Welcome, Jess!
As one of those "few females" on the forum, I'm thrilled to have another chick join, and a bass lover, too...with a kayak! Bwahahahaha!
Like most of these guys, I grew up spin fishing, but in MN, where the fish density FAR exceeds that in Western WA. When I moved to Seattle in '94 I found that spin fishing over comparatively empty water was kinda boring, so I taught myself to fly fish. So many things to plan, think about, learn to execute; tying, rod building - it quickly went from hobby to obsession. My learning curve was slowed considerably by having and raising a couple kids, but I retired about the same time they went off to college 4 years ago, so now this is pretty much what I do

Will fish for anything with gills & fins!
I try to get out to central WA for bass as often as possible - perhaps we can meet up sometime this fall.
My ride is a Hobie Compass - what kinda kayak are you fishing from?
Lol - PNWFF is definitely not just for purists! Check out the Dirtbag (gear fishing) subforum and Billy's Bass Hole