blackheart7710

Hey everyone! I've been doing a little bit of thinking and having a lake just a block away from my place makes me really want to try out a light kayak. I really have no idea what to look for but I do know I'm not interested in those ones that you just sit on top of. I was hoping maybe someone could give me an idea of what to look for in a kayak. I don't need anything super spectacular and if possible I'd like to keep it at $300 or less. This might be crazy, but who knows. Like I said, something light would be great so I could just carry it to the lake and do a little fishing. Thanks in advance for the help!

Tons of useful input here guys. Thanks for that! Most of the places I've been fishing this year have been treating me well. I've been sticking to mainly topwater and minnow crankbaits. I'm going to be making a trip up to Lake Erie here pretty soon. Depending on how things go, I may consider trying another baitcaster. It sounds like it would do me well and it makes sense if I were using heavier lures. Being busy in college, I limit myself to how many places I fish (only three or four major local lakes.) If I find out Lake Erie fish like heavier lures I will definitely consider a baitcaster. I have a few heavy ones in my arsenal that are just a little too heavy for my spinning reel. Again, thanks for all the input. It seriously helps. I'm not surrounded by tons of avid bass fishermen so I listen whenever I get an opportunity!

Something crossed my mind the other day when I was chatting with a buddy at work about fishing. He likes to use a baitcaster if he knows he's going after bass. I strictly use spinning reels. It's what I've always used, however I did purchase a cheap baitcaster once and I wasn't a fan so I switched back to my spinning reel. Am I the only one who doesn't like baitcasters? Is it going to affect me in the long run not using one? Are there any major advantages that I'm missing out on? I feel like I've gotten pretty good at controlling everything with a spinning reel. I almost feel as though it may be too much trouble to try and use a baitcaster if I won't benefit much from it. So what do you think? Anyone else in the same boat as me? Thanks for reading!

Thanks everyone! Butler, eh? I have quite a few friends down that way. Do you ever make it up the Lake Erie?

Jitterbug or jointed Rapala for me.

Just tried night fishing for the first time a few weeks ago. The hours I work only really leave me with time to fish at night. I gotta say, I seem to catch way more fish at night, especially in shallow water. I've been going out every night to the lake down the street and we've been doing a number on the largemouth down there!

Hey everyone! I'm a college student from northwestern PA (about 15 minutes south of Lake Erie.) I've been fishing all my life. I was big into largemouth fishing when I was growing up and I also did quite a bit of trout angling. Over the last few years, I've gotten away from angling quite a bit. Being busy with school, I just couldn't find the time. This summer, my girlfriend and I moved into a place just a few blocks from a small lake. We decided it was time to get the rods back out so we went and got our licences for the first time in two years. We've been getting a feel for the lake down the street, finding out a little about the landscape and what the water holds. We've been stuck using our trout rods (ultralights) but we've started building up a nice collection of tackle and we also picked up a few medium action combos to help out with the larger bass. We're starting to really get into night fishing, something completely new to me. I hear there's some walleye in the lake but we've been killing bass around midnight every night. We're looking to get out and do a little shore fishing on Lake Erie soon. Enough of my rambling. I'm looking forward to sharing some stories and maybe even some info with some of you. There aren't many things more exciting than hooking a nice looking largemouth on a nice summer day. It's a passion of mine and I can't wait to learn some new things here!