Turtle135

Take a look at the Daiwa Tatula XT Casting Rod. Look at the casting rod, not the crankbait model. The rod is 7', medium power, fast taper. Goes for $ 99.99 at Tackle Warehouse. I like this rod's handle as it fits my hand comfortably. I own several of these in medium heavy and use them as all around rods. link to that rod lineup on Daiwa's site: http://www.daiwa.com/us/contents/rods/tatula_xt/index.html

IMHO a scent will get you a few more bass. I do not think it generates more "bites" but it ups your chances of detecting a strike as I believe a bass may hold onto your jig long enough for you to know it is there. If my trailer is already heavily scented (like Paca Craws are) I do not feel the need to add scent.

when the river starts to come to life because of some insect hatch on the surface I have had some crazy fast action by throwing a small popper that has tail feathers

I see that frequently (but I have never noticed that it killed the smallmouth bite). I suspect those are small baitfish feeding on some type of insect hatch. I wonder if your lack of success when this starts up is due to the smallmouths changing their feeding behavior (maybe they were bottom oriented and now they are looking up at those baitfish).

that is a largemouth, depending on how deep they have been holding and/or water color the dark line can get washed out

search google for "baybass" and check his fishing reports, he is on that water frequently and gives detailed reports on what he is using

Not to derail the topic but I completely agree with this. I would rather not even get the bite than to break a bass off.

When you have used mono for years and years and have gotten used to knot strengths of 97 to 98 percent it is a bit of a shock to drop down to the typical 70 percent knot strength of fluorocarbon. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbontestpg6.html Ever had a presentation tied on that you just do not have any faith in? That is how I feel with a baitcaster spooled with flouro after a "professional overrun". The line might be fine or it may be seriously compromised. Like a lot of techniques and methods in fishing, what works really well for one angler does not mesh well with another. To each his own.

I fish 5" stick baits like that texas rigged with a pegged bullet sinker and a gamakatsu EWG 3/0 or 4/0 . MH Fast 7' baitcasting rod with 17 pound test Trilene XT mono. I do swing for the fence when I set the hook. As with any worm I do give them a two count before I set.

These were older quarries.They were not working them anymore (and had not been worked in years and years). They are now on private property. We asked and got permission from the home/land owner to fish there.

Virtually all of the quarry ponds around me are well posted with no trespassing signs. Generally quarries are on private property and if you are seeing active construction trucks that land is usually owned or leased by the company doing the work there. If you see no trespassing signs on the perimeter you have your answer. As far as access goes, generally there will be a road built leading down into the quarry. Some places that is the only way to get to the water's edge as the rest of the banks are vertical rock. I have been allowed to fish a few. On some the fishing is great and on some the fishing is poor. A lot of factors go into the makeup of the fish population on a particular body of water.

I know a couple of guys that pour. I save mine and turn them over to them once or twice a year. They usually make small swimbaits out of them and their most productive color is usually the mishmash that develops when mixing a whole bunch of different colored baits into one.

short answer: yes however, when you finally catch a bass on a jig it will cement your affection for life!

I use a modified version of this basic design: http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-bulletproof-kayak-cart-build.html I opted to go with heavier PVC and Marathon Flat Free Tires. I have rolled mine 4 miles up a path alongside a river a few times before to self shuttle and a flat tire would be a real hassle.

If you go with the Ride I suspect you may be able to pickup a 115 for under your budget. Wilderness Systems has several new kayaks coming out in early 2017 and I am betting that the Ride series winds up getting phased out down the road. Shop around and give the suppliers a call, I would expect one of them can make you a deal. p.s. - I transport my 115 in a Chevy S-10, one of the reasons I went with a 11.5' kayak, easy on and off the water leads to more frequent fishing trips

I fixed that for you!

dragging is great on a clean or rocky bottom, if I am in weeds I will impart more jigging, popping and swimming

What type of water do you fish 90% of the time (ponds, small reservoirs, huge reservoirs, rivers, creeks, etc.)? Also, how do you plan to transport your kayak?

I was fishing some matted grass this past weekend on the Tidal Potomac River. Was not really heavy stuff as I could punch through with a 1/2 ounce bullet and a beaver soft plastic. While I can stand in my kayak what I have found is that while seated you can catch bass that are within a rods length. I would have only 4 or 5 feet of line out and was lowering the presentation straight down, bounce it a few times, lift up and repeat. I have found when the bass are in the grass like that (with a "roof" over their head) they will allow me a very close approach. I do have a camo colored kayak (not sure if a brightly color yak spooks bass at close range) and I try to make zero noise and as little paddle disturbance as possible.

You can vary your leader type to match up with your presentation. If you are fishing a top water bait you would probably want to use mono (flouro sinks and can adversely affect the action of some top water baits). Conversely if you are fishing a light weight presentation that you want to keep close to the bottom flouro might be a better choice. by the way, if you are fishing a heavy jig, big crankbait, spinnerbait or any other presentation that will overpower the floating or sinking characteristics of your leader material then it really does not matter which leader you use (I would tend to favor monofilament there as the knot strength is generally stronger)

about the new Mirage drive that does reverse: http://www.hobiecat.com/miragedrive180/ about the speed issue, this is just scuttlebutt I am reading on Facebook from people at the iCast show

they apparently are showing a Mirage drive at iCast that can be toggled to do reverse ... for what it is worth, what am I "hearing" is that these new generation of kayaks with pedal drives will smoke a Mirage drive kayak in the speed test

video on the Wilderness Systems "Radar" kayaks (the new one with the pedal drive option)

Anyplace that gets little fishing pressure because the general public does not have access is certainly worth investigating. Off color water does two things that I can use to my advantage. The bass will typically be shallow and tight to cover. Also, if you have current and perhaps cooler, better oxygenated water flowing into the reservoir you may have found a summer gold mine. I fish brown water all the time on the Tidal Potomac and have learned the lack of visibility does not slow the bass down one bit. I have some angling buddies who shy away from that type of water just because they can't get their mind around it. I get on that water and live with a black & blue jig in my hand. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Wow! This is some awesome equipment coming out on the market this year. Kayak fishing has evolved into something I could not even imagine when I first walked into a Hudson Trail Outfitters way back in 1991 (and left with a 10' Perception Aquaterra kayak in the bed of my pickup). Good stuff!