casts_by_fly

Thanks guys! Dark Sky is my usual and I find its pretty good, especially with 24-48 hours outlooks. BUT, 1- apple bought it and integrated it into apple weather but took out a lot of the data and details that I use and 2- the air pressure is always in MB and I prefer to read inHg. Separately I use windfinder to look at wind (its excellent at that). This looks like its all tied up in one place with everything I'd use in a format I like to see. I'll be exploring it.

I buy Siebert jigs so I skip all of those steps and just fish them. When I tied it on I'll splay the weed guard a little and mash it down closer to the hook point, but that's about it. I like the length Mike ties at and the hooks are A1 out of the pack.

As Chris said, Alconites are a good choice. Not sure how small you plan to go of what line you're putting through it, but somewhere in the 4 or 5 size for the main running guides would be about right. If you're not running braid to leader and not fishing in ice cold temps then you might be able to get away with a smaller guide, but the law of diminishing returns doesn't give you a whole more more benefit as you go that small at the cost of a little durability and not being able to use leaders connections later. If you really want to go all out and money is no object, then titanium frames and torzite rings are even lighter. And you could downsize a half size since the inserts are so thin. Again, law of diminishing returns comes at a cost. In this case, $7 a guide. I've done a few rods in the past when you could get titanium frames SiC guides in the concept series and they are phenomenally light. But they were specialized rods and needed the weight reduction (a 10'6" ultralight for steelhead for a gentleman who had grip issues for one).

Where did you get this weather summary? I've been looking for something like this all year but not found quite what I want. This is perfect.

i run the same but with the 20x20” bag. I had a previously mounted mighty mount track and a spare omega rod holder. The pair keeps the net exactly in the same place no matter how rough the water or how much overhanging brush I get into.

Is that also a landing 'mat' on the deck? carp anglers across the pond use them pretty much all of the time for big carp so you're not laying them on the ground (which is against the rules in most lakes).

It will be just fine. Just remember it has the shorter handles so a little lower gear ratio might be better for you cranking big baits like that.

I'd like to hear what you'd change/add/tweak to it based on what you've learned in the proceeding 48 years. I'd never heard of it until this thread, but have done some searching this afternoon and found the BR threads about it. I'd love a Q&A on it also. For instance, winter is obviously a fairly negative period overall as is mid-day. But, fishing mid-day in winter is supposedly the better time of the day (or is it)? Are there certain combinations/interractions that don't necessarily follow the trend?

We don't have a ton of wood here in most lakes and the vegetation, while abundant, is not heavy/sturdy. We don't have canes or heavy reeds. The worst we have is lily pads and curly pondweed. For sliding through and cutting through pads/milfoil/eeelgrass/pondweed braid is far better than mono/fluoro. I don't see any problem with noise personally. I run 832 braid (50 for pitching and frogs, 30 for my crankbait rod). Its noisier, but not something that bothers me.

This is me. I'm in a kayak and I have a shorter handle net than you'd want on a boat, but I have a 20"x20" bag rubber mesh net. If I'm fishing single hooks and catch a 15" or under I will probably swing it straight into my hands if its not flipping out. Almost certainly if I'm using my heavier rods and braid while pitching. If its treble hooks and over 12" then its going into the net. I'm not dealing with a wound up fish throwing a rear treble into my hands while the front is still in his mouth. I also unhook the fish first, but I almost always clear the hook from the net next to avoid any tangles and re-hooking. The wide mesh rubber net I have is always easy to untangle unless you've managed to stick the hook into the actual rubber itself (happens once or twice a year). So for me, fish goes into net, rod goes into holder, fish gets unhooked (never leaves net/water), hook leaves the net, camera or scale if needed, release fish. Its easier for me to keep the net in the water since I'm so low to it so I can see how that might not work for a boat guy.

My first bass of the year and PB smallie came this year to the same. RES on a point/dropoff and yo-yo style. 40 degree water and a 4-03/20" smallmouth. I really should fish a lipless more than I do. Growing up we fished Traps in the ponds from ice out until the vegetation prevented it and we hammered a lot of bass. Anytime I'm fishing a pond in the spring I still throw one. In the boat though, i seem to gravitate to lipped crankbaits more. I should definitely be bouncing a lipless down a point pre-spawn, but can't help throwing a chatterbait or other lipped crankbait instead.

If you have a 7" then you need to upgrade anyway to use megalive as I don't think there is a 7" helix compatible with megalive (not to mention the size). I'm in the same boat as I have a helix 7 G3. I want 360, but it means a head unit upgrade plus the 360 transducer or about $2500 in spend (less whatever I'd get selling my helix7, probably $200 or so). In that case if you're set on a live unit of some type you're basically starting from scratch again. I've seen the same. I'm not as good at reading the blobs on DI so I mostly use it for bottom and cover. When I am actively scanning something I found on SI, I will split screen 3 ways with navi for the waypoints and DI/2D for visuals. Then I can look at both together to compare and not worry if one is showing something that the other isnt. I think depth plays a role too, especially below 25' or so. I've had occasions when crossing a big lake I can see the fish in 2D suspended (usually trout and lake trout in a lot of places) but swapping to DI is a blank screen. What TeneseeBoy said above is probably in play there with the wider beam on DI not having the same return power as 2D. Swapping from Mega frequency to 800 or 400 kHz returns more, but since that isn't where I'm using DI (I don't care about deeper than 25' since I won't be fishing it) I'm not messing with it.

looks like you're looking for places to buy components and not built rods. Mudhole is big and easy. Always a good retail choice. Jann's will have things at times. Schneiders rod shop was a good one. One good way to find retailers is to use the various manufacturer's 'find a retailer' links. Batson blanks for instance has a page for their retailers.

use it and see how you like it. Maybe your preferences are different to mine. For me, jig or worm rods need to have a light tip (which this has) but then lock up pretty quickly as you apply pressure. This rod (and the 5 power Trapcaster) have nice light tips for casting purposes but very quickly after that you're into the middle of the rod. I think Falcon calls it a long tapering mid section if I remember right. The lizard dragger is better than the Trapcaster in that it has more power higher up so you're not into the butt of the blank as quickly but its a similar action. I wouldn't worry about breakage. I've read that by a couple vocal people on a FB group or two, but given the number sold I'm not worried. I have the trapcaster, pitchin stick, and lizzard dragger in the bucoo SR lineup. I've fished them pretty hard and not had a single issue. If it breaks the first time you're using it then that's a defect (and falcon will take care of you). If it breaks after you've fished it a bit then it's probably been damaged in use (and they'll still probably take care of you).

The SLP and bucoo will be a good combo, though maybe not for what you want. That rod is a great moving bait rod. It was my go to 1/2 oz chatterbait or big spinnerbait rod last season and I still use it for that sometimes. It works as a big crankbait rod for things like dt16/20 baits. It was designed as a Carolina rig rod, though that’s not one of my usual techniques. I’ve thrown jigs and Texas rigs on it (standard thick wire 4/0-5/0 hooks) but the action isn’t ideal for that. The mid section of the rod starts to flex pretty quickly so going from basically slack line to hookset means a hero hookset to get good penetration. Moving baits like a chatterbait are better.

Medium power fast action? 3/8 chatterbaits, smaller Crankbaits (bombers, small squarebills, etc), lipless Crankbaits. Small topwaters. Finesse jigs. Lots of good uses.

the siebert shot caller and swim jig are in the range. the shot caller will be about the same size as the no-jack, but its on a 4/0 hook instead of the no-jack 5/0. They are a pretty standard sized jig as you get them, but you can trim down the skirt if you want a short jig. They have a weedguard comparable to a regular jig. The mini swim jig is a smaller/thinner/lighter version in all aspects but still on a 4/0 hook. I have a bunch of the shot caller and use them as one of my two standard swim jigs. The other is the Strike king tour grade. I ordered a bunch before I started with the Siebert jigs. They are a good light wire option (though they only go to 3/8 oz if that matters to you).

Any reason why you wouldn't just get MegaLive instead? I find the Humminbird imaging for side and down to be best in class and wouldn't want to give that up.

Jerkbait for one. I never threw them and never tried, but they catch fish. So this year I'm going to make more of an effort on them. A-rig. I started fishing one last year a bit but it was a hashed together rig to try it out. Now that I have a feel for fishing it, I'm going to actually fish it harder in the spring in a few places.

I have a couple of them in the box still and they do catch a bunch of fish. They are dynamite as a small stream smallmouth lure. They are harder to walk but completely doable if you don’t go too stiff with your line. I used to use 4 lb trilene xl and a 5’ ultralight spinning rod. Tons of fun for 8-15” smallies in a small stream. the other suggestions above are great. Another to consider is the 3” sluggo and a light wire J-hook. It won’t float but it walks like crazy. And the slow fall when you stop it can drive them nuts.

Falcon expert head turner. 6’10”. Labeled heavy but it’s closer to MH than heavy. Does all of the things you mentioned and then some.

In that case, I’d suggest the next power up, something 6-12 and medium power. It’s a big jump in heft in the rod but a 4-8 lb test lite action steelhead rod is t going to turn a 10 lb channel cat heading for a logjam in time.

How big of catfish and how much cover? Some steelhead rods have been specialized for Great Lakes fish while some are east coast style. West coast tend to be heavier power with more power down low. Great Lakes style tends to be slower action or less power down low. A normal Great Lakes rod is designed for 4-8 lb test and light floats. Two specific rods I’ve fished are the st croix 10’6” UL /slow and the 9’ L/mod and they are typical of the style. I’ve landed big fish with both, but in open water with no major cover. Both make for great big stream float rods and if you’re only talking undercut tree roots and 5 lb cats then I think the 9’ light would be a good choice. If you’re fishing log jams and bigger fish then you’ll need to up the power a bit.

i fish the same on my kayak (g3 version). It’s a good choice for a kayak and not a bad choice for a bigger boat. Image quality is great. You can really tweak it if your willing to put in some time to play with it. Default settings are quite good but you can really get it good, especially considering the size of the unit and the transducer. I use it for side imaging to see structure and cover that I don’t know is there. Also great for defining dropoffs and weed edges. It has two main limitations and possibly a minor one. The size is the first. I like to split screen and having side imaging plus either down or Navi while looking for stuff. Navi to waypoint it and down imaging to see a different view. A 7” screen is a little smaller than I’d prefer for that. A 9 would be a lot better though pushing the limits of too big for a kayak. If I were to do it again, I’d go 9 and work around the size. The second is touch screen. It takes longer to learn the nuances and navigation with a button driven layout. Touch is a lot faster, especially if you’re trying to mark waypoints, watch imaging, and keep a head up for boats. the minor one is compatibility. If you are going to run 360 or live in the kayak, I don’t think the 7 will do it. You need an 8n or bigger I think.

if there is any flex to the seat along the crack, I’d get some 60-minute epoxy and a hose clamp. Use a toothpick to get as much epoxy as far into the crack as possible and then clamp it tight with a hose clamp until the crack shuts. Wipe any excess away and let it sit for 2r hours before you remove the clamp.