TnRiver46

im also very fond of this craft, although it’s my fiancé’s boat. I’d say if you want to fish tournaments, stick with the kayak

15 is in the “too cold” category for me. I’ll fish until about 26-28. After that the guides freeze over. And I sure as heck ain’t fishing in the dark below freezing. i remember fishing when it was 13 once. Catch a trout and throw it on dry land, they were frozen solid pretty quick. I probably won’t ever do that again but I’ve fished beautiful sunny 70 degree days and got skunked so it beat that!!!

Holy dinosaurs

We’ve got a bit on the ground! Whats the phone number for the national guard????

Which lake in East TN was your classic on? And which hump to throw the brown jig on? (Asking for a a friend....)

It all depends on what kind of water you live near in my opinion. Current/flow is the number 1 factor for me. I have a several kayaks, a canoe, a Jon boat and aN aluminum bass boat. Why? Because I live near all kinds of different water. There’s class v whitewater rapids and several 30,000 acre reservoirs close to me. The TN river near my house moves very quickly, if you launch a kayak you typically need a friend and an extra vehicle (or an Uber?). But if I lived closer to a highland reservoir a kayak would be great to drop in anywhere and fish around in slow waters. I must have it all to satisfy fishing addiction but if I had to have just one, this one is it. Sentimental and functional reasons, it can run almost anywhere a jet can (except ott defoe’s jet that seems to run on gravel). And it was my papaw’s

Animal damage control

I got kind of lucky............ one of the first times I threw a jig (black n blue), I tossed it under a boat dock and a bass thumped it ! I’ve been addicted ever since. When they get it good, it’s like champ from anchorman says........

Oh ok, I gotcha. Who knows what you might run into there haha! Best of luck, a small soft plastic on a jig head and an in-line spinner might be good to have as well

When fishing is tough, I use a weightless plastic worm . They like to bite it when it’s slowly sinking, just watch for the line to take off. What part of the country and what water color are you dealing with? Junebug is a good color worm for me in any water. Another option is explore different spots? If I’m bank fishing, i try to get below a dam

We are getting our first snow, a couple weeks later than last year I think. It’s blowing sideways. Good thing we already have a gallon of milk! Hahahaha

It was a little spooky but surely someone was glad I found him @MGF, I have to wrestle distemper raccoons all the time at work and I was cracking up reading your story! I went 12 rounds with one inside a boat factory on top of a paint booth not long ago. Formidable adversaries, those ******* things

Got me one of them test tube babies (blacknose crappie)

Both species live on the same boulder or brushpile where I fish, probably similar to @moguy1973. Might get SM one cast and LM the next on the same spot same lure

Thanks for the jig advice Tom!

The craziest would probably be finding a dead body in the water but I could write a book! honorable mention: allergic reaction to hornet stings while way back in the middle of nowhere, several alligator captures, and a search party come to mind

It's a dog eat dog world out there

Like @NYWayfarer, I too caught a perch on Black Friday. The last 5 I’ve caught have been stuffed with craws

In the typically “day after” thanksgiving tradition, we go fishing in the morning and shooting in the afternoon

They fight like crazy at that size (or at least at the slightly smaller size ones I get)

If you’re young and healthy don’t drag in on a concrete ramp. That puts holes in just about any plastic boat. Back when I took guided trips, we put a hole in tons of them in the back middle when launching the clients off a concrete ramp . They were easy holes to fix though

On a jig head! With or without bobber and even trolling them works great

That is the Cadillac of canoes now!

This is the crappie catchingest lure I’ve ever used. I like monkey milk, electric chicken, and pearl

Holy cow!!!!