casts_by_fly

then the head turner is the rod you want. I fish the expert version for what youre talking. Also a great bladed bait and walking bait rod.

How heavy of cover? The falcon head turner and the eye crosser are 6’10” and 6’11” respectively. The head turner is a great buzzbait rod if you like shorter rods for that. It works well for frogs around lighter cover. I don’t like it for frogs on mats or heavy pads. A head turner with 30-50# braid would be a good choice. If you are talking heavy cover for the frogs then you need to jump to the eye crosser. That will also throw a 3/8 buzzbait if you are using a trailer to get the total bait weight up over a half ounce. Or just a half ounce buzzbait.

yellow 832 is probably going to be your best bet then. You can’t miss it on the water. I fish 10# on my bfs rod for what you describe. I also fish 30# and 50# on casting and used to fish the 10# on a spinning rod until I swapped to 131 (which doesn’t come in high vis).

It was 65 the other day and I’m on a lake house away from home that is wide open. But when we get home Thursday night it will be below 32 and stay there for a week. That should be enough to lock us up until February or more. Time to sort the tackle bag and start replenishing.

You’re looking for a falcon cara amistad.

We’ve just had 60 degrees so most ice is gone. But it’s dropping. Who knows what Jan and Feb bring.

We had similar on my wife’s car ages ago. Same as volfan but different vehicle yet. Sunroof drain backed up with gunk. Hope that’s your problem. Easy fix.

Line, lure, and gear is a negligible risk. Nets and boots (if you wade) are more so. In the UK a lot of ponds had dip stations before you could fish for this reason. They were trying to stop invasive snails primarily but the same logic applies. Anything that holds water can hold eggs or larvae. If you’re in a water body that has exotics/invasives per the state fish and wildlife commission, then take precautions. Rubber nets and boots instead of cotton and felt.

if you like humminbird and are NOT networking them, then a new explore with ml2 isn’t a bad choice. It looks like an upgraded helix and an upgraded mega live. But you won’t be able to network it with the console helix. if you’re going to have a non networked live unit then I’d go with garmin. Leave the two helixes where they are and add on a 9-12” head unit and lvs34. A 9” uhd2 and lvs34 bundle would be $2200 at TW though if you buy a gift card right now they are 10% off so right about $2k. if you like humminbird and have them networked, then it’s either a full new set with explore units and ml2 or a new helix and ml1. A helix 9 cho and ml1 unit are $1k each.

this is the correct answer for the OP specific to the gear he has. if they are G4N units then you can add mega live directly. Otherwise it’s going to take an Ethernet hub. You’ll need a cable adapter for helix units (the Ethernet plus is different from the head unit and the cable) which is about $35 last I checked. Plus the cables that come with the mega live transducer. also, a 7” screen is pretty small for a live imaging unit. So even if you have g4n units, adding mega live might not be a good choice. The easiest solution would be to upgrade the bow unit with a 9-12” cho since the cables will just plug right in that you already have (power, transducer, Ethernet if you have it). The helix models are discounted right now since they are being discontinued. adding to this setup would mean mega live 1. I’ve said before that it is the least good of the live imaging units for image quality. If you’re going to have to upgrade to a bigger helix (which is being discontinued) to add ml1 (which is inferior and being discontinued) then I would second guess that choice. A standalone garmin with lvs34 is probably a better choice to just run live imaging. you can run mega live 1 without a box. You have to have N units and not have a full network. But for a single unit you can just plug the mega live into the Ethernet port and run.

Funny enough, someone just asked me about the same rod over pm and I had to check if it was you because the thought process and questions were the same. Not sure if you saw my other comments on it further up but last year it was my 6” mag draft rod. I like the amistad better for that and I will probably set up a dedicated swimbait rod this year but as far as versatile goes the eye crosser did a great job with them, both standard and freestyle. I fished other similar swimbaits on it as well- 3/8 lead plus a 4-7” plastic. So all in, that’s topwater frogs and toads, moving baits, swim baits, and pitching with a total bait weight in the 3/4-2oz range that I used it for last year. My opinion of it as a heavier head turner is unchanged. It’s a powerful rod for sure, but to throw a full ounce you need it.

I have one in my autopilot kayak. I would struggle from may to October without it. A ninja blade and weedless wedge prop will get through most stuff. Buildup on the nose cone is a problem, especially for me where the motor is below the hull. But there is nothing you can do about that.

Only the special ones. The memorable ones for whatever reason. The 4#fish that sharked my frog on my dad’s home lake. The big spring largemouth on my own while fishing with him. The big smallie in 41 degree water. Some things imprint in your brain.

If you fish football jigs everywhere, all the time, and it’s your bread and butter technique then I can see having multiple rigged up. At some point, you figure out either the baits that work for you or the baits that work for your waters. I could see myself with three different jerk baits rigged this spring for a couple of the lakes I fish. At times in the summer I might have three different Texas rigs on at a time. If you’re a crankbait guy I could totally see a couple in the deck on the right day. Does that make the rods technique specific? For that day I guess. But then any of the three jerkbait rods I’d have rigged up would be hardbait top waters a couple weeks later (and I might have three rigged at a time).

I would say that if your intention is to use ffs as a fish catching tool then you don’t need to learn the others first. They are so different in how they work that one isn’t required for the other. That said, ffs isn’t the best for defining cover or locating fish in the first place. That’s a different skillset.

Before you start cutting, just make sure the motor has a mount adapter for your boat. Some are better than others.

Like TN boy, I’ve fished out of just about everything except for a pond prowler type. At various points my dad has owned (I have fished from) a glass boat, mod v, deep v, canoe. I’ve got the kayak myself. Each has its pluses and minuses but you asked about why not canoes. I think canoes, kayaks, and prowlers all fit the same bucket- smaller water type boats, limited range, gear carrying limitations to consider. So then comparing those, there is a ton of overlap for sure. A canoe can be a bit longer for a given weight which will give you tracking if you need it. A kayak can be more stable. A prowler needs a motor. The other can BE motorized but don’t have to be. A kayak can be pedaled so if you want non motorized but don’t want to pedal that’s a good option. A kayak will have more range. Most people won’t be able to paddle a canoe more than about 2 mph. A pedal kayak will do 4 sustainably. I see more advantages to a kayak. A 12’ pedal kayak will be more stable than a comparable canoe length. It will be heavier but not that much. It will do just as skinny of water with the drive up. And it will have more range. also, kayaks are in vogue and canoes are not. canoe vs kayak? Kayak you can stand up and fish. Want to be higher on the water? No questions.

no. That’s not going to happen.

watch glen's video for one if you haven't already. Then I'd recommend watching one for how fish finders actually work and what they are good for showing (and what they aren't good for showing). A couple basics: - A total fish finder setup means a head unit, a transducer, a mount, and a battery. - Live imaging you can be sitting still for. For basically all other bass fishing purposes you need to be moving for the fish finder to give you any type of useful image. Yes it will display an image, but its just taking repeated snapshots of what's directly below you and not a scan of the surrounding area. So keep that in mind- for your fish finder to be useful it means using it while you're paddling along ideally at a constant-ish speed. - Mega live (and live scope and panoptix) are transducers. They are live imaging transducers. Terms like mega SI/DI, triple shot, split shot, and 3-in-1 are the common names for the non live imaging transducers from the various manufacturer. - what imaging type you get will depend on what you buy. Since you mentioned ML2 I'll use Humminbird terminology (with which I am familiar). Side imaging (SI), Down imaging (DI), 2D/Chirp, and GPS are the main features in the head units as you would get them out of a box (let's leave out 360 and Live for a minute). HBird starts with Chirp + GPS. The next status up is Di which includes Chirp and GPS. Then SI includes Di, Chirp, and GPS. SI is the most fully features model. You will also see reference to Mega and '+' in the descriptions which are references to the higher frequencies available on those models and which are depenent on the transducer and not as much the head unit. If you buy a SI unit, then you will have all of the other views available as well. - Mega Live and 360 Imaging are add on transducers. In theory you could buy a control head only (no transducer) which is Si capable and add on ML/360 and in that case you would NOT have side/down imaging though your unit would be capable. You just wouldn't have the transducer for it. In practice, so long as the head unit you buy comes with a transducer then that won't happen. Now to your specifics. What do you want to do with the fish finder? what are you expecting it to do for your fishing? Those answers will inform what you need. I'm going to say that you almost certainly don't need to spend $5k and you most probably don't need 2 head units. For a kayak, the 7-9" size is a pretty big unit but still decently manageable. As you start to get bigger you start to need specialized mounts and the total weight of the head unit gets to be a lot. Even going from 7" to 9" is a huge jump in size. Bigger screens are nice if you're trying to split it 3 ways and still have a big SI or Live image. If you're using live imaging and trying to scan out to 75' in 30' of water while watching a 3" bait then a big screen would be nice. Outside of those scenarios, a 9" screen can do a ton and be very clear. You asked about vegetation. You're in CT and your waters are a lot like mine. I'm going to say that the answer to your question is 'no'- they aren't going to pick up bass in vegetation the way I think you're thinking about it. I might be interpreting you wrong, but if you have a grass bed on a big flat you're asking if it will show you were in that grass bed the fish are. The answer is no. Think of the transducer as a flashlight. From where you're sitting right now, look around the room and pick out a couple objects between you and the wall. Now shine your flashlight at the wall. The objects are clumps of grass. Do the objects block the light from shining behind them on the wall? What if there was a fish behind that object, would it be lit up with the flashlight? That's how sonar works. The beams get blocked by whatever they hit. They can't see behind objects. If the fish is in front of the grass in the open then it might be able to pick it out. If its inside the edge of the grass, then depending on how thick the grass is you probably won't see the fish. Below are two examples. the top is a split screen of down/chirp/side imaging. The second is live from the same place. That grass is 5-6' from bottom to top. Notice you can't see 'inside' of the grass in any of the images (yes, the 2D is 'hot' and could be better). There are certainly fish in there (I caught some skimming the top of it). If the grass is thinner, then you might be able to pick out fish. The image below is a pretty heavy crop from a bigger picture, but you can see the sparseness of the grass in the down imaging (blue) on the left of the image and you might be able to pick up fish in that. The heavier grass on the right (which you can see in the SI on top) you couldn't pick one out. So relying on your FF to pick up fish IN grass isn't something I would do.

What phish said for access and bearings to hit. My zillion is similar. You’ll want a needle applicator. If you dont have one, this is a quick and easy shout. Also useful for door hinges when they squeak. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KW7NA8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

about 26”. I think it’s my biggest but I have a few in the 24-26” range.

Super braid is fine. I have it on a spinning rod. I find it closer to power pro 4 carrier than 832 but it works just fine.

oh yeah, I forgot about pickerel. All of them have them. this was from the ‘best day’ noted above.

we’ve got a few pretty good mixed bag lakes here. My best day included walleye, crappie, yellow perch, white perch, smallmouth, largemouth, and a big hybrid striper. The same lake has muskies, trout, carp, cats, and other stuff. A couple of the lakes you could troll and catch lakers, browns, rainbows, smallies, largemouth, crappie, and walleye. Another one yet you’ll could get large and smallmouth, pike, crappie, hybrids, trout, white and yellow perch. Nj isn’t going to give up big numbers of 3-5lb fish but it does have the variety if you want.

you're not wrong for the most part. If you're throwing a frog to represent a frog, then a light natural and a dark natural are probably just fine. I throw black and dark brown most of the time. There are times though, that other colors are the only think they will eat. An all white at night on a full moon is a thing. Seen it too many times. And during a shad or bluegill spawn something with a little flash to it or a spot of color (like a bluegill that has rolled on the surface might flash) will do it. And don't forget, if you really want to go all out with your logic, someone makes a fluorescent pink backed frog. Bottoms in different colors but the back is bright pink to help you see it. Not the worst idea ever.