Turtle135

I had scouted out a section of the Tidal Potomac River for a New Year's Day fishing trip. There was some ice on the water on the 30th and the 31st of December and the water temperature was down to 36 degrees but it was still accessible by kayak. There are crappie and yellow perch in this tributary so my plan was to catch either of the two species for the first fish of 2018 then grind out the rest of the day with a jig trying for the first largemouth bass of the year. So I get to the launch site bright and early on New Year's Day morning only to find Mom Nature had been misbehaving all night and she froze the place over. So I headed a couple of hours down south where a lake has a warm water discharge. I found 46 degree water and a few willing bass. First bass of the year on the left and a few others. It's a start!

In Maryland my local lakes froze over last week. I was out on Saturday and Sunday on the Tidal Potomac River. Water as 35 - 37 degrees. Went back out yesterday and even the Tidal water froze over where I could not get the kayak out. Go further south than Maryland - Virginia.

No wonder I can't catch a double digit. Tom went and sore mouthed them all! Congrats! That is an awesome record for monster bass.

1. you have a little slack in the line 2. you pop your rod (of course in that brief instant when you come tight to the lure your slack will be gone) 3. you finish by moving your rod back towards the bait creating that slack again If you kept you line tight to the lure after you popped it you would slowly drag the jerkbait forward in the water (which you do not want to do).

I believe I know what the OP is talking about. Some online retailers just grab whatever specs they find and attach it to their add. Sometimes they are using specs for a completely different unit. In Humminbird's case I always find it best to check what the unit does on Humminbird's website, then get the model number (see red arrow in the image) and then go shopping.

Full disclosure, I am not a biologist, a fisheries management specialist nor did I stay in a holiday inn express last night. Typically lakes and reservoirs that have aquatic vegetation carry more pounds of bass per acre that lakes and reservoirs that do not have aquatic vegetation. I believe part of the reason fisheries management types do not like hydrilla is that it can make it difficult for shore bound anglers to fish. The near shore shallow water can get choked out. Shore anglers complain. Hydrilla up here in Maryland is generally a good thing in lakes and reservoirs that have significant open deep water where hydrilla can not grow. The lake can not get completely choked out. We also have the cold water period where the hydrilla gets completely knocked back every season.

Nice! Nothing beats time on the water. You were overdue for a bass like that. p.s. - I have a buddy who has access to a private community pond. A couple of December's back he caught three largemouth over 21" on crappie jigs over the course of a week and a half (if I remember correctly). They may eat more forage that size during the winter than we expect.

I am down here in Maryland but our winter conditions are not all that dissimilar. Yes, largemouth bass can be caught year round. There are a lot of different presentations that can work sometimes when the water temperatures are in the high 30's - low 40's but for me till spring time rolls around I pretty much live with a suspending jerkbait and a jig tied on. Twitch the jerkbait then let it suspend motionless for 20 - 40 seconds, then twitch it again. Just crawl the jig along the bottom about as slow as you can stand it.

For me with the monofilament I am able to cast or pitch without a problem but that line coiling on the surface robs me of any real contact with the presentation. I have used the KVD spray a couple more times since the initial use. I make sure that any line involved in the cast gets a good soaking the night before I fish. Stuff definitely works and I get a straight line from the tip top of the rod to the lure. p.s. - I have tried braid before in the winter. If it gets cold enough that braid will freeze into a solid chunk so that is not an option for me.

I am fishing from the kayak 99% of the time.

I combat this problem by using lots of Megastrike! My jigs are so tasty the bass don't want to give them back.

I hate to hear that. I have never fished Briery but I was planning to next season. They put grass carp in Lake Frederick in Virginia and from what I have seen the grass was pretty much wiped out and the big largemouth are now few and far between.

I buy my silicon tabs from "Fishing Skirts" and I buy round rubber by the pound from "Janns Netcraft". I wire tie my skirts with either copper wire or that green 26 gauge "gardening wire". The gardening wire will eventually start to rust but it is easier to tie with. If it rusts and the jig is still good I just strip it and tie a new skirt. Of late I will use the silicon tabs for the colors I want but I will alway tie in a little round rubber for the action it gives the skirt.

After seeing the recommendations in this post I picked up a bottle of Kevin VanDam's Line & Lure Conditioner. I use fairly heavy monofilament line for all of my bass fishing. One problem with heavy mono in cold weather is that it can come off the spool of a baitcaster like bailing wire. It is fine in warm weather but the memory in the line in cold weather is problematic. I soaked my line with the KVD spray the night before I went out fishing. I have to say I am impressed. It made that line much more manageable and the coiling was almost completely gone.

I also saw this but if Humminbird Support says the XTM 9 DI 25 T is compatible it must be something else going on.

1. Did you try resetting the unit to the factory defaults? I do that when my Helix gets out of wack just to get everything back to standard, then I tweek from there. 2. Have you confirmed that the "xtm 9 di 25 t" is a compatible transducer? This suggests the "XNT 9 DI T". https://www.humminbird.com/Products/HELIX-9-CHIRP-DI-GPS-G2N/

did you check the bearing on the spool?

I do not think you will find a "new" kayak for $ 100.00 with enough stability for fishing. Kayaks down in that price range are more like water toys where the angler would spend as much time in the water as seated in the kayak. NYWayfarer's suggestion is probably as close as you could find to that price point. Here is a video addressing purchasing the basic fishing kayak.

Sounds like a good time to go full bore with the Ned Rig.

The MB is a good solid reel. I am all Lew's baitcasting reels these days and the Super Duty reels are my primary but I pull out a MB to handle lighter presentations. As the previous poster pointed out casting distance is great and the reels feel solid and smooth. No problems handling the biggest bass I hook into in Maryland.

Have you tried retrieving a spinnerbait with a single willow blade? In my experience if you are looking for the most feel coming up the line a single blade will win that battle over two blades everytime.

I strive to get them in the kayak as soon as possible. The one pound bass never knew what hit them. When I hook one about 4 pounds and up I get all the fight I can handle (love it when they power back down on me). For me most of the enjoyment comes from fooling a larger than average bass.

One trick I showed a couple of anglers this past season was to have them take their hand off the reel handle when moving the jig (move the jig with the rod tip only and do not reel at the same time you are moving the jig). For me this helps in finessing the jig through cover without snagging and also results in more bites. Jig head styles do make a big difference. The jig head on the left below gets into a whole lot less trouble than the jig head on the right (built on the same hook and the same weight).

Would the OP be better off getting the $ 99.99 Lew's Speed Spool LFS reel (with an aluminum frame) and the buying the Lew's TP-1 Speed Stick IM8 Casting Rod (same rod as is in the more expensive combo, also $ 99.99)? Both combo reels have graphite frames (a feature I swore off long ago) but perhaps graphite frame technology has improved? My non aluminum frame reels did not have a long life for me.

I use Lew's reels pretty much exclusively, have not tried their rods out yet. It looks like from their website that the only difference between the two rods is the guides. Lew’s Mach Crush SLP Baitcast Combo: One-piece IM8 graphite blank with Nano technology American Tackle Airwave guides Lew’s exclusive SoftTouch graphite skeletal reel seats Winn advanced polymer Dri-Tac split-grips Lew’s Mach II SLP Baitcast Combo: One-piece IM8 graphite blank with Nano technology Guides are constructed with durable stainless steel frames and aluminum oxide inserts Lew's exclusive SoftTouch graphite skeletal reel seats Winn advanced polymer Dri-Tac split grip