Onvacation

I think the most cost effective way to go is just grab an anchor at Bass Pro or West Marine or someplace like that, some anchor line, and a quick fitting to attach it to the boat. I somtimes rent 14 foot Jon boats at a conservation area and this is what I did. Ideally, the rental boats will have a cleat to tie your rope off on, but the boats I rented did not. Solved that problem by having an all purpose clamp with me so I could clamp the line off where I wanted, especially if I was anchoring shallow.

I think the thing to keep in mind is that young kids in particular, are pretty much going to be able to adapt to anything you put them in. We picked up some cheap Sam's Club bare bones one for my 6 year old, and you would think he is in a tricked out PA14. Craigslist is awesome if you keep your eye out for bargains. One nice thing about a cheap kayak though is that you can still add good accessories, such as gear track and rod holders, and then take them off and toss them on a new yak if he decides he likes the sport. To me, it's kind of cool going bare bones and getting back to the roots of the sport and making it work. Long term, as the kids evolve, they seem to have a bit more appreciation for the next yak in line.

When I'm going to be out for the full day, I put a Bass Pro flotation cushion on my seat. It's cushy and it's a safety device.

I use the 1/16 oz Morel heads a lot. I'll take the smaller size and slower drop rate over a bigger hook any day. I've caught many 4-5s on them and a couple in the six pound range. Hooks are solid. I've had a lot of success with a Rage Menace t-rigged with a 1/8 oz tungsten weight this year. I normally throw black with blue flake in anything but clear water. Clear water is green pumpkin or KVD magic. Haven't tried bluegill. Black and blue dredge is my go-to jig. I use a zoom super chunk trailer most of the time.

I have a ton of them and have compared them to several other jigs. Tough to go wrong with Siebert. My favorite is probably a Junebug dredge with rattles. It would be my stranded on an island choice. If you finesse fish, check out Mikes Morel heads.

Just fished at the Beaver Creek ramp. Lake is flooded. I got bit more on Taneycomo and that was nothing to brag about.

On the second day, Ron Champion, a very accomplished kayak angler, and I were fishing in the same area. He put in and motored off at about 6 mph. We chatted several times during the day so obviously although he moved around a lot more, we both had roughly the same idea. At the end of the day, if it had just been the two of us, I think I ended up having the better day. So while he had the advantage of hands free, plus the motor, it all came down to who was getting bit at a particular time and place. With that said, on day one, pedal and motor had a distinct advantage over paddle. It wasn't even close. I probably had half the casts that those guys did because it was a constant battle to reposition, or fish for dinks in a cove like I did. My paddling was a massive disadvantage. As for the results, I think they were caught completely off guard at the sheer numbers. I personally had next to no cell service so I ended up being one of those submitting manually. That didn't help either. I stuck around until about 2am waiting to see who won, but then went back to the hotel to sleep. I knew it wasn't me anyway.

Welcome from a fellow St. Louisan

Good luck in your tourney crankbait2009.

Welcome. Quite a few places near Columbia to fish

Grandebass airtail wigglers. Tail floats straight up.

Getting a little kayak time in on Kentucky Lake and this fat white chick starts hitting on me.

Well have a safe drive. Might even see you there. It is going to be a pretty crowded event. Two weeks later I'll be at Beaver Lake which will look like a kayak ghost town in comparison.

The sport is really in the toddler stage right now and still fairly pure. I'm with you though, I hope it stays that way.

@clayton86 That's a Drive for you. I will be there as well, but it is one of the closest lakes I'll be fishing this year. @Bluebasser86 that's one of the advantages to moving to the corporate world, I have weekends off. Of course the disadvantage is in the warm months, I have to share the water with a whole bunch of folks.