Long story short, I threw everything but the kitchen sink.
Though I had 3 Bass follow my jerk bait all the way to the boat, but they just wouldn’t commit and bite it.
I caught 5 pickerels, and only small bass.
I called it quits at about 3:30pm.

I was paddling through the flats, an area where the water is 2’ to 8’ deep, and decided to give one more lure a try.
I had a little mepps inline spinner in brown trout color, tied onto 8’ test floro.
I cast it almost to shore and retrieved it back to me slowly.
That picked me up a couple more small Bass, but not what I was looking for.

I made a cast up shallow next to a dock, and as the spinner came past the very end………….BAM!!! Fish On!!
I had a head shaking fool, running for deep water.
Now I’m getting my first tow of the season, as she turns and heads straight at me……………
I’m reeling in the slack line as fast as I can to catch up to her, and up she comes for my first tail Dance of the season.
She dives under my W500 and Pops out the other side, my pole dipped down under water hoping she would pop off.
She surges back out for the shallows on the dock I pulled her from.
I pull her up towards the surface, back towards my yak, and into my net.

Now this is what I was Looking for, 3.5 lbs fat healthy Large Mouth Bass.

Called it a day after that, and headed home.
A side note, I picked up another motor, a 2003 2hp Honda 4 stroke.
After it gets a tune up, I’ll be making another video.

Life Is Good.

Tight lines and MoPaddle safe all.
Rox

Sunday, November 27th and Monday November 28th.

I took the W500 with the 1.2hp outboard and headed to lake Congamond in Massachusetts. The motor comes in very handy for getting to my spots quickly.

Got to the waters edge at 10:30am and I was off the water at 2:30pm. Water was a little dirty, 45 to 46.8 degrees.

Tossed rattle trap, rapala fat rap, silver buddy, and 2″ paddle tail on a 1/16th oz jig. The only lure that worked was the paddle tail.

I did have a rough start, standing at the waters edge before launching, I lost my footing and took a shi##er, got both feet $#@#%$# wet to my ankles, son of a beach…..and I’m going to have a nice bruise on my arm by tomorrow….

Then my motor wouldn’t start…….I’m thinking -”The Gary Curse is upon me” (he is a friend of mine, and when ever he goes out fishing something always goes wrong) -

After pulling and pulling and thinking, what the heck….. I said to myself, gas, spark air……..sheet, I forgot

to turn on the gas switch…….DumbASS!! Curse nope, blond moment…….yes.

I spent the first half hour tossing the RT, Fat Rap, and silver buddy.

Then I caught 8 small bass right off the bat when I switched to the paddle tail grub.

I’d cast it out, let it sink to the bottom and pause, then give it a light pop.

All the bigger Bass came out of 16′ to 22′ of water.

I had to head home, my feet were cold……note to self: Keep socks and an extra pair of sneakers in my truck.

Monday the 28th:

Water temps were 46 to 48 degrees, and very windy.

I was in 9′ of water popping the jig with the paddle tail. Cast it out past a weed line break and popped it back into the slop, as I freed it from the weeds…………….BAM…. shake, shake Flash of green goes the the right zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, flash of green goes to the left zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, Crap my Net is stuck on my bungee………………… under the yak she goes, and I slowly pull up and out to pull her back, reach down and I shove my thumb in her mouth.
I’m a happy camper, 4lbs of plump Largemouth Bass.

I continue on with the paddle tail, 2 rats, and three reties after the pickerel chew up my line.

I head over to a drop from 9 to 22′ of water and start working the jig.

Bam…………..nothing, darn pickerel cut me off again.

So instead of retying, I put the rod down and grab the shakey head worm, Zman straight tail worm dark green, cast it into a spot with a little wood in 16′ and let it sit, shake, pause, shake shake

BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM med/heavy rod doubles over, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ then nothing.

WTF, I figured maybe a nick in my line and it snapped.

I reel in the slack, and there in front of my eyes…………….. A PIGTAIL………….knot failure…..and I know it was my fault, I didn’t like the knot when I tied on the shakey rig, but I thought it would be okay.

One of the things I tell people when tying knots: if it doesn’t look Pretty…. RETIE IT!!!!!!

Well Thank God for my first chunker, only rats minus the pig I lost was it.

Still grateful for getting out, it was a beautiful day.

Life Is Good.

Tight lines and MoPaddle safe all.

Rox

More about motorized fishing kayaks >>



I had to get out and take advantage of this great weather on Tuesday. Sunny, slight winds, water tea stained in color, 44.5 degrees to a balmy 49.8 degrees.
I hit the water at Rainbow at 10:30 am and was off the water by 3 pm. Water levels are low, almost to the bottom of the ramp.

I started off with a Rattle Trap, with nothing to show for it, put on a deep diving crank bait, Nada. So I went to my light gear, 1/16 oz jig with a small paddle tail.
Perch, crappies and dace were very active, but I wanted SMALLIES! So I was motoring in my W500 kayak looking for steep banks coming off the flats, and rock walls.

If I didn’t Love this Yak before, I love it even more with the gamefisher outboard motor on it.

Since time and light is short, I was able to zip to all my spots with ease. Then I would just use my paddle until I needed to make a long run. I’d set up the yak over the deepest spot of the drop offs, cast the Paddle tail up into shallow water, and pop and drop it down the drop offs. I’d pause in between pops for a ten count.
This proved to be deadly, but all shorts, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass, with a mix of perch and crappie…
Until I get a great hit, and a head shaking fool ripped off some line – I knew it wasn’t a bass, but this fish was fighting hard. I get her up top, and it’s a huge dace – Snap a pic, and sent her back.

As I moved down the channel, I found what I was looking for – a steep drop from 12′ down to 25′.
Working the lure down to the edge, I gave it a good pop, and opened the bail so the bait would float freely down to the bottom of the 25′… which takes forever with a 1/16th jog head.
As my line went slack and told me I was down on the bottom, I count to ten, gave it a sharp pop, and followed it back to the BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Fish on -
This bad girl didn’t want to come up, but she had no choice.
With the net ready, I scooped her up: Big Fat and Beautiful 18 1/2″ Small Mouth – Toooooooo bad I took a bad picture, I didn’t check the sun location before letting her go.
I paddle back to the last boat position. I cast the jig up shallow again, popping it along the bottom,
and as it started it’s fall to deeper water, the line started going sideways, set the hook, and the battle was on.
Another chunker ripping drag ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ She breaks the surface, and Holy crap, she’s bigger then the last one. She doesn’t want nothing to do with my net, and dives under ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I bring her back up and snag her in the net.
SWEET!! Another Fatty, 19 1/4″ of pissed off Smallie!!

All in all a great day on the water in November. Here are pictures of the best for the day.

Tight lines and MoPaddle safe all.

Rox

Here is a fishing trip my friend and I took to West Twin Lakes.
Lisa took my W500, and I was in my W300.
We had rain most of the time, but no thunder or lightening.

Lisa has become very comfortable in my W500, she now calls it hers, in fact when she came home from work, she asked… “Why is there a motor on my Yak?”

Many big Bass came to hand, here is a recap. Lisa was happy catching tons of sunnies.

I paddled around and scoped things out in the new waters, cast a little here and there, and was rewarded with many Largemouth bass, from 1# to 2#’s.
Not to shabby for just poking around.
I just followed my gut, if it looked fishy, I fished it.
Weeds were high just below the surface everywhere you looked, except for where some home owners did their own weed control and all you saw was a barren bottom.
But I have to say this, they were smart about it, they left large areas untreated and they all held fish.
Rain had tapered off to light showers, so it wasn’t to bad out at all.

More panfish then you can shake a stick at, Pickerel were pissing me off.

I went down to the dock and did a little more casting before night fall.

Where this dock is set, is perfect, lilly pads and weeds to the left, nice rocky point to the right with over hanging limbs, out in front of the dock, weeds, wonderful weeds, and my Lucky Papa George Rod in Hand,
How can I go wrong? I’m On Vacation.

I was throwing a 3/8oz title shot jig with a dark green power hog on it, and it produced some chunky Bass, and some insane perch, but not what i was looking for.

So I switched up to a yum dinger 4″, and started chucking it around the weeds.
Letting it sink to the bottom, and doing my drop and pop all the way back to me.

This brought a few more bass to hand, but not the picture worthy kind, until 6:22pm, why do I know what time it is you ask?
Because my tenant called me in a drunkin stooper asking if he should put the trash out…………………… he won’t even remember I hung up on him…………………

I chucked the dinger out past the rocky point and started my retrieve back, and on the second pop, pop, BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
All Hell Breaks loose……….ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Up Comes a Monster, flips in the air and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
She’s just going to my left ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, then she’s going to my right ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I’m trying to keep her out of the brush under the trees she’s trying to get into, and she comes to the surface and is waking sideways at us, and Lisa say’s that the biggest Bass she’s ever seen.
Afraid of breaking my Pappa George pole, which is only a med glass pole, I grab the line and pulled, 40lb braid with a 17lb Vanish leader and turned her.
I get her dock side and she tail walking and doing her best to not let me get my thumb in her mouth…………then……………………………………………………………….
She’s mine.

I had to use two hands to hold her and lift her out of the water, She’s a Beast!!!!!!!!!!

We snapped a few shots, and I noticed, this big Girl has no Hook marks anywhere in her mouth or face.
She was just perfect, fat and healthy, 6.2 lbs

I placed her back in the water and rocked her gently, and she rewarded me with a big old tug and a splash that got me all wet when she turned and bolted away.

I switched to a title shot jig and power hog, casting as far as my little freaking arms would cast into the weeds in front of me.
These weeds were awesome, they had high spots, holes and a very nice channel between some of the the taller weeds to the shorter weed line.
It was here that the Bass were sitting.
I tell you this, these Title Shot jigs come through the weeds like butter, I only had to remove weeds off it once in a while, other then that, a good snap of the rod tip and she would pull right through that crap.
I pulled 8 Largemouth bass, and a bunch of rock bass and shorts.
Still not picture worthy.
Then it happens, a good solid thump, I set the hook and the fight is on, fish came to hand a little easier
with the med/hvy set up.
I was pumped now, rain had stopped, I jumped in my wavewalk yak and was off.
But as luck would have it, small Bass 1# and under was all I kept finding.
Switched to a drop shot and landed a few more bass, rock bass, and PICKEREL!!!!!
Got tired of retying my D/S due to the SLIME DARTS, just as I was changing lures, the skies opened up again.
Back up to the cottage for some more cards.

Rain stopped, I headed back out.
Casting a frog all over the place with nothing to show for it, not even a swirl??????
Switched to my yum dinger 5″ in my color of choice, watermelon pearl.
Cast the dinger into the lilly’s and walked it to the edge and let it fall……………………BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Fish on and she’s pulling me into the pads with her.

Thank God For good hooksets and heavy line.

I grabbed this fatty and let out a hoot!

Then Lisa says to me, “I want to learn how to fish with your lures, I’m tired of picking wormshit from under my nails”
By now, she has most likely caught over 100 sunnies, perch and rock bass, but said she’d like more of a challenge.

So I hand her Fathers pole (My Pappa George pole he had given me before he passed away) and told her don’t you break it, rigged up the dinger, gave her some pointers, and she went to work.
A while later, she was working it, the drop and pop, and landed her first bass.
A nice little keeper, but her first ever, and liked the new fight.

I sent Lisa to the lilly pads with a 5″ yum dinger and told her to cast it into the lilly pads and work it to the edge, then let it drop and watch the line, any movement, or if it doesn’t feel right, set the hook.

She wasn’t catching squat, so she told me, “this is my last cast”

She cast the dinger up on the pads and worked to the edge, and as it fell…………………….BAM ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, then all you see is the W500 being towed and Lisa’s pole bent to the max………. then the bass buried itself in the weeds, and she drops her tip and says its gone.
I told her to put pressure back on the line and hold her ground, hoping the bass was still there……..then the rod tip starts bouncing, out of the weeds and into the air she comes. Holy Crap, it’s a good one.
It dives then comes up close to my W300’s side, I reach down and snag the fatty for her.
She is one happy camper, and most likely won’t be meat dunking again for a long time.
In fact she ended up with 5 more Bass when we called it a day.

I was happy she got a big Bass, I really wanted her to get the full battle of a big fish.

Life Is Good in a Wave Walk Yak.

Rox

Don’t know if I will have a chance to go out again this year, but the W will stay in the garage until I put the snowplow on the tractor for the winter.

Once again, thanks for a great kayak!

Chris

"Guerrilla Kayaking" Chris' style

More "Guerrilla Kayaking" - Paddling in difficult spots