casts_by_fly

if you’re set on trying braid, 832 is hard to beat. 10 lb on a ml spinning rod would fish well for creek bass with an 8lb flouro leader, maybe even 6 lb. But given all options, I’d fish something like 8-10 lb Sunline supernatural mono. Growing up we fished 6 and 8 lb trilene xl for the same as you’re describing. Having just spooled supernatural 12 lb, I’m confident 8lb supernatural would be great in a creek.

Not sure how I missed this, but here are my thoughts. I have the same unit and have no trouble getting good images in a kayak. Keep in mind that this transducer only has side imaging and then uses that image to piece together a down image. It’s also not mega plus. So you’ll get a good image, but the amazing ones on humminbirds website are for the bigger units and transducer. looking at your mount, I think you are fine. Based on the scum line on the boat it looms like you are fully submerged and nothing in the way. i can’t tell from the images but I’ll assume you are in the mega range and not kilohertz range. You’re only in 10’ so stick to mega. Below 25’ I’ll drop to kilohertz sometimes if there is a soft bottom. Hard rock bottom is clear below 30’. It looks like for down and side imaging you need to up the contrast I normally keep my contrast up around 16-18 and will adjust if the picture isn’t good enough. Sensitivity starts around 10. Sharpening low. You are also only going 0.5 mph or so. You can still get a good image at that speed but it’s tougher. Scroll speed at that boat speed should be around 2-4 depending on your preferences. I’ll scroll at speed 6 for 2-4 mph. That seems like the right balance. you’re in 10’ of water but your side imaging it set to over 100’. You won’t get a good return at that range in that depth. Best side imaging is 3-4x depth. You can stretch that to 6x or so. If you look at your side image, you can see the picture falling off about halfway across the screen from the centerline. Imagine eliminating that half and stretching the middle half out to full screen resolution… It looks like the same hump in both images, though the side image was taken second after you dropped off it further. A little more contrast and the bottom on the down image will clear right up. Keep in mind you adjust contrast and sensitivity for side, down, and 2d independently. Also for much bottoms I turn the sensitivity up a couple points. 2d is a different animal but similar settings. I often run side for 70% of the screen with down and 2d splitting the rest. I used side to show me structure right and left, down for things I run over, and 2d for bottom hardness and confirming 2d.

I don’t fish xds but I do fish dt-20’s. I use the falcon 7’ heavy (called lizard dragger or table rock) or the Hudson special (7’3” 5-power). Both are similar power and action even though the Hudson is a 5 power. I’d call the Hudson a big 5 and the lizard dragger a light 6.

For sure. Infini brake is pretty good. Gen 3 stx and gen 4 sx have them so it’s still current in the lower mid range reels. It works pretty well for a wide range of weight. Just not a bfs system.

I have the bucoo in the 7’ 5-power, 6-power, and the pitching stick (head turner). They are pretty good rods especially for the price. I haven’t used all of the $100 rods on the market but I’m confident they would be near the top in a test. Compared to the expert, the bucoo pitchin stick/head turner is just a touch stiffer a touch higher, has about the same last 12”, and the same bottom 2’ of blank. I retired it when I got my expert but it’s coming back out with braid as a frog rod.

yeah, no. They are a pressed fit from the factory. I’d get your money back from Amazon.

the alf does not have ivcb braking. It is infini braking system.

I’m a big falcon fan but I’ve only handled the HD, not owned or fished one. They seem fine at the price but I would go bucoo for a couple dollars more. If a low rider price is in budget that will upgrade a bucoo to cork, a little better components, and a little nicer blank.

I have a helix 7 MSI also for my kayak and its a great unit. Like you said, it will take a bit of time learning what works best for your lakes. Up here, I have a mix of soft bottom, sand bottom, and rocky bottoms. We have a lot of weeds. The softer the bottom the more you need to up the sensitivity. Also, starting with a higher contrast and lower sensitivity is what I've found best. I like a low sharpening level. Too much and it is distracting I find. Water column sensitivity will clear up any residual speckles in the column. Also play with color palettes. Each color set will be more or less visible to your eyes. It will also have an effect on the sharpening/sensitivity. White on black is already pretty high contrast so you need a little less. Dark orange on black (HB standard) needs a little more. Weeds can make side imaging useless. When it is really thick up here, side imaging will only show a rough line at the top of the weeds in the water column and not a whole lot beyond them or in them. That's when down imaging is helpful. Also with heavy brush piles and trees- I like both in that scenario. Charting is good, navigation is less useful for me. My biggest lake is 2200 acres, so mostly I just use navigation to show me the quickest route back. And, I'm using the charting map to see it and not the navigation map. I keep meaning to hide navigation but forget. Charting is useful. Autochart will make a depth map of your lake as you fish. Navionics and other contour maps are fine to start, but charting it yourself will give more details and clarity. You can find the hidden ditches and cuts that aren't on big maps. I've done that with at least one lake here and its found me fish. Just be advised that the built in memory is enough for about 250 acres across all of the lakes you try to map. Try it on your most fished lake or location. If you think you'll use it more, get the zero lines card for 'infinite' storage. Do that before you map more, because the internal memory doesn't transfer to the card later. I have the card and I just turn on autochart when I turn the helix on. It can record while I fish. On slow days I'll fill in tracks where I didn't fish over to complete the chart.

In crystal clear water and bright sunlight there should be enough light to make chrome flash. I've seen it at 60' while diving with barracuda schools and they are flashing. That said, that is crystal clear seawater. Most freshwater will struggle to have that clarity to more than 20' or so. If your primary baitfish around are shiny silver, then chrome would be a good option regardless of the depth. The baitfish and the crankbaits will be at the same depths experiencing the same light conditions.

Aluminum oxide is ceramic. They are one in the same when talking about guides. You can't just change the inserts on a guide, you have to replace the guide itself. if you want to do it yourself, google rod guide wrapping and finishing. It isn't hard and might be a good project for you and your son. If you want to have someone else do them, you'll need to find a local rod repairman. That said, the price to replace all of the guides will be cost more than buying new rods. A normal rod will have ~7 guides. You'll pay $10 for the guides and at least $5 a guide to wrap them. That would be $50 once you factor in a tip top. I seem to recall lightning rods selling for less than that.

I think you'll find that's a very good choice. I'd suggest 14 over 12 ( I have both here, also 17 on a bulk spool). The larger diameter of the 14 will be an asset when it comes to picking any backlashes.

Fluoro sinks which is fine for some/most things. Putting a mono leader on it won’t help with any topwater technique that has more than the leader length on the water. For instance, if you’re fishing a walking bait and have a 5’ leader, you’re going to have more than 5’ of line on the water. That line is going to sink down and pull the mono with it. Also, most techniques it doesn’t matter how visible the line is. Braid is the most visible and I use a lot of braid direct to the lure. Fluoro also has other issues. I wouldn’t advise it for what you’re saying.

Based on those lures and where you are, 14 lb-16lb mono will be about right. For a new angler like you say you are, inexpensive mono like big game in a manageable size (not too heavy, not too light) will be effective. Jersey doesn’t have a ton of wood. It’s mostly grass and pads with some rock and docks thrown in. A tougher mono like big game in 14 lb should do well for you and is cheap.

Here in nj, a green pumpkin beaver, Texas rigged. We have so much grass and such clear water that you need something that will get down through pads and mats, slide through all of the pondweed, and still be subtle enough in the 10’ visibility water. I’ve not seen a difference in the brand or specific shape, but color has made a difference for me.

I’ve had mine almost a year and I’ve not had any issues. Most of the complaints are around the side plate “falling off” which I still don’t see how it’s possible. The revo SX is the same mechanism also. I don’t think it’s a $400 reel like MSRP. But it is definitely a $200 reel and a great one at that price.

this is where I am. A tip heavy rod, especially when you start longer than 7’, gets tiring to fish. I find the sweet spot for me is in the 6’6”-7’ and as light as possible. If it’s as light as possible the it’s hard to get tip heavy on those lengths.

not really. Even a reel that tops out at 10 lb is going to be able to lock down and not pull line for most bass fishing.

The mgx is what I’d do. I bought mine for $250 and love it. Bass pro had them at $200 briefly and I had one in my cart to check out. When I clicked to check out the price was back up to $250. I checked daily if they dropped again but they didn’t. I might have bought two at that price. If you prefer a slower retrieve then the alf with the 6.6 ratio would also be a good choice.

definitely start with something like 14 lb big game. 1500 yard spool for $7. That will fill your reel a dozen times over. If you use it once and change to braid later then you’ve spent $7 to learn how to cast a baitcaster. You still have it for backing. When learning how to cast, there will come a time or two when you blow up the reel beyond the point of picking it out. Just take a razor blade, cut it down to the spool, and pull it all out and start again.

The Alf is unobtainable while the mgx still has lefties available? in all seriousness, the mgx was their attempt at a tiny and lightweight high end baitcaster. Magnesium body, graphite composite side plates, smaller spool. Since you couldn’t use that in anything semi salty (magnesium and salt aren’t friends), they created the al-f with an aluminum version of pretty much the same reel. The alf has the infini brake system. i have the mgx and was looking for an alf for a while. I really like the mgx. I got it when bass pro first dropped them to $250. I have it on my falcon expert 6’10” topwater/finesse jig rod. The whole thing weighs right around 9 oz, maybe a touch under. If I could change one thing about it, the ivcb-4 braking system isn’t as adjustable as I’d like. On the ivcb-6 you can turn on and off the rollers. On the 4 you can’t. Also, I find that I have the dial turned up to max basically all of the time and it’s not doing much of anything. That said, it will cast anything from a weightless fluke up to a half ounce chatterbait with trailer with the same brake and tension settings. im guessing you’re a lefty and considering both from the TW clearance pile? At the clearance prices I think both are great buys. The ALF with infini is basically a tighter, lighter, nicer version of the revo SX gen 4 (current model). The mgx is a different beast and if you like light and small reels it’s a nice one.

thanks. Yeah it’s possible but moving it a reel length means about 3-4”. With a 9” butt area that’s getting to ‘barely there’ on the rack. I’d want to throw the strap on it then which I don’t prefer. With one slightly higher reel I can make it work and put it on the outside or on the inside with the reel up.

Two. The medium spinning rod and the mh bait caster. Not much you can’t fish with those two rods.

Yes, and to bulldogs point there is a fuego in the classifieds for $80. The blackmax abu you noted is a good starter. A slightly higher end reel bought used will be more user friendly and future proof for you, and will also hold more value if you sell it later.

in that case, I’d personally end up with one of each (5 power and 6 power 6’10” rods). A 3/8 with trailer is sweet spot in that it fishes well on a lot of rods. I throw 3/8 oz chatter or spinnerbait on the finesse jig, I throw a 3/8 jig and trailer on the head turner/pitchin stick, and I throw 3/8 Texas rigged plastic on the expert amistad (7-power). Since you have the head turner I’d throw all of your possible lures on it next time out and see if you like how they fish. If it’s just a touch stiff then you want the finesse jig. If you want a little more power toss it on the amistad. I find the finesse jig to be an incredibly versatile rod. I can throw an unweighted fluke on it or go all the way up to a 1/2 oz chatterbait depending on the trailer (a zako is on the edge of too much, a rage menace is fine). It does topwater or does bottom contact. Maybe a little light for heavy wire pitching but otherwise it’s a great rod. I'm an unabashed falcon fan and I know them pretty well now so have no problems recommending them. At their price points I think they are incredible rods and if you need a bunch of rods to outfit a boat they have a full range and won’t break the bank. I’m sure there are other rods and lines of rods that are just as good or better. I’m sure there are some technique specific rods that are just amazing at what they do in other brands. My dad loves his crucials and does well with them. I know and love falcon.