FryDog62

The Owner Phantom hook came out in the early 2000's and is weedless Texas rigging a tube.

For sure, things that used to take 4-5 days are now over a week...

As far as Carolina rigging goes, absolutely the floating lures are best in my opinion. The sinker being dragged a lot of times kicks up silt and debris, and so the floating lure that comes up off the bottom slightly really helps especially if the water has any stain to it. But even in clear water, that drag followed by a pause and a lure that gradually floats up into the fishes face can be lights out. There’s a number of floating lures that I’ve used over the years, but the one I get consistent results on is the big bite baits flying squirrel. Those floating back two legs really help. Bass Pro Shops "Floatin' Lizard" is another option too.

I had Delaware Valley Tackle fix a rod tip of mine several years back… they did a great job 👍

Curious how the action is - can you cast and twitch a Karashi, and pull double duty as a bottom contact Ned rod too?

A funny thing - I have 2 rods that I use primarily for spinnerbaits. A $650 NRX 843c MBR and a $50 Daiwa Aird 7 MF. I absolutely love the action of that cheap Aird for spinnerbaits and it probably gets used more for those than the Loomis!

Yes I've had both the Dobyns and Phenix Classic BFS and prefer the Phenix hands down.. I'd like to get my hands on a Kasumi 6-11 and the Evoluzion North Wall for a comparison, but it might be hard to come back down to earth after that..

Looks like we made the billboard in Brainerd, MN again this year for Al Lindner's charity fishing tournament. With my favorite style hat on - a structured bill somewhere between a trucker and dad hat. My fishing partner had a blue "Dude Wipes" lid on that they cut his logo off. I think its because it was a flat brim..!

Yes, that rod looks intriguing, have you used it at all? My only concern is how long the handle is, it's not listed on TW unfortunately. The IMX lineup tends to have longer handles like many Shimano casting rods. I wouldn't want to have too long a handle when trying to twitch/jerk something finessy like a Karashi.

Hope to actually see one/bend it this weekend👍

I saw that rod and was curious about the “vertical” aspect. Figured it would be great from Neds, small jigs, etc but wasn’t sure about the twitching part. Good to know 👍

This is reminiscent of my fishing line stretch tests from the top of the vaulted ceiling in my old house. Long winters and cabin fever can manifest themselves in many creative ways!

My 2 cents worth - I have almost exclusively Zillions and Tatula Elites. The Zillions excel at skipping lures, they do that as well as the Steez SV TW I used to have. In fact, I traded the aging Steez off for a new Zillion. Then bought a second Zillion because I need 2 rods with the ability to skip without back lash. They are great for that. However, the other dozen reels I have are Tatula Elites. They are not known to skip lures as easily although it can be done. But in every other way, I find the Elite to be superior to the Zillion. The Elites are just as smooth and absolutely launch lures significantly farther than the Zillions I have. I found them to cast even a little farther than Shimanos highly touted long distance MGL reels. Yes, I've owned several Shimano MGL's, still have a couple, but traded most off for Tatula Elites. I can cast the Elites much easier and smoother at 80% effort, but I have the ability to reach back and get the extra distance when needed. So there you have it… 2 Zilions and 12 Elites, and a couple Shimanos. I’d say if you plan to skip lures at all go for the Zillion. Otherwise, the Elite is a no-brainer.

The specs look somewhere between a standard Light rod and BFS. Thoughts anyone?

I down-sized from a bass boat to a motorized kayak in the last couple years. I had approximately 25 rod/reel combos, but now really only need 12-15. Plus I don't need a lot of the longer rods I had boating. Some longer ones still have their uses, but in general longer rods make it harder to fight hard-charging fish at water level in a kayak. So I took about half of my rods and reels and traded them in for a few higher-end combos that fit my current needs and kayaking better. Gone are the 7'6" rods and in come the 7 footers. The 7 footers are the very versatile type so if I have limited rod options on the water, I can re-tie for what I need. Sometimes you just have to re-shuffle your deck based upon your evolving or unique needs..

I have 2 Zillions on combos that I skip lures with. They are a tool that was designed for that purpose. For everything else I use Tatula Elites, because they are smooth casting reels that get much more distance - a tool they were designed for. If you can't afford an Elite, get the Tatula 100, they cast as far as an Elite and way further than the Zillion or any other SV spool.

Anyone have the Steez BFS rod - 6’8” extra fast? I like the slightly shorter handle for twitching. Daiwa seems to have their handle lengths figured out, while so many of the Shimano rods have the long cumbersome handles for finesse and jerk baiting techniques.

Interesting line up.. but I see the action is moderate-fast. That's pretty close to what I have now and just a bit soft for what I need. I've seen the rod on 2 different sites... TW says "fast" action but this one says moderate-fast.

Good suggestion, how would you describe the "fast" action of the rod? The Cashion is also fast, but much closer to a moderate. Awesome for BFS crankbaits, but just doesn't "twitch" as well. I'm looking for a true fast action, maybe even more towards the extra fast side.

First and foremost, I need a different BFS rod for Ned Rigs. A secondary technique is for twitch baits like a Karashi or small poppers. I currently have 3 different Cashion ICON BFS rods which are great, but they are a bit too soft for twitch baits. Ned to Karashi spans quite a gap in terms of techniques for one rod, but I want to try to find something that can do both if possible. Thinking maybe Fast action, but more likely Extra Fast. High sensitivity for feeling the Ned/bottom and a tip that isn't too "noodley" for twitch/jerking... yet not so stiff that you can't launch an 1/8 oz lure. Best would be 6'8"-6'10" in length. I'm looking in the $200-400 range primarily. Tall order... but open to suggestions ~ TIA

The larger Eeliminator is about as high profile as I get ... but I am down to my last one and afraid to use it. If anyone knows of anywhere left in stock let me know!

Karashi.. first time out I caught 4-5, second time 1 fish. The next dozen times I’ve been blanked.

I do take my reels in for servicing, probably not as often as I should. I will add a little grease if a reel squeals at all. I hear ya on the awkward angles casting in a kayak. The upside is that it’s forced me to become better at casting left handed at times when I’m aiming at 2:00-4:00 targets.

Depending on your budget and preferred length, the Loomis 802c or 852c JWR series could work well. I have used mine for light T-rigs and bottom contact - and they are excellent for weightless plastics like Senko or fluke.

It might be a slightly different answer back when I had a bass boat before I transitioned to a kayak... But I did compete in a tournament a couple of years ago in my kayak with sustained 17 mph winds. There were 28 boats and I was the only kayak. I thought about bowing out, but stuck with it and actually won that day. That said, much above 17, let alone 20+ mph in a kayak, and I'm out. I will say, I have had some of my best days in the bass boat that were a constant 15-25, and gusts to 35+ mph. There were small craft warnings and no one was fishing anywhere. On those days, I would go to a local river with fairly high banks/trees. I wouldn't say I was completely protected, but never felt unsafe or unable to fish effectively. I had the entire river to myself those days.