casts_by_fly

The top couple inches of a rod is where all of the feel comes from. If a rod maker gets the first 6” right and has enough middle to support it they are 90% of the way there. Consequently, breaking off an inch can be enough to completely kill the action. You can fix it with a sleeve but that’s the hardest fix to get right. I’ve done a couple fly rods like that and they are okay. id call st croix, explain the situation, and see if they can help. Even though not a warranty break, they may do a reduced price replacement. They have consistently been one of the most generous makers over the past 20 years for replacements.

yes, your math for total weight is right. And taking two ounces out of the reel and putting it in the butt will definitely make it less tip heavy while maintaining the same weight. Even with a 7 ounce reel you’d probably need the same weight in the butt to balance. Like Tom said above, the reel is in your hand at the fulcrum of the lever so it’s weight impacts negligibly. short term, get an extra large butt cap normally used for saltwater rods. Check the diameter of your current rod butt and get a snug fit to the id of the new butt cap. The fujis below are pretty heavy in their own right and might be enough. Tune and tweak the setup from there. You should be able to use pennies inside the cap to add weight. Once you get it right then you can weigh it out and make a more permanent thing like the crb cap below. Replacing a butt cap is an easy job. alternatively, if you already have lead tape you can just skip the temporary butt and wrap lead tape until it feels right at home then throw some electrical or grip tape over it. Go fish it and see how it is. Take the lead tape with you and adjust on the water. https://mudhole.com/collections/butt-caps/products/fuji-tapered-rubber-caps?variant=34384483319941 https://mudhole.com/products/crb-weighted-butt-cap?_pos=1&_sid=fae57d7d9&_ss=r https://www.amazon.com/Tourna-LD-36-Sampras-Lead-Tape/dp/B00124KUBC/ref=asc_df_B00124KUBC/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=366307018944&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=131418078086947837&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9067609&hvtargid=pla-481530543074&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=77662695273&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=366307018944&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=131418078086947837&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9067609&hvtargid=pla-481530543074

Is it just fuzzies or actual cut fibers? My 30 lb 832 fuzzies a good bit but it’s not weakened. If 40 isn’t working for you then 65 might be a good step up. I haven’t found much that 50 doesn’t handle happily (musky teeth are one) but ymmv.

I’m 832. What you’re describing calls for 50lb.

The bigger and heavier the setup the more tiring it will be to use. There's no question about that. But how it affects you and whether that's important is another matter yet. A-jay lifts weights so I'm sure he could pitch with an offshore rod all day and not feel it. For me, tip weight/swing weight is more important than absolute weight. Most of my rods are in that 10-11 oz range in total like most everyone else here. Considering how many baitcasting reels are in the 7-8 oz range, that's putting most of the weight right in your hand which is where it should be.

a lot of our birds are moving on, especially the smaller migrating species. We didn't have too much with the hurricane, but they seem to be moving on earlier this year. The blue jays are here in spades though (we must have yours) and I had a flock of a dozen last evening in the deer stand. The robins have been largely gone for a while now. They are the first to show up and usually stick around until November. We get spring/summer bluebirds but you don't see them much past when the trees have leaves. On a separate note, we were at a wolf preserve two weekends ago (super cool if anyone's interested) and the owner made a comment about the wolves having a super thick coat already built up this year, their tails in particular. He said that's usually indicative of a colder winter and a heavier snowfall. I have to think that the cooler summer we've had contributed, but I'm not going to argue with his decades of observation. if the birds are moving south earlier also, that's another puzzle piece.

If its unusable then its trash. But it takes a lot to be unusable. Just having holes in it is fine. If the head is all beat up from fish and cover then nip the front 1/4" off or whatever it takes and its fine. Mend it could work too if you bring it home. If that takes too much off the bait then does it work as something else like a jig trailer? If its just dirty with a couple holes then it gets a rinse off and goes back in the package when its dry.

yep, that's one. There are a couple that I've seen but Nick's is the one that most people use. Most people are using it for small fish finders to get them closer to the seat but its a great option for a rod holder too.

in physical weight, its my 6'10" Falcon expert topwater MH with an Abu MGX and a full spool of 14 lb mono. With the senko that's on it the whole thing weighs 9.3, so right about 9 oz when you cut the senko off.

With the cold temps the past could days the deer are moving. I was up early this morning and at daybreak there were two nice bucks in the back. This is the little one. He's a ~16-17" inside spread 8 pt that's really symmetric. Top 4 tines are around 8" each. He came around the front of the house to give me this nice pic through the window. The other is a 7 that looks a LOT like the 7 pt I shot 3 years ago. I'm sure its the same genes given the curling up on the tips and the outward lean to the tines. I got some video, but nothing great. He's about 19" inside with 8-10" tines on top. I think I have both on camera from last year when they were much smaller. These will be 3.5-4.5 year old deer here. Either one gets an arrow when the new season starts at the end of the month. Here's to hoping they stick around for me. There are a half dozen breeding age does around for them to want to.

Two ways into the lagoons- directly across from PIB marina or make the loop through the bay to Misery bay and swing right behind Perry Monument. That said, looking at Google maps the PIB marina end looks like its closed in a lot. It looks like not much more than a kayak path to get through right now. Its been more than a few years since we've gone through and it looks to have changed a lot. If you have time on Friday its probably worth taking a glance up through from the Misery bay side (MB should be a little more protected from wind) but I maybe wouldn't focus much time on it unless you find something you like.

I'm going to guess "not to the same extent". With the way crappies school and then the school doesn't move with pressure, it makes them highly susceptible to FFS. I think perch would be the same way. When I played with the perch earlier this year they were really easy to see and find on FFS. You could park right on top of them and they wouldn't move. I didn't have the right baits to catch them (the smallest I had was a 3.8 keitech) but I'm sure I could have sat there and limited out. I'm pretty sure I could go do it there now, sorting through the bigger and smaller fish to only take the bigger ones worth filleting (which happen to be the main breeders with perch). I think with bass, they are less schooling overall and more apt to shut down or move off with pressure (spawning season aside, which is a whole nuther discussion worth having). If it took KVD a full day to work through a school (even without FFS), I'm pretty sure your weekend warrior wouldn't spend the time to figure them out.

Since I'm in a kayak I get more spray than you would in a boat. For that reason I normally wear fleece wader pants that I've had for 20+ years under my bibbed rain paints (frogg toggs). They are technical material and waterproof. If its cold enough that I'm wearing them for spray then they don't overheat me. If its really cold I'll throw on thermals under the fleece. For you guys in boats, let me recommend the wrangler all terrain gear pants. They make them in fleece lined and unlined. If I'm not wearing shorts then I'm wearing some version of these- everywhere. They are lightly stretchy, good tough fabric, and the fleece version is good enough to be shoveling snow in 0-20F temps. Depending on the version, the size, and the sale you find, they are $25-$55. Get them at Amazon if you want, just play with colors as I find that one color will be full retail while the 'other' light brown color is half price. Also good for hunting pants. The fleece ones are good for sitting in a stand down to about 55F, maybe a little lower. The light ones are great for early season hunts when its over 70 degrees.

As someone who has picked up FFS this year and fishes in a location that has smaller fish, I can tell you that (1) yes its hard and (2) fishing 4-5 times a week is probably necessary to get really good with it. I had a down year for days spent on the water compared to the last two, so I definitely didn't get as much time with it as I wanted. I think I've played with it now enough that I'm confident in how to set it up for various waters and conditions. I can set it up to see my lure most of the time. I've mostly figured out the cone of view (though being in a kayak makes that harder). I've not watched a fish from spot, cast, bite, hookset yet. I played with perch early in the season since they schooled and are semi aggressive about following lures. I used FFS to give me an accurate picture of grass lines which is incredibly helpful. I've seen fish on it that I'm certain were bass, but I couldn't convert them to catches. I've also seen musky on it at one of my regular lakes which gives me some insight on how they go about their day. My goal in getting it was to have a real time view of what's under me. I wasn't worried about watching fish eat my bait or even react to it. I wanted to know if there were fish there or if I was wasting my time fishing where I was. One season on now, I can see some of the benefits I was looking for and at the same time think I may expand the uses next year. Its helped me confirm fish were in places I thought they'd be. Whether they were eating or not, I know that my logic was sound for fishing there at that time. As I said above, seeing weed lines in places that I'd have a hard time graphing over them or even if I could find them on side imaging keeping track of them while fishing is a big plus for FFS. Being able to see 'something' on side or down imaging and then really picking it apart visually with FFS is really cool (though I can't say that it converted to fish numbers yet). All in, its a tool that you need to learn how to use. I think the pro's have it figured out. If you don't you're behind the curve in most places (Okeechobee was won with it!). I think the casual angler won't get to that level. Darnold's comment about guys fishing 4-5 days a week is probably right. I averaged a trip every week or so this year, but it was very clumpy and the trips were abbreviated. I spent a lot of time getting FFS right at the start of the season and on slow days I'd put some time in, but a lot of the time I just wanted to go down the bank and catch a few fish in the limited time I had available. If you're only fishing saturday mornings, chances are you're not going to put enough time into it to get really good. Certainly not the majority of guys that have it which is almost certainly a minority if fishermen in the first place.

if it were me, I'd be prefishing the city side of the bay to find largemouth that will be accessible during the tournament. I'd also be looking at the lagoons. Maybe @Dwight Hottle can give some more input. Not sure he'll have seen this thread yet.

I think the bay itself is going to be pretty wild too. Only saving grace is that the wind is coming from the land side.

If the weather is that bad I’d focus on largemouth in the bay. It’s been a while since I’ve fished it, but the largemouth are always around. also, 20+ mph winds for much of the day is a no go for open water.

I'm sure there is also some consideration for the travel of the anglers also. Hosting an event on Havasu for instance would mean the (primarily) south east based anglers have to drive 26 hours and 1900+ miles each way for a single tournament. That's a tough pill to swallow and I could see some guys sitting that one out if they weren't in contention for AOY or other prizes that require a full season load. I'd also like to see one 'new/odd' location in the calendar each year. The classic was in Pittsburgh on the 3 rivers a number of years ago. It was a tiny bag to win it (KvD did i think) and it didn't show the rivers very well, but the city was great and the location is awesome if you put it in late June when the anglers are doing the northern swing. The Chesapeake could be another I'd like to see and they are doing regionals there now. Either one might be won with a 50 lb bag over 4 days but I'd love to watch them figure it out.

A 55lb 12V is normal. That's about as much thrust as you can pull from a 12V battery without melting things down. If that's the case, then I'd go by what Padlin calculated above. A group 27 wouldn't be enough for me if you're using the trolling motor a lot. If its just using it to fish the bank around the edge of the lake then you're fine. You won't be above a quarter throttle hardly at all, if at all. That would draw a negligible amount of power.

same thought here. I'm expecting a 40 bass day for her with at least 2 over 4 lb somewhere in the mix.

I don't often go to walmart, but yes. Since they have the shelf price points they want to hit, they will often have reduced size packs of things cheaper than buying a whole pack. FGreat for trying a new plastic for instance. I picked up some robo worms and a pack of senkos last trip through. Their terminal tackle can be on sale at times too when they want to make space for other things coming in. I think they stock gamakatsu hooks depending on the store so never know what they'll be clearing.

a group 27 is fairly small if you're using it hard. if you want to be sure, bump up to a 29 or 31. That said, are you sure its a 12V motor? 60 lb thrust is a lot for 12V. I don't know of a current model that does it (happy to be proven wrong). The highest I know of on the market now is 55 lb. You might want to double check if you haven't already. if it truly is 60 lb on 12V, that's a pretty high max current. I'd agree with Padlin's math. Also remember that a lead acid isn't usable for the full capacity. Eventually the voltage will drop low enough that the motor is barely chugging along. Not the place I'd want to be. Somewhere around 25% remaining is where it gets bad.

not big enough…

Add foam but first make sure the rods aren’t sliding when you drive. When rods slide in tubes they build up momentum more than you’d ever think. A sudden stop adds a bunch of force in a tiny area. Many people learn this the hard way when the try to ship them in the mail

Nearly 7 mph.