casts_by_fly

im really curious about the stop and go you experienced. I have the ap and I bass fish out of it pretty exclusively (lots of guys use them for trolling or saltwater). About the only drive based thing I would like from the PDL versions is instant reverse. On the ap you have to turn the head 180 degrees which is slightly annoying but manageable if you think about it (like going for a snag on the bank and turning the head before you get all the way in). what I’ve found super useful on the ap is cruise control paired with heading control. On a straight bank I can set a direction a couple hundred yards away, set cruise control to 0.5 mph or so and start casting. Speed up or slow down depending how much cover there is you want to hit. But I only touch the remote once and I’m good for 15 minutes. this is definitely true. I got a kayak because I couldn’t get a boat (storage). The autopilot handles much like a boat given the autopilot motor and I can launch it in places that don’t have a ramp or into places with ramps a further ride away. But it is lacking in some areas compared to a boat. I want to have my rods and tackle inside the boat when I launch. I want to keep my rain gear in the boat constantly. I’d like to be able to access all of the things I’m carrying without having to crawl to the very front or back over top of what I have. If I had a boat, I’d probably sell the kayak. I wouldn’t lose any important fisheries and I’d get the benefits above. rick

and they are supposed to be tasty I hear. 5 lb fish on the regular that taste like crappie and are an invasive fish? I’d be keeping a couple week.

I used my sahara 4000 as a steelhead and salmon reel for years without issue. I fished it for bass and trout some also. Then I took it to the beach and stuck it on a lighter surf rod. Over 2 weeks it got dunked a time or two and towards the end of the trip is basically quit working. I even rinsed it well daily (dunk in the pool to flush out salt and sand, rinse with freshwater to remove pool water). Brought it home, took it apart and there was sand everywhere inside. I used degreaser and pulled it down to parts. Every bit of sand and crust was removed. Things were starting to work again (the anti reverse bearing being one thing). The drag is pretty smooth. But the reel just isn't the same. The Sahara isn't designed for sand. There is a combination of plastic and cheaper metals inside that just don't hold up. Sand is one of the hardest minerals on earth and it does a number of metals let alone plastics. Functionally the reel works and I'll use it when I'm not steadily casting and reeling. But it was a $60 reel 15 years ago so...

Not sure your experience with fishfinders, so forgive me if this is my version of teaching egg sucking. But a couple basic things: 1- The shallower the water the more you have to be right on top of them unless you have some version of side imaging. A 60 degree cone angle (common for 2D) will have a span of about 15% more than your depth. So in 5' of water, you've got a beam covering about 5.5' wide. Assuming the fish are on the bottom, your boat has to pass directly over them. If you're in 60' of water, you get about 69' of coverage. So you get about 35' either side of the boat which is an underhand flick cast. 2- 2D is good for showing fish arches of they are off the bottom, but only if you have it set up well. I wondered for a long time why I never saw arches and just got dots. Increasing scroll speed on the FF was the answer. I now run it 2-3 speeds higher than I used to and the imaging is better. Clarity, sensitivity, contrast, and other settings in your unit will vary so look up a tutorial on your unit specifically and FF generally to dial in the settings. For me as a bass fisherman, I don't look for fish specifically, but look for cover and structure. Seeing fish is nice but not my goal. I want the clearest picture of the other stuff. That said, when I'm crossing the big lakes and just scanning I like to see what else is down there. I have a couple lakes around that I want to go troll, but just never really got into that. And when all else fails, throw a whopper plopper at dusk/dawn. Never know what you're going to catch (like this walleye and others next to it). thanks rick

If you can go 6'10" the Falcon Bucoo Finesse jig would be my choice. I have the same in the expert and its a great topwater rod. Falcon also has the Herm at 6'6" but I haven't cast it so can't tell you the action.

I was going to say pretty lures and silky line... To the original question- dirt, grease, and corrosion are what will stiffen up a reel. A tear apart clean down is in the cards and I'm sure you'll find it. thanks rick

This for me too. I prefer to fish moving baits to visible cover so doing just that on a lake I know I don't really need it or use it aside from water temp and time (its easier to look down on the display than pull my phone out to check the time). That said, I think I have maybe 3 lakes that I know well enough to do that on. All of the lakes here have half decent maps from the state and Navionics maps are pretty good too. Being new to this area, I find it very help to target general areas based on a map. But then when I get there I'll autochart the lake to really pinpoint some of the structure. I've found things while charting that aren't on a map and you'd never know were there to fish without a good sonar. thanks rick

Went out this past foggy Saturday morning looking for those same smallies from last trip. No dice there, but got a really nice pickerel (24”, 4#) on a chatterbait. Also managed a couple crappie and perch on a trd ticklerz just to see if they were around. I’ll go back this week and keep a dozen or so. I also learned this lake has tons of white perch. There was a school of at least 10k fish in the backwater. I had to snag one to see what they were. I thought they were shad at first.

Denny, or anyone really, Im not too far from you in north Jersey if at some point you think an autopilot is in the cards and you want to try one. It’s also the same base boat as the other sportsmen 120’s so you can see how stable of a platform it is. I agree I wouldn’t go shorter. The 106 are just as stable but there isn’t enough space in one for me. rick

I fish in a old town autopilot. It’s above your budget and it’s a trolling motor model, so not exactly what you want. I love it. I’ve got the 12’ and to do it again I might get the 136 for even more space. for what you’ve specified above, an old town sportsman PDL would be a good choice. The sportsman series are built on a wide, flat bottomed hull and are super stable. I stand in mine most of the day and for all of the fishing. I’ll sit down to tie a lure or to do long motoring. Not sure how the PDL would work for standing and also maneuvering the boat but the standing would be good. thanks rick

With a palomar, the biggie I find is the loop. Once you’ve passed the lure though the loop and are snugging down you have to make sure the entire knot passes through the loop and the loop is the closest thing to your rod tip as it snugs down the mainline. If it isn’t the highest point on the knot it cuts through the middle of the knot. I can tie it repeatedly each way and break the incorrect way with 15 lb fluoro just by a quick tug. rick

i fished the trapcaster for a long time today, mostly with red eye shads but also with a squarebill, a flat side, a swim jig, and a chatterbait. Next to it I fished the expert 6’10” finesse jig. The first was with 832 braid, the second with 14 mono. Both are great for wha I was doing. The expert is lighter, more responsive, and more sensitive, but braid on the trapcaster means you feel every little tick your lure touches. At some point I will try the expert with braid. I think that will be something else.

For a jack of all trades rod, the falcon 7’ 5-powers are great. They even call most of them ‘all-rounders’ as the name of the rod. I have the trap caster which is the bucoo series version. I fished it with 12-17 lb mono and fluoro last year for all of the techniques you mentioned plus a few more. It was my general do anything rod, even light plastics pitching. This year I’ve put some 30lb 832 braid on it and it’s going to be more dedicated to lipless, some cranks, a buzzbait, and some backup duty for chatters and spinnerbaits. The braid has changed the rod and sensitivity is great for moving baits.

i fish three main colors. Greenback shad, black and blue, and variations on bluegill. If the water is dirty I’ll fish black and blue. It’s usually clear here so I’ll start with one of the other two. Grass lakes with bluegill get bluegill patterns and the rest get greenback shad. Rick

a-jay- this post made me think of something. Do you ever fish just a zako on a jig head/swim bait hook or as a swim jig trailer? I see you have one on a chatterbait without the trailer. thanks rick

the one by its lonesome in the box (and also on a couple in the middle)? Zako standard tail.

thanks. I was thinking this time of year, water 44-50 or so. Once the water hits 50 I’ll be throwing a topwater at them.

Hi all, local lake, probably my most fished by hours last year. Good head of largemouth and toothy critters, small enough to fish in an evening or morning and not be bored. Very close to home. I’d heard there were smallmouth but the lake isn’t typical smallie country. It’s mostly weeds and muck for 95% of the lake. But last year I just kept trying because that last 5% is where they’d have to be if they were in there. My dad said they will be in the deepest part for the winter (and I value his experience). It’s a natural lake, but on the edge of that deepest part is what must be enough of a creek channel when there is a bit of flow in the spring and these bluffs(?) stay rocky unlike the other 95% of the lake. So last year I fished this stretch as the first spot on every trip. I tried a ton of stuff and only touched a couple perch. I think I had one small smallie chase a swim bait to the surface without taking (it was quick). fast forward to last weekend. Fished the mucky brush for other things but made a swing through this patch. I figured it couldn’t hurt and a couple casts later there is a 4lb smallie. I know what I did this time and why I think it worked, but most importantly it showed me what’s possible. Now I’m going to refocus on this stretch and lake again to see if I can do it again. here’s two pictures of the same bit from autochart, one zoomed more than the other. I’ve mapped most of this lake. Public maps of this lake are generic enough you wouldn’t know this is here. Autochart has been great (navionics online doesn’t show this). Everything to the right is 11-12’ and mucky bottom. Nothing interesting. To the left of the charted area it’s roughly 3’ gradually tapering to zero at shore. Above and below the ‘bluffs’ flatten back down and stay sandy/rock flats the same as between the bluffs and shore. For reference, WP012 is about 50-60 yards off shore and the dropoff from 4’ to 11’ happens over about a 20’ span (pretty steep). So we’re really talking about a 100 yard stretch or so that has the deepest water in the lake adjacent to the only rocks in the lake up on a 3-4’ deep flat. Sounds like about perfect prespawn smallmouth territory. So how would you fish it? I have a kayak with spotlock so can put the boat anywhere. Do you sit deep and cast shallow? Vice versa? Sit on the break and cast parallel? What about lures? Water is fairly clear (3-4’ visibility) but a tanic dark color. The rocks on top of the bluff and back to shore range from pebble to watermelon sized chunks. The muck at the bottom isn’t something I want to drag much of anything through as it’s Funky algae covered muck. for reference, the one I caught was on a red eye shad. Boat sitting deep and letting the shad clip rocks as I bring it out. When it stopped hitting rocks I gave slack to let it flutter down the bluff. She hit it on the drop. The water is 44 now, so I figure I’ve got a couple weeks before the fish start spawning and this pattern changes (though they might just back out to the bottom of the bluffs for the summer). i have some ideas I’m going to try, but wanted to see what the experts here thought and I’ll work through them next trip out. thanks, rick

Fished Friday and the actual lake temp was 43-44. Lake monster is showing under 40 as the estimate for that day. I’m thinking that their thermal satellite imagery might be under estimating or lagging in some way. I’m going to keep looking, but I won’t let the website stop me from going out.

You’ve got all of the right replies above. If you love the rod and it’s unique, then a splice can work well. The action of the rod will dictate it a little. If it’s a high flex area it works less well. Second guide down might be tough, but it’s worth a shot. I’ve done a couple fly rods with quick tips and it works. if you want to keep the grips and seat, then cutting and splicing a new blank inside works great. This works great if you love a grip and seat but want to try a new blank. worst case strip it down. If you don’t have a lathe or reamer like Scott suggested, you can usually boil the seat and that breaks the glue enough to pop it loose.

Mudhole, Jan’s, and a bunch of places will have reel seats. The easiest way to attach the rod is to build up the rod blank with masking tape until it’s a snug fit and epoxy it. For this purpose you can use 30 minute two part.

You won’t break 30# braid casting it. Guys use it in the surf with 8-12 oz and casting 100+ yards. Only concern is if you get a wrap around the tip of the rod or a really deep spool dig that you don’t notice before the cast. suffix 832 30# will be a good starting point. I was bombing red eye Shad’s yesterday with it on a mh rod. 40-50yd is no problem. I can’t imagine what a 110 whopper plopper or a big pencil plug would be on the right rod.

i don’t know if the low rider amistad is much lighter, but i have the expert amistad. Pitching a 3/8 jig with a beaver would be okay, 1/2 would be better. I wouldn’t want to cast anything lighter than a 3/8 though. A 1/4 jig head and 4” kitech fat wouldn’t do well.

I’m really liking 832. I’ve fished others and they all turned me off braid. I’m trying 832 this year and it’s very good.

Falcon 7’ trapcaster/all-around is a good choice. I have one and fish dt-4/6 on it. I imagine the Mansfield is pretty good too.