smalljaw67

For me a faster action is better just because the square bill is being fished in cover but it doesn't mean it can't work. I just got a cranking rod a little while back, it is a 6'6" ML-M and I got it for smaller cranks and square bills for river smallmouth and the river I fish produces smallmouth over 5lbs. You medium power, moderate rod will work but you aren't going to rip baits out of grass or bang them through cover with that rod, for the bigger baits of 1/2oz and up I use a 6'10" MH-MF that allows me to bang the baits in cover and rip free from grass. So it is going to depend on how and where you are throwing them and what size baits you are going to use.

My last 2 trips revealed that the river smallmouth I fish for are going into fall transition, they won't hit a spinnerbait or topwater but we found them very much eating shallow cranks but last week that stopped as well. Anyway, I noticed that we were getting the fish on Sub Warts and Baby 1 Minus baits in the shallow water before a ledge, the water drops off into 3' of water instantly and then the rushing water slows as the bottom tapers into a 5' pool. Well naturally we fished the pools with jigs and plastics and not a single bite so I decided to probe the drop off, if fish are eating they will go there as food gets trapped in the rolling action of the water going over the ledge. I didn't have a bait that got to 3' but I did have a few Manns Baby X baits which on 10lb line hits 2', maybe a few inches more if you burn it but I gave it a shot and it was then that I remembered why I got these 2 years prior. I made a dozen casts into the rolling water below the ledge and pulled out 7 smallmouth, afterward I came home and ordered a few more as no local shops, including Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops carries them and that is why I made this post. Why doesn't this bait get any attention? It isn't glamorous and it cost a lot less that the Spro Baby Fat John 50 but it is incredibly effective, I know the lip looks kind of crude but it makes the bait bounce wildly off of rock and that there is a major point. The only drawback I can see is the lip angle causes it to trip over rock but it runs only slightly nose down and it leaves the hooks exposed to grab on brush so to me it is only a rock bait. That said, it is a killer on rip rap, the original reason I got it as my Bomber Square A baits and Xcalibur XCS square bills run a little too deep for a specific body of water I fish but it was the first time I used it for river smallmouth and I could not be happier, gray ghost and bluegill work in both stained and clear water. These are made in America and are fairly inexpensive, they can be had for five bucks and some change and are well worth it, so if you need something that runs in the 2' to 2,5' depth check them out, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I haven't used that technique because the main time I use the hair jig is in cold water and I'm normally crawling them over rocks. I do swim them in warm water as long as iot is clear, I actually make a buck tail and feather swim jig and I use it without a trailer when the fish are responding to the normal swim jig or soft plastic. I swim it close to the bottom and when I hit a rock or piece of wood and give it a quick rip forward and that is when a lot of strike occur so I can see your grass ripping technique working well.

Abu Garcia has a moderate fast Vengence for $50, it is a 7' medium power with a mod-fast action so it should be a decent cranking rod.

I try to keep an open mind and do find myself reaching for the hard baits first but I always have a plastic rigged and a jig rigged because I had a lot of days when hard bait should have been the deal but jigs and worms turned out to dominate. One of the first things I reach for right now is a wake bait, and a buzzbait, some absolute pigs are going to come on one or the other.

I'll echo what everyone else said, the bait doesn't glide but if you know how to walk the dog and can do it fast in short spurts, you'll love it as it looks like a baitfish struggling to get moving and the time is here for that bait.

I cycle through them, like everyone got on the Sammy when they came out and so did I and the same thing with the Rico and Yellow Magic poppers. The new baits that work great eventually turn into classics themselves but when everyone was throwing the new stuff I would go back to the spook or the pop'r and end up getting bit as the fish have been conditioned to the new style baits. There are a few old lures that never take a back seat to newer versions, like the Rapala Shad Rap is my main cold water crankbait, and the Manns Baby 1 Minus is my number 1 river smallmouth crankbait.

I try not to talk too much about them and just refer to them as a Sammy but they have a place in my box. I own 1 Sammy and 11 of the Cabelas walking dogs, now I'm not saying the Cabelas version is better, it isn't because you need to change the hooks out on them and while the finishes are nice, they aren't on the same level as a LC. I will say that they catch fish at a good rate, I had my Sammy and my buddy bought the Cabelas version when they first came out, we fished side by side and his baits were getting bit as much as my Sammy was. We had a good topwater bite that day and I caught 14 bass with the biggest being a 4lb 7oz. smallmouth, my buddy caught 17 with a 3lb 11oz smallmouth being his biggest with the average fish going about 16". I went and and got the Cabels version in the big and small sizes and I've been really happy with them, they do catch fish very well and you can't beat the price.

Topwater and jerkbaits are on different setups for me but the larger jerkbaits are fished on 12lb Silver Thread AN40, Topwaters are fished on 15lb Big Game.

The original spooks don't have a split ring anywhere but the super spook and the super spook jr. have split rings on the hooks as well as the line tie. I've purchased 4 of the Jr. mmodels at Cabelas and everyone had a split ring on the line tie, and I purchased 7 of the regular super spook size from Bass Pro Shops and everyone of those had a split ring on the line tie. The Cabelas purchase I made 2 years ago and the Bass Po was last year, I use these a lot and have most colors and I have yet to buy one without a split ring on the line tie.

That rod is a niche rod, and if you have the need for a small crankbait rod it would be worth picking it up. I have a Fenwick Aetos 6'6" ML-M casting rod that is about the same power as that Bucoo. It is rated to 1/2oz but the sweet spot is 3/8oz, I use mine for Manns, Baby 1 minus cranks, Storm Sub Warts, and size 8 Rapala Flat Raps, I use these baits enough that it was worth getting the rod but the Fenwick is a little more expensive. I'd say if you use shallow diving cranks like DT-6 and DT-4 baits a good bit then grab it and it will work great for that type of stuff.

The super spook and super spook jr. don't need a loop knot as they are equipped with a split ring which allows the lure a free range of motion. The super spook isn't the original but it is an upgraded version and walks fine, as already mentioned it take practice to get the cadence down but once you do it becomes second nature. Remember to have a little slack in your line while twitching, it is called "controlled slack" because you reel as you twitch not to eliminate the slack but to keep the same amount. It sounds hard than it actually is but you'll notice that when you leave a little slack the lure will glide to the side easily, if you twitch on a tight line all you will do is pull the lure forward. Take your time and go slow and you'll get it and you may also get a big fish as they will often come up on a spook that is worked slow.

Happy B-Day man and I'll echo everyone here, you got a great wife!!!!!!! BTW, is that you Boomerang clippers or did she get you that too?

Be careful when changing the hooks on a topwater bait, especially a spook. I normally use Mustad triple grips but on a Spook I like the VMC 1X round bend, a Gamakatsu round bend, and the Daiichi Death Trap round bend. The reason why is the way a fish hits the spook, the EWG style has the point facing in and the good thing is once you hook up they hold extremely well but you will miss a lot because of the points facing in and because the spook is a big wide bait you will often pull back and the hooks come right out without ever sticking the fish. Round bends on the other hand seem to stick every time but they don't hold as well on lightly hooked fish but you will get more hook ups. I love the Owner Stinger hooks but I found that you have to go with the ST-36 for topwaters and jerkbaits as the other hooks in the series add too much weight and it changes the action.

That is actually a decent rod, they have alconite guides and the blank is 30 ton which is the same as a Vendetta but they feel lighter and it probably due to the guides but it is a good rod and reel set up you have. Here is what I would use with 8lb line and that set up: Flukes both regular and Jr. sizes, 3",4", and 5" Senkos, and just about any other 4.5" to 7" worm T-rigged with a 1/8oz to 1/4oz bullet weight but 3/16oz is the magic size. Basically look up finesse tactics for bass and you'll be fine but the nice thing is you'll be able to use that rod for all around fishing like using bait for crappie and perch, it is a little bit big for those species but it isn't over kill so it will be fine. You can do anything you want with it as long as you stay within the parameters of the rod rating, good luck and have fun.

The problem you had was with certain reels but I was told by Fenwick directly that the reel seat on the new Elite Tech Bass has been fixed to accommodate reels with a longer foot. They addressed the length of the rear grip also by making it longer. I was also told that the new series will have a similar feel to the smallmouth series but should be even more responsive due to a the same blanks only made with graphite of a higher modulus.

10lb line with a M-F spinning rod I'd say go with the Zara Puppy.

I'm assuming it is a casting rod so that is what I'm talking about. The MH-F will serve the purpose very well and as mentioned, it will be versatile also but it really comes down to line. I use a MH-XF for pitching worms and jigs and I love it as it takes little effort for the rod to load and it lets me pitch with pin point accuracy but I'm not using braid, if you use braid then you will want the fast or even a moderate fast as you need a little extra give to compensate for the no stretch line. If you are using braid or may go to braid then the fast is going to be the rod.

This is very good advise. You may have tried other baits and you can't get bit because you either fished them at a time what you were using wasn't right or it may have been location but one thing for sure, you lacked confidence in what you were doing. There are tons of other baits you can use and dozens upon dozens of other techniques you can use but you must gain confidence. So, what I would suggest is you upsize the grubs first, if you upsize the grubs you will probably get fewer bites but keep track of the size and then the very next thing to try is a Senko, it does catch all kinds of fish, to me it is the closest thing to fishing live bait.

It sounds like you are fishing around schools of bluegill which are notorious for that but it hasn't been that big of a problem. The thing is you need to be careful with how long you let the fish have it, if it is a bass it can end up swallowing it. The best way is if you know they are gills then lift the bait up with a slow steady lifting of the rod from the 3 0'clock position to the noon position, the small fish either let go or if it is a bass it may run or pull with it but it is very hard not to set the hook if you don't know what you are getting bitby.

There is a lot to go over here but I will try to help. The worms can be fished just anytime but summer is when worm fishing gets good and they can be rigged Texas style with or without a weight or on a shaky head. The small blue jigs you have, well the one with the wire weed guard is for putting inside a tube, just search you tube with the phrase " rigging a tube with weedless jig head. The small round ball with the barb can be used to fish grubs or other soft plastics but the end ones, well the one is a round head with no collar, they are often called steel head jigs when used with a heavy hook and are meant to be tied with marabou, you can use it for soft plastics but you will also need some super glue to hold it on as there isn't a barb to help with that. The other end is a shad dart, these are meant to have a dressing tied on like hacle feathers but the small sizes are often used with trout magnets, these are used in bass fishing too much. Swivels like the one pictured are often used for in-line spinners as they tend to twist line, spinning gear is very susceptible to line twist but I can't tell you if it will help you or not because you have to use the right size swivel for the lure type and line type, for example you aren't going to use a size 10 or 12 swivel with 17lb line and while they can help with line twist on a spinning rod they really don't help me with casting gear, I prefer to either tie direct of use a duo-lock snap. The Castaic baits look to be soft plastic jerkbaits, you can fish these on a scrounger head, a plain jig head, nose hooked, or Texas rigged weightless, there are just a lot of ways to use it, look that bait up on you tube and see if there is a video of them being used. The same deal for the lizard, fish it on a Carolina rig or Texas rigged and either drag it, crawl it, hop it or swim it, no real wrong way to fish it. I hope this will help but it is a lot of questions at one time.

As others have said, heavy cover is a no-no but if you aren't fishing in heavy cover and you are getting muck a lot then you need to downsize the weight. I fish a silt basin and the only hard bottom is the areas where the 2 creeks flow into it and the rest of the creek channel but every other area has muck on bottom. I have a lot of success all summer there fishing shaky heads but anything over 1/8oz outside of the creek channels is going to get buried in muck so try using smaller heads not exceeding 3/16oz and down as low as 1/16oz with 1/8oz being the most common.

This^^^^^ . Junebug is like black in that it works in all types of water clarity but I like to use it in slightly stained water, something about the look of that dark purple and green flake in stained water that the fish can't stand!! I just had an awesome day last week using a River Rock 5" Jointed Jerkbait in Junebug, the water had a little color to it but still was 3' visibility and it was the only color soft jerkbait that would get bit.

Flipping and pitching jigs I like a 50-55 strands and the same deal for larger football jigs. I make a few different kind of finesse jigs like an Eakins style that I like 35-42 strands and then a smaller finesse jig which I like 10 and no more than 22.

The 7'1" Spinnerbait rod would be the most versatile and I'll tell you why I say that. I go to Cabelas quite often and I have had the chance to examine these pretty close and here is my take. The line and lure ratings are done the lazy way, notice how the medium crank has the same lure rating as the medium heavy rod? My guess would be the spinnerbait rod should have a lure rating of 1/4-3/4 and it is a fast action with a nice tip, not overly stiff. The frog rod is a frog rod, it is longer and it is a heavy power rod, you can use it for other techniques but it feels way to heavy to fish a Texas rig with a 7" worm and 3/16oz weight or even a weightless senko unless it is of the larger variety. The spinnerbait rod is going to cast those 1/4oz to 3/8oz weights a lot better than the frog rod, this is my take from an overall stand point, I believe some the 7'3" length to be better but that rod is too heavy for smaller 1/4oz set ups.