casts_by_fly

Not really, but I’ve got a couple rods that are REALLY GOOD at one specific thing that I always do anyway so they are de facto technique specific. I’ll do other things with them of course when I’m not doing the usual thing.

@FryDog62 - pics of the 7’2” Cara BFS for reference. I pinned them at the butt/seat and just hung a couple swimbaits that were handy. Around 2-3 oz or so. You can see that the bottom 2/3 of the rod doesn’t flex a whole lot with that amount of weight. Of course it doubles over with a 3lb smallmouth. Without measuring angles, I’d call it straight fast. Since the overall power of the rod is lighter it starts to load the rod and not the tip but from a casting perspective with the intended weights it casts like a fast action rod (aka, keep your timing in check).

Depending which pond weed you’re talking about (curly, broad leaf, or others) you have to choose whether you’re going over it, around it, or dropping through it. over and around are the same jigs and will depend on how fast you want to work it. I’ll go as light as 1/8 for crawling one over the top and shimmying through some of the openings. If you’re moving it quick or going down the edges in 8-10’ then I go up to a half. Specific jigs will include the sieberts swim jig, strike king pro series, and dirty jigs swim jig. All good and all work. If you’re in the real thick stuff and trying to fish in the middle of it then I find a Texas rig a better choice, though if you want to have a skirted setup you can go with a skirted punching weight or the AJay swim jig special he’s posted about here a few times. Strike king also has the swinging swim jig which is similar to AJay’s setup less versatile) and get’s through the thick stuff (I carry a couple in half ounce for those purpose).

I put the 7’2” BFS in line with the 7’2” swim jig rod which is a true fast. Light tip that transitions into the ‘power’ of the blank pretty quickly. In the case of the BFS, the power is pretty light. On the SJ it gets a lot more power. But I rate the action similarly. Tomorrow I can pull the BFS out and put it under some strain for a picture.

to me, if the option is give them $60 and you get a new Avid or you throw that one away I’d at least get the new one. It’s worth far more than what you’d pay to get the new one and you could sell it. Or use it as a fishing rod. Not sure why you wouldn’t do that.

@PhishLI - I was looking at just the thumbnails of pictures on your post and I could see the pickerel but I was wondering what the heck the other fish was. Menhaden? Shad? Trout? Then I clicked in and saw it was the bait…🤦‍♂️ You’re a better man than I fishing in freezing temps, in freezing water, at night. After Wednesday in the boat I need a little more heat in my life.

I haven’t felt the shorter one, but the Cara BFS 7’2” will do it. I was throwing (not launching) 1/16oz total bait two weekends ago and it will launch a 1/8 total. I have fished the 1/8 oz Zara pooch on it before and it’s fine there too. My suspicion is that the shorter one is the same blank with 3” cut off the butt but I can’t prove that.

Avids have a 15 year warranty. Even if not a warranty claim, they have a $60 service program that I think just gets you a new one when you break one. That’s what you’d pay someone to fix it or so.

@GReb - I agree on the HT, my only hesitation was that he said down to weightless for most plastics. A HT with a 5" senko is no problem (one weighs 3/8 oz or so). But something like a 6" weightless trick worm is more like 1/5-1/4 oz and is going to be pushing the limits on that rod whereas the finesse jig will handle that. The HT will do a heavier setup for sure, but choproz isn't looking for that- just the lighter side- hence I lean to the FJ.

I'll say the same as AJay said to my other post- "I love everything about this".

The dividers should slide in and out with no problems. When you separated them, did you leave little nubs on the edges that catch? I take a sharp knife and run it down the edges to knock off the nubs.

Since you have 'new' wiring and electroncs and you're relying on an electric motor to get you around, should there be any problems it's a good diagnostic tool. My first trip out with the new boat last year I dropped the TM in the water and nothing. Flipped the switches, tried all the things, nothing. Checked the battery on my phone (Ibluetooth link) and it was good- 24V, 50 AH full charge. A multimeter down the line would have picked up the problem immediately instead of me tying off at a random dock and trying everything while my blood pressure went through the roof. (it was the breaker- I had hit the button and not reset it).

Totally fixable and will be 98% of new. Then again, why not warranty it again?

Well, I’m going to call it a ‘win’ on the ice out prediction from me. I don’t know the exact date, but it was last week at some point and today was the first day of the boat on the water. I said mid march so that’s basically that. The lake ice is gone, but with 22 degree overnight lows and wind last night the waves sprayed/lapped up on the downwind shores and there are ‘ice bushes’ everywhere. The water was 38-39 degrees and the air was 35 so today wasn’t about fishing as much as it was just getting the boat onto the water, giving it a shakedown, and getting me out of the house. To those ends, successful. The black dog also got her first ride in the boat. Also successful.

that’s helpful. My first thought when you wrote it above was that the falcon swim jig is what I’d be using in that scenario (and do). But it’s 7’2” so I think that’s more than your preference. Brycecover’s note about the finesse jig is a good one but that’s why I asked about the hook. I don’t love it with a heavy hook, but it’s fine with a normal wire/normal size and absolutely fine with an owner light wire. And I can confirm that with light line and a capable reel (I have a zillion on mine) you can throw a 4” fluke on an unweighted hook. I have the expert series version so I can’t talk to the Cara but I understand the Cara actually has a little more tip to it.

@Choporoz - what hooks are you running in this setup? Light to normal wire up to about a 3-4/0? You said 7'3" is too long, but do you have a top end in mind for length?

I haven't had a good frog bite in years. Everything else goes in cycles. Vibrating jigs were slow in 24 but 25 picked back up in a major way. Swim jigs were my hot bait in 24 but last year was slow on them. Spinnerbaits depend on the lakes I'm fishing a lot but are relatively consistent when the conditions are right. Neds were on fire in 2024 and I could hardly buy hits on them last year. But that frog bite. I think I've caught 5 fish in the past 4 years combined on them. I think they just get fished a lot around here. A plopper might be similar but I need to throw it more this spring and see if it is 3 years in a row.

@Randy Price - the grip might be different depending on the model. I forget which way it is but in some cases you get a T-handle and in some you only get the nub/straight handle. Check out the pictures on digitaka.

Felt like something id say so had to check. Yup. I stand by what i said too. Without putting the fish on an actual scale, it doesn’t look very big in the first pic. There is nothing of scale to compare it against (the rods are too far away). The length is far more than the girth saying long and skinny. And the mouth looks small from the way you’re grabbing it and the size relative to your fingers. I’d you told me the actual weight was 1.5-2# I’d believe you. Alas, it’s not.

Someone else can give New River specific advice, but I grew up fishing a bunch of rivers just like that. Your best bet- cover water. Have a good pair of hiking boots and put the time in. River smallies are generally pretty aggressive so moving lures will show you where they are. Inline spinners swung through the current, smaller flukes (unweighted or lightly weighted texas rig), small topwaters like a tiny buzzbait or 75 size plopper, and paddle tails in the 3" range are all going to catch fish. Fish in current tend to want to find current breaks. Whether that is bigger holes or smaller holes in the middle of moving water. They will want some kind of structure/cover to hang out with. Finding chunk rocks (bigger than a bowling ball) in deeper runs is a pretty sure way to find fish.

Yeah, it's clearly the JDM stradic. Last I looked they were about $155.

I'm just overweight.

I've got 832, 131, and PEX8 rigged on spinning rods in the boat right now. I have Yozuri, PP, and another on rods in the basement. My dad throws X9 and I've fished his there also. I've come to the position that I don't like 4-carrier braid at all (original PP, Yo Zuri). The 8+ carrier braids just handle better for me. Between the ones I have in the boat, I really like 131 for handling (just a little stiffer and slicker than 832) but it doesn't come in high vis so that limits where I use it some. 832 is my baseline braid. It just flat out works and isn't crazy priced. I put PEX8 on a rod this year so I haven't fished it yet. But I can tell you from handling it in the house and loading it on the rod, this is a whole nother animal. I went with the 15# and it's so thin that you can barely see it. If it wasn't bright pink holy moly. For what I got it for (FFS jig and minnow rod) I think it's going to be perfect but I have to see. If I was using it for my neko rig, I'd have to go heavier.

I weigh a couple of decent ones a year early in the season to get my eye in. But anything 15-16" and under doesn't get weighed. That's a nominal 2# fish. Maybe 2.5. Maybe 2.25. If it's fat I'll call it a chunky 2.5. The difference is meaningless for me since I'm not putting them on a tournament scale. When we start up around 18-19" then I'm a lot more curious. For me, head size is thing that makes me take notice. A fish's gut will get bigger and smaller but it's head keeps growing through its life. And the head/jaw is the place you grab most any big fish so you get a good reference of your own hand. When a bass's jaw (largemouth) is big enough that you start grabbing it with multiple fingers in the mouth and your thumb on the OUTSIDE you know you've got a good one.

@PhishLI Is the TW description accurate about 15 lb line and only running to 2'? I have a couple other squarebills that I fish like wakes over not quite topped out grass but they are a little bigger than I want. That bill lowen is the perfect size if I can keep it to 18" or so on some floaty mono.