casts_by_fly

Frogs? No sensitivity needed. Crankbaits- you’ll notice the cover you’re hitting, the type of bottom you’re digging into, and if you’re fouled with grass on a more sensitive rod. A ‘better’ rod will usually be lighter, more sensitive, and more responsive. usually, but not always.

You’re just fine.

3x the depth of water you’re in plus ideally a length of chain of a couple feet above the anchor and before the rope. That’s the general recommendation but you can get away with less.

Sexy zombie? https://www.waterloorods.com/products/the-original-rat-l-trap-1-2oz-multiple-colors?srsltid=AfmBOopin0Edmdjt3Io3EZrJ-_ugHPmDSkwaHjfOTXetgym5tvUKHila if not, just get a bone or oyster one and use a chartreuse bait marker on the sides

yes, moreso on my buzzbaits. And I use skirt tying wire because it is quick to wrap a couple wraps and twist off. No knots. Can't be cut. won't break. Just have to watch the cut end is tucked away to not catch your line.

The Goat is only 3 3/4" so not long at all. You might be thinking of the billygoat. They also have a baby goat at 3". Most of my vibrating jig trailers are 3.5-4" I don't know the zcraw. But I know that the rage menace will last more than a fish or two that you're saying the zcraw does so...

did that happen when you were spooling it up (it looks like pretty new 832 braid). Did you have the line spool off to one side of the rod (left) while you wound the line on? Round reels have a wide gap between the levelwind bars so if you're holding the line to the left side of that gap the whole time it will bias the fill to the left. You've got a ton of space left on that spool so I would just fish it. A couple long casts will even it out.

when I was in the kayak, I had a 5 rod limit- 4 laid down and one in my hand. Usually that meant 1 spinning rod and 4 baitcasters. Among the 4 baitcasters (sometimes 5 if I left the spinning rod home) it depended on the lake and the time of year. Most of the lakes around here are heavy grass so treble hooked baits are a non starter from June and on. All the crankbait rods would be put away and swapped for heavier punching/frog type rods. On the flip side, those big rods didn't come out until June because there was no need for them. I had 3 main rods that were always in the boat with me- the swim jig, head turner, and the heavy cover jig. With those three, I could fish just about anything up to 3/4 oz and down to 1/4 or so. If I was limited to just those three rods for the balance of my fishing I wouldn't be in too bad a place for the waters up here. Then depending what lake, time of year, cover, weather conditions, etc I would add on a heavier rod, a frog specialist, a ned rod, etc. Your mileage might vary for your specifics but when you are limited in the number of rods you are carrying, having a couple rods that are good at a whole lot of things is a good strategy.

A rage menace glued on is a good option. Multiple sizes available. It isn't elaztec but it's a pretty tough plastic and if you glue the head onto the keeper it stays well. If you really want a craw type shape and also want elaztec then a goat isn't a bad choice.

like Phish said, not much. Once they start they stay geary. For cheaper reels with wide tolerances you can use a heavy grease which then fills some of the gaps but it's only a stopgap.

And will release bubbles better (though it's better if you don't make them in the first place!). But if it is warm you get a lot shorter working time before it starts to set up. For doing one guide go for it. For doing an entire rod, stay at room temp.

Thanks! This is what the Pool and front yard looked like before I started anything. The pool yard had a 4” drop from the concrete to the soil from settling and erosion over 15 years. I wheelbarrowed a dump truck load of topsoil (about 75 loads wheeled 50 yards) to level it first and then planted it. And then all of the work at the start of the dog yard. It was pure dirt after the construction so it was a blank slate spring 2023.

We bought our house in late 2019 and a guy was contracted to cut it for that year. We made a plan for the following year of what I wanted and what we would do. He sold the business that winter and the plan didn’t make it to the new guys. They cut but didn’t treat anything or apply anything. By the end of the year the yard was a mess. I told him what I wanted for the following year and they did stuff but it never looked like what I wanted. That summer I had weeds out the wazoo and kept asking for treatment (I said I had crabgrass). He don’t believe me until he came out himself to look and it was a mess. Said he’d send his guy who was a ‘specialist’. Two months later he showed up. I still had the weeds. He put down Scott’s 3 in 1 which (while a good product generally) didn’t touch the weeds I had. That’s when I took matters into my own hands and got knowledgeable about grass. I learned that what I was calling crabgrass is actually stiltweed and a real pain in a lawn. I got my irrigation running and tuned up to what is should be. I started learning and then treating the various weeds (and there were a bunch of different ones. Then through the process of building our outdoor kitchen I had to completely renovate the dog yard. That really got me down a path of wanting and having nice grass to the point that I then renovated the pool yard too with 100% rye and cutting it at an inch every three to four days with a manual reel mower. Other areas have slowly improved as well without a complete redo. today was the first big lawn day for me. I replaced a couple sprinkler heads. Filled a couple dog dug holes. Raked a few dead patches that burnt out. Fall preemergent on the side yard (which doesn’t get a whole lot of love from me). I’m about ready to start dropping seed but that means a slit seeder rental for what I need to do, seed, top dress, and then spraying preeemrgent so a lot of work. But I’m almost at steady state where I can get into maintenance mode and not improve mode. @Mike L- I have a modern version of a manual reel mower. That’s what I used last year to cut 1200 sqft of the pool yard area to 1” or so. Every 3-4 days. That’s what most of the pictures are of above. When I redid the dog yard that’s what I used for the first two months while it was still growing in. I also used it to make a lawn games path in the dog yard last Fourth of July hence the flags and tape measure.

50 lb wire leader with snaps and swivels. About 12”. It’s not perfect but I have them and it should protect me for most all scenarios. And if I’m throwing a 7” hard bait, that leader isn’t putting off a bass.

I had a helix 7 and a 9 (separate times) in the kayak and I went to explor when i got the boat. Hbird has the best side imaging. If that is your priority, then the 15” helix is the answer among those choices. The helix and solix will give you comparable quality of side imaging. The solix gives you touch screen and a little better UI. At the 2k price point, I would take the extra 3” of screen (assuming you can fit it). You’re only going to be using it for one thing, not swapping around screens, so set it once and mostly leave it. The only thing I adjust regularly on my side imaging is the sensitivity and contrast, and the +/- buttons give you sensitivity in a press. the bonus of getting the bigger screen (aside from more pixels on longer graphing distances) is that when you add a 360 you have the real estate to work with it.

Alright, so I’ve fished this rod for a while now. For comparison I also have the 7’2” ML Poison adrena and the 6’9” ML Zodias. The UL/M has a 2500 sized stradic on it with 10lb 131 braid and 6 or 8 lb fluoro leader. I stand by my initial statement- This is a cool rod. I understand the UL/M rating now after fishing it for 6 months, most trips (about 30 trips this year now). The tip is an ultralight tip. If you loaded it up with 4 lb mono you could throw a single salmon egg for trout (and I might this spring). The top third of the rod has the power of an ultralight into a light. For casting purposes think of it as a light. My light power rod in the basement with a 1/8-3/8 rating has a heavier tip than this. Where the M part of the rod comes in is when you hook a fish. The bottom half of the rod has the power of a true M. Just tonight, I landed an 8lb striper on it. I landed a 5# striper, a 10# channel cat, and various other smaller fish on it. It has the power in the butt to lay it to one. This has become my jig and minnow rod. The light tip means that I can load up the tip on a cast when flicking it from any angle with any amount of line out past the tip with the least wrist action. It just flexes and flings. Where this rod is confusing, is setting the hook. I have lost a couple fish because I tried to just reel into them with an open hook on a jig and minnow. On the 7’2” PA ML, with a #2 or 1/0 VMC hook on a neko rig, I just reel and lift the rod. I’ve not lost a fish yet and some have been hooked in the thick of it. On this rod, you have to reel into it until the top quarter of the rod starts flexing and THEN set the hook. You need that medium power in the bottom half to drive the hook home. Now that I know that, it’s not a problem, but i was confused for a trip or three. And, I’m talking size 1-1/0 light wire open hooks. So know that if you have one and haven’t figured it out or if you’re considering one. On the whole, this is a cool rod. Super light, comfortable in the hand, great casting action and plenty of power for open water or mild cover fish.

My buddy doesn’t fish but we have been talking about going for a boat ride since I got the boat. His wife was traveling this weekend so I told my wife to make plans with a friend. I took him to one of the prettier lakes and we mostly just rode around and chatted while I graphed and looked for baitfish. If I found some I’d drop the trolling motor and pull out the livescope. We stopped for BBQ on the way and did take out. Cooler of beers. A couple cigars in the console. Pretty good night. 8# hybrid on the UL/M Poison adrena shaking a minnow.

Yeah, i get that. If it wasn’t for tournaments, then an AP with a second motor is the answer (or a terrova setup plus bixby on your choice of hull). I considered a small gas motor on the back of my AP for a while. Someone did it with a 3hp with integrated gas tank and got 8 mph or so. But man it looked sketchy. You can innovate on the shape all you want, but you’re always going to be trading slimline, sleekness (aka speed) for stability. Make it wider for stability and pointier for hydrodynamics and you’re making just a bigger boat- so then you need more power to push it. I’m sure there are tweaks here and there, but I think the current options are pushing up to the practical limits. The force motor is really cool and full featured for sure, but it costs almost as much on its own as the Autopilot does. For sure, it is a specialist, prestige product and I don’t think they will sell that many. it certainly won’t be the mainstream solution. I think the terrova is going to be really popular. If they would do an 80lb 24V I think they would sell even more of them (especially if they offered a ‘speed’ prop with it. 24/80 pulls my 1000lb boat at 4 mph with a weedless wedge prop. I think a slimline kayak would do 5.5 mph with it, maybe a bit more. At the end of the day, 6 mph, spotlock, stable, decent storage, and navigate by FF head unit are all possible. Just not all in the same package in a kayak even if money is no object (the garmin will get you the closest).

I’m sure they will work. But I’d pick a plastic that is far more durable. A true senko, a bronco bug, or a few others are not durable. I’d pick something like an original brush hog or another zoom plastic. Maybe even some elastec.

every option comes with compromises when you're talking about fishing in a kayak as you've laid out. So instead of trying to figure out the ultimate choice, figure out the thing you can live without. That will be the ultimate arbiter of your final decision.

Dwight typed out my response while I was doing something else it seems like. I like nice things. Somtimes they perform better, sometimes they are just nicer. A 'higher end' rod should be lighter and more responsive. It might be more sensitive too. Then again, there are a lot of rods that are in the 'not as expensive' bracket that are so sensitive and light that you might not be able to tell the difference.

I fished the 14lb for a part of a season. I thought it was stiff and wiry compared to my other options and I didn't find any benefit over my other choices in mono (supernatural #1, suffix elite #2).

I use fishing gloves as a Christmas gift opportunity. I never need or want anything as christmas gifts but I have nieces and nephews that 'need' to give uncle rick a gift. Fishing gloves are inexpensive and sit right in that $25 sweet spot for an uncle gift. I used a pair of Huk that I bought at Cabelas ($40) and after two years they are fine. The rubbery grip has largely worn off in the baitcaster reel grip area, but the other hand is fine. They are functional and are my backups still. I was given a pair of Glacier Glove Islamorada gloves (msrp $30) last Christmas and they have a more suede grippy part. I use these as my primaries and I'm sure I'll get another year out of them, maybe more.

I don't have the Deep Dive App, but I'm pretty sure it does something similar. It pulls data from tournaments, weather, wind, topo, etc and makes recommendations. I don't know it's full data sources and I don't think it is spitting out GPS coordinates, but it will give you 'outside current breaks', 'south facing banks mid lake' and similar level of detail per the couple demo videos I've seen on it. I can see the benefit for scouting/prefishing if you don't have a wealth of knowledge and experience to start from to narrow down the areas. I can see if you're going to a lake you don't know and would ordinarily do some map prework, this can simplify that. @A-Jay- you've mentioned your spring and fall methodology and types of areas that you look for for jumbo brown fish on your lakes- go do that in northern california or another place and AI could show you similar places on other lakes before you could pull up the topo makps for those lakes. Of course this is all just a starting point. You still have to go check those areas and catch the fish that are or are not there. And of course the model is only as good as the information it has learned from which means if you're just using internet knowledge, well we know how good that can be at times.

I guess NJ gets Ike. Not sure who else is from here though.