fishwizzard

I do have an Aldebaran 50, but the Steez is a far better fit for the PA I am really curious to compare the PA 611M+ with the M/MH AGS.

Hah, I have spent so much time learning Daiwa’s braking systems that it’s hard to want to branch out.

As for a hike-in yak, I have seen guys on the Potomac with little whitewater yaks fitted with straps to let you carry them like a back pack. I keep dreaming about getting something like that and using it to fish otherwise un-boatable waters, but I think I am realistically never going to do it. I still think it's an awesome idea.

Hah, exactly. I need to get out and lose some of the ones I already have to make some room. I am still holding firm at "no single lure over $50", which makes it even sillier that I don't have the stones to fish them more aggressively. This is my latest ebay haul, non of which has seen the water yet:

I resisted for a while, but the lure of that silly handle became too much for me. Also the Steez needed a rod so I picked up a Poison Andrea 611M+ for it to be friends with. The rod is more of a "MH-" and favors the upper end of it's somewhat optimistic weight range. It loads up just OK with a weightless Trickworm (1/4oz w/ hook) but really shines with a 1/4oz swimjig w/ 3.8" FI (~7/16oz). I tried using a ~1oz glidebait on it and while it seemed to load and work it just fine I was too chicken to do more then easy sidearm lob casts. The taper/power is close to a 783c GLX, but with a bit less backbone and a bit stiffer of a tip. That is my one beef with the rod, I wish the tip was a bit softer. I think it's going to be a great all-around rod for most 3/8-3/4 lures so long as they don't have fine trebles. Ergonomically, it might be the best rod I have ever used. I threw a few different reels on it and they all felt great. The combo just disappears in my hand, it's just amazingly comfortable to both cast and work a lure with. I dunked my hands and the grip somehow does not feel slick at all, but at the same time there isn't that "sticky" feeling cork gives you. I heard rumors of new models being offered in the spring and if Shimano offers a PA version of the 73ML Expride it will be a day one buy for me.

I have gotta unsub from this thread, I already have more swimbaits then I can reasonably fish, but the urge to get more is overpowering at times.

I have never had to find out I will try to remember to check tonight in the sink. It’s so handy that it, along with polarized glasses, pliers, and nips, are part of my “gotta hike/paddle back to the car” list of things I really really don’t like fishing without. Especially with all the fluoro I use, the tool protects the line where I am pilling it from so it 99% of the time breaks at the knot instead of breaking at the pulling stick.

I use a different tool from the same company: https://www.daiichiseiko.com/products/13/index?lang=en It makes braking braid easy and protects fluoro when I have to break it.

I dropshot from the bank all the time, I use it to keep a plastic close to the bottom on muck-bottomed ponds where a jig or t-rig will pick up too much crap. If there is any cover I will t-rig a 6" Robo and fish it with a 3/16oz weight on a very short dropper, like 8-10". If it is more open I nose hook a 3" Easy Shiner and use a 1/8oz weight and a slightly longer dropper, like 10-16".

There is a pretty long thread on TT about the CT reels. I don't expect there to be many English language reviews out for the Alphas CT as it's a JDM only reel and still pretty new.

I also love the loomis MBR rod, especially the 3 powers. I have three of them and think they are about the most versatile rods out there. If you fish heavier cover more often then think about a 844c, but otherwise you can’t go wrong with a 783c or 843c.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_Skip_Gap_Shakey_Head_4pk/descpage-GSGSH.html These work pretty well until the worm gets really soft, then you have to adjust it a lot. I really like zman's plastics but fishing with limited storage makes them too much of a pain to bother with most of the time.

Highly variable, but either 5-6 hours or like 10-12 hours. I live in a traffic hellhole so I need to plan my weekday trips to minimize rush-hour exposure.

I have never gotten them to work well as a popper, but I do like them a good bit as a shallow crankbait. I use them a lot when I am wading as even cranked quickly to keep up with current they don't run too deep.

The pond is maybe 50-75 yards from the Pax and there is a beaver drag that turns into a little stream when it floods, so it’s easy to see how they escaped. What I don’t get is why the tidal Pax isn’t full of them, like the area by Waysons Corner is perfect habitat. MD DNR seems to lack the resources to stop people from poaching stripers right off of public piers, so I assume there is little budget to do anything about bucket-stocking. Oddly enough my friend called DNR last week when he saw some guys carrying a full bucket of “something” down to the water at Brown’s Bridge. They said they would send someone but he waited for like 30min and an officer never showed up. So maybe we will have them in Rocky Gouge in the next few years.

The crazy thing to me is that the pond that was ground-zero for the MD population is next to the Pax River, but they are not super common there, while the Potomac seems like the population center. The pond, referred to as “Walking Fish Pond” is still there but there is a huge development going in next to it and I fear access is going to disappear soon.

I really like fishing a 5” Senko with a unpegged 1/16oz tungsten weigh. I retrieve it hopping across the bottom with the worm gliding down an inch or three behind the weight. A 6” Kut Tail works better but I rarely carry both at the same time.

I do love a brightly colored rat. What are you throwing all these rats on?

I like senkos for when I am long on targets and short on time. I let it sink, deadstick for 5s, pop it once, deadstick for 5s, and then crank it back for a new cast. Maybe 30s per cast, depending on how far I am casting and how deep the water is. I do a lot of short 1-3 hour trips pond fishing and a senko is great for quickly target casting to a few key spots with a lure that has a high chance of getting a bite if I happen to get it in front of a bass. Most of these ponds are too weedy for fast cranking and even a spinnerbait will require de-weeding every 2-3 casts. I agree that trying to cover an area with a senko is very dull stuff, in that situation I use a nail-weighted Fat Impact, again trying to make a lot of casts and only running the lure past high-probability areas slowly and retrieving it briskly in the rest.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F233294805501 I have been using this line breaker for a few years now and love it. It makes snapping 50lb braid a breeze and protects fluoro from getting damaged at the pulling point. It’s up there with pliers and sunglasses in the “will hike back to the car to get them” category.

Generally, you want to keep the spool tension as low as you can stand it, the higher it is the harder you have to cast to get the spool spinning, and the harder you cast the more likely the reel is to backlash. The backlashes will also be worse the harder you are casting. Start with the brakes at max and lower them a little every cast until you are getting the distance you want with a smooth, easy casting stroke. Never let a cast end on it’s own, always use your thumb to slow and then stop the lure, even if you don’t “need” too. This is the fastest way to build thumb skill.

The taper is what keeps me coming back to Loomis, I think I have like 5 mbr or cr rods.

I am a huge Loomis fan and have fished a little with one of the old ones (a mbr783c) and one of the new ones (a 820s dsr). The new ones are a big improvement, like with the new vs old MB Levante rods. I really really like the Loomis MagL/XF rods, they are amazing for most any small plastics application.

In the “expensive and JDM” category there is the Megabass Lilypad Survivor. It’s rated 3/8-1oz. Also the Daiwa Black Label lg 631 mhf-fr which is rated 1/4-1.5 oz. I have been eyeing both of them but have yet to pull the trigger.

What are you using that combo for? That is some serious tackle.