Bill & I were extremely IMPRESSED with your method amBUSHing lunkers yesterday! The first time we saw your method, both of us looked at each other wondering "what the heck is he doing?". At first, I thought you were overexcited & made a bad cast by accident! Then BAM, you pulled out the first big fish! After that, we both actually stopped fishing & watched intently every time you cast into a new honey hole. It was something to see! We were even cheering you on every time we saw a boil or swirl after your lure! I have NEVER seen a display like that! I have never heard about, read about or seen anything like what I saw until yesterday & my brother & I have decades of bassin between us! I kept telling boo-boo that I would like to make a TV show or a video about his technique. I have never seen anything like it before & it WORKS! You should definitely enter a tournament boo-boo!

Both my brother & I fish mainly Yamamoto senkos & grubs with a lot of confidence & success. We were both humbled because neither of us could catch a bass bigger than a pound or so. I switched to old topwaters in my tacklebox (Hula Poppers, Original Rapala Minnows, the old Heddon Torpedo, etc.) & spinnerbaits that I haven't used since I was a kid & finally started catching some bass. I forgot how exciting it is to see a bass hit a topwater lure!!! It was my first time fishing on a river or in a boat other than a kayak & I suspect the river current had a little to do with why my brother & I did not catch the quality fish we are used to catching. I only caught 3 bass on plastics, the rest were all on topwater or spinnerbaits.

But, the main lesson we learned is that you always need to adapt to different conditions - what works in a lake or pond in a kayak doesn't always work in a flowing river on a bass boat. Fishing isn't always easy but it's ALWAYS FUN!!!

Also, I have never seen a 1 ounce spinnerbait with Chartreuse blades as big as a maple leaf get hit by a sunfish before until boo-boo demonstrated that for me!

Bill & I are stocking up on the new secret weapon & 20 pound test for our next trip! It's great to fish with someone who loves to fish as much as we do! None of us wanted to quit - even after the sun went down!

We can't wait until next Wednesday to fish with you again!

Russ

You actually threw a lot of plastics yesterday! I think your secret weapon is made of soft (very soft) plastic & I was also impressed that it did not get torn to shreds!

I'll be armed with your lure, kevlar body armor and a helmet to help me cast & retrieve those lures & lunkers (that would be a great name for a tackle shop!) from your honey holes next week!

Russ

What stretch of the Charles were you on this time? 109 to the rt 27 bridge? If so were you able to get over the log across the river at the bend after the railroad bridge?

Ken, Yes it was the section from 109-27 and beyond. I am not sure what log you are talking about though? We motored down most of the way without any problems other than the occasional rock or stump that I knew was coming. The water is very low but I have a 17 bass boat and made it through with minimal bottom bumping.

Ao,we fished from my bass boat but Russ and Bill are die hard kayakers.

Culprit master, the ramp is right on 109 but there is no way you would be able to launch or motor back with a fiber bottom. There are a fair amount of under water rocks and a few shallow spots where you would be dragging. I have an alluminum boat so it's no problem. The best spot for fiber boats on the Charles is in Waltham. Nice ramp and parking area and you can really open her up if you want to. Just take it easy in the coves. I hope this helps you all?

river_pirate@hotmail.com

My brother Bill has 2 Wilderness Systems Pungo 120's. He's made extensive mods including an anchor system & paddle holders. I'm trying to get him to make some rod holders because it's a pain with more than 1 rod - we usually each bring 3 or 4. We both use primarily ultra light tackle (4 & 5 foot rods with 2-6 pound test). Let me tell you - landing a 2 or 3 pound largemouth on ultra light tackle with light line is quite a challenge but loads of fun! Our other brother & sister-in-law in NY also fishes with similar tackle in both kayaks & canoes when they're not fly fishing for trout.

Bill & I fish a lot of places in Eastern MA, primarily his backyard (Martin's Pond in North Reading) & my backyard (Upper Mystic Lake in Winchester/Medford). Our other favorite is A-1 in Westboro. We've fished Chebacco Lake in Hamilton, Pillings Pond in Lynnfield, Knopps Pond in Groton & a bunch of lakes, ponds & creeks in NY (the Mid Hudson Valley/Catskills) where we grew up fishing.

The great thing about bass-yaking is we can get to a lot of places that a bass boat or shoreline fisherman can't & we've caught a lot of quality bass this summer!

Send me an email (altahol@comcast.net) & I'll send you an invitation to our online photo album containing well over 200 pictures of our bass-yak adventures this summer! We always add new pictures after each trip. As boo-boo will attest, seeing our pictures will make you want to fish! That's what prompted him to invite us to fish with him! And there's no pictures of 3 pound bass claiming to be 10 pounds like the other bass yakker who claimed he caught a 10 pounder twice in his kayak! I think we ran him out of here a few months back! My brothers & I always have a great time bass-yaking!

I'm looking forward to next Wednesday's trip with boo-boo because the next stretch of The Charles is more kayak friendly so Bill & I will be scoping it out for a future bass-yak trip.

Russ

Does GF mean Great Fisherwoman? 8^)

My first time kayaking was several years ago. My ex took took me out sea kayaking (she kayaked & sea kayaked) my first time down on the Cape a few years back. I loved it! I could never get her to fish with me & gave fishing up for many years while we were together.

If you're just starting out fishing, I would learn the basic casting & fishing skills first because fishing is a lot harder in a kayak. Retrieving snagged lures is even harder! You're basically seated in a cockpit & there's not a lot of room to maneuver your body & not a lot of room for error! I'd also advise using ultralight rods & reels in a kayak. It's harder to use a long heavy rod (greater than 5 feet or so long) in a kayak, although I primarily use a 4.5, 5 & 6 foot rod in a yak. A lot is going on, including positioning the kayak, keeping it from drifting (my brother rigged an anchor system), keeping the paddle out of the way (my brother rigged a paddle holder), changing lures, casting, landing fish, keeping everything (rods, tackle, paddle) out of the way (not much room in the cockpit), & of course HAVING FUN! My extra duty is that I'm the photographer - although we all carry cameras as well. It's funny to watch when I'm paddling circles around my brothers & taking their pictures at the same time while they are landing fish! Oh - & the biggest thing is to make sure you don't capsize! Especially when there are rude pleasure boaters (not bass boats) buzzing by you with no respect because they have a motor & you have a paddle!

Don't let that discourage you - it's a LOT of fun. Just be prepared to get very wet! Especially the first time you try to land a bass bigger than 2 pounds while seated in the cockpit. The only thing that I don't like is being seated all day (we usually go for 4-6 hours) & then having to drag everything back to the cartop when you're tired & wet. But it's definitely worth it if you don't have a boat. You will be able to access a lot more quality bass!

Knopps is a tough place on the weekends - a lot of idiots towing tubes & skiers that buzz by you leaving you in their wake. I almost swamped there. Chebacco is even worse.

Hope you have fun!

Russ

1. Take your favorite rod, or 2 or 3 or 4 & your tackle box.

2. Sit on your floor with your legs extended in from of you.

3. Place your tackle box between your knees.

4. Now imagine tying a lure in this position & imagine you probably have no more space after your knees in front of you (that's why a long rod is harder because of tying lures, among other things).

5. Also imagine the floor you are sitting on is rocking you from side to side & you are also drifting wherever the wind/current is taking you as you watch that honey hole get farther away (kayaks don't come with anchors).

6. Imagine casting your lure to a target 180 degrees from where you are seated & the target keeps moving during your cast.

7. The best - imagine a nice lunker striking your lure & reeling it in (all while you are still seated in this position).

8. If it's a BIG lunker, imaging trying to keep him on your line, while reaching over your back for a net.

9. Even better, if it's a BIG lunker, imagine he's actually TOWING you & your kayak! Yes, you can actually get towed by a 2 or 3 pound fish if he's really angry that you bounced boo-boo's secret weapon off his grill!

10. It also helps if while you perform steps 1-9, have someone spray water on you & blow a large fan at the same time.

If you can perform steps 1-10 without standing up, or whining & you actually enjoy it, I would highly recommend Bass Yaking!

Remember - you can't stand up or you will get penalty points! The last person sitting wins! That's Bass Yaking!!!

Russ

Stay Dry and Tight Lines,

The sad thing was it was the biggest spinner bait that I own and the pick was barely 12 inches long. It was more my fault than the pick cutting the line. I was using a speed clip instead of tieing direct because I was lazy and like to change baits when things get slow and I was lazy about tieing direct,dumb I know. The fish shook it's head at the boat and the lure slipped off of the speed clip. It turned out to be a 1-1/4 ounce bait that I was testing to see how they worked and was the only one of that color that I bought. Luckily I am friendly with the maker of the bait and made a call to him on Friday. He is rushing me a care package of 20 baits so that I will have some for this week. Great lure,great guy,great service. Normally I throw a one ounce but I wanted to run it slower and deeper so I threw it on. The fish seem to hit it even though it is huge. I was getting bass from 6 inches to four pounds and believe it or not I even caught a sunny on it. As for the secret of river fishing.....it's just a surface technique that I have been working on for a few years. If you want to see it you will just have to come out with me :) you really have to "see it to believe it" is what everyone tells me when they first hear of it and then see it. river_pirate@hotmail.com