Undergoing Electro Shock Therapy A

Fter Spending 14 Years

shing from the same Glacier Bay 22, I nally ( nally!) bought a new boat this season, a Caymas 26 HB. Naturally, this meant ge ing a completely new marine electronics suite. And despite being immersed in the marine industry and constantly exposed to the latest and greatest sh nders, chartplotters, and radar, what happened next u erly shocked me: the electronics upgrade literally changed the way I sh.

Generally speaking, when new electronics get introduced to the marketplace I’ll get an initial viewing at one of the major boat shows, shing events, or press conferences. en through the course of the next year, that same gear tends to pop up on new boats I’m testing or shing from for press-related shing trips, and I’ll get some on-the-water experience with it. e unit on my own personal boat, however, was a decade old. As we all know, in the world of electronics that made it u erly ancient.

What I discovered a er shing the new boat for a couple of months is that using these systems when you’re a passenger on a boat is simply nothing like using them as you captain the boat yourself. Case in point: the Caymas is rigged with a Humminbird Apex 16 MEGA SI chartplo er/ sh nder. I’ve been on dozens of boats rigged with Humminbird’s MEGA side-imaging, and always appreciated its utility. But now I have to admit that those days spent looking over the captain’s shoulder at the marks o to each side didn’t tell the whole story. Unlike the old-tech side-scan I’d been using for years, I’ve found that I can check out structure I know sometimes holds sh, with the intent of nding out if sh are there or not at the moment — the returns are that much clearer and more accurate. Now I can idle through open water and look at a school of bait from both above and below at the same time and say with con dence whether or not there are predators on the periphery. e di erence in sh- nding abilities is huge, but it’s not the only thing that improved with the upgrade. On my old system, when I wanted to pull up the radar I had to split screens (and thereby reduce size and visible detail levels) or toggle between the chart plo er and the radar in order to navigate through the fog or darkness. Now, the radar is overlaid directly onto the chartplo er screen. On my old system I had an 11” LCD and found it necessary to reach for my glasses in order to pick out small numbers or markings on the chart. With the 16” Apex, I can leave those glasses in the glovebox. (Note than at a 16:9 aspect ratio an 11” LCD screen has 51.7 square inches of space while a 16” screen has 104.9 square inches — so it’s actually close to twice the size). And on my old system I sure as heck couldn’t tap the screen on an intriguing looking mark, then swipe to tell the trolling motor to drive to it.

Basically, once I’d learned the basics of how to operate the system, I began wasting a heck of a lot less time ailing in barren water. Previously I was guessing whether sh were present or not, now I know for sure in short order. And when I see that sh are present but I’m not ge ing bites, I know to start changing colors, lure types, and retrieve styles, and that I should stick around until I can gure out just what the sh want. When I’m Spot-Locked in a position where sh are on the move, I know if anything passes by within casting distance and which direction to let the lures y. And when I’m using the meter to look for sh at longer distances in deeper water, I know when to pull a 90-degree turn and how far to go before stopping to vertically jig over them.

If you’ve read Texas Fish & Game for years and years,

:: by LENNY RUDOW TF&G Boating Editor

you’ve heard me proselytize before about regularly upgrading your electronics. I usually say that at least every ve or so years it’s worth doing. All this time I thought I knew what I was missing out on and failed to heed my own advice because, well, I’m cheap. Now I know be er. And for anyone who is comfortable with their 10-year-old electronics, remember this: you may have seen newer gear in action on someone else’s boat and think you know just what sort of advantages it will or will not give you. But unless and until you captain that boat day in and day out for a month or two, you won’t really know what advantages you’re ceding. And by the time 2028 rolls around, you can bet that I’ll bite the bullet and upgrade my own electronics again.

SKINFLINT RED ALERT: You say modern marine electronics are just too dang expensive for regular upgrading? Look up the numbers, and you’ll nd that most units of equal LCD size carry a price tag that’s very close to the MSRP you would have seen a decade ago. at makes it seem like you’re ge ing all the new tech for about the same cost. But when you gure in the e ect of in ation, it turns out that modern units are generally 30- to 40-percent less costly than they were a decade ago.

AKE CONROE IS KNOWN FOR ITS superior largemouth bass fishing.

Conroe is one of the highest-ranking lakes among those that have produced Sharelunkers (13-pound or larger bass) and has hosted several world championship tournaments including the Bassmaster Classic. As good as the bass fishing can be on this reservoir that dams up the West Fork of the San Jacinto River in

Montgomery and Walker Counties, the perch fishing is better. It can be epic.

Personal Experience

I learned this myself in May 2021 while catfishing under the 1097 Bridge.

Only having a few live shiners, channel cats were biting steadily. But after pitching a shiner near a piling on the north side of the bridge, I got a hard “thump”. At first, I thought it might be a big crappie, so I waited a couple of seconds and set the hook.

The fish fought harder than any crappie I ever caught and was shocked when I pulled in a massive bream. It was without a doubt the largest I had ever caught and I at that point had caught some big ones. What was equally as impressive was the one I caught nearly as big on the following cast. I’m talking legit monsters! And o cials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department note this in their o cial pro le of the lake.

“Bluegills of gigantic proportions can be had by the angler who wants to be patient and target them. ey can be caught along rip rap, shing deep near the toe of the slope (sometimes 8 feet or more). Baits must reach near the bo om quickly to avoid the small bait-stealers that inhabit the shallower water. Live worms or crickets are the best producers. Some good y-rod action can also be had using sinking insect imitation ies and sinking y line.” ey also note the lake’s superior crappie action.

“Crappie are also very popular and o er good opportunities for anglers seeking table fare. Black and white crappie made a comeback in the lake with the e orts of the Lake Conroe Restocking Association’s spring stockings of advanced juvenile crappie.

Good catches of crappie can be had in early spring and in the fall.”

Abundant Species

ere are several abundant species of pan sh available on the lake, so for anglers looking to scratch a particular species o the life list, Conroe is a good stop. Let’s check out key pan sh species and look at some of the TPWD pro les e record for black crappie is 2.40 pounds and was caught by Daniel T. Chow on April 17, 2022, showing big crappie is a happening thing right now on the lake.

BLACK CRAPPIE: e black crappie is easily confused with the white crappie. However, it is deeper-bodied than the white crappie, and silvery-green in color.

WHITE CRAPPIE: e white crappie is deep-bodied and silvery in color, ranging from silvery-white on the belly to a silvery-green or even dark green on the back. ere are several vertical bars on the sides. e dorsal n has a maximum of six spines. While both white and black crappie will congregate around brush piles and bridges, whites will school up in open water. Few anglers pursue them this way, but they are more likely to be found on open ats than their close cousins. e Conroe record is a whopping 2.7 pounds and was caught by Shannon E. Evere on April 17, 2019. Once again, this shows catches of huge crappie in recent years.

BLUEGILL: Bluegills may be distinguished from other sun sh by the dark spot at the base of the dorsal n, vertical bars on their sides, and a relatively small mouth. Bluegills begin spawning when water temperatures reach about 70°F. Spawning may peak in May or June but continues until water temperatures cool in the fall. e lake record is a very large 1.41 pounds and was caught by Tina Cunningham.

REDEAR SUNFISH: e redear is a deep-bodied sun sh with a relatively small mouth. Color ranges from dark olive green above to almost white on the belly. e sides are usually yellow to green. ese are o en called “shellcracker”. Nicholas Mosley caught the 1.12-pound lake record.

Easy Action

Finding pan sh is as easy as nding structure.

Conroe is loaded with man-made brush piles that are a magnet for pan sh. Anglers shing for crappie should load up with live shiners and lower them down toward the bo om and slowly reel up until they get bit. en they should mark that spot on their line and keep shing in that zone. Crappie can be voracious but o en key in on speci c depths to bite. e aforementioned 1097 is a great place to sh and although it receives a lot of pressure, seemingly constantly gives up good catches. ese are great spots in particular for y shing. Small poppers are fun to sh early and late as perch hit the surface feeding on insects and insect pa erns work once the sun comes up and sh are bonded to structure.

Bream can be over the same brush piles but will o en hit closer to the surface. A red wiggler or hunk of nightcrawler shed under a bobber is usually a great way to score.

Moving into the northern tier of the lake, anglers should not overlook the shorelines along the Sam Houston National Forest. Fallen trees, layovers, and weed lines will hold good numbers of bream.

I personally plan to hit Conroe this year to y sh for perch and hopefully score on more giants. Looking back at the largest of the two sh I caught, I have no doubt it would have been in contention for a lake record. It was, however, dipped in ba er and fried. And that’s OK. One of the best parts about seeking pan sh is pu ing them in the pan and creating great meals for the family.

THE TUG IS THE DRUG, and when you’re on a kayak, a red drum makes for a very potent tug.

Inch for inch, few gamefish can produce a pull like a redfish. A 20-incher feels like many 26- or 27-inch specimens of other species, and a 40-incher feels like it has as much torque as a 115-horsepower outboard. If you’re on a kayak, that makes battling those bulls particularly dicey — and particularly fun. But to enjoy the adrenaline-inducing sleigh ride resulting from a redfish, first you have to fool them into biting. Then, you’ll have to make every move count if you’re going to bring that fish up to the boat and eventually land it.

These tips for kayak fishing for redfish will help.

The Hookup

• You have two advantages over boat anglers: stealth and draft. You also have an advantage over wade fishermen in the form of more mobility. Play to your advantages and maximize each of these traits.

• Stay away from those noise-making, fish-spooking boats and head for the flats and backwater cuts where they dare not tread. When you see more than one boat fishing an area the best move is often to head in the opposite direction — even if you know they’re in a good spot. There’s a fair chance that if any smart fish were around they’ve already bugged out. And stay on the move until you locate some active fish.

• Use the tide and wind to your advantage, rather than fighting against them. Any time you find yourself working hard to cast along a shoreline or get close enough to cast to a target, ask yourself if you could paddle upwind or upcurrent, then do a controlled drift back down. In some cases this may mean paddling or pedaling an extra quarter-mile or more to get upwind or upcurrent of a target zone. But it’s time and energy well spent, because once you’ve reached a good starting point, you’ll spend more time fishing and less time battling the elements.

• If you like sight fishing, get a SUP paddle and practice using it. These work much better than a standard paddle for maneuvering the boat while standing, and if you’re trying to spot fish in the shallows, you’ll see 10 times as many if you can stand up as you work your way along. Some sharpies like to leash the paddle, so when they spot a fish and transition from paddle to rod they can simply let the paddle slide silently into the water.

The Battle

• Be sure to position your kayak properly prior to the cast. Carelessly fling your lure at a 90-degree angle to the boat, and if you hook up you’ll be at an immediate disadvantage as you try to fight the fish. Swinging the bow around in line with the fish so you can fight it properly takes time and effort, increases the potential for slack to get into the line, and reduces your ability to maintain maximum pressure right from the start. So before you even take that cast, get the bow pointed in the proper direction every time.

• Don’t rush the fight. Bringing a green fish up to the boat is risky, and once you have a fish firmly hooked chances are it’ll stay that way until you get it close (90-percent of the fish you hook are either lost immediately after the fight begins, or during the landing process). That said, also be careful not to fight fish that will be released to the point of exhaustion. You’ll have to make a judgement call as to when the fish is tired (after it stops making those long, bulldog runs) and when it’s nearing the point of no return (when it begins rolling on its side or belly at the surface).

• When you get the fish closer than a kayak’s length loosen your drag by about a third if the water is deep enough for the fish to pull straight down. When the fish is far away from the boat your effective drag is looser than it seems, since the fish can pull the boat as well as pulling drag. But if the fish goes vertical it can’t tow the boat any longer, and the full force of your drag gets applied. With very large fish this can be dangerous, particularly if your line suddenly snaps — which has the potential to throw you off balance in a big way. Loosen the drag and not only do you reduce the chance of rolling, you also reduce the chance of losing the fish.

The Landing

• Be aware of counter-balancing the fish with your body. Landing very large fish is one of the top ways kayak anglers flip, so you need to be aware of how the fish will shift your center of balance at all times. Lean away from the fish as you pull it in, and don’t distract yourself by trying to take a selfie during this critical maneuver (yes, we’ve watched it happen, and yes, we’ve seen both the angler and the phone end up in the drink as a result).

• Invest in good landing gear. A pair of quality fishing gloves will make it much easier to grab and control the fish while also protecting you from injury. A lip-gripper can go a long way in helping to control the fish, as well. Nets should float if dropped, have rubberized mesh (never knotted nylon, which can scrape off the fish’s protective coat of slime), and be sized appropriate to the target.

• With very large bull redfish, there’s a good chance your landing net won’t be up to the job. In this case you can use your leg to help “sweep” the fish into the boat. Start by dropping the leg into the water from the knee down (assuming conditions permit, of course). Then bring the fish in close and get a grip with a pair of lip-grippers, grab it around the tail, or grab the lure (if the fish is hooked securely and there’s a safe way to do so without getting your hand close to trebles). Lean away from the fish as you lift it and simultaneously kick your foot up, sweeping the fish into the kayak. Once the fish is in the boat, dropping both legs over the sides will help you remain stable as you deal with it.

Catching redfish is fun no matter how you do it, but battling these beasts from a kayak is particularly rewarding and particularly challenging. Put these tips to work, and with a little luck, it’s a challenge you’ll soon be facing with success.

HERE IS NO ANGLING PURSUIT QUITE LIKE BASS fishing. While every species has its intricacies and multiple ways to pursue, none have the depth of options available like the largemouth bass. Considering the range of waterways bass inhabit and their propensity to get finicky, pursuing them can be like putting together a puzzle.

A big piece of that puzzle is choosing the right rod to use with specific lure styles.

From Flippin’ sticks to shaky head setups, there are myriad options available in both casting and spinning. We’ve looked at some of the leading rods on the market and matched up a list of lure styles with rods to help you match the best rod to your favorite technique.

SPINNERBAITS: Spinnerbaits catch hundreds of thousands of bass in Texas every year. Whether you’re fishing Colorado, Willow Leaf, or even the in-between Indiana blade, they are simple to use and draw big strikes.

A St. Croix 7 ‘3 Victory medium/fast casting rod is a great choice to throw spinners, and with this line of rod’s comfort and balance, you can chunk heavy spinners all day without fatigue.

JIGS: Texas Fish & Game once polled professional bass anglers as to which one type of lure they would fish if seeking the fish of a lifetime. Nearly three-quarters of them answered with “jig.”

A good jig- ipping rod is indispensable for a bass angler and in the Victory line, and the 7 ‘6 moderate-fast casting rod is hard to beat.

Being able to horse a sh in and get a lure working down through heavy cover, yet still being able to feel slight bites and work the jig, isn’t a task for just any rod. is one will get the job done.

TOPWATERS: Anglers are mixed on the best kind of topwater rod to sh. On the casting side of things, especially for walking-style plugs, the St. Croix Victory 7 ‘1 medium-heavy/fast is a great option. On the spinning side, the 7’1 medium with fast action is great for shing chugging style lures.

No ma er the style rod, remember not to overreact when you get a “blowup”. It’s usually best to let the sh strike and wait for a second to set the hook to make sure it has the lure in its mouth.

FINESSE: Finesse shing is essentially using shorter, lighter lures on a spinning rod to get bass to eat when the bite is o in times such as high barometric pressure or during unusually cold periods. ese are great for searching out water, as you can cover long distances and they are a great way to introduce kids to shing larger lures. Since you essentially just have to keep them running along the surface, anyone can learn to use them with minimal instruction.

For this, you need a medium/extra fast 6’8 St. Croix Victory spinning rod. is is perfect for vertical shing small drop shot rigs, chunking tube jigs around docks, and delivering small swimbaits when the bass are keyed in on smaller shad.

BUZZBAITS: A 7’2” medium heavy/ moderate fast Victory casting rod is perfect for throwing big buzzbaits.

HAIR JIG: Hair jig shing isn’t something that is super popular in Texas yet. is nesse strategy is gaining traction around the nation, especially for big “o shore” bass. is 7 ‘10 medium-light/ extra fast spinning rod in the Victory line is specically designed for this tactic, giving anglers everything they need from the reach to the sensitivity. e simple bullet weight/hook/worm combo is easy to sh, and it’s super e ective. St. Croix’s 7’3” medium heavy/moderate fast Victory casting rod is excellent for this application, with the combination of enough backbone and action to make the technique impactful.

TEXAS RIG: Many bass anglers started on a Texas rig and although it’s sometimes overlooked nowadays, due to its simplicity, it can still deliver.

DEEP-DIVING CRANKBAIT: e

7’2” heavy/moderate Victory Casting Rod is great for full-contact crankbait shing. e light, well-balanced rod gives anglers extra stamina while shing a technique that can quickly cause fatigue.

WACKY WORM: Wacky worm shing is old school but still has a huge following, especially in East Texas where it’s a great way to catch bass along grasslands on the big reservoirs and pick apart docks and cypress stumps in the river systems.

Spinning rods are great for wacky shing and a 7 ‘1 Victory medium/fast action is a great setup for going wacky style.

SHAKY HEAD: is can fall under the “ nesse” category, but it’s also sort of a category of its own, so we thought it worth the pro le.

St. Croix’s 7’1 medium/fast Victory spinning rod is perfect for this application as it gives the angler the needed length and action for shaky head presentation.

Now is a great time to get more serious about matching rods and lures and pu ing a li le more technical edge to your bass shing.

Texas is experiencing a major uptick in trophy bass shing with mega catches caught over the last couple of years at lakes like Sam Rayburn and O.H. Ivie.

But it’s not just the enormous sh that are on the rise, it’s the overall opportunity to catch quality bass around the state. Virtually everyone is within an hour of a top-notch reservoir. Add to that high-quality river and stream shing and bass shing is as good as it has ever been in Texas.

Taking the extra time to think out rod selection can go a long way in helping you sh more e ciently and hopefully catch more sh in the process.

And hopefully, some of them are genuine Texas-sized specimens.