smalljaw67

I do well with Nishiki and Aurora Black, I'm in PA but it doesn't matter. The Nishiki is a killer for smallmouth, I don't know why but on a Smithwick Rogue I can catch largemouth on their clown pattern but Lucky Craft, not so much. The Aurora Black however has been great on both smallmouth and largemouth and it is common to catch both on it when I'm on lakes that have both large and smallmouth.

Suspending jerkbaits would be my number one winter lure but when it gets down into the 30s, that is when the hair jig becomes my number one winter bait and I often will use both in the same day.

The 6'6" MH-F GL3 is a mag bass rod, those are perfect all purpose rods and the most versatile as there action is a little slower than most fast action rods. If I was going to designate a specific use for them I'd use the 6' classic for spinnerbaits, I have a custom rod that is 6' I had made just for spinnerbaits, it is great for making pin point casts to cover. The 6'6" MBR would be a jerkbait / topwater rod, I know a lot of guys like longer rods nowadays but my topwater is done with a 6'6" rod and I feel I have more control on my walking baits and poppers with it. I know the 6'6" is a medium heavy but the mag bass taper makes it a good fit for the topwater deal or even jerkbaits.

The shock has a slower tip meaning it has a lot of flex and the reason for that is the rod was designed to use with braid specifically. Braid doesn't have any stretch or give so with a stiffer rod a hard hook set can pull the hooks free or, in extreme cases, cause the rod to break so the shock has a composite tip that flexes like a rod with a moderate fast action. Go with the regular lightning rod, if your cousin uses other lines the shock isn't going to be for him.

You can use a size either a size 4 or a size 2 if you want but I like to use the size 2 on the front and the size 4 on the back, that has always worked well for me.

Waders!!!!

You have a good selection already, move on to another category and when you are satisfied with your box you go fishing and that is where the rest of your baits will come from. What will happen is you will talk to anglers that are doing good using a type or brand of crank you don't have and you'll add another and before you know it you'll have a really nice collection. One tip on cranks, if you find a style that is really good in the waters you fish, like say a certain type of square bill, make sure you have at least 4 different patterns or colors and try to get two of each one, for example you are doing well on a KVD 1.5 in green gizzard shad, well I'd make sure I have at least 2 of those and maybe 2 sexy shad, 2 chartreuse black back, and 2 Clearwater minnow. Of course those colors are just examples but try to get a few different ones for different conditions and water clarities because there are times when a shock color like the chartreuse black back will out perform a sexy shad and vice versa, and the most important part of it is to have fun, I know fishing is the ultimate fun but buying new tackle is really fun too, so go have a ball by getting some stuff that you think or know will work on the waters you are going to fish.

I got gift cards so no loot until next week but I'm happy as a clam!!!!!!

Like Bluebasser86 I pour my own shaky heads and the worms I use on them are a 4.5" finesse worm, a 5" finesse worm and a few different craws and larger worms. Of the larger worms that I really like, the Stanley Sidewinder 5.5" is my favorite, it doesn't get talked about much but in stained water it is hard to beat.

Zoom super chunk!

Smithwick Rogue in clown and the X-Rap in clown, when smallies are around, nothing beats the clown!!!!

I like mono for my cranking but if you are shallow cranking mono would be a better bet and deep cranking fluorocarbon would be the better deal.

Which model? I'm pretty sure every rod in that Bucoo line is under 4oz and of all the rods I own that are under 4oz, there isn't any that are close to being tip heavy. As for which one to get, it all depends on what you want, you have more selection with the Falcon but a lot of those rods are moderate and moderate fast with a few fast action rods. Look to see which one has a model you would want and go from there but I'll tell you this, if weight is a factor then the Falcon is going to be better as those are lighter than the Carbonlite.

Do yourself a big favor by going on a scouting trip and that means leaving the rod and reel at home. The best time to do this is a warm summer day as you can just wear shorts and old tennis shoes and wade around and flip over rocks to see what you can find. Also get yourself one of those little nets that kids use to collect bugs, it will help you catch some stuff and the stuff you catch will lead to better fishing. The way it will help is you will find out what kind of forage is in the water and by catching the craws you will get to see the size and color of them and it will help you pick out jig sizes and colors for when you do go on a fishing trip.

I know someone who got one of those Berkley E-Motion rods for one of his friends and he said it will surprise a lot of people and I'll bet it will be a perfect budget rod for someone who wants to try a better class of rod without having to drop a lot of money just yet.

The 2 things I noticed are the weight and what I can only explain as smoothness. I have 1 true micro guide rod and it is a Quantum Smoke in a 7' MH-F and the guides are tightly spaced at the top of the rod yet it is very well balanced and light but making a cast seems effortless. I know this will sound strange but my casts are getting longer, it is like they are made with less effort because it feels smooth, like I said, I can't explain it other than saying the cast just feels smooth.

I got 2 of these and they seem to get to the same depth as my DT-Flat 7 cranks and they work in the same conditions. Just a quick tip, these are known to be cold water cranks but they work good in the summer if you have bass on rip rap or wood cover and they won't hit a square bill or other crank.

The Square A that Catch and Grease mentioned is 2" but it is a small profile for a 3/8oz bait, in fact if you compare it to the Xcalibur XCS, it looks like it is maybe 1/4oz and it is a fish catcher. That to me is the smallest, heavy square bill.

I have the original Mann's Lizard, it is a 4" curly tail that there really isn't anything special but it does very well in clear water lakes in mid spring when the newts come out of hibernation. I also have a good reserve of Manipulator and Auger Tail worms, now the Manipulator is a special worm.

The flat side is up on the regular fluke and rigging it is the same as any other soft jerkbait. You can use the EWG or "J" style hooks as long as it has a wide gap but my absolute favorite hands down is the light wire Owner twist lock hook in a 4/0. The number for these hooks is 5167-141 and some packs have a sticker that says "designed by Gary Yamamoto for use with the Senko" of something like that. I'm gibing you the fine details of that hook as it makes it easy to rig the fluke and it works so well I quit using the wide gap "J" hooks I once swore by and judging from your post I am thinking you'll like this hook as well. Simply screw the lock in the nose of the fluke and line it up to see where the bait will line up and then insert your hook and rig Tex-posed like other soft jerkbaits and you're done, a perfectly rigged fluke and all you need to remember is flat side up and you'll have it.

I have used a craw and I had success with it, but one word of caution, if you plan to use the Yum Craw Bug on a coil keeper, a drop of pro's soft bait glue or some other super glue on the coil will really help, the tail part of the craw bug isn't going to hold well on its own. I'd also choose the large size craw bug as you would need a head with a smaller 2/0 hook for the small version.

If you look up Do-it molds in the sinker molds category, you'll see a mold called a "worm nose weight", this is a nail weight with a mushroom head on it and it is the type commonly used with a neko rig. That rig doesn't use a jig head, it uses the weight and then an octopus or drop shot hook is hooked into the side of the worm around the egg sac area and then dragged around but the worm used should be very buoyant. The ned rig uses a small jig head with small 3" senko type worm or 1/2 of a Senko and the head style is just preference as is the mushroom style nail weight for the neko rig.

Technically that isn't a stand-up jig head but an upright jig head, there is a big difference. When a jig head is stand up, the hook is up and away from the bottom, an upright jig is exactly what an Arky style jig, like you are showing, does, it keeps the hook facing upright while laying flat on the bottom. That is my favorite head style of all the jig head shapes out there.

Ball head, I can swim it, drag it, and hop it, I can use it in weeds, rocks, or brush with a great deal of effectiveness. I would normally pick the Arky head, it is my favorite but it isn't a good jig for weeds but I seldom throw a jig in the weeds except on a certain body of water and for that I use the ball head finesse jig very similar to an Eakins jig.

For me it is a spinnerbait hands down, nothing like burning a spinnerbait in late spring and have a pig smallmouth just smash it so hard you can barely hold on to the rod, there is no better bait for me. My second would have to be the jerkbait, whether it is fishing it fast in warm water or letting it sit for long pauses in the cold there is just something special about a fish hitting a twitch bait.