the reel ess

LOL. There's a fat one? Rob's the older one, the veteran. His YouTube channel is LunkersTV. Some of the Googans are really immature and annoying. There is another guy they associate with called LakeForkGuy that acts mature. He's also a grownup.

That's funny. I think Rob wen't off on DSG on Twitter regarding their tactical rifle policy and now they carry his baits.

Is Dumb & Dumber taken? edit: I see just above my post I was barely beaten to it. Just like I used to get up with the chickens and go out to the spot i wanted to fish only to find two boats already there.

TRICK WORM gets them year round! But I'm leaning toward a jig all the time now.

Well, it ain't over yet, but I caught a 7.1 lb that you can see in my profile pic, a few in the 6's and a few in the 5's. It was the best year I've had in a long time in terms of big fish. I had been in an almost 2 year slump. Most of them came in the late summer/early fall transition.

Whatever you buy, just know going in that there is no way to get out of it without taking a bath. The smarter money is probably to buy a gently used one a few years old that has been at least covered. I now have a hulk sitting under my late father's shed. It is more work than it's worth and I'll probably end up just about giving it away. But I paid $4K for it and had a ball for a while. The only ROI is the enjoyment you'll get so use it every opportunity you have. I may someday trade mine in on a pontoon for the wife and daughter.

Yeah, I'm going to do it until I can't do it anymore. It's really no different from the other exercise I do. Kinda like having a killer case of "bass thumb". When you feel it you smile a little inside.

I would say the way I feel is different now that I'm 48. My lower back starts ache when I fish from a boat because I want to stand all day. It's one reason I got a kayak to begin with. It's just easier to fish while sitting and the kayak is a whole lot easier to load and unload compared to hooking up and towing a boat, launching the boat, landing the boat, towing home and unhooking it. I just wanted to combine some fun exercise with my favorite pastime.

Welcome! I've been fishing with a "budget kayak" for about 6 years. I just moved up to a Feefree Lure 13.5. It's like night and day. For bigger waters, I'd recommend a bigger, heavier kayak. Also, if I were looking to fish lakes with powerboats on them, I'd probably go all out and get one you can pedal. Do your homework and make an educated purchase because it's going to be expensive and, if you're like me, you'll have to live with it for a while. I have only used the Lure once. It's a major upgrade, but there are still some things my cheaper Pescador 12' does better. It's more nimble. I can adjust my position with one hand on the paddle. It's closer to the water so it's easier to handle hooked fish and it's an easier platform to paddle from. It will get through flooded timber more easily. But it's less stable, I can't stand on it. It's less comfortable to sit in for long periods. It's more at the mercy of the wind due to its light weight. I may still keep it because it's useful in small waters.

Buy 2 Pad Crashers and 2 popping Pad Crashers. When they're biting them, you'll wear one out.

@Hook2Jaw I'll get used to it.

I should also say, in reference to standing up in a kayak, I'm 6-2, 200 lbs. and not the most agile person.

I tried mine out yesterday and caught 4. I can tell you the seat is pretty comfy. The height adjustability is nice but I didn't prefer it all the way up. The deck stayed completely dry. I fished about 2.5 hrs. I could stand in mine and fish. I did twice, but I'm not still comfortable doing it yet. I didn't need to because I couldn't sight fish yesterday. I may when bass get back on the beds. Even so, it's really good to be able to stretch your legs after sitting a couple hours. This kayak is at least 30 lbs heavier than my last one (Perception Pescador). it's more difficult to load and unload. The wheel in the keel is helpful. Being that much heavier, it doesn't handle as easily. Fish also don't pull it around as easily. edit: Mine already had a graph/GPS on it. The transducer is mounted to the bottom of the console. It's tucked in above the bottom of the hull so you won't damage it dragging or running over stuff. The place I was fishing is so small and shallow, I didn't need it. My hand makes a decent water temp gauge. But if I was fishing a bigger or deeper lake, I'd appreciate it.

I don't exactly love winter fishing. But I get cabin fever after a couple weeks of cold weather. I'll start looking in the forecast for the next day of full sun and temps in the 50's. You can catch your biggest fish of the year in February around here. That might mean you're fishing for one bite in a whole day, but it usually won't be a dink. And you finally get outside for a few hours. Also, you don't need to rise with the chickens to winter fish.

I'm taking it for a spin this afternoon.I'll give my impressions afterward.

I'm from SC, but not that area. But be careful where you fish. Make sure you have a saltwater license if you're on the wrong side of the dividing line. You can find that here. http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/dividingline.html I know Goose Creek isn't far from the Cooper River. There has to be some way to access it. Find a local tackle shop and ask them. There might even be a kayak rental business there.

I don't think you'll find a baitcast combo for 1/8 oz spinners. But don't despair. You can buy 1/4 oz. spinners that they will cast. If you really need something for an 1/8 o.z lure, you'll have to go to a lighter spinning combo. That's in the light range. I have a cheap spinning combo that I use for those.

It can be really odd at certain places. I've got one place you can't keep fish off a topwater and another where a topwater bite will be very rare. It can be a number of things. It seems to me the smaller, shallower and weedier a pond is, the more likely you'll get topwater bites. I guess the primary forage can make a difference. If fish don't "need" to look up for food they probably won't. If they're well-fed, they're less likely to chase something that doesn't look like their forage. And, of course, water temp is the biggest variable in topwater efficiency. Cooler temps just = fewer and shorter topwater opportunities. Mine are all but over for the winter.

What pedal yak are you interested in? Can you buy a pedal drive assembly for the Lure 10? Or is that just for the larger one? I'm interested too. But I fish a few places that are just too shallow and/or weedy for it to be of much use.

Along these same lines, I have a related question. Is there any reason you can't use a braid main line with a fluoro leader on BC gear? I know a lot of people do that with spinning gear.

I bought it! Can't wait to give it a try. Maybe in time I will get the overdive pedal drive. I'll have to research that.

My buddy bought a package deal a while back with 2 Lure 13.5's, trailer, Lowrance Hook 7 depth finder/GPS and solar charger. I'm going to look this afternoon and if I like it I'm coming home with it. I've only heard good things about this kayak. I've been using the Pescador 12 for about 6 years. It has served me well, but it's time to step up. I'm 48 and my legs go to sleep after a couple hours in the Pescador. I need one that sits up a bit and I can stay dry in.

The SPRO lipless crank is very similar, but it's not exact. The gills look a little different and the rear hook is on the bottom, where the H2O rear hook is on the end. I guess it's still very possible that they're made by SPRO. Just not in the same mold. Maybe they're made in Spro's old or prototype mold.

We had a riveted boat back in the 80's and 90's. We spent as much time fixing leaks as we did fishing. We would put it on the trailer, crawl under it and find the loose rivets and drill them out. Then we would replace them with pop rivets with some silicone around them. It was a losing battle. But I understand that heavier gauge aluminium would have performed much better. Riveted boats are probably light years from that nowadays. My pops was always taking the cheap way out.

If you look on their site, they have very few listed anymore and they're almost all on clearance. It looks to me like they'll be discontinued. Hopefully they have something sles in mind.