Fishingmickey

I order both from Japan and TW. Now TW is running a 20% off sale and if you purchased a gift card before Christmas and got a 10% off on it. Then you buy something that is on clearance from TW w/20% off and the 10% reduced price on the gift card plus the clearance reduction you can get some very sweet deals that are at least 30% off if not closer to 50%. I've got a 7'4" MH regular Diawa BLX limber rod coming for just over 200 outlay and a 600 yrd spool of 30# Sunline Xplasma Asegai for $55. Those rods went for $400, OK 399.00 retail. Now they are being discontinued and there are some pretty good bargains for a very nice rod. I have two other BLX's that I really like. One piece rod buying from Japan comes with that shipping kicker but it isn't taxed. They also have some very fine travel rods that the shipping is free. I hunt for good deals on quality equipment and tackle. That's my .02 cents. FM

I've been using their ball head EWG jig head hooks and am very pleased with them. FM

Now where are your pom-poms and practice you're gimme a Zee.

In my PA14 mine rides on the front hatch the handle is between the pedals. I prefer having it in front of me so I can see it. I don't have to reach back blindly for the net when I am fighting a fish. FM

I use a 8 lb barbel and 75' of 1/4" line when I do anchor. FM

100 mm handle. Well Darth, You could always ask AJay what he thinks of Bantams.... FM

The Zillion TW HD with the longer handle might be the ticket. I have use mine for 1/2 & 3/4 oz chatterbait fishing with 18# Samurai Fluoro, 7'3" Curado MH+ glass rod. Bulldog and I are thinking alike at the same time...

Hard to go wrong either way. The frame on either the Bantam or the Met is rock solid and they both cast really well IMHO. The Zillion I think is a little less fussy then the Shimano's regarding brake and cast control settings. What moving baits are you thinking of using? FM

Tomato - tomotto, A medium rod is going to be the right action for the size lure your wanting to throw and more bendy. Moderate, moderate fast just is what is in that manufacturers mind and will vary between manufacturers. It's not like your trying to rip lipless crank baits out of hydrilla and want a stiffer rod. You could go medium power, fast action with monofilament or fluoro that stretches some. The medium power and longer rod will be softer and bend more then a M or MH at a 7' length. It really boils down to the individual's fishing preference. FM

Hi Ohio, That's a pretty light spec. on your crankbait weights. meaning smaller-ish crank baits with smaller treble hooks. Likely size 4 or size 6 small. You might even want to go to a 7'5" Med power Moderate action. rod for longer casting distance and a more parabolic bend. Your fine on reel size. FM

I can understand that. A lot of the manufacturers (or at least Shimano and Diawa) are not producing spinning reels with a anti-reverse switches any more. Best regards, FM

Why, I can understand when the days of spinning reel drags sucking (40-50 years ago) that back reeling would give you more control. FM

Hi Rockhopper, One of the tricks to use with the fluke type anchor in your picture. Tie the anchor line off to the tip/front of the anchor. Run your anchor line up to the tie point you have it tied to now and use a zip tie to secure it to the top. This is so if your anchor gets snagged and you pull on the anchor line hard enough the zip tie breaks and with the line tied off in front of the flukes it will pull free from what it's snagged on. Good luck, FM

That's Ajays tackle box gantry crane. We both are on a first name basis with the bait monkey. 🙂

Honestly, I have/had been a Shimano fan boy for 30+ years. But I've got to say when it comes to spinning reels I think Diawa makes a nicer reel. I like the slightly thicker bails on the Diawa spinning reels. I am running on spinning, Shimano Exsence, Integra, Stradic and a Vanford. They all perform great. In Diawa, I have Caldia, Esmeraldas LT and a Freams. No issues with them either. I don't think you can go wrong either way. With as well as they perform, I see no need to drop the extra coin to try a Stella or a Exist. FM

I haven't had any drag issues with either of my Shimano or Diawa reels. I am also not using either the Stella or Exist. FM

That is a hell of a year for the Muskie's, T-Billy! Serious dedication to go out that many times! FM P.S. That is one serious Crappie!

Earnest, When you're learning to use a bait caster. Start with monofilament. Take WRB's recommendation, using 12 lb. Berkley Big game is a fine place to start. And won't break the bank learning. Monofilament is more forgiving them fluorocarbon. Do's and Don'ts: Don't overfill your reel, fill it about 3/4ths of the spool. A 3/4 quarter spool doesn't backlash nearly as badly or as easily and a fresh full spool does. Do go out in the backyard and get some practice casting in. Don't try to "bomb" cast the reel. Do start with short casts with about a 1/2 oz weight. Learn to let your thumb rest gently on the spool. Spinning reels you can draw the rod back, stop and then flick the rod forwards and cast. Don't try that with a bait caster, it's disaster. One of the things about casting a bait caster is learning how to load the rod. So not only is your forward cast motion important. Bringing the road back fast enough to bend/load the rod is important too. Once the spool starts spinning it's inertia will keep the line coming off the reel and the bait stopping suddenly causes the backlash. Got your rod and reel ready? go out in the backyard. Leave about 10" to 12" hanging. Swing the rod forwards and back so you can feel the weight and see how it bends the rod. Casting with a bait casting reel is one smooth motion using the same force and speed, forwards as well as back. Start with short 15-20' casts leaving your thumb on the reel. Feel the line play out under your thumb. You'll get the idea pretty quickly on how much pressure to use and the timing of it. Set your cast control so that the weight your practicing with has a smooth fall to the floor or ground and the reel doesn't overrun. If you want to put training wheels on, drop your weight and walk off a full cast's worth of line and a little bit. Put a piece of electrical tape on the spool at that spot. Reel your line in and get to practicing. Good luck! Fishingmickey

This one was a "DD" I believe. FM

You can still "see" fish on your old 2d sonar or side scan or down scan. It's even better if you find a school busting on top. So really you don't have to have FFS. But it is really cool to see them follow and watching "the eat" is a rush and for that you need FFS. It also doesn't have to be a "minnow" bait. Just about any bait will work. FM

Nice Striper and a slab of a Crappie, Koz! FM

A 55# trolling motor would push it fine. The only issue I see is windage. It breezy conditions it would become a booger bear to try to drive it in a straight line. I'm not sure how much keel is on the inflatable RIB. But tracking may be a problem in windy conditions. The other consideration is if you run the trolling motor on high your pulling about 50 amps and that will suck a battery dry pretty fast. FM

7" Pumpkin seed power worm, love that stink of a freshly opened pack of power worms. FM

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Some of the questions that come up are: What's going to be your method of propulsion on your kayak (paddle or pedal)? If your paddling you are going to have to find a location for your fish finder that will be clear when you are paddling and out of the way. That is usually center mounted with the screen between your feet. If your are pedaling, pedal kayaks you can mount closer to the seat and on one side or the other. This makes it much easier to change screens on the unit and having the unit closer makes it much easier to see. You mentioned a budget of 5K. That covers almost all of the high end single units up to about a 10 or 12" screen. The higher end bigger screen units use much more power then a 7" or 9" screen without the livescope (Garmin), 360 mega view (Hummingbird) or active target (Lowrance). Bigger units with those features require you to have a bigger battery for extended use. Bigger battery equals more weight, more space and having a good location to mount and stow your bigger battery. Bigger units with the above features I mentioned your looking at minimum 30amp hr battery or larger for a full day ( 8 to 10 hours) on the water. How are you going to be transporting you kayak? Car top, truck bed or trailer? My recommendation is to remove your depth finder and battery when your transporting. All of the big three will give you good enough resolution to distinguish weeds and structure. I've been using Garmin and have Live scope. The Garmin 93 UHD 2 and up gives you a very clear picture of what's down there when using the down scan or side scan modes. I have seen Hummingbird Helix and Solix units on the water and the down scan and sonar graphics are really good too. I hate to say this but look at You Tube and see what you like. there are a look of videos with decent reviews. It's a big purchase and there is a lot of things to consider. What kind of kayak are you running? What is the weight capacity? Where are you fishing? Rivers, lakes, bigger lakes? What are you looking for from the unit? What's your likelihood of dumping your kayak? What's going to happen to your fish finder, battery and gear if you flip. So summing it up. I love my Garmin. Being able to tell whats down there and knowing your in a productive area that has fish and bait and how deep they are is very helpful in maximizing your time on the water. Good luck in your hunt! Fishingmickey