casts_by_fly

awesome area. I grew up fishing the Yough in western PA, but live in NJ now so looking to start exploring the Delaware. That might be next weekend's trip. I've long since put the fly rod down for bass, but for next season (if I get to fishing the Big D more) it would be a blast to get it back out.

I decline them. I only put stickers on the kayak of things I truly support- local breweries.

size and part of the country will help. Also if you know what forage are in the lakes would be good. it doesn't take a lot of cover or structure to concentrate fish. Put yourself in the bass's position and pick out what the best place to hide would be to ambush baitfish. that's where bass will be. If there is a little bed of lilies, then there are fish around or in it. If there is a concrete wall, then there are fish around it. They'll hide in the first and use the second as a barrier. Heck, if there is a single concrete block or tire in the middle of the lake that is otherwise sand, you'll have a couple bass on it. Bass will relate to a black line painted around the outside of a white tank. For me mentally, I like to throw at some type of cover so that's what I'd be doing myself. I'd figure out a way to get access to the water in lake(s) 2 because no one else is.

for good, fresh summer corn its just boil until tender (about 6 minutes) and salt/butter. I love most of the other options above at other times, but with good fresh corn there is nothing like butter and salt.

This for me. A slow cooker on its own doesn't develop any browning or malliard reaction. It is more like boil in a bag. It does offer convenience. So I'll use a slow cooker for things like party dips (queso!) where you just want to keep it warm. If I'm cooking, I'm in a cast dutch over that gets seared on the stovetop and then put into the oven. If anyone is looking for a set it and forget it method of cooking, sous vide is a great things to have in the arsenal. With a vacuum sealer, a sous vide machine, and a big pot or plastic tub you can do some amazing things. And, once you've put it into the sous vide, you forget about it for a while just like a slow cooker. Once sous vided, most things can be cooled and refrigerated for a couple days and heated/finished when you're ready. Its a great tool.

Probably a little if that's what you're using mostly. Mine is/was set up with 50 lb braid. A normal 3/8 pitching jig and rubber trailer is the lower limit on the rod for me with 50 lb braid (mine is an expert amistad, but the expert and cara are very similar despite the difference in ratings). It also fishes well with a 3/8 weight and a beaver. I am experimenting with lighter weights and a different reel with 17 mono to get down to a 1/4 oz and beaver, but that's more for specific lakes where I know I don't need a big setup but want a dedicated pitching rig. It isn't ideal with a quarter but its enough to pitch accurately at normal beaver pitching distances. A 3/8 swim jig with a 3.8 keitech or bigger also loads plenty but you're pushing 5/8-3/4 oz at that point. So if you are fishing a 3/8 most of the time, then I'd go to the heavy cover jig instead of the amistad. If you're throwing 1/2 oz jigs most of the time and occasionally a 3/8 then the amistad would be the choice (the HCJ would also be a good choice).

Thanks. Its just for storage and trailering, so nothing special there. He's looked for local custom canvas shops but doesn't have any locally. He's also tried the OTC covers but the issue is that 20 HP is the break between sizes. The bigger size is too big and the smaller size doesn't fit. Bit of a pickle really.

Hi all, my dad hasn’t found a cover for his mercury 4-stroke that he likes. All of the covers has seen and tried are more generic fit and end up being baggy and flappy. Does anyone know of a place that you can order custom covers for gas motors that are cut for the specific motor? for reference, it’s a 4-stroke 20 hp mercury, about 10-12 years old. thanks rick

I was browsing TW tonight and the clearance section. They have an Abu Vendetta medium for $60 and free shipping. It is a 1/4-5/8 6’6”. I’ve felt that rod before and it will fish heavier than that. For the places that your fishing and the lures you’re throwing, a 1/4-5/8 would serve you well. For another $20 you could bump up to the Veritas 7’ with the same spec which would do well also.

the amistad or the heavy cover jig were going to be my suggestions.

Nice. I remember when the tarpon series came out and they were one of the best fishing platforms. I think you’ll be happy with it. Take your time to learn it and how you like to fish. Then start adding stuff.

this is correct. I believe it is the sc2 graphite which was towards the lower end of the scale. That particular rod was designed as a lighter inshore baitcaster for redfish and trout. It’s got a good bit of bend to it and wouldn’t be ideal for most uses. It would be half decent as a crankbait rod but I would pass for what you’re doing and find a basic 6’6”-7’ medium heavy for that $60.

if you are starting the day by running 4 miles you need a boat unless you’re running 4 miles and fishing your way back. That’s an hour run in a kayak before you start to fish. If you’re running 4, fishing, and running 4 back then you’re loosing a ton of time every trip.

In fact, it looks like four of them are locked in place but whoever did it for the picture doesn't fish with them. They picked two next to each other to 'unlock' (the two nearest the viewer in the picture) and locked 4 next to each other. That's a recipe for some unbalanced wobble on this reel. the original IVCB system (IVCB4) you cannot lock and unlock. They are permanently 'on'. The Ike, STX gen 4, and maybe one more have that system, but in the new Xenons they have reverted to the IVCB4 or the Infini brake for some reason.

It is definitely a cool concept. There are a lot of watersports products out now that use the micro motors you see here. Its a similar motor to torqueedo and others. There are hydrofoils, motorized surf boards, kayak propulsion, paddleboard propulsion, etc. The technology has come a long way and lithium batteries have allowed everything to be downsized. This is a neat application for it. That said, there are some big limiting factors here. Weeds would kill it for me. A rudder mounted version isn't accessible on the water to clean them off. Neither is the transducer mount version, plus that eliminates your ability to mount a transducer there. And the price is pretty crazy. $1800 for the motor and proprietary battery. Its a cool concept and really well done, but I just don't see the market for it.

no, definitely not an idiot. Just doesn’t read instructions and is too set in his ways to see if there is a better solution. keep playing with it until you really dial it in. It’s a great setup. However, if you decide to get another Abu (or anyone else reading this), the ivcb-4 system is very different. Same concept with the plastic wheels but the 4 can’t turn off any wheels. I think they are then set lighter since they are always on. I find I have to keep my mgx on max all the time regardless of lure, line, or rod.

i just went the other way around. I have a bunch of revos and the STX gen 4 is the same as your Ike. When I just got a zillion I read everything I could find to figure out how to adjust the brakes internally… I also had to educate my dad on his chronarchs. He never realized there were internal flippers either, except his were all four ‘on’. Anytime I picked up his rod to cast he always warned me about his brakes being very loose… for me, the ivcb-6 brake in the STX/Ike is a awesome setup. I normally turn ‘on’ two of them and use the dial on the outside to fine tune. Once you play with it a little you can do some incredible things with them.

Good point. I thought he already had the 23 ah. In that case, I'd do like you said and be done with it. Its one battery to charge. The 60 AH amped battery at $379 would probably be where I'd go. Its overkill for needs, but its a solid battery and would ensure that if you're running max power all day you have a full day of fishing available.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head and now understand why the autopilot was created. In life, you can pretty much make anything work. People started with basic paddle kayaks, then pedals came out. Then people realized you could add motors. Handy people mocked things up with what they had. And then, an industry was born. All of the options you talk about can be done and every one has a drawback. Like you said, by the time you add it up, you might as well go whole hog. You either stick with a good PDL or you go whole hog and do a full trolling motor based boat. Couple things to help you down the path. Once you're on the water, having an autopilot is awesome. It is a fishing machine. If you fish offshore, then spotlock is great. If you beat the bank then cruise control and navigation is perfect. You know when you hook a fish in your boat and he pulls you just as much as you pull him and you end up in the cover you're fishing? A quick spotlock fixes that (I know you can pedal backwards too). Speed is not the bag of a kayak. If speed is your priority, then you need to get a bigwater PDL or similar water cutting kayak and not a barge like the autopilot. The bigwater with pedals will do 5.5-6 mph. The autopilot tops out at 4. That's all due to hull design. You're pretty close on your amperage calculations. On full speed the autopilot (45 lb thrust) draws 45 amps I think and does 4 mph. For the 2 miles you want to go, that's a 30 minute run and you're going to burn 25 amp-hours. On a 100 ah lithium that's roughly a quarter charge (you have 90% of the stated capacity nominally). And you'll have that getting back, so you've burned 55-60% of your battery in motoring. The remaining 25-30% of usable charge is plenty to fish around and spot lock in place. Spot lock takes nothing unless you're in current. If you were motoring and then using your pedals for fishing then you'd be in the same boat. If you go with a motor, a 100AH lithium is your starting point. I have an 80 and can get by because I fish a lot of smaller water and I have a battery meter to keep an eye on. I wish I had just gone 100 and I'd never worry. If you go autopilot, just get the 136. Its 4 lb heavier but you get 12" in front cockpit and 6" in the back well. Its marginally faster by 0.1-0.3 mph from what I hear, but I can't confirm that. The only functional downside is the size. Its a big boat and a heavy boat. Its closer to a boat than a kayak at times. I can mostly use boat ramps to launch from the bed of the truck, so I only have to lift it in and out semi empty (battery and seat in the boat, motor and gear already removed and in the truck). Even still, its 150 lb that I'm moving If you're loading it with the motor and your fishing gear, it's a 200 lb boat to move on a kayak cart. That's a lot.

The biggest lake in NJ is 2600 acres. There are two more right at 2000 acres, though one of them is a big oval bowl that's 150' deep and most of the lake is deeper than 40' (so far less than 2300 acres fishable for bass) and the other doesn't have a public ramp. From there you get down to 1200 acres and that lake is 15' low right now, so its more like 800 acres. The sweet spot for lakes around here is the 200-400 acre range. Also, of all the lakes there are only a couple that don't have HP restrictions. Many are electric only.

some of you guys had me questioning my sanity on this one so I had to grab a rod. Pinkie and ring finger on either side of the trigger (pinky behind, ring in front, but both touching the trigger), middle finger and index finger even with the front of the reel (middle under the blank and index on top), thumb wraps over the top of the reel. Its pretty close to CC's picture above but I can't see the underside. If I'm fishing bottom contact my index finger is under the line and even holding it up a little bit. If I'm fishing a moving bait, I have the tip of my index finger on the blank in front of the seat.

If I put a group 31 into my kayak I'm not sure I could get in myself! I'd be pushing weight capacity on the boat.

give me the highest, finest cork I can get my hands on. I've still got a bag of AAA rings downstairs I think. If you like pits and marks in your grip then you just enjoy them. For me, a pristine smooth piece of unblemished cork is a rare and beautiful thing. Winston flyrods of the 90's and early 2000's had some great cork. Cork is a wood product and I look at it like other wood products. Some woods are supposed to be highly figured and variable in color (birdseye maple, black walnut gunstocks). Some wood products aren't. Cork should be dead smooth, no pits, no voids.

same as above, but I'd go one step further and put a little dielectric grease on the connections when you put them back together. Anything electric and exposed to water and elements has a hard life. A little dielectric marine grease will help keep the water and air off the connections.

What they have all said. I decided to fish swim jigs a lot this year and get better with them. For me, I almost have to have some breeze or chop to have any faith in a spinnerbait. When the wind is still then a swim jig is my choice. We have tons of vegetation here and only the pointiest swim jigs will get through it clean. Spinnerbait blades are useless ones the grass is more than a month old- you’re hung too often. An arkie head or other head just grabs too much grass every cast. A Texas rig would probably work some times too in those situations, but a swim jig has a profile like a bluegill and you can really swim it up and down the column, run it down a grass channel, and then kill it over a hole. Then set the hook before it hits the bottom.