smalljaw67

Their rods are made for grass fishing with heavy braid, I don't know if they got a deal on the blanks or what was up with them. For some reason they decided to make all their rods with a parabolic action so if you don't use braid you're basically fishing a cranking rod. They don't give any line or lure ratings and they also don't provide taper, when I emailed them they told me that their rods will work with any line but the action were made with super lines in mind which is why they are all parabolic.

The one I fell in love with isn't made anymore but you can still find them. It is the Mann's Waker Elite, it isn't a minnow type of wake bait, it has a crankbait profile and it is a big wide body with a big ball inside so it make some serious noise. I know that noise isn't great in the fall but during late spring and summer it gets the fish going.

You can use it for square bills if you're not pulling them through cover, when you bang and grind square bills I prefer MH-Moderate to moderate fast rods but they have to be MH in power. You can also keep it as the topwater and that is what I'd use it for.

I use tubes for smallmouth and largemouth but the way I present them is different for each one. For smallmouth I rig them with an inside jig head and I use 3.5" the most but if the water is gin clear and the fish are spooky or if there was a significant drop in water temp, then I'll drop to a 3" or sometimes a 2.75". For largemouth I'm using a 3.5" or 4" tube and I'm either rigging it with Texas style with a bullet weight in front or with an internal weight, if I'm in cover I'll use the internal weight. I'm a big believer in soft tubes, I've really saw how much of a difference they made when I found a really good tube, it is crazy how long the fish will hold on to a soft tube, the problem is they are hard to find but I found some and they have become the only tube I use. River Rock Baits, they are a small manufacturer out of Virginia I found by accident, I use just about all of their stuff now but they make the best tubes I ever used period and fishing the Susquehanna river for smallmouth since the late 80s I can tell you that I have used a lot of different tubes. Cabin Creek use to be really good and they had the best tubes but then they changed their plastic and now they are too hard, so I go with what works. If you want to step up your game, try those River Rock Tubes, you won't be sorry.

Do you have to be at 7'2" exactly or can you go down to 7' or up to say a 7'6" ? I'm asking because you can get a Fenwick HMG in a 7'ML-F or a 7'6" ML-F right at $100. At the $100 mark there are a lot of good rods, we all have our favorites and I recommend the HMG because I'm familiar with it and guys that are familiar with the *** Black rods will recommend those and they wouldn't be wrong. This is where you have to look and see which rod appeals to you, the HMG has a full grip and the handle is thin so you may not care for that and so you move on but everyone will put a suggestion out there and then you need to see what appeals to you that will fit your needs, good luck.

I'll be in the minority but the Pointer 100 is the bait I'd get. I got introduced to the flash pointer last fall and there are some striking differences. The Pointer 100 has a darting side to side action and when you stop it the bait has a subtle wobble or vibration for a few seconds as the ball inside comes to rest, that is what I believe triggers a lot of strikes. The Flash Pointer doesn't have this, but instead it has a more aggressive action and a deeper roll, it was really good during the fall from 52 to 57 degrees, but once the water temp barely hit the 50 degree mark the bait lost its appeal, the fish really wanted the Pointer as they were beginning to hit on the pause after a few seconds but when the Flash Pointer was working, they would hit it the very second it stopped. The early spring is going to be a Pointer but when the water temp climbs into the mid to upper 50s, the Flash Pointer becomes a player but the fact it is more aggressive and seems to work better at higher water temps makes me think the Pointer 100 would be a better choice since it does well in a wider range or water temps.

What kind of spinners, buzzbaits, and topwaters are we talking about? The same thing for weightless plastics, there is a big difference between a weightless Senko versus a weightless 3" grub and if the topwaters you want to throw have a treble hook, well that is one thing you aren't going to do with that rod.

Spinning or casting?

I have always used a medium heavy, fast action rod for chatterbaits and I have lost some fish on them too so I took Bret Hite's advise and tried a glass rod. The first thing I did wrong was I only have a MH E-Glass rod rated 1/4oz to 1oz and I thought it would be fine for a 3/8oz chatterbait. Well in open water for smallmouth it performed flawlessly but in weeds with largemouth I was losing just as many as I did with the MH-F graphite rod. I'm guessing my glass rod being a MH was a little bit too soft but here is where I get confused. I have a 7'2" MH-XF rod that is awesome for pitching jigs, it is super stiff and I think it should have been a heavy power rod but anyway, that turns out to be the mother of all swim jig rods so I start throwing the chatterbait with it and I score, so far I only caught a dozen fish but I haven't lost any. I'm guessing it is a combination of things like line diameter, stretch, and rod action, my problem was line stretch, I had no problem in open water but in cover it was costing me so switching to a more stout rod cured my lost fish so my suggestion is to experiment but it is more than just rod length, power, and action, there is also line types to consider and with me, it seemed to be the extra stretch from the copolymer line and a stiffer rod fixed it.

I make my own and I do like the brush head but if I'm limited to 2 different jigs then I'm taking an Arky style jig and a round head finesse jig. The arky can handle all the heavy brush and the round head finesse jig can do just about everything pretty decently so every situation I have a jig that I can work with confidence.

I would think that a 6'6" medium power, extra fast casting rod may be a bit too stiff but my 6'9" medium power, extra fast spinning rod works well with a #5 Rapala Shad Rap, but that is a spinning rod so it is softer than my medium power casting rods.

The cut tail worm has been around for a long time, it was a trick that guides and tournament pros used for the exact reason Comfortably Numb stated. I was shown that more than 10 years ago but I could never bring myself to cutting the tail on a perfectly good curly tail worm but now manufacturers are making them like that eliminating the need to cut it yourself. Now that these are being made, guys are finding all kinds of different ways in which they work like buzzing them on top, or rigging it with the tail in certain positions to make the worm move a specific direction but it was originally a way to have a worm with some action just not a lot and they worked so well that now they are made like that.

It depends on where you're fishing the jigs and what kind of line you intend to use. 6'9" is a nice length for casting finesse jigs or making short pitches but the extra fast action isn't the best to use if you are going to us braided line. I also think the 7' MH-F is more versatile as you can use most single hook baits and line types plus the added length makes for a longer cast, you just need to see which one addresses your needs better.

I got mine with the intent on it being a dedicated shaky head rod but after using it I started fishing tubes and then light jigs and then weightless fluke style baits, and I even throw a #5 Rapala Shad Rap with it. You look at the medium power and extra fast action and you think it is going to be ok for 2 things at best but it is the most versatile spinning rod I ever used. The length, power, and action just work well together, I can throw a 1/16oz hair jig with a tiny chunk trailer on it or a 5" and even a 6" soft plastic jerkbait with the same degree of efficiency that it is kind of scary that it is that good.

What you have is the standard all purpose rod, stay within the lure and line ratings and whatever you want to use it for it will be fine.

I got them direct from Bagley, on their website they have a store that you can get the baits from. In the case of this new one it was a bit different, they aren't on there yet but I emailed them and asked about availability back in January and they told me the approximate date they would be coming in. Well after that I had to contact them by phone and they were able to get me 2 so far but when they hit the shelves I'll be getting more, that is without a doubt. I think if you like square bills then this is on the must have list now, the same basic shape as the original Killer B but in plastic with a rattle and 3D eye, this is going to be a difference maker in my fishing.

Last year square bill cranks were one of my best producers and so as I begin gearing up for this year I started looking at new stuff being released and something really caught my eye, it is the new offerings from Bagley. I ordered the new Balsa Shad as it looks like it will be a great ice out bait but that isn't the only thing that I was interested in, the main thing I wanted was to get my hands on the new plastic line, specifically the Rattlin' Killer B!!!! Well I ended up getting 2 and when they came in I was really happy, I was originally going to wait until I got to fish them before getting more but it looks like I'm just going to grab some as they might end up being back ordered after a few more people get it. I got the Rattlin' Killer B2, it is 3/8oz and has a listed diving depth of 3'-4', the colors I got are bluegill and mustard shad and while not the most detailed, they are still very nice. The first thing that jumps out at you are the eyes, these aren't painted on, they have 3D eyes, and as I look at the bait closer the hooks look to be very stout and are black nickel, I believe VMC is suppying the hooks, I'm not 100% sure but these ones are sharp and strong. The body has a subtle scale texture on the sides which is a nice touch and what is a really nice feature is the oval spit ring line tie, that little addition made me like the baits even more. The internal rattle is going to be great, it is like a one knocker, it is hard to tell if there is a steel ball hitting the sides or another ball, the sound is very audible and you'll no doubt hear it on retrieves but it is very low in tone and I really, really like that. The reason I like the low tone of the rattle is that the Killer B, for those not familiar with the Balsa models, has a more slender profile which gives it a rapid shimmy but it is a tighter action where as the Balsa B is a wide wobble bait, I've had the balsa models since the late 80s and the Balsa B is with me every trip but I was scared to lose it until the new Bagley ownership started bringing them back. I'll give a full review of it once the ice melts but I'm making an early prediction that these are going to be really good and end up getting hard to find. I don't usually get hyped up about a bait like this but this could be a game changer for my fishing, a 3' diving square bill with a tight action and low rattle makes for one of those baits you can use from ice out to ice in, I'm very happy right now.

I'm right in line with lmbfisherman in that I use both spinning and casting for weightless fluke style baits. I use a 6'9" M-XF spinning rod and a 6'6" MH-F casting rod, the spinning rod I se both a 4" and a 5" version but it is when I use a light wire hook in open water or sparse cover and skipping under overhangs. I use the casting rod with the 5" and 6" and I use it with a heavier wire hook in moderate to heavy cover.

From what I've been told is the new ET Bass series 6'10" ML-XF is what the rod was intended for but it has a little extra backbone compared to most drop shot specific rods in order to give it more versatility. I have a 6'9" Medium power, extra fast smallmouth rod that use to get the call when I was fishing cold water with a Rapala #5 shad rap because it could cast it far but even though it had a lot of backbone it was still forgiving enough that I had no problem fighting fish, it was very close to bending in a parabolic fashion. Since Fenwick designated it as a drop shot rod I'd suspect it probably has a softer tip then the smallmouth series extra fast. Remember, fast, extra fast or even moderate fast doesn't always mean a rod is stiff or soft, it just tells you how far down the blank the rod bends.

Falcon calls that the "Trap Caster", it is a little more stout than their average cranking rod but it still has flex to it. I'd say it is perfect for traps, and square bills but you could throw spinnerbaits with it but I wouldn't use any spinnerbait over a 3/8oz, I don't think it would have the backbone to set a large diameter hook. The same thing for belly weighted swim baits, if you use too stout a hook or if the hook has to go through any plastic then forget that, this rod isn't super stiff, it has more backbone than their moderate but it is still softer than a fast action.

I have them in the 100 size of the real craw series and Foxy Mama and oxbow bream in the 200 series. To me these are different then the 1.5 and 2.5, they are heavier and kick out more violently and if I'm just barely hooking them on the XCS I'll switch to the KVD models.

I hear you, I fish the river a lot but the way this winter is going it may be April again like last year. I got spoiled with the mild winters, like 5 in a row that the water didn't freeze and I was fishing all year but not this year or last.

The new supreme is magnesium like the MGX, I'm guessing that instead of making an XT, a regular, and an MGX they would just make the regular one a magnesium and drop the mgx name and still make the XT for those that want an aluminum body. The really nice thing is the sealed drag, the old river rats around me use to call Shimano spinning reels, "Shimbindo" because they didn't have a sealed drag and if you were wading or fishing in the rain and the reel got a little wet, it would bind up to the point it became unusable until it dried out and this was on Stradic reels. Since that time Shimano has fixed the problem but because of that I now look for a sealed drag and the new Supreme has it which is part of the reason it is saltwater safe.

Like Bluebasser86, I make my own and to make them weedless I use a thing called the slide off weed guard, they work pretty good. I make a 3/32oz with a size 2 hook to fish 3" Senkos.

There are a lot of good worms to use on a shaky head, a TRD needs to be put on a small jig head with an exposed hook, it is a super finesse presentation.