casts_by_fly

My dad has CMC (or something very similar). Its been bothering him for years after 30 years of laboring. The past 5-6 years he has been getting shots for it. He's scheduled for surgery next month (and PO'd about it because it was supposed to be January to he'd be ready for fishing season but it got bumped).

I was going to suggest something similar which is a yamamoto color- smoke with black and purple flake. I was skeptical at first, but it looks killer in clear water. Though, it looks like the 4.5" standard Ika might be discontinued. @TOXIC- Is the standard Ika dropped from the lineup? I can't find it anywhere now.

I went down this path last year. I've always disliked spinning gear on the whole and far prefer casting gear. I didn't want true BFS per se, but the ability to throw down to a 1/16 head on a light 3" plastic (total weight around 1/8oz). On the upper end a 1/4 oz plus a 3" medium plastic (which I can throw on plenty of other casting gear also). My thinking was that I could eliminate spinning entirely and only carry this rod, then on top of that it would be useful for other light applications to take load off my other baitcasters. Fishing out of a kayak, I carry 5 rods typically and with the specific rod holder setup I have a spinning rod is a pain to fit as I can only put it in 1 of the slots due to the extra size of the handle and reel. So grab a BFS setup and leave the spinning rod home permanently- that was the idea. I went with the KastKing Zephyr (bought used here in BR) and the Phenix ML after a bunch of chats here about what I wanted to do. I figured if I didn't like it then I wasn't out much and if I did then I could probably recoup most of my money on an upgrade should I want one (or keep it as is if I like it that much as lots of guys do). In practice, the more light stuff I fished last year (primarily neds) on both spinning and BFS (usually in the same trip) the more I see the need for a spinning rod. I still prefer to cast a baitcaster and the thumb control for distance/placement is just too natural to me. For ligher moving baits like a bomber little A I prefer a casting rod. If I'm fishing to targets then the baitcaster is just better for me for that. If I'm fishing a broader area or fishing neds at distance, the spinning rod is just better. With the same bait the spinning rod was outcasting the casting rod despite giving up 4" length. With lighter stuff even moreso. Of course distance isn't the be-all-end-all and the Kastking's braking system isn't the best. But if you want to throw a ned rid 40 yards the spinning rod will just do it more easily. Then on top of that, I found that my mentaility changed fishing a spinning rod and a casting rod, even though both had the same bait and the same line. The spinning rod is a finesse setup. I was treating the casting rod the same as my heavies- pitching into heavier cover than I should, eye crossing hooksets, etc. That doesn't work with 8 lb fluoro leader. That's a function of me and not the rod, but after a year of doing it I never changed my ways. I'll keep the BFS setup and I might even upgrade it. An aldebaran BFS has been calling my name and Falcon just came out with a new BFS type rod (more like a light casting than true BFS which is fine with me). But I've hesitated on that. You know what I didn't hesitate on? Another spinning rod setup even more geared to neds than what I already had.

Yeah, I think $50 is the pricepoint for walmart and that's what the altrax are for. We'll see if they are any good. I think they will keep the HD/Evo as the Academy/DSG/local shop level cheap rods. Then the Bucoo are the upper entry rods. Between the HD and the Evo I image for now they will split them and some will go to brick and mortar while the other goes online based stores. They will want to use one of them as the retailer's semi exclusive series. That way the retailer has a lot more control over promotions and sales without having to compete with a different retailer (since it's two different products). On the consumer side, I don't see much difference between them without holding them in the hand.

I just use scissors. A pair of sharp fiskars micro snips are $14 on amazon (probably cheaper at your local JoAnn). Clip the tag end close, but not as close as mono and I don't worry if there is a little straggler.

that’s my basic interpretation as well. Componentry looks the same. My guess is so that the two bigs (Walmart and academy) can have their own lines and not compete with each other on price when one goes on sale.

one of the guys on my team is Mn based. The other day when it was 5F here in NJ it was -17 for him not counting the wind chill.

but now think about a micro motor driven reel. infinitely variable retrieve ratio since no handle or gear set. Reel as fast as you could ever want. Or as slow a you want.

it’s all a matter of degree. If I’m fishing grass beds then the brush jig isn’t what I’d want. In your other thread you specifically said you were fishing grass. If you’re fishing brush that’s around grass or are in an area where there are clumps or sporadic grass around then the brush jig will come through that. It also depends on the type of grass a little. Thin, stringy, strandy grass like water naiad tangles on stuff faster than a heavier hydrilla or pads. If the grass you have is stringy nasty stuff (or god forbid the green or black filamentous algae)then just go straight to a pointy nose swim jig or light punch rig like a jay showed in the other thread.

That’s probably not going to be enough rod. The flashmob jr is about the lightest a-rig. It will come in around 3/8 oz on its own. Even with just screw locks/hooks and 5x 2.5” grubs you’ll be over an ounce. Then you do need at least one jig head to make it run true so figure another quarter ounce. At a minimum a stout 1oz rated rod but more practically a 1.5-2 oz will fish better.

I think they should be dynamite for you early season. Once the grass is up they get tougher to fish unless you're only fishing the edges, but in the early season when the grass is only starting to green up and grow they are a thing. Around here, I think a lot of people throw them and the fish turn off quickly. The past two years haven't been great for them here in that regard (the year before though that was the bait). You don't have the same angler pressure issues.

The lake effect isn't surprising. Having that much arctic cold air when the lake was still plenty warm is literally the definition of lake effect snow. The mid plains though is surprising with how little there is. We've had as much here in north NJ as north and south dakota for the most part. On the flip side, look at the snowpack in the high rockies and cascades. As much as 30' in places. That should bode well for spring melt and lessening the current drought conditions.

what braid? Suffix makes a couple, though I can't see why it shouldn't burn through. The 131 has a gore fiber core but that should melt just fine. I always just use scissors anyway.

I have no interest in being forced to fish a given body of water on a given day. I hate fighting with other anglers on the water for a piece of bank or a spot. I'm also as competitive as anything so winning would be just good enough and anything less would eat at me. I don't need that level of stress in my life.

I've done this one before and there is a way you can hold the standing line and eye of the hook in one hand and instead of wrapping the tag through the loop as shown, you wrap the loop over the entire hook (with the tag end held along the shank pointing away from the eye. To papajoe's point though, that one is a pain to get up over a bait keeper. Its great for a smooth shank hook though.

Revolve is new, so I doubt you'll have many first hard reviews from this board just yet. Someone else just posted about it also (linked below). If you like 832 (as do I) then I would reccommend you try 131. Dwight Hottle put me onto it before last season and I really liked it. Just a little stiffer than 832 so fewer wind knots and line drift. Similar size and rating which you'll be familiar with. Great knots, slick surface. I went with 10 lb and when I spool up a new stradic in a month or so it will get the same again. Only thing I wished about it was a little higher visibility. It's similar to moss green 832 in color which in 10 lb is almost impossible to see at times.

This is the one I use. When I tie it, the hook and the big loop are basically in the palm of my hand hidden and the eye down to the lure keeper are exposed. I make all of the wraps right behind the eye, using the pressure of the next wrap to slide the previous wraps back towards the lure keeper. After the last wrap I use my thumb to pinch everything from the keeper to the eye in place and thread the tag end back through the big loop. Skip step 4 in the diagram below. Note, I only tie the snell on straight shank pitching hooks and throwing heavier setups (1/2 oz and up, 20# mono/50# braid and up). I'm not convinced about the benefits of always hooking them in the roof of the mouth (though I usually do). I'm more concerned about the weight banging on the knot coming through heavy cover and the overall 'cleanness' of the rig.

⬆️ What he said. That Seibert's head (dredge brush jig) is my usual pitching jig for 'all purpose' use. I don't have a ton of brush around here but I do have a lot of grass and docks with the occasional lay down. If you're fishing strictly grass then I'd recommend one of the pointier nose versions. The swim jig, mini swim, or grass jig all come through cleaner. If you want a jig for throwing to a mix of brush and some grass then this is a good choice (as is the shot caller). Most of the Siebert heads are a different shape. Mike can advise on the differences that you can't tell from the pictures. I have a bunch of them here next to me also (shot caller, dredge, swim, G2 football, grass).

specs wise, those are the 6’6” treble hooker and the 6’8” medium heavy (might have been called the spinnerbait special also). They are designs that have been around a while in falcons lineup and still exist in places. I have the 6’8” in the Cara, though technically my dad has it. My thoughts on it are all over this thread so I’m curious how yours will compare with the evo. Hard to beat it for $32.

no clue. I’ve never even flexed one in store. which model did you get?

Just for anyone's future reading of this thread, don't forget that the NMC batteries are 15% higher voltage than LiFePo, so 32AH NMC is 37 AH equivalent in the LiFePo. For a standalone unit plus live imaging, that's a solid battery choice for all day use. Only tricky bit is the charger isn't the same as anything else because of the higher voltage. If that's the only battery you're charging then its fine, but if you're using a 3 bank charger in a boat then you'll need a separate charger for the NMC.

I'll second the lil man. It's a different head shape and weed guard, but an excellent jig. Here it is next to a bitsy for comparison (3" rage bug on both). excellent build, wire tied, any color you can think of really.

My intention is bigger and smaller. Last year I dipped my toes into the swimbait and ned arenas. Both were fun and both were productive for me at different times. So I'm going to thow both more this year and am expanding my inventory of each. Last year the 6" magdraft was the top end but this year I'm exploring into 8" magdrafts and some hardbaits. On the ned side, I've got a good selection of TRDs and a couple other baits. The 3" and 4" senko were a good shout as well (or at least a 5" senko that wore down to those lengths...) so I've added a couple colors of those to round out the bunch.

we drove I95 down past Baltimore this weekend and the susky was even iced over down at Northeast. All of the slower backwaters on the susky and delaware both were iced. Ice was impinging on the main channel on the susky as well (not on the delaware). I was surprised considering how brackish the Delware is that the backwaters were frozen. This week's temps should help both clear, but certainly won't warm anything more than that.

Discontinued. You’ll have to find used or new old stock. Otherwise cut down a longer one.