casts_by_fly

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.

6’10”-7’4” depending on the jig and the cover… same 5 rods I mentioned above. The falcon swim jig rod (7’2”, mh/f) is a great swim jig rod for 1/4-3/8 swim jigs. It will stretch to a half ounce. If I know it’s going to be a swim jig day I’ll tie one on it to start. It’s a great swim jig rod with a light tip but plenty of power. If I’m planning to throw bigger ones in the half ounce range, then I’ll go to the heavy cover jig I mentioned above. I throw them on my head turner as well which is 6’10”. It really just depends on what else I’m fishing on the other rods. The length isn’t as important for me as the action and power of the rod for the jig and cover I’m fishing.

something like that is a little lighter. I’d still be grabbing my big stick because I have it. But if the fish were eating a swim jig that day and I had one on my swim jig rod (mh/f, 30# braid) I’d throw it in without hesitation.

if that’s what your pads look like then I’d be throwing a heavy in that. Maybe braid, maybe heavy mono. But you’re better off having too much rod than not enough there. With the rods I own, I’d be throwing a 1/2-1 1/2 oz type of heavy. That level of pads is where one will get you wrapped in a couple stems or a root in a hurry.

We have a couple in the neighborhood. The single that I saw a couple weeks ago was still shaky legged and mom was licking her down. We’ve got a set of twins around also. I’m sure there are probably two more sets of twins around.

I’d pick based on the rod then. You said it’s not heavy vegetation somewhere else so I’m going to assume the pads are more spread out pads. If it was thick pads (see PhishLI’s picture in another thread) then that’s different to some pads mixed into a grass bed. A longer rod would be marginally better for just pitching. But if you’re valuing versatility then going too long gets to be more of a pain for casting big moving baits. for me and the rods I own, pitching jigs and a Texas rigs into grass and light pads, and only one rod of that type, I’d probably take my 7’4” rod which is the falcon heavy cover jig. On mono that’s what I do with it. A 3/8-1/2 oz weight and a beaver is tied on 90% of the time this time of year. I’ll throw it into heavy grass and modest pads. If you find it’s not enough for your cover, you can throw braid onto it per above. For grass I prefer braid actually. It’s longer than I’d want for throwing a big spinnerbait down the bank at targets but for covering a lot of water and banging out bomb casts it will get you there. This is me also. Any given trip I’ll have 5 rods and you could throw most of the same baits rigged on them on any of them. I like having a couple things rigged so that I can swap rods as I go down the bank.

I've gone to wrangler ATG pants for anytime I'm not wearing jeans but want long pants. I buy fleece lined for cold months and unlined for regular wear. I wear them to the store, to the woods, and around the house. The zipped pockets are nice insurance. No zip off but they are comfortable as heck. And they do have a fly if you're a 'through the hole' kinda guy. They aren't as light as the flyweight columbias and similar, but I like them better. I have converible columbias and they were my wet wading pants for a long time. The drawstring tie isn't it for me anymore. https://www.wrangler.com/shop/atg-by-wrangler-mens-synthetic-utility-pant-in-caviar-NS849CV.html?merchCategory=WRG_MEN_OUTDOOR_PANTS

Flip a three sided coin. Longer can be better in some circumstances, shorter can be better in others. My pitching rods are anywhere from 6'10" to 7'4". Tighter cover, skipping under docks, all purpose rod to also do other things- the 6'10" is great. Wide open spaces and pitching to holes in the grass? They all work. No, but kinda. Obviously the rod doesn't change. What changes is the total system. By putting braid onto a rod, it will let you overcome some missing power (if you've chosen a rod underpowered for the application) because you're eliminating the stretch in the line which attenuates the power getting to the fish. the rod suddenly isn't more powerful, but the hook feels a lot more direct pull against it.

I’ve been in two roll over car accidents , once as a driver and once as a passenger. Barely a scratch on either but you wouldn’t guess it from the wreckage. No seatbelt in the one as a passenger (I was putting stuff in the back seat so we could stop and I’d drive (dad was getting tired and ultimately fell asleep). The one where I was driving was YDSL.

i changed the brushes on my autopilot and it clicked. Not sure if it was every 10 degrees, but it was regular and with the RPMs of the prop. I think its gone now so they just needed a little time to bed in and wear off the edges. I'd still contact the shop that did it and ask.

I also forgot to mention. I think you sould consider a bigger reel than a 2k size. If you already have one and that's what you're using then fine. But on a 7' medium powered spinning rod that setup is going to be pretty tip heavy. I'd be looking at a 3k or even 4k size given the choice (and also depending on the specific reel).

This is where I am. I like to fish the calm before the storm and then right into the storm itself. Lightning will put me off the water (like it did last Wednesday) but rain is no problem. Side benefit- it keeps all of the pests as bay like mosquitos and other boaters. I've noticed that deer are particularly acute to coming storms. When its hunting season, I hunt the storm fronts, especially for shorter duration storms. I've found that around here they are always very active in the 2-4 hours before a storm rolls through. They'll go bed down for the storm, and be up as soon as its done. Deer eat 4-5 times a day and if the storm aligns with a time when they would normally be bedded between feeds all the better. Nothing better than an early afternoon storm- they get their mid-day feed right before it, go bed down, and pop up in the last 2 hours of daylight when the storm is done and they are hungry. I like to sneak in during the storm using the rain and wind as cover sound. You can sneak right up on their bedding areas (or at least much closer than normal) and be ready when they are up. I suspect bass have a similar relationship with weather fronts, though muted because they don't actually live in the above water area where the storm affects most. I mean, they are already wet so the rain itself doesn't bother them (deer will bed before the rain to keep a dry bed). I had one of those textbook days on Wednesday 29th here. Grey light, barely a light breeze, front approaching when I got there. 2 hours later I was off the water, chased off by lightning. Should have been the time for some bass to eat, but I never touched one. One grabbed the tail of a swimbait and another followed another swimbait but just curious. The muskies were on the prowl though and I think the bass knew it and stayed tucked in. Two days earlier was 2 days post frontal, clear skies, and otherwise uninteresting conditions and the bass were chewing. As much as I like a pre-frontal day for comfort of fishing and keeping others off the water, I'm just going to plan to fish when I am able to get out for the longest periods to give me enough time to sort out what kind of day it is.

I'm a solid 5. if I wanted to just catch numbers, I'd pick up a small plastic and pick apart places where lots of small bass live. On the days when I haven't had a hit by 10 AM I might go do just that to catch something. On the flip side, anything under 12" is uninteresting. I want to catch fish in that 15-20" bracket. And a lot of them. I'm not angling for the biggest fish in the lake. If I catch a single 5lb bass for the day then I've still had a great day, but that wasn't my plan going into it. I'd much rather catch a dozen 2-3 lb fish.

If you're in heavy vegetation, don't even turn it on. That's extreme, but follow me here. Down imaging and 2D in less than 10' of water is not terribly useful. The cone of what you're covering on the bottom isn't very wide. In 5' of water I think the bottom coverage is something like 4'. And, if you're trying to identify fish in that you're running over their heads. At 10' its a little better but around here from today until October anything that's 10' or less has grass to the surface. Yours sounds similar. Side imaging is useful in shallower water. You'll scan anywhere 50-100' each side depending on the unit and the water depth. That's helpful if there aren't weeds blocking you as you can find the hard spots, any brushpiles, isolated cover, and weedlines. If your lake is solid weeds though, you'll be limited to just the more open areas. Where it is useful though it going through those same lakes in the spring before the weeds are up and waypointing bottom structure. Then come back and fish those spots when the weeds are up. If all of the lakes you're fishing are shallow and weedy, I think you'll find lower benefit from a unit than what you might want. In that case, I'd suggest that an actual thermometer and a Navionics map on your phone will do just as much as you need. If you want a fish finder, then a smaller unit like a 4" hook or piranha might be the way to go. Grab a used one from a forum or marketplace to keep it cheap. Remmeber that introdocing a fish finder means a battery also and a way to charge it. You may or may not have to take it off the boat to travel. All things to consider. Below are some images and commentary. Side and down imaging coming over a dropoff with some thin weeds. You can see the individual weeds on the down imaging portion. the side imaging shows where the weeds end, but notice how dark it is past 20'. That's the weeds blocking the beam. This isn't a thick grass bed and not to the surface. Its 7-10' before the drop to 20'. Clear bottom with a lot of rocks. Sensitivity is a little higher and the image slightly blown out, but I was still learning the new unit. Note the water temp- early season. Lots of visibility left and right. Very clear lake and grass grows to the surface in 15' of water. On the side imaging (roughly where the black reflection of my phone is) you can see the grass start to taper away from the centerline. That's the topped out grass slowing going down until you hit deep water. On the down and 2D you can see the grass about 5' up off the bottom. 2D is a little 'hot' and the rest probably are too. The bottom half of the SI image is what you'd see in a grass filled lake on SI. School of crappie on SI. They were ~15' to the right of the boat in about 10' of water. Note that they don't show up on DI/2D.

all of this, but especially fishing line. In another thread I commented about people cutting braid at the boat when they get snagged and leaving a 50' trail in the water. Ask my how much a trolling motor likes that...

A buzzbait will need the heavier of the rods with the heaviest line you're choosing from. The line doesn't matter to the fish with a buzzbait and the heavier the better for a good hookset. I sometimes even run braid for buzzbaits, but thick 17 lb mono is my norm. The structure jig depends on the weight you plan to fish, but that would be a good candidate for the heavier spinning rod. A spinnerbait and chatterbait don't require much in the way of sensitivy in the same way a bottom jig does, so you have more flexibility there.

As anyone who has read any of my rod suggestions knows, I do love my falcon rods. However, their spinning rods are not to my preference. if you're looking for a true fast action or even an XF, you're not really going to find it. The cara MH spin would get you there but that's a big rod rated for 3/4 oz and 7'3". @CDMTJager- i went shimano in my searching. My dad has a zodias and I like the feel of it. I went with the 6'10" ML/F and its exactly what I was looking for (which is a little lighter than what you're looking for). He's got the 7' medium and that would be a good choice for you. The Zodias range are higher than your budget, but the SLX are similar power/actions. The 7' medium SLX would be a dandy rod if you can swap your lowrider.

you seem to like that just over 7' length. If that's the case, then the falcon lowrider 7'4" "Heavy cover jig" is a great and interesting rod. Yes its rated 'heavy' but that's a 6-power falcon heavy. Its only rated for a 1 oz bait so not that heavy. I fish the Cara series, but the lowrider will be similar in this case. Awesome all around rod for that 15 lb class of line. Yesterday I fished mine with a buzzbait early (it might be the best buzzbait rod I've used), a swim jig after, and then I swapped to a texas rig later. Its a dandy rod for covering water with a chatterbait or bigger spinnerbait. And its probably the best 110 size plopper rod I know. It was designed for fishing jigs in deep brushpiles and I'll throw a jig on it also. Very cool and versatile rod when you're only carrying a limited number in a kayak.

oh man I feel for you. And I agree on the phone. A cloud backed up phone is easy to restore and replace. But new rods are a lot more fun to restore and replace. So at least enjoy the process.

Even if the fishing aint great, sometimes you just kick back and enjoy some sunshine. Went to my usual favorite lake Sunday morning. Forecast called for no wind (maybe 2 mph) until 8 AM and then just a light breeze after 48 hours of 5-10 mph steady winds. In his latest video Jason Christie said somethign to the effect of "you have to fish the current conditions, but you also have to think about the recent past", meaning if the wind has been blowing steady for a couple days, its probably pushed food and bait onto the banks it was blowing to even if the wind has died down now. That bait wouldn't have gone too far just yet. That made a lot of sense to me and since that's the conditions I was just about to hit (almost exactly) I figured to give it a try. So instead of my usual route around the lake and fishing the best of the cover first, I did the opposite and went down the shallower side figuring it was still dark and if the bass were going to be up shallow and eating on top this would be the only time for that bank (the first 20 yards off shore are mostly plain, light weeds, couple rock piles, and down to maybe 3'). I've caught fish on that bank every trip but always later in the day on the deep edge of the weeds and on the bottom. I knew it was going to be a tough day not long after I started. On cast 3 or 4 I got one where I exepcted him to be and lost him just as I was swinging him to the boat (about a 15" fish). Then nothing for an hour- not a blow up, not a fish, not even a bluegill grabbing the buzzbait and pulling it under. Not even a pickerel. I should have swapped lures after 15 minutes or so but I was trying to force feed them a buzzbait because I like it. I finally had one eat it, maybe the same fish I caught last time, a solid 16-17" fish that just barely had the trailer hook. Time to swap up. I rotated through a couple things as I worked up the good bank, which wasn't treating me very 'good'. The water clarity was a solid 10' which isn't unusual but is still tough. I could visually see some cribs on the bottom that were installed in an area I didn't know they put them in (in about 14' to the bottom). About when I hit the end, 4 boats launched. This lake has 1.5 miles of shoreline and off shore 'area' to fish. (just over 100 acres). That's a lot of boats. I was hoping one or two might be multispecies guys fishing for something other than bass but no. Fortunately, all three of them were fishing very slow and they ended up clustered in one section for a lot of the time. I managed to work around and pick one here and one there. Saw a 48" class musky twice (she kept going back to the same weed bed to relax). Biggest one I've seen to date. Two bass ate a shad colored swim jig, a couple more on a rage bug. Looking back, every fish hit it almost as soon as it hit the water (or bottom) so I think I just happened to put it in front of them and they ate it. A pickerel came to a frog in a big mat, but even they were limited. I talked to one of the other boats and he had the same. About a half dozen fish, mostly dinks. I guess some days are just like that.

Probably something wrapped on the prop shaft that is binding it. I’d take a rubber mallet and tap it at the base of the blades to try to work it loose. Alternatively a very wide flat screwdriver between the pop and the motor housing and then twist to get it to pop. It’s also possible that the shear pin has rusted and swelled to fill the plastic slot. Same solution but you’ll want to have a fresh shear pin for it.

With any Texas rigged soft plastic I expect to have zero fish throw a hook. It might happen, but I’m surprised when it does. The plastic has basically zero weight to lever the hook and a single sharp hook will penetrate well. Plus, when fish hit a fluke it’s easy for them to inhale the full thing on the first strike. If you’re losing fish that way, there is something amiss. to that end, a 3/0 ewg on a 5” fluke isn’t enough hook gape for me. At a minimum a 4/0 ewg with a longer shank that puts the bend far back in the bait is the starting point. Owner light 4/0 hooks with the cps spring or even 5/0 depending on the specific bait.

I don’t know the 7’2” pitching stick so I’d have to do some research on that one, but the 7’3” with the same specs is the amistad which is one of falcons three best blank designs (head turner and swim jig are the others). I have the amistad in the Cara and used to have the expert. Mine was bought for this same purpose- heavy pitching and light punching, frogs, and other heavier duty things. If you like that length of rod then it’s great for those things. I’ve found I prefer a shorter rod for frogs and have moved to the eye crosser. I got mine in the used bin from tackle warehouse for $175. ALF gets them at times around the same price. It’s a phenomenal frog rod and does double duty for 6” swim baits, bigger poppers, 3/4 oz spinnerbaits, etc. The expert Bayou would be the same purpose and is cheaper. I like falcons and at $129 you have your pick of the low riders. The amistad is a great rod if you like a longer frog rod. I don’t. The head turner with braid is a pretty good frog rod. It lists as heavy but is like a lot of companies medium heavy. I’ll use mine around medium and lighter cover for frogs. It’s also a great pitching rod. Mine is one of my two swim jig rods. you need zero sensitivity for fishing frogs. You need a soft tip for casting and working one plus a hefty backbone to winch them out. If you throw punching and swim jigs into the mix then that answer changes.

In the opening of that video, look how low the stern of the boat is sitting in the water and how high up the nose it. I can’t imagine fishing like that. It’s like walking up a hill to get to the trolling motor. now think about when you see the big boats with 4x 400 hp on the back or even more. At 30 mph and $1 a mile that’s $1 every two minutes with 6x400’s that’s $3 a minute for THIRTY MILES PER HOUR.

like any other big brushpile. Start way back off of it. Like you said, they go out a lot further than you think and the bass are often off the end. When you get up into it, 20 lb plus non braided line and just start reeling when you set the hook.