Big Hands

It's really strange that they named a reel "Castaic" that is primarily designed for flipping. There is very little timber, the water is usually pretty clear, and the shoreline is mostly pretty steep compared to lakes in other parts of the country. I think Castaic Lake was really kicking out some huge fish around 1992 and they just wanted to cash in on the name recognition. On the other hand, the Casitas (named after another lake here in SoCal), is much more suited to fishing Castaic, and the Castaic would have better suited as the Casitas. Lake Casitas is no Louisiana bayou, but there is much more of that type of fishing than in Castaic. The lake record for Casitas is over 21 lbs, and a team caught a six fish 63.26 lb bag in a tournament back in the mid-90's.

I use a medium casting rod with a fast tip. Where I live, I don't use anything heavier than 10 lb test with lures other than big swimbaits. I have no issues using spinning gear to fish a jerkbait, but most of the time it would not be my first choice. YMMV. My first 10+ bass was caught on a 5'10" medium spinning rod with a 1000 size spinning reel and 6 lb test. My spinning gear is mostly geared toward light plastics.

I think (early-mid 80's was a while ago) it was either an ABU Garcia 5000 or an ABU Garcia Ultra Mag XL Plus (which I still have). Or maybe it was a Daiwa PMF 1000. LOL. I honestly can't say I know for sure *facepalm*

I caught a seven pounder earlier this year on the stock 110 hooks, but I was fishing with 8 lb Yo-Zuri hybrid and didn't horse the fish in like I would with a worm hook in timber on 20 lb test. Then I made the dumb maneuver of burying all three hooks into the material of my fishing backpack. I ended having to cut two of the hooks to get them out. After much hand wringing about not wanting to alter the action of the bait by putting larger hooks on the bait. I ended up going with Owner ST-36 trebles in #6 size, and put a red one on the front. I haven't had a chance to check to see if the action or buoyancy has been altered.

8+ on the mag brake is pretty heavy. You might try tightening the spool tension ever so slightly and then back off on the mag brake. I find my sweet spot at around 4 (or possibly less) on most of my reels, including 6 Daiwas with magnetic controls. As for the thumb, it's too bad they don't sell 'educated thumbs' at BPS or TW. They'd sell a grip of them. The old saying goes that practice makes perfect. I disagree. Practice makes permanent, and only perfect practice makes perfection possible. I know if I haven't fished for a while, my thumb gets stupid until I get some casts in.

I have seen other rods as well where the MH didn't feel as balanced as the medium and suspected that might be what is going on here. I agree that balance is important, especially if you'll be casting with it for hours on end.

Just curious: Was it a particular SLX rod you didn't like the balance of? I could understand that more so than them being unbalanced across the range. I have an SLX 6'10" medium action casting rod that I think feels fantastic. The MH, on the other hand, I could see someone possibly not liking the balance of that rod in comparison to the medium.

I have seen people set the hook in what they thought was stump, and then the 14 lb 'stump' tail walks and takes them for a ride. The funniest thing I think I have ever seen while fishing was two guys fishing in a rental boat, sitting back to back, fishing out opposite side of the boat. One of them feels a 'hit' and sets the hook. Strangely enough, that's when the other guy gets slammed and he sets the hook too. They were whooping and hollering for what seemed like forever fighting their 'fish'. It was especially funny to us when one would pull up hard, and the other guy thought that his 'fish' was suddenly going on a run. They were back to back, so they couldn't see what everyone else was seeing. Finally, one of them turned around to look at the other one and they realized they had been battling each other and things got real quiet, real fast.

They may have just recently put it up there. When he got it last month it wasn't up there. It was an in-store only deal and I was about to post it as such here and just went to the site to make sure.

I have never used either of the reels in question, but just wanted to comment on your apology for the "wall of text". If you don't give any details and context, you should not expect a well considered response in return. If someone does't have the time to read a few sentences, how much thought do you think they'll put into answering your question? For line weight, I think I would suggest that you contact some local tackle shops and ask them what's working in your area. I have learned by fishing in different areas of the country that what line size is king in one area might be completely inappropriate in another. You have a Bass Pro Shops store near you. I would take the drive over there. A friend of mine in Texas got a smoking deal on a BPS CarbonLite 2.0 rod and a Garcia Revo SX for $159: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/Abu-Garcia-Revo-SXBass-Pro-Shops-Johnny-Morris-CarbonLite-20-Baitcast-Rod-and-Reel-Combo

I have an SLX casting rod that's a nice rod, but I recently got a new spinning rod that comes from Turners Outdoorsman, a chain of about 20 stores here in California that I really like. It's a 7'1" medium action with a reel seat where the grips meet evenly over the reel foot so it's a smooth handle in that area (as you can see in the pic). It retails for $109 and their lifetime warranty on this rod allows you to replace it for half the retail price if you ever break it. Not sure you can order one right now with the current COVID situation.

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing that!

I was in a Pro-Am tournament tournament as an amateur at Lake Mead in October 1991. On the second day of the tournament, I was paired with the guy that was leading the tournament. A guy named Dwayne "Doc" Watson who was pretty successful at that time. After a couple of hours, I had caught our only keeper and he wanted to make a move, so we went through the narrows and still hadn't caught any more keepers. He said he knows where there is a keeper bass sitting on a salt cedar bush that he can catch, but it is a 60 mile boat ride to get there. We take off and even had to stop for fuel at Temple Bar and then went to where the Colorado River flows into the lake. He said that the salt cedar bush was about 100 yards up the shore, and that he'll let me know when we get near it and he wants to get first crack at it so I don't spook the fish. Sure enough, he casts a spinnerbait over the top of that salt cedar and the fish gobbles his spinnerbait. As it turns out, it just wasn't his day. He, for some unknown reason, lowered his rod tip just as the fish was nearing the net and let enough pressure off the fish that he wiggled loose. Crazy that we took a 60 mile boat ride to a place where he called it exactly as it happened. We didn't catch another keeper all day, but he still had enough of a lead to end up in 5th place. He told me that he would go scuba diving in April to scout out where fish were and that those fish would sit on or near the exact same bush from April through October. Looking back, I think the areas near where the tournament was based were getting pounded, and he probably figured he had to get far away to fish where they hadn't seen any pressure. It was amazing that he KNEW that he could trigger THAT fish to strike. I think bass are somewhat smart, but like many animals, they are hardwired to react fiercely when triggered. Roland Martin proposed that there were nine reasons why a bass would strike: * Feeding * Reflex action * Anger * Protective Instinct * Curiosity * Competition * Territorial instinct * Killer instinct * Ignorance I think that about covers it, with maybe one more. As Flip Wilson used to say, "the devil made me do it!"

First thing I'd look for is the custom worked 26" Laser II prop that snapped off my propeller shaft in water that was 300 feet deep. Then, I would go to where I have lost a few swimbaits to see if I could recover those puppies. Tom (WRB) and I fish the same water and like him, I too have seen the lake drawn down quite a ways. If you're one of the first out there after it's gone down a ways, you'll find all kinds of stuff. I have seen Castaic have as many as seven islands, and then many of those just turn into long points when the water goes down even further. On some of those, you would think the point would be coming from one spot, but it's actually coming from another. I belonged to a local volunteer organization that planted over 500 willow trees when the lake was down many years ago, so I know where most of those are too. There were only a couple of coves that they left original trees in when they cleared the land for the reservoir 50 years ago. The rest is mostly barren of vegetation, but there's lots of rocky structure and a couple of springs if you know where to look. The lake was down 30' or 40' recently and I saw some willows on a sandy beach and for a moment was wondering why there seemed to growing in rows. Then it triggered the memory of planting all those willows 30 or so years back. They are supposed to draw it down 125' this year to do some earthquake retrofitting to the dam. I don't know if I have ever seen it that far down.

I still have some of my old Berkley pistol grip rods. I have a couple Lightning rods that are 5'6" and a Bionix Pulse that is 6'. Funny that the Lightning rods are supposedly MH and the Bionix Pulse is labeled as Medium, but for 10-20 lb line and is definitely more stout than the Lightning Rods, lighter too. I have another 5' 6" Bionix rod that has a straight butt, however the butt is only slightly longer than a pistol grip. I did develop carpal tunnel in my wrist and tendonitis in the elbow back about the time I was fishing a LOT. But I was also a carpenter and doing a lot of work that would contribute to that. I can't really say if the fishing of pistol grip rods was a contributing factor, but it hurt like hell to cast with those rods. I'd still fish that 6' Bionix if it had a 12" - 14" long straight butt section..

Butch Brown has some opinions on lots of swimbaits related topics including what line he uses and why. It's a long listen, but I found it interesting.

^ ^ ^ Nailed it! ^ ^ ^ If you'd like specific recommendations, I would suggest offering a budget range, with the upper number being fairly rigid. Every time you up the budget by $20 to $30, the choices expand and get better.

In the context of a beginning young angler throwing swimbaits in freshwater, I would agree that a reel like the Tatula 200 could generally serve him as well as a Tranx (which is the context that we're discussing here). But to state outright that a Tatula 200 has been touted by some as "every bit as good as a Shimano Tranx" would be misleading due to the Tranx being designed as an "inshore" reel (as in built to withstand use in a salt water environment) and the Tatula is not, hence the difference in price. No need to pay for features you're not likely to need.

I think the ABU Garcia Max Toro Combo looks like it will be a good, budget conscious starter rig for larger swimbaits. If you're leaning toward larger swimbaits, those are going to be probably 2.5 oz or larger. And they're not cheap, so you're probably going to be spooling up with 17 to 20 lb line, so your reel should have the capacity to hold AT LEAST 130 yards of that size line, and I agree that you braid may not be the best line for that application. As for the baits themselves, you don't necessarily need a $500 Roman Mother Made swimbait to consistently catch fish, but you should choose carefully for the water you'll be fishing. Little details matter in how they work, how you work them, the tackle you use to present them, and how you rig them. There are often baits that can be used in a wide variety of presentations if you're thoughtful about that can be done to what you have or what you can get budget wise. Baits like the Baitsanity Antidote, R2S S-Waver, SPRO BBZ are good baits that aren't super expensive.

I haven't seen a response from Kaleb yet, and got to thinking about this a bit more. If I may make some assumptions, and they could be wrong, but here goes. He lives in Texas and it appears that he has at least fished at Sam Rayburn, and is possibly starting to get more serious about fishing, and has a budget to adhere to. Of course, he wants to maximize his budget, but isn't in a position to swing for the fence. And, if my previous assumptions are in the ballpark, I don't think swinging for the fence is the best way to go forward. I worked in a bike shop as a side job for several years and often encountered this same dilemma when people came in looking to get into riding a bike. There are so many niche bikes these days, just like rods/reels, and although you could try to get a very specific combo that would be really good for frog fishing for example (which is a rage in TX), the rest of the year, it might not be so hot. An all-around entry level will get you out there and doing it. Eventually, you'll begin to get a sense of your own for the direction you want to go from there. If someone came to me with that criteria, I would recommend looking on ebay for a Garcia Pro Max 3 for around $50 new & shipped (they're there often for that much if you shop even semi-carefully). They cast much better than the Black Max and will keep your budget intact for getting a decent entry level rod. That leaves $50 for the rod. For that, I would go to Walmart and look at the Lew's X-Finity in a medium heavy action for $49. That's $99 plus sales tax. Beats the pants off of a lot of rigs I have fished with over the years. Lightning Rod, maybe if you stay away from the ones with clear reel seats, but I'd go for the Lew's if it were me. $20 more or $20 less could very well change that, and it's easy to suggest spending a little more, but that is a slippery slope. $20 more will always get you more and another $20 will get you even more than that. Don't let it worry you. Then, I'd start with either 10 or 12 lb fluorocarbon line and go fishin. You can fish a wide variety of baits with that and it'll handle those east Texas hawgs that live near you in many situations.

Hence, my dilemma. I think it could be especially critical on a bait like the 110 that depends so much on balance and buoyancy to do what it does. I could see where changing to the wrong trebles could make the bait much less effective (or I suppose, even more effective). And, I haven't found the stock hooks for sale in the dark color. Not even sure what size they are; I think maybe #4. I haven't tried the Aaron Martin trebles, but I have been considering them for some crankbaits where the exact weight hooks may be less critical.

To some extent, the old adage TINSTAAFL applies here as it does in most places. However, that doesn't mean you have to spend a ton to fish well. Also, what fishes well for me might not be such a great choice for you. Specifics matter. . . . big time. Imagine if I were to ask you what is the best car that I could buy. You might really like a Corvette, someone else may prefer a Tesla, Others may prefer a Chevy Volt, and for them, those might be the best car for them. Oh yeah, I need to tow a boat and carry six people so all those first choices don't really apply at all. The best approach would be to figure out what your particular criteria is and even prioritize them as to what is ultimately most important. Some of the bells and whistles that come with really expensive reels and rods may not be necessary for you to kick butt with where you fish and in the way you fish. If you throw super lightweight finesse baits on light line, you might be interested in a reel that has a super lightweight spool that holds less than a hundred yards of very thin line. Living in Texas, that may be the farthest thing from your mind, or maybe that is your thing. We don't really know. Some of the setups that I like to use where I live are totally inappropriate in most situations in Texas. You can get very specific about rod/reel combos for a particular type of fishing, and you can also go with an all-around rig to get started. Bottom line is that in order to give a well reasoned reply, we need more criteria. Otherwise all you're going to get is either a wish list or a list of what others use and like for their specific situation which at this point would be a total shot in the dark for your actual needs.

I recently had an unfortunate incident regarding the mesh padding on my tackle backpack and all three treble hooks on my new Megabass Vision 110. The treble hooks scored a decisive victory, but ultimately met an unfortunate demise. But not before I landed a nice largemouth at the end of February. SO, now that I will need to replace the treble hooks on this lure, I was wondering if you have any input as to what would be a good hook to replace the stocks with. I have heard that sometimes people replace the hooks for various reasons including: * larger hooks to increase chances of hooking fish * different style hooks due to personal preferences * don't like barbs on the outside * using the weight of different hooks to alter the way the bait acts in the water Thanks in advance for your thoughtful reply.

Nice fish! They are basically just big open pits. . . . mostly. There are some 'features' in a select few places. I would try around the few areas that have some sort of structure. The culverts between ponds are always fish magnets and ANY other irregularities that might serve as ambush points. Move quietly along the shoreline. I would use 7" or 10" texas rigged worms (as Tom mentioned), a spinnerbait or a crankbait/jerkbait