casts_by_fly

you're going down the path I did a couple years ago with swim jigs. I started with and then went heavily into Keitech SIFs. On lighter swim jigs (3/8 and under) in grass and open water they give a really nice side to side roll of the whole bait plus have a good shimmy of the tail. If I had to pick only one swim jig trailer it would probably be a 4.3 SIF. But I don't have to pick. The problem with Keitechs are cost and durability. They aren't cheap in the first place and depending on the swim jig keeper you might only get a fish or three out of them. Repeatedly popping them through grass pulls at the trailer and after you've pulled it down off the keeper a couple times it's pretty torn up. You pretty much have to glue them. And around here that still doesn't help with the pickerel that like to just bite off the tails (and turn them into buzzbait trailers if you haven't glued them on). So I use a lot of rage menace instead. They have a good thump also but don't have the same body roll. However you can rig them vertical or horizontal for different effects. Vertical looks like a panfish in profile. Horizontal still looke like a panfish while swimming but drop it to the bottom and hop it twice to be a crawfish. It makes a swim jig a bit more versatile if you only want to have one jig tied on. They come in a couple different sizes but the 3.5" and 4" are what I use mostly. The magnum is BIG in case you're thinking about it. I have some 1/2 oz swim jigs that require a magnum due to the hook design and that's a gizard shad sized immitation for the full package. I use a bunch of rage tail products for other applications like rage bugs and craws. When they get too torn up in the nose to be texas rigged I'll throw them on a jig and both work for swim jigs. I wouldn't pick them over a menace if I was buying something, but because I use them for texas rigs and have a bunch in my box I have no problem throwing them on the back when I have one. Surprisingly, I've never tried the rage swimmer. Given how much I like the action on the keitechs and as much as I use rage products you'd think...

Yeah, I noticed that also. All of the ponds that were a couple hundred yards uphill from the river flooding were green and clean. But man if you were in that bottoms you were in a tough spot. One of the houses that sits in the bottoms musst have been built on a slight rise because the house, an out building, and a little bit of parking area were above the water but that was it. It was at least a mile of water from there to solid land. This was just across the border into Kentucky between the Green river and Ohio river

I was just in Evansville the past two days and the flooding is unreal. Town is okay but every creek and low area around is flooded. Then flying out over the Ohio and others it was miles of flooding. All of the fields that are river bottoms are under feet of water. At one point the water was multiple miles wide for as far as the eye could see. It’s going to take more than a few days for that to drain away.

Not really. I like to play so I would do that when the fishing was slow. But for the most part once you find the things you like it is just a little bit of contrast and sensitivity. If the water is muddy or has a lot of plankton/algae then you up the contrast a little. Hard rock bottom you might lower sensitivity a little so you’re not blowing out the edges. If the lakes you fish are a lot of the same type (clean water and rock bottom for instance) you might not have to touch it at all. Here is a snippet I always use. the first picture is a crop from the second and even heavily cropped from an older iPhone and compressed to fit this site you can pick out the individual strands of grass in the grass bed.

I had the g3msi helix on my kayak as my first ff. It’s a great unit with awesome imaging. No regrets and I only upgraded when I added live imaging.

interesting. They must have moved them again. That might be why there is a back order to September and limited models available.

Nice. Glad it worked out. Pool noodle is a cheap solution for buffer.

All about the same if in the same lake. Variance from lake to lake is bigger than fish to fish.

That’s the head turner equivalent you’re talking about. In the bucoo it’s called the pitching stick last I looked. I have one in the bucoo and the expert version. Great rods but too heavy for what he wants.

it was designed to throw 1/8-3/8 oz swim jigs (plus trailer) so yeah I’d say it would do what you want.

Just get the 7’2” swim jig rod and be done with it.

yeah, for a 1/4 oz jig plus trailer you’re in a good place. I’ll throw an 1/8 oz sniper jig plus lighter trailer on it some times and that’s pushing the limits but it gets there. An 1/8 swim jig plus a 3.8 keitech is plenty though.

I have the finesse jig in the expert. It’s rated 1/3-3/4 but it could just as easily be 3/16-5/8. It is my ‘take one rod’ pond hopping for bass. Light enough tip to throw an 1/8oz head plus modest plastic. You can read my full thoughts here. I think I said it in another thread but the swim jig would be the other one to look at. Ignore the 1/8-3/8 rating. It is a 3/16-5/8 or 3/4 if rated normally.

I like a double pitzen. I used to use a Palomar as it was a good knot. But I would end up having the occasional tie that would break when I tested it. Even being fully careful about not crossing line, proper wetting, proper snugging, etc I would still get them. The uni to uni for leader to braid was the same for me. I swapped to the double pitzen for mono and fluoro knots and have not had a single knot break. On leader to braid I went to an Alberto. Again, no issues. I’ll still tie an improved clinch if I’m fishing light line bait for trout just because it is so easy to tie onto a single #10 hook. I’ll tie a trilene knot on spinning rods because I don’t want to waste the tag end lengths that I’d lose on a palomar or pitzen. I’ll tie a snell knot for straight worm hooks when flipping but that’s just so the knot isn’t chewing up the plastic.

That glue is just fine. I used it for years to good effect. I don’t prefer epoxy because if you need to change it later epoxy can take a lot more heat to soften and remove. Enough that you could damage the blank itself. There are a couple key things to get right in using hot melt for a tip top. First, the tip top has to fit the blank well. If there is too much gap between the blank and the metal you aren’t going to fill it with glue. You can buy a tip top set or just a couple that are close in size to what you are using and then go by trial and error. The tip top should slide onto the blank smoothly, but there shouldn’t really be a gap and it certainly shouldn’t ‘wiggle’. Second, clean the blank. You need a good base to adhere to. Use a scotchbrite pad or similar thing to take the shine off the blank. Not sandpaper unless you have 800 or higher grit wet dry and even then a scotchbrite pad is better. You’re only taking the shine off the blank to give the glue a wetting surface. Lastly, Hotmelt glue is thick, even when you heat it up. It is easier to use a razor blade and cut a couple little slivers that you can slide down into the tip top. Then heat the tip top until it is all melted. Then slide the tip of the rod in. That way you’re never heating the rod blank itself. When you have hot glue on the blank you can’t get it hot enough for long enough before it starts to set up. It will also use the tip top to scrape it off the blank. When you fill the tube there is no where for the glue to go but back out between the blank and the tip top. Let it cool a little and just peel away the excess.

If you’re just straight reeling maybe with a little rod lift then a rattletrap is my choice. If you’re yo-yoing and letting it freefall then the red eye shad has a great shimmy on the fall. Similarly, shallow water I’ll throw a trap but more than about 4’ and it’s a red eye shad.

She’s a wirehair vizsla technically, though not very wiry. She is just over a year old now.

Same as ajay and team 9.9 except I start with a big long cast. That will spool 40-some yards off. Put a rock on the line at your feet and walk to the other end out in the yard while carrying the rod. When you get to the end, snip off, retie the other end, and start reeling.

In three days! (Practically)

Yes, but I wouldn’t call it a compact spinnerbait overall. It’s a little smaller than a normal size, but not as compact as the siebert compact. The sv3 is a little bigger overall, though has a lot smaller blades.

If you’re not already, watch the current BASS elite event on the Pasquotank. Aside from the big fish, the maps of where the anglers are fishing will give you some ideas of where the fish are concentrated.

We woke up to this this morning. I already was not planning to fish for other reasons, but yeah this puts a damper on things.

Agreed. I initially bought it as a 1/2 oz walking bait rod and it’s really good for that. But that’s a situational deal for me so I loaded it up with chatterbaits that first year. It will throw a 1/2 oz with trailer, but that’s pushing it a little depending on the trailer. The 3/8 size (or even 1/4) is perfect. Same with spinnerbaits. It’s a machine with a 3/8 spinnerbait. I currently have it loaded up for early season jerkbaits and it’s a pretty good choice for that too. It is the baitcaster I grab if I only want to take one rod pond hopping.

Also a speed bag user. I have a couple and will swap where I am storing them. Big worms are currently buried for a little while but craws are out. You can get 25-30 bags in one depending what they are.

I like the siebert compact. It’s not as small as a rocket shad or beetle spin, but much smaller than a standard sized spinnerbait. Great hook, awesome skirts. Have a look, he has both double willow and tandems.