5bites

The cool thing is you got to gain confidence in a new technique

That’s exactly what I was thinking

That’s awesome! It’s a great time to be fishing the Rock

I’ll try to condense this down. Yesterday we fished from Shell Knob to almost Cambell Point. Topwater was a no go for me. I didn’t try it much though honestly. The 2.8 keitech was solid all day. It caught several keepers including a nice 18” smallmouth. I lost one at least as big the cast before. I also caught two keeper smallmouth and a 4+ largemouth on a wobble head. Main lake flats and flat points were best. The last few hours we spent pitching to flood buck brush and I was surprised at the quality there. No monsters but a 3+ and a few keepers. All were halfway back and farther. I caught these on a paca craw and 1/2oz weight. Anyway the flatter and windier the better. Scratch the wind part in the brush though lol. Our best five went 14lbs + or - . It’s a great time to take a kid or friend because you can just cast and wind a keitech and stay occupied. Probably no monsters but it’s fun regardless. Hope you all catchem!!!

I was wondering, assuming you are coming from Arkansas and putting in at Big M, would it not be faster to launch in Owl Creek?

Yea they kinda went overboard with everything imo. Just run a series and have a championship tournament. It’s a concept that works. Any other series should be with a different skill class of angler. Bfl/Costa/Flw for example

Hmmm that is a bummer. 8:3.1 would be fine for topwater but it definitely narrows the reels overall usefulness. 7:1 is the best all around to me

He’d go to the taxidermist

It’s like you said there are definitely fish in there but they’re either in a bad mood or just not as many. The ones out front are more than eager. I’d rather catch them out of the bushes than wind a keitech but again when they make it that easy why not? Plus I had my kids and just wanted us to have a good day catching and we all did. It was a good day. Tomorrow I’m bringing our associate pastor down to hopefully have another good day. Our last trip to grand was pathetic so I need to make it up to him lol. You mentioned the wobble head. I almost asked if you threw it. I lobbed it a couple times last week but not where I should have. Tomorrow I’m lobbing it more.

As in it’s keeping them from suspending as much or the flow is keeping them setup on the shallower stuff?

https://www.americanlegacyfishing.com/featured-products/50off-jbraid.html?utm_source=ALFC+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6cdec1bc8d-NB+3%2F2%2F17+ShimanoSale_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2400964bb9-6cdec1bc8d-130183701&mc_cid=6cdec1bc8d&mc_eid=0f6c1590fe

Lol you bet! It’s a heck of a deal. If the reel cost that much it would still be worth it.

That last post was in a hurry because I’m at work but now I can add some details. The twing does work. In my experience it’s not so much that it adds distance but rather makes regular casts a little easier and freer feeling. A couple very important things to remember with the twing reels are leader knots and how you hold a reel. The leader knot is going to jam in the narrow portion of the line guide. So you either run a short leader or no leader. It matters how you hold it on retrieve too. If you’re like me and put your pointing finger in front of the reel when you’re retrieving the lure (especially when dragging) you’ll lift the line out of the narrow part of the guide and have line piled up on the spool. Personally I’ll be glad when Daiwa ditches this design for those reasons and it adds width to the reel design. I’ve fished with t3’s and tatulas for years and switched to Shimano last year. I’ve had Shimanos before but I’m generally a Daiwa fanboy because of the magnetic brake system. That said I’m very happy with my Shimano’s now. Ok rods and rod length. I’m 5’8” and use a 6’10”-7’ rod for walking baits and jerkbaits. 6’10” seems to be the sweet spot. At your height you’ll be fine at 6’10” or more. Medium would be great for poppers and most walking baits but if you go to the bigger spooks you might be wishing for a medium heavy. Both will be great for many techniques in there respective weight range. That combo I listed above is a steal. If you’re bent on something different the 13 Fishing Omens and chromes have been great budget rods for me. They generally have the power rated right and also the action rated right. That is RARE in rods. Lews and most falcons fail big time here. If you want to compare across action compare it to a gloomis. They are the standard in ratings imo. Someone will disagree but if they want to be wrong that’s cool too lol. Another great rod for the money is the Phenix Feather series rods. Order one power higher than normal though! So if you want a medium order a medium heavy. It’s just their nature. They’re very light, crisp, and sensitive rods. Also if you wanted to check out a Shimano Slx rod before ordering I know Academy in Joplin has them. No idea if the other Academy’s do. One more thing again. You can find curado k’s and 70’s (71’s for me) on eBay for $125-140 usually if you want a slight upgrade to the slx.

I have an slx. Imo it’s the best reel under $150. There is a really good sale in the slx combo right now. Personally I’d run the 6’10” medium but the medium heavy would be better for the heavier walkers and possibly more universal https://slickdeals.net/share/iphone_app/t/13074307