Blade-Runner

We were catching smallies on the W. Fork of the White up until the water level got too high. From shore at annual wintering holes, mostly jigs and crankbaits. Found the first pond in my county to thaw and caught a 13" largemouth 2 days ago. LC-78 with pull-pause. Good luck, the thaw is on.

Mudd(ier) water, night.

St. Croix Avid AVS63MXF. Abu Garcia Soron 10. 20/6 PP or 6-lb. copoly.

Awesome! We've been nailing them on the river up here, at least until the water clarity suffered from the thaw. This is the one time of year I prefer to bank-fish the river. Those key wintering spots always hold fish. Good way to get the rust off before the lakes thaw... We've been getting most of ours on jigs and crankbaits.

My Factoring Process: #1) Water clarity. #2) Baitfish imitation - tight wobble Crawfish imitation - wider wobble #3) Similar to using a colorado vs. willow blade spinnerbait, sometimes the wider wobble cranks have maximum action with a slower retrieve, which can be key in certain situations.

Falcon Lowrider. MSRP $129 - maybe 4 bucks above your limit but you can usually find cheaper.

I use either a Shimano Curado 5.1:1 on a Carrot Stix CLTX721P-C w/ 12# FC for more open-water OR a BPS Extreme 7:1 on a Falcon Original 7MHF w/ 50# PP for heavier cover/thick grass/extreme ripping.

Rapala Shad Rap or Storm Wiggle Wart.

Any time fishing is productive when shallow-cover spinnerbaiting.

I had a Tourney Trail IM7 6' M rod that I used for years and caught hundreds of bass on. Great entry-mid level rod. I think Ugly Stiks are great, too, but I only use them for carp fishing and live bait anymore. I have a good friend who swears by the Ugly for a cranking rod...

Leverage Spinnerbait by McGuiness. Good idea, not so good for people who use the spinnerbait as a primary heavy-cover bait. I don't like buzzbaits with movable "wire" hooks either... Might be better for open-water applications.

x2

I have the Soron STX-10 and it is perfect for 6-lb. line.

Drive around and look for baitfish x2.

I thought it was 10 mph.

I grew up using LH spinning reels (as opposed to most of my friends who had the RH spincast - the infamous Zebco Bullet comes to mind) so I use only LH casting reels. Why use anything that you have to switch hands with? Although like 90% of the anglers I know use RH casting...

I'm still in the redneck conversion "jon-boat to bass-boat" phase and have a clamp-on bow mount trolling motor... It has flown off the mount at 5-power in my hands so many times I oughta start calling myself Bill Dance...

St. Croix AVS63MXF. I put a lot of hours of research, sampling, and hands-on into a new spinning rod. This is it. It would work great for your application. Most will suggest something in the 6.5-7.0 ft. range, but this works great for me. I river-fish a lot and if your schooling white bass are headwater fish running up, this is excellent for an easy-wader, easy float-boat rod. Plus it's got the backbone for heavier bass applications but can throw that 1/8 oz white grub cast-after-cast, a slip bobber w/ minnow, etc. Another "this is what I have, I love it, you will too..." post ;D

I agree with the previous posts; 6'6" to 7' MH/F. I'm just now getting into the new extra-fast specialty rods but so far they are great for specific applications. Don't make yourself feel like you've got to have the super-long rod for hooksets, pitching advantages, etc...I'm 5'10" and I prefer a sub-7' rod for ergonomics.

I mildly disagree. I have the AVC66MF and, while not "optimal" for those presentations, find it very useful as an "all-around" rod. I don't think it is a great match with 1/2 oz. jigs (the high end of what Redtail inquired of), but I use this rod for light-mid weight jigs and weightless/light-weighted plastics and it functions well. The break point is a little far back for a specialty bottom bait rod but I wouldn't go so far as to say it isn't suitable for use with those presentations... That said, I think a quality 6'6" - 7' Medium Heavy, Fast or Moderate rod would fit the bill well. For me, alternating between S/B and shallow-to-medium divers is no problem because I can use a heavier line test without confliction. Stickbaits and deep diving crankbaits, IMO, require a more specialty rod/line to be utilized to the maximum.

I like Falcon and the Lowrider seems to be an excellent value.

Jack @ Angler's World. Greenfield, IN. A great man and a great shop.

My 6'6" MH fast Clarus is the one rod I cannot switch out of my hitting order. Ultimate versatility. Works great for basically anything for me with old fashioned 15# Big Game. Especially good for spinnerbaits.

Zoom Trick Worm or Creme Natural Worm.

Shad Rap.