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Sickening posted:Summer is the worst time in texas because its hot as balls, the fishing is at its worst, and the recreation folks who come out o the lake once a year don't know any laws/etiquette. I almost got ran over my first day taking the kayak out on the bay by some guy in a boat who was busy looking at his phone and not where he was sailing. I had to yell at him, and he gave me surprised face when he saw me down there in front of him. Thankfully he was going slowly, because if he was going fast he might have taken me out.
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Jul 15, 2022 23:08
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Well I finally caved and got a an actual reel for my 3wt. I had bought a amazon reel as it had a encounter reel on it for a long time but that reel was to big for the rod. I was immediately not excited about the amazon reel since there was no click to the reel so as you were casting the reel would reel line in which was pretty annoying. Not to mention and grit that got near it immediately got into the workings. So I bought a Hardy Ultraclick reel, which is obviously worlds better then the encounter reel and the amazon one. With the fly line on it the reel still weighs less the the entire rod. I also made some rope flies for tomorrow since I'm going to try and catch some gar down on the san marcos. They cast well enough with my 5wt but they are pretty hefty so we will see if any gar will bite them.  
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Jul 15, 2022 23:11
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Valt posted:Well I finally caved and got a an actual reel for my 3wt. I had bought a amazon reel as it had a encounter reel on it for a long time but that reel was to big for the rod. I was immediately not excited about the amazon reel since there was no click to the reel so as you were casting the reel would reel line in which was pretty annoying. Not to mention and grit that got near it immediately got into the workings. So I bought a Hardy Ultraclick reel, which is obviously worlds better then the encounter reel and the amazon one. With the fly line on it the reel still weighs less the the entire rod. Those look really cool. Let us know how you do today!
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Jul 16, 2022 15:33
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Well I gave up on the rope flies pretty fast. It was really hard to cast them with my 5wt. However I did receive the 8wt 2 piece clearwater rod and reel today and its in perfect shape so I'm going to try with the 8wt. The clearwater reel is not going to work for me since it doesn't even have a drag at all.  After I put the 5wt up I got my 3wt out and with poppers I was catching bluegill all day and they were pretty decently sized. I also caught a massive perch I think.  
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Jul 17, 2022 05:10
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That’s some sort of sunfish or hybrid. It’s certainly not a perch.
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Jul 17, 2022 07:27
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Crab Dad posted:That’s some sort of sunfish or hybrid. It’s certainly not a perch. After a bit of looking I think it might actually be a rock bass. Which makes sense actually based on where I caught it.
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Jul 17, 2022 16:23
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Valt posted:After a bit of looking I think it might actually be a rock bass. Which makes sense actually based on where I caught it. Was it by a rock? Or playing bass?
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Jul 17, 2022 22:06
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I went ahead and bought another reel for it. I kept seeing people recommend the Redington behemoth so I found on ebay for a bit less then a new one. Now I just need to get some new fly line for it as the line thats on the old clearwater reel is probably more then 10 years old.
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Jul 17, 2022 23:44
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Gotta love the 5 dollar grab bag at the local bait shop. I'm guessing the son of the owner who was tasked with putting these bags together wanted to get done with the job as quickly as possible.
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Jul 19, 2022 22:49
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Well got my new reel all setup on the 8wt. Its basically not any heavier then the clearwater reel but its a large arbor and has tons of backing. I also went to the San Gabriel today and caught a pretty good bass on the 3wt with the new hardy reel. Of course like always I basically caught it at my feet so there was hardly any fight.  Last week I was down with some friends fishing on the San Marcos river as its been a exceptional spot. I've been down to that spot about 3 or 4 times now and generally I walk onto the land next to the river to get around the deeper holes. There are private property and no trespassing signs posted on like every tree. But in Texas any river that is navigable (the san marcos is considered navigable by the state of texas) you are allowed to camp or pass on private property that is within the gradient boundary. Which basically means any land that the river could conceivably overflow too. All that being said some lady tried to get in my face about it being private property and I just ignored her and she was video taping us and saying she was calling the game warden and the cops etc.. etc... none of whom showed up. I have a valid texas fishing license and I was well within in my rights to walk 10 feet out of the water. It just sucks because now we gotta worry about this middle aged white woman screaming at us.
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Jul 24, 2022 03:18
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sounds like you don't have to worry about poo poo
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Jul 24, 2022 18:19
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Valt posted:Well got my new reel all setup on the 8wt. Its basically not any heavier then the clearwater reel but its a large arbor and has tons of backing. Man, I have so many red hot sports opinions about this stuff and I was going to make a huge effort post about it. But basically, Americans are the shittiest people on the planet about public water. They think that buying land next public areas somehow takes the public area away from the public and I will always fight against these creeps any opportunity to prove them wrong. I fish everything texas has available and I almost welcome these idiots to show out any chance they get. I had to be a witness to an incident the first two weeks of having my first boat when a land owner decided to skip a bullet across the water because he didn't like that someone was fishing in a creek arm of a public lake. A boat was just ahead of me about 200 yards when a loud land owner came out with a gun and told them to leave the creek. They didn't and he decided to shoot a "warning shot" across the water. It took 4 hours for game wardens to come , collect statements, and finally arrest the guy but it was worth it.
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Jul 24, 2022 19:20
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I've had surprisingly few people yell at me for being near their dock, or on their creek or whatever else. I also haven't really gone out of my way to get onto water with difficult public access (in urban areas), so the people I run into likely see a fair number of people on the water. While I'm not exactly Mr. Urban explorer I do most of my fishing on back country lakes, only really accessible by canoe, fly ins, and maybe some ATV trails originating from private property. Usually we just get looks, but a few years ago some Americans came over to yell at us for being on a lake because "we're the only party booked this week!" Just a wildly "what the gently caress?" experience. Like I still cannot fathom how these people view the world. Also happy to report that I broke my Northern Pike cherry and then caught 8 more. Nothing over 27 inches but still great fun. I can't believe it took me so long. Every trip I go on, a few incidental pike get caught. Just never by me!
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Jul 24, 2022 20:39
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Hope you brought a towel.  . Those guys are slimy.
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Jul 24, 2022 22:17
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Sickening posted:Man, I have so many red hot sports opinions about this stuff and I was going to make a huge effort post about it. But basically, Americans are the shittiest people on the planet about public water. They think that buying land next public areas somehow takes the public area away from the public and I will always fight against these creeps any opportunity to prove them wrong. I fish everything texas has available and I almost welcome these idiots to show out any chance they get. Oh trust me when I go back down there I fully intend to walk around again and when she comes down to scream at me and call the cops I'm going to fully ignore her. I have no patience for the stupidity it takes to want to harass someone for doing something that is blatantly legal and not harming anyone or anything. When I was leaving last time I saw her or her friend playing with some numb-chucks so hopefully I don't get assaulted while I'm trying to quietly fly fish.
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Jul 25, 2022 15:54
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Valt posted:Oh trust me when I go back down there I fully intend to walk around again and when she comes down to scream at me and call the cops I'm going to fully ignore her. I have no patience for the stupidity it takes to want to harass someone for doing something that is blatantly legal and not harming anyone or anything. When I was leaving last time I saw her or her friend playing with some numb-chucks so hopefully I don't get assaulted while I'm trying to quietly fly fish. Call the cops yourself. Its illegal to harass a sportsman who is legally pursuing their sport in Texas... this actually includes disturbing your fishing spot... like for instance throwing a rock into the lake. a) This section may be cited as the Sportsman's Rights Act. (b) In this section: (1) “Wildlife” means all species of wild mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, or amphibians. (2) “Process of hunting or catching” means any act directed at the lawful hunting or catching of wildlife, including camping or other acts preparatory to hunting or catching of wildlife that occur on land or water on which the affected person has the right or privilege of hunting or catching that wildlife. (c) No person may intentionally interfere with another person lawfully engaged in the process of hunting or catching wildlife. (d) No person may intentionally harass, drive, or disturb any wildlife for the purpose of disrupting a person lawfully engaged in the process of hunting or catching wildlife. (e) No person may enter or remain on public land or enter or remain on private land without the landowner's or his agent's consent if the person intends to disrupt another person lawfully engaged in the process of hunting or catching wildlife. (f) This section does not apply to a peace officer of this state, a law enforcement officer of the United States, a member of the armed forces of the United States or of this state, or employees of the department or other state or federal agencies having statutory responsibility to manage wildlife or land during the time that the officer, member, or employee is in the actual discharge of official duties. (g) A person who violates this section commits an offense. An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor. (h) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that the defendant's conduct is protected by the right to freedom of speech under the constitution of this state or the United States.
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Jul 25, 2022 17:44
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Syano posted:Call the cops yourself. Its illegal to harass a sportsman who is legally pursuing their sport in Texas... this actually includes disturbing your fishing spot... like for instance throwing a rock into the lake. Yep. If you are lucky enough to get a game warden in your area to respond, this is the way to go. The big is to have a game warden come down and set them straight. This is important because it goes into the record to better help the next person they harass. Getting called a second time for harassing a fisherman is almost a guaranteed ticket if not something more.
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Jul 25, 2022 19:06
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I'm going to be visiting some family on the Alabama Gulf Coast (Orange Beach) and will have the opportunity to do some fishing off the pier on the gulf side. I've got a 7' MH/MF three-piece rod and a 3000 size reel that I think has 30# braid on it. I'll tie on a leader but I think the heaviest I have is 15#. I'm a bass fisherman. What kind of line and terminal tackle do I need to catch fish off the pier? My 13 y/o niece has been fishing down there many times and said that shrimp are the go-to bait. She seems to do mostly jigging as opposed to casting into the surf. But maybe there are fish to be caught deeper? Attached is a pic of the pier in question.
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Jul 26, 2022 02:12
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Easychair Bootson posted:I'm going to be visiting some family on the Alabama Gulf Coast (Orange Beach) and will have the opportunity to do some fishing off the pier on the gulf side. I've got a 7' MH/MF three-piece rod and a 3000 size reel that I think has 30# braid on it. I'll tie on a leader but I think the heaviest I have is 15#. I'm a bass fisherman. What kind of line and terminal tackle do I need to catch fish off the pier? My 13 y/o niece has been fishing down there many times and said that shrimp are the go-to bait. She seems to do mostly jigging as opposed to casting into the surf. But maybe there are fish to be caught deeper? Check the pier rules and make sure they allow braid. Some don’t. I’d tie a pompano rig on a 15# mono leader. 2-4 oz of lead depending on current. Getting really fresh shrimp is very important. The frozen stuff sometimes doesn’t work.
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Jul 26, 2022 10:08
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Pompano rig with shrimp are good. If there are redfish or Spanish in the area then a gotcha plug works well for them. For the toothier fish you may wanna pick up some heavier fluoro for leader, I used 20lb or 50lb depending on target. There are a ton of other places to fish from shore also. Check out the Perdido pass. On both ends there are parking lots where you can fish under the bridge. There’s tons of Mangrove Snapper down there, just might take a while to find one keeper sized. Also plenty of trout and drum (black and red). I use a Carolina rig with a #1 or #2 non stainless circle hook on 24” of 20lb fluoro leader with a 1/2oz egg weight. Bait it with a fresh or frozen shrimp and then just drop it right by the sea wall. This also works from the beach or at the pier. You can sometimes catch flounder with live shrimp at the pier like this. Remember, shark fishing is illegal on state park property. They tend to congregate around the pier so you’ll need to have a way to get your catch up quickly.
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Jul 26, 2022 13:51
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Hello fishing thread, I live in Florida and do lots of fishing. Mostly in the Tampa Bay area and Florida Keys. Last year we went on our first guided trip targeting strictly Bonefish off of Sugarloaf Key and had an amazing day, I caught five Bonefish and my son caught four. They are an amazing game fish and put up a hell of a fight for such a small fish. If anyone here is thinking of going on a fishing trip I highly recommend it.   After that trip we decided we needed a skiff because we were tired of fishing from shore, and the area we live in is just too good not to have a fishing boat. Unfortunately we can't afford a fancy Hells Bay skiff like in the pic above so after watching CL for awhile ran across a good platform to start with, a 14' Rabco Buccaneer, and we just added what we wanted for local flats fishing.   So far it's been working out great, 3 people is a bit too much for it but for two it's perfect. We use it a lot to get to secluded islands and beaches or just drift in the flats. It's a cool skiff but we are already looking for the next one that can handle more people (at least three) and more weight but for now it does the job and gets us on the fish! 
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Jul 26, 2022 16:20
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Applebees Appetizer posted:
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Jul 26, 2022 16:52
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Ok, when I'm ready to sell it I will post it here! Or you can check out Rabco's website, the hulls are actually pretty cheap. https://teamrabco.com/buccaneer-14-new/ Applebees Appetizer fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Jul 26, 2022 |
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Jul 26, 2022 18:01
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Super jealous. I want to do a keys bonefish trip. It’s a bucket list item
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Jul 26, 2022 19:49
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It was for me too, ever since the Walker Cay Chronicles in the early 90's watching Flip Pallot pole his skiff around the Keys catching Bonefish and Tarpon. When we were actually doing it I was like holy poo poo man, living the dream! This June we went down for Tarpon but had no luck, still trying to land a big Tarpon. Have hooked a lot but never landed one, it is not easy.
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Jul 26, 2022 20:05
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I remember the first time catching a bonefish in San Diego bay on my kayak and thinkng wtf is that doing here. Turns out its a smaller species called a cortez bonefish. Same look, great fighters. They hung out by the old power plant outlet along with some dope rear end sea turtles. Thanks for reading my California bonefish story.
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Jul 26, 2022 21:55
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King of Bees posted:I remember the first time catching a bonefish in San Diego bay on my kayak and thinkng wtf is that doing here. Turns out its a smaller species called a cortez bonefish. Same look, great fighters. They hung out by the old power plant outlet along with some dope rear end sea turtles. Thanks for reading my California bonefish story. They're still around in the bays! I see people post pics from time to time. Here's a pic someone posted back in April. joem83 fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Jul 27, 2022 |
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Jul 27, 2022 05:23
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Dik Hz posted:I’d tie a pompano rig on a 15# mono leader. 2-4 oz of lead depending on current. Getting really fresh shrimp is very important. The frozen stuff sometimes doesn’t work. JRay88 posted:Pompano rig with shrimp are good. If there are redfish or Spanish in the area then a gotcha plug works well for them. For the toothier fish you may wanna pick up some heavier fluoro for leader, I used 20lb or 50lb depending on target. Cool. Between this and the advice in Discord I think I can figure something out! Will the artificial stuff I have for bass fishing catch anything off a pier? I'm thinking a shrimp-imitating Ned rig or a 4" pinfish-imitating paddletail.
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Jul 27, 2022 13:44
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Easychair Bootson posted:Cool. Between this and the advice in Discord I think I can figure something out! The Ned rig for sure. Some guys have good luck catching flounder with heavier (1/2-1oz) jig heads and plastics. A slow retrieve with an occasional jerk and let it rest on the bottom. Flounder are closer to the surf so you’ll want to stick to the first hundred feet or so off the pier. If you have any sabiki rigs (they’re super cheap at Walmart) try dropping that at the octagon, there’s always a TON of bate fish hanging out under there. I’ve also caught some keeper spade fish that way. I wouldn’t use anything you don’t plan to trash afterwards. Saltwater kills tackle super quick if you aren’t careful about washing stuff off afterwards.
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Jul 27, 2022 14:11
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Well I'm renting a Diablo Kayak in Georgetown this weekend. I'm going to bring my 3wt and my 8wt with me. Talking with the guy it seems like that lake is pretty small but I will probably have enough time to go down the San Gabriel for a bit. Its only 15/hr so its a good way to decide if I even like fishing from a kayak. I'm only going out there for about 5 hours since being on the water in the middle of the day is a recipe for heat stroke.
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Jul 27, 2022 14:46
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Easychair Bootson posted:Cool. Between this and the advice in Discord I think I can figure something out! Blues and flounder would hit a paddletail or shrimp pattern.
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Jul 27, 2022 14:54
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Going to Myrtle Beach next week. Garden city near Murrel's Inlet. Can fish the inlet from the back porch. Doing pier and surf fishing as well. Tips, please.
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Aug 1, 2022 01:56
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I am getting frustrated by fly fishing but I need to practice more. I'm getting really good at twisting up the end of my tippet to where it likes to tie itself in knots. Almost assuredly my technique or maybe poor fly choice? It's just a little foam popper, panfish size. I know it takes a lot of practice but I am not having a good time lol Woodpile posted:Going to Myrtle Beach next week. Garden city near Murrel's Inlet. Can fish the inlet from the back porch. Doing pier and surf fishing as well. Put mud minnows, blue crab quarters or fresh shrimp (sand fleas in surf) on a carolina rig with an appropriately sized triangle weight and a circle hook and drink a poo poo ton of beer and haul in croaker, reds and baby sharks or whatever all day. Bonuses for stingrays or oyster toadfish. Do the stingray shuffle in the surf if you're not from the southeast--stingray envenomations hurt like a motherfucker. If you get one, put the affected area in the hottest hot water you can tolerate, it denatures the venom.
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Aug 1, 2022 02:48
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LeeMajors posted:I am getting frustrated by fly fishing but I need to practice more. I'm getting really good at twisting up the end of my tippet to where it likes to tie itself in knots. Almost assuredly my technique or maybe poor fly choice? It's just a little foam popper, panfish size. Slow down your back cast. When you don't pause, it causes that snap and knots up the end of your line. It might even help if you went to a pond or lake and put the line in the water and practice roll casting first. https://midcurrent.com/techniques/fly-casting-how-to-avoid-tailing-loops/ Also, if there is an Orvis store near you they offer free fly fishing 101 and 201 classes. 101 is mostly in the parking lot working on basic casts. 201 is at a local pond catching panfish. Anything on youtube put out by Orvis seems to be pretty decent quality. I am pretty new to fly fishing too but it takes like zero practice to go out to a pond and catch a ton of panfish on a fly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHMfCJINGJM Hekk fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Aug 1, 2022 |
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Aug 1, 2022 03:24
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Hekk posted:Slow down your back cast. When you don't pause, it causes that snap and knots up the end of your line. It might even help if you went to a pond or lake and put the line in the water and practice roll casting first. This is super good advice. If you are getting knots in your tippet its almost because you are rushing your cast or there is a lot of wind and you are on a small rod. My main advice would be to be patient, it takes a bit of time to get to the point where that doesn't happen that often. Its also less likely to happen with bigger rods so if you are using a small rod its way more likely to happen. **Edit** I rented a kayak on Lake Georgetown this weekend. The kayak was a diablo and was super good to fish from. But I don't think I would do it again on a lake, it was TONS of rowing and it was super windy out. I brought my 8wt and my 3wt but honestly the 3wt was a waste of time. I only managed to catch two bass but thats sort of expected this time of year in texas. Weirdly I kept seeing big fish jumping everywhere I was but I think they might have been carp or something.   Valt fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Aug 1, 2022 |
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Aug 1, 2022 06:14
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I can definitely feel the feeling that it’s just going to fall to the ground behind me while I’m doing it. I took a private lesson when I was getting started and felt like I had somewhat of a hold on it I just need more practice for muscle memory I reckon.
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Aug 1, 2022 13:16
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LeeMajors posted:I can definitely feel the feeling that it’s just going to fall to the ground behind me while I’m doing it. I took a private lesson when I was getting started and felt like I had somewhat of a hold on it I just need more practice for muscle memory I reckon. You also want to make sure you are popping to a stop. You really want to pick the line up in one quick motion stop at the top of your back cast then come forward. The whole point being that you are trying to load the rod. Pete Kutzer explains really well here. If you have line just falling behind your line speed is probably not enough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDJJ6W23gHw
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Aug 1, 2022 14:17
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Valt posted:You also want to make sure you are popping to a stop. You really want to pick the line up in one quick motion stop at the top of your back cast then come forward. The whole point being that you are trying to load the rod. Pete Kutzer explains really well here. If you have line just falling behind your line speed is probably not enough. Yeah I shouldn’t have said “slow down your back cast” and instead said “lengthen the pause in your back cast”. I stood in my yard over an entire weekend and absolutely thrashed a leader and tippet before I got the timing down enough to feel comfortable. If you practice with the same length of line, the timing will always be the same. Just know that as you shorten or lengthen line that will also mean you need to hold that pause less or more. Looking over your shoulder to see the line helps give a good visual indicator too. The other big thing I found myself doing when first starting out was trying to muscle my casts. I do much better when my arm is relaxed and it’s all a kind of flicking motion. It doesn’t matter had hard I try to push or pull with my arm, I don’t cast better and just tire myself out.
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Aug 1, 2022 14:33
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Hekk posted:Yeah I shouldn’t have said “slow down your back cast” and instead said “lengthen the pause in your back cast”. I stood in my yard over an entire weekend and absolutely thrashed a leader and tippet before I got the timing down enough to feel comfortable. This is all really good advice as well. I definitely tried to muscle my casts when I first started as well and its honestly a common thing you see in new people. You really need the rod to do the work for you. You will get better since its very much a rhythm thing and it takes time to get it down. It also REALLY depends on what size rod you are using. The bigger rods are probably going to be a bit easier since they tend to drive line better.
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Aug 1, 2022 15:04
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 08:02 |
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I think the worry about it falling is psychological, not because I'm going too slow. I definitely think I am muscling up a little and I'm also popping too low so instead of 11 I'm closer to 9-10 o'clock. Another thing I have a hard time doing is keeping my wrist adducted so the forearm and rod are straight--I'm flexing my wrist during my cast. Basically I've been trying to learn in the water since I got a baseline lesson and I just need to set up some hula hoops and practice on dry land with no flies. Thanks for all the videos too, they've been added to the list.
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Aug 1, 2022 19:49
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