Preytorien

This seems to be what I do whether I like it or not and the fish love it. I can't even tell you how many flukes I've gone through this year. I just kind of throw them out there and just fiddle around with them. No consistency in my retrieve, no apparent technique, just messing around. Then BAM, fish on!

I use the Loon color. Like mentioned above it's terrible in places with emergent (surface reaching) grasses or weeds, it's definitely not weedless. I've had a good bit of luck with it this year, probably fishing it a bit more than I should. I find it's best use is for fishing over the top of submerged grass - say a foot or two under the water. The fish seem to be holding there and dart up and hit the top when an opportunity arises. Also it seems to be good when paralleling rip rap. But hey, I've also had some open water blowups. Just fish it in a lot of areas and you'll find out where your best success will come from. It's a killer lure - weird looking - but I've had some incredible outings with it. Now if only they figured out how to make a weedless version......

You actually can't deny that one small lakes or ponds it would be pretty darn effective.

I thought I was the only one. I subscribe to a few channels on YouTube, but none of them are fishing. There was even one pretty famous guy on these boards I used to follow, but I stopped since he seemed to deviate from his original excellent videos. I do from time to time re-watch them. It's up to anyone how far and what path they choose when they get serious about a hobby, but for me, I just like being outdoors at a time of day when most people are asleep and enjoying not listening to cars, music, people, or the clicking of a keyboard and mouse.

I have the split grip Crucial. I had another one that I sold since I liked the look of the cork a bit better. I use them on both spinning and casting rigs. In a nutshell I think you'll be very happy. The build is very nice, finish is as slick as you'll find anywhere, and the blank is light and sensitive. Really I can't say any more, I just know I've used Crucial's for several years now and the new series are by far the best I've handled.

Both have excellent features for a fisherman. However, as a fellow kayaker who has to often carry his kayak to the water, pay attention to the weight of both. 77 and 96 pounds respectively are pretty heavy to carry very far without a cart. I went with a much smaller kayak just because my few launch places require me to carry mine a couple hundred yards each way in a military press style, and I ain't no John Cena here just sayin'

I can always tell when bluegill are biting, it feels more like a "machine gun" bite, real stuttery - several small bites in very quick sequence, whereas a bass doesn't fool around, they hit it, and start swimming off with it. The difference in the two is quite distinguishable.

This. Both the material and the glue are better for the types of material your boat is made out of. I tried superglue on my Sea Eagle, and then later tried a Intex patch kit....the patch kit was substantially better suited for the job. You've got a nice boat, use the best to repair it.

I'll give it a shot. I used to live on the north end, somewhat close to where I'll launch, and we never caught more than a few bluegill. I'll kayak up the creek arm and see what lives there. Thanks!

I have received permission from a local church to park in their parking lot and access the headwaters of our local reservoir via kayak anytime I would like to fish. That said, the upper end of the reservoir is shaped like a "Y", with the two top arms of the "Y" being where two creeks feed into the lake. This is a lake that's used for public utilities and therefore is always being drawn from. The upper ends are pretty shallow, rarely getting more than about 3 ft, and since the lake is constantly drawing, the headwaters haven't yet filtered and the water is VERY stained, in some places the clarity of chocolate milk. I don't think it tastes much like it though So....is it even worth trying? I get pretty discouraged thinking of how to fish a very shallow very dirty part of the lake, albeit with nearly zero boat traffic. I'm not sure where to start, or if I even should.

Doing searches of different techniques I kept seeing articles that referenced this site so I decided to check it out further and saw all the forums. I browsed around them for a little while before I finally became a member and now I am hooked

Now that's a cool idea. He's an example of someone watching bass behavior and adapting his presentation and lure to match their patterns. Now that the secret's out it'll just be a matter of time..... Spro will make one, it'll be top quality but it'll be $35 and come in only 4 colors Strike King will make one, probably call it "The Jaws of KVD" or "KVD's Shiner Shredder" (something with KVD) - retails for $11 and debuts at iCast 2017 Booyah will make one, it'll be more budget conscious, but it'll fall apart at the clip hinges after one season and the trailer is made from bits of ripped up Saran Wrap Roman Made will make one, by hand for 56 hrs each, made with solid gold clips, hooks made from Valyrian Steel and a trailer made from ripped up bits of the Shroud of Turin and sell it for $6,000 and crank out 27 a year Haha...I jest, I jest

Yes in some cases. Some of my favorite fishing is wading in a shallow river for smallmouth. There are sharp rocks on the bottom, if I used straight braid, especially being that my wading/smallmouth rig uses 18lb Gliss, it'll slice the line or damage it enough that I've had a few heartbreaks. Flouro is tougher and keeps me catching fish in that case.

I use braid for everything. All weight ranges. If I need it I'll tie flouro or mono leaders.

Hypotheticals are fun - and believe me I've thought more than once what I'd do if I had the winning Powerball ticket, but there are a lot of factors my OCD mind would want to know before I picked a lure. Time of year, temp, water clarity, vegetation types, etc. Initially I'd pick up either a Senko or Keitech. Seems like either one of those two could do pretty good in a variety of conditions.

Nice! Love the match!

I use one of the little cheap bags that came with the Bassmaster subscription I got for a Christmas gift, then I put 2-3 Plano draining Stowaway boxes inside. That way if I happen to dunk it, the baits just drain off and dry. I've tried to keep everything from getting wet, but I've dunked enough to stop trying too hard. I only take one rod. I still can't figure out how I would even carry two. I'm only really fishing for smallmouth in a shallow, slow-moving, VERY clear river, so a spinning rig handles my every need very well.

^^ This about sums it up. The archives are pure gold. The search engine will do a fine job. The nice thing is that for the most part the same baits that were catching fish 20 years ago are still catching fish, so starting with the basics will give you fish on your hooks. Then just keep up with posts and watch what guys are saying works in your regions. If it weren't for Clayton (Bluebasser86), I would've never tried the Ned Rig, which is what I caught my PB on this year, so keep up with a few guys that seem to have a handle on your local trends and conditions - likely from your state. I'm not in KS like him, I'm in IN, but some conditions are similar enough they relate....just without the awful wind he talks about all the time

Well I tried gluing my Z-Man flukes to the hook, and they dissolved. I wasn't expecting that. Anyone else have this issue, and/or a solution? I have screw locks and a couple Mustad grip pins, those work pretty good, but I was hoping to glue them. What's strange is that I glued a few TRD's to their Shroomz heads and they didn't dissolve. So I'm wondering if there are subtle differences in their composition between the two.

I like Gliss for spinning, but I will probably wait until they come out with a much heavier line for my casting setups

Glad I found this thread. I need to try Mend It for KVD Caffeine Shads. I haven't found anything I like better than them but I lose too many for it to be my first reach. Mend It + Super Glue might be the tricks I need.

all the time. it's killer

I have a black one and the killer gill colors. They come through the weeds easily. They cast easily. Hookup seems good. Both I had leaked water from the package and required glue - called Spro customer support and they said I would need to glue it - Nice. I expected more from a $10 frog. I use Booyah now.

I've seen the fraying Clayton is talking about, I just don't see it often since I don't typically find myself fishing around sharp/jagged cover, usually just grass. For my river smallie setup I use 20lb Sufix 832

Exactly. Gliss is VERY thin and has a slick texture. I can see that it'd probably quickly dig in. I've only used it on spinning gear.