smalljaw67

This is where you need to be observant, look around the area you're fishing, look for shore birds like herons or egrets and see if they are hunting. Look in the shallows and see what kind of minnows you are finding of flip over a few rocks and see if you can find some craws, this will help you "match the hatch" so to speak. As far as size is concerned, I always start big except for cold water and I'm talking 40s and lower cold, let the fish tell you what you need to do. On the river I fish electronics are only good to tell you depth because most of the time you are in water that is less than 10' deep so we have to use educated guesses as to where the fish are based on season, water temp and clarity and the air temp and barometric pressure which you see if it is cloudy for low pressure or bluebird for high pressure. Once you make a guess as to where the fish are, look around and observe, are the fish rising? If so do you see bugs or minnows that the fish are feeding on? Being observant and knowing the general habits of the fish you are after will help, and using the right search bait for conditions will help you find fish and then you can fine tune your presentation based on what the fish are telling you.

That very thing is why lifetime warranties on rods get cut and why lure manufacturers don't replace broken baits on a consistent basis. I know you are joking but there are people out there who do that sort of thing.

More than likely a 4X treble will ruin the action on a crankbait. The reason is because the weight, the extra strength adds extra weight and with too much weight it will affect the action. The hook size is reversed, when the updated the bomber website they reversed the Square A hook sizes, the larger model gets the size #3.

I would always follow up a missed topwater strike with a fluke until the Senko came out, that ended the fluke for that type of work. There is just something about that Senko falling that they can't ignore after missing a buzzbait.

A cheaper jerkbait that has a real fish profile is the Manns Shadow, not nearly as nice as the Fake Fish but it is downright deadly!!! Right now it is weird, the fish are in between summer and fall patterns and a lot of baits that haven't been wet all year are getting used. I switch from regular fluke style baits to the Manns Shadow this time of year because of the profile, all one has to do is watch it move when you give the first little jerk of the rod, it looks just like a dying Alewife or Herring.

No. Those are the overseas models and the blanks used aren't very good, very hollow with very little response, my neighbor got one 2 weeks ago when they went on sale, it was a B-Day gift for his son and he sent it back, a lot better rods with better warranties at that price point.

I would have to get the Team lite speed spool or the BB2 wide spool, I was likeing the look and the specs of the Tournament Lite speed spool but the carbon frame bothers me too much, but I think the one with the aluminum frame like the team model would be great. I agree with you, I love how smooth the zillion is but it is just too heavy with how light todays reels are. I said it before, a Lews TP along with the 2nd generation Revo Premier, and 2 Quantum Smokes makes it hard to use a reel that over 7 ounces anymore. That same deal is what kept me away from Ardent reels, super heavy which eliminates the feel you get with a light rod.

I heard that the Toray reel seats from Batson are really nice, I've been thinking hard about doing custom rods but I'm so deep into making jigs, spinnerbaits, and tying hair that rod building would mean I either stop pouring or tying as there isn't enough money left unless I quit fishing and then what is the sense of doing any of it.

There are a lot of variables when it comes to hooks, I like the Daiichi Offset worm hook in a wide gap, I'm using light wire hooks where I'm not in heavy cover with heavy line so those hooks are awesome! I also like the standard wire Gamakatsu offset worm hook in an extra wide gap when I'm using bulkier baits like beavers, craws or stick worms like the 5" Senko, it allows easy penetration and great holding ability. That said, if you use that hooks with 50# braid in heavy cover, well they aren't going to work for you, even 30# braid in heavy cover makes for a bad experience. When super lines became normal, the hooks were still being made the same and that is why you saw a lot of guys complain about hook flex, but now with straight shank flipping hooks and heavy wire offset worm hooks, that rarely happens as long as you use the right hook for the job. It works both ways too, using a Gamakatsu super line hook on a worm with 6# line isn't going to get you good results either.

That is the funny thing about jerkbait rods, the flex need for fighting the fish is not good for working the bait and me and a few guys have done this experiment over and over for years. First of all, if you are using a 7' rod for jerkbaits, you are either 6'8" tall, hitting the water when ripping or you are using the sideways sweep which means you aren't getting the bait to work at its maximum depth. When you rip a jerkbait you want to do it on slack line, that is what gives you the most erratic action, when you do this with a cranking rod, you rip the bait, the rod flexes and since you already have slack in the line it causes the bait to move slightly forward with little sideways movement. In order to get it work more erratically, you end up pulling the bait on tighter line that when you need with the fast action rod so now you are just moving the bait forward with the nose pointing a little left and then right instead of the bait darting and diving, trust me, you can fight the fish better when hooked up but you will get less than half the strikes that you would normally get with a properly worked bait. The only time the cranking rod is the most effective is when the water temp is in the low 40s and you need long pauses with short pulls with little action, that is when the cranking rod really does a good job. In 2004 we used a few different rods for jerkbaits as there was a big discussion in our club about which kind of rod worked better so we stated an experiment between 4 guys starting in early fall with floating jerkbaits, into early winter with suspending jerkbaits, and when using the fast action rod for the floating versions there was no comparison, number of strikes and number of fish landed was better the 4 to 1 versus the cranking rod. When we hit late fall and into the suspending jerkait bite, the numbers got closer but the fast action rod was still better than 3 to 1 in strikes and 2 to 1 landed because you are going to loose more fish with the fast rod, that is the bad part. When we got into the really cold water when jerkbaits were still working, that is when the cranking rod was much better, strikes were the same but fish landed was 3 to 1 in favor of the cranking style rod and at that time of year you often get "nippers", the fish that just nip the back end of a bait and get 1 point of the rear treble in their lip, the cranking rod was good at landing those fish while the fast rod would loose all but a tiny few that were hooked like that.

The only ones I ever saw doing that were elite series anglers, Aaron Martens has been doing that for a long time when using fluorocarbon line. You have to remember, they change their line every day, for regular casual anglers it isn't going to do anything for you because when you only spool 200' of line it doesn't last that long, you'll be surprised how quickly that amount of gets used up, especially fishing around cover. If you still want to do that then get you spool close to full with braid as you only want a little more than a long cast of fluorocarbon on the spool to really get any benefit. 200' is the maximum amount of fluorocarbon line you will be using so 3/4 of the spool will be braid, good luck.

Marabou crappie jigs, and don't dismiss them, they will catch any species of fish that swim. I fish 1/8oz models on a 6'6" medium power, fast action spinning rod with 6lb copolymer line. These are great in early spring or mid fall, you can use them under a float when the fishing is tough, I made my buddy use one under a float and he reluctantly put one on to shut me up. We sat in the boat talking and having some lunch when I saw his eyes get real wide, he just was in total shock that his bobber when under and then after he set the hook and landed the fish he became a total believer and all it took was a 5lb 7oz largemouth to change his mind. I now tie 2 dozen for him every year and he catches fish consistently, he laughs because he never sees anyone else using them. They will work all year round but I found early spring and mid fall to be really good times, you can fish these any way from under a float to hopping and crawling on bottom to slowly swimming and with not being familiar with them, swimming is how I recommend you start learning to use them. Make a cast and let it sink to the bottom and start swimming, you want to reel slow so that the jig stays close to the bottom and it doesn't hurt to pause your retrieve every now and again, if you are around fish when you use that you will catch them.

The only popper I ever used that was good for walking was the Storm Rattling Chug Bug and it is one of my favorites because of that fact. I also use spooks and other walking baits but it depends on the fish and the conditions as to which to use. Flat calm water normally is a spook and just a little ripple means popper but some flat calm days they will hit a popper and not a spook, it really is experimentation. The time when I use the chug bug is when it is mostly calm but an intermittent breeze will ripple the surface from time to time, I can let it sit and then pop it or I can go and work it fast and walk it, it really gives me 2 presentations in one bait and allows me to get dialed in on what to use. As for the chatterbait substituting for a buzzbait or vice versa, it doesn't happen as they are completely different presentations.

I used a 6'3" medium power, fast action rod for jerkbaits and I loved it but now I have changed up, my larger jerkbaits are now fishing on a 6'10" medium heavy power, moderate fast action, that rod has a little more flex than a fast but not whippy. I have recently changed my mind about cranking rods for jerkbaits, I didn't like them at all until this year when a friend encouraged me to give my 6'6" medium light power, moderate action shallow crank rod a try for small XR-08 X-Raps and Pointer 78s and the Yo-Zuri Pins minnows. After he helped me out I found I like a moderate rod on the smaller baits, the thing is you can't overwork the rod or the bait, it is a finesse way of jerkbait fishing but it works.

If the rod say 705F it is the 7' medium power fast action, it is rated 8-17 line and 1/4 - 3/4 lure weight. If you got the moderate one it would have been 705M which would have 8-14 line and 1/4 - 3/4 lure weight. What happened is the place you got it from had them mixed up and they sent you the medium fast instead of the medium moderate.

I like to use good equipment but when it came to spinning it was about the rod more than the reel so back reeling was a way to compensate for drags I didn't trust. Now the modern reels have much better drag systems, my Daiwa Tierra and my Okuma Inspira have fantastic drags and since I've been using them I haven't had to back reel. I will say that back reeling is a good measure to use even with a good drag as it allows you to set your drag and leave it and if you end up with a large fish you can simply back reel instead of trying to add or subtract drag while fighting the fish.

There are a lot of brands that are good and we all have our favorites but I found that a spinning rod between 6'6" and 6'10" in a medium power with a fast action is really good for wacky rigs. My suggestion for a combo for you would be a Fenwick Elite Tech Bass 6'9" Medium power, Fast action with Pflueger Supreme in the 30 size, this will run you $250 at full retail but it will be really light and sensitive as will most anything you get in that price range.

When I finally began catching fish on hard swimbaits, it was because of a little thick that I saw on a T.V. show. The guy was using a swimbait and he would reel slow and steady and then he would give his rod a quick pop and quickly get the rod back straight to make slack in the line. He said by doing this popping, or jerking the rod on a slack line, it would cause the swimbait to turn sideways and some swimbaits would do a complete 180 and the fish couldn't stand it. So I set out with a newly purchased Storm Kickin' Stick and tried it and it didn't take but 3 casts to catch my first fish on a hard swimbait and it has been working ever since, so give that a try, it may help you get some big fish.

Lures are simply tools, before one ever gets tied on you have to take a few things into consideration. The first is the season, then the current conditions like water clarity, air and water temperature, and the sky conditions, sunny, cloudy or combination of the two along with, if any, precipitation. Once I get all of those figured out I'll then choose whether to fish shallow, mid range or deep using the conditions as a guide and then choose which type of lure would work best. Once the lure is chosen the deciding factor is color and if I'm in clear water I'll use a natural pattern or color, if the water is stained I will choose something natural but maybe with a bright accent color and if I'm in dirty water I'll use a bait that is visible. The size of the bait will also be affected by season and body of water but I will have confidence in whatever I choose because of experience, I've fished in just about every kind of condition and every season so the experience plays a big part in my lure selection and it brings confidence right along with it. Of course not everything will work like that and we sometimes have to use a totally different approach like a bright color in clear water but that isn't the norm but a fluke thing that happens while fishing.

They got discontinued and never copied for a reason, same thing with the Vampire spinnerbait. Not that it was bad but the blades would grab grass which made it tough to throw in weed filled areas.

I started making my own spinnerbaits in '98 because the ones I bought would roll over on high speed retrieves and it took me a year and a thousand baits to figure out how to control the bait using a combination of blade sizes, skirt fullness, heads size and wire diameter as all play a part. Team9nine is exactly right, and most of the time I see this it is usually on a 1/4oz buzzbait, the reason is the regular delta blade creates a lot of torque and the delta blade is made in a small size for 1/8oz baits, and a big size for 1/4oz to 3/4oz baits and the smaller one is the one that gets moved over but there is a place for it and a way to fix it. The easiest fix is to slow the bait down, make a few cast and watch it, slow the bait down in increments until you get to the point that the bait isn't laying on its side. I like using War Eagle 3/8oz buzzbaits as they have a big blade but also a large wire diameter and a flat head but the head isn't to thin, it stays down. The last thing is that the bait may be bent, look directly over it and make sure the top wire is in the center and not turned off to the side, if it is off just bend it back but if all is good just try slowing it down and you should see a difference.

You aren't going to get a good one for $90 bucks but you can get an adequate set up right at that price point. The best deal would be a Mitchell 300 spinning reel for like $50 and a Bass Pro Shops Graphite Series spinning rod for $40. If I was in need of a spinning set up and could only spend that amount, this is what I would get, the rod has good guides for that price plus it allows you to get a better reel, it isn't great but it will work.

I have a Fenwick Aetos 6'6" ML-M 1/4oz to 1/2oz and I use it for small shallow running cranks and top water baits like the zara puppy and the pop'r. It is a fun rod to fish as well as effective as it lets you fish the smaller treble hook lures without overpowering them.

It is perfectly normal what is happening and it is what you want to happen when pitching. I will make a pitch to a likely spot and let it hit bottom and then give it a few hops and reel it in, if a fish is going to bite it won't follow the jig out too far from the cover it is using, it will either hit it on the fall as a reaction or it will watch it and the next time it moves it will grab it. The only time I drag or hop a jig back to the boat is when I'm casting football jigs or when I'm casting finesse jigs over rock flats, then I will drag and hop and combinations of both on the same retrieve. I do this in areas where there isn't any visible cover and a hard bottom, this time of year is perfect for combing flats with finesse jigs.

When they do that at this time of year try using a wake bait! We have the same thing going on, the smallmouth are really smacking buzzbaits but they don't eat them, it is more like they are just trying to kill it but when you use the wake bait they eat it and I'm not sure why but it has been working.