casts_by_fly

thanks. At 2700 acres Hopatcong is by far the biggest lake around and the only truly unlimited horsepower lake that it makes sense to have a big boat (the couple others are <200 acres and shallow). There are plenty of coves and islands. All of it, minus about a mile stretch is ringed by lake houses and docks. There are a dozen marinas on the lake also. It adds up to a lot of boats on the lake. It’s not a place for the feint of heart. I’ve had 30’ cigar boats pass so close at full speed that the wake was starting to roll me before I could even sit down. I’ve had wakes come over the bow and fill the inside of my kayak (scupper holes sorted it in 10 seconds). The wake boats start at first light and don’t stop. if you have experience on the water and a boat to handle it (plus the patience of a saint) then there are fish to be had. They are chunky due to the baitfish and you never know what’s going to eat your lure. But it’s not for a novice.

like in the other lake, always consider the accuracy of the data and the source before you put too much into it. It could have been one boat passing over that spot at 6 mph with an old sonar scanner that took that reading. Those micro points you’re pointing out may or may not actually be there. that said, on the assumption that the data is good, yes those would be worth checking out. In the second picture, that’s a deep water flat. Where that meets the steep drop from shallow would be my starting point. The fish will use that steeper section to move between shallow water on top and deeper water below. 55 degree water in the spring and the fish will be somewhere around there depending on the day. In the first picture I’m less interested in what you circled. That’s basically a bluff wall from the looks of it. If there was cover on it then great, otherwise I’d be on the other side of that ravine where it’s 16-18’ and drops off the cliff. That’s a classic ledge and the fish should stack up there in the summer. as to how things like this form, remember that if you take the water away you’re left with earth. Go for a walk in the woods and you’ll see plenty of places where the hillside has a ditch, a hole, uneven soil (chunks of rock in a soil hillside and vice versa). The buried strata is hard in some places and soft in others. When the lake filled up, some of the soft stuff gets washed away and you’re left with the underneath bits.

shore access is tough in this area generally and was one of the reasons I got my kayak. Some lakes are heavy with lake houses, docks, and private land (Hopatcong, cranberry, Musconetcong, etc). Some have really steep terrain that make access tough (monksville, split rock, lots of the Newark watershed lakes). Some are a bit of both (big Swartswood). Spruce run and round valley offer a lot more shoreline access since both are state parks. Spruce was rough last year as it went 22’ below full pool due to lack of rain. Round valley has been drawn down that far for two or three years now with the dam work going on, but guys are still catching fish there from shore (mostly trout on bait). Both are decent candidates for shore fishing as some of the places you can access the lakes actually have decent cover and structure near access areas. Both will be incredibly tough for bass from now until April (as will most of this area until then). I would advise sorting out your kayak as it will offer a lot more access than you’ll ever find on foot. Hopatcong has a lot of bass in it, and there are some good ones caught in most tournaments. You need 15-20 lb to win a tournament there (over 20# prespawn). Below is the link for north east bass masters who run Thursday and Sunday tournaments there. Basically every tournament has at least one 5+. Biggest lunker was 6.2#. There is a ton of baitfish in that lake (alewife and golden shiners) which is why the hybrids are doing so well. If you can deal with the people and other boats you can get into fish. This was a selection from early may this year when it was pouring down rain and blowing a gale on a Saturday. There were still a bunch of boats out. I managed some bass throwing a chartreuse and white spinnerbait at docks (one on a jig pitching to one of the three trees in the lake). The weather was so bad I had to spot lock to make a cast, fish it back, move 10’ and repeat. The wakeboarders started at 6:30 that day in full wetsuits. Given the other lakes I mentioned above, it’s not worth my aggravation. The state puts muskies in a handful of places. Off the top of my head, monksville, greenwood, echo, canistear, mountain, Oxford, manasquan, Delaware river, and Hopatcong are the big ones. I’m not a musky expert, so I just see what others are catching on the web and while I’m out fishing. Check out the DEP musky site for details. http://www.northeastbassmasters.com/id175.html

I live 20-30 minutes away depending which part and in 2021 I fished it a ton. Last year only once or twice. If you’re shorebound, forget it. Almost the entire lake is private shoreline and houses/docks. Where you can access it from shore isn’t worth fishing. If you’re in a motor boat then you have some options and it’s worth fishing, though there are some caveats. If you’re in a kayak then it’s going to be a hard day on the water. For the caveats (boat and kayak)- it’s the biggest lake in the state, there are ten tons of other people on the water, and the bass see dozens of lures per day. That might be some exaggeration, but from shortly after ice out until the end of September there are Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday tournaments most weeks. From the middle of may to the middle of September there are pleasure boats on the water daily. Forget summer weekends. When I fished it hard in 2021 I would launch around 3 am and get most of my motoring while it was dark to get away from my put in. Then I’d fish my way around and back towards the truck. Most of the time the wake boarders would be on the water at or right before sunrise. Party boats shortly after. If it was a tournament day you’d hear the bass boats a mile away at first light. I would normally fish until 10 or so and call it. All of that is my way of saying that while there are lots of bass in the lake, there are plenty of other lakes around that also have lots of bass without all of the aggravation. Now, if you are going for a multi species day then I would revise my opinion. In one day I’ve caught largemouth, smallmouth, hybrids, white perch, crappie, pickerel, perch and walleye. All while fishing for bass with Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters. I caught two 24” walleye on a plopper. There are also muskies in there though I haven’t gotten one yet. I would still rather not deal with the crap there, but if you’re just going fishing to see what you catch then it will add some interest.

the Passaic is dirty enough that they won’t see it.

There is a lot of that kinda of stuff on this lake it seems. This spring I'd be in this area. All of those steep cuts leading into pre-spawn flats. I'm not an expert on them, but I bet rolling an A rig through there might be the ticket.

With the cat out of the bag for what lake it is, here is the Fishermap of the bigger lake I was referring to with the creek channel pockmarks down the lake. You can't convince me that every one of those is actually a depression on the bottom. Navionics pretty much agrees. There are depressions, but its nowhere near as pronounced or as localized as the fishermap. And here is a side by side of the same point further up the lake to illustrate it better. I generally trust navionics to be pretty close.

So I'm not the OP and I'm not going to put out what lake it is, but with a little guestimation and 10 minuets of time looking at maps, I've found the spot. I'm going to pose an alternative hypothesis that no one has put out yet- quality of data. And the only way to confirm that will be for the OP to get on the water with a depth finder and map it himself. Original image: My own image from same website (his 40' teardrop at top matches my bottom of the three): Google earth/terrain shows flat all around, though right at the water line there is a bit of a bluff. Looking at this lake zoomed out, it appears to be a missouri bluff style lake similar to Lake Truman or Lake of the Ozarks. I can't snip google earth small enough for some reason, but you can see actual minor cuts like this all up and down the shoreline for the whole lake. I suspect those are actual erosion cuts, but we're talking 10-20' wide. There are also 3 boats on this quarter mile strip, so its not an unknown honey hole. You can also see these much larger drains in the depth map on fishermap all over the lake. But if you look critically at them as a whole instead of one by one, you can see that they follow the creek channel down the whole lake. When you compare vs Navionics, it is a much more smooth view of the lake: I recon that there IS some under water variation on the bottom, but that the fishermap depth map has limited data points. Its taken the main lake creek bed spots that are deep and in between extrapolated that the cuts run right up to the shoreline. Navionics probably has better data and more data points to make a smoother graph. Unfortunately, the only way to really confirm it is to map it in person (or talk to someone who has fished it and can confirm it). <\internet sleuthing off> thanks rick Here is a little snip from google maps.

I don't mind the light stainless rings for light mono and my 7'6" ultralight has them. I don't know if they are braid rated, but I wouldn't use them for anything more than 10 lb and ML applications. They don't feel sturdy enough for me to put any serious force on them. Given the track record with ceramic guides and how much work goes into wrapping a rod, it isn't worth the risk to me.

i bought a cheapie on amazon when I thought I was going to do my own reel maintenance and pull bearings. I never did that, but we use the cleaner all the time for my wife's jewelry and it works great. Just water.

My dad worked as a union laborer (mostly for masons) for 30 years. Aside from the various side jobs we did, one summer I worked for the same outfit. It was back breaking work and I had it easy. I learned a lot from that. 1- you can use your body to work or your brain to work. One will last a lot longer than the other (this was what he wanted me to learn to keep me in school). 2- Anyone willing to do manual labor year in and year out deserves all the respect for doing it. Its a hard life and not for everyone.

I don't even consider the rod power or anything differently when I'm in a kayak. The instant of a hookset isn't moving the boat that much compared to the slow pull of the fight, especially if you're setting the hook up and down more than side to side. A fish will pull the boat as you're bringing it in (heck, sometimes I work down a bank by letting the lure resistance move me along). If I'm pitching to specific cover then that's annoying and I'll hit spot lock. If the fish is out front and pulling me towards it is where I was going anyway then I don't bother.

The above ground topo will show you how it formed. I bet that there is a minor stream or seep that was there before the lake was flooded. It eroded down the soil/rock and that's what's left. Given the round bits at the 'bottom', I'd even suspect there might have been a waterfall there at one point as those look like plunge pools. Think something like this on a smaller scale.

Smallmouth are generally maniacs when they fight. They accelerate like a tuna or jack at any point after they are hooked. When you think he's turned a corner and given up he'll wake up and peel drag on you. Largemouth are the grouper like fighters. You hook a good one and you know you have something before he turns his head. Once you get him turned then sure he'll fight but is more of a hard dig than a screaming acceleration. The big wide tail on a largemouth is good for sudden bursts over a short distance, but the narrower semi fork of a smaller is built for speed.

Any reason you need to keep a stock on hand? Last minute builds or rushed customers? I still have a stock of guides downstairs. When Merrick, Mudhole, Angler's resource or any of the other suppliers I would use were running a sale I'd pick up a bunch at cheap prices so that I had some on hand. I'd end up using them on my own rods when I was throwing something together to try something out. They weren't bad for replacement guides if someone broke a factory rod. Depending what it was they would occasionally make it onto a customer rod (e.g. the blue ringed Amtak guides on a blank with blue trim wraps). Usually though, every custom rod was its own beast. Customers always wanted a certain thing. Technologies were changing and manufacturers were offering different things. I tried to stick to higher end builds for customers which meant what I kept on hand wasn't the right thing and my stocking higher end things like Ti SiC was a no go. If you're going to keep a stock on hand then what you plan sounds reasonable. For spiral wraps I prefer a little taller guide for the first two to keep it off the blank just a hair further (a size 10 or 12 tall usually for the first one). Otherwise what you say will work. I just wouldn't do it at all.

the salt is bad over time. It takes a while for salt to corrode metal. Sand is immediate. The fine sand that is suspended in the surf will get inside gears and any other semi tight tolerances. Since the sand is super hard and the plastics/metals relatively softer, the sand starts to make dents and scratches in all of the parts every time you turn the crank. i killed a Sahara 4000 two summers ago in North Carolina. One too many times I set it down with the butt in the water but the reel above and got it washed over with a wave. I would rinse it after every use, but that didn’t get all of the sand out. By the end of the trip it was hard to turn the handle. I took it apart when I got home and there was fine sand all through it. I cleaned and grease it all but it’s still rough.

I'm not a fan of glass or glass blends. You can do so much with the taper and wall on a graphite rod that glass is an inferior technical material IMO. I AM a fan of DT10's and its a toss up if the 10 or the 6 is my most used crankbait. I also carry a pretty full set from the 4 to the 20, but the 6-14 is the sweet spot for me. I throw them on a couple different rods depending what else I'm fishing that day (I tend to only carry 5 rods in the kayak) but given no limitations one rod I'd suggest you look at is the Falcon Expert Hudson special. In the Cara or Bucoo SR its called the deep runner. They don't offer it in the Lowrider. I have the expert version and its a fantastic rod for this range of crankbait. At 7'3" you can cast a mile. Its listed as MH/MF and I'd go with that. It might be on the slower end of MF, but not quite a true moderate action. I fish mine with a lot of different stuff through the year. Its a great medium crank rod (like DT10s), a very good lipless rod (if you prefer a softer rod for them), a good plopper rod for 90/105 size, I fish a buzzbait on mine, though often with braid, and it is a great chatterbait/spinnerbait rod if you prefer the softer end of rods for those techniques (I don't, but I don't mind them on this rod). A 1/2 oz is right on the casting sweet spot for this rod, so 3/5, 1/2, 7/16, all much of a muchness. A 1/2 buzzbait with a trailer hook and trailer ends up closer to 1 oz and flies a mile (further than you can properly set the hook at times (same with the 110 sized ploppers). They are $199 MSRP and rarely on sale, but various retailers do 10-15% off storewide. TW has 10% off giftcards so there's a savings right there. I don't know the Bucoo version so I can't recommend it but you could take a flyer on them. I can recommend the Bucoo SR 6-17 though. Its probably a little faster than you're looking since you're considering glass rods, but I use it for the bigger end of DTs at times (10-20). Good rod overall, casts a mile, sensitive enough for crankbaits (I prefer more sensitivity for bottom contact baits).

You're going to have to walk it back to the beach and put the rod butt down on the sand. Like Bulldog said, its the sand that gets you. I don't mind salt water too much with a decent reel, but sand will kill you quickly. If you're on some big flat a half mile from shore then I can see the problem. A two piece rod would help. Lots of wading jackets have a sewn in loop by your right hip. You stick the butt of the rod there. They will have a velco catch near the left breast pocket to hold the rod upright so you're hands free. With a two piece rod you could do that with the butt while you manipulate the tip. The best course of action though, is to figure out a different way. if you're line is wrapped around the tip, just use the weight of your lure or sinker to unloop it. If you're getting other tangles, fix the root cause of the problem in the first place. In the surf I almost never have to rethread rod guides.

We were taught it in elementary school and used it through high school because computers were not common enough in homes at that point. By the end of High school it was 50/50. I don't use it at all now. We were signing some mortgage documents last week and I had to script sign my name instead of my normal signature. It was hard and I had to practice it a couple times (made extra hard because we had a guys night the night before I I'm not convinced I was sober yet).

I have two that I don’t talk about one is out of production and the other is limited production. Both fill a niche that has been taken over by a few newer lures that are more popular. But sometimes the fish see those too much and just want another profile. That’s where these oldies come into the picture. I’m like a lot of others in that I’m happy to share info at the ramp. Helping one guy at the ramp isn’t going to hurt a lake, even the small ones that I fish under 100 acres. I might be more general like topwater, pitching plastics, etc, but I’ll offer more if asked.

There is not a way to convert it or add it. That’s a regular question on the autopilot Facebook group and no one has done it. don’t let that stop you from getting the AP or the helix. I have that same combo with a g3 msi helix. It’s a fishing machine.

And the result was?

Snug enough that your feet are just barely not sliding when you’re wearing the heaviest stuff you’re going to wear. For me that’s super heavy wool socks. If they are too tight it restricts circulation. Too loose and your feet will slide as you move around the stream. Depending on the neoprene bootie, the socks you’re wearing, and the cut/nomenclature from the maker you could be 3-4 sizes off your normal shoe.

Where can you get true Flor grade rings anymore? I'm not plugged in to the suppliers anymore so I don't know. I've used plenty of burl cork and colored burl. Its great for the ends of grips and accent pieces, or if you're putting cork under a reel foot. I wouldn't do a full grip of it though on anything more than a couple rings. For spinning and casting rods I'm pretty open to all materials and mixed materials. Some of the grips that Scott has pictured here (SHovanec) are awesome grips. I'm not sure I love carbon fiber since I've not fished one myself and they look slippery when wet but that's conjecture on my part. For fly rods and centerpins, I'm pretty set in my ways of high grade cork, possibly with some various accent pieces.

Different strokes indeed. When i was building rods I did a few on request but I always noticed a color and feel difference between treated and not treated. I don't have any 50's of my own (my oldest rods that I've built are ~20) but I have some of my dad's (both built and factory) that are over 50 with no issues and no U40 or other sealants in sight. Using high grade cork rings (I used a lot of Flor grade before the price went crazy) and sorting meant that most of my grips needed no filler and had no pits. And the places where cork gets damaged/degraded is always the pits or edges. I'm not sure you can even get Flor grade anymore. Mudhole lists AAAA as their top grade and its $6 a 1/2" ring. I don't mind stains in the cork, but they wash away most of the time if you mind.