casts_by_fly

If there is a good population of forage/bait and a decent population of starter bass then you could be onto a winner. Fresh impoundments usually have plenty of new shoreline/spawning cover for the first years to allow plenty of reproduction. The bigger predators aren't there yet to knock down populations further. All in it means there's a good start available. Then it just depends on the forage amount and time. I'd wager that over the next 5 years you'll have a pretty good place to fish. You won't have big fish just yet uless the prior lake already had them, but you'll end up with a lot of 2-5 lb fish pretty quickly.

my opinion doesn't matter, just the fish's.

Biologist surveys are usually posted on the state fish and game websites. If not for your specific lake, then others nearby.

no, I don’t know that one. not sure about your state, but total wine ships the willett rye.

Willet rye is probably my favorite. Great to sip it in a cocktail. Basil Hayden dark rye is a good shout. Both are in your price range.

Ayu and smallmouth magic are my usuals. I carry chartreuse over white and white with sparkle (sight flash maybe?). I think white, black, chartreuse, and then any dark over light color you want for the heads.

that’s fine if your kayak weighs 70 lb and 100 fully loaded. The AP is more like 150 plus tackle. Know that if you get one.

@Bankc I hear you on setup / tear down. I’ve got my routine down to 5 minutes or so most of the time and our ramps aren’t too busy so it’s not a big deal. I think the electronics are my biggest time sink. The helix and the megalive pole plus two megalive wires and the wiring harness on the helix are where I spend my time. The motor is drop in and plug it in. The tackle bag goes in the back and the rods on the rack. Lots of little things though that all add up that I could eliminate with a trailer. Plus the lifting in and out of the truck. The last two trips I didn’t even bring the electronics in the boat since I know that lake so well and it was nice not loading them.

If you did, it wasn't on this website. You can click on the little conversation icon under your name and it brings up all of your posts. With 24, its pretty easy to scroll down through them. I'm afraid I can't help much on the access question though. Its beautiful water though! I've driven around there a time or two and it looks great. I'd start with the PA F&BC website and find the boat ramps. That will at least get you down to the water. From there you just need to drive around and explore. Public parks are another good way to get down to the water.

I'm a falcon guy and love their rods (aside from 1 or 2!) so I'd go straight to the falcon lowrider series at $129 each. If you're set on 7' then grab the all 'round and the all 'round fast, both 7' for your two applications. Then you're have a matching pair more or less with the same handfeel and just a little different powers. That said, based on the applications, I'd also consider changing the second rod to a lighter 'heavy' like the head turner or dragger 1. You're saying mid-weight texas rigs and jigs which to me means 3/8 of lead plus skirt/plastic. That's the right range for a lighter heavy to me, which in falcon terms is a 6-power. The head turner is rated 1/4-3/4 still but has good backbone. The Dragger 1 is 3/8-1 with good backbone but a touch slower action than the HT. Either of these would give you a little more breadth/range compared to getting two MH and open up options for you later.

you might have solved a problem that I have. There is a wildlife maangement area at the bottom of our hill with good access at one end and where everyone parks. The other end is bounded by a road (all no parking and no pulloffs available), a swamp, and a bunch of houses. There are two TINY strips where the public land touches a road, but no place to park. I tried to walk in from the access areas, but it was too swampy to make it without getting onto private land and I had to back out. I also thought about an ebike, but that's a lot of money for a single spot that might not even be worth it. However, there are used scooters on marketplace all the time for pretty cheap. Strap my my bow on a backpack and we're in. Thanks!

Or I could suck it up and fish what I have, maybe supplemented with a couple colors from @Siebert Outdoors . This is the compact in silver shiner if my memory is right. The compact in green shad got another one tonight.

I thought last week was my last trip with the weather turning cold but then it’s been great and I don’t have a buck tag to fill anymore so I took a couple hours after a doctors appointment which just happened to be 20 minutes from my favorite lake. Last week was a spinnerbait bite for 4 bass and 6 pickerel. No pickerel tonight but picked 5 bass. A pair on a spinnerbait and three on the rage bug. That rage bug might be my best lure of the year this year. Three were 14-6”. The other two were 11-12”.

I'm in the same camp as flyfisher and bankC with regards to a second electric. If it were free then I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd love to have an extra 2 mph on the water. One lake I fish locally is 1200 acres. From the ramp to the upper end where I like to fish (which is about the furthest run on the lake) is 2 miles. That's a half hour run full out and going to take 20% of my battery to run at that speed straight there. Its also a big enough lake that running from spot to spot isn't practical at 4 mph. For this lake and 2 others around I'd love to have 6 mph. To that end, I've considered a 2.5-3 hp gas motor. They are small, light, and cheap. Integrated gas tank. I can get 6-7 mph (about as fast as I'd want to push an AP) and not worry about battery at all. For 200-300 that it would cost I would really consider it.

Mick answered most everything already. You don't need any epoxy or coating to hold a guide in place. Thread, dental floss, or kite string will all hold it there in a pinch. It won't last long or look good but it will function. The next step is a coating over the thread of some type. Clear nail polish is a good one for an emergency. It will protect the threads and last a good bit of time. It will yellow and chip with light and abuse. It won't be level or look pretty but it will work. Actual rod finish is the best bet and will make it look like 'new'. Permagloss is a type of urethane. Its specially formulated for rod finishes rather than wood or other finishes. When Ralph Quinn worked to formulate permagloss he priortized clarity, non yellowing, and durability with respect to putting it on fishing rods. Like other urethanes it is solvent based (all urethanes are I think). You should have good ventilation for all urethanes, especially if you have sensitive lungs (or skin) or other health issues. Airtight basement is not a good idea. Kitchen table with the stove hood fan isn't a bad choice.

It’s about 50% more speed- from 4 mph to 6 mph or thereabouts. It’s a good chunk of cost. If you were fishing big water and running from place to place it might be worth it. Saves 15 minutes from a 45 minute run. the airplane props will give you about 10% more. Nice little boost for $7 if you’re fishing open water with no grass.

Agreed entirely. HCJ is great with a half ounce and plastic. The amistad really starts at a half ounce. I’ve thrown 3/4 and plastic with no issue. I don’t need a full ounce but it will do it. I’ve fished a 7” keitech on a 3/8 weighted hook on it which ends around 2.25 oz and that’s pushing the limit. Similar with a flash mob jr and 1/8 heads with 3” keitechs. It works but if I was doing it a lot I’d bump to the superdity.

TB is correct. Without a heading sensor it will go by your motion. If you’re not going to add the heading sensory then your best bet is to line it up as you’re motoring in and mark a point on the far bank to cast to. Casting rings are helpful also if your unit offers them.

Braid or mono and how heavy on the vegetation? I’m going to assume you mean western pa level vegetation. I have the HCJ and the amistad. The amistad is probably what you want. Great for heaviest stuff you’ll get in PA. Might not be enough for the hydrilla mats on the delta or Florida, but I haven’t fished those myself. I fished 50 lb 832 on my expert series for two years and it’s a great pitching combo for grass and vegetation. I don’t like it for brush or for using the rod for other things like a-rigs or big swim baits. I’ve swapped to 20 lb big game for the past two trips and will run that into next year to get more use from the rod.

what blade combos do you keep handy for a trip? the usual tandem, double willow, single colorado? this is kinda where I was thinking in the first place. Those three plus a colorado/indiana make four blade sets. If I kept this to 3/8 and 1/2 (my two most commonly used), two of each weight and only one single colorado of each would be 14 bodies. A handful of skirts that's 90% of me covered in half the tackle.

that will be an expert on the left and a bucoo on the right, both the 7-power like you said. If that's the same as the 7-power bass rods, those are going to be pretty stout.

the peacock bass rods come in Bucoo SR, Lowrider, expert, and Cara (in increasing price order). technically one step up would be the lowrider, but since you have expert on the brain I'll assume its that one. They have a 5 power expert. That's the one that I was looking at for a local rod. If its like the other 5-power rods in the lineup, that would be a medium heavy, 1/4-3/4 or so rated, and definitely lighter than I would have guessed for Peacock bass (hence my hesitation).

For the hardbaits, just pick the ones that match what you want but have the bright belly. Then apply sharpie liberally.

Maybe I just need to modify what I have and swap around those that I don't fish, aka optimize a little better. This is my current box (a mess at the moment). There are slots for 26 plus I have a few more laying flat. Call it 30 spinnerbaits. And yet when I know I want to fish a spinnerbait I always feel like I'm missing just the one I want to fish. Perhaps instead of totally revamping my setup the better question is 'what do I think I'm missing when I'm reaching and not finding' and 'which of these hasn't left the box and why'. I can see a quarter of them that are there but I never even considered throwing this year plus a couple more that are duplicates of ones I did throw.

As a fishman and also supply chain professional and engineer by training, that's awesome to see. I've been in quite a few factories around the world from full manual setups to fully automated setups. I would never have guessed how manual it was for crankbaits (and presumably many of their other lures). The stencils make so much sense and I never would have considered it.