casts_by_fly

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.

This is my approach too. In my case it was a turbo fattyZ and an unpegged texas rig so the worm would float up and over the eelgrass a bit but the weight would still get down through it. Snake it through some, fish it standard some other. And a thin swim jig swum parallel to the strands (and if they have a consistent direction ideally in the direction they are going) if you can will slide through really easily.

With guests staying for a long weekend, I got out this morning before work as my last few free hours for a couple days. Again, it was supposed to stay cloudy but the sun came up with clouds and burned them away quickly. There was no topwater bite before or after daylight like I hoped, and after the sun popped up I could see there was an algal bloom happening. The lily pads had grown in like I was hoping for and the milfoil that was sprayed last month was dead, however the stalks were in a mixed state of clumping, floating around, drifted into the pad edges, and generally everywhere. It was a mess and made throwing anything into the pads difficult. If you landed on the edge you were immediately covered in dead strands. If you managed to find a hole in the pads you could work a swim jig to the edge but were then hung. I opted to stay just outside the edges with a chatterbait and then pitch a beaver into the middles. The beaver didn’t produce but the chatterbait did. A pair of 3.5 lb fish plus a smaller 14” fish made for a nice start to the day.

TW is T-wing I believe.

I went out this morning to one of my locals up here that did NOT have a HAB advisory. I launched at 4 and the visibility was <12" with a flashlight which was odd. After the sun came up it was clear that it was algal bloom. I swapped colors and got into a couple. Black and blue chatterbait like I said above. Biggest 18.5" and 3-09. which lake were you looking at?

Something like a 3/0 j hook (not ewg) Texas rigged and texposed will get you through branches about as well as anything. Maybe a 2/0. I don’t have a 4” senko to say for sure.

you kinda have to define “larger”. Sure, you’re not going to run spot to spot all over a big lake to pick one here and one there because they are sitting on the third purple wooden dock in from a main lake point. It really helps to have a plan of attack so you can make your movement efficiently. I find 1500 acres to be a practical limit so as not to be limited to a chunk of lake. It also depends on the shape. A skinny and long lake is harder to cover than a round bowl. We have one here that is 2600 acres, 9 miles long, and has quite a few big coves. I can’t fish all of it from end to end in one day. From where I launch, I pick upper or lower and go to it. Another one at 1200 nearby with lots of coves and fingers can be done in a day no problem. You’re not going to zig zag the lake so if you want to fish shoreline cover pick clockwise or counterclockwise and a starting point. this is all relative to my autopilot and 4 mph top speed. If you’re in a faster pdl boat and getting 5+ maybe you fish more?

If you still have line on the spool after a long cast I would just add backing. Go out into the yard and make a long cast. Strip off what’s left and note how much more there is. Then put a bit of big game 10 lb on as a base layer.

In that case, I'd say just keep backing it off from where you are now and gradually get down there. You'll build up the thumb memory quickly with minimal risk.

For getting it in and out of the car, if its 70 pounds then just muscle it. If it's 70 pounds then that's some thick plastic. In that case, gravel, concrete, grass, etc I'd be dragging it. if you want some wheels, you can get cheap kayak carts on amazon for under $50. For a 70 lb kayak they would be fine enough. Don't just pop it onto the roof of your car, that's asking for trouble. Stick it in the trunk, leave a trunk lid open, strap it down, etc. If you stick with this kayak then work on a roof rack. First port of call though is getting some seat time in it. Are the seats movable? If so, I'd take out the front one and move the back one up halfway so its roughly centered. That will give you a bit of space behind you. Have you been in a kayak before? That shaped boat isn't very stable if you haven't. First time out I wouldn't take anything with me. Just a paddle and PFD. You're going to be sitting VERY low to the water and I think your butt will be below the waterline. Don't mount anything on top of it- if you do it will accelerate you going for a swim. At first it will be fine, but as soon as you start to tip to a side it will push you over if there is any weight to it. I've fished out of kayaks like that before. It isn't an easy experience. You have to be very comfortable in a kayak to start. You will have no room for gear and you'll have to plan accordingly. Everything will be wet after every trip. At some point you will dump the boat over so be prepared with a rod leash and no loose gear.