buzzed bait

Truly i'm just so non-confrontational i wouldn't say much if anything. if i were to do anything in this situation it would likely be to just continue fishing and not even worry about which direction i was casting. i didn't really catch it from your post, but did the family have poles in hand ready to fish?

4-5 foot waves would have been a bit extreme for me!! I don't know if my Ascend FS10 would handle those conditions!

I go all year round. Granted it doesn't get THAT cold down south, but I'll fish in 30 degree weather all day. I tend to layer it up pretty good when it's that cold, but not to layer too hard until i've got the kayak in the water. if you work up a bunch of sweat from all your layers and then sit down and paddle off you will freeze in no time, not to mention get sick quick. For me the most important thing is ALWAYS bringing a spare set of warm clothes and full size towel in my dry bag when it's that cold outside. like Hanover said it can be a life or death situation when it's that cold. something else to think about if fishing when it's that cold is to keep some waterproof matches in your tackle bag. if you're out in the middle of nowhere and have a spill you'd be more than happy to have those handy to start a fire! most importantly is to ALWAYS have fun. if it's kind of damp outside and that cold you may not have fun and it may be a miserable day. just don't overdo it and be smart/safe.

I would mount it in the back if it were me to make it easier for trolling, but depends on your preference. i like the thought of putting a base on both sides or even each corner like bluebasser said. i'd say to mount using rivet gun and rivets, but some of these bases won't allow the rivet gun to get down in there so that may out of the question for mounting. if that wouldn't work i'd suggest self tapping screws and screw them in nice and slow until they get snug, but don't overdo it.... good luck

Whatever you get I would just try to demo before you buy and don't go to town rigging stuff up until you've got a good feel for the kayak. NuCanoes look nice, I have no experience with them but they look to be built well but perhaps a little heavier than I'd like in terms of weight

I don't know that starting at half of somethings value because it's used is really the best method to use across the board.... for instance if my dad had purchased something and wanted to resale it would be in near mint condition because he babies everything he has, but if it were his brother it would start about 50% and go down because he just abuses everything he owns until it's ruined. so i think it would go case by case, but i was hoping that somebody could ballpark these two combos based on the conditions i described. although i have to say i truly appreciate your attention to details and wish i had the same.... If you were in my area I'd ask you to come check them out with me!

Check some tackle shops around the local lakes Norman, Mountain Island, Wylie. I know there are some there because I just left from Charlotte, but don't know of them right off hand.

Sorry I can't answer your fishing questions, but while in Hilton Head you gotta try the Skull Creek Boat House Restaurant... Best food around, but like ALL restaurants in that area you better get there early and plan on waiting for a table. Good luck fishing!

sitting .... in a VERY comfortable high back seat, with a VERY comfortable life jacket with a high back made for kayaking

Looking at some used rods and reels and wanted to get some ideas of the values of these combos if you might have a ballpark guess. They are used with normal signs of wear, but look like they're in good shape. Just suppose that they are 7/10 cosmetically and about 8.5/10 mechanically. First combo: Falcon Cara Casting Rod 6'6" MH CC-5-166MH Shimano Calcutta 100 Second Combo: Falcon Cara Casting Rod 6' MH (don't know the model number, but looks almost same as the rod listed above) Shimano Curado CU-200 THANKS!

I think they're about middle of the road for frogs. WAYYYY better than the Bass Pro Brand, but obviously not as good as a live target. For me though I'd prefer to spend about 1 more dollar and get a Booyah Pad Crasher only because they're so much softer and easier to compress. I actually prefer the pad crasher to the spro or live target simply based on price and durability.

I think on cranks and topwater they just give another target and for reaction baits that's what you want. But worm hooks in red, i've had NO LUCK. Stick with the regular color hooks on the worms. I think it's a matter of time that the bass has to look at the lure. If it's running by quickly or popping the topwater I don't think they have enough time to study it that hard. But if it's a worm that they're studying closely I think the red turns them off.... This is purely opinion and NO SCIENCE to back it up, but to my knowledge there is NO SCIENCE around this red hook discussion.....

Both of these will "work" and will likely be good in some situations, but for the money they're asking for these you can do better. I would urge you not to rush into it and try as many kayaks out as you can before purchasing one. Craigslist has so many good deals pop up there and this time of year (end of summer) you will find more and more kayaks popping up for sale.

As some have already said, no matter what you find BE CERTAIN to budget a good paddle and a good PFD. You never know how crucial they are til you find out the hard way.... I had a cheapy $20 paddle when I began and one BAD day on the river when one of the blades snapped off and I had half a paddle for the remainder of the day. Lastly, try the thing out a good bit before rigging things up on it. you do not want to rig something in a bad place and be stuck with it or have to move things around.... That said, I recently rigged up a way to put a trolling motor on my Ascend FS10 sit in kayak. 30lb thrust minn kota and used the deep cycle battery i already had, WORST idea ever. one bad day on the lake when the battery fell out of my kayak and nearly drowned me on lake oconee. just be mindful of the weight capacity and the load you put on it, this said from experience.... a really bad experience!

Thanks BassJunkie, looking to spool like 20-30lb mono on one of my baitcasters to throw some smaller/medium sized swim baits.... Wondering how that will work, but feel a little better after your reply....

May be a dumb question, but I can't answer it.... If a baitcaster reel says the line capacity is 12LB mono or 17lb mono does that mean it's the largest diameter line you can put on that reel? If not, how do you know (aside from trial and error) how far above that rating you can go before you screw yourself up?

I can say that my Abu Revo and my Abu Orra are VERY NICE reels..... I don't really have any Shimano to compare them to, but compared to my other baitcasters they are butter

Very nice! Just an FYI, in many states you have to register your "boat" if you have a motor of any kind (trolling motor included) so be careful of operating with that motor if you haven't registered it yet.

I would answer the question by saying kayak, hands down. Always had a canoe as a kid and thought it was great, until i tried a kayak. I have an Ascend 10' from Bass Pro. I highly suggest you check out that line at Bass Pro, they are good quality and cheaper price than others in the same class. I would suggest you try a few models and try out a sit in VS sit on top, they are fairly different and to each his own. Good luck, and as a warning it will be addicting.....

More important question for me would be what kind of fishing do you do? Or even ask what kind of fishing do you want to explore next? I think the recomendation would vary depending on what application you would use the combo.

Nice going! I took my fiance out a couple months back and she had a pretty good time. She's by no means an outdoors girl, but after catching her a couple bluegill and a decent 2 pound bass she could at least reason with why i always want to go! Good thing you've got one that wants to go and or lets you go!!

Thats a nice looking fish!

Nice! Always fun catching multiple species for me!

i fixed your post..... once he gets settled in (10-15 mins) he's in for the long haul man, he lays down and only gets up when he's ready to hit the bank for a bathroom break.... and you're right, fishing in general is just addicting but kayak fishing even more so.... i transport mine on a car, but if i had me a small truck i'd almost leave the thing in there everyday and hit every puddle i could find....

My only take on it is something with that much fine print and that many stipulations ain't for me. I just don't like feeling like I'm being scammed and that thing sure felt like a scam when I received mine. I promptly sent it back in the envelope they provided. I agree with some above that the internet has an abundance of the same information for completely free no charge....