Fin Stalker

Chatterbait it the fish in my avatar. If I remember correctly it went 7.94#.

My first recommendation would be to shop used fro a while longer and see if you can find a used Trident 13 or comparable kayak if you still have no luck look at the Perception Pescador, it is hands down a better kayak than the FS12T. Tight Lines and Roll Tide. lol

Weedless 68 12ROF.

Not fishing. I use it for an excuse to get out of just about everything.

Fish in rivers aren't going to behave the same as fish in a lake. About half of my fishing is done on rivers here in the South but the principles should still apply. The main thing to look for outside of visible cover is any kind of current break in the water whether it be an eddy or seamline (an area where shallow faster water meets deeper slower moving water). Fish those areas. Keep in mind that you are going to be on the move constantly, so you may pick up two or three fish in one area but you may not sit in one spot to do it. I kind of look at it like running and gunning. I'll throw to a spot a couple of times then move on, if I pick up a fish I may throw to a few more spot around where I caught that one then I keep moving. Notice what is working for you and repeat but keep moving. I have had times when I've absolutely hammered them at the mouth of a creek but those time are few and far between. Generally most of my time is spent on the move. Also keep in mind that a river is a living thing, the river you fished today isn't the same river you will fish tomorrow.

A new swimbait combo and a new general purpose combo. Thinking Phenix/Lews. Over the new couple of years I'm hoping to upgrade all of my combos.

CONGRATS!

Nice work.

I carry 4-6 rods with me most of the time all set up for different purposes but not so specialized that I can't use them for other baits than what I had them originally rigged for. The only rod(s) that stay task specific are my swimbait rods and my frog rod everything else is pretty much general purpose since I fish from a kayak and don't have the space to stow 15-20 rods. Everybody is going to tell you what works for them but in all reality you need to experiment for yourself to find what works for you. The only rod I would ever recommend to anyone as the basis for a line up is a 7' MED HVY Fast with a 6.3:1 or about reel. No brands mentioned because you need to decide for yourself what feels good in your hands.

Yes. The way I look at it is you match the rod to the bait not the bait to the rod. Example; Frogs- Most people will lean towards a 7'+ Hvy Power rod so they have plenty of backbone in the rod to horse fish out of heavy cover and give them a solid hook set when using hollow bodied frogs.

Old Town Predator 13 Ocean Kayak Big Game II As for fishing slop.... I can not explain how thick some of these pads are.

I fish from a kayak almost exclusively but I've been wanting a boat for a while now because of some of the advantages of a boat. Mainly space and the ability to go from one point to another quicker (a lot quicker). Also there are times I would like to fish with someome else and be on the same boat.

No worries. I've seen a few full on lectures about grammar on different forums and one of them here. Although I did want to call you on it I didn't want to embarrass you too badly.

KAYAK not KYACK MOTOR not MOTER Spell check dude.

Try it the worse thing that could happen is you get skunked. Down in my neck of the woods I've been having good luck with Vudu Shrimp with a dose of Pro Cure Inshore on them. The weather has been hit and miss the last couple of weeks but when I can get on the water to do some inshore fishing that's been my go to set up. I've been using the 5" shrimp, our bays are full of bigger shrimp right now.

I have a Predator 13. Honestly it's not the best kayak in the world for windy days because it is "high sided" and it rides high in the water. As far as stability is concerned it is very stable. I'm sure there are kayaks out there that are more stable but in my mind there comes a point when you give up too much speed for the sake of stability and the Predator and other kayaks of similar width are at that point. I have grown to really enjoy fishing out of it. She has a very open feel to the cockpitand there is plenty of room for storage. It makes for a great slow water kayak and I also use it a lot on small lakes. If you have any specific questions about the P13 I'll be more than happy to answer them as best I can. P.S. I've never been on the MX.

As with all tackle get what you can build confidence in. Personally I like 3/8 or 1/2oz. in simple colors bluegill, black and white. I use several different brands of trailers but they are all some sort of boot tail design and I match the color of the trailer to the color of the jig. I fish them like a spinnerbait or I grind them across the bottom like you would a bigger swimbait. Swim jigs can produce some good fish and have become a go to bait for me.

I keep my stuff in order and ready to go. I too fish from a kayak so I limit my tackle on purpose. I never carry more than 5 rods and two 4700 Plano boxes and most of the time it's 3 rods and I leave them in my kayak. Years ago I noticed that I tend to use the same stuff almost every time on the water so my basic kit stays the same so there is no thought about what to take with to go "on the fly". If I decided to go fish right after work tomorrow I can be loaded and ready to go in about 10 min. My Planos are in my crate now rods are in the hull and my PFD is stowed in the bow hatch. No jacking around, back my truck to the garage door slide kayak in bed grab crate strap it all down and roll. One of my honey holes is 3 miles from the house. If you keep your stuff organized and ready to go it makes quick trips easier and more painless to pull off. Something that I started to do recently is stowing everything before I get back to the launch that way once I get there I'm not sorting things out as I try to get loaded up to go home. I will keep one rod out and fish my way back then stow that rod just before I land my kayak.

Two things. 1. Like all kayaks that ride high in the water they tend to get blown around a bit, just the nature of the beast. 2. The area where your feet will land when standing is a little cramped, not a big deal just not as comfortable to stand in as my Predator. It sounds like you got a pretty good deal. Congrats. BTW Kayaks kick@$$ on the pits in S.E. Kansas.

I had one. They are pretty cool kayaks, super stable, lots of storage space, nice seat and fairly fast for a big kayak. They track well too.

Here's my take on this. A 7' MH Power, Fast Action rod is a good general purpose rod that every bass angler should have in their arsenal. I would also say it should be paired with a medium speed reel of about 6.3:1 gear ratio. I run braid on all of my light gear and have found that for the most part anything over 40# is over kill for me. With a set-up like that you can use it for several applications. When fishing frogs and toads I slam the hook home every time regardless of the size of the fish. The trick to a good hook set with frogs is making sure the fish has the bait and not re-acting too fast. Drop your rod tip reel up the slack then set the hook. As far as playing the fish. Don't. Get the fish landed and back in the water a quickly as possible. Catching a fish is fairly stressful for the fish and it's best to get it over as fast as you can.

It was your first time in a kayak, of course it's not going to feel a solid as what you expected. Most kayaks you can stand in range from 29"-34" wide, that's not much surface to stand on when you're talking about being on the water. There are several kayaks out there that are more than stable enough to stand and fish from. A lot of what you experienced was lack of time on the water on a kayak that's all. Don't get discouraged right away take as many as you can for a test drive before you decide on one particular brand/model. A couple to look at to go along with what has already been mentioned are the Ocean Kayak Big Game II and the Old Town Predator 13.

The two tools I use most are my scissors and hemostats and I keep them on a string that is attached to the center hatch. The other two tools that get the most use are my camera and net the camera is on a monopod that I jam in one of the front scuppers for hero shots and shooting video and the net I just lay on the front of my kayak out of the way. I'm not 100% sure on this but I think a large peanut butter jar will fit into the small hatch that is in-between your legs. You can screw the lid to the hatch cover and have an easy/cheap way to access the small tools you use most. Another option is one of those small bags that fit in those small hatches. I found it! This should fit. http://www.austinkayak.com/products/469/Wilderness-Systems-Tarpon-Kayak-Cat-Hatch-Bag.html

Your Dad's musky rod will work fine for 68's and smaller baits like the S-Waver. Keep in mind the sweet range for a rod is in the middle of it's weight rating. So if you have a rod that is rated from 1-3oz. a lure weighing approx. 2oz. (in general) the rod will perform better. There is no industry standard on how rods are rated for power and action so you need to determine what rod is going to work best for you and the lures you are going to throw using said rod. You do know the difference between Power and Action?

Like Catt and Tom said move to or try to find areas that get less pressure and fish at night. I would set up my next trip to where I hit the water about an hr before sundown and fish for about 6 hrs. just to give yourself time to get some fishing done. Think Top, Middle and Bottom. I like to start at the top of the water column and work my way down but if it has been exceptionally hot I will work in reverse (sometimes fish treat hot weather just like the cold it's about extremes). Use proven search baits like spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, toads (not frogs) and bladed jigs to see if you can get some bites. I'm not trying to contradict myself but fish low and slow too using large profile baits might draw some strikes. I'm pretty new to this forum but I'm sure if you searched for tips for newbee bass anglers you can get a ton of info on particular baits and places to start fishing that may come in really handy.