SissySticks

TP, headlamp, duct and electrical tape, lighter, small notepad/pencil for taking notes, camera + batteries, super glue, small first aid kit, scissors, long-nose pliers (which I would seriously consider not going fishing if I didn't have), polarized sunglasses, paracord.

I really like 6' spinning rods. They just feel great to me. I use them for a lot of things. I also use some 6'6" and 7', but really like the 6' whenever I can get away with it (read, anytime I'm in shallow-ish water). The one baitcaster I actually use is a 6'7" with the split pistol grip and the blank sticking out the butt. Marvelous finesse baitcaster, but not less than 6'6", I fear. G-Blanks rods makes them. On the topic of availability, I have started making my own 6' spinning rods because in addition to the rod length, I also like a short tennessee handle on my spinning rods, which are even harder to find than short rods!

Forgive me, everyone, for the heresy I'm about to opine. Unless I'm fishing deep water (20+) where hooksets are an issue, 6'6" is the longest rod I like. I actually prefer 6 footers for most of my fishing. I enjoy my casting and retrieving better with a shorter rod, which is lighter, more effortless. My casting is more intuitive with a 6' than a 6'6" or 7' I also seem to catch more fish on my small finesse baits on a short rod, which I think is because with the shorter rod I move the bait less with the rod, and it has a more subtle movement in the water. I make more, shorter casts, so I hit more targets, and I have better feel of my bait with less line out. Bottom line, my enjoyment level goes up when I use a short rod. YMMV.

I've watched Joe Bucher a lot. Like him, I t-rig and finesse fish a lot. Reality is, even with sensitive tackle, you're sometimes going to hook them deeper than you'd like when you use small baits. A lot of times bigger fish will nearly swallow a small plastic bait on the first strike-- they've already swallowed it when I feel them. When he hooks one deep, he always cuts the hook off the line and lets the fish go, figuring the fish has a better chance of dislodging the hook or it falling out as scar tissue forms around it than the fish has of surviving the trauma it would go through when he tears the thing out. Having caught fish with bits of rusted hooks still in their mouth, I tend to agree with his sentiment. Still, some will die, which is a bummer. I've followed his lead, but, I think after reading this, I'm going to go one step further and use side cutters to cut of as much of the hook as possible when I hook one in the throat. Great posts everyone. If I start throat hooking a lot of fish, I may even go to the barbless like Crestliner.

4" curl tail worm. I also like a 3" senko on a light texas rig.

It is somewhat like the crappie slider (a grub I've thrown for years with great success), but .5" longer and with rings. It's more like a downsized Keitech swing impact... Which is what attracted me to it

Saw this grub on ebay, but the guy only has one auction for 50 of these in one color. As a certifiable grub junkie, I was wondering if anyone knows what it is and/or if a hand pour mold is available for it anywhere?

Anyone know of a production mold for the Kalin's Western Weenie? Lurecraft have one?

I agree wholeheartedly that less visible lines gets you more bites, whether that is fluoro or thin mono. Another reason people use light line, though, is because it gives finesse baits better action. I have always wondered whether I got more bites with light line than heavy because on the visibility or the more natural movement in the water. If it is the latter, then logic would say that I would get more bites on mono than comparable fluoro, because it is less stiff. I really should do a side-by-side test on that sometime. Finally, some people (myself included) use lighter line for the sporting aspect as well, so I think there are more reasons not to use heavy line that most people might think.

I used to use a lot of silver thread AN40 and Excalibur Silver Thread. What do you guys think of that line for this application. Haven't used it in years... Bluebasser, what do you like about the C21? Just curious, I've heard mixed reviews...

Getting seriously back into slider fishing this year, along with the drop shot I probably got about 7/8 of my bites this year on these two finesse tactics (and the 6.5lber in my profile pic was caught on a 3" slider grub). Been using braid with fluoro leader, but when I slider and drop shot fish, I use a bunch of rods with different weights and baits, and loading 8 rods up with braid gets awefully pricey for my teacher's salary. What line are you guys using for slider fishing? Do you have a strong preference? I'm tempted to go with a mono or copoly for affordability, but I'm concerned about my ability to set the texposed hooks in 20 feet of water with them on a light or medium light action rod...

I believe in frugality. I have fished with both. I still catch more fish on my little lead slider heads and gopher heads than on a tungsten bullet with offset hook. So, I guess I'd say you don't really need it. Save your money for gas to get you to the lake more often.

3/16 oz. drop shot or a 5/16 oz. finesse jig are my favorites when I get deeper than 15 feet, but I'll use my whole arsenal-- just go a little heavier.

I am a die hard finesse fisherman, because if I"m not getting 5 bites an hour I get bored and want to go home. Call me a sissy if you wish. I carry 8 spinning rods in my boat, and have done so since I started studying the methods of Charlie Brewer (x2 on reading the book. Watch the video too) and Ned Kehde (check out his blog on the in-fisherman website. Very informative). I throw a jighead/plastic combo (3-4") or t-rigged weightless plastic, a drop shot rig, a tiny topwater or a finesse jig (1/8 and 3/16 oz. are favorites, but I will go up to 5/16 if necessary) almost 100% of the time. Favorite plastic baits: 3" BPS stik-o, 3.5" smallie beaver, Tiny Brush Hog, BPS 4.5" cut-tail, SK Bitsy Tube, Cabin Creek Spider, 3" Slider Grub, 3" BPS Spring grub, Zoom Lil Critter Craw I fished with straight mono BPS excel, 4-8 pound, for years. This year I'm experimenting with braid/fluoro. I like it a lot, but it is very expensive (even to just put 60 yards on each reel I regularly use costs 80+ bucks). I'm not sure if I catch more fish than I did with mono. Next year I will put vicious elite fluoro, yo-zuri hybrid, and P-Line CX head to head and see if I can find something I like well enough that doesn't cost quite so much.

I really like the consistency of the BPS stik-o's. I use the 3" a lot and find them to be a good compramise between softness and durability. The dingers are good too, but YUM discontinued making the 3" so I had to look elsewhere and found the StikO.

Just thought I would revive this post because it comes up high on the list when google searching slider heads. The original slider heads were not designed to be fished on normal bass tackle. Lots of people all over the web, including a shamefully dismissive post on BassPro's reviews page, make strongly worded arguments against the light wire slider hooks because they "straighten out on big fish." They were/are designed to be fished on 4 and 6 lb. line on L action rods, which cushion the light line and light wire hook. The wire is thin to allow hooksets through plastic with those light lines. Of course these hooks straighten out on a 6'6" M action rod with 8 or 10 lb. test and a 5 lber on the line. The rod, line, knot, hook is a chain. The lightest link will break first. If you were fishing for kingfish with 60 lb. braid and a M action bass rod, the rod would break because it is not designed to do that. The redesigned heavy hook sliders were made to accomodate people who were fishing slider techniques on heavier tackle, but you can see MANY photos on the web of Brewer or Brewer Jr. or Ray Scott with fish way over 5 lbs. caught on the original slider heads, fished properly with L action rods and light line. You're going to lose some fish to line breakage even with proper light slider tackle, but in that case, the line is the weak link (or the angler is, you choose), and that's how its designed to be. As Brewer said in his video and book-- "It's sporting tackle, not horsing tackle." I personally enjoy the fun of very light tackle bass fishing, and have caught some big fish doing it. I've also lost some big fish, but that's part of what makes it fun-- its a challenge.

Couldn't agree more with the finesse fishermen on here. This time of year, I focus on smaller lakes I know well, and then I rig up a couple drop shot rigs, a baby texas rig (1/16-1/8oz), a 3" creature on a 1/4 oz. shakey head, a grub, a sammy 65, and a finesse jig, and I go fish points, brushpiles in 10-20 feet of water, gravel bars, deep timber, etc. I rarely get skunked. Now, if I go to a big lake I don't know well this time of year, it can be like fishing for a needle in a haystack and that can be super frustrating. Did get skunked last night on a big lake with a buddy. Neither of us had fished that lake this year, which was dumb. Still, lost a 5+ lber on 6lb. line on a drop shot rig when it wrapped me around a bridge piling, and lost another little one that I didn't get a hook in good, so at least I was in the game, but yeah, anytime I get less than 5 or 6 bites I am frustrated. Still better than working though

Hey all, just picked up a couple of these rods at a swap meet, and boy are they sweet! Perfect for the light tackle fishing I do. Unfortunately, also discontinued. If anybody knows where I might be able to find a couple more, (like you've got a friend with a couple collecting dust in his basement, or your local shop has had two on the shelf for a decade, etc.) I'd be eternally grateful to you. If not, no worries. P.s. I know I could have this custom built, or build it myself. I'm hoping not to have to spend that kind of money because I just KNOW somebody has a couple of these they aren't using. Thanks in advance.

I am 6'2". I like "short rods." most of my rods are 6' to 6'6". I buy (and in some cases custom order) short rods because they feel right, and I"m rarely in a situation where making SUPER long casts is a necessity. I often stream/river fish, where long rods are in fact a liability, and fish out of a kickboat, where long casts are nice but can be irritation when landing fish. Fish with what's comfortable, not what's "right" according to bass pundits or what's cheap.

It seems to me to have to do with the behavior of the fish. If they're looking up, I don't think a tube is a great choice-- a weightless or lightly weighted plastic is better (like your senko). If they're suspended, I like a bait I can fish through them, like a grub or swim-jig. The only time I like a tube is if they're right on the bottom rooting around for crawfish, and even then, I like other baits better. I'm just not a tube guy, and it's usually my last resort, BUT... sometimes its the only bait I can catch them on. If what you're doing isn't working, gotta switch. If it is working... then what's the problem?

After 75 smallmouths in 6 hours on a small local stream today, I am officially in love with the Zoom Tiny Brush Hog in Watermelon Red. Threw it on a red 1/16 oz. gopher tackle mushroom head on 6 lb. hybrid and an UL spinning rod. Talk about fun.

x2 on the ray scott rod-- awesome rod for the $$ 6'4" MXF custom G-blanks casting rod (spinnerbaits, topwater, finesse jigs) 6' ULXF Scheels im8 rod 6 and 10 pound yo-zuri hybrid US

Ended up going custom. Not too fond of the ACS reel seat on the superlite, and just decided the ml action moderate taper was too soft for an all purpose rod. Ordered a 6'4" MXF rod with a 7" split pistol grip and a regular Fuji seat from G Blanks rods. Going to pair it with a Shimano Citica 200e7 and 10lb YoZuri Hybrid. Should be done in a few weeks and should be awesome for all my light baitcaster needs.

Rebel small Pop-R and Yo Zuri Pop n Splash poppers are favorites of mine as well as 1/8 oz. spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and cranks, and a plethora of small 3" plastic baits. The tube is a last resort for me as SO many people throw tubes to stream and river fish. When looking for big fish or in early spring/late fall/winter I also throw a 1/8 oz. finesse jig.

I am looking for an all purpose casting rod for small stream smallmouth fishing. I don't want anything heavier than a ML, because I will be throwing 1/8 oz. lures on it a lot. Because of the tight quarters on these streams 6'6" is too long as well. The two I am interested in are the quantum PT Tour 6'4" ML and the Superlite PT 6'3" ML. I am hoping someone has handled both rods and can tell me which has a faster action. If no one can help with this (and I know that's highly possible) then I'm going custom, so please, no other suggestions (though you guys have good ones!)