casts_by_fly

In what motor? Also, I think you mean the impeller, not the lower unit right? The lower unit change would be pretty major.

If you are looking at a falcon, your search starts and stops with the head turner for what you want. You want a 6 power if you’re adding bottom contact and frogs to the mix. Shimano fan here also, though use some zillions also. Pick your price point and decide from there. If you’re looking $250, then go JDM and get either a met or zillion. I’m a mono guy for what you’re talking.

So were you a stunt car driver or MMA fighter?

I assume you’ve sharpened the one you have fully? Not just on a steel but on a stone and really hone it (or take it to someone)? Over time any knife is going to wear down the evenness of the edge beyond what you can fix with a steel. last I knew, local sharpeners were charging $1-$1.50 per inch. Absent that, I will make the same reco that i bought for my in laws who were in the same situation. My MIL was getting older and never had strong hands to begin with. My FIL was never a kitchen user besides the fridge. An 8” chef’s knife wasn’t what they needed and their 40 year old block knives were beyond saving. Mercer culinary M21076 Genesis 6” short bolster chef’s knife. Standard chef knife shape, smaller size for handling and better for delicate stuff. They hold a great edge and the black synthetic handle is a great size for lower grip strength. It is slightly sticky such that it doesn’t slide in your hand when damp. Also, $35.

Yes you can do what you want. You’ll need to buy a second transducer and second set of mounts, plus however you run power. But, when I had my kayak I was taking the helix 7/9 off every trip to ride in the truck. I used a yak attack quick release mount and it was fine for the 7 and pushing it for the 9. Plugs in the HBird carrier (not included with FF) which plugs into the back of the head unit. That said, once you have a double set up it isn’t that much more to have a second head unit so you might end up there once you do the math. A striker 4 and helix 7 are very different units in capability and size. Size is good for viewing, but a helix 7 is a lot bigger and means a hefty mount whereas the striker is pretty lightweight but you’re not getting any side or down imaging. Figure out what you need before you make that decision.

Yeah, for $30 you’re getting 16 ah. That’s tough to beat.

I fish 18 and 22# shooter on my jig/worm rod and on my big swimbait rod. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a single nick in the line no matter what cover I’m fishing. I just picked up some 15# tatsu when it was on sale but have yet to fish it in anger. For squarebills in rock, I’d look at the 14# shooter. I throw 16# supernatural mono for that purpose and deal with retying often (multiuse rod) but the slightly smaller 14# with that abrasion resistance would be about right for me for SBs in chunky rock.

Not sure which JC video you were reading, but he definitely does fish it out of sight. In fact that is one of his keys is getting it out of sight. When he starts to see the bait (at the depth he wants to fish) he’ll swap up to a less visible bait and usually a finesse, smaller blades some times, and drop it down in the water column. He prefers color in the water (6-18” visibility) and a ripple or more of wind. Early season he’ll slow roll big ones out to 5-8’ of water just off the bottom. that said, there are a lot of ways to catch fish on them depending on the cover. JC is fishing a lot of colored water and shallow with cover at home. I don’t have that here- i either have wood cover in super clear water, grass with 6” to 6’ of clarity, or rocky lakes. If there is a ripple on the water then I’ve got one tied on. I got away from them for a little bit but they just catch fish when the conditions are right. And if the conditions are right (breeze, ideally some color, cover that I can bring it through clean) I’ll force it a bit until they either start eating it or absolutely won’t. A spinnerbait is a good big fish bait, a good searching bait, and a good picking apart cover bait. Sounds like you were fishing it a little slow if the blades were just barely turning. Pick up the pace just a little. Go heavier if it is riding up. A 1/2 oz is my starting point. That steady “whump whump whump” of the blades is what makes them react.

@Swamp Girl - when they are aggressive and eating well, I think you’ll find that you have more time than you think. They will grab it and just start swimming away. They will hold it for 5-10 seconds which is plenty of time to reel down and sweep (which for you in a canoe or light kayak is going to be your best bet).

The head turner is the rod you want (assuming you prefer a faster rod for those moving baits). It will throw that 3/8-1/2 oz bait weight great and is fantastic for them. The swim jig is a good choice also and will do all the same things. It is 4” longer and has a lighter tip, but still has plenty of butt. It’s almost like they took the head turner and stretched the top 24” to be 28”. I was just throwing a 3/4 spinnerbait on the swim jig and while that’s the upper end for that rod it does it great. I was throwing it out past 40 yards on a cast and setting the hook when it hit the water (with mono). I’ve done the same with the head turner. The head turner was originally designed as a short pitching/jig rod. It’s great for that still. But it also makes one heck of a spinnerbait and other moving baits rod. I wouldn’t put braid on it for those rods but with mono or fluoro it’s the one.

@RLinNH The Noco are great chargers and now you have one that will charge any battery for as long as you need it. If they had a 24/12/12V when I build my boat that’s what I would have added. Sorry it didn’t sort this one out. Not sure if “made in Ohio” is critical, but they are not manufactured there. They are designed there and sold from there, but the manufacturing is China like other lithiums. The service might be better with them and that’s what you’re paying for. They have a track record of lasting in the industry (as a company). If you’re going high end domestic companies then miller and battle born are two to consider. Alternatively, I would suggest considering LiTime at 1/4 the price.

And if it keeps happening add a stiff piece of fluoro 12” long. I do that (with stiff mono) for topwater trebles as needed and it helps a lot.

The weightless worm is for just what it says- weightless worms in the 6” range. Also supposedly the best jerkbait rod in the range, but I haven’t tried it. The Mansfield is a really light, pretty moderate rod. Anything more than 3/8 would be too much for it. But for a 5/16 crankbait on 10# mono? Bang on. The trapcaster is also known as the ‘all round’ in other lineups. My thoughts on the bucoo SR trapcaster are in the first post and I won’t say anything more beyond that here as they still hold 5 years later (best use- crankbaits 1/4-1/2 oz). The Cara version (not reviewed yet as I’ve only had it for a couple months) is a better version of the same, but still a crankbait rod for me. Maybe if I was throwing finesse moving baits of other types. The Cara bend profile is smoother and the graphite crisper. I don’t have the all round fast maybe @BrianMDTX can chime in. My impression from reviews is that it’s a true fast action of the same power, aka they beefed up the butt and middle a little more. I’d love to fish one for a bit to know, but I have the swim jig which is superior to what I think the all round fast is. The Amistad is the baseline pitching rod that also does other stuff. I had the expert and have the Cara now. With braid it makes a really tough close contact rod. I swapped to mono (20# big game) because I prefer it and I use mine for big bottom contact mostly (1/2 oz or more plus plastic). HOWEVER- if you’re fishing around cover with 1/2 oz sized baits or bigger it makes an awesome moving bait rod. I’m talking 3/4 oz spinnerbaits and vibrating jigs, frogs (if you prefer a long frog rod), buzzbaits (yes, really), and even smaller swimbaits like the 6’ magdraft. The difference between 17# mono and 50# braid (and all points in between) is very different on that rod and is a +1.5 in power ‘feel’. Based on that, you have some 4 and 5 power rods, a 7 power rod, but not a 6. AND you want versatile. The head turner is the rod you want. That is my spinnerbait and vibrating jigs rod most days. But it will pitch a jig, throw a frog, throw a 4” paddle tail, just about a 6” magdraft, and all the way down to a 1/4 oz red eye shad (at a push). It’s an awesome 1/2 oz walking bait rod and I’ve thrown my usual buzzbaits on it well (I prefer longer rods for that). Just get it.

I was incredibly surprised and impressed by straight 6# sunline supernatural on the BFS rig when I fished it last year. I had swapped out of braid to leader to try straight mono and loved it. I threw some 6# tatsu on it this year when TW did the Christmas sale and I really like it also, though it does need a little more spool tension (which would normally be zero for me). Putting a 4” minnow on a 5/16 jighead (totally not BFS) makes for a great jighead minnow FFS combo that I can cast really accurately at moving fish. I like it better than a spinning rod for that application.

I just picked up a pair for pre rigged treble hook baits. If I am using a snap I’ll jut tie on the snap and have the lure I want to use in a little plastic bin in the boat. If I am tying direct, I am putting a wrap on. Before, I just wouldn’t tie treble hooked baits on or at most I’d have one and it’s the topmost rod in the box. But this time of year I might have 3-4. I moved to rod sleeves last year because having a dozen rods in the rod locker juts made a mess all the time and always where you least wanted it (far up in the locked). Tops of rods would go between the line and rod of another rod and then roll and twist into a mess. Sleeves are a super simple solution and aside from treble hooked baits have been great.

1/8 is my starting point for most any plastic down to 10’. But it depends on how you are retrieving them. If you are bottom dragging and on solid bottom then I can see his recco for sure. If you are trying to swim it slow-ish and not get bogged down in silt and slime on the bottom then I’ll drop to a 1/20-1/16.

At some point i decided that having nicer stuff might not help me do better, but it sure feels nicer and will stay nicer forever. I think that started 20 years ago in other hobbies and I’ve maintained it. Buy good value but nice stuff.

Yeah, I’m with @A-Jay . There are 3 zillions in there, but the rest are shimanos of some ilk. That that isn’t all of them.

What brand is it? It is possible that it died from sitting if it was put away empty and then sat for 2 years. 19 months at 1-3% per month is 20-60% of the capacity it could have self discharged. That’s extreme but not out of the realm. I wouldn’t give up yet. I would bet that the cells are depleted and the BMS is in sleep mode. It will need a wake up and a charge, it’s just how do you trigger it to do that. If all else fails, put the lead acid battery and the lithium in parallel to get the bms jump and then connect the charger at the same time. The lead acid will have enough voltage to wake up the bms and then the charger can push current. You might have to leave it sit this way for a little bit but once it comes out of sleep mode you’ll be okay.

I’m bringing this one back around because I finally fish them a little last weekend. I went with the hog farmers in 1/4 and 1/2 oz. A Scrounger isn’t what I thought it was going to be, but it is probably better than what I asked for. I was picturing it like a bladed jig type feel but the bait action is more like shaking a minnow on a good head where the bait just rolls back and forth side to side. Except with the Scrounger you’re getting a bit more forward motion and the jighead minnow is a more staying in place and just rolling. I put a 5” freeloader on it. I started with the 1/4 but for a moderate retrieve it was only going down to 3-4’ at most. I could have let it fall deeper, but then the retrieve to keep it there was so incredibly slow it was tough. I bumped to the 1/2 and that just felt natural to me for fishing 3-10’. It’s definitely going to be rigged when I am using FFS and they are chasing.

@Hartwood71 - I've been using it for 2 months now, most trips. It is on a solid tip poison adrena and is basically my minow shaking rod. I knew I'd be doing a lot more of that this spring (I wasn't wrong) so settled on a dedicated setup for almost exclusively that. I was using 10 lb 832 or 10 lb 131 for that in the past. I'll do a better rod review in the other thread I made, but you asked about line. What I wanted: thin for the strength to not impede the minnow sinking as much pink for visibility when I lose my minnow on the screen and have to aim the transducer where the line is going strong and manageable on the reel I think I am 85-90% of where I wanted to be. I went with 16lb PEX8 which is 0.006". 832 doesn't list a line that small (8lb is 0.007"). Is it THIN. It achieves #1 for sure. I can see the difference when I throw a minnow on 10 lb 131 next to it. Because it is so thin, #2 is a non starter. I have a hard time seeing it above water even when I know where it is let alone finding it blind. I have to shake it and disturb the water to find it some times. The only extra vizibility I've gotten from it is in the rod locker to know which rod I am grabbing. #3 is hit and miss. It is definitely strong. I muscled up a 9# channel cat on it last weekend and plenty of hard fought 3# smallmouth I have no issues with the strength of the line for what I'm doing. Because it is so thin, I was struggling with wind knots a couple trips ago. I've had to be more mindful about it but I'm getting there. Tying an alberto knot that day was killing me also. I think it was my tying technique, but I couldn't get one to keep. I finally put that rod away that day and retied it at home. So it is taking some getting used to, but I'm pretty sure I am going to keep it. To do it again, I would probably go with the 18 or 21# version for a little more diameter.

@Dwight Hottle - is that main lake for the pike? I know they are in the bay and lagoons, but never considered they would be in the main lake.

Yep.

lead acid is fine. The BMS just needs to see a voltage applied to it for 10-20 seconds or so.

I'm with blue basser. I love my DT series baits and carry them from the 4 to the 20 in enough colors for any conditions. I throw them in rocky bottoms and it just grinds down the bills. I think the plastic is just a little softer. When the fish are eating them I'll deal with it, but if I was fishing rip rap specifically then I'd have other thoughts in mind. Don't sleep on a lipless either. Bass will slide up and down the riprap and a lipless will let you fish all the depths.