casts_by_fly

So if you're going to insert a piece inside the bottom of the current rod, you need to make sure its a snug fit diameter to diameter. You'll also want to wrap the existing rod with thread and epoxy it to give is hoop strength. Think of it like a ferrule on a two piece rod. The better way to do it if you can is to have a tube that you can insert the current rod butt into. Then you can shim the rod with mashing tape or equivalent to have a tight fit. Then rod epoxy it in place. In either case I don't see you putting a lot of force on the joint because you're mostly using it to brace against your body. you're still using the reel seat as the main point of force. Just be careful winching in a fish loaded up with a mat of grass that you don't burry the butt into your belly.

So in the interests of science, I've been playing today (yesterday now). I also had a couple meetings cancelled and I had to rig rods for later this evening anyway. @FishTank's list order really got me thinking. To begin with, I rarely am a max distance caster on the water. The two, maybe three exceptions are lipless in the spring, a frog bomb over a mat, and the occasional carolina rig I'm starting to fish. So my initial thoughts were partly on water experience (with the STX and lipless, the Zillion and ploppers, frogs) and partly extrapolation from how the other reels I use cast. I see I was wrong in some cases. What I did isn't scientific. There is minimal like for like exact comparisons. The rod was the same, the frog was the same (more on that in a sec). Otherwise the reels and the line were a little different. That said, we can start to make some conclusions. The rod, the frog, the test site: - falcon 7'4" heavy cover jig. Heavy, fast rating. 1/2-1 oz rated. Its not my frog rod because its just a little soft for it and I like a shorter rod. But I know its a great distance caster and at 7'4" is inching up close to the OPs original request - Falcon Bucoo SR trapcaster, 7', MH/MF, 1/4-3/4** (used for one reel, commentary below). - Livetarget (I'm pretty sure, I found it) hollow body frog (size known). Tails are slightly trimmed. Total bait weight 0.64oz. It was probably a full 5/8 with the long tails. I found this in a tree and I don't fish it so I don't mind beating it up on the driveway. I also started with a Spro flappin frog. The rubber legs added some weight and at 0.71 oz I thought the exra would help. Maybe it would. I was lazy and only tying a 3 turn cinch knot and the first proper heave with Braid sent it flying when the knot slipped. Its up in a tree somewhere along my driveway and didn't come down. I'm hoping the next storm knocks it down. - My driveway. I shoot archery from the mailbox to the end of the driveway and its exactly 40 yards. When I shoot, I step out into the street to get out to 60 yards as we're on a cul-de-sac. I know my marks out to 50 yards well and while I don't have paint in the street I know the tar lines within a yard. The reels and line tested: - Shimano Met MGL, current JDM model so a 100 I think, with 16 lb supernatural mono (0.013"/0.330 mm) - Daiwa Zillion SV TW, current JDM model, 17 lb suffix elite (.016"/0.401mm) - Shimano Chronarach MGL, current model, 150 size, 50 lb Suffix 832 (0.014"/0.34mm) - Shimano Chronarch MGL, current model, 150 size, 30 lb suffix 832 (0.011"/0.29mm) - Shimano Chronarch Bantam 100 circa 2004, 17 lb Suffix Elite (0.016"/0.401mm) - Abu Garcia Revo SX, gen 4, with 12 lb supernatural mono (0.011"/0.285mm) ** on 7' Falcon MH rod Process: String up the rod, tie on the frog, and make some casual casts as the reel is set. My shimano's with SVS brakes are usually set 2 on/2off internally and somewhere 3 out of 6 on the dial. They are usually set with no spool tension- back it off until the spool moves and then slowly tighten until it stops. If I'm throwing heavy baits I'll up it a little to save my thumb. The zillion doesn't have internals, so the external dial is midpoint or so (about a 10), and the spool tension is the same as the shimanos. For each combo I made a couple casts as set to get a feel of what the rod was doing with that setup. For the most part, a light cast ran out to 30-35 yards with minimal effort. Then, I'd back off the brakes until I started to get fluff on the cast that eventually ran out. Note that point on the dial and keep backing it off until most casts were backlashes. Really dial out as much brake as possible. Try different cast speeds, lengths of line, etc to get the last little bit out. At the end of each cast I didn't touch the spool with my thumb, just let it run until the bait was on the ground. Very rarely was there an overrun. Repeat the casts a couple of times to make sure the results were repeatable if I do my part. Results: Surprising. There was no clear winner. Within the relative accuracy of the test (a yard or two) All of the shimanos and the Abu were just about the same. I think the two Chronarchs were just a little bit behind the met/old chronarch/SX but its so close that the only way to crown a difinitive winner down to the yard would be identical setups, closed conditions with no wind, same line, etc. Within the realms of the 5-6 mph cross wind in my driveway and me doing the casting, all of them were hitting 42-44 yards consistently. I will say that the Metanium and the old Chronarch seemed to do it with ease better than the rest. A light lob cast with my standard settings would hit 40 yards consitently with both with minimal effort from me. It was like the spools were just floating on air. The abu was close. The other surprise was that there was a clear loser in this case. That's the zillion. I've cast this reel on this rod with this line further before, but it was with a 1 oz hardbait. No matter what I did though, it topped out around 36-37 yards. A soft easy cast with mid-range brakes would do 35 yards on a light lob. Back the brakes off to fluff level and it got another 2 yards. Bang out a hard cast and you might get another. The brakes were kicking in and taking over. I coudl get it down to a 6 or so but any lower and the backlashes were impressive. I can cast with it lower than that sidearm, roll, pitching, but for overhead distance it was just too much. This ties with what @FishTank said of about a 20' difference in his testing. 44 yards vs 37 yards is... 21 feet. The abu was a throw in after @PhishLI confirmed the braking. I didn't feel like pulling things apart again, so I just grabbed the rod it was on as it was set up. Its my crankbait rod right now as set, but I've had my STX on it with 30 lb braid when fishing lipless. I know how far that combo will throw a 1/2 oz lipless so I just clipped on the 5/8 frog. The rod was running out of power to throw it and isn't a distance caster in the first place at only 7'. That said, it still hit the 42-44 yard bucket consistently. The spool was certainly smooth paying out line. I managed it down to 1 click pin on, and the dial set to zero. Anything less and it was backlash city. That was consistent with the shimanos also. Line wasn't as much of a factor as I thought it would be. Between 30 and 50 braid there was a negligible difference. Between thin, medium, and thicker mono there wasn't much of a difference. Throwing the same 17 lb elite on the Zillion and the Chronarch Bantam was eye opening and confirmed to me that the reel was slowing it down and not the line. The braid was maybe a little worse than the mono like I noted above about the chronarchs, but it could have been the reels and it could have been that the braid was dry. I find wet braid to be smoother casting than dry. Not sure if it helps distance, but its smoother. Either way, I wouldn't NOT have braid on a frog rod. Conclusions: - If you're going to build out a combo for distance casting and expecially if you're going to be testing it a lot, make it a high speed reel. Two in the test were 6.2:1 and it takes forever to crank in 40+ yards of line on that ratio. - If you really want to soften up a frog, bash it on asphalt from high in the air and then drag it 40 yards across concrete pavers a hundred times or so. It really softens up the skin. And the hook point. Glad I don't fish this one as its getting retired now. - Some reels will surprise you. I knew that old chronarch bantam was a smooth reel and a good caster. For being almost 20 years old it really is a hammer in that regard. It has a deep spool- same width as the chronarch 150 MGL spool but deeper- and whatever bearings they put in it at the time are silky still. If it wasn't such a big profile to grip I'd use it as a big baits reel in a heartbeat. Its the old 6 pink pins design that look like pop rivets on a stick. Very crude but man it works. One 'on' and then there isn't an external dial to adjust. Just let it rip. - The Abu SX was very good in the limited and not equivalent testing I did. I think had I put it onto the big rod it just might have been the winner. It certainly warrants further testing. - A 40 yard cast is a long cast on the water. An overhead bomb with a 3/4 oz carolina rig on a big open off shore point. Sure, I can see that in practice. Lipless doing the same? yep. Whopper plopper trying to cover a lot of water across a flat? Yeah. Going down the bank throwing to cover? No way. You're not going to use that much distance regularly. To that extent, the 35 yards that all of my reels would just bang off to start the session were more than fine. If you're trying to get more distance, first check the distance that you're actually casting. Go in a field or your driveway and make a couple casts where you feel you're being limited. Measure them off. I bet for most people you're under 35 yards. If that's the case, the reel isn't your limiting factor. The rod probably isn't. It's probably the nut that connects to the rod right under the reel seat. - I can probably lighten up my brakes more than I do, but to what gain? maybe if I'm going for max distance on some of the above mentioned applications. I value the extra control over the spool and not worrying about a backlash on the water basically ever. A 25 yard cast is probably my usual light sidearm throw, maybe even long for that. - If you do a test like this to push your reel's limits, make sure you set it back before you go fishing again. Take a wild guess what I did last night on the water, first cast, after all this messing around?

Yeah, I remember. I don’t see any tonight though. Saw a 48” class fish Sunday. Just a couple pickerel tonight. Finished on 15 bass.

Im on that $5 lake now 7 bass deep.

That's pretty much the internals of the Gen3 STX and the Gen 4 SX Revos. I've found that my Gen 4 STX with the IVCB-6 is an even better caster, but I haven't put the SX with infini through the paces with heavier stuff.

And now you see why I run a motorized kayak. The ideal boat around here for bass would be a 16' decked aluminum boat with an electric 9.9 on the back. If I were to build one, that's what it would be.

If you want to run a bassboat with a big motor that's your option. Both greenwood and hopatcong are unlimited horsepower. There are two other lakes under 200 acres that are unlimited (both of which have prop killing boulders strewn through them and one's less than 6' deep the whole lake). Everything else around is 9.9 hp or electric. Also, hopatcong is the biggest lake in the state at 2700 acres. There is another backup drinking supply reservoir at 2200 which is 9.9 only. Then you're down to 1200 acres and on down. We don't have big lakes, so if you want to run the big motor you pony up.

Is the pfluger the infini system (little red pins embedded in the spool) or the ICBY wheels that you tab in and out? My STX gen 4s are the latter and they are casting monsters.

On a straight J hook (no offset eye, no offset point), you're pulling the hook point directly in line with the line itself. There is nothing blocking the hook other than the bait itself. When you offset the eye, whether an EWG or a standard offset offset hook, now the hook point is 'hiding' behind the eye of the hook and the little bend. The fish has to press your bait inside that gap and the hook point has to catch on something in the fish's mouth as you pull. Obviously it still works or else we wouldn't use them, but you lose just a little bit of hookup ratio. An offset hook point is to try and get some of that back. This is an extreme example from circle hooks (which are an extreme hook in the first place), but if you look at (b) below while thinking about the picture on the right of (a), there isn't a lot of space for the fish's mouth meat to get into that gap. So you offset the point like in (c) so that its easier to catch. The same with bass hooks (picture below). That little bit of offset lets the hook point snag just a little piece of mouth meat as you then drive it home.

black, brown, and white (for a full moon night). I throw the brown a lot because our water is crystal clear and in my head its a little more natural. I doubt the fish care. I do have a bluegill type pattern that I'll throw if its fairly open water, but if its fairly open water I'm less inclined to throw a frog.

We have a range of things here in NJ, plus there are a few more where my dad is in Western PA. We have water supply lakes here also. Around 1900-ish the Newark water supply company (or whatever it was called at the time) bought 5 or 6 lakes and a bunch of property in the mountains about 75 miles north west of the city of Newark. They recognized that their own water supply was bad and constrained. So they bought the property and the lakes. You have to buy an annual permit to fish them, you have to get the permit in person at the office, and there are restrictions. Electric only, boats only. No canoes or Kayaks. No stand up paddleboards. @A-Jay- no concrete here. The ramps are largely unimproved gravel. They don't really care about boats, but water is their priority. I think the permit is $250 for the year. They really don't want you there but recognize the uproar if they kept everyone out entirely. We have a lot of 'private' lakes here. NJ probably has more lakes per area that northern MI. But they are under 100 acres and ususally privatized through a lake association. Most are fully private, but a couple will let you fish for a ramp fee. The two biggest lakes on that map- bottom left and very top (spanning the border) don't have an official free ramp. Bottom left is Hopatcong. There is a county marina that charges $25 a day to launch. There is a state park ramp that charges state park access ($20 for residents I think) from memorial day to labor day (fees have been suspended since COVID) and the ramp is bad. Otherwise it is private marinas for $30-$40 for a day. Greenwood is at the top. It no longer has a public ramp despite being a state lake and state stocked with various things. Marinas are charging $35 during the week I believe and basically don't let anyone launch during the weekend. Past these ones, there are a couple more state parks with the same rules as Hopatcong. When they reinstate those entrance fees it will suck. In Western PA, my dad has to deal with county parks permits for 2 places ($25 annual permit) and Corps of Engineers lake/launch permits. I think that's $35 for the year. For those of you in places blessed with lots of water, great ramps, and no fees, count your blessings.

same here. The one that I saw the mom licking clean went straight t a couple apple trees in my neighbors yard. Last year it was his mulch. I had another last year bedded about 20' outside my office window in a wooded rock bed. Smart critters sometimes.

what would have been wrong with a weightless texas rigged senko? Still get the same wobble action of the wacky rig, same skipping. fully weedless.

Yes, the diameter (and more accurately line physical weight) matters. I could take my 7' lipless rod with 30 lb 832 on it and cast a frog a mile. A 60 yard cast with that rod and a 1/2 oz lipless is common. Put 50 lb 832 on it and it wouldn't cast as far by any stretch. That rod also wouldn't set a hook at 20 yards worth a darn with a frog. Stiffness plays a part too. Well broken in braid is different to fresh off the spool. I just reversed my braid because I changed which reel was on my frog rod and what was down in the spool isn't broken in yet. You can tell. Whether you believe the manufacturers is another story. You've got me wanting to do a test of my own now. If I didn't have to swap lines to do it I would absolutely go out in the yard now. I shoot archery down my driveway so I have every 10 yards marked off out to 40, then I can go into the cul-de-sac for the rest. Between a Met 100, chronarch 150, bantam MGL (150 I think), chronarch Bantam 100a, Zillion SV TW, and an Abu STX gen 4, I might put the Met at the bottom for distance. Then again, I've never cast them all in like for like conditions on the same rod with the same line. I do know that with a zillion and 17 lb Elite mono (thick diameter) I can just about cast off the entire spool with a 110 plopper. The STX is similar distance (though holds more line) as I have fished both with the same line and on comparable rods.

with only sporadic grass I’ll throw a buzz bait over a frog any day.

As if on cue: I’ve seen a couple around now. I think I have a bachelor group around. There were three together about 3 weeks ago and all were starting to fork their g2’s.

Sir that surely depends on which plastic is on the back. A lobster and a senko will be a little different.

What model are you looking for?

If you're trying to maximize distance, the bully wa ( big version is 3/4 oz) and the Spro Rojas king daddy is 1 oz. I can't imagine how far you could launch a 1 oz frog. I assume you're trimming tails short? They catch a lot of air. You could also add a little weight to your current frogs and see if it helps. A couple glass or plastic beads inside the body would do it (and also give you some clicking as you come across the mats).

if there are isolated targets then yes. if you're on a bigger flat with spread out cover, I've come to making long casts and after it settles to the bottom for a sec (sometimes fish will hit it on the fall, on the bottom, or wait a second) I'll start the 10-12 rod motion. But I'm not slow dragging it that- its a steady lift. Pause a half second to make sure its hit the bottom again, and do it again. I'm moving the bait a solid 3-4' each lift. Fishing a texas rig fast is doing two things. Fishing big areas you're still looking for active feeding fish that are just feeding down instead of up. Casting to targets it might be active feeders but you're also looking for reaction bites on neutral fish that you just happen to put it in front of. You can get a feel for the fish from that. The actives will grab it and just keep swimming (sometimes to get away from more fish). You know you're on for a good day when they are like that. Neutral fish will often just suck it in and sit there. Catt's swimming is an even faster way to cover water and something I should do more often.

If I were doing that I'd put it on one of my MGL shimanos like my chronarchs, but thse are 150 sized. Honestly, what you're talking about is spinning rod territory.

1/2 oz frogs? I don't know maxcuatro, but I do find that 8 carrier braid casts further than 4 so that's something to consider if maxcuatro is a 4-carrier. Reel wise it sounds like you've maxed out the zillion. I've got an older model chronarch bantam 100 that is an absolute monster when it comes to slinging distance. It will top 50 yards with a 1/2 oz frog on a 7'6" rod. My current model chronarch MGL will do the same on my 6'11" frog rod with the same frog. I'm not sure if that's the distance you're looking for or further (I suspect further).

I tend to start with moving baits until I see what the bass are doing. Cover some water, figure them out for the day, and then slow down and pick things apart (or don't if they are hammering moving baits). Depending on how much weed and how much timber, I'd be looking at a spinnerbait/chatterbait/lipless (or squarebill) depending on how thick and type of day. I like a light breeze to fish a spinnerbait, less necessary for the others. Early mornings I'd be throwing a buzzbait across the shallower half (or all of it with decent water clarity) because I love a good morning buzzbait bite. If the fish aren't hitting moving stuff, then its a texas rig. If you're talking about a big flat of this then moving quickly through it with the texas rig (or I've picked up a carolina rig recently) until you find where they are. If you have a good read on them or just want to focus on high priority targets, then pick all of the cover intersections where two or three of the things meet. Find the structure under it (is there a creek drain somewhere or a little dropoff?) and fish that.

I will maintain that at the $250 price point, the Falcon Cara is the best rod on the market and at $200 the Experts are fantastic also. Not sure the length/power you're looking for, but for lighter jigs and texas rigs up to 3/8 lead weight the 7'2" Swim jig model is the best texas rig rod in the falcon lineup. If you're 1/4-1/2 oz lead plus plastic then the 7'4" heavy cover jig is my choice. If you're consistently 3/8-3/4 then you step up to the 7'3" Amistad. I have all three rigged in the truck right now.

And Amazon. Put your size in all of the colors in your 'saved for later'. they fluctuate in price a LOT because amazon scrapes prices from elsewhere on the web. So when they go on sale on another site, Amazon will drop. I've gotten them for $22-24 before. The only ones I've never seen drop are the camo. If you haven't tried the fleece lined ones, you need a pair. When its 30 degrees and blowing that's all I throw on to do most anything aside from sit in a tree.