Big Rig Pro- Bells/Whistles/Big Bass/Big Fun!

I get super fired up when everything just clicks; and we do something really special at Jackson Kayak.      The Big Rig Pro is one of those boats and this is one of those moments…   Sometimes I like simplicity, quiet, and no frills.   Sometimes, I like all of the fun gadgets, tools, and advantages I can get.  The new Big Rig Pro is just that.     The boat starts off with the Big Rig Hull, seat, and basic outfitting, but then things go really big.     Ray Marine Dragonfly fish finder and recessed in transducer and wiring.   Power Pole Micro-lite shallow water anchor makes this boat great in wind, and offers the ultimate GoPro high angle mount. Buck Knives Splissors are standard, as well as the new JK Elite Seat, JKrate, and whew… there is more, but that isn’t what this blog is about…

When I started on the water at Long Branch Lakes this morning it was 77.2 degrees on the surface, and that is a great temperature for catching large mouth in the shallows.   I rigged up a home-made minnow, a Havoc Creature, and a Shakey Head.      I also had a fly rod with a popper on it but couldn’t get myself to cast it today.   I was having too much fun launching my baits into the smallest of holes in the heavily wooded shoreline in rapid-fire.     I caught three bass about 2 pounds each in the first 30 minutes on my minnow.    I started throwing the Havoc Creature because the reel and rod combo worked much better and I was getting way more distance on each cast and more accurately dropping it where I wanted it.      I felt the fishing was a little slow and feared that I might be mistaken in sticking in the shallows.  There were drop offs that went to 30-50 feet no more than 30 feet off-shore.     No question there could be suspended fish out there, but I didn’t want to switch to bottom fishing.     I really like seeing the fish nail the lure.

I stuck to my guns and came around the corner to a long steep bank with lots of fallen trees and access to deep water.    My next cast was in 12″ of water 6″ off shore.      I let the Havoc Creature sit for 2 seconds and got impatient and twitched it and “Whammy!” a monster nailed it and setting the hook was automatic.   The fish has so much pressure on the line so fast that it set the hook all by itself.    I managed to work it out away from the mess of trees only to get into more trees.    I had some lucky breaks and while I couldn’t horse it in, when it ran, it ran for deep water and never got under any trees.      A few minutes of Mano-y-mono and I landed this sweet fish.      The Dragonfly said I was in 32′ of water, and I was standing up in my Big Rig feeling like I was standing on a Yacht, with no cares in the world about falling down.

I have been fishing off the Cuda 12 for the past 6 weeks and getting on my Big Rig was a welcome feeling for confidence inspiring stand-up-fishing.       After getting a few shots of this monster Large Mouth, I released it for the next battle, maybe next year.     That was fish #4…

By Fish #30, I was way out back in the super shallow stuff, no more than 12″ of clear water with weeds, sticks, and mud underneath and started running my shaky-head and minnow more and playing them fast and on top.    Fish were jumping clear out of the water just trying to nail the lures in 6-12″ of water.   Most were in the 2 pound range, but a few were 3+.        There were fast moving clouds overhead and the weather report said 90% chance of a thunderstorm.    I decided to call it quits by 2pm and 42 fish.     I was in heaven and in love with my Big Rig Pro, as well as remembering how much I love fishing for Large Mouth Bass.

I captured a little video with my GoPro Hero 3+ (I had 2 of them)  and edited it on GoPro Studio to the template “Pool Party with the Ninos” .    I hope you like it..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dso51UOermc&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

🙂

EJ