Kayak Fishing \ Binghamton

[scj6771]

Headed to the launch at 14 South Street in Binghamton tomorrow, I have a fishing Kayak and will give this another shot, attempted this numerous times last season and came up empty each time, I have attached the tackle I was using then, any tips or suggestions? Thanks all. https://scj6771.smugmug.com/Absolute-Randomness/i-tppm7q4/A

[DRY]

Headed to the launch at 14 South Street in Binghamton tomorrow, I have a fishing Kayak and will give this another shot, attempted this numerous times last season and came up empty each time, I have attached the tackle I was using then, any tips or suggestions? Thanks all. https://scj6771.smugmug.com/Absolute-Randomness/i-tppm7q4/A

I would "wacky-worm" the Senko
Add a crayfish imitation (plastic bait with a jig)
Maybe a swimbait

You know that your link makes all your pictures available to public view?

Bill

[scj6771]

Headed to the launch at 14 South Street in Binghamton tomorrow, I have a fishing Kayak and will give this another shot, attempted this numerous times last season and came up empty each time, I have attached the tackle I was using then, any tips or suggestions? Thanks all. https://scj6771.smugmug.com/Absolute-Randomness/i-tppm7q4/A

Thanks for the tips .. I have yet to try the "wacky" method but will do so, do you suggest a particular color of worm? And I am assuming they are standard sizes? What about the brand? I also like the Texas rig, what size bullet weight do you recommend? .. And yes I realize my pics are public, I don't mind, pictures were meant to be viewed. Thanks again mate.

[icemole]

 Your choices should get you some fish.... maybe increase the size of the minnow lure a little. Also try more natural colors for the crankbait + minnow lure. Bright colors are better suited to muddy conditions(unless you are after walleye, pike or crappies)

 One of the best all around lures is a simple round head jig with a "twister" type tail threaded on.  Color choices black, pumpkin, clear/silver or gold glitter.  Add chartreuse, white for walleye but play around many guys have "favorite" colors. A good all around sized tail is 3-4" but down size to 1-2" if chasing crappies. All around jig heads would be 1/8 to 3/8 for the 3-4" tails(smaller for the 1-2" tails). The jigs can be fished fast with the rod tip held high = up in the water column to very slow bouncing along the bottom. Generally speaking along the bottom will get you more bites the trade off is you will get stuck. If in a boat sometimes you can free it .... not so much wading or fishing from the bank..... fortunately they are cheap compared to other lures.

[scj6771]

Thank you all so much for the great feedback, I must report however that I just came back from fishing Cayuga lake (finger lake here in upstate NY), and it was not a good day, I mean the trip was great. the lake is beautiful, but I couldn't catch a damn thing other than weeds, it was frustrating, story of my life really, if there are weeds to be found, I will find them, I don't understand, I had what I thought was a weedless setup?, below will give you the general idea of what I use for tackle, I mean it's a solid lineup, maybe you can assist? What can I do to fish the weeds beds but not become entangled with the?

I mean is there a general rule of thumb or some guideline for what size jig head, weight and hook size I should be using for a particular season\depth\species of fish?

So for example, what size jig head would I use for a 4" powerbait (Bunker Hawg)? I would say a 3/8 football head skirted jig? Am I off the mark here?

Is there even such a thing as a weedless jig head? Maybe in the dog days of summer I should be fishing deeper and out of the weeds anyway?

Its so disappointing to not be good at something that you really do enjoy .... thanks all ....

Jigs for plastics. 3" or 4" curltail grubs
senkos (wacky-worm / o-ring)
inline spinners
small jerkbaits
Perfect Finesse Worm Jighead with either a 5 inch kalin or Yamamoto grub on it (3.5 inch one as well)
crayfish imitation (plastic bait with a jig)
zoom finesse worm \ 4.5 inches

[DRY]

Grass.....yuck!! 
When I went anywhere in my boat I tried to avoid it...worse thing for a jet intake.

But I did for many years fish largemouth on a small lake that had grass mats as thick as they come...with only narrow channels where the old creek bed flowed through the bed of the lake.

Of course I fished it in a canoe. I had most success finding small openings (black holes) in the grass and dropping a wacky worm into the abyss. The hook was protected by a wire hook guard and worked pretty well.

The other thing I used was a plastic frog with the hooks turned up and would slither it along the top of the grass.

Avoid grass or find a good hook with a weed guard. Spinners and lures with (multiple) treble hooks can be frustrating.

This is the style hook that worked best for me

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Ike_Approved_Weedless_Wacky_Hooks/descpage-VMCWW.html?from=bshop&msclkid=bd05d94343d2162c1535865d947a69a4&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%20-%20All%20Baits&utm_term=4579809529737126&utm_content=Terminal%20Tackle

This is the style frog with upturned hooks

https://shop.lunkerhunt.com/products/popping-frog?variant=32118418276430&currency=USD&msclkid=1db6ffb64fc11cd4911aa0a89799e0bd&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping&utm_term=4586750197810460&utm_content=All%20Products

Then again maybe the fish just weren't hungry or had taken a break from the heat!! 

Bill

[icemole]

Lot's of variables in your questions - type of weeds, depth of weeds, are they matted on top, lily pads, clean bottom under the weeds. sparse or thick. No lure is 100% weedless - my 3 top choices would be hollow body frog/rats, Texas rigged worms(weightless) or if you can find any the old Johnson's silver minnow. You will also need heavy action rods + reels spooled with 20 - 60 lb. test . Forget spinning outfits - baitcaster all the way - you don't want the fish to fight you want to winch it across the top of the slop. Across pads or heavy mats keep the lure moving, pause in any "holes" in the mat. The worm + silver minnow will fall/flutter, the frog will sit on top both can trigger fish. If a fish blows up and misses the frog/silver minnow toss a worm in that spot(Ideally you will have one ready to cast on another rod). Any blow-ups that get the lure WAIT until you feel the fish before setting the hook.... THIS IS VERY HARD TO DO AS WE TEND TO GET EXCITED... .  I often make my cast and start my retrieve then look where I intend my next cast so I don't see the strike as much as I feel it.

 There are lots of other lures to use if the weeds are sparse or under the surface a couple of feet or targeting points, channels or edges in the weed beds. Sometimes you can "steer" the lure either with the rod tip or by "tuning" the lure.   

[zelmo]

If you are fishing in weeds and grass forget about a wacky rig and as icemole said go texas rigged with an offset hook.



You can put many different kinds of plastic baits on them, and you can fish them weightless or with a bullet weight.  If you want to get really fancy you can put a creature type bait on with a punch skirt between the hook and the weight.

[scj6771]

Thanks all for the great advice as always, I think I'll start focusing on just a couple of techniques, such as the Texas rig and the wacky worm setup, so one question I have:

1. As for the offset hooks and bullet weights (Texas rig), what size for each generally? 2 or 2/0 for the hooks and maybe 1/8 ounce for the weight?, same size hook for wacky rig?

[zelmo]

I have all sizes of hooks, and the best one will be determined by the bait. I can’t help you with the wacky rig because I never use it.  I seem to get hung up on every cast.  For the Texas rig 3/0 or 4/0 is what I use most often.  If I am going to use a weight I probably have a 1/8 oz on 75% of the time.  That will get heavier due to flow or the need to get down in the weeds. 

Btw - I use lead as tungsten is too expensive.  If something is expensive I will be hesitant to toss it where I might lose it, and that is often where the fish are. 

[DRY]

My wacky worm hooks are size 1 or 1/0...with or without weed guard

Bill

[icemole]

 Texas rig hooks vary with the baits I'm using.... smaller 1 + 1/0 for tubes, craws, skinny finesse 4" worms, grubs, etc. most of my smallie baits. 3/0 for bulkier Senko type worms 4-6" along with some swimbaits. and regular 6" power/culprit worms/lizards. Even some 5/0 for bigger worms, solid body frogs and most of my swimbaits. The 3/0 + 5/0 are mostly used on my largemouth baits. Unless I'm tossing among heavy weeds most times I "texaspose" my baits still pretty weedless but I don't need the hard hookset to penetrate the plastic

 Although you can use the same hooks for wacky rigs most guys use what is known as "octopus" style or drop shot hooks. Here I'm pretty much using the same 1 + 1/0 sizes in both plain and weedless models as Dry is. I also don't use the wacky rig as much but do like it as I'm drifting over a weed filled flat for dropping in holes or dropping among downed tree branches.

 Lots of good video's on youtube .... not that I mind helping out but sometimes things
click better after seeing it