the reel ess

There are probably minnows there. Every time I ever cut open a bass's stomach from a pond it had minnows in the belly. I did catch one that had a bass sticking out its throat. Anyway, I'd probably take my chances with minnow or shad imitators and soft plastics. Craws and plastic worms work everywhere I've ever been. Some big bass just won't bite imitations. It's no accident when a fish reaches trophy size.

The 6" bass eats large bluegills? LOL. This is a joke.

Well, it's missing a couple things. Just can't put my finger on it.

Sprinker Frog-type bait. I tried to make one and it worked a little while before the tail wouldn't stay on.

I use spinning gear mostly for light T rigs. For 3/16 o.z and above, I use BC gear.

Weightless

I never peg it. But I never punch.

I am tomorrow evening. I'm really looking forward to it. It's about the end of the spawn here. I'm not sure what I'll find when i get there. It was in full swing when i went two weeks ago. I hope the topwater bite is on.

Yes, I have the 12' Pescador. They are a bargain for what you get. The only drawback to it is the old seat design. I use a stadium cushion to keep my tailbone from aching and keep my butt dry. I'd like a stadium seat but this kayak is not stable enough for it. That has me thinking of upgrading, saving the Pescador for buddies and selling my daughter's Spirit 120. If she goes can use the Pescador.

I just picked up some Keitech Easy Shiners. How do you rig them?

Weightless Bubble Gum colored Zoom Trick Worm, followed closely by all other color Trick Worms. If I had to survive on what I catch, I would throw this more than anything else. In fact, I usually do.

You can take the fish and eat it if you feel guilty. You might kill them with single hooks too.

I've used the Gamakatsu Octopus hook and I bought some "wacky jig hooks" from Cadman's Jigs. But I've also had good success with the same hook I would use for T rigging a standard worm. You can give them the same hookset you would the T rig.

There's got to be a FL fisherman with live shiner fishing experience to answer the hook question. I would think it's very similar.

I like amber because you can still see with them in lower light, morning or evening. But then people can see what you're looking at when you aren't fishing.

Check out Academy. They have a Magellan (their house brand) model that looks exactly like the Pescador (not the pro) for $449. My guess is it's the exact same kayak, but $50 less. It's probably still made by Perception.

Anything heavy will work. PowerPro 50# will work better.

The best advice I ever got about targeting bigger bass was to go where they are. If you go where the average is larger, you greatly increase your odds more than any specific technique or bait can. You can always target the biggest bass in a body of water with bigger baits and baits that generally produce bigger bites. But if that's a pond full of dinks, you might go a long time between bites and get discouraged.

The biggest I throw is really a wakebait, the SPRO Rat 40. It's 1 oz. But I fish it just walking on the surface. It gets more bites that way. When I plan ahead I move up to the MH 7' stick that I usually use for jigs/worms. But when it's an after thought, I use my lipless crank/topwater 6-6 M M/F stick.

I do that as well. That way you don't need another worm for wacky rigging.

I do it with the point in the top of the worm after it's rigged. Mostly because I use the letters on the bottom to gauge where I should stick the hook thru. That way, I get the perfect spot every time. Here's a little money saver. After you catch a few (or miss a few) and the nose of the worm gets chewed up, you can bite or cut just a bit off the nose of the worm and thread it back on and catch a couple more. They really don't care if it's 1/2" shorter. In fact, it probably gets more bites by being shorter.

CADMAN, who is on this very site makes a nice grass jig. You can see some on his website and FB. I bought some and they do a really good job of coming through grass & weeds without fouling. That's mostly what I fish around. It's like an Arky head with a vertical line tie.

I was the same when I was learning bass fishing. I preferred moving baits because the hookset was easier. It takes practice. I keep the rod between 10-12 o'clock. Move the bait a little with the rod (do not move it with the reel), reel down the slack and repeat. When you feel that tell-tale tap-tap of a strike, reel down to about 7-8 o'clock and set the hook pretty hard.

I cleaned up on them last week on a Pop R right over the beds and caught three of the good females. But as you say, normally, that's not consistent.

You can take your lure selection down to the bare basics by taking a crankbait and t rig for bottom, spinnerbait for middle and Pop R for topwater. You have the whole water column covered. Most other baits will be a variation of these few baits. I can't tell you how often I take 6 rods and my buddy takes one with a Zoom Trick Worm and we both catch most our fish on the Trick Worm. But I LIKE TOPWATER fishing and would trade 2 for 1 if I can get steady action on a topwater bait. Keep it simple with the basic techniques as the season dictates and branch out from there. It takes a few seasons to develop this system of seasonal patterns in your head, but when you got it, it will serve you the rest of your life.