Bankc

I'll hit some shallow water spots. Especially early in the morning. Sometimes they're productive. Sometimes not. Typically, in the summer I don't spend a whole lot of time in the shallows, except in hard to reach areas where I can access with my kayak, but bigger boats can't go. The reason being, shallow water gets hit hard in the summer, so the fishing pressure is immense. It's not that fish aren't there. It's that they become very weary and hard to catch. But there are days where that's where the action is, so that's where I go. As for what counts as shallow? Well that depends on the lake. Basically, I define shallow water and any depth that a bass might hit a topwater bait from.

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that JB Weld would stick to HDPE very well. It's great stuff and I use it all of the time, but I haven't found it to be effective on plastics. I know it won't work on polypropylene. But I can't recall ever trying HDPE, so maybe it does stick to that. I just throw Gorilla tape, or really any duct tape would probably work, over my keel. It's easy, cheap, and works. Though it does need to be replaced about once a year, as it will wear through. And for deep scratches and holes on my kayak, I typically just plastic weld some scrap HDPE onto it. I've got an old 15 watt soldering iron that's perfect for that kind of stuff. Though, I've also tried the method where you dissolve a bit of plastic into acetone to make a gooey paste. Then brush some acetone onto the plastic you wish to repair and give it a minute to soften up that plastic. Then apply your plastic paste and let it dry and harden. I find that method better for large holes, as I can put a tape backer behind the hole to hold the gooey paste in place. But it takes a day or three to fully dry and harden, so I often do the plastic welding method instead, as it's ready to go in a few minutes. Then file or sand smooth, and you're as good as new! If you can match the color, you can make it practically invisible.

That looks almost identical to the Pascifun tackle bag I bought several years ago, only in a different color. I would have to think they were made in the same factory. Pascifun doesn't sell that bag anymore. But if they are the same (and I bet they are), then that's a really well designed and long lasting bag at a great price. You won't be disappointed.

Definitely. But in fishing, my intuition is usually pretty quiet. Every once in a while, I'll get a feeling about a certain spot, and I won't know exactly why it looks good to me. But often times I cast towards it and be rewarded with a bite. I don't get those feelings often. But I listen to them when I do.

I often catch catfish on my ML rods. It's a lot of fun until you get that fish near the surface and realize it's a catfish. I'm not sure if that's the same thing. But landing a big cat with 6# line does take a bit of skill. Though not as much as prying open the mouth of that big cat to get your lure back.

My wife told me the other day, "I bet you'd love me more if I were a fish". I asked her "Do you mean like a mermaid, or a sea bass?" She said, "Sea bass." I said "You might be right. Let me think about it for a while". We pick on each other a good bit. I'm sure there are times she'd rather me not go fishing or spend money on fishing. But, for the most part, she's okay with it. We both have our hobbies. And I'm usually getting up hours before she does to go fishing, and back around noon. So I'm not often gone for many hours that she's awake. We're not in a codependent relationship, so we like give each other lots of space. She takes priority, of course. But we spend more time apart than together, and we're both okay with that. It's not the amount of time together that matters, so much as the quality of that time. So when I'm with her and we're just talking or whatever, I'm focused only on her. No phones, TV, or any of that other stuff. But yeah, my money is my money. Her money is her money. We each have bills and responsibilities with that money, and we both are pretty good at managing money, so money isn't ever an issue.

Red is the worst. Like a brownish, crawfish red. It's camouflage. The bass can't see it. Orange isn't far behind. Especially if it's a dirty orange. But, I must add that the water around here is rust colored, so that's probably why. If I ever found a rust colored braided fishing line, I'd buy it. That's how I feel about red.

You must have shorted a connection. I've done that before on a light switch. It actually welded the probe to the side of the switch before it threw the breaker.

It's hard to give a definitive answer, since no one can really fish two lakes at the same time. But from my experience, I would say that there would probably be some similarities between the lakes, but they wouldn't necessarily be identical, on any given day. For instance, larger and deeper bodies of water are less affected by temperature swings than smaller and shallower bodies of water. And the shape of a lake or the cover around the lake can affect how much wind actually makes it to the lake surface. Plus, there can be differences in water quality and bottom composition, as well as vegetation and general fish populations that can have affects on your outcome. So even on the same day, there are numerous variables at play that can affect how the bass are biting. But, there will also be some similarities that will translate to all of the lakes. Like if a cold front just passed through, chances are none of the lakes will fish as well as they did just before the cold front hit. And if it's cloudy everywhere, then all of the fish in all of those lakes might react in a similar way to that. What I believe is that if the weather conditions are set up for a good day of fishing, then probably all of the lakes will fish better than if the weather conditions were set up for a bad day of fishing. But there can also exist certain weather conditions that would cause one lake to fish better than another on a given day. So it's a very complex question with probably a million variables that can't easily be answered outside of just some general observations.

Kansas is a good bit windier than Minnesota. And Wichita is... Well... My advice would be to take a vacation down there before you accept the job. Just to make sure it's the kind of place you'd like to live. Some people love it. Some people hate it. And if you love it, then it's a great place to live. Wonderful, friendly people. It's basically one gigantic small town. But if you prefer a more urban area with lots of stuff to do, or you enjoy getting out in nature and hiking or camping in the mountains or woods, then you're going to be a very, very long drive away from any kind of fun. Wichita is like a three plus hours drive to the nearest anything that isn't a wheat field. Now, I'm not saying it's a bad place to live. I lived there as a kid and absolutely loved it. But it's different. And it would be worth a visit before you commit to anything long-term.

I find it funny that trolling is against the rules, but FFS isn't. To me, FFS presents a larger advantage than trolling, and by a considerable margin. But trolling, for whatever reason, is considered unsportsmanlike. But, at the end of the day, it's not about what's best for the bass, best for the angler, or even best for the fan. It's about what's best for the rich people. In this case, it's the companies making FFS. That's just the way the world works. I think FFS will eventually get banned. Either the technology gets cheaper, everyone has one, and people blame it for when the fish populations collapse (though environmental changes will probably play a larger role, but receive less of the blame). Or the technology becomes more expensive with each generation of improvement, and eventually most people become priced out of the sport altogether. I have a real hard time imagining a scenario where FFS improves the sport over the long term. But I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong about the future.

You can fish a jerkbait like a crankbait, or a crankbait like a jerkbait. They're pretty much the same thing. I mean, there are differences, and obviously a jerkbait usually works better fished like a jerkbait, and vice versa. But you're not limited to just the label of the bait. I've often had good luck fishing a crankbait just like a jerkbait that constantly bumps into the bottom. Just reel it fast to get it down to the bottom, then pause, jerk, pause jerk... Or if you're doing a steady retrieve, try to pause for a split second anytime it hits something. Or just do random pauses if it's not hitting anything. Bass love erratic behavior, especially combined with smooth, predictable behavior. Also, while bumping crankbaits against things is often a good technique, it's not the only technique and isn't often the best technique with them. What crankbaits excel at is holding a steady depth. So if you're getting bit with a jerkbait that suspends, let's say at 8 feet below the water, then a crankbait that runs at 8 feet might be a good option too. Or maybe even one that runs a bit shallower, since bass like to feed up more than down. And then there's the action of the wobble. This time of year when the water is warm, I like fat, rounded crankbaits with a wide wobble. Though, I never really fish for smallmouth, so they could be different. My point being, just experiment with different stuff until you find something that works. Don't get trapped into the mindset that something has to be done a certain way because someone else said so. Crankbait fishing is all about experimenting with speed, depth, wobble, profile, location, and color to find what the bass are interested in. And since crankbaits can be fished fairly fast, allowing you to cover a lot of water, you can run a bunch of experiments without wasting too much time.

They have an "about" page on their website. The link is located at the bottom. Apparently the owner lives in Canada, had a beer factory in China and heard about a failing lure factory for sale over there. So he bought it and hired a guy from Japan to design new lures and sell them all over the world.

You can, I bet. But I have anosmia. So I can't smell fish in general, at least not until after it's gone bad and gotten really pungent. I can't even imagine what a crawdad smells like. Now I want to buy a can of crawdad scented Bang to find out! I bet that's strong enough for me to pick up, as I can actually smell the garlic scented ones sometimes. Yeah, the wife's not gonna happy about what you guys made me do today.

I try to get a quick pic of every bass. I don't take pictures of other species, unless it's particularly noteworthy. However, if I struggle to get the hook free or have them out of the water for too long for some other reason, I'll forgo the picture to return them as quickly as possible. It's less about the fish and more about keeping a record of the fish. In the metadata of the picture, I have the time of year, time of day, and location of where the bass was caught. I also often have the lure in the pic, and can get a general sense of the weather by the background and what I'm wearing. So it's good information I can pull years later if need be. Kind of like a fishing journal that's easier to maintain and sort through, even if it is a little less thorough. But yeah, I do give them a quick look over. If nothing else, just to check their health and see how the lake is doing.

My avatar is probably the smallest bass I've ever caught. Definitely a lot bigger than what everyone else is posting. Caught him with a jigging spoon about half his size casting towards a bait ball. The one time I have the biggest fish in the contest... ugh.

I'll usually run over points in a criss-cross pattern with my sonar to figure out what the point looks like and where the good spots are, and then come back a bit later to fish them, as I've probably disturbed the fish. The good thing about points is they usually produce well later in the day compared to shallow water. At least on the lakes I frequent. Having said that, bass will often move up or down a point throughout the day, especially in the early or late hours, so I'm not committing to just one spot, but rather trying to get a feel for what's happening under water. As for what or how to fish; that all depends. If it looks like they're holding up on the transition zones, I might anchor in the shallower water at the tip of the point and just fan cast around into the deeper water. Maybe with a jig, deep diving crankbait, spoon, who knows. Anything that will get down and kind of follow the bottom contour and as it moves up and back to me. Though sometimes I'll follow around the point out in the deeper water and cast onto the point and target the bass that waiting on the edge of the deep water. If it looks like they're holding on the flat above the transition, I might anchor a bit off the point and cast onto it. Or, sometimes I'll anchor in the shallow water, further up the point, and cast towards the point itself. I might go with a trick worm, T-rig, medium diving crankbait, or whatever the situation calls for. It's different almost every day. But my approach is to first find out where they are. Then find out where to position to get to the fish, without disturbing them. The wind or current will often affect my choice. Then, knowing where they are and where I need to be, I try to pick lures that will get to them from where I am. From there, I refine my lure selection to find the ones that run at about the speed or action the fish are looking for. So it can take a while to figure out the pattern on a single point, but once you get that down, you can hit other, similar points with the same technique, and then come back to this one again later.

I use the cheapest I can find. I think I spent $2 on my current pliers. I'll drop them in the drink before they rust out or break on me. And until then, they work as well as any other brand out there. I'm a bit of a tool snob and believe in spending more for well made, precision instruments. But pulling hooks isn't demanding or precise work.

Yes. Not like a crazy amount of drag. But enough to know it's there. You'll probably have to adjust the rudder a bit to compensate. And it'll slow you down a hair. But it won't make moving around unbearable or anything. A very minor annoyance at best. Part of that can be alleviated by moving the arm to the right place. On my kayak, when I'm up at (what I'm going to call) cruising speed, the wake coming off my bow breaks around a certain point in front of my seat. Keeping my transducer arm right on or just behind that seems to help reduce some drag. Or at least some turbulence on the top of the water. I also made a cover for my transducer arm. I carved it out of pine wood. It's shaped like a fin or airplane wing and has a channel for the transducer wire to run up. I painted it and coated it in polyurethane to make it slick and keep water from rotting it. It helps a lot. With my trolling motor, it adds about 0.3mph at top speed when the arm is deployed and makes the kayak about as fast with the transducer in the water as it is when it's out. That's probably overkill for most people though. But I like doing that kind of stuff.

My kayak fits 6. So that's my maximum. And I typically only use 5. If I'm fishing before or after the sun is up, I have to cut it to 5 to fit the overhead light into one of my rod holders. If I'm doing some bank fishing, I usually just bring one, maybe two. I own about a dozen that'll occasionally get swapped out based on conditions and needs. I usually go with one of each, ML, M, MH, and H, all in fast speeds. Then add one or two more with a moderate speed for treble hook baits. I'm not a pro, so I'd rather have the extra space and money over owning a separate rod for each bait/technique. Honestly, I probably own too many as it is, as I have a few that I haven't taken out in years.

I'm finally acclimated to the heat, so I'm alright where we're at. I don't mind getting out and fishing in the midday sun anymore. Plus, it's been a fairly mild summer for us this year. One of the best in years. I kind of hate for it to end, because I know next year won't repeat this trend. The fall here is pretty worthless, just like the spring. We usually only have a few random days of good weather, as we swing between extremes. But, I do eventually get to stop mowing, and that opens up more time on my weekends, which can be put towards more fishing! That's the funny thing about Oklahoma. If you look at our weather averages, it looks really nice here. But we get those averages by swinging back and forth between extremes. So like October might have an average temperature of 72°. But to get that, we'll have two weeks of 92° and two weeks of 52°. And 52° doesn't seem THAT bad, but coming off months of 90°+, it hurts. It's a common complaint of people who move here from other states that the weather reality does not match the brochure.

It all depends. I don't have a set procedure. It's just whatever is needed in the moment. But I'll often grab the middle of the rod with my left hand to free my right hand up to grab the fish. Part of the trick is to keep just the right amount of line out so you can control the fish, but also maneuver the rod around. And, the higher up you grab the rod, the less the rod can flex, so you kind of have to play with the angle and distance so you don't stress your rod too much or allow the fish to throw the lure when they first surface. Like I said, it's not a set procedure. I just do whatever needs to be done. Moving quickly and deliberately, without putting too much thought into it, helps to get the fish in your hands quicker and safer, so you don't lose the fish or catch a hook. Just don't be scared, hesitate, or make second guesses. Do it like you do it all the time.

It depends on tons of factors. But being stealthy is pretty important on a highly pressured lake, in my opinion. What I'll often do is cast something out there and then wait a minute before I start to retrieve it. Give the bass time to forget that they heard something splash into the water. That's especially important if you're making long casts and can't make a soft entry. Also, make repeated casts to the same area, so that the bass don't think your lure is unusual. I also generally prefer soft plastics where the hook isn't exposed. The reason being that I can throw them into areas that most anglers would be afraid to lose their bait. Basically, you're just trying to break the patterns established by the other anglers. So different baits, different locations, different speeds, different times of day, all of that stuff can help. It depends on tons of factors. But being stealthy is pretty important on a highly pressured lake, in my opinion. What I'll often do is cast something out there and then wait a minute before I start to retrieve it. Give the bass time to forget that they heard something splash into the water. That's especially important if you're making long casts and can't make a soft entry. Also, make repeated casts to the same area, so that the bass don't think your lure is unusual. I also generally prefer soft plastics where the hook isn't exposed. The reason being that I can throw them into areas that most anglers would be afraid to lose their bait. Basically, you're just trying to break the patterns established by the other anglers. So different baits, different locations, different speeds, different times of day, all of that stuff can help.

I'd sit the river tournament out unless you get a chance to test out the river beforehand. Rivers can vary wildly. Not just from river to river, but in the same river from day to day. And if you don't have at least a little bit of an idea of what you're getting into ahead of time, you can really ruin your day. We don't have much in the way of rivers here in Oklahoma. They tend to run dry fairly often, so they're often not navigable. And when they are up, they're mostly just mud and sand. So I don't mind taking my kayak out on them, as they're not particularly dangerous. But they're usually not good for fishing, so I rarely do it. I mainly just fish them when the winds have been high for weeks at a time, as the rivers are usually a lot better protected from the winds than the lakes, provided the winds are blowing perpendicular to the river.

I can't say. And it probably depends on a lot of factors. So what works for one person in one lake might not work for you. I mean, if bone did routinely out produce shad colored glide baits in all situations, they'd probably only sell bone colored glides. It's cheaper to make just one color than many. Though I will say, I haven't had much luck with glide baits in general. They're a lot of fun. But I seem to only catch catfish with them. Some nice sized catfish! But I haven't found them to be all that great for anything else. Having said that, they're a larger bait, so they're more likely to attract larger fish. And we don't have many bass over 4lbs. around here, but there are a ton of catfish around the 5-6lbs mark. So that might be the reason.