the reel ess

My wife fished with me once. She caught all the crappie while I baited her hook. When they stopped biting, I got a chance to fish and i only caught catfish. But that was just fine. It's just not her bag and I'm fine with that because I like the solitude of fishing alone. It's how I get away from the day-to-day stresses. My daughter used to go kayaking with me, but she's over that for the most part. She says I fish to long and too seriously.

I have a FeelFree Lure 13.5. It's a good, stable kayak. That wheel in the keel does very little for you when it comes to dragging through the woods and over uneven ground. It's really not even easy to drag on my lawn. That's because you can't help but drag it with one hand from the front middle. The kayak will sway left and right and you'll still be dragging the keel some. And it's heavy. I would still recommend a cart for that. Also, I'm a member of a FB group of FeelFree owners. Many of them who own an Overdrive unit (that's what they call the peddle propeller) aren't very fond of those either. They have the reputation for being easily broken.

I recently traded my FeelFree Lure 13.5 with GPS/Fish Finder to a guy for the same model kayak rigged with a transom mount trolling motor kit from Electric Kayak Company.It's the first one on this page. http://www.electrickayakcompany.com/#options It the 45 lb thrust model with variable speed. I took it out yesterday morning with good results as I mentioned in the Fishing Reports forum. I love the motor and was able to cover a lot of water with it. The steering is a good idea, but the design could use a little work. I didn't rig this one, but with this kit, you basically replace the foot rest assembly with ones that slide. To go left, you push the left foot rest. To go right, push right. If you put pressure on the ends of the foot rests, it's difficult to steer. You need to put toe pressure on it where it slides in the rails. One of the foot rests binds in its slide. I will continue to tinker with it on saw horses until I get it working better. Does anyone else have one of these that can lend any advice? Thanks

I recently traded my FeelFree Lure 13.5 with GPS/Fish Finder to a guy for the same model kayak rigged with a trolling motor kit from Electric Kayak Company. It the 45 lb thrust model with variable speed. I'll report on that in the boats forum. I had to get out of the way of some workers remodeling our living room. I had planned to be on the water at sunrise, but it was an overcast morning, so I made it there about 6:50. About 5 minutes into the trip, learning to steer and control the motor, I had a blowup on the Whopper Plopper 130. The fish missed it so I reeled in quickly and cast again beyond the same spot. This time the fish annihilated the bait. I knew from the bite that it was a good fish. But it made a run and peeled off about 15 yards. It was a good fight, but probably not as good as it would have been in spring water temp. I landed the fish by hand (because I never carry a net) and weighed it. My scale was stuck on KG! GRRR! Then it occurs to me I have a conversions app on my phone. I was praying it would be at least 8. It was 7.7, which beats my old PB from late last fall by a half pound. And I caught it on one of my late father's rods. I had a little moment afterward when I realized that. It also occurs to me that if that fish had not taken the bait on the second cast, I never would have any idea I had missed a PB. I went on to catch a few dinks and miss a few others. I was able to cover a small lake in 2 hours that usually takes me 3 hours to paddle, with more bait-in-the-water time. All in all, it was a very successful trip. That's what keeps me going.

An 8 pounder. I know people who have fished a lot less than I have who have caught bigger bass.

I do like fishing alone. I'm my favorite fishing companion. I do have one buddy I fish with a few times a year. But he's a lot like me. We can go a half hour and not speak and it's not awkward. Come to think of it, fishing is the only way we spend time together.

I can only comment on my experience.

You can also use the Booyah Popping Padcrasher. It walks a lot easier. Even if you fail to walk it, you can pop it in place without dragging it too far forward.

There are two things going on with this guy. There's the whole "I never catch this many so I'm not hurting anything by doing it this time" mentality. And there's the "It didn't really happen if I don't kill and freeze every one" mentality. My dad had this attitude. He and another man filled the freezer with over 180 crappie in one day. He didn't understand why I would throw back any fish, especially big ones. But then, we didn't have a camera in our pocket back then. This guy could easily have shown the kid how to be a good steward while having fun and started throwing them back after the limit. I assume in that state you can catch and release all day, right?

Yeah, email had nothing to do with time zone. I believe they had just been merged into one of the big parent companies.

The importance of walking the frog is overplayed. It's a nice skill but almost all my bites come over vegetation. The ones that don't are usually not induced by the frog's action. They usually happen when the frog hits the water. It seems to me the further the frog is from some cover, the less likely a bite is. One exception is to walk it parallel to the bank during low light periods. The walk gets harder with a stiffer rod, which is what is recommended for the technique. Give the frog some pops on a slightly slack line. There are a few model designed to walk better. The body on those is made with more of a keel. I use the Booyah Pad Crasher, which has a little bit of a keel.

I've owned both. They each have their place. I just sold my fish/ski and haven't missed it because I was getting no use out of it. It just sat under a shed, mocking me. You know what they say about the first and last days you own a boat being the best. In terms of getting into places where the bass are not pressured, nothing comes close to the kayak. Kayak Pros: Light, no trailer and very little maintenance required. Much easier to transport. No registration required almost everywhere if it's not powered Cheaper in pretty much every way Good exercise. I try to get some cardio almost every day. I skip my usual cardio on days that I fish. Allows access to paces a boat can't be easily launched Allows you to get closer to fish without spooking them. It will actually surprise you how many big fish can be very shallow that you didn't notice before because you used to spook them out with the big boat and trolling motor. Kayak Cons: Not motorized so getting from Pt A to Pt B takes time and energy Limited storage space. Not easy to carry a lot of gear and be prepared for every eventuality. I have a rigged crate and can carry 7 rods and some extra tackle. You can't paddle and cast and reel at the same time. You can get peddle kayaks or rig a trolling motor, but those still require a hand to steer and they start to negate the cost savings over a big boat. It's more primitive as electronics don't come with it. You need to rig your own. Electronics are necessary if you're going to fish deep structure, so you're a little confined to shallower lakes/ponds. Electronics push that cost back up. I mostly fish private, shallower places, so that's fine. I do have a fish finder on one of my kayaks, but mostly use it as a water temp gauge. LOL. The older I get, the more I start to see that a big boat is more comfy to fish from. After 5 hours in a kayak, I'm tired and I feel it a little the next day. I think the Ghenoe with a gas and rolling motor looks like a good compromise. But I'd still keep the kayaks. I want this! Take my money now! The wife and I plan to retire to somewhere coastal and this would be about exactly what I'd want. I have little desire to go offshore and if I do, I can pay someone to put me on fish way cheaper than I can do it myself. Being a bass fisherman, I like inshore much better.

If you read or watch fishing videos enough, you'll eventually hear the same fishermen say they like dark colors AND they like chartreuse or firetiger for the same muddy water. In late winter here, when the water has a permanent muddy stain to it, my best spinnerbait color is still gold with gold blades. Fish don't change what they eat to only include dark prey, so their usual forage colors should work.

Lew's. That is all. ABU Garcia might be quality, but they would not answer an email or answer the phone when I needed a part.

I freely admit they do eat bluegill and anything else they can get. They're equal opportunity predators. You can see people catching bass on live bluegill on YouTube. But my dad and I used to clean and eat almost everything we caught. Every time I ever cut into the stomach of a bass it either had shad or minnows or nothing in its stomach. But I no longer cut into the stomachs of bass because I don't keep any for myself. I did catch a 1.5 pounder that had an 8" half-digested bass sticking out its throat once.

That fish are line shy That catching bass off a bed damages the fishery That keeping bass to eat is somehow wrong, as if bass are a more precious resource than, say, crappie That eating bass within the creel limits set by the state is harmful to the fishery Yeah. I use braid for those type baits. Mono has the advantage for baits you want to wait a little longer to set the hook on, to be sure the fish takes the bait completely.

Sucks at what? It excels at abrasion resistance, floating for topwaters and cushioning when using trebles. I still use it for trebles, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. If there was only mono and fluoro, I'd only use mono.

The biggest drawback of a rudderless kayak (to me) is how badly the back will turn in the wind. I don't have a rudder on my cheaper kayak, but it has a molded-in skeg. It doesn't have that problem.

LOL. Yeah, pretty much every time you figure them out they change it up on you.

Fish are neither smart nor dumb. They either bite or they don't and it's all instinct. They have no idea why they do anything. But I understand that some get big for a reason.

I went about 6PM the other day. I caught one on a spinnerbait, lost one each on a jig, a frog, a weightless stick bait, a Chug Bug and a Zoom Swimming Super Fluke buzzed on the surface. Yes, that's a very low strike-catch ratio. Worse than I usually do, but there were bites. They weren't really committing to the topwaters, but I saw a few fish chasing bait. It's a tough time of year. For me, there's no better bait than a frog around lilies. I try to either get there for the sunrise or fish the evening until sundown. That's all I got for ya.

I haul my kayaks on my Silverado. The Lure has a wheel built into the hull in the area that normally is a skeg. So you don't have to drag it. But it's still not easy to lug around. Since it's one wheel in the center, it's not easily balanced to move around and the wheel will occasionally get fouled with grass, gravel or weeds. Also, it will roll back off your truck while loading it if you aren't careful. In other words, the back end is "skegless" and it could still use a cart. it looks like the rudder is in order as well as at least a DIY cart. And I need a longer paddle due to the extra width.

I have a small black one, a jointed white one and a Hula Popper. I admit I rarely use them. I did catch a nice bass on the HP a couple summers ago.

I guess I'm overpowering it. But I use 20# braid with a 15# Big Game leader. I've had very few breakoffs around wood with braid. When I have, it's because I didn't retie for months. I've started retying before almost every trip. And it does slow the rate of fall.

I've been considering a trolling motor with one of those mounts that lock into the rod holders instead. That would not be much more than the rudder and might help some with the fatigue of having to handle the monster. The pedal drives don't get good reviews. I've seen a lot of complaints about how easy they are to break and you're looking at well over $1000 for everything you need in addition to a $1300 kayak (retail).