casts_by_fly

I ordered 2 packs to put on ned rigs. Didn't check the size before I ordered and they were the large- a solid 1/2 oz chunk of plastic. I rigged one up the other day when nothing else was working on the lake and was reminded why I don't like a wacky rig or anything else that you basically deadstick. Just not my style. That said, it casts like a plopper which is to say as far as you want with no real effort. I did reorder the smaller ones (3.5" I think) and I think they are going to be great on a ned head. The thick end down and the little tail up looks good.

That's kinda my point above. Ignoring the DC models and using TW pricing, you've got the Antares ($550), Met ($450), Bantam ($350), and Curado 70 ($250), and Curado ($200). The Chronarch is nominally a $300 reel (still available at that from many outlets). At that price point it gives you a more refined curado. And if you need a 150 sized reel that is light, then it's about the right combination of size, price, feel, etc., so I think there is a place for it in the lineup. But the Curado 70 is encroaching on both weight and price (I can't speak to refinement). And the current Curado is pushing up close on features (micromodule, hagane, Ci4+, MGL spool, etc). If the chronarch is going to survive, they need to upgrade to MGL3, silent tune, and infinity drive so that the feel is even better while keeping the price point the same. That would probably be enough to keep the series alive, though it wouldn't move the needle a ton. It would be just enough to justify keeping it. All that said, anyone who is willing to order JDM obviously is in a completely difference place when you get get a met delivered to your door for $260 last I checked.

Probably. All of the other reels in the lineup have had refreshes or redesigns in the past 5 years. I wouldn’t be surprised if they kill it entirely, though that would leave a hole at the USDM price point that it is at. Then again, with the yen pricing right now I’m not sure the USDM prices make any sense anymore.

A 1/4 of buzzbait is just the head portion. the wire, hook, blade and skirt will push it over 3/8 pretty quickly and a chunky trailer will get you almost to 1/2 oz. That's my favorite place to throw buzzbaits. Flooded teresterial brush that doesn't have the slimy, tangly stalks like milfoil or chaga. And the water is usually a little dirty so the fish are right tight shallow. Too many fish eat it as soon as it hits the water then.

Kinda. Maybe more like if you crossed a lipless crankbait with a swim jig. A vibrating jig is still a jig, it just had a weird clicky-thump sound to it that's not dissimilar to what a lipless crankbait can put out. A spinnerbait is a different animal and different sound signature in the water.

After every fish I inspect my line the last foot down to the knot. Anything odd and its retied.

No problems with weeds. Fluoro is pretty abrasion resistant even to wood and rock so weeds are no problem, even pad stems. Fluoro doesn't like to be crimped back on itself or bent/pinched hard. if I were in your shoes, I'd take it out in the yard and make a good long cast, then strip even more off the reel. then wind it all back through your fingers to make sure there are no nicks anywhere else.

See! Now you get the humor in the situation. Next time just remember that as she's screaming down and make a cast for the next fish. Did you ever find a bass bed?

did you backlash that rod recently? A backlash and subsequent picking out can put a kink down into the reel portion of the line. Braid doesn't care. Mono mostly doesn't care. Fluoro is a right toddler about it and will throw a fit about a little nick.

I think everyone above covered it off pretty well. It's just another bait that has a time and place. For me, that's largely early season when the grass is more sparse and the water chilly. I'm like Ajay in targetting the bottom. I'll let it sink on the cast until it hits bottom and then crawl it. Every now and then kill it and let it sink back down to make sure I'm close to the bottom. I know a lot of pros do, but I've never had luck throwing one at docks or riprap.

now you'll never go down that bank and not think of that. I think the concepts of space and privacy are different for everyone. Similar to others in boats that are fishing (or not some times). On lakes that have a boat dock and lake house every 50' I think most owners just accept that people will be there. Similar on community holes- you just expect that there will be others fishing it so you make it work. On a remote pond in Maine you kinda expect a lot more space and a lot fewer people. Not saying she was right by any stretch, in fact she was very much in the wrong, but I can see how she might have gotten there. I had one confrontational experience a couple summers back. I was much closer to the shoreline and the person was on their deck which ended at the waterline. We were probably 30 yards from each other when she kicked off about owning the property down into the water (accurate) and that I had to stay x feet away (inaccurate). It transpired that the didn't want anyone casting close to her boat because she had to put a new bimini on it from someone snagging it and making a hole. People all have their touchy points and the fight on the water just isn't worth it for me. I'm out for peace and quiet. Congrats on the bass.

What weights and lures are you planning to throw?

On another forum I frequent, there were lots of great stickies, but they were taking up to much real estate like you note. They were put into a single thread titled “all the stickies” or something like that which was pinned. Then the rest of the forum threads were normal. Works pretty well.

From what you describe, if you were going to go down the bank then I’d be throwing some combo of crankbaits as my starting point. A plopper would be tied on also. Both can cover a lot of water until you find out if they are right tight to the bank, off the bank in 2-5’, or if they are deeper. With no grass and plenty of docks and brush I’d have a dt6, dt10 or 14, and a squarebill. A paddle tail on an underspin also, something like a mayor or similar on a 1/2 oz or so such that you can keep it moving. Also good for throwing up under docks. I’m looking for different gradients of bank- flat, gently sloping, and steeper and the transitions between them. Then looking at bottom composition. You say it is mud bottom. I’d find any piece of gravel/sand/rock that is different and focus on it. If the whole lake is one thing, the bass will gather where there is a different thing. Docks will always play, you just got to figure out where they are relating to them. You’re right about the thermocline limiting them later in the summer, but if there is cover and structure holding them above the thermocline in the summer, then that same stuff will hold them now.

Maybe not one lure, but the past couple years I did a similar challege to get better at specific things. The first time it was the all soft plastics trip. Looking back at that trip report (second page of the thread) and the learnings, I've definitely carried a few of them forward and caught bass specifically because of that trip. Moving from a jig to a texas rig has been big for me to the point that I rarely tie a jig on anymore. And I've caught a lot of good fish in the change. Sunline has become my #1 mono. And the bait monkey won as he always does (I have a dedicated frog/toad rod now). Last year I did the all finesse outing. Like the first time, I learned some things that I wasn't doing before. Spinning setups aren't all that bad and I need to broaden my game there (the bait monkey always wins). A ned is generically my preferred finesse lure because I can swim it slow instead of dragging it, but it takes the right heads and bait (the bait monkey always wins). BFS rods are a great tool for this (the bait monkey always wins). So if I were do to a "one lure challenge" like you're proposing, it would be either a ned rig or a rage bug. I wouldn't limit to just one instance of that bait, aka I'd have a bag or two of the given plastic and associated terminal tackle. It would depend on the lake and conditions so I'd have to pick the color and specific ned bait when I get there. For the rage bug it would either by GP or BB. I could just go straight to 'no brainer' which is half and half and be fine if forced to choose before leaving. If it is a ned bait then it is probably a 4" senko in the same colors on a bass union 1/8 oz head. If it is a really finesse/tough day then it might just be a ned plastic, maybe in straight black. In all cases I reeserve the right to chartreuse tip the tail.

That's what we used to do all the time growing up. Wet wading in the small creeks with a 5' ultralight and a small pack of lures. You'll need to downsize a little, be stealthy on approach, and cover some territory (have good hiking boots). But 50 bass days weren't uncommon in tiny creeks. most were 12" and under but occasionally you'd get a 2lb fish. All great on 4 lb line and ultralight rods.

On his youtube channel, Tyler Berger talks about a 4 bait rotation for figuring out bass. It is how my own brain thinks, so it has resonated with me. 1- something moving fast 2- something moving slow 3- something finesse 4- something big The specifics of each category depend on your waters, but a fast bait will be something like a spinnerbait, vibrating jig, squarebill, walking bait, etc. Cover a bunch of water that looks fishy and find some bites. Then if you find some, slow it down with a texas rig, a jig, or something else worked more methodically in a smaller area. Or, if they aren't interested in eating something fast then slow down in some fishy areas with something 'slow'. If you're still not getting bites but you're pretty sure there are fish around, then go something finesse like a dropshot, ned rig, finesse worm, etc. Lastly, throw something big like a swimbait or a glide. They might not eat it all the time, but you'll often have followers and blowups to at least show you where fish are hanging. I've found that a buzzbait can do similar things as a reaction bait if I'm not already throwing it as part of #1. There can be a lot of overlap and interchangeability in the baits in a group. A spinnerbait, a vibrating jig, a squarebill, and a lipless crankbait can fish the same bluff wall or riprap bank. A texas rigged beaver, a big worm, and a pitching jig can all be thrown into the same cover, etc. Pick the one that you like and that works for the cover you're throwing into. I fish a lot of grass so a buzzbait or toad, a vibrating jig, and occasionally a spinnerbait are my #1s and a texas rig beats most jigs for bottom contact for me.

I'm the same as most here. I'll pick the skinniest hook gap that the lure will allow and then the length has to be right so that the bend is going through the thick part of the plastic to help it hold up to multiple fish. Using a rage bug as an example, I use either an EWG or a straight shank flipping hook, usually a 3/0 but it depends on the brand and specific hook. The gamakatsu EWG in a 4/0 has a perfect hook gape, but it is too long for a standard rage bug because the bend goes through the bait roughly at the head/eyes where it is thin. I'll grab a shorter hook so it goes through the mid-body better. I use EWG, straight shank, and round bend offset and all give good hooksets. Something to consider is the cover you're going through. I fish mostly grass and an EWG hangs up on grass a little more than the others. The cleanest is an offset round bend where the thickness of the plastic is about twice the offset of the eye so that when you put the hook through the plastic the plastic overhangs the entire offset of the eye. Combine that with a skinny nosed weight and it will slide through grass easily. My second best is a straight shank hook because it is a smooth angle down the bait with no 90-degree bends.

If the primer bulb isn't staying firm, then you either have a bad check valve or a leak in the line that's letting air in. Can you prime the bulb and then it turns over? If so, then there is your culprit. I'd replace the line from the tank to the motor including bulb and valve.

Partly tradition, partly reliability. Round reels started out not having levelwinds (bass, saltwater, etc). Then the levelwind was invented for convenience but not all reels added them. And in saltwater where everything gets covered in salt and corrodes, having a levelwind is another point of failure. I think that was accurate’s reason for not adding one. It isn’t needed for what their reels are designed for and adding one is another point of failure.

If it is only 3/4” then you won’t notice anything. When you start talking 2-3” then you will.

Thanks. Also, I fixed that last line for you.

I haven’t handled the bladed jig rod, but from the comparative descriptions from others it is truly a moderate fast, slightly softer action. The swim jig rod is a fast action (at least in the Cara). It has a lot softer tip and a lot more butt compared to how the bladed jig is described. Maybe there Cara is a lot different to the lowrider, but I would be very surprised if they used a different mandrel and flag for the two. I expect it is the same mandrel and flag (graphite sheet template) and they use a different graphite sheet and scrim for the lowrider. It will keep it the same action, but just change the responsiveness a little. It will seem a little slower in speed, but the action will stay the same. So for me, I would prefer the swim jig rod over the bladed jig since I prefer a little faster action for all of those things. That said, if you took the lipless out of the wishlist, then it would be the head turner for me. That’s what I throw my spinnerbaits and bladed jigs on now, and what I threw a buzzbait on last week and liked a lot (I still like the heavy cover jig best for buzzbaits). It’s a little too much for a lipless crankbait though I think. In a pinch it would do, but if you know you’re going to be throwing one it isn’t the rod I’d pick. The other two to consider would be the 7’ all around fast and the 7’4” heavy cover jig. Both come with considerations though. I haven’t fished the all ‘round fast. I have the all’round in the bucoo and it isn’t enough rod for me for those things. BrianMDTX on this board has the fast version and likes it a lot. I’ve considered getting one, but the swim jig I think would superseded it for me. The HCJ is a great all around rod. It is a much bigger rod though. At 7’4” it just fishes bigger and as a 6-power it has a good bit more butt to it compared to the swim jig or the other 5 power rods (the head turner is al so a 6 power). I haven’t fished a lipless on it, but it is more moderate than the HT at the same total power and I think it would work. It’s my best buzzbait rod and is a great bladed bait rod. But, it’s best with a 1/2 oz lure weight. A 3/8 plus a chunky trailer, a 3/8 weight plus plastic Texas rigged, etc. I’m sure I could throw a 1/2 oz red eye shad a mile with it and I’m going to test that out next trip. If that’s your range then hammer down. I still think the swim jig with 16# sunline is the right choice in this case.

Yeah, pretty much. I said it to Katy on another thread, but when I don’t know what else to do I put on a rage bug and 3/8 oz weight and just start pitching to every piece of cover.

Then depending how you want to split your money, I’d say what I said in another thread. A JDM Tatula SV TW for $160 and a Falcon low rider for $130 puts you right on $300 and would be an awesome setup. I am considering a low rider for myself right now. I have the Cara heavy cover jig but think I want a dedicated one for buzzbaits which doesn’t need the Cara sensitivity. The alternative would be an SLX for $130 and then an Expert for $200. That’s a touch over, but the experts are phenomenal rods for the price.