casts_by_fly

the bag and hoop size looks fine. That's still a long handle and overall long net. That's basically 5' total length. You're in a 106 kayak. If you're standing it up in a crate or in rear facing rod holders then maybe its not an issue. If you lay it down the hoop will be at the rudder and the handle will be past the backrest on your seat. My Yakattack is 47" overall extended length and I'm in a 120. The grip end sits right at the backrest of my seat (I found a clever use of a spare rod holder) and the hoop almost touches the end of the rear tank well. I can try to remember a picture later today when I'm out. rick

if floating bothers you (it doesn’t me) then you can add a piece of pool noodle, use a retractor, or pick another net. The Ego nets were the other I considered. The s1 genesis large rubber with the 31” handle would be a good net. You have to unscrew the bag to compact it down but that’s a good length and size, plus it floats. The ego s2 I think has a similar one but retracting handle also.

Do you fish into NJ at all? I can sort it out for you if you get over this way. I’m in Morris county but fish on the I-78 corridor a good bit. rick

I probably wouldn’t use that net. You don’t need a 4’ handle. Consider that you won’t need a net- until you do. And when you need it, you really need it. So once I’m on the water I extend my net and have it ready for use. You’re not going to extend it while fighting a fish. In that case, you need something that is manageable and a 4’ handle plus hoop isn’t going to be. also, a wide mesh rubber net is the cats meow. I have a super collapsible fine mesh nylon net that was my favorite for a long time for trout and carp. Single bass hooks are a pain but manageable. Trebles are a no go. I had to cut a couple out last year. The rubber net with a wide mesh is fantastic for not catching hooks (or if it does it comes loose easily). for me, I went yak attack foldable with the bigger hoop (20” I think). I have a sportsman 120 and it works just enough in the rear tankwell. I sit to net fish (stand to fish) and always use my right hand for the net. My net sits with the handle next to the right side of the seat where I can grab it. My net has the offset handle. I don’t think that’s needed and I probably wouldn’t get that again. I’d rather have a straight handle and grab the net by the end. But the yak attack is a great net. thanks rick

How early in the year do you start really catching fish on them? I'm thinking the answer is 'whenever' but soft plastics and cold have never been my jam. We're up to low 50's now so was thinking of giving one a go this weekend for a bit. thanks rick

also, your profile doesn't saw where you are but absent a good shop that can help I'm sure there are plenty of enthusiasts around that would let you take theirs for a spin.

you pop the drive up and paddle then

yeah, there is the eye crosser and the bayou. One is cara, one is expert but I never remember which. Both were made for frogs on mats and heavy pitching but with the differences you noted. I think both would do double duty pretty well. The amistad expert is sweet. I put 50lb 832 braid on it because we get a ton of grass and lily pads here. It will be my main jig and plastics rod come June or July when things really get growing. In the meantime it’s throwing Alabama rigs and heavy spinnerbaits just fine. I’ll frog with it on heavy mats when it’s time.

thats a lot of good insight. My helix 7 uses the same pings to generate the side and down images and then builds them in the head unit. Bigger humminbirds have dedicated side and down images. Other units with long transducers will be the same. The benefit of dedicated is a cleaner image. I’ve not heard the advice about different frequencies (I’d assume the unit should time the pings to eliminate that). the distance info is great though. Here is an example showing down and side of the same dropoff. if you look through the grass you can see the harder bottom drop out and the corresponding widening of the dark water column. If I’m fishing a lake with a lot of changes in depth, I’ll leave it in auto width. If I’m doing something specific like charting or trying to fish a specific area I’ll dial down to a specific distance to give as much resolution on the screen as I can. The other thing to remember is the size of the thing that’s there. If you’re looking at docks with 3” poles going down into the water, you’re not going to pick up much of that on side scan, no matter how big the floating pontoons are. Steel barge piers and concrete dock/bridge supports are great ways to learn side scan. Set it up, make a pass, see what you get. Change a setting, make a pass, see what you get. The concrete isn’t moving and you’ll get a hard, clear image. Bonus- fish hang out near them so never know what you find.

I have an old town sportsman autopilot which you’ve said you don’t want because of the motor. That said, the sportsman line are incredibly stable boats. I stand and fish the entire time and motor at up to 4 mph while standing. I’ve never been close to tipping the boat. You can stand to pee like captain Morgan with one boot up on the side. It paddles fine. The rudder is handy while paddling since the boat is a bit wider and harder to turn with a paddle. The pedal version of this boat would be pretty awesome too.

This is what we have around here. Those are dt-20’s and a 1/2 oz chatterbait with a razor shad for size reference (not in the new siebert golden shiner color)

I contemplated the expert version of that rod as a pitching and frog rod. I went expert amistad instead.

interesting. Maybe just a big male, otherwise maybe an early spawner that dropped eggs last week.

Helix 7 on a yak attack mount with an extra arm. I have the base mounted pretty far up the rail but the extra arm brings it back closer to me when I sit. When I’m standing fishing I pivot at the bottom pivot and the screen is almost waist height. i would go bigger to do it again or when this one dies. When I am moving around and mapping a lake with autochart and trying to learn the bottom, I want gps, side scan, and 2d running. I can do it now with a 70/30 split in favor of side scan, but a 9” screen would be better. When I a fishing I’ll usually just leave side imaging on with a slow scroll rate so I can take a peek every now and then if I missed a piece of cover (especially the side of the boat I’m not fishing primarily)

Falcon expert 6’10” finesse jig/topwater rod. Just the right amount of power for the baits I normally fish, versatile enough to put basically anything on it, and super lightweight (whole combo is right around 9 oz fully loaded with mono). I have the 7’ 6-power expert on the way though and that might take the crown since I fish the bucoo version so much.

unless they are in the water column portion of the picture (I.e. you just went over top of them and the bright dots show against the black water column) it can be hard to pick out fish in cover on side scan. On a hard, smooth bottom you can see the darker shadows and on a soft smooth bottom the fish show up as brighter specks. In cover though with a mix of light and dark spots, it is hard to separate fish from cover. Just know they are there and fish it.

for the size of the head it does look a bit thin. Up here the water is the bottom half of the 50’s and there isn’t anything doing in less than 5’ as far as bed activity. Not even small cruising fish yet. The fish have good bellies. Could that just be a hungry fish in a pond with not enough forage?

Very cool . I like it.

very pretty gold coloration. Is that the normal color for you? Ours are more bland brownish. Thanks, rick

how are you guys fishing them? I picked up a pack of zman turbo fattyz which looked good to me and look similar to the speed worm. I was thinking Texas rigged and swim it through grass beds and edges. thanks rick

yes, this is the answer. One is now on the way to me (and a lure or two). Thanks!

Hi all, my wife gave me a corporate swag hoodie from her work. It’s a great hoodie and pretty heavy. It’s become my new fishing hoodie this year because it has a built in turtle neck/gaiter. It’s great for 60 degrees and less. Above that it’s pretty hot. I’m looking for a lighter workout shirt weight version for the mornings where it’s 50-60 but gets into the 70’s before I’m off the water. I don’t want to spend $75 for one. Any good $30-40 options out there? thanks rick

Pitching will be fine. Pitch skipping will be fine. Forehand skipping will be tough with that much length but I’m sure it’s doable if you know how to skip well enough already.

looks good to me. I just picked up a Siebert's tremor bladed jig in golden shiner and its quite similar. We have huge golden shiners around here (8-10" long) so I think it will get a lot of action this summer.

The water temp won't have changed in that short of a time, so I'd start there. I'm guessing you're around 50 or so? A cold front in chilly water when the fish haven't really moved up yet would have me looking at transition areas. This time of year the fish are somewhere between their winter spots and the spawning areas. The shallows may have cooled a bit so the fish pulled back a little. I'd start on the deeper end of the transition areas (steeper dropoffs that border spawning flats and deeper water) in that 10-12' range and go from there. A lipless isn't a bad shout and might get some reaction bites. I always have a chatterbait tied on this time of year for similar reasons. Both can be fished in 15' and in 3' so you can start in one area and just keep following the fish's path. If they are turned off you might need to swap to a jerkbait or drag a jig.