Bluebasser86

I pour one really similar and I really like it.

When it was needed, yes it caught me fish. Did it catch me more fish? No way of telling but I wouldn't use it if I didn't believe it didn't give me an advantage at times.

I have 8lb Abrasx on mine. No idea why it wouldn't fish braid fine though.

There's a guy on a swimbait page that pours one that's about 8" long, over an inch in diameter, I think it is close to 1.5oz of plastic unrigged. Not sure exactly how big you're looking.

I wish, biggest bass with it was 5.5, but I caught a 68lb flathead catfish with it.

7' 5" H/F Okuma EVX 7.3 Okuma Helios SX 20lb Seaguar Flipping Fluoro

Braid is buoyant and requires more force to break it's surface tension, so lighter baits fall slower and the deeper you're fishing, the more it's going to effect it. Light baits might also not pull the line completely tight leaving a slight bow in the line, again which is more noticeable the lighter the weight and deeper you're fishing. It's not real extreme with most baits, but I'm fishing Ned rigs on 1/16oz heads, it can have a noticeable impact with baits that size.

Corrosion on the hooks says it's probably been there a little longer than a few days unless you're fishing brackish water. I'd take the swivel and spinner off and fish it if it were me. I haven't gotten out much to look for baits this winter but the ones I've found have been better than average. Just the last few times I've walked I've found a 128 Pointer in American Shad, a Loon 110 Plopper, a bluegill 130 Plopper, a Table Rock shad 100 Pointer, and a gold Megabass Vision 110 to go along with a bunch of KVD 1.5, 5XD, 6XDs, Bombers, PopRs, and other Misc baits.

I use KastKing Super Power braid on a lot of combos and it works just fine for me. 547 yard spools for $20 on the bay lets me spool several of my guide combos off one spool for cheap.

I think one of the main things you're missing with the leader isn't the visibility factor, but the sink rate. Light baits on straight braid has a parachute effect, which isn't a big deal on a really calm day, but it's never calm here. I use straight braid on spinning gear pretty often, even hi-vis yellow, and catch plenty of fish with it. I never use a leader with braid on casting gear.

If you're talking about the new Expixor XT, go with the 30. I have that size and it's what you're going to want for bass. It's a great reel, love mine. I have it paired with a 6' 8" Okuma EVX spinning rod and use it for about everything. Caught one of my biggest 5 of year on it last year with a micro finesse jig on a goof off day fishing with my son and he also used it on another day last year to land a 6.63lb bass.

Very nice! How do they vibrate compared to a metal bait?

Smallies will hit big swimbaits with everything they've got. The 185 Shine Glide and a Bull Shad are my favorites for smallies, and our smallies don't get nearly as big as they do up there.

I'm the one that does the dishes at our house, it's my wife that can't load a dishwasher properly ?

It depends on the what it is. Discontinued items can be highly sought after and this drives up price. Look at the old wiggle warts. They sold for 4-5 bucks brand new, no a NIP craw colored wart gets you 20-30 bucks, select colors even more. The E series Shimanos held their value really well too and for awhile you could sell them for more than original if they were in really good shape. It's like anything else, you'll find guys trying to sell their 30 year old cars for well above what they're worth because they have sentimental value, but that doesn't mean someone will pay that much.

Welcome! Check out the Local Fishing Forums and maybe post a question there and you'll likely find someone local to help you out. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/forum/13-central-bass-fishing/

My wife fishes with a Quantuam Energy PT 25 on a St. Croix Avid Pearl. It's feminine looking combo for sure, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't used it more than once. It's also a more expensive combo than most of my spinning combos so sometimes I just like to use it to see what it's like to use one that nice ?

I throw the 190 size for largemouth here in KS. I've even caught white bass on it. Great when there's lots of wind, pulling them out of weeds, or looking for a quality bite.

Yes, working midnights I was stuck watching a little of the beginning and having to stop so I could sleep. Almost smacked myself in the face with my phone a couple times because I was laying in bed watching it and falling asleep.

I'm working on it.

I really like the trebles and I use them for lighter T-rigs like weightless stick worms or finesse baits. They don't seem to be real sturdy if you use the heavier models. I tried some of the straight shank flipping hooks and had problems with rolled points and hooks opening. They're very sharp though.

The bill on the 5XD is a little wider than the Series 5, so I imagine the Series 5 has a little narrower wobble than the 5XD. FWIW, this was a 5XD fish, it's one of my favorite deep cranks.

There isn't a 168 plopper. Sizes are 75, 90, 110, 130, and 190. The 190 is a monster, I have one, and I have a really hard time imagining the situation you're trying to fish one where it won't get on the surface and spinning. The 190 is about like someone put a plopper tail on the back of a small cucumber, makes a ton of commotion and pops to surface in a hurry.

Curious what the point to kneeling and reeling would be with a sinking bait? I'm not doing that because my rod would be jammed in the bottom most of the places I fish a trap if I did that. "Brownish-clear" sounds like maybe tannic water to me. If that's the case, golds and reds are my first choice. Main time of year is cooler water months, water temps from 40-70 is the main range I'll throw one. Sometimes I don't let them fall, sometimes all the way to the bottom. It's one of those things that changes sometimes throughout the day. All the above. I prefer either a steady retrieve, or yo-yoing them back, letting it sink to the bottom and lifting it up a foot or two and allowing it to sink back to the bottom on a semi-slack line and repeating back to the boat or until out of the strike zone.

Supposed to be 12 for a high tomorrow, 65 for a high Monday, crazy weather swing. Looks like there's a good chance I'll get out Friday though ?