casts_by_fly

yeah, I think that's about right. It would still be a great rod at that price. The difference would be that falcon doesn't discount/sale their rods ever. So there would be times when the Daiwa (for instance) is discounted to $250 or so and undercuts the Cara. It doesn't suddenly make it a better rod, but the buyer's mentalality of "it's a $320 rod and I'm only paying $250!" will net more sales.

Thanks. For a couple bucks why not. What weights are you fishing for a given depth? I was thinking 1/4 to 10’ or so, 3/8 down to 16-18’, and half beyond that. also, blast from the past:

what else am I going to do at 11 PM while sitting on the couch? Good luck!

Yamamoto has the floating ned senko which is (as the name says) a buoyany one. Strike king used to make an elaztech like version as well. Either way though, they are going to be the stretch elaztech like baits. Presumably the isues stems from the material, not the brand. thinner wire hooks slide right through elaztech on a texas rig. The bass union weedless ned heads also do.

I remembered your trip reports and that's what made me consider the SS in the first place. We fished sonars and the original little georges (with the teardrop shape, not the half oval ones) going back 30+ years ago. I've got a box of a bunch of sonars downstairs and I was trying to figure out what a SS gave me over a sonar. Maybe I just fish what I've got a bit and see how I do first.

yeah, one more year should add a bit more mass to it. That's a 150 class buck in the picture but could be a 170 next year.

looks like a redo on the big V bass rigs to compete with the pro-v bass and others. They had the tournament V18 and V17 in the past. TBN rebuilt a TV18 into a stunning boat. I think tracker was actually ahead of the game on that one. Now that glass boats with a 250 are coming in well over $100k, a 21' aluminum boat at half that is pretty tempting if you want that type of thing.

Do you prefer a faster rod like a jig rod, or a little more moderate of a rod? The falcon head turner is my bladed jig rod. It's more on the fast side like a standard jig rod and I fish it with mono. Others here on BR prefer a more moderate action. Two very different schools of thought and ways of fishing a bladed jig. I love my head turner (it's also my spinnerbait and do anything rod), but if you prefer a more moderate action then its probably not the rod for you.

ok. In that case, I would recommend a DSLR/mirrorless camera. For print, you will want more pixels on target and a higher quality sensor. That will give you much better flexibility for print options later. If you need to crop, you need to have the pixels on target in the first place. Digital crop/zoom doesn't help you. A new iphone pro 16 would still probably do it, but when you start pushing it to extremes (lower light panos, higher zooms, etc) that tiny sensor will start to reveal itself. And in this case you might only get one shot of the thing you're taking a picture of so it has to be right. I checked, and my EM5 is a generation 1. It prints well. With a decent to good lens on it you can do some amazing things. It's my underwater camera (in a housing) and I also just took it on safari (plus candids while touring around). Happy to share examples here if that's a route you want to consider. Also in your case, I'd do a couple test shots and print them. Either with your phone or whatever you have. Print them up to the max size you think you'll need and see where you are. That will tell you just how much you need to upgrade on the camera end.

nice. I love height on a rack. what county do you hunt?

I’m waiting for TW to get them. They are on falcons site now but not tw. they didn’t announce a weight rating until now that I’ve seen. I thought it was up to half based on the video they posted and looking close at the sticker. But I could have read it wrong. They also might have changed the rating but kept the blanks. Ratings are kinda subjective anyway.

I wouldn’t say expert, maybe just enthusiast. i think for me, the low rider and the Cara are the two choices of lineups. The extra $30 for a low rider over a bucoo gets you cork, a little better blank, and upgraded guides. Similar logic for the Cara over the expert. The experts are great but the extra $50 gets you a better blank again, SiC guides (though that might not be true anymore), and some extra models not offered in the expert. as far as specific rods, it depends on what you’re throwing. The head turner is a pretty good do it all type rod and if you only had one rod that’s probably the one to have for most bass anglers. But there are some other really great rods in the lineup that do one thing really well and still have some versatility.

with the tw sale going, I’m going to pick up a couple new to me things to try this spring. I’m going to grab a blade or two. Looking at the steelshad, I’m wondering the difference between it and an original sonar. I have a bunch of original sonars downstairs of all different sizes and colors. The basic shape is the same with a very similar weight placement. What makes the steelshad better?

I expect that will be coming. I think when they moved production from Arkansas to China, that was step 1. Step 2 is expanding the offerings and price 'optimization'. You're starting to see that now with the Evo, HD and Altrax. They had to make the move with the 'existing' offerings first. Big moves like that are hard. Adding more complexity isn't worth it. So you wait until you stabilize and then add the new stuff. They were missing the sub $100 rods that you sell at Academy, walmart, etc. Now they have them. The expert series was better than a $200 price point. You could have put a $300 price on them and they would be competitive. At $200 they were a steal. So falcon wants some of that back. I think the Cara is next and $279 isn't going to be far off. The lowrider will bump to $139 or $149 I suspect. Falcon customer service has been great. And its the same for everyone in the falcon facebook group who has needed it. I've only broken one and they were easy about returning and they let me upgrade from an expert to cara in the process. I wouldn't let that slow you down. Pick one that's interesting to you and go for it.

reviews in places that sell rods (tw, Amazon, bps, etc) are inherently biased. Most people will only bother to leave a review if they love love love their item or have had a problem. It is a selection bias and in no way accounts for the totality of that items production. Something might have 100 bad reviews but if they have sold 100 million of them that’s a pretty good run. Unfortunately, we don’t know the bottom number in the fraction. yes. Yes you can.

I wouldn’t get your hopes up on that. this is the website blurb. If it was a Japanese made blank they would say it. A Japanese made blank would command a premium over a Chinese made blank and they would take advantage of that. I think that they wanted to raise the price and the only way to do it is to put something new to it. The components and models are all the same. The label is different, but that’s about it visually. The “learn more” videos are using the old models also. Maybe they are new blanks. Maybe the old blanks are Chinese fibers and Chinese made. Maybe that’s the difference. Nothing on the falcon website is explaining it. Falcon Expert Casting Rods use multi-layer, cross-directional Japanese carbon fibers to boost strength

they don’t offer rubber bags for these in the uk, nor empty hoops. for the cost of an ego head I’d just get the full net and not mcgyver it. They are great nets and what I’d buy if I were buying a new net.

Hi gents, from my time in the uk I have a landing net which is a 5’ pole/handle with a threaded insert for interchangeable heads. It’s a great net for bank fishing high banks like I used to in the UK. When I was fishing the trout lakes with long fly rods it was perfect to reach out without getting tight down to the water or high sticking the rod. Storage aside, it would be a great net for in a boat for the same purposes. Except, it’s a fine mesh nylon net which plays heck with most all hooks. When I was using a single barbless it was no problem. A triple treble hook would be madness. I’m considering finding a rubber net like my yak attack net but can’t find replaceable head nets here in the US. Anyone know of anywhere that sells something like these? The brass in the picture is male threaded and roughly 1/2x20 but I’d have to confirm that. I don’t think I can replace the bag on this one very easily though might consider that if I can’t find a spare head. thanks rick

and your planning to print them in a physical book or into an ebook? I ask because for print purposes you need a certain pixel density and quality to allow for retouching, crops, enlargement, etc. If you are doing a coffee table book with double page prints of vistas, then I’d suggest you need a dslr level for that. An iPhone panorama would be good, but you’re only going to hike said vistas once if it’s a big one or a specific lighting you’re getting. A bigger sensor will give you more room for error. If you want to look at an interchangeable lens camera, the Olympus em5 series are weatherproof so just fine for splash and rain resistance. I have a mark 2 and it will take phenomenal, print worthy pictures. A used but great condition one will run about $400-$450 without a lens and then add the lens to do what you want. The Olympus 17 1.8 is a pancake like lens wide angle which would be great for vistas and fish at close range. An excellent used one would be about $300.

That’s a falcon amistad for me. 1/2-3/4 jigs and Texas rigs. I have thrown braid and mono and on two different variations of the rod (expert and Cara). The Cara is what you want for what you’re describing. 7’3”, 1/2-1.5 rating. Rated as fast and that’s probably accurate but it’s not a poker. You’ll get a third or halfway down the rod on a hook set. Pitch or cast with it. And $250.

well, a new 16 pro is about $1k. Trade in on yours is $170. So $830 gets you a brand new phone plus a camera that is pretty phenomenal. The pro adds a third lens/camera which makes such a difference in low light and also for clarity/visual acuity. For me, having the upgraded phone in addition to the camera would be a lot more useful than adding a camera alone. what are you trying to take pictures of? If it’s a moving animal/plane/etc then, ok, a dslr equivalent is probably the right answer. Still or mostly still things? A pro 16 would do it.

Not sure what camera you have, but an iPhone 14 or 15 pro will do just about everything that a compact camera will. If you are an iPhone user, take what you’d spend on a new camera and upgrade your phone. You get the benefit of the camera AND a newer phone. I have a standard 13 and the pictures are okay. Equivalent to a compact camera from a couple years ago. My wifes 15 pro will take candids which are equal to my dslr. Depending where you are in the phone cycle, your phone will be better than so many cameras and soooo much more convenient

different shad. The Delaware river gets a run also. Those are all American shad and they grow to a size where Muskies would think twice to take one.

in that case, just use your phone camera. Anything from the past five years or so will be fully submergible to shallow depth and short time. Splashes are no problem.

Seems like it should be permanently in place. For that a tiny spec of super glue for me. If you want it removable, loctite green. Kinda a baby superglue.