casts_by_fly

I just put 10 lb 832 on my bfs reel after liking it in 30 and 50 on other rods. I really like it as a line and I’ll put it on my spinning reels when the yozuri on them is done. It’s like using sewing thread it’s so fine and limp compared to 4 carrier.

The only thing that limits me throwing on all year is heavy grass in the summer. When it’s still well grown but not abusively thick I’ll work one through it. Eventually there is so much that your blade is hung as it hits the water and it’s just not efficient to throw one.

I went out yesterday to start getting things set up. It was a crappy day to be fishing- 15 mph wind, low 40's water temps. If it hadn't been for the new electronics setup I would have stayed home. As it was, I went to a little 20 acre lake that I learned of and fished twice last year. Based on the wind direction there is a steep mountain it would be in the lee of. Great plan. Two other kayaks had the same plan. I didn't even get out of the truck when I saw that they were both fishing. The lake is 20 acres, but its like a figure 8 with a pinched middle. One lobe is shallow and muddy, so doesn't hold fish much at all, so that would have put 3 of us sharing 10-12 acres. Not my cup of tea. Went past another new to me lake that I thought would be protected and it wasn't. I will leave it on the list to explore another day, but not this day. So I ended up at one of my locals that even if the wind was blowing whitecaps I know the lake well enough that I'm not exploring the lake too, just the conditions and the electronics. It was 1-2' whitecaps and 15 mph steady with gusts to 25. So with that context, there wasn't a lot of fishing going on. After I launched I pulled into a quiet cove to set up the head unit settings as much as I could. Got the new helix 9 dialed in and its great. The side imaging really does make a difference with the bigger transducer over the helix 7 and the compact transducer. The 7 gave great images, but the bigger transducer on the 9 makes them look just like the Humminbird sales brochure. I was clearly picking out schools of fish as I was motoring by in 8' of water. And, in places I wouldn't have expected them. This lake is largely a mud bottomed bowl that is 3' at the shoreline and 12' in the middle. Most of the lake is <8' and flat bottom. Lots of grass (some of it is already 2' off the bottom). There are 2 spots with significant rock cover that the smallies sit on. These fish were a school and were roving. Not sure what they were- could have been bass or crappie. It was so windy that I couldn't get a good read as I was moving by. I stopped and found them with live imaging briefly, but keeping them in the cone is a challenge. Overall the live imaging is (I think) going to be really good. I started in shallow water looking into deeper water and it was tough. Spotlock was critical for me to just hold a position in that wind. In 3' of water I was getting a lot of noise reflecting from the surface and back down. I played with a lot of settings and angling the transducer down one notch seemed to be the best solution. I also found that 'auto' tended to just have the best overall image quality. So I'm going to leave it there for now and just play with the brightness and contrast auto offset a little. Perspective/landscape mode is really cool. I think I could really like that on a day when its not blowing a gale. I can see that being super useful under docks and on big flats. Kinda like a live 360 view. I don't think down view is going to be quite as important to me, but I don't know yet. I just need to use it. The FS mount is good. Its very sturdy on the rail. I had to get longer bolts to get it into my rails, but once mounted its very solid there. The ability to remove it easily is great since I truck bed my kayak and the electronics go in the cab. On the water, I still haven't figured out if I will take it out of the water each time I'm moving between spots. I'm within the speed tolerance of the mount, but at 4 mph its drag that I just don't need. The problem is where to put it. The pole is 36" long plus handle and transducer. I'd ideally like a 40" pole even. When I take it out, the transducer is at my feet laying longways in the front well. The handle is past the motor head. Not that big of a deal, but it means the front well is starting to get a little cramped. Same when loading and unloading on the water. With the rods on the left and the transducer sitting somewhere, and the helix on the right, it means its a lot harder to beach the nose of the boat and walk out the front onto shore. Lots of my lakes have ramps and docks, so less of an issue, but for land launches its something to consider. The other thing with it (and the sniper pole would fix this) is that I haven't decided which way I want the handle to face relative to the transducer. Visually its best with the handle at 6 o'clock and the transducer at 12. That way the transducer faces the bow and the handle points the opposite way. If I want to fish the port side though, the handle is at 3 and as far away from me as it can get. I can use my fingers to grab at the base of the handle to turn, but that means bending down and less fine adjustment. A solution is having the handle at 9 and the transducer at 12 (how I started on the water) but then the handle is right over the face of the helix in normal forward orientation. I could bring the FS mount further forward on the rail ahead of the helix, but then I'd have to either turn around to see the screen or be constantly reaching forward to adjust the FS handle. Mid day I swapped from 9/12 to 6/12 and I think that's the better way for being spotlocked most of the time, but I normally fish out of the left side of the boat when power fishing so its the worst for that. Long story short, I'm going to drill 4 screw holes at 90 degrees and play with it on the water. I'll fish it one way and then another for a while. I think I can rule out the 3/12 position, but let's see. TLDR: So far so good, need a lot more time on the water to dial in and assess.

For medium creeks and small rivers I prefer more length. And if you’re bait dunking especially so again. For what you’re saying, I’d be using a 1/8-3/8 7’ light spinning rod and a 1000 sized reel. That’s my go to for trout when I need to fish any type of weighted bait like two spit shot and small worm.

glad you like it. When you get the head turner give us a good comparison. I’ve considered upgrading my Bucoo to the expert more than a few times but haven’t.

sip tequilla just send an email out that they have fortaleza single barrel resposado just in stock if you need some

There would be a good prank for a tournament angler with a camera crew in the boat. Put the unit on display/practice mode that comes from the manufacturer and let it roll!

man, you southern guys have me itching to get out with dreams of 55 degree water. We're in the low 40's and while there are fish to be had, the spray up over the bow isn't so nice.

for whatever reason, 8 up and 10 down has been the only reliable tie for me. I've tried as few as 5 or 6 and as many as 12. I don't know what the physics of the knot is and I'd love to see it if an enterprising fisherman was also a knot junkie with FEA software. Until then, I'll use the one that has worked for me (just like all other things in fishing). I used to tie a blood knot for years on fly tippet (where you were using two similar diameter lines of mono/fluoro) and it works great. Have you tried it on thin braid like a 10 lb? A blood knot is super quick to tie and easy to tie correctly

I don’t carry them that small. If I’m going that small it’s for crappie with a little Bobby garland and a 1/16 oz. I probably should pick up a pack to have them, but that’s just not my bag.

If you mean built in for navigation lights I would do it in a heartbeat. I put them on my autopilot in the front and put a flip up in the back. In a bass boat with power poles I’d have led strips up front and a power pole mounted white light in the back. Then you never bother with checking separate poles, putting them out when it gets dark, etc. just flip a switch and you’re good.

same here for me. I fish them bigger and smaller but the 3.8 is my go to. And if I really need it smaller you can nip the head back a little. You can’t stretch them back out.

I primarily use an Alberto knot. 8 turns up, 10 turns back, direction back through the initial hole makes a difference. Follow those rules and it holds up just fine for me in most circumstances and it’s much easier than an Fg knot. where it has fallen down lately for me is on really fine braid and thin line. Using 10 lb 832 and 0.010 tippet I couldn’t get the knot to stay tied. Mostly it was one or the other line cutting the mono not sure what I was doing wrong or if it was a bad piece of the mono but I couldn’t get it to tie. The fg was just fine.

Part three complete now. I got the shaft mount in today and rigged it all up this evening. @FryDog62 suggested the fisherman specialities mount and I think it’s going to be great. I need to adjust it on the water but I think it will be close. I also need to play with the position of the helix vs the arm and if one is in front or back. I use the bottom pivot on the mount to swing the unit up and down whether I am standing fishing or running spot to spot. It might not work that way with the new big helix but I’m going to try it and see where it goes. The wiring was a monster for a kayak. The live transducer has solix plug ends so it needs an adapter. Then the adapter and the plug coming from the transducer have the same male ends so you have to use the long cable that comes with the transducer unit which is 15’ long or something stupid. I can bury that inside the boat but it means the same cable going in and back out of the boat. combined with the power cord, that means three holes through a through hull fitting that was made for two. I made it work but it’s not a clean as I wanted. I also need to tidy up the cables but not until I’ve got the locations set for everything.

I do the same with chatterbaits and crankbaits. I'll just sharpie right on the blade or the body what the depth or weight is. It will wear off eventually, but I'll know when I pull it out of the box and that's all that matters.

There are times on a couple of the lakes here where I just turn it off. I know them well enough that I know exactly what depth i'm sitting in at any given spot. I know how I want to fish it. Often its casting to visible cover near the shoreline. Sometimes its in the dark and I don't want the light. In all those cases there is no need for it so I just don't use it. Now that I've added live imaging I will go back through those places in the same conditions and times but with live imaging to see what I'm missing.

Sharpie on the cork. That will take care of it.

That was my thinking. Like most things in nature there is some trigger that starts each development cycle. Often it is temperature since temperature regulates chemistry and chemistry regulates biology. Light and day length is usually the other (especially with plants). In this case, I suspect the eggs need a certain minimum temperature to 'ripen' and be ready but also need a certain duration above that minimum temp. What those temps and times are I don't know (I'd love to read the research) but those combined with the light levels for a place seem to average all out to a month long window for a given place for the spawn to fluctuate in on average. I know up here the first week of May the fish are close but you're going to struggle to find active beds by cruising the shallows (can't speak to deeper). At the end of May there are still fish on beds if you look, but most are gone. By mid june the fish have all lost the 'skinny belly look' of a post spawn fish. Between the start and end of May though I'm sure there are fish in all phases through the month (and it varies by lake too).

In another thread, TOXIC posted about Lake Anna in VA. Anna has a hot side and a cold side due to releases of powerplant water. It was 60's at the start of March. Other lakes in the area will be 40-45 at that point in time. So same sunlight but 20+ degrees different. I think that would make a fascinating case study. Not only is the water much! warmer than surrounding bodies of water but the warming rate will be much slower in the 'spawning' time of year. Toxic alludes to it that the spawn happens earlier and lasts longer, but I'd love to see an actual study on it. I think its a combination of a minimum time for eggs to develop, a minimum temperature threshold, and a minimum light level (daylight hours per day) for the place you're in. If the water here in NJ was suddenly 65 degrees (sudden discharge of water from a power plant that sprung up overnight for example) I don't think the bass would be spawning tomorrow. They would be earlier than normal (early to mid may) but not immediate. If the water stayed that temp year round (or held a minimum 60F year round), I think in a couple years the bass would be spawning in march.

i think probably but I haven’t held the fast actioned one. I’ve considered it a lot, but just went to the head turner. I think @BrianMDTX has the all round fast

if I'm going to go down that route, I'm just going to use a launchable and towable boat trailer. That dolly doesn't look like something I'd tow down the highway, so you still have to load and unload it from the truck onto the dolly. If that's the case just drop it at the water's edge and not worry about the dolly. I guess maybe I don't fish any waters where it would be relevant.

Assuming you’re talking a 5” senko, then I would hold back on buying the all around until you try to fish them on the expert head turner. It would be a pretty good rod for all of them. The finesse jig is also a great rod for similar purposes and a little lighter heads/power. I tend to like to cast lures a little heavier in the weight range so the head turner is a 1/2 oz chatter bait rod for me while the finesse jig is 3/8. The finesse jig will cast an unweighted fluke a mile. I like it for single hooks, just not the extra heavy wire ones. For a lighter style swim jig or 3/0 standard wire worm hook it’s a great rod.

I have the Bucoo sr version (trapcaster). I’ve described it a bit at length in some other threads and you also asked about the expert version so there might be differences beyond just the graphite itself. That said, I have the pitching stick/head turner in both and they are similar so I’ll extrapolate that comparison here. The trapcaster has a light tip. You can throw down to 1/4-5/16 oz total weight pretty easily. A 1/8 head plus 3.3 keitech is no problem. It also has a fairly significant butt section for the bottom third of the rod. I landed an 8 lb striper with it the first year I used it. Where I struggle a bit is the mid section of the rod. Falcon calls it a long tapering mid section. What it feels like to me is that with a casting level of force the tip will flex freely and that feels great. When you get just a little past that level of force the amount of blank that bends isn’t proportional to the amount of increased force. Just a bit more force bends a lot further down the blank than your expect. That’s fine (great?) for treble hooks because it casts like a fast action but sets the hook like a more moderate action. As such, I use it for lipless cranks mostly and then other smaller cranks up to a dt6 mostly (happy to fish a dt10 on it). The first year I fished it I used it for most anything from smaller trebles, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits, and even light pitching work with lines ranging from 10 to 17 lb (mostly mono, some fluoro). It worked for all but nothing wowed me. The softer mid section was always a bit of a limiter. last year I put 30 lb 832 braid on it and that changed a lot. It still has the light tip to cast little things a long way. It will reliably cast a 1/2 oz red eye shad over 40 yards. The braid has obviously upped the sensitivity of the total setup and makes the softer mid an asset and not liability. I keep it for the same main purposes I said above. This time of year, it gets a snap with either a RES or a smaller DT depending on where I’m fishing. Then by the end of May I put it away as the grass is too much to throw those baits here (I’ll throw them on my Hudson special which gets carried year round if I have an opportunity). I’ve asked around a couple places and the expert/cara versions are a lot of the same for action and overall power. They are more crisp and sensitive but otherwise are similar. That meshes with the head turners. For what I use it for, I haven’t been convinced to spend another $200 to buy the expert when I have the bucoo already. The bucoo does what I need just fine for the 3 months I get to use it. I think the head turner is a better designed rod. The bend profile is smoother to me. Yes it’s a faster action but it feels more consistent as you load it up. what do you want to use it for? If it’s anything specific and not ‘all around’ purposes then there is probably a better choice in the falcon lineup.

Norway. Teslas are the most popular manufacturer there. Norway is also ~80% electric vehicles.

If beavers are considered creatures, then the palmetto bug or the SK rage bug are my two in the boat. I caught a few last year on the bandito bug as both trailer and texas rig, but the durability sucks and I don't buy another pack when these are done. Excited to try the space monkey this spring. Its a little bigger than I'd normally grab, but the rage tails will move water so I'm sure it will work. Just have to decide when I want to throw it. I'm also loving the look of the rage ned bug, but that's more as a trailer on a finesse jig. I'm sure it would also work on a straight ned head, but I'm not there yet.