hatrix

Not using braid will only make what is probably the hardest lure to consistently hook fish on even harder. If it was me and I had to pick a line other then braid its hands down CXX.

Chances are its much higher then 18" off the bottom.

A pluton would be nice. I also like any of the megabass reels.

I can cast just as far backhand but not with the same accuracy. Throwing any harder is just making the brakes engage harder. Less is more sometimes.

I agree unless you have caught a number of fish weighing a specific weight then you probably don't know what it weighs by guessing. I only weigh a small of amount of fish anymore and funny enough those are ones I suspect wil go 6 or more. I have caught enough of other fish that I don't care what there weight is any ways it is nothing special anymore but I can fairly accurately judge what it will weigh. I don't catch enough fish consistently to judge fish that will go more then 6# since that's a really big bass out here.

I haven't used the LC ones but have tried quite a lot and the Excalibur erratic shad always produces the best for me. Rogues and bomber long a and good also. The erratic shad still out fishes them for me.

Spro uses gamakatsu hooks.

Of course it will grab everything with no guard if your running into it. I use a different type of guard to make lures weedless.

Go walk around a pond backwards I guess you could say. So you would be back handing into the direction you would walk. It will get you pretty decent quickly.

That's impossible to avoid. Every knot is going to weaken over time. Palomar is just not a knot for me anymore. It is a bad knot for shock and lots of my fishing can be that way.

Because knots are just that. They are a knot. The harder you pull or the more you use it the tighter and tighter it gets. It digs into it self more and more and continuously weakens the line. You can use a palomar with braid but I wouldn't recommend it for anything other then that.

I weigh terminal stuff all the time now. I would recommend something that weighs .0 of a gram. The scale I have happens to weigh to .000 but you don't need that accurate.

For me it's usually 20# braid and a 6 or 8# leader. There is tons of great stuff from Aaron Martens on drop shots. Actually everything that guy says is great.

I stopped cutting guards as it always seemed to make them foul more often. Now I just remove all guards as well... There a joke and work terribly.

Neither anymore. Although there is nothing wrong with a clinch. Sandiego Jam or a Uni are the only thing I use anymore. A palomar is actually a knot while a clinche is not. It is actually a slip. Knots are bad. Slips are good.

Having the right action rod and line make a world of difference. If your using for example a M/H F with not much tip before it shuts off and braided line your probably going to have a tuff time. Change to a line with some stretch or a different rod. Or pick up a spinning rod if you need to.

You should try a jerkbait with very long pauses. My waters are very cold right now.

I really like fat free shads for cranks in that range.

Natural colors are always a good choice and try to match what they are feeding on. Fish don't actually change colors but shades can vary dramatically. I am not sure how long it takes them to change but I have pulled fish out of the darkness that are super black and that darkest of dark green. Or in light murky water I have seen them pale as a ghost with the faintest hint of very light green. That's something I never really seen come up on here but that can tell you a lot on where that fish has been living.

^^ Yes sir and he will throw the big stuff also. Not the kinda big new to swimbaits stuff. 10" is definitely not out of the question. One thing I guess with the tournaments is the 8' rod deal. There really isn't a ton of rods you can choose from and even less when you start talking about rod you want for the biggest stuff. Lots of guys have custom stuff and the really heavy ones often times exceed 8' I am not exactly sure what Brandon uses though.

I never really like any of the soft baits from Matt I have a few and only the tournament perch I think it is has really produced for me. Slammers are always a great buy though. The giron is ok but I don't really consider a glide bait to much likes its labeled. I caught some good fishing on it and the first fish I ever got with it went close to 5 although that really means nothing. I throw a S-Song tons now as that just kills fish for me consistently and can be bombed way out while the giron is a crappy caster. I haven't fished my bullshooter jr enough to have a solid opinion on it but I already know its super good anyways. As for the 68 or Hudds in general I don't agree with needing warmer water. Those are staples to throw when temps really drop. They can be fished insanely slow to accomadate the near freezing temps. Not to say anything is a bad bait it's just personal experience for me on what I like. A lot has to do with what you have confidence in or has produced well before.

Never weighed it but it would of went about 5# on a Stanley ribbit

A 7' rod should fit in any vehicle easily. I can fit a bunch of 8' rods in a little Honda with ease. Go over top of the passenger door and straight in. Fishing rods have perma shottie

I agree with J and now a days I also would take CXX over anything. I presume you are newer to using casting gear and CXX would be bad for you probably unless you get some KVD L&L. For any other line I would say 15# is a good do it all line but for CXX I would go 12#.

I don't think there is any plastic you can't use. I am sure everyone has been fishing a jig and then start to burn it back in for another cast or pitch and one grabs it right in front of you. That is what turned me on to throwing them as often as I do. It happened so many times I just started throwing them out on long casts to cover water faster swimming them. I later found out it was something that was kind of catching on but lots of info talked about people shaking the rod as they reel it in. I have since refined it to how and where I like to fish. That usually mean a swimbait usually as a trailer in lots of vegetation with tons of start and stops or rips and pulls. The little hiccup in the retrieve and the fall is usually what triggers the hit.