PhishLI

Sometimes this doesn't matter. They might be stuck to the bottom, hard to detect, but willing to eat if you present a bait the right way. Then, if you're ever on a boat with SOTA electronics, FFS, etc, at some point you'll undoubtedly find yourself watching a ton of fish ignoring every bait you and your buddies drop on their noses. Talk about fun.. Wrong baits? Negative mood? Just gorged? Venus is in retrograde? You'll never know. One of the best skills you can have is a short memory for these types of head scratchers. Being there when they're willing to eat is all you can really do.

This is me. Before I learned to relax, there were times where I'd worked an area over with a go-to bait or two, and came up short, then tied on an unlikely candidate for why-not, then killed them, or landed a really good fish. Once I figured out that this wasn't a flukey thing, I changed. I'm still often amazed at how my last choice in a bait often turns them on right before I'm ready to bail on an area. This has happened a lot, especially after I'd convinced myself I was fishing dead water, but they were there.

Grab the Fuego CT, but jump up to the 7' MH Aird-X. The 6'6" Medium is going to limit you too much. You're still coming in under budget going this route by shopping the sales right now. I own this exact setup. Still going strong after 4+ years.

I'm in no way attempting to encourage you or anyone else to use this knot, especially if you've had poor luck with it in the past. You're not fully locking the coils down against the eye of the hook. You may think you are, but you're not. Not enough tension when you finish your pull. That's all. No glue necessary. I've never used it once, and I tie this knot 100% of the time with braid. On rigs where I use a VMC clip and 30-40-50lb braid, the same knot might be tied on for many months at a time. After a certain amount of open-close cycles, like several hundred, I finally change the clip when I feel metal fatigue might be setting in. In between that time frame, I catch a dink or two in a hellscape of pads, arrowheads, dense milfoil, and water chestnut. Good chance I'll drag in a log or two. If I make my way up there someday, I'll tie it right in front of you using 30lb J8. We'll hook the bumper of your Ram, and you can do it to it. No glue, no lighters. The knot I tie won't slip. I promise. Yup.

Gotta disagree on this one. I’ve been using a 8 turn IC with 30lb J8 for years, including tied to a VMC snap which has a much smaller diameter than any hook making it more likely to cut the line, and do not break off randomly, or have ever been broken off fighting a fish. I use the same knot on 15 lb PP SS. No issues. So there’s your answer. A few months ago I casted off a 3/8oz chatter bait and trailer on 50 lb braid because I was busy yapping and not pulling off loose coils when I should’ve. You can feel them, so as long as you pull them out once you do, you’ll avoid this issue.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/6th_Sense_Axle_Swinging_Swim_Jig/descpage-AXSSJ.html

Correctamundo

Tat, The only thing centrifugal about Mag Z is the force that projects the inductor into the magnetic gap. There isn't friction in the equation like VBS, SVS, ACB, etc. You can force an insta-lash with typical centrifugally braked reels on low settings as well. A similar condition exists on lower settings or less brake blocks engaged here. Mag Z, and Magforce, depends on rotation speed to generate the oppositional force you understand as braking. There is a brief moment at the beginning of the cast where this force hasn’t started, and why, on lower brake settings, an insta-lash is quite possible with Mag Z, especially if you haven't figured out your stroke. Apparently you have with either Mag Z or typical centrifugal reels on lower settings. The OP needs to figure this out for himself. I'm trying to make this idea somewhat tangible beyond simply saying to not cast as hard.

I doubt he's saying that. That's just about impossible. Not exactly. All I can do is explain it this way. If you get a quick backlash after release, but had been previously power casting without one using the same settings and bait, something happened. That something occurred between the load on the backswing and unload just a spilt second before the release. Call it what you like. Jerk. Whatever. I've described it in the past as "bounce" in the rod. I've learned to terminate the cast and not release when I feel this "bounce". Identify that, call it what you like, avoid generating it, and seeya later quick backlashes, especially with Mag Z. Perhaps I'm describing this poorly, but thinking about it this way helped me overcome the problem. I learned Mag Z BCs fishing in the dark at night because I got my first one in November of that year. I've analyzed what went wrong "before" it happened, then adjusted accordingly. I cast hard for distance more often than not, so I needed to figure this out, and I have. It's a "feel" issue due to quite subtle casting mechanics.

Good, that's your first step. Once you're totally comfortable and unafraid of backlashing, you'll be able to play with where you load and unload. You can absolutely power cast with this reel in the equation, but your stroke needs to be modified if you're accustomed to centrifugal brakes. This is easier to figure out at first with a crisper rod. You can also figure it out with a moderate stick as long as you don't come close to overloading it with too heavy of a bait. This will simply complicate matters. Once you get it though, it'll become automatic.

It's your casting stroke. You do not need to cast as hard as you think. I'd bet you're getting backlashes right after launch. If so you need to load deeper on the back cast and release a little sooner than you're accustomed to. Cast in a high arc at first with less energy so you have time to feel what's happening and why. Then adjust accordingly. Ultimately you'll find that you do not need to cast very hard to get max distance with that reel. If you do, you'll continue to get insta-lashes. There's no crime in adding a whisper of spool tension after you've zero'd out side to side play. Do this until you've figured things out, which should happen quickly, then back it off to neutral again. You will not hurt a thing in the meantime.

Don't worry about that now. Numbers on the dial mean nothing. The position of the dial set to where you can manage the spool on a cast is all that matters while you're still green. The more confidence you get, the more you can and will back off from max braking. Start where @dodgeguy said to. Eventually you'll find your legs.

No offense to anyone who suggested the Launch Frog, but it's one of my worst casting frogs. It's light and catches wind. However, it's ridiculously soft, so hookups are excellent. Get it for that, but for bombing on a stiffer rod? I don't think so. X2 on the FishLab Rattle Toad. Even the middle size at 21 grams can be blasted way out there on a heavier stick. Just another option to consider.

This basin has a pretty shallow north end. Heading south it gets deeper towards the middle. Deeper water isn't necessarily an indicator of more fish under these conditions, but deeper water is generally cooler as it's harder to heat, and deeper water with weeds is a safe bet. A pond thermometer is a good tool to keep on you. I didn't have mine with me yesterday, but when wading, the thermometer god gave me is pretty sensitive to temperature changes.

The water's low here too. Saturday was mostly overcast, hot, humid, but there was a pretty strong south wind. I ran up late in the afternoon and started in very shallow water on the north end. I waded in and immediately felt it was quite a bit cooler than it has been lately. For the short time I was there the bite was hot. They chased and bit fast moving baits. I went back yesterday at about the same time to the same spot after a day of high sun and little wind. Stepping in it immediately felt as warm as bathwater, almost hot, and the bite was gone other than a micro bass on a dead stick'd ned. I walked straight up to the southern end near much deeper water, then waded in and, as expected, it immediately felt quite a bit cooler. I caught a few very aggressive fish actively feeding by bombing baits out near the deeper water. They were hitting chatterbaits on the fall, so they were grouped up well. Converted bites to catches with a super fluke. This isn't to say that they won't come to shore at some point to feed fast on the baitfish, then split back out to cooler water, because they will. Being there when that particular bite comes and goes is the trick. It happens fast, then ends quickly. After a zero-wind day during summer, this window is more likely to occur at night once cooler air has drawn a skosh heat out of the water.

A 5" Caffeine shad with that particular weighted hook will clock in at a 1/2 oz +. Using the standard unweighted Twistlock Light 6/0 I can launch one as far as is practical for 15lb Tatsu. Both fish I connected with tonight hit one rigged that way, and on the drop at the end of bomb casts into thick weeds. At the moment I'd wished I had straight braid spooled on. There was a lot of stretch at that distance, and it took a big swing using a crisp rod and panic reeling to set the hook. Another 20-30 feet farther because of additional weight wouldn't have helped that issue. US Zillion G 7 spd/Ark Essence 7' 6" MHF

Awesome! Congrats!?

Nice fish! Great pic, but no story? We like at least a little fishing story around here. Spotted bigfoot, chased by an alligator, something?

Finally got a chance to try out these new to me EWG bullet Nedlockz. I buried the hook's point deeper into the ElaZtech than I would've liked to, but they had no problem getting the hook anyway, and I didn't lose one casting them straight into the lily pads and junk then fishing them through. Pretty cool. I don't hate the Ned rig anymore.

The pressure campaign worked. I bought a Lews.

I have a preference for MHF rods with characteristics along the lines of a St. Croix Avid. On the stiffer side. When using this type of rod with straight braid I lost a lot of chatterbait fish in the beginning mostly due to me pulling the the bait out of the fish's mouth instantly. IMO, this had everything to do with how I was holding the rod and the direction of where I pointed it in relation to the line. Basically I had a bad habit of pointing the rod directly at the bait which created zero slack. Also, I had a rigid grip on the rod and reel. Bite and run fish never got the hook. When I did manage to hook up, it was pure luck. Once I assessed what I was doing wrong my first correction was to always hold the rod at an angle to the line, still pointed down, but I hadn't yet recognized that my rigid grip was part of the problem. My hookup rate increased, but I was still failing to convert half of my bites. Once I relaxed my grip my hookups increased further. My next adjustment revamp was to fish them with the rod tip high, like between 10:30 to 11:00, and with a relaxed grip. This grip adjustment was more about relaxing my arms more than my hands, and this introduced some more give into the entire circuit. So, with the same somewhat rigid rod, the same zero stretch line, but a readjusted me and rod position, my hookups skyrocketed. This is my habit now, so when I'm using a setup like this for CBs it's burned in. So why not make an adjustment to my gear instead of myself? Well I have, and I use those setups in conjunction with my adjustments, but there are times while wading when I'm lazy about trudging back to shore to switch rigs. Sometimes, in the same situation, I'm getting touches on a different bait and feel a CB is the right move, and I don't want to upset a quiet zone by sloshing back to shore to change rigs. I can wrap this part up by saying that timing changes gained by relaxing combined with introducing a degree of delay in a few ways, has been the difference maker, regardless of the rod and line I'm using. I think I play a part in creating that delay as much as the gear does, even when I'm using my heavy crankbait rod for CBs. A moderate rod isn't the only thing at work. The diversity of opinions about this subject is proof enough that the job can get done on different gear. The person using the gear, how they've adjusted to it whether consciously or unconsciously, is what matters. Sunday night I bagged a nice 5 pounder using my less than ideal MHF straight braid rig. My best fish so far caught earlier this year was bagged throwing a CB on a stiff HF rod using 20lb Big Game mono. Between my now ingrained and revised habits, and the mono's stretch, it all worked out well.

no problemo, vato

If you prefer baitcasters, then I'd suggest the longest rod you can deal with, especially since you've mentioned distance is a concern. I throw standard TRDs on a 1/32oz shroom or bullet head hook using a 7'6" rod, and they fly. A 2.8" Keitech on a 1/8oz tungsten ball head really flies.

I never know around here. Some dudes are touchy. or this

If you can swing it, do it. It's something else.