casts_by_fly

That's pretty much where I am also. I've passed a couple 8's this year now. I shot two like them last year and I've decided to let that size walk. The bigger guy running around is about a 130 if he didn't have a broken/missing G3. He'd be 5.5 or so around here with that much antler (poor diet and nutrition I think). There is another 7 that isn't as wide, but is a good bit thicker and taller. I've only seen him once while driving, but if he comes through he gets shot. Saw two new bucks last night. A doe and her two button bucks were out front and she started staring down the powerline. Out popped a buck I'll call 'field goal' now. His rack comes up and out to the G2 point and there is nominally a 5" G2. But no brown tines and no main beam beyond the G2. So he's basically a big spike that looks like a field goal post. When he walked past the doe she didn't put her head down so I knew there was another. I saw the rack from 40 yards and said it was a shooter- past his ears, decent height, good body size. When it came out at 20 yards though, he turned his head and his right main beam is bare- no brow, no points, nothing. I thought about shooting him for the novelty of the rack, but I'm holding off.

Not if you're beached on a stump you're not! Yeah, I've been sitting in a deer blind the past week in the mornings at that temp and it's cold. On the water, getting sprayed, in the wind? No thanks.

I zig, he zags. Went to another spot to shoot a doe. At the exact moment he was in front of my blind, I’m 20 yards from a small 8 and two puppy dog does (this years fawns) while mom watches from 60 yards away. She caught me scent but she was the only one who cared. Saw 5 bucks, 2 fawns, and a doe out of range. while he was out back at my blind.

good thing you got the CO2 cartridge sorted! The AP is a big stable boat, but when the wind hits 20 and the waves start cresting you're looking at some troubles. I've fished in it (standing up too) but it isn't nice. I've done the 'just don't fight the wind' journey that takes you 180 degrees from where you want to be, but exactly where you need to be (a safer spot!). And just think, if you were in a jon boat taking waves over the bow and stuck like that you'd have probably swamped. At least the AP with scuppers just drains it out. Glad you're safe. Keep us posted.

It wasn't my best year this year, but a lot of it was due to time constraints. When you can be on the water twice as much, you're going to have twice the changes of catching a big bass (or anybass). You also get more variability in conditions that mean you can fish the conditions that suit you. Case in point, I like cloudy, blowy drizzle kind days in April-June. We didn't have that many this year and when we did I was often at a desk. Last year I had more flexiblity to go fish them. On top, lakes change year to year. Year classes of fish change. Those 4 lb fish in texas are going to be ~4-5 years old. Was there a good spawn 5 years ago? How about the baitfish- how have they changed lately? Lots of variables. Like Toxic said- you never know what a day is going to hold on the water so take them as they come, do your best in the conditions, and have fun.

@Scherbacj- you are correct in your understanding of how it works. The issue your having will be come combination of the returns from the structure, the error in the placement of the waypoint, and (since you just mentioned it) using downscan. If you are scanning for structure, I recommend side scan. With downscan, you are condensign a really wide area of the bottom into a small number of pixels and you lose the 'depth of field'. Consider the example from HBird below. While the tip of the tree that is shallowest might be a single point, consider that the entire tree in the right example is probably 50' from port to starboard as the boat goes over it. On the screen the center of the tree is a single plane. So to pick a pixel in the dead center of the tree it might be 50' either side of the center line of the boat and you can't tell. And it entirely depends on which pixel you chose. If you've run over the center of the tree in the first place then the waypoint should still be close. But if you've only skimmed the edge with the edge of the beam, the center of that tree could be 75' away. If you are using side imaging, you don't get the detail of the structure as clearly, but distance from the centerline is much easier to manage. Do that twice from two angles and you should have two waypoints within a few feet of each other. Then you go back over it with down imaging to find the details inside.

yes you should. Probably a lot more people should also. it's an old lure but it works.

That's largely my point above. I'm sure they have run the numbers and made a decision. Any time there is a patent expiring that you are interested in 'using' you'll do your research and development ahead of the patent expiring. There is an existing product in the market so plenty of sales data to go from. Internet forums can be used, but with care. You're sampling a very specific subpopulation. But with the existing DCs (across multiple pricepoints) you have good sales figures to work from and know exactly how big the market is. You might make some assumptions about what you can do better than the incumbent, but then again they have had a multi year head start on you. The DC adds $50-$80 over the base model depending which you look at. With competition I could see that going down some at the high end, less at the low end. It's an added physical system plus electronics which all require assembly. This is something I agree with. When that patent expires you can bet that Doyo will be all over it and the rest of the market reels will get it quickly. I'm sure they have done all of their research and will make their own decision. Based on what I know of the market and what I think they will do- they won't do it. I don't think it adds anything to their portfolio that they need or can market. I can see Doyo getting on board with it before Daiwa. There is no doubt that casting distance is important to some people. And if you have a reel that has a clear casting distance advantage (claimable statistically) that is something that you might want to market. But again you're talking about a very small subset of the market. Most baitcaster fishermen (don't forget that not all bass fishermen use casting reels) couldn't even take advantage of a reel that gives then an extra 10'- it takes a good bit of experience to consistently maximize a reel. And if distance is my concern and I am an experienced caster who can actually cast, a DC reel isn't what I'm going to grab. I'm grabbing a wide, deep spooled reel with good free bearings and nothing to get in the way of me casting it.

on a straight retrieve or bopping along the surface, usually pretty violent. If you’re letting it drop down into holes (you should), then sometimes violent and sometimes not. Think of it like a swim jig and you won’t be far off.

A silver minnow with a 3-4” grub as a trailer would do it. I use other spoons that are discontinued so I can’t recommend them here. One is still offered though. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Heddon_Moss_Boss_Spoon/descpage-HMBS.html?from=gpmax&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADkexy6wVhp0l4QEorAsi1H-BJ71-&gclid=Cj0KCQiAlsy5BhDeARIsABRc6ZumXxaYzGg9K8anB-lCgKqpN1MSfwB9oc8IjJfxIYPSifCtAx621zQaArwDEALw_wcB

head unit. It can get complicated if you have a trolling motor with both a gps and transducer as well as a console and bow mounted unit. Minn Kota has a guide as to which “thing’s” data is used in what scenario (spot lock, waypoint marking, navigating to a waypoint, etc). Tom, You are correct that what you see on the screen is the scrolling history and things on the left of the screen can be a hundred feet behind you depending on your boat speed and scroll speed. However, on the OP’s unit and mine you mark the point on the screen anywhere in the history, not the current scrolling position. If you have a brush pile halfway across the screen (let’s say that’s an actual 50’ behind where you were when you scanned it) you scroll the cursor across the screen to the pile (or just touch it with some units) and the head unit converts that screen position to a set of gps coordinates. The coordinates are ‘exactly’ where the head unit was when the pile was scanned. I quote ‘exactly’ relative to the caveats stated above.

I also am fairly sure that in a lot of that have a creek channel and that flood in the spring that the brushpiles move. Rocks not so much, but brushpiles do. Whole trees do. Three summers ago one of our reservoirs was fishing great. There was a particular tree in 20' of water that came up to about 13' under the surface and was the only cover around on a good rocky point that had a deep edge on one side and a flat edge on the other. It was good for a couple. The following summer the lake level dropped steadily and the fish still related to it even when it was breaking the surface. The lake filled that spring and I haven't seen that tree since. I imagine gravity did its thing when the water level dropped to zero feet at the tree, either it rolled or broke. Then when it filled the whole thing just drifted away. It was on the main creek channel after all. I miss that tree. rick

You are correct in how it works. You need to factor in the distance between the head unit (gps source) and the transducer. if you're sitting in the console of a 20' boat and the transducer is on the stern then you're going to be off by about 10'. Do additional passes per below if you need a higher level of accuracy, but I don't think that's what you're talking about here. It sounds like you're just not finding it at all. @Scherbacj- take note of the offsets and errors. while you can drop a waypoint on a brushpile (for instance) and you're usually pretty close, criss crossing your original path at 90 degrees and off to the side of it (while using side imaging) may yield a slightly different waypoint. If it's an important thing you want to be very precise on later then take 2-3 passes and mark it as 3 waypoints. Also note that depending what you're marking, you will get a different return from different angles. In the most extreme case, picture a billboard on the bottom (like a roadside billboard). Drive parallel to it and you've got the entire face of the billboard to reflect against. Drive perpendicular and you get the very skinny side. Totally different looking images on the screen, hence a second pass at 90 degrees.

Nah. Two reasons. 1- it would be a mixed marketing message to add DC to an SVTW. They already say its the lowest input, easiest casing reel setup and they aren't wrong. What does DC add to a consumer? What does it add physically to the reel? How do you differentiate that in your marketing message? 2- You'd be adding cost and complexity to a reel without a market need. I don't have the sales figures to back this up (happy to be proven wrong) but I don't think DC reels are setting the world on fire saleswise. Why go after a smaller niche market with a pricier offering when your current reel already does all of the things ("set it and forget it")?

I primarily fish braid to a long fluoro leader (ala A-Jay style) but I also fish straight mono at times. For lots of things braid to leader is better. The sensitivity is a big one of course. Hook setting at distance also. Then again, if you're making longer casts with lighter wire hooks then hook setting isn't as big an issue as you think. Sensitivity also depends on what you're throwing. If you're fishing FFS and watching them eat it then you don't need the sensitivity. Dragging a ned and it helps, then again Ned Kahde fishes 5 lb fluoro exclusively so there's that. Since I'm usually carrying one spinning rod, it's braid to leader but if I carry more it might be straight line.

straight mono/fluoro is fine WRT line twist. Just make sure you're keeping an eye on it. The shaking doesn't add any twist.

I’m an opportunist but primarily fish bass. Growing up we fished bass most of the year, trout in the spring a little or at the cabin, carp at the local ponds on a summer afternoon, and I’d Wade the creeks with worms for whatever swam up it that spring (usually carp and drum). But it was primarily bass because that’s what my dad liked. Everything else was just for variety. We fished tournaments for a couple years when I was pretty young (club tournaments). We stopped that after a couple years. I went through a period where I only fly fished. I had a time when I lived near Cleveland and I fished over 250 days that year, mostly for steelhead. I lived in England for 12 years so fished for grayling, carp, and whatever else was around. Now a days I bass fish all but a couple of my trips each year. I’ll throw in a couple trips to the trout creek, a day or two taking a kid for bluegills, and I’ll do a couple hours of crappie fishing in the spring. But it’s bass I fish for the most despite having lakes around with every manner of fish in them to a decent degree and the bass fishing being just okay here. why bass? Compared to the others I like the puzzle, I like the fight, they are what I know maybe the best (trout would be close), I can fish from the boat (there is minimal shore access here), it’s active fishing (not chunk and wait), etc. all things noted above. Why not tournaments? I’m a really competitive person. I really have to win. That’s not what I want from fishing. When I’m fishing, I want to go when and where I want. I want to start when I see fit (often well before dark). I want to be able to sit down and take a break without feeling like I’m wasting precious time. If I just want to chuck and crank that day, even if it’s not producing well so be it. That’s not going to fly in a tournament.

Thanks guys. @TOXIC- I wish we had options here but there aren’t any good ones. Uncovered outdoor storage is expensive and then it’s sitting outside for anyone to break into it, plus weather. it’s a hard no from my wife to store a boat outside at the house if I even had a space to do it. The back wall of the garage is the wall to our dining room so I can’t do a bump out. I did consider consolidating two of the bays and their 8’ doors into a single double wide door. I don’t know if the wall between the doors is load bearing but I don’t think so. That would let me back in and angle across two bays with an extra wide opening to get it in. That’s probably the most realistic if I ever wanted a boat bigger than I can fit into a single bay. At one point my wife and I discussed an addition. Before she passed, her mom was frail and had trouble with steps. We don’t have a downstairs bedroom. In the event that something happened to her dad, we would have had to take in her mom. The plan was going to be to convert the garage to an in-law suite and build a new garage where the pad in front of the current one is which would have rotated the bays 90 degrees and aligned them with the driveway. Had we done that, you can be sure it would have been 30’ deep with a set of 10-12’ doors. @DaubsNU1. @MN Fisher- I’m pretty sure some form of dolly is going to be required. I’ll get the boat first and then see from there. At this point, short of finding a buddy with the same boats I am looking at, I think I just have to measure a couple and leave myself from room for error. As much as I’d love to shoehorn a 175txw in (the specs say I can probably do it), dealing with an inch of room on either side every time will get old fast. A pro 170 is a foot narrower and will give me room. Then it comes down to the motor on the back and how much it sticks out. Or maybe I just get the 16’ v bottom tiller and never worry about it….

congrats! That’s awesome

if you got a Next, they come in dark grey and dark blue. Save your paint money and buy another plopper.

I cast right and retrieve right with a bait caster. Always have. I cast right and retrieve left with a spinning rod. Anything else just feels weird for me. If you’re willing to spend $200 you’re so close to a jdm zillion at $205. That’s what I’d do (and I just might order myself another one). Way too nice of a reel for that price point.

If only…. Some day we will. I hate the pavers. I have to reset them in a couple places every other year. They are a bear to use the snowblower on and the scoop catches every 15’ on a raised corner. However, it’s not a short or small driveway and I don’t want to consider what it would cost to replace it. Since it works perfectly fine for the most part, that’s money I don’t need to spend.

I took a morning off because my back has been sore…

I have my kayak now and it’s a 10 minute job from starting the truck, backing up to the kayak (on a cart in the garage), loading everything, and pulling out. I don’t mind if the boat takes a little longer there because I’m saving it on the lake side with not loading and unloading every trip. And I can pull the boat out at 1030 in the morning between meeting for an afternoon departure time. No quad or lawn tractor. We also only have 2 cars. My wife’s is in the first bay. My truck sits outside. Local storage is expensive. About $150 a month for an outdoor parking space. Garages only go to 20’ here that I’ve found and I have that at home. thanks. That’s a good suggestion. Do you only roll it on concrete? We have concrete in the garage but pavers in the driveway. And a 1” lip to get into the garage door. And an ever so slight incline. The more I talk it through the more I think I need a lawn tractor.

if you can mount them securely, then there are a couple options. I love my horizontal rod holders from mariner sails. I don’t think they will work great for you in that setup, but have a look. I also have a pair of the yak attack omega which are highly adjustable. I used to have two as my rear rod holders. I kept one and the same spot as a net holder. The other I add once every couple trips when I want a sixth rod.