casts_by_fly

I wear an apple watch. Its still a generation 2 and 5 years old now. I'll replace it when it finally dies. I wear it pretty much every day, fishing or not. Its fully waterproof and can take a beating. I like it for fishing because when someone messages me, I can see what it is on my watch and know if its important. Sure, I'd love to say that every time I'm fishing I am unreachable. That's hardly ever the case though so not pulling out a phone all the time is nice. if I really want to I can reply to messages or even take a quick call from my watch. I get weather alerts if there is a sudden storm coming (which is nice to get your rain jacket on before its too late). And yeah, it tells the time too. So does my fish finder though so if I have to be back by a certain time I can just look in that bottom left corner.

I find the double Uni to be bigger (sometimes a lot bigger) than the crazy alberto with no difference in strength. I think the fact that the tag ends stick out at 90 degrees makes a big difference in making the uni 'catchier'. A crazy alberto is the thickness of two leaders with no tag end to catch. I also find it more consistent for me to get a good tie, especially on the water. With the double Uni I find it more sensitive to the diameters of the two lines and don't always get a good tie. For mono to mono or mono to fluoro its not bad, but braid to mono/fluoro the braid digs and cuts too often for me.

The falcon amistad will do it also. 3/8 oz of total weight is pushing it but 3/8 oz 0us a plastic or a 3/8 jig/blade bait is enough. I’ve thrown 1 3/8 spinnerbaits and a-rigs far in excess of 2 oz. A keitech 6.8 (1.5 oz) plus a 3/8 swim bait hook is no problem. I use mine as a heavy pitching and frogging rod.

Sometimes you just have to keep casting. Might not be the best looking and you might not think fish are there but just keep fishing it.

The expert series has what you want. The 7’ all round for up to a dt10 and is great with lipless. Hudson special at 7’3” for dt6 up to dt14 or so. Table rock for up to a dt20. If you’re fishing a lot of 1oz and want a big rod, then the Tennessee ledge rod is the one.

my dad and uncle each bought the same fenwick 5’6” pistol grip casting rod when they came out. My uncles shattered and splintered the top third somehow. My dad stopped using his. I fished it a little growing up but it was a broomstick. I might ask him if he still has it and see if I can come up with a use for it.

which crucial do you mean? My dad fishes the im-10 series (and I have one of the crankbait rods) and I’ve fished his next to my experts. I prefer the experts personally.

The gen 4 Revo STX at $145 is a good deal. A curado mgl at $200 would be a step up if you want to spend the full budget.

With a rescue strap you can have it hooked to the opposite side of the boat and run it over the ‘top’ of the capsized boat. Then start climbing up the foot straps. It will pull the boat over. absent straps, you have to go the the stern to roll it or climb up on it. how did he flip it in the first place?

If you’re trying to get through the solid pad mats we have around here, a 3/16 isn’t enough. A 3/8 with a skinny plastic and picking your spots will get down just enough but you have to pick your spots and drop it into holes. I normally rig a 3/8 at home and work my way up depending on the cover on the day. Thursday I was fishing 3/4 to get through it. as far as rods, the falcon amistad is a great heavy pitching rod. 7’3” heavy, made for doing what you’re talking. I have the expert series but they offer it from the bucoo up to the cara. Since you’re semi local you could try mine out one day if you’re considering it.

interesting…..

At the time, boron rods that launched were “brittle”. I think the scrim and epoxy made them easier to break relative to the market rods. There were a lot of problems with early ones. Given that, I think the marketing killed them.

Falcon expert. Head turner. Great for a 3/8 oz jig +/- weight range. If you want to be that and heavier then amistad.

Are the 3701 a lot thinner than the normal 3700? The 3700 spinnerbait box is a bit thinner but the plastics box is thicker. If the 3701 is the same as the spinnerbait box then another box is interesting.

Looks like widgeon grass or maybe horned pondweed. https://wric.ucdavis.edu/photo_gallery/photos_aquatic_weeds.htm

if you’re standing and twitching rod tip down, then I can see the shorter rod. That’s what I was taking from your original post. I stand all the time and 6’10” is my shortest rod. It’s just short enough to fish tip down, though it’s not tip straight down like some fish. It’s more 45 degrees which is more than enough for walking a frog and even helps a little to keep the line just above some flat lily pads or matted grass. i don’t know dobyns rods so can’t help on those, but there are plenty on here that can. For the falcon rods, about the only options for you would be the low rider head turner or the bucoo equivalent. They are listed heavy fast and I think that’s accurate. They are on the lighter side of heavy but not by much and you get into the power quickly. With 50 lb braid either one is a capable frog rod for lighter frog uses. also, you’re in Texas so you might have an academy around and they should have the bucoo version on the rack to check.

I'm in a motorized kayak, so no gas for the boat. A charge costs negligible electricity. Most of my lakes are 30 minutes or less. 35 miles round trip is 2 gallons or so for the truck- $9 per trip Only one lake here has a fee and its only $5. All of the rest are state park (which are free this summer), local, or otherwise public access. I've been 3 times this year and will go there three times more for $30 annual. I don't lose lures really. With the kayak I can usually get into anywhere I'm snagged and get it loose. I lost a crankbait to a pike and a red-eye shad to some rocks. That's $10 for the year in lost lures. let's assume I lose that many more the balance of the year for $20 annual. I'll go through a couple soft plastics per trip between trailers and texas rigs. Call it a half bag and $4 per trip So I'm $13 per trip plus $50 annually. You could throw my license into that for another $25 annual. I'll go ~50 times a year, so $1.50 on the annual expenses makes it about $15 a trip for me, mostly in gas. Now of course that doesn't tie up to the amount of lures that I buy...

In that case, the head turner/pitchin stick that I have would be close for you. Its 6'10" so just a little longer than you ask but its a good rod for lighter frogs in looser grass and pads when you put braid on it. It also has a soft tip and would fish a buzzbait well if you like a shorter buzzbait rod (I like longer). Very versatile rod. I use it as a swim jig/pitchin jig/bladed jig rod primarily. That's the expert version. I have the Bucoo SR version that does all of the same stuff (i upgraded this season to the expert) but I loaded it with braid for a lighter dedicated frog rod this summer. The Bucoo is $99 so pretty affordable. I'd throw in another $30 for the Lowrider at $129 to get cork and a bit nicer rod. If $200 is in range, then the expert is a great rod. Are you standing in the kayak?

I was joking about trolling it. When a question comes up here about texas rigs, wobble heads, jig trailers, chatterbait trailers, or any other place you might think of one, it tends to be recommended. That said, on a 1/4-3/8 jig head I bet you could troll it and catch fish. it has enough of a baitfish profile. I'd still prefer a paddle tail in that scenario but I bet it would work.

Big topwaters- walking baits and pencils- assuming the water is reasonably clear. You'll pull smallmouth up 20'.

Depends if you're fishing them in sparse cover or heavy vegetation. Lily pads and matted grass (we get both up here) require a heavy or heavier yet rod. If I'm throwing it in loose grass, pads with holes in between (something you could also swim a jig through or maybe a buzzbait), or around docks then a MH is enough. It will depend on the specific rod and how much butt it has. I assume you're using braid. I'm currently using my Amistad (7'3" very heavy) for heavy frogging and the head turner/pitchin stick (6'10" 'somewhat' H) for lighter frogging. 50/30 lb braid respectively. The 7'3" is a bit long and I'm looking at the 6'11" bayou which was designed for frogs. That's still longer than you're 6'6" though.

look at the carlisle magic angler. Bit cheaper than the BB paddles and works great. Also very light and two piece of you need it to break down. Hook cutout on the blades and ruler on the grip. Mine is strapped to the side of the kayak so I just hold a fish to it as I drop it in the water for a quick length.

It has to be a rage bug, right? What can't it do. A floating rapala in size and color to match your baitfish. if you have to stop it will float up and not snag.

I've been throwing mine on the 7'3" MHMF Hudson special Falcon Expert. Its a big rod and maybe not ideal but I'm experimenting with some of my options. Its great for bigger ploppers like a 110 (it throws a 90 fine but a little lighter would be better) but with 14 mono it can cast further than it can get a good hookset. I had a couple instances of 35-40 yard casts with a hit in the first few feet that I couldn't get stuck (I think the initial bend in the rod plus the stretch in the line). Its no problem for 20 yard casts. I'm experimenting with 30 lb 832 braid now with it. If your rod is casting them fine and you're getting good hooksets then you're fine.

I subscribe to both of these sets of logic but at different times. When I have a TW cart built and I see, "it's only $3, I might as well grab one of those too" I am following the first theory. Then when I have to cut something out of the tackle bag because its bursting at the brim I am in the second camp. That said, the last time I was pitching a beaver I started with a GP. It got beat up so I grabbed a watermelon red and couldn't touch a fish. swapped back and picked up 6 more. Maybe the flake was too much? Who knows. That's what they wanted that day.