casts_by_fly

Had to go home to Pittsburgh because my mother in law is in the hopspital but took the chance to go with my dad for a morning. He’s been killing them at a lake local to my in-laws (almost 200 bass the past 6 weeks fishing once a week, most fish 15-20”) so we went there. he was launched and ready to go when I pulled in so we started about a half hour before daylight. He was ‘guiding’ me for the first hour or so and just running the trolling motor while I threw a buzz bait. I managed 5 or 6 to start and he started fishing. We swapped to chatterbaits on a flat/ledge setup and made a few passes. After a couple passes there I swapped to a Texas rigged rage claw while he stayed with the chatter bait. We ended up with 23 for the morning and we’re off the water about noon. No 5 lb fish, but lots of 15-19” fish and a 19” fish was nearly 4lb here on the scale (super chunky fish, about a half pound heavier for the length than my heavy Nj fish). Only one under 12”. It was a pretty good day..

Hi guys, Anyone used the rx7 three piece blanks? The latest email flyer featured them and gave me the thought that I wouldn’t mind having a travel baitcaster. Anyone build on one and can give a review? I’ve used lots of rx7 fly rod blanks on the past so know the general quality to value you get in that lineup. Any other 3 pc casting rod blanks worth looking at? thanks rick

crayfish. pull out the beavers and craws on a texas rig and pitch them to every hole you see.

It all depends on the kayak. If you are thinking about a Hobie pro anglers 140 or an Autopilot 136 then I would suggest a trailer. They are big boats and heavy. Even my AP120 is a lot to truck bed. In a sedan you can car top it if you have the ability to add racks. But you'll need to be able to lift the boat you choose. For storage, only you can know what you have available. If its safe, you can keep it on the roof rack for spring through fall. Some people do that especially for quick trips so that you're always loaded. I often leave mine in the bed of the truck all summer and the rods/gear ready to roll. If not, you'll have to figure out what space you have available. For what you're describing, something like a 106 PDL sounds ideal. Its a smaller boat and maybe not the best for tracking over long distances, but for what you're describing I woudl start looking there.

I agree with bigangus that you probably need more than one heavy. Any one manufacturer's heavy isn't the same as another's, so you really need to get to the specific rod and purpose for me. As example, falcon has two levels of 'heavy'- 6- and 7- power. The 6 power rods are closer to some MH from some manufacturers, but are heavy compared to some others. Nominally they are 1/4-1 1/4oz depending on the model (some are 1/4-3/4, some 1/2-1, etc). The 7 power rods are truly heavies and will range from 3/8 up to a little over 2 oz depending on the model. You can throw a 1/2oz jig on any of them but if the plan for the rod is big stuff over an ounce all the time then that's a different rod. I like a shorter rod for frogs and a longer one for pitching. Last night I carried 4 different 'heavy' rods for different purposes and maybe I could condense to 2 if I really had to. Which models are you fishing? I'm a bit of a falcon junkie so curious. A spiral wrap won't increase casting distance, so don't expect it to. A longer rod will, but not a spiral wrap. It WILL make the rod more stable under load and will also allow for fewer guides if designed that way.

Enjoy the delaware and tribs. Lots of options down there if you want largemouth, smallmouth, snakeheads, etc. Stripers in the spring. I'm about 2 hours north of that (halfway between I78 and I80, and about 30 miles east of the river).

In 832 and a baitcaster I like 30 lb. It’s so thin as it is that there’s no real difference between 20 and 30 in handling but the 50%more breaking strength gives you options if you’re in thicker pads or grass.

For a 6’6” a 2000/2500 is right. I prefer a smaller reel and might even put a 1500 size on it, but for an all purpose I would go 2000/2500.

we get big wakeboats here on a couple places. They will throw 3’ wakes on a 10’ center which will come over the bow of a lot of boats if you’re not watching. I manage them in my kayak because I’m only 12’ and can angle them pretty well. I’ve taken a couple over the nose and the kayak will drain through the scuppers. If it were me in your shoes, I’d pick and choose my battles. I wouldn’t be out there fishing in 3’ waves by any chance or choice. Sure, if your budget and situation allows for a 21’ boat then go for it. If not' then an 18’ Lund deep v bass would do a whole lot of things (ajay can inform about Great Lakes runs I’m sure) and be a lot more manageable than a 21’ glass boat.

In the late 80's and early 90's Hart spinnerbaits had a similar one in the Throb (I think that was the name). Not quite as short arm as the ones above, but still a shorter arm than others and a single colorado on the end. This one though had a tapered head that was meant to keep it running fairly shallow (or allow you to bring it up quickly). Great lure, definitely some of the most thump you could get on a spinnerbait with normal blade sizes at the time. Perfect pond spinnerbait and shallow cover lure. I keep 2 or 3 in my box how and have a couple more downstairs still.

An iphone is waterproof for all purposes topside in the kayak, so I have no cares if it gets wet and I don't mess with dry bags and pouches. However, every shirt or pair of pants I wear has either a zippered chest pocket or a zipped pant pocket where the phone stays most of the time. if its not there, I have two places in the kayak where its below the gunwales and can't fall out. I'd have to flip to lose it and that's a bigger issue than just losing the phone.

welcome. Whereabouts are you? I'm in NJ and originally from western PA. rick

gotcha. I know the grand in Ohio and just assumed. if you meant that one, I was going to suggest a kayak.. The other big water guys will sort you out. I've been out on Erie in an 18' bass boat (92" beam and heavy) and it would be fine for calm days and 1-2's. Erie gets really odd rollers though unlike any I've seen anywhere else-- lake, river, ocean. The spacing is odd. Erie also kicks up quickly if you're not paying attention.

grand river ohio?

I find this is quite true on smaller fish. They will come up and grab it like they would an insect. If they get it from behind and you're fishing it slow, then they get the whole thing and will be hooked in the roof of the mouth. I also trim my legs way back, though mine are more like 3/4". Anything over 12" though this won't be the case and I'm not worried.

I've lost them both ways over the past 2-3 years. This spring I had one that I definitely pulled the hook out (30 lb braid, fast action, MH power) horsing a 4# fish. Different lake, same sized fish 2 years before I didn't get a good hookset as the fish hit it at it hit the water and came quartering at me (7' H/MF/17 mono). When i turned him directly to me he opened his mouth and it was gone. I think (but this is anecdotal not factual) that I've had better hooksets and not lost a fish when there's been more slack in my line (yoyo-ing or popping through grass for instance) compared to a direct retrieve, but I might be fitting my memories to what I want to believe.

correct-ish. With clear water and nothing in it, you lose the spectrum as you go down. Red fades first and blue last. In very clear saltwater (150' visibility type clear) you'll hold some red colors down to about 15-20' before the deepest red starts fading. The deeper you go, the further down the spectrum you lose. At 500' you lose most light. Remember the claims on red cajun line? "It disappears in the water". That's not entirely correct, but it does turn grey because all of the light from the sun which would turn it a color (i.e. the red light waves) can't penetrate down to it. When you add 'things' into the water, those things absorb light and/or reflect light back up such that the color they are affecting can't make it deeper. To counteract that, you can either add in a brighter version of that color to stand out more with the little of that color that's there (i.e. bright orange instead of dull tan), go the opposite side of the spectrum and work with what light is actually getting down there (if red isn't getting to your depth, try lime green/chartreuse if you want visibility), or go with a 'profile' based block color like black or white. Tannic water is absorbing/reflecting yellow spectrum light. A yellow lure on the bottom is going to go grey. An orange lure is going to go more mustard-y. If you want the orange to stand out more, go with a brighter orange (fluorescent even) so that you're reflecting as much of the orange/yellow light that gets down there as possible.

when you figure out how to carry your kayak and gear across the country then stop by. Your wife can visit nyc for a couple days to keep her occupied.

In tannic water the orangey/brown light doesn’t penetrate as far so you amp up those colors a little more relative to a non tannic waterbody next door. So if you pull out a live craw and it has light orange claws you want to imitate, then pull out a blaze orange craw. Black will still look like black and shows up well. Whites have been very hit or miss for me in tannic water. It should work, but I haven’t seen it.

@MN Fisher yup.

I wouldn't even mess with the lehigh in that area based on what I saw of the susky driving by it there a couple weeks ago. Just pick a spot on the susky in your area and start fishing. It was good looking water.

Here's the big unlimited horsepower lake around here. Admittedly its more crowded because of that, but you get the point. This is just one representative snip from gmaps. If you like to fish docks from a boat you're spoiled for choice...

on one hand I agree with the logic- instead of $250 per rod and 10 rods, buy 5 at $500, right? But I'm pretty happy with $250 level rods and I'd rather have the right one for the job even if it means leaving a couple home each trip. So while I probably could whittle it down to 5 for forever, I certainly don't want to. Any then when the time comes that I can carry all 10 I will.

That's how a lot of the water is around here. I tend to fish golds/copper over silver, orange over blue/purple, and darker instead of lighter as guides.

I used to love fishing farm ponds back home. Around here, bank fishing is limited or crap. Most lakes have significant private shoreline ownership (docks, lake houses, etc). There is minimal access for a lot of them. There are some ponds around which are public access and get hammered. I'll fish them once or twice in the early season. There are negligible farm ponds around to get permissions to fish (I've google mapped and marked everything within 45 minutes of here). On the flip side, I've got 8-10 lakes worth fishing that I can drop the kayak into within 35 minutes. That pretty much seals the deal for me. I'll take whatever worthwhile opportunities are around and that's boat based stuff here.