GrumpyOlPhartte

@BassGirl71: The Alberto (Crazy Alberto) knot is apparently an improvement on the Albright knot, if I understand correctly. If you're curious, the Albright knot and Alberto knot can be found in several YouTube vids as well as by searching with your web browser. I've recently learned from a more knowledgeable guy than I that if you can tie the Uni-Uni for your leader, you are good to go. The Alberto is a little more challenging to tie but does, in my experience, present a lower profile for passing through your guides. And, if you are either a world champion knitter or a spider on steroids you can attempt the FG knot. Hope this helps clear up the double-uni/Alberto misconception. Good luck!

What @seyone said!! Caught my PB on a silver/black Devil's Horse back in 1981. But that was before everything went plastic. Still, maybe I'll give the new ones a whirl. But plastic? Sheesh!

Lew's offers three 95mm handles ranging in price from $30.00 to $50.00. I don't know if you've checked them out. The handles are shown on their website. Good luck!

I recently bought an Okuma TCS Frog/Swimbait rod (up to 2 ounces) and I can only speak to that model. The rod is light; balanced (with a Lew's Tournament MB reel); tough; and in my opinion, casts like a dream. It has one irritating attribute - the keeper for securing a lure has given me some grief. It is located on the butt of the rod. Since I use rod holders on my kayak, I cannot use the keeper because the rod butt can't be placed in the rod holder when a lure is secured. I'm not sure if this is important to you, but you might want to check on your model before you buy. Otherwise, I love my Okuma although I haven't tested it with a bass over two pounds. The price was right and except for that one nuisance factor I'd give it a whole galaxy of stars if I was rating it. Hope this helps.

What @NHBull said. And, @Glenn, it's still the best danged site on the web for fishing info!

Glad I could help. Good luck on the water.

Not sure if this is the model you seek, but Dick's Sporting Goods does offer the Plano 3701 ProLatch Stowaway model which is 14" x 9.13" x 1.38". (I mention Dick's simply because in the town where I live it's Dick's, Walmart, or order online.) Hope this helps.

@Angealy: Your choice seems sound; however, before you pull the trigger, consider your favorite lures. In my experience, such as it is, the MH might be a little stiff for unweighted plastics such as flukes, finesse rigs, and unweighted T-rigs. You might be sacrificing distance when casting the aforementioned rigs; however, your current spinning combo can probably handle those. (You can always upgrade that UglyStik in the future.) Truth be told, I started back into fishing a couple of years ago with a couple of UglyStiks and they served me well, but I have since updated and found that, to me, there are inexpensive rods with considerably more sensitivity. I tend to agree with @NHBull. (He's a pretty smart fella as far as I can tell.) I still suggest you pop into some local stores to see if you can get the feel before you buy. For me, regardless of price, some reels just weren't "comfortable" to hold and cast for periods of time. If it feels right, then order online. Good luck!

Aw,heck. Might as well add my favorites: Devil's Horse, River Runt, and Jitterbug. Gotta admit, if I remember correctly, the ones I used were wood, not plastic. But, dang, they worked!

I admit I'm a little biased. First, I agree with the above recommendations, but I would like to add a couple of other possibilities should you wish to consider them. Lew's makes some combos that might meet your needs; Okuma also seems to make some decent products as well. I'm not a fan of buying rods and reels "sight unseen" regardless of recommendations; I would suggest you get your hands on anything, regardless of brand, and get a feel for it before you buy.

@slonezp: First, Bravo Zulu for your effort! I've had relatively little experience with youth fishing, but would you consider including a brief blurb reminding them to respect both fish and environment (picking up their litter, getting adult help taking a fish off the hook, catch-and-release philosophy)? Even at the age of five you can introduce them to some basic habits that may stick with them as they grow. @NHBull: Just curious, but not disagreeing. Why the Uni-knot as opposed to the Palomar knot? Makes sense because the Zuni-knot is definitely more versatile, but for my aging fingers the Palomar is easier to tie. Good stuff though!

For what it's worth, years ago I had a Bass Tracker Bantam with a two-horse kicker and a small electric motor. I can't say the motor noise from either had a noticeable effect on my fishing. What, to me, seemed to really affect fishing were sharp noises like dropping something or banging a rod against the boat. And just to wander a little farther from topic, I have noticed that paddle noise while positioning a kayak is not as disruptive as putting the paddle back in the paddle holder. (This from personal observation while fishing lily pads.) My personal experiences lead me to believe that steady or constant noise is less disturbing than sudden, unexpected noise. (I have a good paddle tether and often just let my paddle float while fishing close to target structure or cover.) I apologize if this got off-topic, but noise is noise regardless of the type of boat.

Uh, @hoosierbass07, as much as I love Lew's reels, I did happen to notice that the thread reply directly preceding yours seems to show a Tournament MB. Interesting juxtaposition. I gotta admire your enthusiasm, though. My baitcasters are all Lew's, by the way, including a Tournament MB.

Y-E-E-K! Heresy!!! (Seriously, I understand but I've gotten to the point where no matter how lousy I'm doing, I keep telling myself, "Maybe this next cast will be the one.") There are a lot of reasons to fish, regardless of the target species or the technique. I say, "Just fish!"

What @Bluebasser86 said! I fish small lakes/ponds so as soon as I launch, I put the paddle down ... again and again and again. Weeds are thick everywhere so I fish slowly, casting weedless stuff into openings in the slop. After a couple of years, I'm starting to learn what areas (usually determined by depth, time of day, and weather conditions) where bass seem to hang out. Then I paddle (Run-and-Gun-Lite) to the next likely area. (Hey, it's a kayak!) For me, even the smallest points are productive early in the day and deeper mats are better during midday. I have to admit I never pass a patch of lily pads, but I believe that, in general, ya have to move until you become familiar with the body of water in which you are fishing. In any case, I do tend to pick apart each area before moving. As I become more familiar with the lake I've noticed my fishing has become more productive and working what's in front of you seems to be the only way to figure out the water, at least initially!

@Finesse Wayfarer: Well, the Trip 10 definitely meets my needs. Have added full anchor trolleys on both sides and a couple of other mods; at the price I couldn't find anything better. Good luck!

@Finesse Wayfarer: Because of a very specific set of requirements, I purchased an Old Town Trip 10 DLX a couple of years ago. I've had no issues with it and have caught a lot of bass floating around in it. (It's the "fishing" version of the Vapor.) I love it, but I think you may want to take the advice of @jbw252 and consider a SOT before you make a decision. Rather than tie up this thread, PM me if you want to discuss. I'm no expert, but may be able to help. Art

@TOXIC: I've never, ever had a professional overrun!!!! But I've had amateur random unintentional line convulsions that would make ya gasp!

I use a collapsible claw anchor on my kayak. Most of these have a line tie at the bottom of the anchor. Tie the anchor line to that, then use a tie-wrap to secure the line to the top line tie of the anchor. If the anchor gets snagged the tie wrap will break; the anchor can then be pulled up because you are reversing the direction of the pull on the anchor. After reading this muddled explanation, I suggest you check the videos on YouTube! Very good demonstrations there! Hope this gives you some ideas!

I hope this doesn't contain TMI, but this is a solution I found for rigging a USCG-approved light for my kayak. First, let me say that as far as I could learn, Massachusetts defers to federal laws regarding lighting on boats. Your state may have different regulations so check them out. At the time I was looking I found only one USCG-approved light and it was the NAVISAFE Navilight 360 2NM light. (Had to order online. YouTube has vids on this light, by the way.) There may be other comparable products now. This light does have several features including a distress mode. The first pic shows how I mount the Navilight to the end cap of a piece of one-inch PVC by drilling a 3/16" hole in the end cap and I using a stainless steel screw through the Navilight base plate to mount it to the end cap. Then I place the end cap on the appropriate length of one-inch PVC to provide the height I need. Note that I did not glue the end cap to the pipe so I could reuse it if I wanted to change the height. With the end cap and mounting plate installed, the Navilight is simply placed on top of the mounting plate and four powerful magnets secure the Navilight to the base plate. The second pic shows the PVC pipe, end cap, and base plate in place on my kayak. I imagine you can use a rod holder, scupper hole, or some other method of securing the PVC pipe to your craft. One final note: I found a great little PDF file at: uscgboating.org/images/420.pdf that provides a wealth of information on all aspects of boating safety including lighting. Hope this helps! Art

Please let this be my only post. Signed up months ago for the BBWC.

I'd love to share a pic of my worst backlash, but I'm still cutting my cell phone out of the tangle.

@bigfruits: I would love to see me reel in an eight-pound bass, period! ?

I say put the handle on top and reel like you're churning butter ... With either hand. Wouldn't need the endless debate! Well, except for which direction to rotate. Hmm. I gotta work on this some more. Uh, never mind.

@NHBull: The simple solution is ... quit catchin' so danged many bass! Those beasts shred a senko! LOL! I'll never be accused of that type of pollution given the number of soft plastics I toss into the garbage at the end of a typical day of fishing (or just save for the next trip.) Hey! We less-accomplished fishermen are actually unwitting conservationists!