casts_by_fly

My complete guess? Forgot to buy his license, caught a big one, went to register and went “oh crap” and hoped no one would notice the dates.

this is where I am. I have the chronarch equivalent downstairs. I'm going to use it because it works. But considering you can get a brand new Curado K 200 for $150 there is no way I'd buy a used one unless it was $100 or less. I also don't think you need a 200 size for frogs. That's 50-65lb braid territory and you can get plenty of braid on a 150 sized reel for frogs. And the 150 sized reels are just a little better in feel for me and more versatile if you change it to a lighter bait lure later. That said, if the 200 size fits you and you get a deal on one, then no reason not to.

I’ve bought more than a few used falcons from Alf.

And we’re thinking of this from the angler side. Don’t forget that the stages and equipment, weigh stations, broadcasters equipment, etc all have to travel also.

the reasons listed in this thread. Keeping your bait off the bottom, your line off the bottom, and the easier linear drop of the bait either through cover or just vertically.

They will have basically the same lodging expenses. You show up on Monday for a tournament on Thursday-Sun. Repeat. If they were spread out you might get there a day or three earlier, but compared to driving 13+ hours each way that's a breeze. A 13 hour drive is really two days (or a day and a half). And that's just the average. Chattanooga to Lacrosse is 13. Clayton is 15+. I've done NY to Atlanta a couple times as a day trip each way and its a lot. Can't imagine one day plus pulling a boat.

you're in NY where the upper susky is small. From what I saw of it, a long cast would get across it in a lot of places. Wading from shore isn't so big a hindrance then aside from covering water. And that time of year you won't need to cover water once you find them. In winter they will be in the deeper holes and slackwaters conserving energy most of the time. As the water warms they will start moving around following bait and prepping for the spawn. Start in the deeper holes and work your way out until you find them. Lure wise- neds, curl tail grubs, inline spinners. Bounce a curl tail through a pool just off the bottom and as slow as possible so that the tail is moving. If they are really active then either the curl tail or the spinner. If they aren't active then dead stick a ned down through.

I seem to remember your posting here last year about #1 (could have been another poster). If so, then I'd never fish with that guy again. I'd pick dad. Not for sentimental reasons. Not just becuase mine knows what he's doing and has won tournaments before I was born. In your case, since he isn't an experienced bass guy, you give him a wacky rigged senko and he gets to play cleanup all day. You fish what you think they are eating. He can throw a senko and just catch them. Only need one rod and a backup. Keep it simple.

There is a facebook group for falcon rods and XGs come up fairly often. I don't know them or pay attention to which ones, but they do pop up. Also, if its just the blank/model you want, there is the Cara 6'8" MHF. It's a split grip, but its a good rod. I think it was the old 'spinnerbait special' revamped into the new line. I have one and it's great for tight spinnerbaits and does well with topwater walking baits. I still prefer my 6'10" versions for those but it's a nice rod for people who like short rods.

I can totally see why and it makes sense. Most (many?) of the pros that are fishing the series are based in the south east. Costs to fish the tournament are clearly high on the organizers minds given the removal of entry fees. Dragging a boat from East Tennessee to St Clair or Lacrosse is a lot of time/fuel/money. Same for Texas and to a lesser extent Florida. So you put the tournaments back to back so that the anglers can drive up, spend two full weeks, then drive home. It saves the round trip.

Stradic ci4? I'd just get another stradic 2500. The spools will work on the new one. I'm also surprised that you can't get parts for it. The stradic series has tons of common parts across different reels in the lineup over the years. Have you checked with @Delaware Valley Tackle, site sponsor and all around good guy?

what type of cover are you talking about? Walking a frog in more open water along docks and laydowns and bombing across the top of a mat are different rods for me. I don't do much of the first given the cover we have here, but for that I prefer a lighter rod with a bit more tip. For bombing, I want a rod with enough backbone that setting a hook at 40 yards isn't a question.

If you haven't had them serviced in a while, I would suggest send them off. They probably need a deep clean and fresh lube. Reels of that era are simple machines really and a good servicing will get them back to good shape.

Nah, I don't see that happening. Maybe the 11" Apex. Maybe. I agree there is a price gap, but I don't think there is a product gap. Both are similar interfaces and styles. Part of the reason for reorganizing this way was to have a clear difference in the product specs and features. With the Helix, you could go from 5-15". Solix 10-12-15. Apex 13-16-19. So in the 10-15" bracket you had 2 or 3 difference options at different price points. But with what differentiation to get you to pay more? Touchscreen for one. The apex has better processing, but not many really need that. If you're looking at side imaging, you're better off with the bigger screen and not touch screen than the other way around (IMO). So why would someone buy a 16" Apex when a 15" Helix is nearly as good and ~half the price? I'd take a pair of Helix over a single Apex. So the explore is a lineup harmonization/simplification to get some of the features of the solix and some of the helix. Charge a price between the two, and have a clear product differentiation up to the apex (size primarily, some capabilities second). If you bring out a 14" explore, who is going to buy the 13" Apex? Maybe if you bring out an 11" Apex then you could get some to upgrade. Maybe. All that said, the helix 15 MDI G4N is down to $1700 which is $1k off. That will push the used market down further yet. I think I have a leaning in my quandry above. The 15" helix would be a pretty good dedicated Mega live bow unit with a helix 9 on the console.

I'm kinda in this boat. I have a helix 9 G4N with ML1. In the kayak I have no plan to upgrade or add on. I'm buying a boat this winter and that will need 2 units. So its either start fresh with explore/ML2 so that going into the future there is no compatibility issue, add a new to me Helix N knowing that the upgrade path is blocked and bring the Helix 9/ML1 with me, or sell the Helix 9/ML1 with the kayak and revert to option 1. There isn't a bad option as the Helix is great. That's the most likely path for me (add one) but that also means if I sell the kayak I need to strip the electronics. It would just be easier to sell the whole thing as one if I had a buyer.

https://www.digitaka.com/item/5/4/2/4969363046970 SLX 70 with the regular spool for $130. Just get what you like.

If you do a search on here there was a lot of talk about it last year and expecially the year before. Then it kinda died off in favor of the free rig and the jika rig. Each has its benefits. The tokyo is nice if you want to present a plastic nearly horizontal but 3" off the bottom. if you have a soft bottom it will hold it out of the muck. if you have a hard bottom it will present just off of it. In both cases you can swim the bait and it just kinda floats over the bottom. It's also useful for punching down into heavier cover where a texas rig might hang up. Thicker grass and pads are a good option. The weight goes first and the weight/rig/bait all line up linearly to slide down into grass just a little easier at times.

For 3/8 plus a trailer you’re right in the sweet spot for a head turner. Fast tip but a half ounce total bait weight will load it up well. That’s my usual range for it- 3/8-1/2 plus trailer. You won’t be disappointed.

I contemplated a similar setup last winter. I was tired of the lifting so I was going to trailer it. A few guys have done it with raised bunks and enough gap to the trailer cross members so that you can drive the kayak on and off the trailer with the motor. Same orientation as a regular boat. Before you launch you mount and pull down the motor, turn it on, and go. Bow to the back will give you more distance between the motor and the cross member.

A 15” jack will strip 100 yards of line off a light spinning reel in seconds. Jacks in general are beasts. I’ve never caught a gt but I’ve seen them while diving and they are just mean looking. Bulky shoulders, BIG tall forked tail, thick width.

I have head turners and agree you’re in the right place with them. what bait weight are you looking at?

I’m following this. I tried a wake crank last year for the first time and it was basically a sub surface jitterbug (which I’ve fished for 30+ years). Super fun to fish and worked well for me. Unfortunately the one I have is long discontinued so I’m also looking for a couple.

30# braid is great for 3/8 swim jigs. If I’m throwing 2oz then I might start at 50 and go up from there.

for ANY given weight, I'd rather the fish be shorter and thicker. 1- they generally fight harder. 2- That tells me there is a good food base there so if that one is there there are probably more. Like Tom said, long skinny fish usually mean a spotty forage base (aside from the very freshly spawned ones) and that's never a good thing for anyone. This lake has a pretty good forage base.

and it's not like a Stradic is even heavy. My 3k sized FL is just under 8 oz. I have a 1k sized FE from 2004? that is the same weight.