock shooting and skip casts are a breeze as well. I use spinning, baitcasting, conventional and fly rods all from the seated position. All of my rods range from 6'3" to 7'2" plus the fly rod is a 10' 7wt. It can be done, you just need to practice. If you are predominantly right handed and cast overhead or 3/4, you can always place your crate/rod holder setup turned so that the rods are all aligned on the left and pointed toward the rear of your tankwell. That will help decrease the likelihood of any rod mishaps.

Thanks Mike - I tossed a few of the Siebert Outdoors bed bugs but got no love from them, but I'll be trying them again here hopefully later this week at Briery Creek!

I'm getting ready to try it out here soon myself again. It's been far too long for me.

They are awesome frogs to use but there is a learning curve. The best way to use these is a follow up bait to a traditional soft plastic frog like a Rage, Ribbit or Zoom Horny Toad. When you have a strike and miss, lay that rod down and throw the Clone as a follow up bait. The best method is what is called a twitch twitch drag where the drag actually pulls the Clone under the water for a couple of inches. The hardest thing to learn how to do is not use a hard swinging hookset with this frog. The hook is designed in such a way that the hook will set itself with only the slightest sideswipe hookset. The first hing you need to do though is go to your local pharmacy store and buy the dental rubber bands used for braces. The ones provided in the pack will work, but they will snap too easily after being exposed to the sun. I have several of the Clones myself and will be replacing the bands myself here in the coming week or two. My favorite Clone is the Brown Bull but you can take a Sharpie and customize the legs of the frogs into any pattern you want. They also sell what are called the Skitter Legs which turns the Clone frogs into a buzz frog with a stinger hook trailer. You can find them here: http://kayakfishinggear.com/captkendaubertskitterlegs-stingerhookkit.aspx Here's a good video of how to use it: And of some action..... And another one....

I might be a little biased on this one but welcome aboard!!!

Unfortunately, I realized when I got there that I had left one whole tray of takle sitting at home that would turn out to be a critical error. As for the event, I didn't fair as good as I would have liked. I had planned on getting there early on Wednesday and pre-fishing a couple areas. Mother Nature had other plans, because the night before I got there a cold front moved in and brought with it 25-30mph all day. I could see white caps in the Diversion Canal and out on the main body of water on Moultrie. Several other kayak anglers and boaters came in reporting minimal success. I decided to wait until the following day. Thrusday brought the brunt of the cold front with overnight lows below freezing and winds in the 20mph range. I fished in and around the area at Blacks Camp with nary a bite. Few had success as well. The Hatchery was okay, but day 1 of the KBF Open found 29 people with no fish to turn in on their scorecards. I ended up pedaling about and helping out more than actual fishing. Day 2 on Friday brought with it milder conditions with temps in the 60's later in the day and calm winds, so I went to the Rim Ditch at the Hatchery and fished hard for 4-5 hours. I threw at every laydown and bed with only 3 bites to speak of. The first bite was a complete miss on my part from not paying attention. The second bite missed was more about the buck bass guarding the bed not taking the bait completely. The third one is the dreaded "one that got away" story. I found a laydown that had 3-4 trees crossed over one another, so I decided to go big or go home. I tied on a 7/0 EWG Gammy with a 1/8oz tungsten weight and threaded on a 10" PTL Ribbon Hinge worm. First cast into the back of the laydown was perfectly placed. I worked it up and over the laydown cross point and let it fall to a rest. A couple subtle twitches and I felt a sold 'thunk". I knew the fish didn't have it all, so I let it take it a couple more times and saw the line subtly move. I reeled down and gave a nice firm sidesweep hookset and felt the hook drive home. My MH rod bowed over and then "pop"......the dang fish snapped new 30lb. PP braind clean!!! I was so ticked, uuntil I learned that my buddy had fished the same laydown not 30 minutes before me and had the same experience. On somewhat of a good note, my buddy from NOVA was fishing near me and landed his personal best at 23 1/4". Saturday brought with it air temps in the high 60's and some wind, but we were fishing Mark Deschene's VIP Adventures, so we were all a little excited. 60 kayak anglers were licking their chops at the chance to qualify for the top 15 to move on. We were placed in two groups of 15 anglers on lakes 5 & 6. Many of us had no prior knowledge of the place and those in the know wouldn't even share the location. They had the upperhand, but I stuck to my guns and fished my way. Several fish were caught on all manner of presentations from lipless cranks, billed cranks, soft plastics, swimbaits, etc. All of my fish were caught on texas-rigged soft plastics. I had 8 fish total, three of which were dang crappie. They were slamming my 5" stick bait like it was a minnow. I ended up missing the top 15 by a few inches of total length between two fish, but I did get to see a 7lb. beast get pulled in by one of the SC natives that knew the lake already. Since I missed the cut on Day 1, I opted to head home a day early. I had thoughts of getting up and trying my luck back at the hatchery for some casual fishing, but I just couldn't get out of bed for some reason. I ended up oversleeping, so I finally bagged it and called it. I got some breakfast, took a shower and hit the road. When I look back at the event, the most consistent bite was on medium cranks and lipless cranks deflecting off of stumps in varying depths of water. It made me realize that I need some serious work on my crankbait skills and learn to get over my fears of working cranks against wood. I guess my fear is directly tied to the fact that I don't have a plug knocker and I fear that I will lose my high end cranks. Looks like I know have a point of focus for the coming year, and a new rod to add to the arsenal, since I don't have a crankin' setup. In the end, it was an awesome event and one that I plan on going to again next year. Thanks again to all of the folks that shared some information with me via the numerous PMs I sent over the last couple of months.

Might consider this at some point.

Thanks - the video is actually Jeff Little of smallmouth fame. The net he has is a custom DIY where he took a standard net and bolted it to a "polio" cane. However, Leverage Landing Net patented the same design in a folding stowable net. You can watch the promo video here: Their site is: http://www.leveragelandingnet.com They have various sizes. I won one of them in 2011 from KBF, but I gave it to a co-worker for him and his dad to use on their G3 boat. They love it.

I currently have a Revo S and have owned two others in the past as well as an HS-SX and STX - loved them all, and you're right on the price point. Bought all of my Revo S' for $99. As far as the differences in braking, I prefer to not use any braking either centrifugal or magentic, so that design feature is of little to no significance for me at all. The weight factor is minimal at best when you are using mid to high end rods. The real difference for me is "feel". While my STX felt good, the Revo S just plain sits nicer and feels better in my hands when I am fishing. Now, if you able to get the STX at or below $130, then that's another story entirely.

Both are the same for me - shakey head and targeting cover but the difference might be between a 4-5" finesse or small profile soft plastic versus a 7-10" trick worm, stick bait or large creature bait. Same technique though just different sizes of the lure. It's not necessarily a "panic" bait, but more of one that forces me to slow down and relax. The bite quickly follows oddly enough in most cases.