NYWayfarer

Took the kayak out again. It was a productive day with 33 fish landed. Mostly Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass and a couple of Sunfish big enough to take a Ned Rig. Lost a big Chain Pickerel at the boat. Flopped right out of my net he was so long.

Get yourself a $59.99 Lew’s Speed Spin and use the rest of the money you save on bait. It has become my favorite spinning reel. I have a size 200 and recently bought a 300.

Glad your Ok. Welcome back.

I knew it would be shocking to most people. Please understand it's just as shocking to me when people say Whopper Plopper on this thread. The Whopper Plopper is my number 1 producing topwater lure. I fish areas with no surface grass. The only times I have caught anything on a Fluke is when I put it on the back of a jig or chatterbait. As a soft plastic jerkbait it did not produce. I have used white, baby bass, shiner colors. Believe me I gave them a fair shot.

The heat was near record breaking yesterday. I went out early and bank fished for awhile. It was a solid day of river Smallmouth fishing. The Tiny Child Rig and Ned Rig were responsible for most of my catches. I did get one on a Bluegill colored Whopper Plopper. My first Plopper fish since July 1st. Overall I landed 16 fish. Hard to get too excited with my results after catching my PB Saturday though.

Flukes of any kind/brand. I have not had any success with them.

The Custom Black is a good combo. The reel has an aluminum frame, dual breaks and Winn Grip knobs. It is a lot like the Tournament MP. The rod looks like a TP1 Black Speed Stick which is my favorite rod at the moment. Great action and sensitivity.

It has some red on the nose. It’s tail is translucent and has red on it as well. As to the advantage, I don’t know. It is the most productive color for me by far.

Think telescopic. I use the Bass Pro Shop Adventur1 and the Kastking Blackhawk 2 telescopic spinning rods for hike and fish expeditions. They are small when closed and pack easy. Depending on the rig they can be tied in advanced and collapsed so a quick extend and they are ready to go. I pack light when hiking to a fishing spot. I use the Samurai Tactical Iwashi sling tackle bag from Dick’s Sporting Goods. Plenty of room for tools, soft plastics and terminal tackle. It fits a 3700 box in the main compartment and has room for another 3600 or 3500 box. If you want a 2 piece travel rod my recommendation is the St Croix Triumph or the Kastking Perigee 2 rods. Both have given me years of great service.

Just buy a new spinning reel. Nothing like a shiny new toy to get you excited about fishing spinning again. Spinning has its place. I get excited when using it realizing it is the best tool for the job. If it is an application where I could use a baitcaster, like a weightless worm then I will use a baitcaster. Today I caught my PB on spinning gear and I was plenty excited.

Sunny clear water.

New PB Largemouth for me. Five and a quarter pounds. On spinning gear and the Tiny Child Rig.

Keep in mind I am a northern river Smallmouth fisherman. Largemouth Bass are a byproduct catch for me most of the time. I love them but am not always able to get off the bank to effectively target them. My day started with ideal conditions, calm and foggy. http:// I found a shallow to steep drop off that produced some of my target Smallmouth. http:// http:// I was using the Tiny Child Rig, a Z-Man Finesse TRD with a screw in mushroom head 1/8oz weight I got on EBay and a Zoneloc 1/0 hook. I was throwing it on a Lew’s Speed Spin $100 spinning combo I just bought after snapping my Mach II baitcasting rod last trip. It was spooled with 8# Sufix Siege line. I noticed a milk jug floating in the water as somebody’s marker. I cast the TCR towards it and BAM! A hit. I set the hook and when the fight started I thought I had a big Channel Cat as the fish was digging hard, moving my kayak around but no jumps. The water in the river is ultra clear so when I was able to get her close I realized not only was this a Bass but it was going to be my PB! After a few minutes of playing the fish with the drag I was able to net her. http:// http:// She weighed in at 5.26 pounds a new PB Largemouth for me. http:// Something about catching big Bass brings out the kid in us, right?!? After some pics I revived her to let her go. Hopefully to become a 6 pounder.

And a translucent. I like Bluegill. Blasphemy!!!

Is this true? I would think they would plaster this all over their website. All of says is it’s owned by Louie Zhang and headquartered in Port St Lucie FL.

Very true. In the past we wanted our kids to be doctors and lawyers now we want them to manufacture?!? My son has started an early college program for advanced manufacturing. Learning to code and repair robots. As a family we figured this was the future and a high demand skilled job. Life is like a game of chess. You have to think many moves ahead. Of course this Pandemic was a higher powers way of checkmating us all.

I use my kayak to go reverse bank fishing if that makes any sense. I stick close to shore and cast at any structure I see. Especially in places I could not reach from the bank by walking or casting. In the morning I will start with Ploppers and Poppers. Switch early afternoon to spinners, senkos and in the heat of the day I will use some live worms and Neds. I have been stubborn but finally learned that shorter rods are easier in a kayak. 6’6” is perfect. 6’9” max. 7’ or more fuggedeboutit. Just not worth the hassle with overhanging trees and reaching the rod tip for tangles. I also bring fewer baitcasters on a kayak trip. One bad backlash can ruin your day. I travel lighter in my kayak than I do bank fishing. I just purchased an anglers life vest that has pockets to store my gear. I am ditching the tackle bag next trip.

Missile Baits make the Bomb Shot for Dropshotting. It’s basically a stretched out Ned Bomb.

I agree. The only reason I bought the Ned Bomb was the tail. I was hoping that the action would equal more bites...

That’s what I use. Like you said keeping the rod tip high prevents any issues. I still use the 90. Straight retrieve but also a lot of start and stop plus twitching. Something about the way it sits in the water at rest accounts for a lot of my Smallmouth catches.

My fault on this break, if it wasn’t the high sticking it was probably damage from a fall I had while holding the rod late last year. I have wanted to contact Lew’s for some spare spools for my new Speed Spin. With everything going on right now in the world I keep putting it off.

I have yet to catch a fish on the Ned Bomb. It has been a disappointment for sure to me.

Spinning: The old Pflueger President with the wooden knobs, Kastking Sharky 3, Lew’s Speed Spin, Lew’s Carbon Fire Speed Spin. Baitcasters: 13 Fishing Origin C, Lew’s LFS, Shimano Caenan.

I like Lew’s baitcasters and spinning reels. My Pro TI, Tournament MB, LFS, Custom Pro and Speed Spin see the most time in my rotation. I have lots of reels from other companies I love. Shimano, Daiwa, Pflueger and Kastking.

I took the kayak out for a fishing session. It’s been a minute since I have done that. Great multi-species day with over 50 fish caught. Sunfish, Yellow Perch, Fallfish, Smallmouth Bass and Largemouth Bass. The best fish was this LMB. He was a good luck bad luck catch. Good luck as he was a nice size and a great fight. Bad luck because while I was getting him out of the net he slipped out of my hand into the kayak and cause a high stick break in my rod. RIP Lew’s Mach 2 Speed Stick. Then while I was weighing him he flopped off my scale and my gripper went flying off in the opposite direction. Time to invest in a floating one.