Skinnyh2ofishin

I'll agree with the rest, that a mh would be a good all-around rod for what you're fishing, and since most of the fishing you're doing is plastics or topwaters a F or XF action would be good. Ultimately, you're going to have to go hold some rods in a store since not all mh's are created equal depending on the manufacturer. You can easily find a MH rod that will feel best in your hand and you'll be just as happy with that as the M's you like the feel of.

I've been fishing out of a kayak for years and mostly use the same rods I use from a boat or shore. The exception being reaction-type baits, mainly jerkbaits or walk-the-dog topwaters, because a longer rod is more cumbersome to twitch out to the side instead of down like in a boat. For those I like a 6'3" to 6'6" rod in M to MH. It's really up to your personal preference depending on the fishing you do most. If you aren't fishing around heavy vegetation or trees/brush, then a M bc setup might be all you need. Otherwise, the common All-around bc seems to be 6'6" mh. As for a reel, I have an abu silver max, which is a small step up from the black max and it's been an ok reel, but can't hold a candle to my better bc's. My honest opinion is that if you really want to get into BC usage, save a little more and buy a reel that will treat you better. It may cost twice as much as the black max, but there are plenty of reels in $100-130 range (still cheap for a bc) that would give you a much better introduction to baitcasting and a shorter learning curve, plus if you like it, it will last you much longer. Far too many people buy cheap bc's just to try it out, and end up thinking it's much more difficult than it really is because they bought inferior products. You really do get what you pay for.

I agree with Delaware Valley Tackle, check the worm gear, especially at both ends. I've had some cheaper bc's in the past that would basically hiccup when the level wind would hit the end of the worm gear and start back the other direction. If I had tension on the line that wasn't directed at the center of the spool, then it would pull back on the level wind and make it stick for a few handle turns causing uneven line lay like you mention. If it is the worm gear not working properly, check to see if all the screws holding the sideplates to the frame are tight. Occasionally that would happen if I had just serviced a reel and not tightened everything up or they just worked loose allowing more play for the worm gear which would bind the level wind up. Again this was on cheap (<$60) bc's, so I don't know how common that might be in higher quality reels because of better construction. Good luck finding the cause and getting back on the water quickly.

Very reliable I'd say. I use a different loop knot now, but only because it's a little quicker to tie on the water. That said, I used the Rapala knot for every topwater, jerkbait (soft and hard), crankbait, and basically every lure that wasn't a weighted t-rigged worm for most of the years I've been fishing. As long as it's tied correctly (like any knot) I have 100% confidence in it.

I picked up a pack of those to try last week. So far I like them. They require a little faster retrieve to get the tail going, but so far they are producing fish and have only had one tail pull off on a short strike that I set the hook too early on. I've been fishing them with a flutter hook to add a little weight.

Any time I t-rig plastics, I use the least amount of weight possible that will get the job done. That can vary dependant on the thickness of vegetation/cover, depth of water and the rate of fall I want. For a slow drop in sparse cover I'll use as little as 1/16 oz, or for crashing through thick hydrilla I'll use up to 1 and 1/2 oz. Basically, let the fish tell you what weight to use. As long as you have enough weight to get through the cover you're fishing, or little enough to rest on top, you can vary the amount of weight you use to increase or decrease the rate of fall of your bait until the fish start biting.

Well, Big O pretty much covered the rigging (who better!), but here's my answers anyway. As for the screw vs. standard EWG, I like...both pretty equally, sorry! Actually, I like the Screw-in for more open water, unweighted use and the EWG for over and through emergent vegetation (the screw-in seems to hang up a little more on some veg types). When I've used the eeliminator weighted, I used it t-rigged with a 1/16 - 1/8oz screw-in bullet weight. The light weight allows me to keep the eeliminator on the surface with a moderate retrieve speed and didn't inhibit the swimming action very much. The screw-in bullet weights seemed to be important as I found the bait would roll if used with a pegged standard bullet weight.

I haven't had any problems with mine, but I can definitlely see how retrieve speed, line, and hook type could cause problems. I've had great success with them both weightless with 4/0 Owner screw-in hooks and with EWGs and a small screw-in bullet weight, both fished with my rod tip fairly high (rod at or above parallel to water's surface) and a very slow retrieve. Like you said, sometimes even when they are seemingly rigged perfectly, it can take some time to find the sweet spot for rigging a new bait. I'm sure once you find it you'll love the Eeliminators like I have mine.

Yep, sounds like your scale reads in tenths and hundreths of a pound. Don't be discouraged, I've found very few scales that read in ounces rather than decimals. If you want to know the ounces just multiply the tenths of an ounce by 1.6 and you get the ounces (but only the tenths). So if you weighed a bass that was 2.1-lbs it would be 2lbs 1.6 oz. and a 5.8lb bass would be 5lbs and 12.8oz. Just round to the nearest tenth and it makes it easier. Hope that helps

Awesome! Has your heart returned to your chest yet?! I'll never forget the moment my first double digit bass broke the surface for the first time and my heart felt like it was going to come out my mouth. Congrats bro!

Spinnerbaits are one of my favorite ways to search deep water. Basically, experimentation is your friend. With all the great tips already mentioned there's plenty for you to try until you find what works for you. One tip I'll add is as soon as the bait hits the water give the bait a pull with the rod to make sure the blades didn't foul on the cast. As soon as you feel the blades thump, drop the rod and allow the bait to fall on as slack line as possible. I'll even slowly strip line back off the reel in very deep water to make sure I get maximum bottom contact on the retrieve. The quick pull in the beginning gets the blades going and helps them flutter down properly.

I have a few of the big double BPS binders, and I don't know exactly how many bags of baits it holds as it would depend on how bulky each type of bait is and how many of them you have. I can say that each holds as many soft plastics as I could ever need for a day on the water and anything I can't fit in there for the day, I really don't need. They usually come with 10 binder pages per side or so, and you can stuff plenty more bags on each side if you need.

I tried it last year because I got a free spool of 15lb in an issue of FLW magazine I bought. It really does become bright orange when exposed to light, but won't be clear underwater unless you're working your bait EXTREMELY slow. But it would definitely be visible for you. I felt it performed about the same as Big Game, which is my usual 15lb mono choice, so if you like Big Game, you should be satisfied with TransOptic. In case you haven't used Big Game, I'll just say I didn't think it performed any differently, good or bad, than most other 15lb lines I've used.

I love chatterbaits when I want a slower, higher vibration bait, and I love throwing them around wood and grass, BUT they will never take the place of my spinnerbaits. I'm a spinnerbait junkie! Like all the lures I use regularly, chatterbaits have their time and place, but for me the times and places for my spinnerbaits just come up a little more often. ;D

You can use just about any worm you like on a dropshot rig. A floating worm will sink more slowly (or not sink depending on the worm and weight of your hook) but otherwise wouldn't have much advantage. As for shaky head worms, I use those types of worms on my dropshots all the time and like the action they have used that way. As for the BBZ, I have a couple as well and I always tie directly to the bait. They don't need a snap and with the cost of those baits I feel better with less points of failure. Good luck and go whack 'em!

I personally wouldn't buy a 1/2oz spinnerbait that's identical to one I already have that's 3/8oz. It's only 1/8oz heavier so the difference isn't much unless the manufacturer puts different sized blades on the 1/2oz, but then most guys change up the stock blades often anyway. If you have a 3/8oz bait that you like just add a little weight to the hook shank with either a hitchhiker-style weight or just wrap some solder around the hook until you get the added weight you want. You can also change the blades to a smaller size to make a bait that runs faster or deeper, just as it would if you added weight. I personally buy spinnerbaits in the colors I like in either 3/8 or 1/2oz depending on what the manufacturer offers, and then jump to 3/4oz and sometimes 1+oz for deepwater work.

I love Revenge spinnerbaits. Haven't used the buzzbaits, but have a couple of the spinnerbaits in that bluegill pattern and love 'em. Both the deep runner and the standard with gold colorado blades in that pattern have produced well for me.

I can pick a favorite, the top one, but only because I tend to like that type of color for my cranks. As far as craftmanship and paint finish, they both definitely look top notch. Awesome work Stringjam.

without knowing what kind of grass you're fishing over I'd say 12-15lb should be sufficient. I usually use 10-12 for most of my cranking, unless I'm ripping lipless cranks through hydrilla, when I'll use 15lb in mono, or 30lb in braid. Since the general idea is just to tick the top of the vegetation, it doesn't require much heavier line than normal, but in the case of thick hydrilla or other stout vegetation, I like the extra incase I hit a clump that wants to keep my bait.

I'm a big fan of Revenge spinnerbaits, but I also like the Strike King KVD series as well. Just like any bait, I think you'll get as many opinions as there are baits to choose from. You really can't go wrong with any of the brands mentioned already.

I've had a few EWG's bent out of shape by smaller fish than I thought should have bent them, but I never lost any of those fish due to the hook straightening. Plus, against my better judgment I've continued using many of those hooks after a quick rebend back into shape, and haven't had a single one break or lose a fish due to straightening after being fixed. Like you, RW, I use a myriad of hook brands and have been happy with all the big/well known companies. I'm still quite confident in my gammie's and have never felt they weren't doing what I needed them to do...catch fish!

I use a small Sampo swivel about a foot or so up the line when I use soft jerkbaits or weightless worms. Using a good swivel is important or you'll still end up with the same line twist issues. Otherwise I use a flutterhook (keel weighted hook) like D4u2s0t does. Like others have mentioned, making sure the fluke/jerkbait is hooked straight is important as well as not overworking the bait which will cause it to spin anyway. Someone asked about no1's advice about closing the bail. Closing the bail manually doesn't counteract linetwist quite as much with newer reels, but it still helps counteract loops forming in the spool which lead to knots. With older/cheaper reels the bail can catch the line somewhere other than the line roller and until the line makes it's way to the line roller, the line can be twisted from the spinning action of the reel.

I think the spinnerbait "how-to" video on this site (not going to rewatch to confirm, but I think that's where I saw it), changing blades is talked about a little bit. If you are just changing the bottom blade then instead of trying to straighten the frame, just hold the frame close to the end with one hand and with pliers grip the bottom half of the loop and twist it to the left or right instead of pulling it down away from the main leg of the frame. Once you've twisted the end away from the main arm of the frame enough to swap out the swivel then replace the new blade and swivel you want to use and twist the frame back together again. I don't know how it works on titanium frames, but I've used this technique quite a bit with good results. This way you aren't bending the frame as much in order to get the swivel off and it maintains its strength much better.

You're right, I think many of us "forget" about the introductions section after we've introduced ourselves. I've noticed that on most forums there are a handful of members who are always first to greet a new member. Most of the rest of us introduce ourselves, but then move on to all the other forum sections that interest us and those are the areas we frequent each time we come on. People do appreciate being welcomed to a new site, and I'm sure the more response they get in that section, the more likely they are to recheck that section and post welcomes to others. I'll definitely make it a point to get that section into my usual rounds through the boards.

Hey, 8.9 is 8.9, not 9... BUT, I'd say it'd be safe to call it 9 when you brag about it to all your friends and anyone else who'll listen! Congrats, that's awesome.