Stoneroller

I also have the Stohlquist fisherman vest. I got the universal fit ones, which have a ton of adjustment and can be made to fit just about anybody with just about any amount of clothing. admittedly I do not wear it much when it's hot out, but I also don't kayak much where I can't swim to shore or stand up in water. (which means nothing if I were to get knocked out or have a health issue that caused me to become unconscious or immobile)

He asked what people thought. I don't understand eating (or drinking) something that has to be flavored up to make it taste decent enough to bother catching, keeping, cleaning, preparing, flavoring, cooking, eating. (or buying) and he pointed out himself, that he doesn't find the fish flavorful, which I fully agree with, which goes to my second point of why bother keeping a fish that doesn't taste good. at least I didn't go on my usual rant about how all of the fish contain toxic and harmful levels of a long list of chemicals thanks to specific companies... whoops. concerning the marinade, I think it's a great idea and I look forward to trying it out myself. Great job.

*for moving or 'reaction' baits: I think it matters sometimes, but why does it matter? we like to think that other animals use their senses the same way we use ours. our primary sense is sight. for a fish it's touch. most waters are murky enough the fish can't see the lure until it has commited anyway. and in water that is clear enough for the fish to see the lure, does the fish go after the lure because it looks 'natural', or because it's behaving in a way that is unlike the healthy preyfish the predator fish is used to seeing and it sees an easy meal? A ton of 'professionals' say color means very little. In my experience, for the most part* that holds true. But, huge caveat, how many times has the same person fished two different color baits, 'side by side', with the same action and produced verifiable and repeatable results? Some people swear by a certain color and that can work, but maybe it's because that's what they throw all the time. It's not to say a different color might not work just as well. Specifically though on moving baits, on a hair jig suspended below a bobber, where the fish may look at the lure for 2 minutes before committing, color can mean everything.

I've found the big key to crappie on cranks, 3 inch soft swimbaits, 3 inch grubs, etc (fishing for the big ones) is a slow, really slow steady retrieve. A beetle spin has been my go to lure for big crappie for years because of the thump from the single colorado blade. The same principle holds true of the crappie cranks I throw. they need to have a nice wobble to them at a slow speed. many cranks, especially some of the smaller ones have almost no action unless you burn them and from what I've seen crappie may roll on them or swipe at them when they are burned, producing the occasional fish, but when I slow down, really, really slow down I catch far more big crappie. think slow, steady, thumping action. and I've not seen a big difference in color variation once you get that thump down, they don't seem to care about the color.

it's like putting fruit in beer so the beer is drinkable, except you are killing potential state records.

the rubber nets are easier on the fish, don't snag hooks and are extremely durable. they now have the knotless nets that are dipped in rubber, making for a lighter net than the full rubber ones.

drop a plano box on a hard surface sometime. they tend to shatter. but as cheap as they tend to be, its something I can deal with. The pro latch system is the way to go if you are looking at the boxes. The ones with the latches that are the same material as the box tend to not stay closed, especially once they warp a bit.

basspro had the falcon boxes on sale last month. I'm not sure if they still are.

I got a sample of sea dek from smalliebigs and put it where the paddle indents are so my paddle doesn't make noise when I put it there.

I like the sea-dek. Any clue how many sq ft it took to cover the foot area and the area under the seat?

I have an Ocean Kayak Trident 13 and a Jackson Coosa. the Trident is made for lakes and open water, big rivers (ie missouri/mississippi) it's set up with factory provisions for a fish finder, rod holders and plenty of in the hull storage. It turns like a battleship, even with a rudder and you can stand in it. it's super easy to get back into if you want to go for a swim, carries a ton of gear, including a cooler, tackle boxes, 8 rods (with the milk crate). It's faster than the coosa, easier to paddle, I can easily troll with it, and the wind doesn't blow it around as much due to it's longer water line and lower bow . But you sit just above the surface of the water and when you do stand, you are an instand sail. I bougth a $120 addon seat for this kayak and the seat is awesome, the one you get with it pretty much sucks. For lakes, this is the design he'll want to lean towards the Coosa is made for flowing water and works fine on small lakes say under 200 acres in size. It's not great in the wind on open water as it's higher profile bow catches more wind and it's lower draft doesn't offer much resistance. It still tracks amazingly well for a boat that can turn a 360º in it's own length, the trident cuts about a 20 foot circle with the rudder. The Coosa is super easy to stand and fish from, I can actually walk around on it although it's no bass boat. It has an amazing amount of storage inside the boat. (Both boats can fit fully rigged fly rods inside them (although you'd have to be extremely careful about what else is stowed inside while doing that). The seat on the Coosa is amazing! it's more like a short metal frame camping chair. You sit up off the hull, in both the low and high seating positions. There is about a 6 inch difference in the two. I don't fish from the lower position, which puts you around 6 inches off the water to start with. The high position is around a foot off the water. But the Coosa is very stable and unless you are in class 3 water, the high position is perfectly fine. The seat drains well too so no sitting in water. For river fishing on smaller ozark rivers and streams this is the design he'll want to lean towards. both boats retail around $1000, so that may be out of his price range, but the features both have make them well worth it. These two boats represent two different hull designs and aspects of kayak fishing. Just like all boats aren't the same, but could be fished from, all kayak hulls designs are not the same. Companies are now producing kayaks geared more towards specific kinds of fishing instead of pulling a standard hull off the line, sticking a couple of rocket style rod holders on it and calling it the 'angler' model.

DO NOT buy any sit on top kayak that does not have scupper (drainage) holes in the seat area. You will end up sitting in water with a wet, chaffed behind all day and you will hate the experience. Frankly you get what you pay for. Sure we could all plop down in an old inner tube and it would get the job done, for cheap, but when you start looking at room (a cooler is a must, warm drinks suck, and it gives you ice in case you need to remove a hook, easier to do when the body part is numb), room for rods, SEATING!!! probably the most important feature. etc etc. and uncomfortable, too small, unstable, butt wet, cheapo kayak is going to deliver the kind of experience you paid for. There are some really nice kayaks in the $500-600 range that would work much better, and of course there are always deals. Check with local sporting goods shops (not walmarx as they don't know a darn thing about what they sell) and see if they have any demo or closeout models. Also check the web. I know a couple of places that regularly carry high end kayaks in their closeout/outlet sections. ACK currently has at least 5 that are under $500 and around 10 under $800, with some really good deals too.

nothing to see here. move along, move along

the algae growth that is now rampant in all lakes in the area is due to the rapidly warming water we had this spring along with the lower than normal rainfalls. Since the submerged and shoreline vegetation hasn't caught up with the water temp, those nutrients are feeding the hair algae. It will die back and return to normal within the next month, more than likely. It's made bottom fishing most lakes nearly impossible, especially for those fipping beds on the spawning flats or crappie fishermen trying to drop through submerged trees.

oompa loompas are orange

you also don't need an EWG hook for a worm, especially not a 5 inch worm. a straight shank hook will give you a better hook up ratio as it doesn't tend to flip on it's side and pop out between the bass's lips like an EWG hook will. EWG hooks are made for creature baits and thicker bodied plastics than a small/mid sized worm. the gap on the hook only needs to be twice as deep as your worm is wide. but needs to be about 3x's as deep on a thicker bait like a toad or creature bait/craw. I use a 1/0 hook on 4 inch plastics, a 3/0 on 5 inch and a 5/0 on 6-7 inch baits. You can play around with that a little as some baits need a shorter hook, ie a beaver or punch bait than say a magnum 10"+ worm. also note on how hard you are setting the hook. If you are jerking on it so hard and with so much force that you look like bill dance, then you may be pulling it so hard that the knot and eye of the hook cause the fish's mouth to open and the hook pops out. If you reel down and then simply lift your rod tip from say 7 oclock to 11 oclock position, it should be sufficient to set the hook properly, especially with a properly sharpened hook. THEN, move the fish if it's near cover or just start reeling. Lots of anglers try to power that hook home and they actually have the opposite effect than intended. I always ask them, "do you think you would have hooked that fish if you had set the hook any harder?" the answer is always, "no, that's as hard as I could set it" (and failed) I'm not saying that's your problem, but it's something a lot of angler do incorrectly without realizing it when fishing soft plastics on the bottom. for bottom contact techniques I like a fast action sensitive rod and either braid or fluoro. the stretch from mono tends to be not so great. Also, the deeper you are fishing (or the further you are casting) the longer rod you want. More leverage. I would use at least a 6'6" but prefer a 7 foot rod for plastics on the bottom.

Here is the picture that is going around fb.

saw that picture yesterday making it's rounds on fb. it's by far one of the WORST photochops I've ever seen. Looks like a 4 year old did it. Word to the wise, if you are going to blow up a fish and photochop it, at least use an Alpha fish, not some little 7 inch dink. The body proportions are clearly not that of a trophy fish, not to mention the amaturish photochop attempt.

I found the quote, "which (lakes) offer bass anglers the best opportunity for both quantity and quality of fish." They tried to include the 'best bass lake' from each state and they completely failed for Illinois with Rend. But they first asked DNR for top lakes based on electroshock and angler surveys (still not sure why rend is in there), then asked bass federation national state presidents, then bass fed nation conservation directors. and after all that I'm still not following how Rend made the list. It's a crappie/catfish lake, everyone knows that except BASS. Not to mention Rend placed above lakes such as: Harris Chain of Lakes, FL; Dale Hollow Lake, TN/KY (state record lake); O.H. Ivie, TX; Lake Eufaula, AL/GA; and Lake Lanier, GA.

you have to read the editorial comment at the start of the magazine where they explain how the lakes made the cut. Once they lay out the parameters for why lakes were picked, it makes much more sense. A list like this, especially one as ambitious as this list is, will surely stir debate, as it should. but it's a decent barometer for out of staters looking for new water to explore. Also keep in mind these are supposed to be top lakes where a person can catch a trophy bass, or something along that lines. They say something about it in the article.

it's a blue from a lake that has them. It's color was super obvious first hand, and it's head is far bigger than the heads of the channels I've caught. Always kind of wondered how difficult it would be to distinguish the two species, but with this one it was easy. my thumb is seriously bruised and I have some catfish rash on the back of it from when it thrashed at the end and I let it go. Actually drew blood. I knew I was going to pay for lipping it like that but the adrenalin was pumping and I figured I'd suck it up and deal. Just wish I could have gotten it on the measuring board so I could have gotten a more accurate estimation of it's weight. My scale only goes to 12lbs and this thing was definately bigger than that.

Note the background throughout the video. This cat ate a beetle spin while I was fishing for crappie and bluegill. ML 5'6" Lightning Rod, cheap okuma reel and 8lb berkley nanofil line. And then it bit me. I'm guessing it was between 30 and 32 inches. probably 15-18lb, felt like 20, but I don't want to exaggerate. As you can see it's belly was full.

the only two (types/kinds) of snakes that specialize in eating other snakes are both named "KING". The King Snakes of North America and the King Cobra of SE Asia.

too far for me, but if it were closer I'd be in!