casts_by_fly

Katy, The lake I fished on Wednesday is like that in the upper third plus the first 30 yards from the bank. It gets real skinny to get the boat into that upper end and I will end up burying the motor in the mud. But it's mud so, so be it. I'll fish my way into it, let the boat drift into the skinny stuff, and let the motor hang on the bottom. Now I'm anchored effectively. Don't need a motor to hold me. If I pick my spot that I drift into carefully, I can cast to 90% of the water with a long cast so I just start casting. Applying that to you, bring your anchor! With as many fish as you have up in the shallows, the last thing you want is to be pulled into them landing one. For lures? Whatever you can get through it cleanly. A floating worm or light underspin are always a good choice. A light swim jig. Floating rapala or other topwater. All the things you're throwing already so I'm not telling you anything you don't know.

Not necessarily, but there is a better chance of it. Fluoro doesn't like a kink so if you get a good backlash and one of those loops pulls hard on the running line it's going to make a kink somewhere very inconvenient.

"who knew?" You did. ;) Good luck with the shakedown!

@Brycecover - I'm in northern NJ. That lake is atypical for the area- most of the shallower lakes are low 60s and the clear rocky ones will be high 50s right now. But it is all coming fast now.

@Bluebasser86 - I knew when I saw you had posted here in the forums list that I was done for. What's crazy is that your fish and mine were basically the same length. I imagine the same size head on both as well. I so wish mine had been full up of bluegills and eggs.

I think JC has a good chance to go back to back. The arkansas river system is his homeland and what he loves. Just his kind of fishing.

I made it out for an evening session at the tiny lake down the way that I’ve been liking. It was 88 degrees on the dash of the truck when I pulled in and it felt like it. There was a nice breeze though (7-10 mph) and the lake was clear so I thought a big swimbait bite might be happening. This lake doesn’t have main big fish, but I hear there is at least one 7 in there so I was fishing for one big fish. After the first half hour of heaving an 8” Magdraft around and getting into the grassier section where the trebles and running depth were too much, I swapped to the 6” Magdraft that slow rolls (rod tip up) at about 18-24” deep- perfect for fishing 3’ deep water with grass on the bottom half. It was 5 minutes after swapping that the first 4 bass were in the boat and I had a couple more come rocketing up from the bottom and grab just the tail. The water was 72 degrees, but it hasn’t been that warm for long. Just 9 days ago it was 60 and had just barely gotten there. Monday was 55 and cloudy and the weekend before was freezing (33 on Sunday morning at sunrise). So that tells me the water has jumped at least 5-7 degrees in the past 2 days (not surprising since this lake is <4’ deep for more than half its area and bottoms out at 12’). I think the males moved up quickly and were cleaning for beds while the females were still sitting tight. On that logic I figured that since I couldn’t see the holes in the grass where they were cleaning, I just needed to cover water with something I could get through the grass cleanly and put it in front of fish. I swapped from a Magdraft to a 4.75” miyagi on an owner beast swimbait hook and that did the trick. I was into double digits quickly. After a pass doing that, I swapped into a vibrating jig (Elite Evo) and made another pass. The second pass doubled up the count and I finished with 22 for the night with 2 more lost on the way back in. Nothing over 14” or so- all but two appeared to be males- which would confirm my suspicion that it was all males up around beds. The two females I caught were ready to pop, so I think over the next week they will be on the beds in this lake. This is the first lake to warm in the area so in the same way that the pros chase the temperature change by swinging north, I’m going to chase temps by going to bigger and bigger lakes so that I can stay in that high 50’s, low 60’s temp range. I also had the resident osprey following me around all night and gave me a nice flyby.

Nope. I have it on my 7’4” jig and ‘other’ rod. I can pitch short casts with a jig/texas rig or I can bomb some lures almost out to 50 yards (was just doing it 2 hours ago).

Like the guys above said, it comes down to what you're trying to get out of them- everyone's needs are different. My dad isn't an electronics guy. He has a pair of 9" lowrance on the boat that he turns on when he launches and looks at once or twice during the day to see temp. That's about it for him and he could get by with a 4" Piranha unit on the front of the boat (and did for a long time). A full tournament rig for a heavy electronics user might be a pair of 12-16" units on the console and 3 up front with transducers for 360, live, and everything else, all networked with the trolling motor and shallow water anchors. A 4" pirranha is about $100. That 5 screen tournament rig setup is about $35k. And if you want, you can go really crazy with something like an NBT 22" screen up front for FFS applications. The sky is the limit in that case. So first things first- figure out what you want to do with it and set a budget. The big questions are FFS (y/n), 360 (y/n), integrated to your trolling motor (what brand), and what are you using it for (finding fish, cover, structure, etc), and what size boat are you in (to help think about overall space). Once you answer those, then you will get some great guidance here. In my case, I just built a boat last March. I fish reasonably small lakes and it is a 16' aluminum console based boat. I wanted FFS. I was already a humminbird user from my previous boat and liked it. HBird side imaging is considered the best of all three and it is very good. I wanted a total network. All that added up to me going with a pair of Xplore units (9" console, 12" bow), mega live 2, and an ultrex trolling motor. I don't have a ton of room on the console for anything bigger and I'm sitting close enough to the screen that a 9" is just fine. The interface on the Xplore units is great for swapping views if you want to expand something. I have side over top of down and 2D as my main view. As I cruise around I have all three up and if I see something I want to inspect I just expand that view to full screen (1 touch screen tap). There are 3 presets where #1 is this, #2 is mega live, and 3 is spot lock the motor. Everything is customizable and 2 screen taps will get you to almost any view. Up front I am using mega live only as view #1, ML + maps for #2. I don't think I even have #3 programmed. For this sized boat, a 12" screen is the right balance. A bigger one would be better for FFS, but it would start to get crowded up there. Your mileage will vary.

@Rocky998 - I use 18 lb shooter (same diameter you’re looking at) on a bantam 100. More than enough capacity. A 150 sized reel will be just fine with that line. FWIW, I have 20 lb big game on another Bantam 100 and it’s 30% bigger diameter and also just fine.

@PhishLI - I thought the collective term for a group of turtles was a 'dojo'?

@Team9nine - what is it about that one spot or deal that means you have to wait for it? Where are the fish coming from? How long do they stay? Where are they going? I’m curious. There are a couple people on here that have a ‘thing’ that they have figured out well. Ajay’s early and late smallies are one for sure. I’m curious what this thing is that you know works for you in this case.

I’m still partial to the padrons. The ‘thousand’ series are very good, but the ‘year’ series are still better. The oliva melanio V is a relatively close second in the larger sizes. I really love box press and torpedo. if I have the time (90 minutes or so) something like a 6.5x50 torpedo box press is right on the money for me. That is my ideal size I find. I’ve had the same blend in smaller and bigger. I don’t mind a bigger ring (and a 4x60 is a really nice smoke) but a smaller isn’t as good for me. The oliva V melanio maduro 4.5x46 isn’t nearly as good (much more harsh) compared to the 6.5x50. I wish it was as good for a shorter smoke, but it isn’t. I’m still on the lookout for a great 45 minutes smoke that is clean, rich, and oily like the big padron maduros. I also really like them with rum. Very sweet bourbon is good too, but smoky rum is great. I also learned that I was probably smoking them too fast before. Smoking a cigar in the boat while I’m fishing down the bank is wasteful. Smoking one while doing something else is the same. I think that’s why I need warm temps- so I’m relaxed and not rushing through it. When I do that, sometimes it even goes out or I have to touch it up, and it’s like a fresh light. A good ashtray that you can set it down and not think about it helps too. I might need to revisit some of the ones I’ve had before that I mostly like but that were a little ashy in the end.

I don’t. I’m pretty sure that Daiwa uses JDM mono as my zillions bear that out. And I’ve been buying JDM reels so it’s pretty accurate (I also use sunline). But I’m mostly shimano for my reels (also JDM reel and line) and I haven’t checked them for capacity since it’s never a limiting factor. The zillion is the only reel that has pushed my limits (with big USD mono on a long casting rod). I think @bulldog1935 posted a spool calculator recently that might help to guide you.

Three things. 1- “on average” when it comes to size equivalence doesn’t take into account manufacturer ratings and actual diameter. 2- not all braid is created equal. For instance, 832 is a little thicker than listed (if I recall correctly). And some braid is very round and some is flat. It stacks differently on the reel. 3- Not all mono is rated equally. US mono is typically thicken for a given rating than JDM mono. The Zillion matches JDM mono (sunline for instance).

I think that’s a great little add on, especially for the price.

motoboss, A lot of what I have around here are small lakes like that. When I had the kayak there were even more open to me that had primitive ramps. Even still, a lot of what I fish is <300 acres. My favorite lake is 125 and two small 'tactical' places are 35 or so. Each one is unique so don't assume anything specific until you get there and have a look around. Remember that 'shallow' and 'deep' are all relative to the body of water you're in. One of the 35 acre lakes is only 12' and the 300 acre lake is only 5'. Those fish are used to shallow water and don't mind getting REAL shallow as long as there is just a little cover to hide them from birds. Broadly, they fish small. On a big lake you can catch a fish that makes a ruckus and then catch another on the next cast. In some of these small places, catching one can put off the rest for a bit, especially if they are really up shallow. This will have an impact for a tournament. You're not going to 'run and gun' on a 50 acre lake. Heck, if there is a boat already on the water when get to one of those there is a 50/50 shot that I just go to the next lake. Putting a half dozen kayaks on one and no one can move. So pick an area and camp out. If it were me, I'd have one spot to go catch 1-3 quickly and then once those fish are tight lipped back off to the next deepest 'ledge' where they pull off to and finesse them.

I salvaged a crappy morning with a couple bass from the nearest lake including this super skinny 21” 4-08. The water is warming…

Well, I’m going to just squeak past @Pat Brown ’s fish. I had a morning to forget so when i got home and fixed the things that broke, I had to go test them. I went to the closest lake around which has some good fish in it, but is hard to fish because it grasses up from about now until ice in. The grass was nearly topped out in anything less than 3’ (and the deepest spot on the lake is 4.5’) so this is probably the last time I fish it this year. That said, it was the first 60 degree water I’ve seen this year so I glued the bladed jig rod to my hands and just started casting. At one point the blade stopped so I swung and thought I was snagged because nothing moved. Then the fish realized what was going on. After it rolled the first time I knew it was a good one and the second time I saw it I thought for sure I had my first Jersey 5#er. After I slipped the net under it and got it in the boat I was certain it was. The scale doesn’t lie though and she came in at a skinny 4-08. She had the head of a 6# fish and a mouth like a 5 gallon bucket. Nearly 21”. But she had no belly to her. 4.5# / 10.875# = 41.38% Sea cucumber. Just don’t do it. I was at a work dinner in northern china so I had to try it. Just. Don’t.

Sexy dawg in chrome has accounted for a lot of crystal clear water bass.

7# striper on BFS gear? Why not.

Here’s to hoping that zero is the number tomorrow also! Good luck on the shakedown.

@gim - the idea behind it is to increase the total rotational mass so that a minor imbalance in the prop is less noticable. The plastic props are really light so a small imbalance has a pretty high impact on the rotational mass balance. The prop nut is heavy- i bet it's nearly 8 oz, maybe more. So a sixteenth of an ounce difference is nothing compared to the 8 oz of rotational mass. @A-Jay I've been using one on the boat since I got it and I had one on the kayak for 4 years prior. I never broke a pin while using it so can't say anything there. The Bob's is a good solution. Others who have used them have drilled them to do the same. What I will say though, is that I'm not sure I see the benefit. The kayak used a wing nut to hold the prop and the plastic threads were awful. I changed the prop often, swapping between the standard and weed eater prop, so the wing nut was a liability. That's why I swapped to the eliminator nut. The machined nut kept the prop centered perfectly and made a much more secure connection. When I got the boat I had a small vibration at a very specific speed range (speed on 3, which I use all the time) which I think is just the resonant vibration frequency. I added the eliminator nut and it got a little better (and it's now on a higher speed) but didn't eliminate it. I'm not sure that I would add one again.

I finally drove a big GMC somewhat recently. It was the Yukon Denali, so a little different package, but same engine as yours so prosumably the same transmission and electronics package. It was very nice for sure. I've said for the last 6 years that if I went to anything but another Ram limited that's the first place I'd look.

@TnRiver46 - do you have pure white bass or a mix of whites and hybrids? The broken lines on some of them looks more like hybrids. Not sure if they are stocked in your area.