smalljaw67

I'm the exact opposite, the titanium inserts on the guides on the Aetos rods I feel make for a smoother cast, I can pitch better with that rod than any other but I don't use braid. Kistler lost me a long time ago and a guy in our bass club has one and I still don't know what is so special, the build is nice and clean and the weight is average, not really light but far from heavy but if you like the ECS reel seat then it will make a huge difference and the ECS is the least favorite, I loved the ACS and the new SK2 is even better but the ECS has that big trigger and it just makes for sore, swollen hands after the trigger is rolling between my fingers all day. I think that reel seat comfort is a bit thing with sensitivity, if you are fighting pain of discomfort then you aren't focused enough to pick up light bites even on a $500 dollar rod , one the things with the Elite Tech Smallmouth rods is that reel seat is so comfortable I can fish it all day.

I'd go with a Fenwick Aetos myself, I have a 7'2" MH-XF casting that is my new pitching rod and I really, really find it hard to believe what I paid for it every time I fish with it, big power but sensitivity in spades, even with a 5/16oz Eakins style jig I can distinguish rock from wood and I can tell whether I'm in soft bottom muck or grass and I don't use braid on it.

The videos are impressive without a doubt and you see how well the cam action rights the hook all the time but you are forgetting something important, the bass inhales the jig along with water so even if a jig is upright it may fall to the side during this time. I've hooked 95% of the fish I caught with a jig in the roof of the mouth too, in fact I use a wedge head that doesn't come close to standing up and I use it as my flipping jig because most of the bites on a jig are going to come as the jig is falling or as you move it and as I said, when it inhales it the fish will clamp down to expel excess water out the gills and very seldom do I hook a fish in the lower jaw or corner of the mouth, that happens most of the time when you are swimming it or reeling it back for another pitch or cast and the fish swipes at it from an odd angle. If I make a jig, any jig and add a heavy weed guard, I can walk it out of cover like is done on the video, most of how we get snagged up with a jig is when you come over a limb and hit another and it feels like a bite and we set the hook and drive the hook into the wood, that is most of the time. I think the *** jigs look great and I think it will perform but it won't have any better or any worse hook up rate than any other jig with a heavy weed guard, in fact those who miss fish with a heavy fiber guard are going to miss fish with that jig as well because those rubber strands are hard and stiff and some bass will spit it just as quick as they do other jigs and we all have had it happen otherwise there wouldn't be threads on whether you trim your weed guards and how to do it. Here is an experiment, take a normal flipping style jig other than a *** and fire it into some heavy cover and then walk it out while not worrying about getting bit, just focus on walking the jig out of the cover and I think you'll find if you do that, you'll find that you standard heavy cover jig works good in heavy cover just like the ***.

The TAC material they use in the reel seat holds very well and there is a metal insert inside that is covered by the material to hide it and while it doesn't happen much, some reels with a long foot may leave a small gap when tightened all the way down but some anglers insist on continuing to turn the locking section until the gap is gone and by doing that they end up stripping the TAC material away from the metal insert. It isn't something that happens the first time you do it, I found it is from doing it repeatedly, I'm also not sure which reels had this but I've had Daiwa reels, Abu Garcia, Quantum, Lews, and an Okuma on my rods and haven't had any problems but the rods have a lifetime warranty and if it did happen the customer service is very good to deal with.

I love my Fenwick rods, when the Elite Tech Smallmouth rods were released I got a 6'9" M-XF spinning rod and I could not believe how inexpensive they were and after fishing with it I was really happy, my neighbor, who happens to love St. Croix sold one of his Avids and bought tow of these after using mine. Since then I got a few more, but for jerkbaits and topwaters it really depends on what size baits you want to use on a regular basis, I know guys that only use like Pointer 78s and similar sized topwaters. I use 1/4oz to 3/4oz jerkbaits and topwaters but 95% of my jerkbaits are 3/8oz and larger and for me the 6'10" MH-MF is fantastic, it is the most versatile reaction bait rod I ever used, I have one as a dedicated jerkbait rod and one for square bills and lipless cranks as well as top waters, probably the best zara spook rod you could ever want. That said, the 6'9" M-XF casting rod has a shorter handle which is great for those who keep their arms closer to their body, and the tip is perfect with enough forgiveness that you shouldn't lose fish on the battle. The 6'3" M-MF casting rod is something you have to try, I got to fish it as my friend got one for his jerkbait setup and if you like using the pointer 78s and similar size baits then that is the rod you want, it handles the 1/2oz jerkbaits just fine but for my taste is is a little too soft but the little 1/4oz and 3/8oz baits it is a dream and light, it is barely 3 ounces, I still may end up getting this rod for DT-4's and 6's and 1/4oz cotton cordell super spots. The 6'9" MH-F casting rod too me is too stout for jerkbaits, to me that is the perfect spinnerbait rod but it has more than enough sensitivity to fish jigs and worms and it has a slightly longer handle than the medium power which is better for blades anyway. The 6'10" M-F is another I'd say you can do well with fishing a jerkbait or topwater but this one will let you sling a pointer 65 or 78 a long ways and while it is rated to 5/8oz it handles 1/2oz baits with authority but the tip is a little light, to me this is a finesse casting rod, I use my 6'9" M-XF spinning rod for shaky heads and drop shots along with light jigs but if I was going to use a casting rod it would be the 6'10" M-F casting, it has more than enough sensitivity to fish those techniques with no problems. Well that is all I have, I hope I was able to help you out some.

I only use mono with jerkbaits, I like to have a little stretch with the treble hooks and fluorocarbon is dense and sinks which can have a negative affect on the bait.

Yeah, the early 80s there was the Cordell rods and that was a common length, that rod will be good for and shallow to mid depth cranks or spinnerbaits in open water. That was a time when a 6'6" rod was considered long and most 7' rods were of the salmon and steelhead variety,

I like to fan my weedguards out as well, it is one of the reasons I prefer fiber guards over wire and I trim on an angle so that the top of the trim is even with the barb when pushed down.

The Mad Man Mooneyham craw, it was an awesome bait for river smallies but Yum came out with the craw bug and they look very close with the Mad Man having a tad more detail but the Yum version worked just as well so they weren't missed but they did produce.

This is very true those little hooks hold but they aren't designed to be used with 10 or 12lb braid, 8lb mono and a good drag will keep from bending the hooks out. Other baits I do really well on is the shallow model floating Rattlin' Rogue, ARB 1200 series, those are wicked in summer over weed beds in clear water. Another I really like since it came out is the Rapala Flat Rap in the 8 and 10 size, these are subtle and will draw strikes from pressured fish but they respond well to angler input and when fished aggressively will give off a lot of flash and dart hard from side to side. The last one that I just started using the last 2 seasons but is quickly becoming a favorite is the Bagley Bang-O-Lure, they have such a wide kick to them and the larger one is a big fish killer, in fact the average size fish I get on those is bigger than on all the others, the size and action seem to draw larger strikes and I now use it when I am trying to get bigger bites.

This advise is spot on! You couldn't be more opposite than that, and I would think if you want 1 rod to do both you have to get pitching out of the mix because the action needed to pitch a jig really well with accuracy and distance is going to really hurt with cranks. The solution is 2 setups but if it is out of range then you have to compromise by either limiting the size of jigs you use or just using mono and low drag setting along with dealing losing a lot of fish on the cranks. You have the option to use smaller jigs, 3/8oz and under, so you can get a medium power rod with a fast action, it gives you enough backbone and stiffness for jigs but lighter line and lighters jigs yet has enough forgiveness for shallow to mid depth cranks. While a medium power is rated to maybe 5/8oz in weight, you need to limit the jig size because the rod won't have enough backbone to drive the hook on a 1/2oz jig through the mouth of the fish consistently, especially since you will need to fish mono with around 14# test being the heaviest you will use. I would get a rod for one or the other, which ever you do more of and then save for another set up, that would be the best thing to do.

I'm going against everyone and say the spinnerbait and for a bunch of reasons. The first reason is the spinnerbait, like the jig, is very versatile, it can be slow rolled on the bottom, burned right below the surface, and everywhere in between. The other thing is you said you don't get out enough to learn both baits in one season, that there is the biggest reason because you can cover more water with a spinnerbait, and I know you can swim a jig but swimming a jig is just a spinnerbait without a blade, learn the spinnerbait and you can fish the swim jig. By covering water with the spinnerbait you'll quickly learn to identify high percentage areas which will be near some sort of cover and after a few fish you'll get more confidence so you can try other techniques like slow rolling but in the beginning you just have to focus on catching a fish. There are days when they won't hit it but I've had many more days when I could get them on a spinnerbait when they wouldn't sniff a traditional bass jig and that brings me to my last point. You can use a 3/8oz tandem spinnerbait in white and chartreuse and it will work everywhere, tandem means there is a willow leaf blade on the top and a smaller Colorado blade on the bottom, that will work anytime fish will hit a spinnerbait where as a jig, well sometimes they won't touch anything over 3/16oz and other times you need a 1/2oz bait to get bit and just the fact that jigs are easy to fish but remain one of the hardest to learn, I would think the spinnerbait will leave you a lot less frustrated and you'll also pick it up quickly once you catch 2 or 3 fish on it. That is how I look at it, and because you can learn the spinnerbait basics rather quickly, it will lead to more time devoted to learning the jig.

Koppers makes a good bait and the finishes are quality so you didn't waste your money. I'll tell you, I felt the same way when they came out with the shallow diving bluegill crank, I got the matte finish and I was wondering if I got sucked in falling for the nice looking lure but it is a flat side with a decent size lip for a shallow diver and I found out why. That bluegill crank is a killer when the bluegill begin to spawn, the thing even swims like a bluegill so the action is there, and I'll bet the bait ball have a good action to it so you paid for a quality crank instead of a gimmick.

I've become a big Fenwick fan but I like all kinds of rods and while the Saavy isn't a bad rod I feel it is over priced for what you are getting. The price would be spot on if that rod was made in the U.S. but the fact it is made overseas and the quality you are getting would make the rod right around the $100 dollar mark, and if I had to give an honest comparison I would say the Saavy is the same as the St. Croix Triumph, the Premier is actually better. Like I said, I'd expect the Saavy to carry a $150 price tag if it was made in the U.S. but not overseas and there are a lot of rods that cost less and are way above this line. The Fenwick Aetos can be had for $140 shipped, and not only will it work for moving baits but the sensitivity is there in spades so it could easily become a bottom contact rod if needed but we all have preferences. I'm not bashing Dobyns either, I happen to also be a Loomis fan and the GL2 is in the same category as the Saavy, over priced and not really a great rod, in this line you are paying more for the name than the rod and I really wanted to like the GL2 since the new handles feel great but not when it has lesser components and is heavier than my $80 dollar Vendetta.

It depends on your definition of cold, but the coldest water I ever used them in with success was 58 degrees. It was a cold and wet spring morning as a rain shower went through during the first hour of fishing and the spinnerbait bite we were on stopped as the rain did. We tried the spinnerbait for about half an hour after but no takers so my buddy tossed the old chatterbait and it worked but it seemed if we ripped them off the bottom was when they worked really well, not so much with a straight retrieve, so I guess it would be ok if fished the right way but I think if it was 55 degrees or lower there are better options.

My BPS has right on the program sign that Shimano is excluded from the reel trade in program, and it has been that way every year.

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If you are getting overruns, aka backlashes, look for kinks, fluorocarbon gets weak very easily which is why a palomar knot ends up breaking. If you tie a palomar knot slowly and carefully it is the best knot to use with fluorocarbon in my opinion but the other properties it has makes me hate it to the point I don't use it anymore. I stick with braid and a good copolymer monofilament,

They have been jerkbaits for a long time now, I'm not exactly sure who started calling them that but even in the early 80s when I started fishing for bass more than other forms of fishing, they were called "stick baits" or Jerkbaits" and "minnow plugs". I guess it was when the Senko came out and became wide spread and a household name that the term "jerkbait" became more prevalent as the term "stickbait" was now being applied to the senkos. It all depends on who you talk to but some pros still call them minnows, and others still use the stickbait term, but jerkbait is now more widely used than it was before but I can't remember when they weren't a jerkbait.

Forgive me if this has been covered but I did a quick search and couldn't find anything. I was just watching some Megabass fishing videos and clicked on one done by Randy Blaukat and so after the video I look and see other suggested videos and see one with him for Luck-E-Strike so I clicked on it and in a few seconds I was really confused and could find no answers. It appears he did a video in 2012 for the RC STX jerkbait, the Megabass 110 copy and I was just watching him use the 110 and saw a picture of him with a big fish caught on a 110+1, what is the situation with this???? Again I apologize for being late to the party if this was discussed because I didn't hear of it before and only came across it by accident so if anyone knows the deal I'd appreciate if you could let me know as it is very confusing.

The lowest Shimano would be a Citica, everything below that has a graphite frame, and I know you have an aversion to paying $200 for a reel but it actually is cheap in the long run because a reel in that range will outlast several cheaper reels. I think you should look for a sale but try to get something that was in the $100 to $150 range, these reels will last and with a little maintenance you could use the same reel for 10 years, most entry level reels give you about a season or two at the most unless you only use it once a month. That said, if you check out a lot of places it is possible to find a deal on a good real that will be within your price range but get the best you can afford, it will perform better and last longer.

I'd recommend saving your money and get something in the $100 dollar range like a Lews Speed Spool, or add a few dollars more for an Abu Garcia Revo S. You could wait until the sprig classic at BPS and grab a pro qualifier but the reels you are looking at aren't going to last very long if you use them hard. I always look for a reel that has an aluminum frame, graphite side plates are ok but the frame needs to be aluminum.

The bad part is that rod is probably made for carp fishing...LOL!!!!!!! It does look like it is well made but I doubt it would go over too good here, look at the new St. Croix Legend Extreme, I see a lot of anglers that hate the look of it, I wonder how this one would go over, it would be interesting to see the response.

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I've been making my own spinnerbaits for a long time and while it doesn't look like much there is a lot to know. You have to be aware of wire diameters if you plan on pouring your own as I do, I like to bend my own wire so I know what I'm using as some companies will use cheap wire to make wire forms for max profit. The blade and hardware sizes can be found at a number of places, and to read them is easy, for example, you will see the top blade and normally they will give you the top blade size for a willow and a Colorado, the number you see, #2, #3,etc. is the size blade. For a 1/2oz spinnerbait, the general blade sizes would be like a #5 willow on the top and a #3 Colorado on the bottom, if it is double willows then you would see a #4 willow instead of the #3 Colorado. The clevis size depends on the wire diameter, but a size #3 takes care of 90% of the baits you make, I use a size #2 clevis on baits that use .035 diameter wire or less, but if it is a bait that uses a #3 Colorado or a #4 willow then wire diameter doesn't matter, I'm using the size #3 clevis. It isn't hard once you understand how all the components work and you get used to seeing the different blade sizes but there is one word of advise I'd like to share, and that is to use good quality ball bearing swivels on your baits, there are only 2 that I would use, and that is either Sampo or my personal favorite, Worth. The other thing is the blades themselves, I use only Worth blades but when buying from most vendors they will usually have some from Worth, and some from Lakeland, mixing them will make your baits inconsistent because the size is slightly off where a size #5 Worth is a #4.5 Lakeland, but the vendors have them separated by finish so if you stick to one finish until you learn the differences then you can't go wrong. I'd be glad to help you in any other way but be warned, it is expensive, most if it is in the form of blades and swivels and skirt material. EDIT: If you plan on just making a few for yourself and some friends, then you may want to buy a kit because to get started will set you back quite a sum, I pour my own and I get a price break when I get components in bulk but it still cost $2.00 per bait if you use a high quality swivel and blades, if you don't buy in bulk and use high quality stuff it can run even higher so if you don't want to do this as a full time hobby then I suggest just buying them already made.