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Mysterious losses of Kastmasters...plus how to use 'em better??

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cityevader

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2 hours ago, cityevader said:

Are there Bluefish off central California? 

Wikipedia says: "The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean."

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On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 3:49 PM, cityevader said:

It's an oddity. I've lost four Kastmasters so far (two 3/4oz, one 1/2oz, one 1oz) during the cast. The line just breaks mid-flight for some reason. This hasn't happened with similarly weighted bucktails, nor any other rig, just the Kastmasters. (I typically start my surf-fishing-trips using lures, to get a feel for the water's movements, and in general hopes of hooking a large fish, then move on to smaller Carolina rigs for Perch).

FWIW I use a Tactical Angler Clip to the lure, then leader and swivel as usual....and 14-20# braid....and it has always broken above the swivel. 

Odd...very odd.

 

But my main question is to better understand how to use them. When they are in full motion, they swing quite wildly from side to side and give strong feedback up the line to the rod. But that side-to-side movement is so very pronounced when viewed coming to me in the shallows, that I imagine it doesn't appear natural to swim left/right so hard for any length of time, so should I "never" let it go full tilt buzzing on the rod-tip? Or is that an actual motion that some fish really do? 

 

In my imagination of the underwater view, while retrieving either bucktails or Kastmasters, I tend to reel semi-slowly to keep it towards the bottom, with occasional twitches of the rod to try to mimic a fish just swimming around and then darting for a food source.  I wonder if a quicker retrieve without hitting that Kastmaster-buzz is better? I only ask because I've never had a bite on any lure I've used, so either they don't match the fish or I'm using them incorrectly. 

 

 

 

if it looks natural,it will blend in and become unnoticeable,you want it to stand out so it can be noticed,thats what gets them to hit it,it has a crazy swim.

when I use krocs I crank them at the speed where I feel it wobble,,for mr,a buzz is too fast and will twist the crap out of the line fast.

HH

An armed man is a citizen,,,an unarmed man is a subject,,,,,,,,

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5 hours ago, nycstripers16 said:

Make sure your spool is properly filled (and laid correctly). Second is to check your guides. I had a day like that where I lost 5 plugs.. turns out I had 2 broken ceramic guides on my Mojo Surf!

Don't just focus on the guides.  Line roller on the reel can go bad, too.  Also, on some reels, an overfilled spool can result in the line moving off the roller and getting into the "corner" between the end of the roller and the bail itself, which will also cause damage.  (Many years ago, the old Penn 712s were particularly bad that way.)

 

"I have always believed that outdoor writers who come out against fish and wildlife conservation are in the wrong business. To me, it makes as much sense golf writers coming out against grass.."  --  Ted Williams

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Semi-related to my topic. :)

Today, i arrived before sunrise, two hours before sunrise. I walked nearly a mile casting a Carolina rig/Gulp worms to get a feel for the water. Once feeling right, and once the backlit super dense fog gave enough light to change setups, i tied on an SP Minnow..."floating" first. Within a couple of casts, bam! The hard hit threw the hook, but i could see it in the glassy smooth water between waves (not a striper). 20 minutes later bam! I reeled in my biggest of (8 so far?) Jacksmelt. Over 15"! (it's on the smoker as i'm typing). 

But curses, multiple hard hookups and multiple thrown hooks! Why oh why, did i listen to "the internet" and replace the trebles with singles?!?! 

With that good bit ending with an hour of nothing, i went back to perch fishing with Gulp, and an hour later caught my second keeper Smelt (but smaller). 

Anyhoo, back on topic, throwing out lures! Much later in the day, while dodging kids on boogey boards, and trying my darndest to not ogle the ladies...seagulls show up scooping fish.........

I rapidly tie on a "sinking" SP Minnow and the moment it hit the water BAM! Hardest hit yet! I reeled in to 6' away, fish half out of the water (a STRIPER!!) and it threw the friggin hook! ARRRGGGGHHH!!!!

The next 15 minutes were spent swapping hooks to get a treble on the tail, using only bare thumbnails to open the micro split rings, and i kid you not, the first cast had it sail the farthest, to RIP. The freakin' line broke!!! (this is a different rod/reel than OP)  siigghhh.. 

Fast forward a couple of hours of nibbles on Gulp, avoiding eyeing bare-bottomed ladies, giving distance to kids, and more seagulls show up so i tie my remaining "floater" SP Minnow with stupid single hook, and started wondering to myself... "Self? You think that flying rat is after your lure?" 

"Yes. Yes it is." 

It did. 

It sat right on the water and bit it!

That thing took off and i reeled on. 

It was like flying a kite and i am ashamed to admit that i laughed and looked around to check if anyone else was seeing it too. (i truly am anti cruelty, but it is a seagull) 

A concerned citizen sounding like a human baby had been hooked, held my rod while i grabbed/released it. 

Whew! 

And that all took...only 13 hours. 

 

Now... If only i can get a Minnow to cast over 50 yards.... 

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Too bad you didn’t have the kastmaster :stick:

hook a striper!! Nice job. You will be seeing that fish in your dreams till you get one now lol

There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

~Steven Wright

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Something's really wrong with your outfit. You have to remember, economies in one area like keeping on old braid or using an old dilipidated rod, are costing you money as you lose these lures over and over again. You are up to like $50 of lures in just this thread alone. 

 

Something is not right with that outfit! 

 

Are you checking your reel for a loop over the top of the spool (drag knob) before you cast?

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I did indeed notice a loop over the drag a couple of times. I usually check the line after flipping the bail, but not always, apparently. After a cast, i pull the rod tip back to reduce as much slack as possible before reeling, but clearly I don't look at the spool all the time. 

I assume that loop happens during this point, upon first reeling in line after a cast?

 

I almost thought that it happened more if the spool was extended before casting, but perhaps I was just more conscientious at that point later in the day, as there was a side breeze and lots of slack was induced during a cast. 

Could the spool's position affect that looping? Or is it merely lack of attention in maintaining the line?

 

Since it has happened on multiple rods/reels, I'm beginning to think it is operator error!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/31/2019 at 7:14 AM, cityevader said:

Are there Bluefish off central California? 

I was gonna point out--no bluefish out here, nor anything similar. Nix on that theory, although it's a good one otherwise.

 

Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. 

 

 

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On 8/4/2019 at 7:46 PM, cityevader said:

Semi-related to my topic. :)

Today, i arrived before sunrise, two hours before sunrise. I walked nearly a mile casting a Carolina rig/Gulp worms to get a feel for the water. Once feeling right, and once the backlit super dense fog gave enough light to change setups, i tied on an SP Minnow..."floating" first. Within a couple of casts, bam! The hard hit threw the hook, but i could see it in the glassy smooth water between waves (not a striper). 20 minutes later bam! I reeled in my biggest of (8 so far?) Jacksmelt. Over 15"! (it's on the smoker as i'm typing). 

But curses, multiple hard hookups and multiple thrown hooks! Why oh why, did i listen to "the internet" and replace the trebles with singles?!?! 

With that good bit ending with an hour of nothing, i went back to perch fishing with Gulp, and an hour later caught my second keeper Smelt (but smaller). 

Anyhoo, back on topic, throwing out lures! Much later in the day, while dodging kids on boogey boards, and trying my darndest to not ogle the ladies...seagulls show up scooping fish.........

I rapidly tie on a "sinking" SP Minnow and the moment it hit the water BAM! Hardest hit yet! I reeled in to 6' away, fish half out of the water (a STRIPER!!) and it threw the friggin hook! ARRRGGGGHHH!!!!

The next 15 minutes were spent swapping hooks to get a treble on the tail, using only bare thumbnails to open the micro split rings, and i kid you not, the first cast had it sail the farthest, to RIP. The freakin' line broke!!! (this is a different rod/reel than OP)  siigghhh.. 

Fast forward a couple of hours of nibbles on Gulp, avoiding eyeing bare-bottomed ladies, giving distance to kids, and more seagulls show up so i tie my remaining "floater" SP Minnow with stupid single hook, and started wondering to myself... "Self? You think that flying rat is after your lure?" 

"Yes. Yes it is." 

It did. 

It sat right on the water and bit it!

That thing took off and i reeled on. 

It was like flying a kite and i am ashamed to admit that i laughed and looked around to check if anyone else was seeing it too. (i truly am anti cruelty, but it is a seagull) 

A concerned citizen sounding like a human baby had been hooked, held my rod while i grabbed/released it. 

Whew! 

And that all took...only 13 hours. 

 

Now... If only i can get a Minnow to cast over 50 yards.... 

The seagull is unfortunately a familiar story. Twice for me. But regarding those single hooks on your SP Minnow... catching a jacksmelt is not what you wanna do anyway. Yeah its fun, but they taste like crap and with stripers in the area, the smelt are  a waste of your time. If a big striper did nail your minnow--the stock trebles are likely to bend on you. It happens. The split rings break, too. It has happened to me, and others in this forum. You want your gear to be extra heavy duty just in case. Read up on these issues here on SOL, beef up your rig, get out there and then post your story. You're lucky to live near Santa Cruz. We have very few stripers down here (SLO County) but every year I manage to get a few.

 

 

 

Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. 

 

 

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4 hours ago, cityevader said:

The jacksmelt are not good at all when pan fried, but oak wood smoked at 200° makes them very tasty! 

that sounds good, especially marinated in teriyaki! I tried them on the grill once and found a worm or two in the meat during the cleaning process. 

 

 

 

Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. 

 

 

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