casts_by_fly

Well you know what they say about hubris. First skunk I can remember. And on my home lake no less. I forgot the chips. Meant to grab them but was too hurried to get out the door and forgot. Clearly that was the problem. I need a bigger boat now, one with a spare compartment just to hold the Costco variety pack of Doritos. Then I’ll never be without.

I'm going out in my rigged boat this afternoon. I won't even turn the fish finders on, let alone FFS. With the wind direction forecast and the fact that I'm probably putting a vibrating jig in my hand all day, I probably won't spot lock unless I need to retie- I'll just drift with the wind (which is forecast perfectly parallel with the shore at a nice 3-4 mph). This lake is too deep for powerpoles even if I had them. But by golly I'm taking some chips with me now. I really want those golden doritos, but I'd have to make a stop for them. Gonna have to settle for whatever is in the cupboard. Wish me well.

some states have lead restrictions that affect different things. Some are total lead bans, some are bans on lead weights smaller than a given size. The manufacturer will put a generic note like the above and not go into the specifics for each state.

Outside of a plastic rig (texas, neko, ned), I lose maybe 1 or 2 lures per year of all types, jigs included. Plastics I am a little more inclined to break them off if hung in a bad spot so a half dozen or so in a year.

Because it sinks, you need to keep a toad moving (or plan for it sinking). And because it is constantly moving it is a good way to cover water quickly. Think of it like a weedless buzzbait. You'll trigger fish that are more active and maybe get some negative fish to react if you pull it across their heads. A frog can be fished slower (or faster). Probably the best use of a frog though is the slower style into pockets and holes, along cover, over top of likely areas. Fish that are a little slower/less agressive can be convinced to eat a frog that looks like a chunky and slow meal.

I don’t know which one feels the most natural to the bass (ajay’s senko probably isn’t far off since prey are pretty good at being discrete) but I know which one feels the best to ME when I’m fishing it. That’s a vibrating jig. You can’t miss feeling it, you can tell when it’s fouled or fished, and it keeps your attention on the lure. A lipless crankbait would be a close second.

@JHoss- I'll echo what you said about learning it and getting good with it. It takes putting in the hours. The first year I had it in the kayak I mostly used it to build a mental map of the underwater around me in live time. I rarely 'scoped' fish. The second year in the kayak was better in that regard because I'd gotten a ton of practice with it. I still mostly used it for underwater terrain but occasionally, in the right conditions and circumstances, I would venture out into the barren lands of a ditch and target fish. The kayak made it tougher though since you were moving, the fish were moving, and your bait was moving so all of that made it hard to really scope fish. Moving to the boat helped immensely as I've got the transducer on the foot pedal now and the boat is a lot less prone to blow around (I can only imagine it in a 21' glass boat). But none of that helps in understanding what you're looking at or adjusting the view for the conditions and fish. And none of that helps you find the fish in the first place. If you know that there are (or should be) fish in a given place then it will help confirm that and if they will bite what you have. It's great if you know a lake. I imagine that the western rocks lakes that Tom is fishing on with his knowledge of them would be one. AJay's big clear lakes up north with his knowledge would be another. If you can find the fish, it will help you catch them. But it won't help you find them. And if your lakes are very weedy then just forget it. There are some lakes here where I don't even bother turning it on.

I went from Kayak with spotlock to kayak with spotlock and FFS, and now to boat with FFS and spotlock. have i caught more fish year on year? Probably not/maybe. Am i catching fish more consistently? For sure. I've given up some smaller waters that were kayak only in favor of a couple bigger ones that are too big to kayak efficiently. The lakes that I've fished in both are certainly much easier to fish from a boat. FFS has given me some more options at times on tough days and certainly my non-bass catches show that with the stripers, catfish, and crappie all caught on FFS. It's added a new dimension to bass fishing and I've caught fish with it that I'd never have caught or even fished for in the past. I haven't had any big numbers days this year (weather and my availability play a part there) but my 'normal' evening trip in the past would have been 2-5 bass with an occasional skunk thrown in. This year my normal trip would be 5-10 bass and I don't recall the last time I skunked unless it was April 5th when I was breaking in the motor on an awful cold spring day on a new lake (I still caught crappie that day via FFS). I'll echo others and say that spot lock isthe more critical of the two. I don't have a shallow water anchor and I'm not convinced it will help me in my lakes (most of which are more than 10' deep where the boat is when I'm fishing) but I am considering one. FFS is a nice to have and I'm glad I have it. And I have yet to have a bag of chips in the boat. Jerky, cinnamon buns, candy bars, and barbeque have all made an appearance this year, but never a bag of chips. I'll take golden sriracha doritos next time.

I don't know spots, but all of the other parameters tell me to keep a topwater on for the inevitable blitz that will happen during the day when you don't have one tied on. Something like a 1/2 oz sexy dawg that you can cast 40-50 yards if needed.

@Bandersnatch- glenn mentioned Xbraid and Lunkerhut on another thread. I looked at them and they were too big for me for finesse spinning so probably what you're looking for in a bigger diameter braid for a baitcaster. TW has both.

@HawkeyeSmallie - if you find schools of bass (or a pattern of bass) that are focused on the young of the year shad, they are hard to catch on bigger baits at times. if the little shad at 2", you're not going to get them on a 5" pencil popper most of the time. On the flip side, fish that aren't keyed in on anything specific are looking for FOOD. More calories per effort exerted. That's why bigger baits will get bit. It just comes down to your specific scenario.

i am going to have a similar project on mine this winter. Mine just has flat sheet metal (with rubber trim) leading into the main hatch and live wells. The trim isn't perfect and even if it was the water would pool on top of the sheet metal. I'm going to put in a drain hose so it goes down through the floor of the hatch/cubby. There is already a drain there, but enough water comes through the hatch opening that it soaks the boxes inside. Just drilling a drain hole in the hatch lip won't help. It will still drain right down into the hatch itself. The drain has to be connected to the bilge area somehow.

In that case (the sheet metal lip in the later picture), I think either of the products will fit it just fine. Then the only question is where does the water go that get down into the track of that sheet metal. The rubber will stop it going into the hatch side of the sheet metal, but there is still a U channel for it to collect. Are there drains?

ok, that's what I thought. when you said it was a big round deep bowl that's where I thought you were. But you said no wood and that confused me... If you come up to fish this way again, give me a PM. I was almost there on Sunday. And I'll be out there at some point over the next two weeks.

I don't think that is going to work. I assume you're talking about the silver lip that goes into vertical into the hatch. The trim you have in your hand is meant for going over a flat metal like sheet metal. it won't have enough grip to hole what looks like 3/8" of metal.

@BrianMDTX - with arrows you are putting FAR more force into the shaft when you shoot it to the point that over time the scrim matrix can start to break down via force/damage. Also, as a separate note if your arrows are underspined they will flex a lot further on the shot and contribute to those same damages faster A stiffer arrow will come off the bow much straighter and won't have the same level of flex.

@Team9nine a random google search pulled up a 2019 thread where I think you had just started with GSoul. You started with 14# but were going to try the 10. Where did you settle in the end? I’m thinking a minnow shaking rod so more open water type of deal most of the time. The 14# is about the same diameter as 8# 832 so a little smaller than what I’m throwing already (I throw 10# 832 or 131). TW doesn’t list the 10# GSoul diameter but it has to be close to a 6# 832 which is getting into sewing thread territory. But with the sinking and tiny diameter it sounds attractive especially if there is no cover around.

@AverageAngler - my water has dropped to high 60's and the past 4 trips my rule has been 'you can't cast shallow enough'. Bass sitting in 8" of water just waiting for a baitfish to appear. Back sides of grass blotches looking shallower. If I kept covering water within those parameters I was catching fish. in NJ? I can think of a couple lakes close to that description but the no wood part has me 'stumped'.

graphite rods don't 'break in'. Old bamboo and fiberglass rods would, but graphite does not take a set or break in in any way. With your rod, you've just gotten more used to it and how to bend it.

1- you're catching fish up to 5#. It is a private lake in one of the most fished states. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. 2- It's still the back end of summer for you. Summer bass can go into a funk. When they tell you they are eating plastics, then throw plastics! 3- There might have been fish caught that were 10# from that lake, but a generous population curve might say that is a 1 in 10,000 fish as far as the population is concerned. In a 16 acre lake I'd be surprised if there is more than a handful of fish that are over 6-7 lb unless it is being managed for that (in which case you wouldn't be catching many 12-15" fish like you are. It is great knowing they are in there. I have a small lake that I'm told has fish to almost that size (and I'm in NJ) so knowing that any cast might produce that fish keeps you excited to fish that place. But knowing I'm not fishing during big fish times of the day or times of the year says I'm very unlikely to catch that one right now (next April, here we come).

What I found helped a lot was a bed extender. not for extra support since the one I got was a little too short to touch the kayakwhen it was sitting in the bed of the truck. But loading and unloading it helped a ton. It allowed me to stand between the extender and the bed of the truck which let me lift the stern of the kayak vertically without twisting my body. Once I got the back of the boat up on the extender and centered there, walk to the front and start sliding it on. Before the extender it was a bear to lift 75# or so while I was standing next to the tailgate and twist 90 degrees to put it on the bed.

that would be a nice little boat for you and something to think about if you ever get to a point where a canoe is too unsteady for you. A little 35# transom mount motor and a 10# lithium battery and you're set. You'd be surprised how little actual water you need for one. They are really light (probably 300-400# total for that boat) and it would only draw about 6" of water. You might need to clear a couple more bushes from the channel in and out but it isn't the worst idea.

When we hit the point in the year where PFDs are mandatory (Nov 1 to April 30) if I see someone not wearing one I'll give them a reminder if I'm nearby. I'm not going to ride across the lake to tell someone. The rest of the year when they are legally optional I'll mind my own bobber. Same with loading and unloading. If I'm at the ramp and someone is on their own and struggling or if they have a bigger boat that could be tough for a single then I'll offer if they would like a spare set of hands.

@Banned User Falcon expert head turner (6’10”, 1/4-3/4 H/F), shimano met, 16# supernatural. The rod is a ‘heavy’ per falcon, but it is a 6-power falcon heavy which means a lighter heavy compared to most. It is like a bigger MH and I’d call it a 1/4-1 lure rating if it were me. Still definitely fast action with a lot of power pushing into the top 25-30% of the rod. Lure of choice is an Evo, either 3/8 or 3/8 tungsten with a 4” spunk shad.

@ohioguy25 three trips to the same lake and two dozen bass all on bladed jigs plus another half dozen from my home lake on another trip (fish to just under 5#) have just reinforced my preference and what I typed above. Tonight alone, half the bass hit it when it hit the water after a long cast. I’m talking a full 35-40 yard cast. I’ve made that same cast with more moderate rods (same line) but with lighter treble hooks and not stuck the fish. I haven’t lost one in three months now. On top, a couple have hit it right at the boat where you could argue the more moderate rod might let the fish get it better and yet, when they want it they want it. This one hit with about 10’ of line past the tip (just enough I couldn’t boat flip him) and the only thing outside his mouth was the blade.