**Had me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

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Good351
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Good351 » Thu Mar 21, 2019 10:39 am

Awesome write up / notes and pics Cristo!
I'm in a very similar boat starting down the swim bait path and making a concerted effort / dedication to just throwing big baits this year. Moving from Iowa to Minnesota, I've sold all my Hudds and replaced with hard baits and stocked up on paddle tails, preparing for more toothy bites while chasing bass. I've had great luck with Berkley's 4.5" rib shad, but always wanted something a bit bigger.. I'll definitely check into those 7.8 paddle tails!! Thanks for that info!

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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Fri Mar 22, 2019 6:57 am

Right on thanks for the interest I'll keep posting as I get out on the lake and my findings each time fish or not. 7.8 in my opinion is still finicky and depending on your wallet or time to tune baits there for me a lot lower on my list. I'm still in a search for something a little bit bigger than the 7-inch spark Shad as a 7.8 have a thicker profile i like and bigger displacement/movement but needs some tuning in my opinion in order to fall the way I want as stated they tend to spin at least on owner Beast hooks I believe because it's so nose-heavy and a lot of that Keel Gap tends to swing like a merry-go-round on the fall at least on braid for me, but with tuning they fall quite a bit better but again it just depends on how much you want to mess with plastic for me I tend not to want to do that but I got a few these 7.8s left and need a fish them ;) I miss Minnesota I need to get up to the Boundary Waters myself 8-)

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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Fri Mar 22, 2019 6:59 am

Side note I know those pictures were a bit ugly with how I rigged the weights towards the ventral side tail section but just to let you know I did push him up with needle-nose pliers so they were hidden in the plastic which gave it obviously a cleaner look :big grin:

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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Fri Mar 22, 2019 7:38 am

Another thing I will add is I believe they have changed their plastic up formula up a bit for their bigger profile 7.8 as it seems way more durable then they're smaller offerings IMHO. I was skeptical on adding weights because of that but any worries have been since eliminated after throwing it and puncturing the skin a few times inserting weights, I can say it is quite durable enough to be fished as much as I fished the rig the other day and not have an issue with it falling apart. We'll see another test when a bucket hopefully will blow it up ;) :-k and in that case I wouldn't care as long as I can fish them properly. what happens to them when a bucket or another species takes it is inconsequential :P

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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Aquaftm45 » Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:00 am

Great pics and a nice read. Keep on keepin' on.

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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Sat Mar 23, 2019 8:58 pm

Okay it has been a bit windy lately unfortunately(for yak fishing for me)so this Saturday was mainly a family day(not a bad gig in it's own right but we are about fishing am I right?). I did mange to take a "pron" visual of some tackle/rigs I will be focusing on as stated previously who doesn't want a visual eh? Also a glimpse of one of the areas of Saggy I will focus on as well, enjoy the Saturday night and tight lines to those who got out as I didn't :cry:

68 Special weedless in Phantom Shasta speaks for itself
Rich Caro Uncle Manny Modified/MOC :big grin: not super clean but makes a hell of a wake for being around 2oz
7" Megabass Spark Shad with 8/0 3/8oz Owner Beast hook pretty clean profile that ticks the deep structure nicely and snagless on soon to be vegetation/cover
The MOC Toyo-Rig, 18 gauge galvanized picture framing wire from the Home to the Depot is righteous! Fits almost any weight so far, easily manipulated/malleable/strong for purpose(I made my length just a shade longer than the plastic profile), 6/0 Monster EWG Gamakatsu, Owner hardware, and Reaction Innovations double wide to punch the assorted salad when it gets sloppy
2 Triton Mike 6" Bullshad in threadfin(common in our resovoirs, maybe not size :-k )

Working on procuring additional 8" Bullshads before it gets too sloppy in my areas of focus with treble hook presentations. I will also keep folks as the search for the perfect profile around a 2-oz ish rigged soft plastic. I ordered Gambler's 8" Really Big GZ to test out hopefully early next week and then more than likely as I still have time I will also try the Keitech 8" Easy Shiner as those things look like they swim pretty nicely but of course pool tests generally the truth :-k

I will also work on getting a range finder to help with judging depth off shoreline. Probably about all the electronics I want as I often thought of rigging my yak with electronics and accessories but I like less sh*t as possible and feel it is much simpler :-k so there is where I stand for now 8-)
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:52 am

I got on the water today around 0800 to rightaround 10:30 ish. Still not as early as I want but still make the kids breakfast in the morning and all that but I'll keep posted obviously because I will try to get out a little bit earlier. I had fun searching the structure/topography of what's beneath the water using the 7.8 Swing fat. I really like the way this bait feels on the water I just don't really like having to tune it much but we'll see as a search continues. I spent most of my time doing that because I really want to search and get to know the areas I'm going to be fishing as I'm not really one for electronics in the yak as previously described. Then about the last portion of my water time I dedicated to putting the 8-foot Hyuga through its paces what I did with this Rod is not faint for heart as of course I tested it beyond its upper lure range, but still was able to get a nice power curve all the way through and shoot baits out with minimal effort and without fear breaking the tip. This rod can really launch the 6" slow sinking bull shad. As I have spoken in previous posts I hedged my bets that it would fish somewhat similarly to the ASL 7-Eleven. I can honestly say it fishes pretty damn close. it's quite a bit lighter and more delicate feeling and I can guesstimate that it is probably because it lacks the X wrap and axial structure strength as in the X7 blanks and ASL blanks. I was apprehensive but as I stated I hedged my bets as I was hoping to get a sneaky powerful swimbait rod for the budget and I feel like I've scored :big grin: I used my Chronarch 201e with 40lb power pro. Pretty cool to think that with 40 lb Power Pro I can do quite a bit with this rod but mainly this season it's going to be getting work as that on the cusp 2-ounce ish bait for trebles. Only thing different I feel is this rod you definitely are going to want to play a big fish but I like the fact that the power goes all the way through and still has a tip that will keep the lighter gauge treble hook baits pinned when a bucket blasts into a lure of choice. In fact I may end up slinging the smaller bull Shad such as the 5-inch variety mainly and more than likely the bull Herring as they a little bit lighter sub 2oz. They will probably feel quite nice on this 8-foot hyuga but as it stands I have no problem throwing the 6-inch slow sinking variety. You just have to change your sensibilities up a little bit but not so much that it would affect your fishing in my opinion. I think with that sacrifice he definitely feel the bait work quite a bit more which is a super plus in my opinion. I still very much we'll be trying to link up with the valkyrie xxh to really round out what how I hope to fish this season. Thanks for letting me share as usual enjoy the pictures it was a great morning although I had no interesting parties that were willing to take the 7.8 8-)
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Cristo
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:57 am

Good Lord before I forget big thanks to Brian and the folks at Triple T for outfitting my season Once Again, they of course provided me with this excellent specimen of a rod =D>

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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Tue Mar 26, 2019 1:06 pm

For those who like the look of Hyuga's Pyrofil blank lines just playing peekaboo in the sun and specs for those who care :big grin:
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Cristo
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Wed Mar 27, 2019 11:47 am

Well went to the familiar spot to Launch this morning was on the water around 7:30 ish got off around 10:30 ish feel like it was a pretty solid effort did about a fifty-fifty split still searching with the 7.8 swing fat and did some pretty good work for not having a bait knocker yet like a dumbass throwing the  7" triple trout and silver trout pattern. I did a lot of getting familiarized with more areas went straight to Campers Cove did some exploring humps Saddles underwater ridges whatever kind of structure I could locate there. I also felt like I had some great cast today beat the h*ll out of the reed lines, I did quite a bit of parallel casting at different depths with also fan casting out into the depths and bring back shallow and vice versa trying to find possible transitioning areas for bass as I'm not sure exactly what they're doing yet but that's no surprise. I feel I made some great spot casting with the triple trout especially when the sun did come out to try to give that profile for the fish to look up at. I was able to work some shallow areas quickly with it as well as some Shallow Ridge or underwater points if you will. I did get hung up a few times but thankfully very lightly to where I just needed to go over the Lord is to pop it back up much like a trap style beat or lipless crank. Did some jigging with it to just give a vertical presentation to explore spots just off the shore line. Again a lot of grinding but on a positive note though gaining more information, getting more comfortable throwing treble hook minded swimbaits hopefully that bait knocker will arrive tonight or tomorrow?? I did some long casting or long lining with the 7.8( side note I like the fact that the 7.8 is seemingly very durable as I fished this one specimen and bashed it on structure and cover and it still get to go so worst case I have a solid plastic even though I'll have to add some needle tungsten to tune it the way I like this thing swims so nice) to work depths around 40-60ish feet, did some good passes up between Peregrine's Cove and Fisherman's cave Shoreline there's some nice decently graded slopes to try to parallel cast on. Water is still very stained. I did see some Shore anglers up by Butcher Jones Point catch some early morning fish but I had to remind myself I wasn't there to do what they were doing so off I went to my choices of exploration. All in all feeling blessed/privileged and other positive adjectives to describe being able to get out before all the weirdos flood the lake. Trying to get out there for all the folks I can't.  Acacia's are in full bloom and smell really awesome in the air surrounding. Enjoy the pictures.
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Cristo
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:51 pm

Another solid exploration or Recon trip today, got on the water about 7:45 got off around 10:45 ish. More or less repeated yesterday with the 7" triple trout and the keitech swing fat 7.8 getting myself familiarized with more areas up by Pinnacle point/Weaver's ledge and just short of Elephant rock on eastern/northeast shorelines. Thankfully my bait knocker came through last night and it came in handy today as it helped to undo a pretty nasty hang up with the triple trout. I need to get a rig or some sort of little winch system or reel to make deployments more headache free as I'm sure once it gets going in the season I can imagine I'll have at least a handful of Hang-Ups if I'm fishing the bait the way it needs to be so having a quicker less headache free knocker deployment is still something in the works for me but alas it does work! Water still really stained I'm sure it'll remain that way until they flush water out when the tubing season kicks off here by the end of May hopefully they'll let some water in and out before then to clear some of this water out. Saw a nice size threadfin shad, I don't believe I've personally seen them this big before in home reservoirs. Good that I will be throwing roughly what should be good to go in the bull Shad presentations. I wanted to work water and search a little more quickly so I stuck with a more purposeful sinking triple trout this morning for varying depths mai ly being mid to shallow(relative). The 7.8 is still kicking hard through the deeper water column although it's starting to tear in some spots from where I inserted nail weights but this plastic formula is real strong so it's hanging on pretty nicely I might touch it up with mend it later tonight. eventually what I'll do is probably pinpoint some more spots to focus on primarily when vegetation starts to come up, bash the heck out of those spots and then move on to secondary spots I picked out along the way during the Recon of the lake(that I have access to)the past few days. Another knowledgeable day on the water and of course it's nice to be out before most people are, good practice for when I gets really flipping hot out, then i transition into mainly nights.
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Cristo
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:40 am

Okay taking a break from fishing today to try to hammer out my soft plastic situation here so far these three are what I have course the much-talked-about swing fat 7.8 electric shad rigged on an owner Beast hook of 10/0 variety. The other one which I absolutely love is the spark Shad 7" rigged with an 8/0 Beast hook(such a clean profile) and just got a pack of Gambler really big gz in the 8" Ghost Shad variety also rigged 10/0. Because I like the big tail and the great displacement in overall swimming action of both the 7.8 and the really big gz 8 inch I find myself looking to try the Beast hook in a 12/0 to get that weight shifted more towards the back more centered with the belly of the bait to hopefully have a more horizontal fall as with the 7.8 the really big gz also wants to spiral on the fall(with out tuning IMHE)which makes sense because the weight is shifted so far forward and keel gap I may try these weightless but I doubt it as the plan is to run these beasts hook through the salad when it gets here and I want weight to get down on pressured fish if possible all three provide a very nice snagless profile if you needed to these Plastics I think are durable enough to skin hook if you really want to streamline it so with that being said this 7.8 and the really big gz 8in will now be mated with a 12/0 Beast hook today to see if that falls more way I like. As rigged now they're great to bottom bounce as they just get down there and they swim fantastically also to get down in the weeds where the fish are really pressured hide :-k but I still need that nice horizontal fall right now the spark Shad is the winner but I'm in search of a bigger piece of plastic for an additional bigger profile to throw probably going to try a few more pieces I'll keep you guys posted as to my findings. As stated I don't want to add nail weights if I can avoid it so I need to probably find a different type of hook weighted style to get more centered so we'll see what the 12/0 will do to the 7.8 and Really Big GZ 8".
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:11 pm

okay rigged the really big gz 8" with a 12/0, not much weight shift as I anticipated swims roughly the same but almost better :-k :-k Sink style roughly the same as the 10/0. I may keep the really big gz rigged as it is now is it swims really nice. So I've talked to some folks I will try a few more different Plastisols out there to see if I can get it worked out if not no worries, as although they spiral both model 7.8 and the really big gz I'm super psyched to use these very solid offerings they swim excellent and are durable great option for bottom bouncing specifically and pulling through the slop in given situations. I do want to try a couple more hand poured styles and maybe one more industry production to solve that riddle. So far in the bank that I'm happy with for a solid rotation is the 68 special weedless, I'm starting to come around on these 8" really big full body boot tails, and definitely the 7" Spark shad. I will keep posting progress thanks for allowing me to share guys/ladies/insert preferred this is a new experience for me in regards to patience, dedication, work, self experience and knowledge from others so thank you all 8-)
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Sat Mar 30, 2019 1:47 pm

One more picture of the slick profile of 7" spark shad with 8/0 :big grin: Going to be giving the STC 6" swimbaits in Ole Smokey a whirl along with Basstrix's 8" PTS trout pattern. I figure these will probably be the final two options at least for now that I'll try, decide what I like(already 7" spark shad/68 Special weedless) then hopefully stock up and get into them this season when the weeds come up until then as stated I will continue to be bottom bouncing and structure bashing with what I have currently 8-)
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Re: **Hand me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

Post by Cristo » Sun Mar 31, 2019 12:23 pm

Another grind today but any day on the water is generally good started fishing about o 5:30 ish got off the lake around 11 ish basically hit Peregrine Cove Beat Up Campers Cove quite a bit, then spent some brief time over in the captain's nook area had a hard paddle around 9 ish from teddy bear Ridge all the way back to the Del Norte Recreation Area. Threw the triple trout all morning except for about the first hour when I was still pretty dark and wasn't quite comfortable throwing the treble hooks in the light steady Breeze by Butcher Jones. During that time I threw the really big gz 8 in .Thank goodness for the bait knocker as that saved the triple trout once again this morning. I felt I put a solid effort in as far as how I presented the bait where I was throwing it and the patience to let it sink to bottom. mainly what I did today was threw it out in choice spots then I would Flip It Up like a trap style or lipless crank and start a slow slow roll bumping and grinding the morning through till the wind kick back up about 9 or so and made fishing in a yak a little bit unpleasant so that was the story today. I'll have to say although I'm not using the 8-foot hyuga for its intended purposes it is a sick sick treble hook swimbait rod. I'm an oddball so again I just have to say what a fun rod it is to throw the triple trout and Bull Shad on. I'm very much looking forward to hooking into a fish with this setup as usual will keep you cats posted thanks again for letting me share great way to end the March month.
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