casts_by_fly

@FrnkNsteen- My rods all have the monocoque graphite rear grip which is also very light.

Alconites are great. If you want to splurge, SiC in a titanium frame.

I have a half pack of bandito bugs around here somewhere from before I knew anything about what googan was. They catch fish, but they split so easily on a flipping hook. 1-3 fish max. Definitely not worth it when there are better options available.

fish finder into the starting battery will be fine. That unit will draw negligible amperage. Don't plug it into the trolling motor battery. Transducer wire is waterproof. Al you need to worry about is the final end connection back into the head unit. Lube it with dielectric grease, assemble it, and leave it there. Just watch for pinching it and abrasion.

Some new and some old but the notables for me this year in no particular order: Neko rigged zoom trick worm- new for me this year and very effective bladed jig- produces every year but this was a good year jighead minnow- different sizes and weights depending on the lake. The boat helped here. spinnerbait- when you need one you need one buzzbait- my usual black and chartreuse in 1/4 or 3/8. Not the best BB year but still got a few. texas rigged ragebug- consistently my biggest fish lure the past couple years Other lures caught a couple fish here or there, but these are the lures that produced fish day in and day out. Once you found which of these was the one for the day you were going to catch some fish. Notable nothings this year: - I know of one fish I caught on a jig this year- swim jig, pitching jig, or otherwise. I’ve defaulted to the ragebug where others would throw a jig and I should throw them more but I haven’t. This has been a trend the past couple years for me but at least in prior years the swim jig would still get some play. One fish on a white swimjig in the dark is all I can recall. - Big swim baits that caught fish last year like the 6” Magdraft did nothing for me this year. I don’t think I had a single follow. I’ll keep it rigged and fish it next year but this wasn’t the year. - Ned rig- after having 25 bass days three consecutive trips last year I’m struggling to remember a Ned rig fish. Swapping to the neko took some of the usage time, but I still had a Ned, a neko, and a jighead minnow rigged most trips. Two out of three ain’t bad. Certainly some of the differences have been changes in the lakes I’m fishing. Having the boat this year I fished one lake a bunch that I’d never really fished in the kayak. And some of the kayak only lakes got cut. One of the lakes that fishes either craft got cut after two trips because the ramp is so shallow that it’s painful to load the boat and the fishing wasn’t worth it. Another lake got into the rotation despite its awful ramp because it was a consistent producer. Those two swapped their time and both fish very differently. My favorite lake had a down year for numbers, but I still caught a good few 4-4.5# fish. The weather was another big difference. Almost every trip this year was bluebird sky, sunny, and some amount of wind from 0 to 15 mph. No rain all summer and few cloudy days. But, my year isn’t over year. Next week is going to be COLD but I’l still get out in it. Looking for my first ever December bass.

Pretty sure a Carolina rigged rapala has been around a while just for that purpose.

If you have an ulterra, terrova, or any other motor that the shaft slide down through the mount on the bow plate then you may or may not be able to anchor the wire to the shaft. Just keep that in mind.

@smesx- I have the 72ML in the PA and while it’s an awesome rod I need something just a little heavier for the bigger end of what I’m throwing. This fish ate the 5” on a 3/8 oz (down at 35’) but it’s really loading up the rod to cast it. I want something just a bit heavier. I have the 6’10” UL/M PA which acts like the solid tips are described- super light tip that just bounces around like an ice rod and that collapses when you set the hook. Maybe I’ll just stick with that for the lighter stuff and pick up the 7’ M for the bigs.

@Brycecover like noted above, balance is personal. I hate a tip heavy rod balance, especially on a spinning rod. For me, a 3k stradic on a high quality rod out to 7’2” or so is good. I won’t be much heavier and I don’t mind a 3k stradic on a 6’9” rod either so I harmonized my own uses there so that all my rods feel the same and I can interchange spools as needed.

The vanford is lighter and the rotational inertia is less which means it is easier to start the bail moving and it will stop on its own faster. That said, I find the 3000 size vanford too light for a 7'2" rod. I prefer a little heavier reel for a spinning outfit so I have 3000 size stradics on everything. My dad runs the 4k vanford on his 7' zodias and that is balanced well. A 3k stradic on a 7'2" PA balances also.

@smesx- thanks, that's helpful. I'm also using a 3/16 and either 3 or 4" minnows most of the time but my other rods handle that just fine. I'll drop to 1/8 and 3" if I'm under 15' and I think it might be crappie or perch (or the bass are way high in the column). What I'm looking more for is 1/4-3/8 plus 4-5" so 3/8-1/2 oz total weight. Sounds like the M solid tip isn't the the one for that and I might want to consider the M+. That's where I was thinking before, but some surfing indicated that it was maybe heavy for that and instead designed for 5-6" plastics. Maybe I need to try my dad's 7' M zodias with this setup. I've fished it before, but not for this. It might be a good shout.

I've always been a gamakatsu fan so my default replacement treble is either the round bend magic eye or the g-finesse treble. Both are incredibly sharp. I choose between them depending if I want a lighter wire or a heavier one.

For the most part, there doesn’t look like a balance issue with any of the lure weights and the powers of the rods. Plenty of the things you listed will have a total bait weight in the 3/8-1/2 oz total weight which is a nice easy weight to cast for most bass rods. I don’t think there is a rod/lure/line issue. The reels should all have basically the same braking system in them. I forget if they are the 4 or 6 brake shimano centrifugal brakes, but they will be close enough to fish the same once you figure one out. They are more than serviceable for what you are doing. That all leads me to technique. If you’re used to throwing a spinning rod with a snap cast then you’re going to backlash a baitcaster often. Even the best braking systems don’t like it. Smoothing out your casting stroke and ensuring the rod is loaded properly will minimize or eliminate backlashes. If you don’t have a good foundation for loading a rod then when you get ‘off platform’ as they’d say for an NFL quarterback (MNF is on right now) you’ll struggle even more. That is my guess of what is happening here. It is all fixable. If you want to try to fix it, I would recommend trying to up size the lure for the rod (or downsize the rod). You’re throwing a 3/8 swim jig (likely a half ounce total bait) on the MH which should work fine but isn’t for you. Throw that jig on the medium for a bit. Get a feel for what really loading up the rod feels like. Get the timing right so that you’re loading and unloading the rod on the cast. Every rod has a sweet spot that when you load it to there on a backcast you know it’s just going to fling it out. Turn on all of the brakes inside the reel and set the dial to 5. That’s a lot of braking but brakes help if you’re snapping your wrist. Just turn them up and get a feel for what a good cast feels like. Don’t worry about distance, just make good casts. When you’re consistently getting there, then you can turn the brakes down a little until you start to get a little fluffing that goes away. At that point, one click here or there will start to be the difference and you’re dialed in. A practice it with overhead, sidearm, back hand, and other positions you’d normally be in. Or, say screw it and just fishing a spinning rod. If it works for you and does what you need, then don’t worry about it and go fishing.

@smesx - what is your typical head/bait range for the expride M? I am considering a solid tip for next spring.

I have the original ultrex (not brushless) and have no complaints. The cable steering is awesome. Like Jungler said, you don't need a brushless to get that. The quest is heavier, hence it has the extra piston lift. I don't find my ultrex to be a problem. I'm mid 40's and of sound mind and body (well one of those is true at some point). I can run the motor on speed 10 and hold the motor up out of the water when it gets shallow or weedy. And the power steering will steer just the same as when it's in the water. I love humminbird mega side imaging the best. But I wouldn't get an additional unit just to have good side imaging and integration to the trolling motor. I would far rather have the console and bow units integrated for waypoints than have the motor on the network. Seeing something on the HBird and then marking it on the Garmin might work, but it also might not with screen sizes, scroll settings, etc. You'd have to really screw around with it to match them up. And then if you changed one you'd have to change the other. Not worth it to me. A high end garmin side imaging unit is just about as good as a HBird.

@TnRiver46 - Aaaawwwhhh, that one's so cute! It's like @Team9nine is sending you his castoffs. @MassBass - what is the lure I see in the pic? It almost looks like a plopper 70 but I can't see the tail.

@GorillaBass - I went 24V with a single 50 Ah battery and have never wanted for more. One note that Junger made and I'll echo- the Ultrex is heavy. I think mine with the short shaft is 96#. If you're underpowered on the gas motor it will weigh down the nose a little and be harder to get on plane. I can't get on plane with mine (9.9 hp) and probably couldn't even without a motor on there but if you're right on the edge then this will put you just over the edge on the side of not planing well. I was going to go with a terrova which would have been 40# lighter however, for FFS you need an aftermarket mount which is $300. Minn Kota was running the ultrex on sale and it was only $300 more than the equivalent Terrova so I went with the better motor at the penalty of weight. As to integrating, if you're trolling it would be useful. For setting up your trolling motor and using the advanced settings it is a lot easier to do it through the touchscreen than the remote. Also if you're on electric only lakes then sitting at the console while riding around and watching the console FF is more comfy than sitting on the bicycle seat up front. Then if you see something to waypoint then you can tell the motor to send you back to it. That said, on electric only lakes I just throw the remote around my neck. If I'm running across the lake I'll set the direction and speed on the foot pedal and go sit down. If I need to change direction I have the remote. These are all fringe examples though. For the most part, I don't control the motor through the head units.

I have an 24V/80 lb ultrex on my 16' crestliner aluminum bassboat. There is no jerkiness whatsoever. Even on 'high', the motor doesn't apply 100% force to the prop immediately. It ramps it up (quickly, but not surprisingly). On high, it will move the boat around 4 mph give or take. The cable steer is power assist and is incerdibly smooth to make even minor changes. There is a reason why the ultrex was on almost every BASS/MLF tournament boat for a really long time. It's a mature platform that has been refined and is fantastic. I have ML2 on mine since I run HBird and everything is integrated in OBN. You can definitely mount LVS onto the ultrex, you just won't integrate the head units into the motor and vice versa. I don't see that as a major downside since I don't use the head units to control the motor. Even when I am graphing for structure, setting waypoints, and then going to them with the trolling motor, I'm not using the head units to direct the trolling motor. Maybe I should more, but I just put a split screen of map and waypoint and navigate it myself. Having the console and and bow units networked is more important for me than having the motor connected.

@GetFishorDieTryin- yeah, from what you describe the Cara isn’t the one for you. I love it for what I’m using it for, but if I was throwing a 1/16 oz plus 2” plastic all the time I would want a lighter tip.

@Anfrobodine for $500 total combo, I would grab a JDM stradic and put it on either an expride or PA depending if you prefer cork or not. I think both would come in at that price point but with the exchange rate and tariffs you’ll have to check. As to which minnows, I’ve got a few in the box. The Yum FFS minnow in both 3” and 4” feature. The mooch minnow in the same sizes is the same. The mooch has a little better action without you doing anything. If you are going to let it pendulum or reel slowly it will impart just a little tail wiggle of an action. The yum needs a rod tip wiggle. I have some freeloaders and they are like the Yum in that regard. I recently added the driftfly and have fished them twice to good effect. The 5” on a 3/8 head rolls back and forth like none other I’ve seen. I can’t wait to try them in smaller sizes on lighter heads. The aren’t cheap but I don’t find myself going through a lot of minnows. The mooches are TPE plastic (take note for storage) and the yums are a pretty solid plastic.

@Tackleholic- fair enough. I too love throwing a vibrating jig though 2’ shallows with sparse grass or topwaters across flats. But some lakes, some days, some times of the year you can’t beat shaking a minnow. And if you’re interested in catching more than just bass you’ll find that there are plenty of other things that eat 3” minnows (like everything in the lake).

@Anfrobodine- I’m with @Reel on this one. What I’ve come to like is a soft tip that loads up easily with the bait you’re throwing. Sometimes you only get a quick flick of the wrist on a moving fish and lining up a perfect overhead cast where you can really load the rod isn’t in the cards. That happens some time, but a lot of time it is a side hand flick at an odd angle to the boat. To that end, with a 1/8 and 3-4” (I’d recommend also picking up some 3/16 heads for the same reason ranger jockey said) you’re in ML territory. I have the poison adrena 7’2” and it’s a great rod for it and is the analog to the expride that reel has. Probably more than you want to spend, but the zodias in the same spec would be a good choice also at the $200 price point. I have the shorter ML zodias and use it for the same application with the smaller minnows like this. I like just a little more tip than it has so the 7’2” would be a good choice. Pure sensitivity isn’t critical so you can get away with lower end rods, just make sure they have a light and fast tip. @Reel- if you get or handle the solid tip expride, make sure you write a review here. I am considering the M+ for bigger baits. The 7’2” PA ML will handle a 3/8 + 5” plastic but that’s pushing it a little more than I prefer. Not sure I’m going to do it or go another route but I am probably getting something.

What depth are you fishing and what size bait? For a 3” mooch minnow on a 1/8 oz head (for me, that’s a 10’ or less summer time option or if what I’m seeing might be crappie) I like a lot lighter rod than if I’m throwing a 3/8 head and a 5” driftfly which is a 40’ depth setup.

Is that the only (primary) thing you’re going to be throwing or is that the lightest thing you want it to be able to do? My own BFS plan was for 1/16 oz plus a 3” Ned plastic (which isn’t exactly lightweight for a plastic) but also to throw some other things. I started with the phenix ML and a kastking inexpensive reel. It worked but wasn’t a light in the tip or fast enough action for me to really throw the lighter stuff. I went to the Falcon 7’2” this year and it is exactly what I wanted- just the right thing for throwing a 1/16 head plus a 3” Ned or 4” senko. Works perfect with an unweighted 4” senko or with a 1/32 Texas rig. It will throw a 1/16 plus 2” twister out to 60’ no problem but it’s an overhead lob cast and not just a sidearm flick. If you’re going to throw that all the time then this isn’t the rod but if that’s the lightest thing you’ll throw but will do other stuff more frequently then I would throw this one into the mix.

@woolleyfooley- yes you can. big blade and lighter sizes (I can almost do it with the 1 oz) with a high rod tip. You can wake them just under the surface.