PAbasser927

I have a few reels with the T wing and I agree is does not pass a leader knot very well. It can be done by lifting the line into the t wing opening right when the knot is about to pass on to the spool, but you do have to be conscious as the knot is coming up. If you forget and the knot hits the level wind, you have to loosen the drag and pull some out since the t wing swings forward when opening - the leader knot keeps it from doing so when it hits. Kind of a pain, but I don’t like my leader knot on the spool anyway so I rarely have to deal with it.

I believe the Tatula also has a few more bearings and the side plates are also aluminum, not just the frame like the Fuego. I actually just bought a Fuego CT on eBay last week with the 20% off code. It is a very impressive reel for the price point!

Queue the LH vs RH retrieve debate!

I have a few Tatula SVs as well and I am just wondering if you guys are filling your spools all the way? The SV spool should hold roughly 85/95 yards of 50lb/40lb braid - respectively. At the risk of exposing myself as a novice caster, I don’t get close to that on my distance. Just wondering if you guys have your spools filled or if I need to re-learn how to cast lol

I actually fish fish whopper plopper 110’s and 130’s on a heavy power ex fast action rod with 50lb braid. I started doing it because I didn’t have anything else better to throw it on (other rods too light or strung with line that doesn’t float), but I have yet to lose a fish so I haven’t had a reason to change - I’m sure I’ll lose the next one now that I say that. When I get a bite I wait to feel the weight on the end of the line and give swift sweep to the side for a hookset. From there I keep the rod tip very close to the water and horse them in as fast as possible on very tight drag. With this setup there is no “playing” the fish on a bait with trebles. If I feel the bass ascending I will stick the rod tip in the water as far as I can in order to keep it from jumping. Have your net ready or lip it as fast as possible. This has been working great for me. Though I do fish the 90 on a lighter more moderate rod because the hooks are not nearly as stout as the 110’s and up.

I live in the Allentown area but my parents have land in Tioga County so I fish these lakes a few times a year. Though not enough to be completely familiar with them. I usually have most of my success with the easy stuff (senko, drop shot, etc) and topwaters in the morning and evening. There is a great bait shop in the area, Wellsboro Tackle Shack. They have a news bulletin on their website that they keep up to date with what has been working on the local lakes. They are also a wealth of knowledge if you stop in their shop sometime as well.

I built a battery box after coming across a thread on here. Since the box would take up the same amount of space regardless of the battery size I put in it, I went with the biggest that would fit. A 15AH sealed lead acid. I run a Lowrance HDS7 with side imaging, so the larger battery gives me peace of mind that it will last the day (which it always does easily). I have a plug for my smart charger wired in, so it stays plugged in whenever it is not in use. It was pretty fun to build and I can also use it when camping with the wife, powering speakers, lights, etc. Beware if you build one though, your friends and family WILL insist on playing with it LOL

I used the deal to get a Fuego CT as well but I needed an 8.1:1 gear ratio which was cheapest with alpha2omega. Still was only $52. For that price I am excited to give it a try!

I use a Dobyns Champion 735C. Very light and well balanced for how powerful of a stick it is. Also very easy to cast. If I ever had to buy another frog rod down the line, I would buy another 735.

From time to time I will even use my ML XF rod for Texas rigged Senkos with a 3/0 EWG. Usually this is when fishing with my wife and only because she is most comfortable with that rod. She has no problem driving the hook through the plastic and she often ends up out fishing me. Though it is a St. Croix rod (Avid X 6'9 MLXF) and they generally seem to fish a bit heavier than their ratings. However, I would not hesitate to throw anything with an exposed hook on a ML.

My favorite part was when they asked for a fish story... and then IMMEDIATELY wished they hadn’t lol

It took me almost a whole summer to get my first jig bite until I was browsing this forum and came across the best piece of advice I have heard in regards to jig fishing (for the life of me I can’t remeber who it was). Someone posted to fish it as though you DON’T want to catch a fish. Essentially dragging it along inconspicuously as slow as you can stand. Tossing a jig and working it back like I am trying to avoid bites has since turned it into a confidence bait for me.

Had this same problem in our boat (‘93 Envinrude 60hp) and for us it turned it the choke was not engaging. Flipped the choked up manually on the outboard and it started on the first crank. This could be worth checking.

+1 on the Helium 3. I fought this same internal battle over the winter when deciding on a jig and worm rod. I went with the H3 over the NRX, due to price, after learning that Kistler rods utilize blanks from Gary Loomis at North Forks Composites. I have been fishing the H3 since early spring and it lacks nothing in regards to sensitivity. Admittedly, I have never fished an NRX.

Yo-zuri hybrid with KVD line conditioner is a great line setup for the money. 12 lb test has an actual breaking strength of almost 20 lbs.

Ned rig. I must be doing it wrong because I always get snagged within 5 minutes of tying one on. Then when I break off I always reach for something else. I plan to work on that this year since it is generally regarded as a bait that can turn a bad day around for the majority of anglers.

Couldn’t agree more. Since I heard of him on this forum late last year I have ordered from him twice and had vey positive experiences on both occasions. Anytime I need to restock, he is now my go-to.

Same exact scenario when we picked up our Stratos. We did the same thing with the wiring when we upgraded to a Terrova. There were two sets of 6 gauge wires running from the bow back to the battery compartment. Now one set is no longer in use at all.

This is a great thread! I actually had a Nocqua pro power kit on order that I cancelled because of this thread. Looked like it would be fun to build one of these instead. I just finished this one up last night. The JDS Outdoors video made it tremendously easier to work through.

Oh ok I know where you are talking about. We were up there on Saturday too but didn’t have any luck. We caught all our fish up in the other creek channel to the right of the Preachers Camp boat ramp. The one that does not eventually lead to the bridge. 7 lbs is about the biggest bass I have heard of in the Lehigh Valley, that is a monster! With limited time to fish last year I caught a 4 lber. But that was up north in Tioga county. My goal for this year is to pass 5 lbs. From what I saw over the weekend, it looks like putting in the time to learn Beltzville could be the place to do it!

@Gundog My brother and I just finished restoring a bass boat at the end of last year, so we are not too familiar with the lake yet. At this stage we consider it a solid day to catch one fish there... Beltzville seems to be a tough lake! That being said, on Saturday we did great by our standards. Caught four different species. My brother caught a small tiger Muskie which was cool! I caught a nice 3 1/2 lb largemouth. We saw a lot of the bass sitting on beds which we were not necessarily expecting due to how sporadic the weather has been. We also saw some HUGE bass back in the creeks and coves that we could not entice into biting. I would estimate some of them around 7 lbs. It is encouraging to know that there are big fish in there!

Thanks for the replies! This is the first decent smallie I have ever caught. I didn’t realize they fluctuate in color so much! When it comes to smallies I have only ever caught dinks bank fishing the river until this guy. I just started bass fishing last year and have really only been targeting largemouths.

Caught this guy over the weekend. It has red eyes like a rock bass and very very faint bands running down the side like a smallmouth. Hybrid of the two?

Got out on the boat for the first time this year and had a great day on a lake where we commonly get skunked. The two nicest fish of the day were a 3 1/2 lb largemouth and a little tiger Muskie! Largemouth was caught on a jig, the Muskie was caught on a senko of all things.

My brother and I got out to do some fishing this weekend and noticed some commotion on one of the boat ramps. On our first pass there was an ambulance. On our pass back, there was a firetruck and a flatbed accompanying the ambulance. By the looks of it, we were thinking possible boat collision. We just found the story this morning and were happy to learn that a boat collision was not the case. Just someone who neglected their parking break! https://www.tnonline.com/bmw-goes-beltzville