casts_by_fly

I have the Serie V double toro which is habano sungrown and then a Serie V Melanio. I guess I didn’t order the maduro so we’ll see how it goes! Thanks!

Simply, copoly is is a mix of 2 or more polymers. Fluorocarbon is a polymer. Nylon is a polymer. Then each of those has variations on a theme. There might even be some polymers that are used that aren’t fluoro or nylon (I can’t say). Then there is a case of how they are mixed. Coated, blended, twisted, etc. Lots of options. A fluoro coated nylon will give you abrasion resistance with a soft core for a little better flexibility than the coating would have allowed on its own. Mixed/blended will give you a set of properties of its own depending on the design.

@Choporoz - working my way through a Fuentes Hemingway right now (6x47). Quite good, and I prefer this profile to the lighter Connecticut wrappers I’d been smoking lately. I picked up a couple similar ones of different brands. I’m excited to try the Olive G maduro. On a different subject, I still haven’t found a cigar where the smoke coming off the front smelled like what i want. I know that’s not a primary consideration, but I love the smell of a burning cigar when they have that rich spicy sweet combo in a hefty amount of smoke. It’s not quite pipe tobacco but more than most of the cigars I’ve been having. I had a drew java toro that smelled like chocolate cake which was awesome to smell while smoking it. The crazy Alice has a great smoke smell also, but they are a pain to smoke. Any good ones I should look at?

@Swamp Girl - this is the first year of my being able to really fish this lake (too big to fish well in a kayak) so I’m still learning it. If I could catch 6-10 an evening like some of my others, it would be my favorite due to the scenery. You can’t see a single house, hear a single car, or have any other sign of civilization on this lake. It gets a fair bit of pressure from fishermen and pleasure kayakers, but that’s the only downside.

My wife left for the airport early so I hooked the boat on and left too. The wind has been incredible here the past couple days and for the next couple days, but there was a 4-6 hour window forecast this morning where it would only be 5-8 (otherwise 12-20 constant). I went to the big pond looking for some topwater smallies. With the water temp dropped down to 56 degrees things are going to start slowing down but there should have been a couple to find. Always nice when you get to the ramp and are pleasantly surprised. Not another boat and the water was almost like glass. I went to a spot I thought might have a few fish and picked a pair of chunkies- one green and one brown, both 17-18”. A few more were around and would chase a jerkbait and jig head minnow, but just wouldn’t commit to anything I had to throw at them. I tried bigger and smaller, brighter and subtler, slower and faster. I tried other baits too and they would come off the bottom or out of a tree, nose it, and turn away. About that point the wind kicked up pretty bad and I called it a day with spotlock not working for me.

@Don Preller- Yeha, I have the 7'2" and it's the right action. I just want a little more stout for bigger baits like a 3/8 head plus 5" shad. I have one rigged on my 7'2" right now and it is pushing the upper end of it. P.S. - what part of PA are you in? I'm western PA originally but NJ now.

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The same way you would choose to build the rod anyway. Some like to use the weak side of the spine for guides, some like the strong side, and some like the straightest blank orientation if there is a curve to the blank. Lots of opinions on that one. But whether you are spiraling or not on a casting rod of average power there isn't a whole lot of difference. The torque on the rod is far greater than the difference between the strong and weak spine sides as Mick said.

Set the hook like it owes you money and start cranking line. Get it turned and coming to you before it has a chance to wrap you. Same logic when you're fishing heavy pads and grass. Of course you need the equipment to do it. If you're telling me that you're floating ned rigs over the top of deep brushpiles on 6 lb fluoro then just concede that you're going to lose a few. Early bite detection and minimal slack line are key. And don't stop throwing into brushpiles. Even if you lose 5 out of 10 fish hooked that's still 5 that you're not going to catch by beating around the bush if you know what I mean.

@Don Preller- Thanks! That sounds like the zodias 7' medium that my dad has and not what I was looking for. With the 7'2" ML PA and especially with the 6'10" UL/M PA I've grown accustomed to the very light tips that load up like nobody's business with no effort or weight. Throwing a trick worm with 1/16oz neko or a 1/16 head on a smaller plastic is effortless and it just flings it. With his medium and a little with my ML zodias you have to load the tip a little more (and then it still flings it). I want that same light tip, extra fast type action but with a bit more power, largely for throwing jighead minnow type presentations. I might have to consider the solid tip rods.

Spiral, acid wrapped, revolver. Plenty of names. And plenty in use on bass from custom rod makers. I have a pair downstairs.

I’m following this with interest. This is my first year with the boat. In past years I would fish (kayak) into October and then hunt until the middle of Feb. That would give me 2 weeks or so until ice out most years. Kayak was stored in the attached but unheated garage (40 F most winters) and the batteries were on a tender all winter. This year I’m not hunting so I’m going to be fishing as long as the water is soft. It’s supposed to be a little warmer but wetter winter so hopefully that means no ice and no winterization.

Depends how much you trust the person holding your pay back. Helping a buddy and he’s going to pay you when the customer pays, sure. If my current employer said we’re having a problem processing paychecks then sure. They get some leeway from me. If I didn’t like the job anyway and was already thinking of looking then I’d probably be looking.

Oh dear, no rope. You’re relying on the electric deploy to do it in time. That’s a bit more challenging. At least with a rope I can crank the speed to 10 and really get the boat moving at 3-4 mph and still be able to pull it at the last second. Another thing that will help is that once you’re 2’ before the trailer and the motor is up, step back in the boat to let some weight off the nose. That will let it slide up further before the nose bites on the trailer.

@Don Preller- that sounds just like the 7’2” poison adrena with the same spec. That’s what I’d expect from them, so that’s good to hear. I am considering a medium for the spring and I love being able to extrapolate between lines.

I have neither, but I have two close ones. I have the 6’9” ML Zodias and the 7’2” ML Poison adrena. The specs across the shimano lineups are pretty similar. I have also fished my dad’s 7’0’ medium zodias for comparison. My thoughts: Among the two I have and the other I know, the ML range is what you want. The 7’ medium zodias and the 6’9” ML have similar power down low (the PA is also similar). The biggest difference between the three are the tips. The medium takes just a bit more to load it up properly. With a 1/4 oz total bait weight (1/8 oz Texas rig with a light worm) you need to give it a good flick to load up the tip whereas the ML (and especially the Poison adrena) have lighter tips that a 1/4 or even a bit less will load up the tip plenty enough to really cast it. The poison adrena will load with a 6” trick worm and a 1/16 oz weight or even unweighted. The medium has a little more power down low, but not so much that it makes a huge difference. Between the two ML, the PA has a lighter tip. It is like they took the zodias and stretched the top 6” to be 11”. The 7’2” has a really light sensitive tip that loads up on a cast quickly but also shows every little tickle on a bait. The zodias is great and is my primary Ned or light spinning Texas rig but the tip is a little stiffer. I use the PA for a neko since it can handle a 1/16 or a 3/8 weight on the same trick worm. The zodias stays as either a lighter Texas rig (1/32 plus small worm) or a Ned rig. Both would be great with a 1/10 oz head plus TRD and if I was only carrying one I would be happy to fish the Ned on the PA. It’s probably the better rod for that honestly. But since I have the zodias that’s where I leave the Ned head (or a jig head minnow).

If you're in a scenario where the fish don't care about the braid color (dirty water for instance) then it doesn't matter what color the braid is. If you're in a scenario where the fish ARE twitchy about the color of your braid (clear water finesse) then you're using a leader anyway. In short, the braid color doesn't matter so use the one that you like and can see.

@rboat- "When do I use a round reel?" - Never. I really dislike the profile in my hand. A low profile reel is so much more comfortable and I don't have a scenario in bass fishing where I need anything more than that. I have a pair of older shimanos downstairs that I've had for a long time. One was on my 9' steelhead float rod for a long time and wasn't a bad choice for that. But that's because I was casting 1/4 of the number of casts as when I bass fish as the float was just covering 50 yards of water in a pool while I freespooled from the top. For cast and crank I have no desire for a round reel.

Depending on the year, I was using the Plano guide series tackle bags. The smaller of the two was 4x 3700+1x 3600 plus 2 side pockets for soft plastics (the side pockets are almost exactly right for almost all plastics). I started throwing in a speed bag of worms/craws/beavers and occasionally a loose 3600 with my frogs/toads/weedless spoons. I had 2 spare 3700s so I would swap things around depending on the season (early season would see crankbaits in the boat, but never after June). I'd use 1 3700 for the plastics that I knew I used year round (rage bug, keitechs, senko, spunk shad) and put them into mixed color compartments. Not a whole bag, but 2-3 of each so just enough that I wouldn't run out on an evening or morning trip. For the last 2 years of the kayak I moved to the XL version which is 7x3700 + 3x3600. I was tired of swapping things in and out depending on lake and time of year. I still had 2 speedbags for plastics. I still kept the 3700 of mixed plastics. When I added the extra space that allowed me to make 1 3600 dedicated for terminal tackle (hooks, jigheads, etc) instead of a more loose wallet approach.

@TnRiver46- I think earlier in this thread someone (maybe choproz) mentioned taking time out for a cigar. I’m finding that out now and how/why. While I didn’t drown, I burnt a few hairs and some carpet. Changing winds and which way you’re facing it or moving down the bank make the smoke blow right into your eyes, right up under your hat, occasionally across your cheek….

@Choporoz- The Elegancia and the Champagne were in fact the two that I had. I had the champagne in a petit corona and a Toro. The elegancia was a robusto. Those two and the Ashton 898 Churchill were all three pretty similar for me. I can taste that they are well made and complex. There just wasn't enough oomph for me right now. The oliva G in a 4.5x50 is my favorite unflavored/not infused- so far. I'd like it a little richer so I'm going to get it in a maduro, but I'd happily have another.

Only one way to find out. Keep 2-3 next time out and fry them up!

Shad raps are a pain in the butt to throw on anything other than a ML spinning rig which implies a certain set of line. Chose the one that works best for you but for me that is either 6 lb mono or 10 lb braid to leader.

If you are talking hard baits and keeping them singled or close to that then a 5 line might be better. That’s going to be decent for jerkbaits, less so for bigger billed crankbaits. For me, a 4-line box gives more flexibility for multiples. In my 3700, 4-line Plano box I think I have about 75 lipless crankbaits. Same box I can fit a full compliment of DT/OG series crankbaits which covers me from 1-20’. With a 5-line 3700 box I definitely couldn’t fit as many when it comes to billed crankbaits. Unsure on lipless without trying it. Jerkbaits, jigs, plastics are a different story. Honestly, I would consider if 1 3700 or a pair of 3600’s will be better for you. I’ve got 10 3700 plus 4 3600 in my main compartment of the boat. After the season when the water gets hard and I have nothing better to do I am going to have a look at a full conversion to 3600’s are a better choice. I know for some things it will, so I need to pull everything out and see what the geometry of that compartment is.

So I’ve learned a few things. Even slowing down I was smoking them too fast. And too hot. And ashing too much. All of which I think was contributing to a harsher profile in the last third. I was smoking them in the boat, during last light, while I was also fishing. So I was either keeping them in my mouth and almost steady puffing or I would put it down, make a cast or two, and then make a couple quicker/bigger puffs before the next cast. I would ash them all the time so that the ash didn’t get in the boat while I was chewing on it. I’ve since started smoking them on the back porch a little more. I picked up a bunch of mild to mediums at the big shop when I was over there a couple weeks ago; a bunch of different lengths and ring sizes. After smoking them (and some other things I had on hand) a little more slowly, my preferences are changing a good bit. For instance, an Ashton white label Churchill tastes good, but I find myself wanting more and richer flavor. That has been the same with a couple similar cigars (San Cristobal, perdomo, etc). They are all tasty and burn great, but are lighter than the flavor profile I want. I have also gone back to a few that I really liked before and find that the burn isn’t great and even smoking them slow and gentle they still produce a hot core. I’ve also gone back to a couple I wasn’t sure on and they are far better with better technique. I’m glad I’ve tried what I have tried. Now we’re going to explore a little bigger/heavier again.