casts_by_fly

I’m more in the AJay camp that they are a disposable bait eventually. Same with buzzbaits. Knowing how to bend them back in shape after a fish is a skill you just need to learn. And if you are boat flipping fish on them (or snagging them in the net with a thrashing fish) they are going to get bent out. I’ve got a range of brands and they all work in the right place. Some are easier than others to keep running right. I primarily fish strike kings and war eagles, but have some sieberts, dirty jigs, Stanley vibrax, and even some I’ve made myself for a specific things. The dirty jigs have a lighter wire and awesome action for it, but do bend a little easier. The SKs and war eagles are a little heavier wire for the size. I made it through about 30 bass this year on a war eagle screaming eagle including a bunch of 3+ lb fish. One backcast crack on the boat and one cast that slammed a tree trunk I was trying to get next to were the kill shots on it. 30 good bass plus smoke feels about right for me.

You’re going to want the 52”. I have a 45” ultrex on my semi V and it is just the exact length. You’re going to be higher on the water in a renegade and on bouncier lakes.

Like you saw, if the fish are stacked vertically they are probably panfish. 30’ is way short. 75’ is a bare minimum for me.

Depends on your preferences and the rods you have but you could even simplify that further if you wanted. I am experimenting a little right now but if you looked at my rods a year ago you would have found 12/16/20 mono (big game in 20, supernatural for the rest), one rod with 18 shooter fluoro, one rod with 50 braid, and then 10# braid to leader on spinning rods. I threw in some 12 and 15 fluoro this year for a little better abrasion resistance trial but it’s not like I was losing fish because of it. Just retrying a little more often.

You could just make that from a short arm spinnerbait (or cut an arm down) and add the extra piece of wire as the clacker.

Joe is not wrong. If you are truly limited to spinning tackle then go as heavy as you’re comfortable with. A 1/4-3/4 at a minimum. I have a fenwick world class that would pass muster with braid.

I can see where the resistance of one in the water would pull the canoe around quite a bit. And you need to have a setup that can handle it. I hated throwing one until I put it on my 8’ swimbait rod and now it’s a breeze to throw. But tangling and rigging is a pain so they just haven’t factored in for me yet. Maybe this fall.

Yep. It’s the season. I had them doing it to a spinnerbait on Monday.

Over, under, around, and through, depending on the type of grass, how thick it is, what mood the fish are in, etc. There will almost certainly be fish in it, but it’s about how you can fish it efficiently until you find where they are and what they are eating. Pictures would help as would a little more info. For me, I have tons of curly pondweed and milfoil. Also get a good few pads (spatterdock). Some of the lakes have a ton of chara which is more annoying than useful to me. If you have places where there are clumps of grass and paths through it you can fish moving baits mid level decently well. If you are topped out and matted then you’re either throwing stuff on top (frogs, spoons, etc) or you’re punching down through it. Then of course you have the front edge which can old fish at any depth from surface to bottom and gives options there too. The fish will use all of it at different times and all the tactics will work at some point, but it just depends on what you can do efficiently.

This is my 4th season with it now, all hbird. Things its added: chasing fish with a jig and minnow. Certain times, certain days it is the only thing going. And once you’re dialed in with how to do it it can be a lot of fun. Fish ID. Once you’re dialed in with a jig and minnow, you can graph in 2D for the arches and then jump to FFS and drop a 3” minnow on their head. if it is crappie or perch, they will eat it quickly and you can go about your way scanning some more. If it’s bass, you win. A visual on cover and where my bait is. I don’t always look at it and I’ve learned enough to have a better idea now, but a given retrieve speed with my rod and a 1/2 in bladed jig yields a certain depth. It is shallower than I thought. Now I can take a quick look to confirm it is running where I want it to. Smallies. I wasn’t good at them before and I’m not claiming to be an expert. But outside of when they are on their beds, I now have half a chance of finding them and catching them with any regularity. You can always throw into grassy cover and find largemouth but smallies are a different animal and deep water cover is more approachable to me now (I was never a dragger). This is fun:

It is in landscape or forward mode? My HBird in landscape has to be set correctly (flip up or flip down, left or right) and has software settings to flip it around based on how it is installed. If in forward mode, are you sure it is pointing forward towards the TM nosecone? I made that mistake the first time.

I am still in the ‘high hopes’ phase. I wanted an all terrain buzzbait and it definitely delivers for that. It’s part buzzbait, part plopper, part toad. You can throw it anywhere and it won’t snag. Hook bend below the body aside (body roll) it comes through everything and just keeps plopping. But after a year of occasional fishing them I haven’t had a fish hit it. I know they will work, but I just haven’t had the conditions for it when I chose that over a buzzbait AND the fish were looking up.

Removing is easy- EVA will cut off with a blade. But if you want a foregrip you’re going to have to take the reel seat off also. Then it depends on the blank construction underneath. It’s not a hard job overall, but you need to know what you’re getting into.

Don’t sleep on the belly weighted if it’s the right size. You’ll have to fish it faster to keep it up but you’ll get better distance casting and it will track upright when you reel.

I was throwing one yesterday. I love a spook but have tons of grass. And I haven’t had a good frog bite in ages. The idea was for this to be a top water I could bomb back into the mess, hop out like a frog or spoon and then walk aggressively in the open patches. I had a couple blow up on it but not get it yesterday. Then again, they did the same for the spoon and frog I had on. They just weren’t that into eating yesterday. FWIW- it walks like a dream. Better than a 2 hook spook. I don’t know how much I like how skinny the hooks are and I bent mine out/up some.

Same for me. I like the tungsten when the water is dirty or algal bloomed for the little extra noise it makes. The regular evo is great as my normal water bait.

What about lures with a vertical tie? Then you have left right. And what if you use a snap? Then you have to tie the snap and the pick which way to put the snap through… It doesn’t matter. I would say the only exception is a drop shot so that the line coming back to the rod is up or exposed while the line to the weight is down.

I fished the Cara head turner in anger today for a lot of the 6 hours I was on the water. I had the expert next to it (different bait though). While they feel similar but different on land, they fish more different than I expected. I need more time to confirm, but it is a good bit softer in the top third. It bends a lot more on a cast (loads up better with less effort) yet still flings it. Where the expert really likes a 1/2 oz vibrating jig the Cara was loading up really well with a 3/8. Now I can see how JC can flick a 1/2 oz spinnerbait one handed roll casting like nothing. The expert doesn’t do that but the Cara does. I need to confirm But this might be the perfect 1/2 oz walking bait rod.

Assuming you haven’t updated your solix to make it not talk to the helix, it should be in the data sources menu. I’m rusty on the helix since I’m 18 months since I last used mine.

i ended up with the fusion. It’s the right size and not heavy wire. I love the bait but the hook hanging under it does limit how well it comes through grass to the point that a buzz bait is almost as weedless.

As always, great info. I read it all twice at first to let it sink in and then come back some time later. Two questions: 1- what are you looking at on WU for fronts? Swings in pressure, changes in cloud cover, etc? I know what a storm front is and how to read it in other places, but what are you looking at on WU? 2- Have you tried a war eagle screaming eagle? I have the SK burners and bottom dwellers, MB spinnerbaits, etc. If burning one in 6’ or less and bringing it back as quick as possibly is your goal, the screaming eagle fishes faster for the same depth as the same weight burner. I was fishing both the past month and both have their place, but man you can really burn that 3/4 oz eagle. The only downside for you might be the hook shank. Because of the weight on the shank you would have to really cut down a blade minnow to get it on there to look right.

I think this is what you're seeing (just one example) https://www.amazon.com/Luna-Sea-11000-Cush-Floating/dp/B076QCSLYH/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=FA40EEI9JEKN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.CPiPCR2ZIQkwb2yqx94nAun0Qpb5RsBJVyurskSrNyfK_HDZzfgXDs8gnDJv8TToozKXTP6UCzGhTIgrcXcildC3iW8JBFKUWe3G7w_ekea9GnRlWd_C8seesuDPtezHZt8yXT5bI3_ljKARfSo7aUqJgBmkVS7gh_MdchK7oLdGuS_Kxv0ir2RjKXYu1Zv6Z1xTbRLejiqZvW7QlM19FO7fT_9liEH2jts0XwOOuAitFFYAbQL2mcKU3_jIKvFGFybCiQd8tr28h278CP2CRUMYcfH26hjOLyDbg381jIk.M8__Fofeh0i_dDJxuAxZQctreySBZktvRJv2JA7MSg8&dib_tag=se&keywords=Fishing%2Brod%2Bbutt%2Bextension&qid=1779669187&sprefix=fishing%2Brod%2Bbutt%2Bextension%2Caps%2C176&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1&psc=1

I think you have that mixed up a bit. Fluoro generally will take a lot MORE abuse from abrasion compared to mono. It depends a little on the fluoro and the mono, but for the most part you swap to fluoro for the tougher outer coating/material and to gain abrasion resistance.

The zillion at zero with no tension is wild- your thumb better be agile. But once you’re used to the reel you can really wind it down to almost nothing. If I could have that braking in a shimano body I’d be in heaven.

is it bad that I go out to dinner and see this on the wall and think coike?