It was a Premier kind of Day :)

Weather, HOT ! But there was a breeze 7-9mph blowing straight in toward me trying to cast .
Kept me from overheating, but drastically cut down on my casting distance.
I fished Lake McIntosh this morning for about an hour and a half .
I took three rods , all three were St Croix Premier ULF , two 5’6” and a 6’ footer .
Reels were a Carbon X 1000s , a carbon X 500 , and a Shimano Soare bb 500spg . The 1000s had white KastKing Silky8 6# braid , and the other two had Daiwa J Braid X8 in moss green .
I love my SC Premiers !
Still testing braid and jigs . I started off using a #10 streamer hook with tungsten 4.6mm bead , but switched to a Trout Magnet 1/64 jighead when I discovered I was getting about 10’ farther with my casts .
The little crappies were back and I caught 17 and on a 1/32 TM head and black TM , caught my only gill for the day. Most were caught on Bobby Garland Itty Bit Swim’rs .
Upper 90’s predicted for next week . Mid 70’s for lows at night . Dog days have come early.

Good job, good pics. Cute little panfish

All good gear right there and nice catches.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Good job, good pics. Cute little panfish

---

Thanks , with this heat we have to deal with what we’re dealt .
For some reason, when the school of little crappies show up , the gills leave.

Good catch numbers and good looking gear. Like the Soare best, just appeals. I think the gills are still there but the crappie may be more aggressive? Regardless, the rods got bent and it was a good trip.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skeetbum

. Like the Soare best, just appeals.

---

Me too !
Getting use to the braid . Especially the Varivas and the Daiwa J braid . Getting at least the same distance as with the 2# Floroclear I was using .
Going try tying up jigs like yours using Trout Magnet heads and see how they cast .
I don’t have the sili-legs but have lots of different colored rubber legs I can use .

Nice catches in the heat

Very nice!

Nice catches. I love my Premier 5'6" two piece. Mine is a moderate action which I prefer. I wish St. Croix made more moderate actions available. Mine has a KastKing Zephyr 1000 SFS on it with 4# Twitchmaster.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UpstateSC_Bill

Nice catches. I love my Premier 5'6" two piece. Mine is a moderate action which I prefer. I wish St. Croix made more moderate actions available. Mine has a KastKing Zephyr 1000 SFS on it with 4# Twitchmaster.

---

All of my 5’6” St Croix UL’s have ULF on them but as you and I know , it’s at best , a moderate/fast . Not the most sensitive rod I own , but definitely one the most fun to fish with .
When I hook a decent gill it has a sweet parabolic bend to it .
And now since I’ve been using braid , I can feel every kick . Makes even the little ones fun to catch .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UpstateSC_Bill

Nice catches. I love my Premier 5'6" two piece. Mine is a moderate action which I prefer. I wish St. Croix made more moderate actions available. Mine has a KastKing Zephyr 1000 SFS on it with 4# Twitchmaster.

---

All of my 5’6” St Croix UL’s have ULF written on them but as you and I know , it’s at best , a moderate/fast . Not the most sensitive rod I own , but definitely one the most fun to fish with .
When I hook a decent gill it has a sweet parabolic bend to it .
And now since I’ve been using braid , I can feel every kick . Makes even the little ones fun to catch .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gillchaser999

All of my 5’6� St Croix UL’s have ULF written on them but as you and I know , it’s at best , a moderate/fast . Not the most sensitive rod I own , but definitely one the most fun to fish with .
When I hook a decent gill it has a sweet parabolic bend to it .
And now since I’ve been using braid , I can feel every kick . Makes even the little ones fun to catch .

---

I don't have your experience with a considerably wider range of UL rods. But I have an Avid ULF and my Premier is marked ULM. I prefer the moderate action myself. I was just on the St. Croix site and they don't list my Premier right now. But they do show a 5' one piece ULM Premier. That might be right up my alley.


Sent from my Pixel 6 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I’m glad you mentioned the carbon x reels.
ive never used them , but we’re given a good review from a friend.
i was always shimano, now more daiwa. How do they compare
sorry for the distraction from the thread..

Looks like you beat the heat today, but summer is definitely here:Fire:Fire:Fire, I like my St. Croix UL and it is also fast, and teamed up with braid, like my old fishin buddy say's "it's like running over a brick with a lawnmower :yikes

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BIGFISHNFREAK

I’m glad you mentioned the carbon x reels.
ive never used them , but we’re given a good review from a friend.
i was always shimano, now more daiwa. How do they compare
sorry for the distraction from the thread..

---

For the money , the Carbon X is hard to beat . And lighter than any other reel under $200 .
Are they a Soare XR ? No but you can get four of the 500’s for what a Soare costs .
I once owned A Tatula and compared it to a Carbon X . The biggest difference I could find was the diameter of the main shaft . The Carbon X is smaller .
They both performed the same, some I returned the Tatula while it was in the 30 day return window.
I just ordered two more of the 500’s , while they were on sale . one is smooth , and low inertia, the other takes a little more effort to get it moving . Still smooth , but not as slick as the other .
I’m hoping it’ll break in after a couple of fishing trips .
Ordering from Amazon, I could return it for a replacement if I wanted , but it’s better than a lot of reels I’ve owned .

If you can’t get to someplace for silli legs, nymph size works better, just look through whatever spinnerbait skirts you can find. You’ll know which ones to leave alone, too big or stiff or whatever. That’s what I started with. Tie them in tight close to the head and a bit looser as you move back to keep them from flaring so bad. Easy peasy. Add a piece or two of flashy stuff if ya got it. Holler if I can help.

looks like some bites to me .....congrats and KABOOM

I fished Lake McIntosh again this morning.
Took one rod , a 5’6” SC Premier ULF but I paired it up with a Shimano Soare bb c2000s reel loaded with 6# Daiwa J Braid X8 .
I wanted to see if the a larger diameter spool would make a difference in distance, and if it did , I couldn’t tell it . Although it performed great without any issues .
I caught two small bluegills and eleven crappie . A few of the crappies were almost kee pie size . :) .
I fished for an hour and a half before the heat started getting to me around noon .
The dashboard thermometer read 100 when I got in to head home . That was in an asphalt parking lot .
Bobby Garland Itty bit Swim’rs was the top bait .

Sounds like we both had a good morning. Looks like yours was worth the trip too. Mine was nothing like yesterday but still makes me glad I went. I didn’t find any crappie though but a couple of foot long LMB filled in for em.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skeetbum

Sounds like we both had a good morning. Looks like yours was worth the trip too. Mine was nothing like yesterday but still makes me glad I went. I didn’t find any crappie though but a couple of foot long LMB filled in for em.

---

I did figure out something on my trip .
Something I already knew but needed some reinforcement.
I like 500 size reels , actually I guess the word should be prefer them . And I don’t think I’m penalized any using them over the bigger reels .
I was thinking of ordering a Shimano Soare XR c2000s , but I think I’ll be looking elsewhere.
I already have a Soare XR 500 , but I’ve wondered how it stacks up against the Vanford 500 .
Just might find out soon ……. :)

I certainly couldn't locate a crappie piece of water in this sin town if my life was to depend on ut...lol. Nice catches Gill!

Sent from my SM-S918U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

The cove near the dock where I’m fishing has moss growing on the bottom, I think that’s what has them in this area.
I fish , and take whatever wants to bite . I don’t discriminate. :)
I’ve been asked several times what was I fishing for and my answer is , whatever bites!

Same here, I tell folks I’m looking for the dumb ones.

I have a G Loomis Premier 6' one piece ultralight that I purchased back in the 80's. First quality rod I purchased. Kind of a forgotten rod since I got my Soare rods several years ago. Caught everything with that rod. Need to knock the cob webs off it and bring it out of retirement. Shortest rod I own since I gave the shorter ones away to the grandchildren.