casts_by_fly

@Bazoo- The original rating for that rod is 1/8-3/8 and I think the Cara version is still rated that way (My Cara is labeled that way). However, that was a mis-label in the broad sense of how rods are labeled. It was labeled that way to throw 1/8-3/8 oz swim jigs which will have a total bait weight 1/4-3/4 or so once you add a trailer. I have thrown mine with a 1/8 swim jig and 3.3 keitech which will be about 1/4 total. I’ve thrown similar Texas rigs on it. If I was throwing that weight all the time then I might get another rod, but that’s the bottom end of what I throw on it. A half ounce hard bait is ideal. When I really want to cover some water with a walking bait, this rod with 30 lb braid will cast them a mile (like 50 yards). It will do the same with a 1/2 oz red eye shad. I’ll throw a choppo 105 (3/4 oz) on it and it will fish it as far as you can cast it. If you want to talk bigger yet, Jason Christie just did a video last month where he was smallmouth fishing up north with a 3/4 oz spinnerbait (1 oz total bait weight) and burning it. He’d normally use the eye crosser for that weight spinnerbait, but he was using the swim jig for the lighter tip so that when the bass hit it fast the tip would let them get it a little better and suck it in.

All of the above is good advice so far. I’m going to suggest a specific rod based on what you want to do on top of a trap. You don’t mention a budget but if it fits your price point have a look at the falcon lowrider in the 7’2” swim jig model ($130). Fantastic lipless rod with mono or fluoro, great rod for swim jigs, lighter Texas rigs, buzz baits, and a ton of other light to moderate cover stuff. @Joedodge was happy to pick one up.

Plenty make a similar size. Go on tackle warehouse and look at “large” sized boxes. I will say that I have a bunch of different latches from both of the big two and they all work just fine. You can also add zerust dividers to any box either because it fits the divider slots or you just put a couple under the lures.

@Choporoz Those days where it is tough, the fish aren’t cooperating, you’ve made three laps around a 20 acre lake and cast five baits to every likely spot. Those days when you could just go home or you could play with a toy and learn something.

I’m the last person to say ‘don’t buy toy <x>’ for fishing. If you want it and think you’ll enjoy having it then get it. That said, I’ve been where you are in that I had a little boat (kayak in my case) and was fishing a lot of smaller lakes that some would even call ponds. Having it was cool every now and then, but for the smaller lakes you get to a point where you know the whole lake bottom, all the cover, where the fish are generally, etc. I got to the point where I would leave the FFS and 9” helix off since I had to take them on and off every trip. I just wouldn’t load it on most of the time at those lakes. And for 10’ and a lot of grass it won’t be helpful in a large percentage of the lake. My reco would be to get a small unit that you can map out those lakes on your own. A helix 7 will do it for sure (autochart is HBirds version). Then go out in the winter when the weeds have died back, turn on autochart, and just go fishing. It will record while you fish your way around. When you get bored of fishing, look at the map you made and go over areas you missed to map them. Go back over areas you mapped once in a perpendicular direction to the first pass. For 20 acres you can map that out in an afternoon while fishing it. Then when you get done you have a pretty good contour map and a small FF unit that you can move to the next boat.

I agree on both of Tom’s suggestions for anyone else reading this thread later. A 2’ roller guide on each side is ideal for loading and keeping the boat from being blown off the trailer by a side wind before you can get it winched up. And stepping on the trailer is a slip waiting to happen. I haven’t yet, but I know I’m due. I’ll probably grab for something as I’m falling and breaking it which means either the xplore 12 or the ultrex. I think my dad has a spare trailer plank that he didn’t need to fit on his that he wants to give me and i will gratefully accept.

@bigbearstroop122 where did you end up going and how did you do? glad the motor tip helped.

You can also buy the cps springs on their own.

The best is to get the gift cards at Christmas when they are 10% off. Then in March or so when they run 20%off sitewide you apply the gift cards for almost 30% off anything they sell.

@king fisher- put that toro on ice and serve with an iced cold cervesa and you’ll forget about fishing on ice.

Northern bass at 50 degrees are slowing but still catchable. When the water starts with a 4 that’s just a lot colder somehow. At least in the spring that’s how it goes. When the water hits 52 or so the fish just turn on. We’ll see how the fall to winter transition goes. I’ve never fished it since I’m normally hunting plus 40-something water in a kayak is tough going. I’m not hunting this year and I have a boat so…

@WRB-2.0- 2 years from now the OPs needs will probably change also. I’d say not to get mentally invested in any given brand or model at this stage and just figure out the use-need. Then revise that need before buying.

The zoom Gtail looks to be discontinued also a couple years ago.

There are so many ways to catch bass that will work in a given scenario that you can never say that one thing is the ‘only’ way. For instance, picture a gravel/rock hump out in the middle of a lake where bass are scattered over it. There might be some patchy weeds here or there, or maybe an old clump of brush out there, but otherwise light cover. You might know it is there because you happened upon it once, caught some fish, and then caught some more. The fish are active one day and chasing, so you might throw a plopper across the top and catch them. Then again, a buzzbait might have caught the same fish and there is a decent chance a walking bait would have also. If they turn off the surface but are still actively feeding then any number of a spinnerbait, vibrating jig, swim jig, underspin/swimbait, or crankbait might catch them. All of those imitate baitfish they might be feeding on and would all work. Those same fish might stop chasing for a while but still be eating and you could drag a jig, a Texas rig, a Ned rig, a neko, a drop shot, or a shaky head across them and they will eat it. Similarly, if they are chasing those horizontal running baits above (swim baits, spinnerbaits, etc) then swimming a Ned rig or a cut tail worm through them would probably catch them also. I say all of that to say that there are a lot of ways to catch bass. The hard part is finding them first. Once you know where they are then you can pick the lure that goes over/under/around/through the cover that they are in with the profile that they want to eat. For me, there are some things that go together like peanut butter and jelly. 0-4’ deep patchy grass- bladed jig or buzzbait if chasing or a Texas rig if more neutral. Shoreline woody cover (from laydowns to stemmy water willow)- spinnerbait if there is some wind (or maybe if there isn’t) a jig if they aren’t chasing. A rocky main lake point- walking bait/crankbait/shaky head or football jig as you go down the column. Find your bass, pick a few lures that work for your bass and your lakes, and use them. When you want to explore new things, pick something that is an analog to what you know works and use it/learn how it does your ‘thing’ better or worse. Figure out what scenarios are better for one or the other. Sometimes the fish or the cover will dictate one thing (it’s hard to throw much else in a huge weed mat other than a frog on top or a punching rig down through it). In your scenario, knowing that a plopper works and that you’re around a good bit of vegetation screams for a buzzbait or similar weedless/semi weedless surface lure. A paddle tail works for you so a silver minnow or a swim jig should also. A Texas rigged craw has worked for you, but I bet a Texas or neko rigged trick worm would also catch a bunch of fish when the wind is down and the fish are feeding down.

About 50-55 is where I draw the line. For whatever reason in the spring, I look to other baits even though I know they catch fish.

I like “the next one” so I’m always bringing new stuff in as sippers. For cocktails I tend to keep a bottle of makers, a Jameson caskmates stout, and a bullet rye. Basil Hayden toast is usually in the cabinet. And crown vanilla/apple/peach in some combine there.

Depends what you’re switching between. I could take my xplore off the boat and put it onto a kayak, but both would need to be rigged with power/transducer/base so you’re only swapping the head unit. If you were swapping between two boats and you were using a switchblade type tail mount then that’s easy enough.

I’m in the slow camp also. I like to use a high rod tip to keep the nose of the bait up and reel it as slow as it will still stay on the top. Like you said, it’s more of a gurgle. I like big blades for that and light heads. I’m normally fishing them in lower light that way. If the water is clear and there is light then I speed them up but usually that isn’t a buzz bait bite for me anyway. and don’t forget a small plastic trailer. Either a split tail or a 3.5” spunk shad or similar. I bet a take off senko that is ripped in the middle would do the same too. It’s not for action, it’s for physical mass for the fish to inhale.

You can see bait balls on side and down imaging with no problem and 2D will show them if you know what you’re looking at. I think side imaging and mapping are the two most important for finding fish and fishing spots. 2D and down will confirm what you’re seeing on SI and maps will tell you where to look in the first place. I agree with the helix noted above, but I’d go up to an SI model, and ideally a 7”. YMMV, but for $500 you could get a MSI G3 or G4 version on marketplace here in NJ. And they also will let you make your own lake map as you fish, though space on the internal storage is limited so you’ll need the $100 zero lines card if you want to do more than 100 acres or so.

With both swim jigs and vibrating jigs imitating bluegills around here, I’ve found that the specific color doesn’t actually matter. I fish straight green pumpkin, accented GP with blues, oranges, and purples, and all other versions of bluegill/pumpkinseed. That’s across both lures. The weight of the head and the quality of the hook/weedguard are more important for keeping the jig in the strike zone to me anymore. The variation in sunfishes we have is far greater than the colors differences in the jigs. When I take kids fishing, I take pictures of the fish they catch for their parents, but also for my own info. The range below is just a small portion of what is out there. They range from super pale to almost black. This all says to me that as long as it has a dark back and maybe a lighter belly, you’re in good shape. A yellow/chartreuse/light peach/white belly and a dark green to black back is going to cover your bases. For me, I’m finding that just a plain GP jig/CB with a trailer of choice color is the way to go. If you want chartreuse then GP over chartreuse. If you want more of the white then GP over white (it’s some shad naming variation). Really dark water? Throw a black and blue trailer on. Don’t get hung up on the intimate details (unless you really want to because that’s your thing).

A buzzbait and a vibrating jig. This is the time of year for both. For the buzzbait, I’d go with a smaller ‘finesse’ type if you have one, 1/4-3/8 oz. Toss it right up against the waterline and have the bail clicked over and reeling right as it hits the water because I couldn’t tell you how many fish I’ve caught 3” from shore this time of year in the mornings. They will hit it as soon as it hits the water and you make that first crank. Vibrating jigs are for the same fish when they don’t want to break the surface. Bass are always looking up when they are that shallow but sometimes they just don’t want to take something on the surface so you need something just under it. In your scenario picture, you’re similar to the small lake I’ve been fishing the past month or so and getting a bunch of fish on chatterbaits. In my case, 3/8 in darker colors (algal bloom). Your water is cleaner so I’d probably start with a green pumpkin with a GP over chartreuse trailer because that’s what I know works for me. A Johnson silver spoon isn’t a bad choice either for all the same reasons as the bladed jig with a slightly more subtle presentation.

@Glenn That doesn’t appear to be what Bazoo wanted but I think you might have sold one to me. If that had a black back that might be perfect. Does TW sell sharpies… edit- argh! That’s a retired color it seems.

check google maps. On the current mapping you should be able to see if there is anything interesting from the aerial view. If you look into historical views you might find one when the lake was very low that shows more. A carolina rig with a tungsten weight on braid will transmit every fiber of grass or grain of sand on the bottom. And you're also fishing at the same time. It doesn't have to be slow either. Drag it 3' and let it sit for 10 seconds. Repeat. You'll cover the whole pond pretty quickly at 16 acres.

carp have a much more square front shoulder/hump to them than bass when you look at them in the water from above. With their mouths on the bottom, their front ends just kind 'end' whereas a bass has a pointier taper to the mouth. Bass are also fairly flat across the back but carp (especially if you're at a little bit of an angle) will have more taper back by the tail before the tail swooshes back out. Could it have been a bass? sure. Could it have been a carp? Sure. I bet there are a lot more 6# carp in your lake than there are 6# bass though.

I forgot to note one other thing. You said that trying to run it up would get you on the trailer sideways. If you’re not already, make sure your gas motor on the back is down and straight. It works like a rudder. If it is up and you’re turning the front of the boat and the motor is up, the back end will trail around and next thing you know you’re coming in sideways.