casts_by_fly

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.

12’ and motorized in NJ. $12 a year.

Ugh. That sucks. just drove to my father in laws and he has 18” of snow. We’re going to get some of it but I don’t need this much.

"Who still fishes from the bank?" Not if I can help it. While I am blessed with an abundance of lakes nearby, shore opportunities at them are limited. I tried the first year we moved here before getting the kayak. You know what I've learned since learning the lakes better in a boat? That shore access around here sucks. Most of the lakes have no access due to lake houses and private property. There might be one access point with 20 yards of bank. Most of that is in an awful location and all of it gets hit pretty hard. There are 1 or two lakes with state park around them that you could fish from the bank. But to get away from people and into any areas worth fishing you're going to go for a pretty long walk through some pretty nasty stuff to fight all of the shoreline brush and briars. If there was absolutely no way I could have a boat of some type then I guess you could hike in to a few places with waders in a backpack and fish them that way (used to do that ages ago). But if I'm going to go that route, I'm going to fish streams either for trout or smallies. A 30 minute drive to the parking lot plus a 45 minute nasty hike is 30 minutes longer than being on a riverside somewhere. There are a couple ponds here that I'll do lure testing on, but that's not fishing. Catching a couple 12" fish in 3' of water isn't my bag. Growing up in wester PA we had tons of ponds that yielded fish to 9# over the years. I'd kill to have that here.

Its not just southerners and NH people. Here in NJ there are tons of people that have no clue. I suspect a combination of imports from other states and 'city' locals. Out here in the countryside its better, but when I have to drive into the office its sketchy at times. Friends from out of state who live here have never driven on snow before coming here. Breadth of experience in driving in snow is definitely an asset. I still get a kick out of jumping on the gas in a parking lot in a rear drive pickup with nothing in the bed. That's my standard way of checking how slippery it is...

The difference in cost between 20/30/50 AH batteries right now is very small. No need to scrimp unless you have a specific space constraint and can only fit a tiny one. I'm running a 30 AH for mega live and 9" helix. That also powers my nav lights (which rarely get used) and minn kota puck (which draws two tenths of nothing for power). I went 30 because that's the biggest that fits in my center hold hatch. I can fish two solid days on it which means if I have a back to back I don't have to worry about charging (I only have one charger and I do the motor battery first). I also built a shunt to connect the FF battery to the main battery/motor in case the main battery has an issue. I've had to use it twice in two years so it was worth it.

the hook is the part that actually connects you to the fish. the last thing I'm doing is scrimping on the hooks. gamakatsu round bend megic eye for me.

Thanks. Note that there are two different sized 2500s. There is the C2500 and the regular 2500. I'm pretty sure the C2500 is actually a 2000 sized body with a little bigger spool while the 2500 is a 3k sized body with a shallow spool. If a 2500 sized stradic is 'too big' for you, then the C2500 is the next size smaller.

Care to share the link to a stradic for 150 on amazon? I can get that from digitaka but haven’t seen that on amazon.

two seasons ago that’s how I caught a bunch of my bass. Swim jigs were the thing that year and I fished them with a keitech 3.8 or 4.2. Pitch them to the holes in the grass and let them hit bottom. Give it two hops and swim it back. Or cast it out well past a hole and swim it across the top. Then when you hit the hole kill it and let it fall. I also pitched docks with it the same. I rarely tie on a non swim jig anymore. We have so much grass from may onward that any other head style just gets hung too much. So now I just tie on a swim jig and maybe swap trailers for a different action.

too big? No, but i bet it depends on the reel. A 2500 stradic is the same body as the 3k. I have the 3k on a poison adrena 6’10” ultralight/medium extra fast which is more like a ml. I’ve got a 2k shimano on my 7’ light. I’d have no problem swapping them around. A 7’2” poison adrena screams for a 3k stradic for me.