casts_by_fly

I'm in the same place on the micro. I seriously considered it, but a lot of the places I'd want to pole down the boat is in 12+' of water... So the number of places that it would actually be useful for me is less than 'all of my lakes'. If it was half the price then sure. For $350 or so as a part time used item I'd have it. But not $700. I've also watched for used versions to come up on marketplace or other. There are SO many scams run with them its unreal.

Any reason you're locked into those two and are you open to other rods?

the one I have is a 10,000 mAh charging bank which is a TON of portable battery for phones, computers, etc. Well worth having at least one. Mine stays in the truck. Jus have to remember to charge them every now and then.

one of these plus one of these. Our alewives have a blue tinge to them with the occasional chartreuse fin.

fully agreed there. West Nile is the other one. we had a bad outbreak of ehd 2 or 3 summers ago. The fall before it you could ride down my street and across the next one over and count 40-50 deer every evening. We lost about over 50% of the population that summer and maybe more. The local biologists noted it.

Because I don’t have to wear sunscreen on the really cloudy days.

Lyme is transmitted via ticks, not through the blood of the animal to other animals. Let alone cooked meat from a deer that’s had its blood drained out anyway.

it varies depending on the tree. I hunt from a saddle and primarily rope climb. So I’m not limited to how many sticks I have or how tall the ladder is. I try to find trees with a significant branch, a split truck, or something else for back cover. Wherever that is I will climb to. In this case I was about 20’ to the platform. In the more open woods around here that’s about my minimum. I was on a hill with the deer below me so I got away with it. More often I am 22-25 to my platform. Depending on location and time of year, I’ll have a 35 or 40’ rope on top. 5’ wraps around the tree and another foot in the knots. So I can set that rope 28-33’ high and have enough rope to rappel down. Yeah, I was at a housewarming when this picture came through last night. The cold snap has them moving. And this is the big guy around.

The falcon Cara head turner is the rod you’re looking for. 6’10”, 1/4-3/4 (though 1oz is easy enough) fast action with a quick tip but a lot of backbone up the rod. It was designed to be a short pitching rod but it’s a fantastic rod for bladed baits also. Super versatile rod. Mine also is my big walking bait rod, spinnerbait/chatterbait rod for most things, swim jig and tight spaces jig/pitching/plastics rod (aka docks and skipping), and it also tends to be the rod that I will throw the ‘random’ other lure if I don’t have the correct rod for it. For instance, I’d ordinarily throw weightless flukes on my shorter/lighter rod but I don’t always carry it so if that’s what I want to fish this rod will get it.

After Wednesdays near miss, I figured the deer would still be around. I backtracked the trail I figured them to be on and picked out a tree. Most of the trees in this bottoms are big and straight with no branches for cover. I guess I picked the wrong one. The tree was a bit wider than my shoulders and while my ropes were long enough my platform strap wasn’t. I didn’t realize it until fighting the climb up for 10 minutes though. I went further up the trail and found a smaller beech with a few branches in a pinch point near the trail. Go to ~22’ or so where the canopy kinda started and had to adjust location a couple times to get where the branches didn’t interfere with my bow at full draw but that the platform would not be interfered by lumps in the bark and could sit still. Ended up okay but with branches on my right side I couldn’t shoot from my 12:00-5:00 around the tree at all (which was my downwind and also an open woods so not awful). The squirrels were going nuts but about 530 I saw a deer in the distance. Turned out it was three does. It took them ten minutes but they fed my way and eventually came out at 25 yards. They were coming towards me so I waited, figuring they’d stop and turn. Well they hung a hard 90 and were dead away before I got a chance. Fortunately they fed around a good while and one decided come back towards me, even smelling my tree. I couldn’t twist to get the shot downward but she walked more or less diagonal away into my 11:00 and let me draw. It was fairly hard quartering away so I picked my exit hole, settled the pin, and stabbed the release. As the lighted nock disappeared I thought it was a little back but when the deer all ran off 40 yards and stopped i felt pretty good. They all stayed there for a solid 10 minutes before two spooked and ran off. I thought I heard a crash so I gathered up and got down. There was enough light that if she was heads up I could still shoot her. It wasn’t necessarily. She piled up about 50 yards from the shot. The entry was a touch back for preference, but it cut the top off the stomach, center punched the main liver arteries, and took out the lower front lobe of the right lung before exiting at the arm pit. I’d rather 2” further up the body but this will do. Full pass through most of the length of the body? I’ll take it. 50 yard tracking job? Done. Only had blood for the last 10 yards and not much, but a deer piled up in 50 will do.

no, that’s not how retail products work. The product development model is such that when you launch a new product (especially a premium one) you normally come in at a price premium to what’s on the market because you have some new ‘feature’ to justify it. It’s new and shiny so consumers are interested (aka buy it). Then a year or three down the line when that new feature has trickled down into cheaper products of your lineup the higher end model has lost some pizzaz. You need to discount it a little to keep sales up. You look for ways to pare the cost down. On top, costs are always going up but consumers won’t accept a price hike for what’s the same item (typically, and if they have a choice). So on a product basis, the company can keep trying to shave costs or they can come out with a new product. Look at what abu Garcia has done with the revo stx as an example. They are on the fifth or sixth iteration and the msrp just climbs (though the discounted price isn’t too much higher if you watch the sales). On a company basis, you need to have a supply strategy for the products you are selling. Are you making it in house or externally? In market or out of market? Are you going to have high stocks on hand or create a supply chain that is highly responsive to changes in demand. The product you make, the in-house expertise, the third party manufacturers available and costs play into the decision. All of that is to say that most consumers don’t care one bit about where a product is made. More important is the product and features you get for the price you pay. If it truly is the same product with the same ingredients and quality control, then it doesn’t matter where it’s made. To get features A, B, and C it costs you X.

Every year we would start fishing at ice out and quit when hunting season came around. A bit of trout fishing in the spring, but mostly bass. We fished a bunch of local ponds all the time and usually caught a bunch of bass. I fished the local creeks for bass in the summers with ultralight and fly gear. We also fished club tournaments for a couple years when I was 9-11 years old. After we stopped doing that it would still be the same lakes, just not in tournaments.

I started by fishing the 3" Yum minnow and still do. They are a small profile bait and an easy snack. If you put it on a fish they will probably eat it if they are going to eat. I generally have clear water, so I throw the dark green over grey version. The couple shad lakes we have I might swap to black over white or just white if the water is cloudy. I rarely have less than 2-3' of visibility though so a natural/neutral works for me. The other benefit of this little one is that we have a lot of crappie and a solitary 15" crappie looks just like a solitary 15" bass on livescope. Both will eat a 3" minnow, but a 4" freeloader is a lot for a crappie. I'm not targeting crappie, but if I'm throwing the 3" and the fish isn't hitting I'm pretty sure it isn't eating. if I throw the 4" and it isn't hitting its either a bass that isn't eating or a crappie. So the 3" helps pare down that decision tree. I'll throw a mini fluke also for a changeup. No real reason other than the tail is skinnier and forked horizontally so when you twitch it you get a little more tail action. I picked up some bigger freeloaders but haven't properly fished them yet. I think they will be good early season but let's see. They are certainly easier to see on the screen, but they are a much bigger bait than the yum. You said you hate the ned, but if the fish are hanging just off the bottom you can fish it just like a sonar minnow and swim it just off the bottom also. Dropshot rig them too. Remember too, the pros picked up FFS years ago and most have said its a 2 year learning curve to really get good with it. And that's being on the water 4-5 days a week for a lot of them.

I am 2 years on from where you are now, minus the tournaments. I picked up mega live basically 2 years ago over the winter. My intention wasn't to 'scope' bass, but to be able to see structure and fish in real time to know I was fishing the right areas. Once I got comfortable with that I then moved on to fishing for the fish on the screen. I'm in a kayak, so moving fish, a lighter moving boat, and changing wind make it pretty tough but it can be done and I've learned a few things in the process. Getting started, get a bunch of practice just playing with settings. Different water clarity/turbidity, depth, and bottom composition mean adjusting settings. The depth setting and range settings impact what you're looking at. It's great being able to look forward 80' or more, but unless you are using a big screen (16" plus), 80' out and 30' deep on your screen means your bait is going to be tiny and tough to track. Same for fish. Different baits have different profiles on the screen and that affects how well you can track them. Big vs small is obvious. Soft vs hard baits make a difference as well. A smaller soft bait like a 2-3" jighead minnow might be the toughest thing to track (its possible though as I do it for crappie). To that end, know where your sonar cone is. For my megalive, it's not a wide path. The easiest way to track a lure is to have a heavy splashdown which creates disturbance and bubbles and then you can track the bait as it falls. If you miss the splashdown, it can be tough to find your bait until its too late. In terms of specific baits, you're on the right track. A jighead minnow is the most straightforward. If bass are feeding in the open (or even just chilling but open to eating) it's a fast way to get a bait in front of a fish. The right weight and sink rate is important. You want it to sink fast enough to get down to the fish before they move but slow enough to stay in the strike zone. Color and profile seem to matter less to me so long as you're pretty close. A jerkbait is another good option for fish that are a little slower or more reluctant to feed. The stop go can trigger bites that a jighead minnow won't. A dropshot is a good choice because sometimes fish are just on a finesse bite. And you can see it well in the water. If bass are relating to the bottom a dropshot is a good choice, though keep in mind they are harder to find and see. An A-rig or a spinnerbait are quite visual on FFS but I've never had a fish hit one of either fishing them that way. One thing I have had work though is crankbaits and chatterbaits skimming deep submerged grass lines. If you have a defined grass line at (for instance) 16' deep in 20' of water, it can be tricky at times to know you're just skimming it. With FFS you can watch the bait and keep it right on the edge of the grass. The thing to remember with bottom contact lures like texas rigs and jigs is that you're not necessarily fishing them to specific fish on FFS. You're fishing to a brush pile or stump (for instance). Often you won't see the fish that's in the pile and you're just using LS to ensure your bait is in the zone. From a time of year perspective, you still have to understand where the fish are. If you're on a shad heavy lake and the bass are generally following shad then you need to find them and how the bass are setting up. For me, a lot of my lakes are bluegill and perch heavy for forage and also very weedy. That limits FFS effectiveness in the summer when there is a thermocline set up at 15' and grass grows to the surface from 20'. FFS is only effective for me then if there are cruising fish in the open over deeper water or in places that don't have the grass. From ice out until May when the grass comes up though its a good tool. Finally, keep in mind that even if you do all of the above right- you've found the bass, you can track your lure which matches exactly what the forage is, etc- a lot of times the bass just don't want to eat. I've wasted a lot of time casting to fish that just didn't want anything. You'll have to figure that one out for yourself but eventually you have to cut your losses and move on.

I pull the spool and use an oil bottle that has a long needle cap.

Yeah, I thought about it but couldn't think of why. This would be why.

very nice I was out Wednesday evening and nearly let one loose. I had a couple does come in about 20 minutes before shooting light. I thought they were a couple yards outside my defined range but they were actually a little closer. The first one of three made me think they were closer so I grabbed the rangefinder for the second one. By the time I put the RF down to grab my bow she went behind a branch. The third didn't come on the same path, so I had to wait for them to feed and come back. While I was waiting a fourth came in behind me and was on a killing path until she swung downwind and froze. Not sure what of me she smelled but something caught her attention. She was in range but behind some trees. By the time she came out it was too dark. A few minutes later the other three came right under me and would have been 12-15 yard chipshots. But it was too dark to see. They aren't going anywhere so I'll get them another day.

We used to trick or treat when I was growing up. Same deal as you guys- pillow case and lightly made costumes. Different neighborhoods had trick or treat on different nights so we'd often do our own one night and another on another night. Around here, it's on halloween only. Our street gets basically zero since we're a dead end well away from anywhere. But our friend's house is the first in line of a neighborhood which has one way in and one way out with 250 houses or so. The police shut the street and parents drop kids at one end to pick them up at the other (or they park in town and walk it all). We go to the friend's house and help dish out candy while enjoying some 'adult beverages'. We are expecting 600-750 kids to come through this year (last year was similar) and it might even be more since its 75 degrees outside and beautiful.

also, why is one spool on backwards relative to the other?

whoa, whoa, whoa. I have to strongly disagree here. I have strong preferences between Coke / Pepsi, Bud / Miller, Ford / Chevy. The short answer is "none of the above" across the board for various reasons! Now between shimano and daiwa, "either/or" is much more approriate.

smallies are like any othe rpredator- find their food and you will find them. Perch, gobies, and alewifes (what I think your's will be eating) need a bit of cover to feel safe. Isolated grass with a bit of current (either moving water or wind current) are what won St Clair this past year.

I think the ghost is 36v? If so, I’d go with a set of 3 50-60 ah lithiums for the trolling motor. That’s plenty for what you need but about as small as a lithium that’s sold. Three mid sized screens plus live target will draw about 8-10 amps combined. For a 10- hour day you’ll need a 100 ah battery. That’s a common size. Check the specs on the screens but I think they are all 2-2.5amp max draw. you could consider a 125 or 150 but they are proportionally more expensive since 100 is the common size. stick with a sla cranking and house battery. you won’t get added clarity unless you have a deficiency in your system. Lead batteries operative at lower voltage? Then lithium will help with the back half of the day. Otherwise, a dedicated battery for electronics and heavier wiring will be more benefit.

I did an exploration of soft jerkbaits last year and picked up a couple different types. The dshad on an owner light weighted belly hook (per Toxic’s recommendation) is a winner for me. The tail flutters left and right on a pull and then wiggles and shimmies on a slack line fall.

The jet would open up the delaware. One of my hesitations in fishing it right now is the limitation of how much/distance I can fish from the kayak. There are access points and launches, so I'd have to launch, fish my way upstream, and drift back down. I love exporing, but just haven't had the time this year with a new job. Going into the current with an electric would limit me so I haven't tried it (though with this year's low flows I should still). With a jet, the distance/exploring constraint is gone and it opens up much more water (with the limitation of shallow stretches stopping movement). The downside of a jet would be on the 9.9 lakes. I fish one now a decent amount and would fish it more with a 9.9 boat. The second I don't fish now but would fish it a couple times a year in a 9.9. The third I fish once every other year or so since its further out and that won't change, it would just change how I fish the lake a little. The electric limited lakes are small enough that any of the options will cover them. The unlimited lakes are the same. I'll think this one through and probably ping you some jet questions. there are lots of good arguments between a small boat and a big kayak. For lakes under 500 acres or so and lakes that are electric only, an autopilot will keep up admirably to a full sized boat and even be better at times if that full size boat doesn't have a spotlock motor. Obviously for lakes that are tiny the kayak might even be a better choice. The biggest differences though are the things I'm finding that are pushing me to a boat. Maybe I get a boat and miss the kayak. Who's to say. Tournaments are a non starter for me. I did consider a trailer, but that doesn't help the dry box, rod locker, and rigging out each trip. I'd still pull the electronics, motor, and rods out. Then its just the tackle bag that gets to stay in on the trailer. Not much gain really for me.

I thought about it. Speed isn’t the issue. Sure it would be nice, but more so I want a little more space, a rod locker, and dry storage. I want to have the boat loaded and ready so when I pull down to the ramp I pop off the cover, undo the straps, and drop it in. It’s getting tiring having to load everything in and out every trip. Lifting the boat in and out of the truck every trip. Not having dry storage so any time I fish in the rain all of my tackle bag gets soaked through and needs to be laid out when I get home. Having to choose just 5 rods or so. The light kayak that gets blown around if I’m trying to scope fish. Never having the ability to take someone else with me, even if it’s once or twice a year. Having to make the choice if I’m going to carry rain gear that day because it’s too hot to wear it but I don’t want to leave it in the rear well. The autopilot has been great for me. It’s a fishing machine. I’ve been out in 3’ waves, 36 degree water, 30 mph winds, and weed beds so thick that I wouldn’t have been able to walk through them yet the AP just grinds through. I would definitely miss it to get rid of it and I’d probably keep it a while after a new boat. But, given the opportunity for something a little bigger, drier, and more versatile, I think I will take it. I wasn’t thinking about a 9.9 jet. If I did end up with a jet motor it would be a full size like you mentioned and then I’d either just use the trolling motor on the 9.9 lakes or I’d try to squeeze a 9.9 tiller on the same transom. Or, in the rare case I found a tiller jet boat I’d swap motors in the garage. Though a 60/40 jet has to be over 200# and not a simple swap without a hoist.