casts_by_fly

In addition to the people who changed jobs to work from home type roles, a couple million people retired who ordinarily wouldn't have. I've seen estimates of 3M people retired 'early'. On a workforce of 150M, that's 2% of your entire workforce that chose to stop working. thanks, rick

I will normally have something white tied on for most of my trips. I'll drop it over until I can't see it. Reel up until I do. Check depth and repeat once. I'm looking for a general idea of how clear it is and also the water color. A lot of natural lakes here in north jersey are clear, but colored. There is a lot of dark water here that you think isn't clear, but then you can see a bait down 5'. Few of the lakes I fish have a significant stream coming in, so they stay pretty clear.

thanks tom. Last weekend was a blank working it through. I started at the top left of the picture where the flat turns to the steeper break doing what I did the previous time- throwing lipless up on top, bouncing through the rocks on the top, and letting it drop down the front face. I made a couple passes with different colors. I did a couple more passes (always keeping the boat deeper and perpendicular) throwing a soft swimbait, a sexy dawg, and a single colorado spinnerbait slow rolled. Then when none of that was working I figured it couldn't hurt to position shallower for a pass or three so repeated some of the lures, also threw in some other crankbaits (DT6, OG6). I didn't have it in me to slow down to a jig, though I did make a few casts in high priority areas with a TRD tickler. I think I threw a swim jig through it a few times also. Before I left the area I got up on the shallow side that isn't mapped above so I could map it but also to see what it looked like. Its a mix of bowling balls and some big flat rocks (small table size) interspersed on a gravel/sand bottom. That's what I thought based on the red eye shad feel. I had good visibility to 4' and didn't see any fish but that makes sense since the water was still 49 degrees there. I'm sure they are still holding in the 8-12' bracket. This weekend is COLD here, but next weekend I might run over. Maybe I just need to dig out the snorkel gear....

I have horizontal rod holders, so overpasses and low trees aren't a problem. Though I do have to watch my left side when I am getting close to brush, walls, or docks. I'm not usually that close that it matters unless I'm going in for a stuck lure or in significant standing timber. I also don't run a crate. I just have a tackle bag that sits behind my seat in place of a crate. Its a soft sided, rubber bottomed plano bag with 5 3700's, 1x 3600, and some pockets for soft plastics. Its not bad getting into that from the seat. The problem is if I want to get further back or into the front hatch. The front hatch means crawling over the trolling motor. The rear means a long reach. I don't normally carry anything in the far rear since my net sits there when I'm fishing. If I take off a rain jacket or if I have a small cooler it will go there. I have a small plastic bin that will fit there, but I don't normally need to carry that much but it would be nice to be able to put the things that I DO carry into lockers/hatches and not have to make guesses at the start of the day what I may or may not need. With the design of the autopilot (motor in the front middle of the boat), I don't see a lot of options for built in storage. I understand why there isn't much and why that's the limiting factor on this boat compared to a Hobie for instance. If you didn't have the scupper holes in the front floor, then I could see a perfect flat area to build in a hatch. Definitely big enough for 4x 3700 boxes, more in the 136 AP. Scuppers would have to be relocated to the sides though (engineering and assembly problem) and the hatch would have to be absolutely waterproof for the event of a front deck flooding (I've had it happen a couple times). The rear well could be hatched, but you'd lose storage space so I don't see the point. All around the sidewalls aren't tall enough to fit a 3500 let alone a bigger box. thanks, rick

If you were local I’d give you the spool I have here (1 reel filled off a 300 yard spool). That’s about how much I rate it.

We’re iced out here and I’ve gotten out, but lows in the low 20’s for four days next week, highs barely 40, and grey all do not make me happy. I had 52 degree water last Saturday in spots and I will be a lot colder next weekend. at least it’s wet.

The mono? I find it hard and keeps memory. Ties good knots and good abrasion resistance, but curls almost as bad as p-line cxx. if you want to try suffix mono, elite is much better. I use 14 and 17 for most everything with 832 in 30 and 50 for special applications.

I've always been 2 coats of low build. I have never found a finish that looks good enough with just one coat regardless of the build type. So low build does a better job of penetrating and truly coating on the first step and gets the finish about 60-70% of the build I want. Then a light to moderate second coat finishes it off. thanks rick

im really curious about the stop and go you experienced. I have the ap and I bass fish out of it pretty exclusively (lots of guys use them for trolling or saltwater). About the only drive based thing I would like from the PDL versions is instant reverse. On the ap you have to turn the head 180 degrees which is slightly annoying but manageable if you think about it (like going for a snag on the bank and turning the head before you get all the way in). what I’ve found super useful on the ap is cruise control paired with heading control. On a straight bank I can set a direction a couple hundred yards away, set cruise control to 0.5 mph or so and start casting. Speed up or slow down depending how much cover there is you want to hit. But I only touch the remote once and I’m good for 15 minutes. this is definitely true. I got a kayak because I couldn’t get a boat (storage). The autopilot handles much like a boat given the autopilot motor and I can launch it in places that don’t have a ramp or into places with ramps a further ride away. But it is lacking in some areas compared to a boat. I want to have my rods and tackle inside the boat when I launch. I want to keep my rain gear in the boat constantly. I’d like to be able to access all of the things I’m carrying without having to crawl to the very front or back over top of what I have. If I had a boat, I’d probably sell the kayak. I wouldn’t lose any important fisheries and I’d get the benefits above. rick

and they are supposed to be tasty I hear. 5 lb fish on the regular that taste like crappie and are an invasive fish? I’d be keeping a couple week.

I used my sahara 4000 as a steelhead and salmon reel for years without issue. I fished it for bass and trout some also. Then I took it to the beach and stuck it on a lighter surf rod. Over 2 weeks it got dunked a time or two and towards the end of the trip is basically quit working. I even rinsed it well daily (dunk in the pool to flush out salt and sand, rinse with freshwater to remove pool water). Brought it home, took it apart and there was sand everywhere inside. I used degreaser and pulled it down to parts. Every bit of sand and crust was removed. Things were starting to work again (the anti reverse bearing being one thing). The drag is pretty smooth. But the reel just isn't the same. The Sahara isn't designed for sand. There is a combination of plastic and cheaper metals inside that just don't hold up. Sand is one of the hardest minerals on earth and it does a number of metals let alone plastics. Functionally the reel works and I'll use it when I'm not steadily casting and reeling. But it was a $60 reel 15 years ago so...

Not sure your experience with fishfinders, so forgive me if this is my version of teaching egg sucking. But a couple basic things: 1- The shallower the water the more you have to be right on top of them unless you have some version of side imaging. A 60 degree cone angle (common for 2D) will have a span of about 15% more than your depth. So in 5' of water, you've got a beam covering about 5.5' wide. Assuming the fish are on the bottom, your boat has to pass directly over them. If you're in 60' of water, you get about 69' of coverage. So you get about 35' either side of the boat which is an underhand flick cast. 2- 2D is good for showing fish arches of they are off the bottom, but only if you have it set up well. I wondered for a long time why I never saw arches and just got dots. Increasing scroll speed on the FF was the answer. I now run it 2-3 speeds higher than I used to and the imaging is better. Clarity, sensitivity, contrast, and other settings in your unit will vary so look up a tutorial on your unit specifically and FF generally to dial in the settings. For me as a bass fisherman, I don't look for fish specifically, but look for cover and structure. Seeing fish is nice but not my goal. I want the clearest picture of the other stuff. That said, when I'm crossing the big lakes and just scanning I like to see what else is down there. I have a couple lakes around that I want to go troll, but just never really got into that. And when all else fails, throw a whopper plopper at dusk/dawn. Never know what you're going to catch (like this walleye and others next to it). thanks rick

If you can go 6'10" the Falcon Bucoo Finesse jig would be my choice. I have the same in the expert and its a great topwater rod. Falcon also has the Herm at 6'6" but I haven't cast it so can't tell you the action.

I was going to say pretty lures and silky line... To the original question- dirt, grease, and corrosion are what will stiffen up a reel. A tear apart clean down is in the cards and I'm sure you'll find it. thanks rick

This for me too. I prefer to fish moving baits to visible cover so doing just that on a lake I know I don't really need it or use it aside from water temp and time (its easier to look down on the display than pull my phone out to check the time). That said, I think I have maybe 3 lakes that I know well enough to do that on. All of the lakes here have half decent maps from the state and Navionics maps are pretty good too. Being new to this area, I find it very help to target general areas based on a map. But then when I get there I'll autochart the lake to really pinpoint some of the structure. I've found things while charting that aren't on a map and you'd never know were there to fish without a good sonar. thanks rick

Went out this past foggy Saturday morning looking for those same smallies from last trip. No dice there, but got a really nice pickerel (24”, 4#) on a chatterbait. Also managed a couple crappie and perch on a trd ticklerz just to see if they were around. I’ll go back this week and keep a dozen or so. I also learned this lake has tons of white perch. There was a school of at least 10k fish in the backwater. I had to snag one to see what they were. I thought they were shad at first.

Denny, or anyone really, Im not too far from you in north Jersey if at some point you think an autopilot is in the cards and you want to try one. It’s also the same base boat as the other sportsmen 120’s so you can see how stable of a platform it is. I agree I wouldn’t go shorter. The 106 are just as stable but there isn’t enough space in one for me. rick

I fish in a old town autopilot. It’s above your budget and it’s a trolling motor model, so not exactly what you want. I love it. I’ve got the 12’ and to do it again I might get the 136 for even more space. for what you’ve specified above, an old town sportsman PDL would be a good choice. The sportsman series are built on a wide, flat bottomed hull and are super stable. I stand in mine most of the day and for all of the fishing. I’ll sit down to tie a lure or to do long motoring. Not sure how the PDL would work for standing and also maneuvering the boat but the standing would be good. thanks rick

With a palomar, the biggie I find is the loop. Once you’ve passed the lure though the loop and are snugging down you have to make sure the entire knot passes through the loop and the loop is the closest thing to your rod tip as it snugs down the mainline. If it isn’t the highest point on the knot it cuts through the middle of the knot. I can tie it repeatedly each way and break the incorrect way with 15 lb fluoro just by a quick tug. rick

i fished the trapcaster for a long time today, mostly with red eye shads but also with a squarebill, a flat side, a swim jig, and a chatterbait. Next to it I fished the expert 6’10” finesse jig. The first was with 832 braid, the second with 14 mono. Both are great for wha I was doing. The expert is lighter, more responsive, and more sensitive, but braid on the trapcaster means you feel every little tick your lure touches. At some point I will try the expert with braid. I think that will be something else.

For a jack of all trades rod, the falcon 7’ 5-powers are great. They even call most of them ‘all-rounders’ as the name of the rod. I have the trap caster which is the bucoo series version. I fished it with 12-17 lb mono and fluoro last year for all of the techniques you mentioned plus a few more. It was my general do anything rod, even light plastics pitching. This year I’ve put some 30lb 832 braid on it and it’s going to be more dedicated to lipless, some cranks, a buzzbait, and some backup duty for chatters and spinnerbaits. The braid has changed the rod and sensitivity is great for moving baits.

i fish three main colors. Greenback shad, black and blue, and variations on bluegill. If the water is dirty I’ll fish black and blue. It’s usually clear here so I’ll start with one of the other two. Grass lakes with bluegill get bluegill patterns and the rest get greenback shad. Rick

a-jay- this post made me think of something. Do you ever fish just a zako on a jig head/swim bait hook or as a swim jig trailer? I see you have one on a chatterbait without the trailer. thanks rick

the one by its lonesome in the box (and also on a couple in the middle)? Zako standard tail.

thanks. I was thinking this time of year, water 44-50 or so. Once the water hits 50 I’ll be throwing a topwater at them.