PhishLI

Any luck after the swap?

Starting about 2 1/2 weeks ago things started to happen around here. Temps were somewhat stable then, but last weekend the Arctic Circle dropped on us. We had an over night in the teens, then several straight nights in the 20s. High winds put the reel feel down to high 20s or 30s during some days. Fishing was impossible. Things turned around by the end of the week. My brother and I were hoping to get in a quick boat trip on Friday, but by the time we'd be able to start the winds would be cranking. There was no point in even trying. Getting blown around all night in a flat bottomed Jon boat is no fun at all. Between the weather here, his schedule, and me sending him fish pics, he really needed to get out somehow and get his 1st bass of the year. He went local, and I stayed in my county. By the time I got there I should've just turned around. It felt like a mini hurricane out there with winds whipping and swirling. Water temp at this spot dropped 7 degrees from the previous week, and the nice stain it had then was shocked to crystal clear by the cold and wind. My brother smartly started earlier than I did and stopped up at a little pond near him that's set low and well protected from wind. I was still walking through the woods up to my spot when I received his text. He should've long-armed this one, but a bass is a bass?. About an hour after his tanker text, and while wading in white caps, I got my munchkin on a chatterbait. With occasional branches cracking around me I called it quits. No point in getting clobbered. Next week...

No snap swivels for me, but I use VMC Touch-Lok snaps anytime and anywhere I can. I select hooks that specifically allow for the latch of the snap to pass through. I fish primarily at night, usually wading, and I'm not interested in tying knots in the dark with 50-something eyes while 50 feet offshore. I've had my $500 readers fall off my face and into the drink more than once while tying. I've also had the line slip while tying on with wet hands and lost lures when they've slipped off and dropped in. No thanks. As this is my habit now, I use them during the day too. Bass don't care.

Mag brakes actually don't exert a constant effect though. Depending on where the brakes are adjusted there's practically no oppositional force at startup whereas centrifugal brakes are "on" fast. Increased rotation of the the non-ferrous spool in proximity to the magnets is where those forces are gradual, then greatest, then gradual. It's not exactly linear. During the second 3rd of the ascent of the cast, and especially past the middle, is where properly adjusted mag brakes "kick in" and super light lures work well. Thumbing the spool during any part of the cast besides the end of it will kill an ultra light lure's flight instantly. Mag brakes can be tuned to track the lure through most of the cast without thumbing. Shimano uses friction brakes in every standard non-DC bait caster they make, but they choose to use their slightly dynamic FTB linear mag brakes in their BFS reels. I'll assume they'd use centrifugal brakes on their true BFS reels if they felt they could get away with it, but they don't in this case. I am the ClipMan coocoocachoo

I just use shrink tubing and poke a hole through it. I've never lost a bait once due to either the shrink tube or a VMC Touch-Lok snap failing. The wire isn't a bad idea though. Before I tried the shrink tube I used to wrap the R bend with 24G copper bell wire and solder it in place. Wrapped correctly the solder doesn't need to bond onto the bait's wire at all. It just locks the copper in position.

Centrifugal brakes require rpm and force for the brake pads to fly into the friction surface. That's not the type of energy you want to put into casting a 1-3 gram lure. In addition they turn off quickly, which is undesirable. Also, centrifugal brakes add extra weight to the spool as that's where the brake blocks and the hardware that secures them are mounted. It's not impossible to cast ultra light lures with a centrifugal system, but it is more difficult and the sweet spot is narrower than linear magnetic brakes. Linear mag brake's oppositional field remains in play through the majority of the cast and allows for the lightest spool possible. The naked spool itself is part of the magnetic system. Those assets in combination allow for a controlled spool that will track extremely light lures better throughout the cast.

And I still do. Just did a deep clean/lube and had it out tonight for the 1st time this year. Still fantastic and, as I was reminded, it'll sling a 3/8oz crank stupid distances. Its 36mm tall spool allows for something a little "extra".

Thanks. Fixed it. Yes. Hyper Drive Digigear.That's what I meant?

I'm not going to make a claim one way or the other on this topic. What I will say is that once I finally got my son in law to get a baitcaster, and after a casting lesson, he bought a Fuego CT after trying out several of my reels. Not wanting to push it any further I did not recommend a rod. On his own he bought a $39.99 6'6" MH Lighting Rod. Last year he absolutely wacked 'em throwing a football jig on straight 30 lb J-Braid 100% of the time in one of the clearest lakes we have here. Even got his PB of 7 1/2 pounds on it 45 minutes after he nabbed his previous PB of 6 and a few ounces. I guess it's possible he could've done better and felt more fish using a better rod, but he'll never know as he's superstitious and just bought a 2nd LR for his new CA80.

Here's the thing: Aside from chronic failure issues, which would be something worthwhile to know beforehand, any of those rods "might" be the right choice. It's doubtful that anyone who might answer has extensively fished all of them. Even if one person has, what does their opinion actually add up to? Asking someone else's opinion about a rod you've never fished yourself is like asking them how much milk and sugar to put into a coffee you've never tasted. It's just too personal. If you come to trust someone's opinion it's still a crapshoot, even if they're capable of describing a rod in granular detail. They love it, but you might hate it. That said, unless there's something glaringly uncomfortable ergonomically you'll probably adapt to whatever a particular rod is and use it in its wheelhouse. Happens every day. I just rolled the dice on a rec from T-Billy and bought an ARK Essence 7'6" MHF even though he never mentioned that particular model, just the brand. $150-ish rods you're looking at aren't going to change your life, but at this point this ARK definitely seems worth the price I paid for it. I'm still figuring it out, but so far I'm liking it after about 15 hours and a few solid fish.

Last week at Redcrest Edwin Evers explained that he had three identical jerk bait setups throwing the same jerk bait. Each had a different test line for different running depth and action. Which one he picked up at any given moment was primarily dictated by what his electronics showed him whether that was bottom depth or depth of structure.

If you bought one or the other you'd be just fine. If you set the Tat up for max distance(lower brake settings) you'll have a small cushion when throwing lighter jerkbaits without a weight transfer system. Here the MGL will require a bit more user input, but no big deal. Other than that the differences aren't earth shattering.

Takes a lickin'...

Mattlures Meat Head Deep Diver

Ho-Lee

16-4lbs in 18 minutes. He's a monster.

Bobby Lane's buzzer beater needed smelling salts.

If the spool was at the top of it's stroke when it was dropped and the spool's lip hit first it's conceivable on such a thin shaft.

Everyone struggled all day. It was tough.

Now that's the spirit! I heard there's no stand-up comedy in France. Maybe he's French?

Plenty of different lines get different reports. That's just how it is. Most harder lines are less than ideal. I'm about to spool up a TW 80 with 8lb Advance mono/copoly. It's really 10lb diameter. I cast out most single filament lines with a heavy bait for the first cast, get it wet, then it usually settles down enough not to be an issue.. It's strong line and I have yet to get bitten off by a pickerel when using it, or broken off fighting a bass in. It feels less stretchy than typical mono, IMO. No real complaints, but I'm using it on casting reels, not spinning reels.

Aluminum gear side cover and hyper mesh gears probably allows them to justify the price jump.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Daiwa_Zillion_SV_TW_G_Casting_Reels/descpage-DZTG.html

I tried fishing on the west shore into ripping 18 mph east wind and rain for an hour, but the only thing I caught was a log, and not a single bite. Hopefully I'll get my Gantarel jr back later. Doh. Swung around to the east side where a wind break left me with much calmer water and some active fish. Over the next hour an IMA crank and Black/Blue Jackhammer got some bites. Nothing hefty, but it beat watching re-runs. P.S. Last night when I snagged the Gantarel I knew I'd break off if I yanked it. It hooked something heavy and unmovable on bottom about 40' out, so I cut the line near shore and tied it off to a low hanging branch at the water's surface. I would've sunk the line with some lead, but had none. I boogied back up there this afternoon in chest waders and a 12' contraption made of conduit and a hook. Thankfully nobody had snagged the line. Had to wade out there nips deep and make a full stretch with the tool and got it back. Victory! It's a relatively inexpensive lure, but getting it back was more satisfying than my morning constitutional. Ahhhh. It's the little things...

Zillion G