BuzzHudson19c

Rapala original floater was the go to in my childhood. Spoons and inline spinners were big too.

If fishing is causing any type of physical pain, you need to get stronger. Thats not a sleight, just advice. Strength building is injury prevention.

No music for me. Fishing is the entertainment.

Always wear the same hat but that could be more about comfort. And no bananas, banana bread, banana boat sunscreen. No bananas!

Kids (respectful ones) are the only humans I will talk to when fishing. Everyone else gets some northeast hospitality and one word answers.

30 years or so. Still fish a lot of the same water i started on.

I was blessed to have an involved father growing up. Also, we always used hardbaits with treble hooks so gut hooks were rare. My old man considered live bait cheating. Just teach them how to handle the fish and explain how to avoid gut hooking. Or my other rule, if you can't get the hook eat the fish.

Hit the river for a few hrs this morning. Managed 5 smallies (2 in the 3 lb range.) Current is still ridiculous so it was tough in a kayak. Ratltrap was all theyd hit, nothing subtle. Visibilty was bad so tough to see beds. They were swiping baits not slamming them, which makes me think spawn has started.

An injured baitfish only goes one way in current and its not upstream.

Still prespawn around here. Some starting to bed. Smallies having been in the mood to chase baits and wont look at most plastics. Fishing cover is still pretty much useless. Ratltraps, jerkbaits, and squarebills parallel with shore, near drop offs has been producing. Mostly in 5 - 8 ft of water. Hitting the river tomorrow and i expect to see them moving up to beds with the warmer weather the past few days.

I hunted this past week instead of fish and I learned that 3 dead Canada geese is the maximum amount I can stuff in my kayak.

Depends on weather and water temp. Hit the usual stuff, cover, drop offs, weed lines. Most of all, cover water. Buzzbaits, rattletraps, spinner baits etc until you find them.

As a general rule, don't listen to the people at big box stores. That's not to say there aren't some very knowledgeable people working there, but I'd say 90% of them are full of it. I have $25 reels and $200 reels. I have never had a bearing rust, ever. Even the spinning reels I abuse and oil like once every five years don't rust. As far as having a reel you never have to "do anything with," that's up to you. It's a machine and will break down eventually. It's up to you as to whether you want to get two seasons or two decades of use out of something.

Do ripped trick worms and bullet casings in the bed count as accessories?

Oh, did my heart sink when I saw the title of this thread. I have tried whopper ploppers's and they just don't fit for me. Dust collectors now. I had better luck with them for largemouth but for smallies, The buzzbait is king. There are times when I will fish an entire day with the same Buzzbait tied on and never think about taking it off.

I used to spend a lot of money at Dick's and F&S. They made some public statements that I disagree with on a personal level and I haven't spent a penny with them since. They can all go under for all I care. If only we could get a BassPro around here.

I've seen people bow fish for carp on them, but that pretty much it.

Second that. When I see bait fish boiling or getting run into by predators I grab a trick worm or "senko." The way I see it is the predators are already active and just looking for a weak link or injured meal.

Just one. A Bill Dance fat free shad crankbait. When I was a kid I would go into my fathers tackle box and grab one of them when I fished alone. I always thought he would be mad because what if I lost it? But when he found out he just said "I've lost so many lures in my day, there's nothing you can do to it that I can't." When my father died and I went through his tackle I found one that I used to take out (just like the one in the photo). I can't bring myself to use it so it stays tucked away.

They are wild. There is a particular stretch of river that I fish, a tailrace out of a powerplant. I get my kayak right on the edge of the shale/rock ledge and run baits parallel to it. The smallmouth sit in holes and hangovers in the ledge and come flying out to destroy your bait. The definition of reaction bite. There have been multiple times where I have had the bait just out of the water on a retrieve only to have a smallie jump out and grab it. Scares you to death.

Most of the lakes I fish only have resident power boats. There are no launches. Basically toss the kayak over the guard rail. The big lakes around here I avoid like the plague. But I agree, if I were to go out on them I would not be alone.

This. If it looks like food and fits in their mouths, they will eat it. If it looks like food an doesn't fit in their mouth, they may still try to eat it.

I have never used any type of fishing electronics. I can definitely see where they would be handy, I just enjoy the mental chess match. On new water I sometimes wish I had something though.

This is totally true. I always find it funny seeing a grown man tip toe into the woods in the dark on our way to a hunting spot. Like if he walks at a regular pace the boogie man is gonna get him. Only thing we have up here are annoyances. Beavers and bats.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I am going to make the switch and try it out this weekend. Usually when we night fish its for channel cats from shore with a 12 pack and chairs. This will be only the second time out at night with the kayak so I will be on very familiar water at first. When I told my wife she just said "Bugs are going to eat you alive." ?