casts_by_fly

I’m not a sitter either. In the kayak I stood the entire time unless I was landing fish or tying on a lure. That was the plan here too- leave the seat in the back just in case, but not have it in the front ever. But with the ultrex pedal being higher it’s a lot to balance on one foot with only half of my weight on the pedal foot. Maybe on still days it will be just fine, but it’s been so windy lately that a leaning post is nice. The second seat came home and went to the basement on the first day. Now the second seat base and back will go after I transfer the mount to the new one.

Heavier helps but so does more compact and more dense in weight distribution. A 1/2 oz buzz bait and a 1/2 oz red eye shad both weigh the same but the red eye laughs at wind while the buzz bait will get blown around. Skirts and appendages add drag.

I went with a 24/50 lithium for the motor, 12/100 lithium for the electronics, and a group 24 lead for the starter and accessories. Onboard charger. So far I haven’t made a dent in the 24/50. I’ve run the 12/100 down halfway based on the charger lights and that was 5-6 hours with both on high brightness and all things pinging. The lead stays charged from the motor but I plug it all in when I get home anyway. final add on for now is coming this weekend. Since I can’t put the recessed tray in I am going to keep a seat up front. But there isn’t much space so I got an offset seat post to but back 4-5” and added a millennium palma horse which gets me 2 more. With the factory seat and offset post I had just enough room so the extra 2” from the Palma will be right.

I think you've got the right line for what you're describing. Braid would also work but you don't need it. And 12# elite is a thicker mono for the rating anyway (comparable to big game in that way). I'd stick with what you have and get good with it. Vary up your trailers and weights a little bit but otherwise you're on the right path.

The accent Wheeler finesse isn't much bigger. The wire is a little longer but overall it's pretty close in size.

it's a great rod. Mine currently has a swim jig tied on, but I like it as a lighter texas rig rod also. It's also been called the best rattle trap rod in the falcon lineup and if you're throwing mono/fluoro I can see that. And it you like braid for your topwaters it makes for a great 1/2 oz walking bait rod (again, if you like longer rods for that which I don't).

Either the 6'10" Finesse jig or the 7'2" Swim jig. Both are 5-power with light tips and both well suited for weightless plastics.

If I remember the next time I'm out I will snap a picture for you. When I had ML1 I loved the idea of landscape mode as a live 360 but it didn't have the clarity to pull it off. ML2 is a big jump. This lake fills in with pondweed very early and then milfoil over the top of it. They use a harvester every summer and spray also, but the lake is only 5-6' deep at the deepest and most of it is 4' and flat silt bottom. Usually there are edges you can find which will be a couple hundred yards long that you can fish and where the fish set up. But I motored all over the lake and couldn't find a good edge plus the pondweed was already within 18" of the surface. It hasn't filled in fully full yet (it gets really thick) but its enough that you're not getting most baits through it yet by blind casting. But with the landscape mode there was enough clarity that you could pick between them if you wanted. I went with the Solas Amita 3-blade. You'll have to find the right one that fits your motor (10, 12, 14 spline) and the right pitch for your boat and load. Mine is 9.25"x 8"pitch. Your 175 is a bit bigger and heavier than my 1600 storm. I am guessing you're running lead batteries also? I'm running 2 lithiums and a small group 24 lead. My gas tank is a 6 gallon, but I was only running with 2. If that was all lead and a full tank it would add another #120 or so. My fully loaded weight including me is about 1200#. I bet your boat alone weighs that much. In that case a 7 might be the right pitch, but then again if you have a different lower unit (I don't know the CT models) you might or might not. The only way to know is to try a couple and watch your RPMs.

Got out for a couple hours this evening after work. The air was 35 degrees and the water had dropped from 5 degrees from Sunday night (54 to 49) so again, this wasn’t much about catching fish as much as getting used to the boat, getting a few more things dialed in, and getting used to fishing out of a boat instead of a kayak. First, I have the prop dialed in now. For anyone future searching on the web and finding this thread, the mercury pro kicker maybe isn’t the best choice. I don’t know for sure what this boat would top out at with the regular 9.9 and lower ratio lower unit, but the pro kicker has the lower unit from a 15 hp with a 2.42 gear ratio. It is deigned for heavier boats and lower speeds with better control at lower speeds. I can attest that the 5 pitch 4 blade prop that came with it had excellent maneuverability at low speed. it just didn’t have a high speed. It topped out at 5800 rpm and a bit over 6 mph. At full throttle I could side image with crystal clarity! I tested 4 different pitches of prop from a 7 to a 10, starting with the 10 and working down. The 10 was too much and I could only hit 4000 RPM and 6.8 mph or so. That day was spent in the idling range of RPMs (it was a small lake). I put the 9 on and ran it for 30 minutes on Sunday. It hit 4800 RPM and was in the mid 7’s mph but still not quite what I was looking for. The operating range for this motor is 5000-6000 rpm. I went tonight with the 8 and it was night and day compared to the 9. I bumped up to around 5500 rpm and up over 10 mph quickly and eventually hitting 10.8 going into wind and chop. I was surprised to be getting 800 rpm per inch of prop, but it’s true on this one. I figured that was right, but since I had the 7 pitch in the truck I ran back to the ramp and changed it out. The first run it reved up over 6000 rpm at full throttle and was only hitting mid 7’s mph again so i backed it down and went fishing. All in, just under 11 mph isn’t bad for a ~1200 lb boat (that’s loaded weight plus me)with a 9.9. I don’t know if a different lower unit would add much more once you play with props- at the end of the day its still a 10 hp motor. Either way, its almost 3x what I was running in the kayak and within the HP limits for the lakes around here. The longest practical run i would make is 3 miles (longest theoretical would be 5) so 20 minutes or so. Spotlock is going to be so awesome. I had it on the kayak and knew what it could do already. But now Ive got it dialed in with a bigger platform. Tonight’s temps and wind/rain were pretty awful, but not so bad with a hood up if it was at your back. So, spotlock in and walk to the back of the boat to cast out the back instead of the front. It keeps the wind at your back and having a 6x6’ platform is pretty nice to work from. Also, on the kayak I loved having nav/heading lock and cruise control. I can’t set a speed since I only have the mini remote, but with the foot pedal you can set a heading, turn on continuous drive, and then roll the speed dial as you go. And instead of using your hands to adjust direction you just use the pedal. It’s pretty slick and I’m going to love it. Perspective mode on Mega live 2 is a vast improvement from ML1 and I can see some uses for it. The lake tonight already has grass growing within 1.5’ of the surface. Electronics on this lake aren’t useful most of the time and that will definitely be true this year. I cruised it a bunch and never really found the edge of it like in prior years. But, perspective/landscape mode on mega live 2 was able to show the lanes in the grass really well that if I wanted to cast to the holes you could. Think mega 360 in live imaging. It’s very close to that. I’ve got a couple more little tweaks to the boat, but it’s close enough now that it’s time to start focusing on the fishing.

There isn’t a dislike button, so I’ll just say it. Heavy dislike.

Yeah, that sucks. Are all of your lakes state park lakes? Any corps of engineers or ‘other’ lakes?

Yeah, I hear that. I also have a pair of 6'10" shimanos for the same purpose right now (PA and zodias), but the 7'2" has a really nice feel for doing the same so my preferences might shift a little.

if it is just a little spot on a big single hook I'll usually scrap it off with a thumbnail or small nail file. if it is a split ring or treble and it rusted because I wasn't paying attention and left it wet then I just swap the hardware. If it is the hook hanger itself, then a dremmel brush or nail file will sort it.

The 7'2" Cara would be a great minnow shaker (again on the assumption that its the same blank). That's what I have on it now with a BFS reel (small keitech) and what I'd have on it with a spinning reel.

JDM stores are only cheap because the Yen is in the tank. It's down 25% over 5 years. Add a third to the JDM price of what you're seeing and the prices are much more comparable. For instance, Shimano SLX 70 (base model, nothing fancy) is $134 right now. It would be $180 at the exchange rate before it started dropping in 2021. TW has them for $150. So it entirely depends on the exchange rate.

I think it is preference in how guys hold spinning rods. Some people prefer to hold in front of the reel stem entirely. Some hold with 1 or 2 fingers behind the stem. If you're a 2-finger guy, that exposed seat on the experts is going to be a pain unless you wrap it with grip tape. The cara would be a better fit, but then they don't offer the same rods in the cara and expert all of the time. I have wondered this as well and that's what put me off ordering a falcon spinning rod in the first place. I prefer fast and extra fast spinning rods so went shimano and love them (aside from the short front locking nut on the zodias which digs some times). The 7'2" BFS rod is definitely a fast action. If that is in fact the same blank as the spinning rod then I would have one in a heartbeat.

For me, the current Mets are pretty phenomenal. I have a pair of Mets and a pair of bantams and they are both excellent. But i think the Mets are better reels for most everything. And while I haven’t held an Antares, i have an aldebaran bfs, chronarch (current), chronarch (200e), bantam 100, and started with the original bantams in the early 90’s. The met is awesome. Anyone want a Chronarch 200e? I have one on my big rod and it just doesn’t suit me. Happy to trade straight up for a new Bantam. The chronarch bantam 100 in pearl is a beast for smoothness and long casting. I just wish the profile was a bit lower. The internals are incredible but the external frame is bigger than my hand prefers.

While i agree he’s a complainer on the floor, there is no denying the talent. I wonder if the stadium team ran that opening montage past Nico before they aired it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started the ‘fire Nico’ chants when it was done.

Well tonight’s the night…

I just picked some up for heavier cover pitching for this year. I normally fish a rage bug for that, but the scoun bug is a little tighter and should slide through easier.

Cara series. They just launched two models. I got the 7’2” and originally it had an 1/8-5/8 rating. Same specs as the Cara 3 power spinning rod. My suspicion is that it is the same blank and they turned it into a bfs casting rod. I think they took the same blank and cut 3” off the back to make the 6’11” model. If that’s the case, I think the 7’2” spinning rod might be the next rod I buy. The blank has a great bend to it. The tip is light enough to throw smaller neds on a BFS rod (so more than fine for a spinning reel) but it transitions into power pretty quickly and there is more than enough to set the hook in a Texas rigged light wire 1/0 or maybe more, let alone a wacky rigged hook.

Well, these are different jigs. The middle one is a bitsy bug. why do jigs exist with each of those styles? No idea.

No. I considered that one when I bought my zodias. I think the bfs rod is the same blank as the 7’2” cara though and if that’s the case it would be perfect for what you’re looking for (weedless wacky senkos).

Grab some rage tail ned bugs. Jig on the right (except that’s a lil man jig). The middle is the 3” rage bug which is a good choice also.

So it seems like my dad is an outlier on this one. When I say he doesn't turn it down, I mean the dial is glued to the max. He could turn it to 5 and remove the dial and still be fine. He still fishes areas far slower than I or most do, just that he doesn't hit the motor often. Just a bump here or there to keep the boat pointed in the right direction. I thought it was odd but not unique.