the reel ess

I saw a very nice inflatable SUP at Grady's Outdoors in Anderson, SC a couple years ago with attachments to add a kayak-type seat to it. If I had seen it before I bought my kayak, I'd probably have it. I haven't been able to find one since. It looked like a great compromise between the two and a good option for standing and casting.

I fish a place that has some big bass, loaded with gold shiners and a lot of moss on the bottom. I'm thinking a soft plastic swimbait in gold shiner would be a good option. Anyone have a favorite?

The pros say if it catches fish it's an old one. If it doesn't, it's not. So far, mine is not.

Start searching the articles on this very site. Start with "beginner" and branch out. If you are on Facebook, like Bass Resource. It will send links to articles to your FB feed. I've learned a lot like that. Keep it simple to start with. Study what to use in different conditions. Good luck.

My dad throwing the anchor in from his pontoon boat. My dad casting a lure in the trees after we pulled up to a prime spot. God love him! Going to the lake, launching the night before so the boat's ready, spending the night, getting up one hour before sunrise, heading to the best spot I can think of, and two boats are already in the cove. I know they've already fished it thouroughly. I just crank up and go elsewhere. Maybe come back midday. This is why I bought the kayak.

I recently walked the bank at a pond and saw some nice fat mamas (for this small pond) on the bed close together. I spooked them off. I put my kayak in and went the other direction around the pond. Came back to them about 30 min later and caught both where I saw them. One ate the worm off my hook. I rigged another up and caught it next cast. They have short memories. +1 on the confidence too. If you don't feel something won't work well, you won't give it a fair shot. I haven't given jigs or swimbaits a fair shot yet. I'd like to fish with someone who is good at them to learn.

I usually cautiously approach a particular laydown that just looks perfect. I wait until the boat's in position. I cast my bait and get snagged first cast! Noise, dropping stuff, my daughter throwing things in. My daughter paddling her kayak between mine and the bank. My daughter swimming where I try to fish. I am patient. For some reason I feel compelled to throw back a fish on the opposite side from where it was caught-like it matters. Friends getting too drunk to fish.

I like the shad patterns but with something a little different.: A purple back or smokey color. Something to set it apart from the millions of shad out there. But lately, I'm fishing a place with gold shiners and I look for a gold/black pattern. AND CRAWFISH!!!

I carry 4 rods and one plano 3700 with a few bags of whatever plastics I think I need. If I'm at private property, I won't carry the box in the kayak. I recently got a new tackle bag from Cabela's and gave my old bag, boxes and whatever lures I've either never used or never caught anything on to a local kid. It's so hard letting go!

I caught scads of bass on a Torpedo 2 Saturdays ago ahead of a front, overcast. But we had a couple cool nights that kind of turned that off. Still, I would think it's about here to stay in SC.

I just started using Fireline on spinning this spring and I already love it. I've gotten plenty of bites with no leader. I've caught a nice one over 5 lbs. I don't like feeling a knot go through the rod guides when I reel up and cast. If you tie a good Palomar knot, you won't lose lures. If fish will strike a Bama rig with 5 wires going different directions, they don't care about a single visible thread.

Very good article on this very site regarding "must-have" lures. http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/bass-lures.html

My fishing buddy came up with a new one recently. A crappie sized crankbait in bubble gum color. He would crank it down a little then let it float up. He texted me pics of 2 over 4 lbs and lost a larger one.So I took a small Bomber and painted the thing with bubble gum color fingernail polish. Next time out, neither of us caught one on it. But it worked for a day on bedding females. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box and show them something they haven't seen yet. Tick them off.

LOL That's great! Always wear the PFD! I had to bail out once myself.

I can't remember anything that early. My parents said I started with the cane pole and worms so early it preceded my earliest memories. We had a lake house. I would nag my dad to stop and buy me bait and supplies on the way to the lake. If he had to go back and get it, I lost valuable fishing time. I would wake up and start walking the banks, fishing with a cane pole before they even got up. It's a wonder I didn't drown. I almost did twice as a kid. So I'm pretty sure my first bass would have been way back then. I got a pic of my daughter's first fish as well as the entire catch. Two white perch and a crappie on the Barbie rod. Perhaps the proudest I've been besides the day she was baptized.

I notice this too. There are three docks and a few blowdowns where I mostly fish and there are almost never fish on them. They hunker in the mossy bottom until they feel like chasing bait. The fish don't get concentrated like they would on a barren lake with wood cover.

I grew up on a SC lake that had no vegetation. Hydrilla was introduced, but it never took over because the water is stained and they drawdown in winter. I used to wish the same, but fishing was pretty good. Now I fish a reservoir that is loaded with grass & moss. You can't use anything Texas rigged because it's buried in grass or moss. You can't use a crank that's designed to dig a certain depth. You only have the top or middle of the water column.And since it's all over, you can't just go to the grass to look for the fish. But you adapt.

DO NOT EVER use Tru Turn hooks. I learned this after one purchase.I read recently that most of that twist is happening when your worm is out of the strike zone and you reel up fast, which makes good sense. But, yeah, as mentioned here, the worm needs to be aligned as closely as possible. It could also be that you're using a hook a size or two too small and if it were larger, its weight would cause the worm to not flip.

The second episode is up.

Try a lizard, weightless if necessary. Bass hate them.

I went this morning and caught one on a Trick Worm with very little hookset. It bit and ran so fast I only had time to tighten up and start reeling. I just leaned back and reeled it in. The gamakatsu hook set just fine.

KVD's the new Bill Dance in terms of being a great ambassador for the sport. He's well-spoken and has a way of explaining. He's accomplished about everything you can in his sport, so his opinion carries a ton of weight. Swindle is the new joker of the sport. maybe not the nicest guy there is, but very funny. Could have had a career in standup.

It all depends on the reel's spool. I used Berkley Big Game 17 on my spin combo until someone turned me on the Fireline. 17# Fireline has the diameter of 8# mono, no stretch or memory and after you use it an hour or so, it's as limp and castable as small mono. The only negative I can see it it's slightly visible in clear water. But I don't fish in clear water. It hasn't seemed to hurt me. If I was to fish a clear place, I guess I'd tie on a floro leader.

Mono has about 10% stretch before it starts to be damaged.That means if you have out 30 ft of line and need to set a hook on a heavy fish, the first three feet of your hookset could be wasted. Then if you're setting on a soft plastic, the fish could be swimming sideways or toward you. Then you have even more slack than you think and your set might barely tighten the line. Superlines will take up a lot of that stretch. Now a 300 yd spool of Fireline costs about $17 and it will last forever on the reel. You don't have to fill the spool with it. Just little less than the last half the spool will do. I have a 1000 yd spool of Trilene Big Game 17 lb that I use for backing.

My wife is insanely afraid of the kitchen after I clean and bag fish. I have to cleanse the ccounter and sink until there is nary a hint fish meat was there. She refers to it as "raw fish". I tell her when I go fishing (hopefully) I handle maybe a dozen "raw fish", drink a bottle of water and eat a snack without washing my hands with soap. Unbelievably I haven't been poisoned yet.