Preytorien

I've used my Saharas on both the Clarus and Compre rods and hands down the Compre was better, really that compre is one of my favorite rods period. Like Darren said I would take the time to pair it with your options for rods and see what you like best.

I would - and still do - fish with my dad quite a bit. Best friend and fishing buddy I know I would've started with my favorite spinning rig, it's not $150 - it's a Sustain / Crucial combo, and aside from heavy cover applications is applicable and effective in every scenario I would tell myself - "Don't skimp on line quality, it's what connects you to the fish, and while you're at it, spend winter getting good at tying knots quickly and perfectly"

I definitely prefer an aluminum frame over graphite, which makes me a big fan of Shimano since their Al frames are solid and feel good

I've had a few instances of this. Especially when I'm using it for smallmouth in a shallow river I fish. Like Bluebasser said, the bowstring trick usually does the trick, and if you're using braid, sometime you can just straighten the hook on it to free it up. But overall, you should be using a light enough jighead that sinking fast and heavy enough to snag itself is a rarity.

I've done, and still do, both types. I love taking my daughter out fishing for bluegills, and boy does she have a blast! The enthusiasm in her eyes when she screams that "a fish ate her bobber" is pure unbridled fun of fishing. Takes me back to fishing that way with my grandfather. It was where it all started, and although I deviated from "the way" while I was in college, I never forgot that rush of adrenaline. That said, my preferred way to fish myself is as stated, constantly moving, seeking out fish, or fishing spots. When I'm not in my kayak, I'm on foot, which means I HAVE to keep moving to find the fish.

If you're not throwing to heavy cover a Medium should be fine. Even throwing to heavy cover sometimes I wish I would've stuck with a Medium. With the bit more flex I could get lighter lures a bit further out there. Oh well

Just a thought, would there be a way to use a different worm gear on a casting reel to change the "default" wrapping behavior on retrieve? Maybe one with more of a spread to make the wraps wider, thus reducing dig if you have thin line on the reel? I don't really see any other advantage it would have other than that. But is it possible?

I sometimes use a Black and Yellow jig that Siebert sells in his color "Bumble Bee" - it's great for dirty stained water. It's one of the only jigs I ever catch fish with.

Yes, and as a novice kayak fisherman, I would also say "under power and under paddle" I hear too many stories of kayakers drowning, and a vest would've saved them

Our lakes in central Indiana (so far) haven't gotten much ice on them this winter. I know we still have a couple more months to go, but historically January and February are our bad weather months, and we've barely dipped into the 30's for very long this month so far. Every lake, pond, and river I've seen have no ice. That said, how does it affect the fishing when the lake never totally freezes over / gets cold enough to freeze? Will the fish start adopting pre-spawn patterns earlier than usual?

I can't swing the cost of the higher end Shimano's but my Curado 71XHG is the smoothest reel I've ever used. Stock bearings.

I use 30lb on mine and it's great

Can't wait for the Dura-Ace Di2 reels to come out -- should be some interesting technology!

Looks like a sort of niche product, not the solution for everyone, but very cool. If I lived on the water somewhere I would look into it. Looks like it's portable, pretty versatile, and durable. www.ultraskiff.com What do you think?

I pretty much use braid for everything except if I'm fishing in very cold weather (line icing is worse with braid). If I need the more subtle presentation I will tie on a mono or flouro leader. Also, take some time to get good at picking out backlash. It's much easier with braid than anything else and you can save yourself some money by learning how to do it. There are some videos on YouTube about some techniques to try -- but there are times for us all where no technique or trick will help. With a casting reel I would be careful about dropping below 30lb test due to line digging issues, plus its easier to pick out a backlash with a thicker diameter line. Aside from using a spinning reel for very finesse applications, I use a Curado 71XHG for casting very light lures just as well as heavier lures, but almost any casting reel can be tuned to your liking with a bit of work. That said, I can't say I've ever tried casting anything less than 1/16oz. Nice fish!

I was in the same boat (no pun intended) I found Vibe Kayaks and have been VERY happy with them so far. I have the Skipjack 90 - the more lightweight and portable offering from them, and I paid $499 total

Check out Vibe Kayaks - great for the money, a cult like following, and insanely good customer service.

I can only think of one weird thing. This last summer I had some time off and took the kayak out in a small pond near my house. It was dead calm conditions and I started throwing a Whopper Plopper as soon as the sun came up. I had some good success in more ways than one. I was throwing parallel to the bank with my kayak resting against the bank edges in very shallow water, and as I reeled in one fish, it must've scared another that was in the shallow water, because it jumped clear out of the water and INTO my kayak! It wasn't big, pretty small, but it's the first time I've had a fish just jump in. So I guess it was two fish caught at once, with only one of them being hooked. Can't say that'll ever happen to me again.....

Haha great video Glenn - love it

My favorite so far is comment merging. I don't recall the old version doing that, but me likey. Thanks Glenn! I like the new site!

Saw this on YouTube, and I can say I fish a small lake/pond almost this exact size in the video, and if this trick really works it could literally revolutionize my kayak outings. Might need to bring a bottle of Colavita with me next time! BTW -- someone in a state that DOESN'T already have ice on the water needs to try this out STAT Seems like it only does much good on slightly windy days, nothing gusty. So in otherwords, a pretty typical day with small-ish waves, the kind of day that you'd deem "not too windy to take the kayak out"

You won't be sorry, that was my "rookie of the year" lure this past year, caught me a ton of topwater fish. The trebles make hookup a breeze. A couple of points I found out.... 1. Wait a couple seconds after it hits the water to start your retrieve. Sometimes it'll get bit that instant, but otherwise the tail prop spins better in smooth water, so waiting until your splash disperses some is going to give you better action. 2. As you can imagine with the trebles, this isn't a 4x4 off road topwater. Grass and muck will foul the hooks and prop. I found it's best application to be over grass beds that were just barely (6 inches or so) submerged. The fish will blast up from underneath the grass and kill it 3. Flouro - depending on your diameter of line - will actually cause it to nose down some and impede the action. I use mine exclusively on braid, just like a topwater Good luck - it's a fun lure!

I do this exactly.

I looked at a lot of less-expensive kayak options for fishing. I went with a Vibe Skipjack 90 Inexpensive. Fishing friendly features. Low weight. Checked all the boxes for me

Mine already do - aside from a BPS Carbonlite combo I rarely use. I keep it more of a sentimental thing, my first casting rig, given to my from my wife. Otherwise it's Zodias/Crucial all the way