the reel ess

They work well in a local reservoir 3/4 f the year. Now that it's hot, I just twitch and let them fall down into the grass, repeat. They don't seem to catch as many big boys as other tactics, but they work.

7' rod seemed like a cane pole when they were new, replacing the old 5-6 pistol grips. Now they're the norm. I usually have 3 7' and 2 6'6" on the kayak when I go fishing. I only pack a couple shorties when I'm going down a tiny local river (really just a big creek-only after a rain) or I intend to catch panfish. And that's because I've never caught a bass that's bigger than a pound in that creek. I have seen a couple cruising that may have been 2 pounders.

You've probably got to slow down. If it's a big lake, like a hydro power lake, they've moved to offshore structure. It can be hard to find them without electronics and a topo map. Assuming it's a small lake and you know they can't have moved far, this is the time of year for soft plastics. Use a Carolina rig with a big worm-at least 8". Cast to deeper structure. I have a place close to here that we use Rat-L-Traps in summer. Just reeling them fast enough to stay off the bottom in the deeper areas of the reservoir. Look for places where the depth contour is not uniform. Creek bend, points, sharp drop-offs. If you catch a bass in one place throw out a buoy. If you catch several and then they stop, try a different lure. If there's a flat with lilies, try a frog, worm or other weedless bait there. Another summer tip: fish very early and late in the day. They'll bite the topwaters better then. Around here, I can catch more and better fish in the first and last hour of daylight than I can the entire remainder of the day even if it's not scorching hot.

I wouldn't stand in mine. I would prefer the ability.

I have that same kayak and love fishing from it. Can you stand in yours? I haven't tried.

If it's a party boat there are people fishing all around. You can even get your line caught on a line from the other side. I went on one of those. I was sick all day.

This is a great setup. Catches stripers too. You can do a version of it with a small fluke in front and a full-size Spook in the back. Baby bass color, even. Walk the Spook and it looks like a small bass chasing a shad.

I'm gearing toward topwaters too as well as frogs. Around here, the water temp is close to 90. Morning and evening are best. My wife had ACL surgery and I haven't been able to go. So I let the bait monkey bite me and I geared up. Just a week or two and I'll get out again.

And don't hesitate to try something because it looks stupid or gimmicky. The smaller the water, the more likely it is fish will bite something simply because they've never seen it.

Well, without any specifics, I take new ones one at the time. Try them at a time that's well suited for them-find that by asking advice and scouring the Internet. There's a YouTube video for almost every technique. If you go out to try topwaters, don't choose lunchtime on a day with bluebird skies because you'll probably be discouraged and that lure will go to the bottom of the tackle box. Understand that even the "experts" are only drawing from their experiences. Yours will probably be different. Some guys like to take only the lure they want to experiment with. That's OK, but I don't. I like to have confidence baits for backup. Fishing should be fun. And being successful at it is certainly more fun than getting skunked trying something new.

And Welcome! There's a lot of very good advice here.

For $150, I'd go for 2 combos. But I'm a cheapskate. I have a Pflueger Trion that I bought for $40 and a Medium Berkley Lightning rod ModF tip. This is my trebles and wacky rig rod. That was $40. I'll get another Trion later because this one has been such good quality for the price. This action is also light enough for crappie in a pinch. My second spinning combo is a matched BPS combo that they've discontinued, a MH/Fast tip for the single hook baits like flukes & worms. I only have $150 in both and I have all spinning situations covered. Full disclosure: I carry 3 baitcast combos too. The idea was to have all the bases covered and not need to carry the whole tackle bag. Just one little Plano box. Of course, you can spend as much as you want on a single combo. If you're going to only get one, it should probably be about a 7' MH, Mod Fast tip. I find the longer rod helps fight fish around the bow of the kayak. And that power/action is the best for covering most of the bases.

I usually Tex-skin with worms or craws. I never do it from the side although I've heard of that, mostly with tubes. You need a hook big enough to skin hook with. I like an EWG for skin hooking craws. If I'm fishing something weightless like Trick Worm or a fluke, they're Texposed.

I only own one rod in the over-$100 range. That's a 7' Falcon Lowrider MH with a mod/F tip. I misuse it for exactly what you're talking about (jigs and T-rigs) because it's crazy sensitive compared to every other rod I own. It's one of those rods that's 20% tip and 80% backbone. Anyway, I tell you this because that line of rods is still being made and the site tells you what each rod in the line is best at. Lots of manufacturers do this. I think Lowriders sell for about $129. I bought mine for $50 from a guy I worked with who was getting out of bassing altogether. He was getting into custom motorcycles. http://falconrods.com/lowrider20.html

I really would like to see a pic of this waterfall and the pool below. It's mostly flat here. We have to drive a min of 3 hours to see a good falls. There is a small one nearby that we used to walk to that was maybe 10 feet high and you could walk under. It was very cold and refreshing in the summer. But it's gated and posted now.

I have a friend like that too. Their sports and activities overlap. He owns a pond and I fish it more often than he does.

Easy fix: Just go buy yourself some cheap Berkley Big Game mono in 15#. If you have another reel that's empty or low on line (I use ABU 5000 reels because of their massive line capacity) reel the braid onto it. Then spool the reel with the cheap mono. This line is good enough to get you by a day and plenty strong. It's what I use for topwaters. Just check the line after each fish you catch. Retie as needed. If you don't, it will eventually cost you a good fish and your lure. We've all done it. Or you can just use a short leader of mono. I've tried this before but can't stand feeling the knot go thru the guides.

I know. That's why I said Fireline vs plain braid. Although I have serious doubts as to how "fused" it is. This is the end of it in the pic. You can separate the strands if you try. Fused means thermally bonded. I've had this discussion with another guy on here who basically told me I was wrong until I showed him the pic. Then he told me I got a bad batch or an old batch or something else entirely. It was brand new in a Cabela's that was just constructed. I like Fireline 17# for spinning and have it on 2 combos. I believe 17# was recently discontinued and that diameter is now 20#. That's why it says right on the package "for spinning". Lays better on a spinning spool. I've been using it since this calendar year started. No breaks, no twists and lots of good hooksets. Meanwhile, my buddy is fighting twists on mono every time we fish together and will dump you out of the boat with his hookset if you're not careful. But...to each his own. If you're uncomfortable with it, you'll have no confidence in it.

Yes. But I don't have a setup specifically geared for frogs either. I just rigged up a 7' MH Falcon rod with a Mod Fast tip that I bought from a friend used, half price. It's really a big crankbait rod and not the ideal setup. But with the braid, I feel it'll get the job done until I can get a Hvy/Fast. I've already been using this combo with 17# floro for T-rigs and it's had plenty of backbone for hooksets. It'll get me by for the rest of this frog season. Short of buying a rod made specifically for frogs, most people look for a flipping/pitching rod that's a little shorter and with a little bit more mod tip. I've walked the bank frogging at my friends' pond using a MH spinning combo with 17# Fireline. I landed exactly half the fish that bit that day. If you get another combo for frogs, you can reel the braid off the other rod onto the new one. For the topwaters, you can get by with cheaper mono line.

I use a 6'6" M, Moderate tip with 15# mono for topwaters with trebles. You don't need a 7' rod for this technique because you want to twitch the tip a lot. The reason they say you should loosen your drag is that line won't stretch. You can rip the trebles out of a fish when it strikes or while it's fighting with the braid. Mono would stretch some and be a little more forgiving. But the frog is a different story. A longer, heavier rod and braided line give a better hooksets.

You've had replacement windows (uninstalled) stacked in your living room for more than 2 years.

I caught a bass on a piece of cut bream (catfishing) in a local rock quarry where countless people had told me there were no bass. It was clear enough you could see down 20'. It took something real down maybe 50' to catch one. I've come to believe there are very few bodies of water, at least around here, with no bass in them. I guess in an urban area where anyone can get to them, it could be fished out. Or it could be so pressured they'll only bite live bait or eat at night.

Welcome. I have 15# Berkley Big Game as my backing for 17# Fireline and 50# PowerPro braid. That line is cheap enough for backing, but strong enough should I ever hook into anything that can take that much drag. I used a double uni knot same as you would for a leader. In fact, I use 15# Big Game for topwaters too.

I accidentally cut out the middle of my post. I didn't like it on BC tackle because it always dug into the spool whenever I tightened up the line. And I couldn't break it. Had to cut it off sometimes way short because I was fishing deeper in a lake. Now I usually fish shallow enough to go get a lure that's hung up. Part of the original post that I cutout was praising the virtues of Fireline vs plain braid. But I just bought some PowerPro to use for frogs, t-rigs and jigs. It looks a lot better than the old stuff I didn't like.

My dad has a 40 Force on a pontoon from the late 90s that really is a Mercury. Everything on it is made by Q'Silver and is interchangeable with a Merc 40. LORD, I'M CRAZY BOUT A MERCURY!