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RI skinny dippers, for 1/4 oz jigs. Watch this video (the title is a bit misleading): P.S. I just use a smaller version of what Mr. Allen uses. Smaller head, smaller trailer. The point is the trailer should "overpower" the head, and move it from side to side. He also talks about the secondary actions. The tail paddling is the primary action, it causes the head to move and the skirt to flare out and in. That's the secondary action.

Big baits, fished slowly. Maybe try some tournament grade swimbaits like the 6" and 7" Talons, 6" Hudds, or Mattlures. These will catch your average 3-4 pounders and give you a shot at 5+ fish too. Here's a little video. Good luck.

OP, did you catch your PB in Kansas? Just wondering....

You'll get a ton of suggestions as far as brands, lb test etc are concerned. What are you looking for in your FC line? Manageability? Abrasion resistance? Low stretch? Knot strength? Are you spooling it on a spinning reel or a casting reel?

I believe he's looking for a spinning rod (693SF is a spinning rod), not a casting set-up. Just something to keep in mind before we swamp him with suggestions on rods and reels.

Send me a PM if you ever want a shore-fishing partner.

Hey, I had a Powell spinning rod with an XF tip for those little finesse jigs and plastics. Decided to sell it and get a Dobyns. I bought the 703SF. I didn't like the Savvy at all for the techniques I mentioned, although it handled spinnerbaits pretty well. I couldn't feel a thing with that Dobyns. Whether it was rock, or weeds, or a bite, all I got was a mushy feeling. I guess I was too used to the XF tip on the Powell. Or maybe the particular Dobyns rod I got was a dud. Might have been the latter, 'cause people praise the Savvy series. Sent back the Dobyns and bought the same exact Powell Max I sold. Lost about 40 bucks in the deal. That's just my "opinion" of course. Take it for whatever it's worth.

Really? The Warhawks and the Airacobras pretty much held the fort in the Pacific theater until the newer Lightnings and Mustangs and Thunderbolts got there. Yeah, the high-alt performance of the P-39 and P-40 was lamentable, the British found that out soon enough when they tried it against the Luftwaffe. But in the Pacific theater, most of the air battles were below 5000 feet. When flown to its strengths- high diving speed, high firepower, high level speed- the P-40 was a handful for the Zeros and Oscars. One must remember that the Japanese pilots at the beginning of the war were superbly trained as well. Completely different design philosophies behind the two planes (P40 and the A6M Zero). Don't forget that the Flying Tigers flew P-40s. The P40s did pretty well in the desert with the RAF and the RAAF, and in the Russian theater. If anyone's interested in the Pacific theater air war, I suggest you read these two books. #1. Zero: Masatake Okumiya (sp?), Jiro Horikoshi (sp?), Martin Caidin #2. Samurai: Saburo Sakai, MArtin Caidin. Hit me up with a PM for further discussions.

Sent you a PM.

I bought some stand-up shakey heads from a guy on Ebay, and been having catching a bunch on them. Good stuff, these heads stand straight up all the time everytime. For the plastic, I was using 6" Roboworm Zippers, and the bass loved them. Then yesterday, I tried some baby brush hogs, and the bass loved them too, but the trouble is, with the brush hogs, the jig head doesn't stand up any more. I'm sure that wouldn't hurt as far as the fish-catching ability of the bait is concerned, but I'd like to have a kreature bait counterpart of the zippers. Looking to try something with a little more action. These are 3/16 oz shakey heads by the way.

BTD has a 20% sale, TW has a 15% one. Both came up on my facebook news feed. I didn't check out the details though; I wish I had the cash to buy a little something

Powell. Without a shadow of doubt. JMHO, I found my Powell Max more "sensitive" than a comparable Dobyns Savvy. The Endurance can only be better. You'll love it.

That's funny, because I can get Pure Fishing products, including all Abu rods and reels for 50% off. (Pure Fishing is a sponsor of my university bass fishing team.) I'm still a Powell/ Shimano guy lol. Never bought an Abu rod or a reel using the sponsorship.

I finally managed to find a male bluegill hardgill cheap enough. Just bought an once-used Hardgill floater plus a new ultimate green sunfish for $46 shipped from ebay. I'll sell the ultimate BG, because I don't need it. I guess I can make around 20 bucks from it. So an almost new male bluegill hardgill for about 27 dollars? That's a good deal in my book. Now I need to see what the magic is all about. I felt really bad for the guy who sold it though. I do a little bit of selling on ebay myself, and I know how P-ed off I feel when stuff sells for much less than what it's worth.

Get some braid. I recommend Daiwa Samurai in 55 or 70 lb test.

Use it a lot on rage craws and rage baby craws (for jig trailers) with good success. Trouble is, the fish in my local lake figured out my little mend-it trick, and now they break off one of the pincers sooner or later lol.

I'm no expert with fluoro, but most fluoros have stretch comparable to mono lines. Fluoro is more sensitive due to its greater density. Are you reeling up all the slack before setting that hook? Taking care of that fixed my trouble with inexplicable break-offs.

Off-topic, but I picked up two Matzuo poppers for $4 on clearance. Looks pretty cool, and catches fish, for me anyway.

Powell and Shimano.

While swimbaits are primarily thought of as clear water lures (no rattles etc), what we usually forget is that a big bait moves a lot of water, way more than a traditional spinnerbait. I'd probably throw a boot tail bait (like an Osprey or a Castaic) instead of a Huddleston style bait though. If your bass like fast-moving baits, you might want to take a fast sink multi-section hard bait, and burn it.. just some ideas.

me three! Can't do without KVD L & L.

I had a Powell Max M/XF spinning for over a year for T-rigs and finesse jigs. Decided to go with a Dobyns Savvy M/F to replace it. Long story short, I didn't like the Dobyns at all for bottom-contact baits, although it made a great spinnerbait rod. Returned the Dobyns, and ordered another Powell M/XF. It's a personal preference thing though I guess. I'm too used to an XF tip for jigs and stuff.

Welcome to the forum! A 7'7"/ 7'11" Mattlures MH is what I use, and I'm pretty happy with the way it casts that bait. BUT that's the only SB rod I got lol. It's rated for 1-4 oz lures; the sweet spot is at around 2.75 ozs. Bill Siemantel recommended a 7'3" Lamiglass MH Excel (rated upto only 1.5 oz) on a TW vlog though. Whatever rod you get, make sure it has a long handle you can tuck under you arm when retrieving. A flipping stick is not a good swimbait rod. EDIT: I'd suggest getting a longer rod too, the longest you are comfortable with, in fact.

Thanks guys.

As far as bass fishing is concerned, match the gear to the cover and the lure; not the fish you want to catch. Eg: If you're dropshotting in sparse cover, you'd probably use 6 lb test. Flipping and pitching in moderate to heavy cover might call for 17 to 20 lb fluro. If you're throwing a 2 oz swimbait, you'd use 20 to 25 lb test line (unless you have braid) even if it's light soft cover.