the reel ess

I made it my resolution to fish more in 2025. I've been a dedicated fanatic for a long time, but lost some of my favorite private waters to put the kayak in. So I went to a small pond that belongs to a friend yesterday. Tossed my black and blue Senko in a laydown and caught this one on the first cast. I put the kayak in and paddled around the place, to no avail. But it beez like that in winter sometimes, just fishing for a bite or two and getting out of the house. It's about 1.5 pounder.

Growing up, my family had a house on Lake Wateree in SC. We fished for everything, usually based on what was easiest to catch in the season. Then I grew up. I'm not the type of person who can be good at a lot of things. So I decided to specialize in my favorite species: bass. Then I got a kayak and started catching bigger and more bass in smaller and private waters. Now I only occasionally target crappie, especially for food. There are bass in almost every body of water. And, as they say, a bass is a bass is a bass. Drop me with a couple of rods and the kayak and I'll find a bass or two.

It's more about water temp than the air. But eventually, the water catches up. They simply won't be in a chasing mood. I just use them until they stop getting bites. In the spring they will get a few bites just before spawn. I'll actually start throwing a big Plopper before spawn because the bites are usually from big staging females. Here that means water in the high 50s to mid 60s. When they do stop getting bites I'll rig my frog rod with a heavy jig or lizard for a 1-2 punch on the jig-T rig.

5 Hour Energy helps. I turn 54 tomorrow. 4-5 hours for me, also in a kayak. The lower back gets sore after a couple hours and the legs can start to go to sleep. It's good to get out and stretch after about 2 hours, then continue. When I turned 50 I fished 2 6 hour days with a guide in So FL. I caught fish, standing all day both days. At 6 hours he was trying to get me to go 2 more. I had to decline, especially on the 2nd day. I'm in better shape now than I was then. But time still marches on.

When the wacky rig was new I saw a demo of it at a boat/outdoors show in SC. The fisherman speaking used this method. I was sold so I bought the worms he was using and some shrink tube and finesses hooks. Next time out I hit one of my regular stops, a cove point with a stump on it that often held a bass or two, a good transition spot in early spring. I caught one on my first cast with the wacky rig. I'm not sure I can say that about any other lure ever. The fisherman also suggested using short sections of McDonald's straws (the fat ones). That just feels like littering. I've also cut shrink tube into small pieces and used it for trailer hook keepers.

The "Guy Who Holds a Spinning Reel Upside Down" rig. But hey, it fooled one fish. Probably starving.

I fished for a long time with just one Daiwa Procaster, MH 5' combo. Later added a M spinning combo. That covered the crankbaits and worms.

My dad bought a lifetime supply of these once. I never liked them because when you cut your retrieve short to get off another cast, they twist the line.

The wife started Weight Watchers a couple years ago. In that time she has lost 120+ lbs. But she plateaued and wanted to join a gym, which we did last April, 14 months ago. I really joined just to be supportive of her, but I kinda got addicted. Now I work out 5-6 times a week. You can do it in any weather, any time. Add to that I have an old car that I enjoy tinkering with. Fishing took a back seat for the first time on about 15 years. I also lost the place I caught all my big fish. The landowner sold and I can't get in anymore. It was about 2 miles from my house, private and full of big bass. I haven't been in this calendar year. My daughter asked me if I was depressed. I said "No, I just shifted priorities, I guess." I hope to get a day on the water soon, but my option for locations has dwindled.

Try keeping everything you catch for a while and see if things change. This should allow the freaks of nature to increase their food supply and maybe a couple will break through. Fish all the typical big bass baits. I know some people feed the bluegill so they make more offspring to feed the bass. That's costly of you do it correctly (an automatic feeder on a timer). But I'd probably do it if it were my pond. Try big live bait. Probably don't want to use anything not already in the pond unless you know it's sterile or won't survive. On the other hand I've fished countless ponds that don't even seem to have a 2 pounder in them even though people are routinely taking small fish out. So don't look upon 2-3 lb. bass as a bad thing.

1/8 to 1/4, depending on whether I'm casting and retrieving or pitching to cover. Wind matters as well. Usually 1/4.

There are no gators more than a little above the "fall line". That's an imaginary line through the midlands. Certainly, none as for inland as Greenville, SC unless they were released pets. And they couldn't stand the winter. It's the same with water moccasins. Many will argue that last point and they'll be wrong. The most dangerous thing about Greenville would be the humans being. Fishing public places around there you could easily encounter a homeless person, wine-o or drug addict. It's a city after all. A few of my favorite places to eat around there are Sobe, Smoke on The Water, Grill Marks, Rick Erwin's and Willie Taco. My daughter went to the Governor's School there and we got to sample a lot of cuisine. Oh, if you like steaks, there's Hall's Chophouse. Overpriced IMO, but I'm the kind of dude who looks for the gourmet burger on the menu in a steakhouse. And there aren't any there.

Virtually all the money I've spent on red bass baits has been wasted. It simply doesn't produce here.

I came to say just this. I've had the best luck with a superline EWG hook and a big lizard.

Some vintage and otherwise cool things I got from my late brother in law. I also plan to fish creeks/small rivers this year since I lost access to the private honey hole. So some smaller lures, swimbaits, grubs, etc.

Bass like them. Buzz a Torpedo or Jitterbug early and late.

Wind is the bane of kayak fishermen. I won't even go to bigger bodies of water if the winds will be sustained over 10 MPH. Occasionally, if there is vegetation or stumps, etc. around I'll use them as an anchor. You learn after a while how to use the paddle with one hand to make corrections and not put the rod down. I suppose a drift sock would help, but you'll still move. You can also seek shelter in coves if there are any and fish shallower places. Other than that and using an anchor, which to me is more of a bother than paddling, I just deal with it. Paddle, paddle, paddle, cast, repeat. That's a great buddy who buys his friend a fishing kayak, even a cheap one. I will say, having owned a 12' and now a 10' kayak, the 12 footer tracks and takes the wind better.

Various T rigs. Rage Bug and Lizard mostly.

blindly casting a small body of water. I fish from a kayak. For years I've been fishing the same 30 acre lake. I have no electronics so I've mentally mapped the bottom by fishing it for 10 years. I've also caught enough fish there to know what I need to target, like isolated wood cover. When that's not working I resort to blindly casting to areas I think might produce. When I go to a new body of water it's just casting and casting until I start to form a pattern. But some of my best catches have come from "nowhere" places I blindly cast to that never produce again.

It's just like racing. If you get in front of the camera enough it doesn't matter if you're winning. TV hosts have good sponsors too.

There is nothing holding a woman back in the sport these days except their desire to do it. The vast majority of women simply don't want to go on the road or fish 300 days a year or deal with less than ideal conditions most days. I believe most sponsors would jump at the chance to gain a new demographic.

I went through my dad's stuff after he died and used some of it just to feel close to him. He was not into spending a lot of money on fishing so most of it was nothing fancy. There were some good lures and a nice, but oversized, old Shimano Bantam reel. He also had a 5500C Abu reel that I kicked myself for selling. I offered to pay more to get it back but the guy already bartered something else with it.

It's shaped exactly like the Creek Chub Injured Minnow. But those all have the name on the backside. This has no marking. So I'm guessing it's a later Heddon copy or maybe even a cheaper knockoff. Mine also looks like it has cheaper hardware.

Yeah, I was thinking the "Big O" looked like something from Walmart.

Yes, I said that. I was asking about the bottom two. Check this out. Looks like mine is a plastic knockoff of an old wood bait called the Injured Minnow. But the old one is probably also a knockoff of another brand.