smalljaw67

The Terminator Thumper is a new design of the old short arm model, back then Terminator was owned by Outdoor Innovations LLC which in 2005 or 2006 was purchased by the Normark group which includes Rapala. Terminator is still popular but it has declined as most who have used them have suffered the dreded blade and swivel loss from unclosed loops that you quickly find out that you can't fix due to the snap back properties of titanium. That was one reason but the advent of super stainless wire that allowed manufacturers to make a spinnerbait with a lot of vibration while still being somewhat durable at an affordable price really put a dent in Terminator spinnerbaits. The night time spinnerbait you want is the new short arm thumper and while it doesn't say that it is just a redesign of the old model and truth be told, any bait with a sigle thumper blade can work well at night like the Booyah Moon Talker or the Zorro Aggravator.

Light jigs, shaky heads, small flukes and just about and light or finesse presentations that use are using less than 1/4oz in weight. I use casting for just about everything except finesse, for me the spinning rod really can't be beat unless you have the money for a really nice finesse casting set up. I caught some nice largemouth in January and if it wasn't for spinning I would have never got a bite as I had to use a 1/16oz shaky head with a 4.5" straight tail finesse worm, no way I would have been able to cast and fish that set up effectively with a casting set up so yeah, there is a lot you can do with the spinning set up!

It isn't a bad rod but for 430-$40 dollars more you could have got a GL3 which is head and shoulder above the GL2. I was going to get one after the redesign but looking at a price tag of $200 with standard aluminum oxide guides and a blank that is heavier than just about every other rod in its price range made me pass. The thing of it is though if you like itand it helps you fish then it is more than worth it and one thing I can say is the handle has to be one of the most comfortable handles I put my hands on and that alone would make it worth it if you value comfort along with performance.

As Cadman has stated, if you want a flat eye hook the Mustad 38109 is the way to go, if you want a regular vertical eye hook, well the Eagle Claw L111BP is what you want. Before you dismiss the Eagle Claw hook, this one is the new Laser Sharp Black Platinum series, these are really stout and super sharp and it is a fantastic EWG hook, one of the best I used.

This is my favorite bait, I really liked it to the point that 15 years ago I began making my own and I experimented a lot and by doing that I found some things out but to begin to catch fish the easiest way is to start with the shallow version. Pick a 3/8oz spinnerbait, that is great advise you got as this size is easy to cast, and it catches all kind of fish since it is small enough that it doesn't chase away smaller fish yet big enough to draw big strikes. I recommend a white or chartreuse and white model with either double willows or tandem which is a large willow and a small colorado blade, take that bait and cast it to areas that have some cover like lay downs or dead falls and retrieve it at a moderate pace. When you get bit you will either get hit it is usually violent but every now and again you will just feel the blades not spinning, if that happens set the hook but more importantly just keep using it until you start to catch fish because you need to have confidence in it for it to work for you and to get confidence you need to catch fish with it.

Oh yes you have...LOL!! I noticed you really like the KLX rods, I only owned 1 Kistler and I didn't like it but the blank being used on the KLX along with the price has me looking.

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth casting rod, 6'10" MH-MF , this is THE best reaction bait rod I ever used!! The length is perfect, long enough to get good casting distance but still have a high degree of accuracy. The rod has a fast tip, perfect for working a jerkbait aggressively or ripping a trap off of weeds or burning a square bill around cover and it has the backbone to drive home a spinnerbait,chatterbait, or buzzbait hook and still have enough flex to keep fish pinned when hooked on small trebles, this rod was well thought out!!

Smithwick floating rogue, look for the ARB 1200 series, spinnerbaits, in-line spinners, and fluke type baits. Those I mentioned will keep you on fish and if the bite slows down tubes and jigs are great but if you aren't use to reading the river flow you will get snagged a lot. Don't throw a tube or jig into fast water or shallow riffles, that is asking to be snagged, if the bite slows and you need to present a lure on the bottom that is slow moving, then use as light of a weight as you can, 1/8oz is a good starting point, you use those types of lures in slck or slow moving water, most of the time when the fish are neutral or negative they will move to slow moving or slack water. Good luck.

What you are refering to is probably the Fenwick elite Tech Smallmouth rods. They are called smallmouth rods because of marketing and also it indicates what the actions and powers you will see in the series. For instance, you don't see flipping and pitching much for smallmouth so there isn't any longer heavy powered rods, instead there is a mix of moderate fast, fast, and extra fast actions in powers of medium light, medium, and medium heavy and the handles are slighlty shorter and only one spinning rod is 7'4", the rest of the series is 6'10" and under. If you talk to river smallmouth anglers most use shorter rods with lighter line, even the braid is usually less than 30# in most situations. You can use the rod for anything really, the marketing is just a thing to say that the series was made with powers, tapers, and lengths that smallmouth anglers prefer.

The one thing that is very important when using moderate rods for cranks is to make sure the hooks are sharp, this is the one problem with soft action rods but to tell you the truth once you get used to it you'll miss far fewer fish. I know it sounds strange but it is actually good that the fish are spitting it, it means the rod is doing its job and by that I mean it isn't pulling the hooks out like a fast action rod would. Sharp hooks will really help and you can go with braid and a leader or you can go up a size in the line you are using, you made a wise decision and once you figure out how to get the hooks home you'll begin to like the moderate rod.

A quick rip, sometimes you only have to rip it 6" or so and sometimes a full 2', it really is an experiment but I never caught any fish on the Rattlin Rap until I started doing that. I like having a variety of lipless baits and I only had 1 Rattlin rap until I my friend showed me the sideways rip now I own a dozen in 2 different sizes and 4 different colors.

The rattlin rap was one lipless crank I was never a fan of until my friend, who loves them, showed me a trick to using them. Unlike most lipless cranks in which a standard straight retrieve or a yo-yo type retrieve will work the rattlin rap seems to do really well when sweep your rod to the side rather than up like you do when you use the yo-yo retrieve. My friend tells me it is the shape of the bait that makes it killer when you pull it forward like that and I watched him kick my butt using a rattlin rap when I was using an Aruku shad, he would start reeling and then rip the rod sideways and reel up the slack and do it again and then before he would do it the third time he would be setting the hook, it was like clock work and ever since that I really like the rattlin rap.

I have a 6'6" MH-F that I use for making short roll casts to cover, and I use a 6'9" spinning rod for finesse jigs and I have a 6'10" H-F that I use to pitch flipping jigs with. Some of the places I fish are too far to flip and pitching with a long rod is harder and the 6'10" H is awesome for this, it is a good rod for dragging heavy football heads also.

A comact spinnerbait is completely different from a short arm bait so make sure what ever you choose it will be what you want. The short arm spinnerbaits don't retrieve really well straight on, they are designed as a drop bait to fish bluff banks and drop offs, I make them for a few guys that use them on Dale Hollow and what you do is make a cast and just let it fall to the bottom and then you yo-yo it back, the blade spins really well on the fall due to the arm being short. A compact spinnerbait is simply any size spinnerbait made on a smaller frame, you see a lot of "hidden weight" spinnerbaits on the market because this makes for a compact design but they tend to get thrown by fish a lot more than normal designs as a larger area of the hook shank is coverd by lead so guys that really like to use trailers on spinnerbaits don't like them too much. The same for guys like KVD who like to drop the bait and then pick it back up and do different things with it stay away from hidden weigh baits as they tend to drop almost horizontally rather than nose down. The Damiki Gladiator is what I would choose if I was going to buy a compact frame spinnerbait.

What is happening is you have the right action but there is something that make the fish turn instead of commiting, this happens a lot with jerkbaits and crakbaits also, you know it when you get fish following but not hitting it. 2 baits to have with you are a Zara Puppy and a Super Spook Jr., any color that has a white bottom or close to what you are getting the fish to come up on. I say to use those as the sammy and the gunfish both throw water which makes for a different, more pronounced sound but the Zara puppy is a silent subtle presentation with a small profile to entice the spooky fish and the spook jr. will give them a bit larger profile with a subtle sound if the puppy turns out to be too small that the fish loose interest.

I'm with everyone else, 6'6" - 7' MH-F, 6'6" used to be the all purpose length but more and more, including myself, have been using longer rods to the point that 7' is the norm now. That 6'6" to 7' medium heavy, fast action rod will do spinnerbaits, jigs, texas rigs both weighted and weighless, and buzzbaits really well, the catch is anything that has a treble hook will not work too well. Yes, you can fish topwater poppers and walking baits as well as fishing cranks with a medium heavy fast action rod but you are going to miss a lot of fish and certain baits the action will suffer and to get one that will work for all you would have to go medium power with a fast action and then you really limit the weight range of the lures you can throw. If you really need to budget, get the medium heavy fast action for everything else and pick up a cheap ugly stick for cranks and treble hook baits, it isn't the best but the action is soft and will make fighting a fish hooked on a treble hook much easier and you'll land a lot more you hook versus the all purpose fast action rod.

For $250 you can get a nice set up but there is one problem, you are discovering jigs and you want to fish crankbaits, that calls for 2 rods as jigs are at the opposite end in action for what you need to fish a crankbait. The best you will do to get close is to find a medium power fast action rod, it will be forgiving enough to fish cranks but still enough backbone for small jigs and texas rigs, and that is the problem, you will be limited in what you can throw weight wise with the medium. The other problem is you aren't going to get a medium Veritas that is forgiving enough for cranks, you will have to get the winch which is designed for cranks and not jigs and before others beat me up, I like abu garcia rods, I got a vendetta when they first came out and I really like it, and that being said the medium power in the "V" seris rods is too fast of an action for cranks.

The old accurist is on sale at TW for 80 bucks, it is a no frills reel and it is far from the smoothest reel but it will last a long time. That said, try to wait and save up a little more money and get a casting reel around the $100 dollar mark. The reason is most of the 50 and 60 dollar reels are made with a graphite frame which will flex and the gears will then be out of alignment and it is something that can't be fixed plus the parts are all substandard which is why the price is so low. I hate to tell you that and there always is an exception but in my 30+ years of bass fishing I found that most of the reels in this catagory will make a season perhaps 2 if you don't go much. 1 thing is true when it comes to fishing tackle, and that is you usually get what you pay for so in the future use what you have and save you nickels until you can afford a better reel, you'll be much happier in the long run.

The best advise I could give you is to add up what you think you will use in a year and then figure out the cost to make the same amount you lose. For example, if you loose 20 jigs a year and you are paying $3.00 per jig, well you know that is $60.00 so buy getting the same amount of heads unpainted, powder paint, and skirt material along with bands and a tool or wire if you want to tie, well it will be close but you may want to wait until you have some money put away to buy in bulk so you save over the long run. The other thing is if you want to do this to make a jig with a better hook and it colors you can't find then it is well worth it but if you are happy with what you are buying then stick to it because if you get into pouring it is going to cost a minimum of $200.00 just to get started and that figure is by cutting corners. If you need to get cheap hooks to pour your own, well it isn't worth it, if you want to buy 10 heads already painted and then get skirt material to tie, well try that first and see if you like doing it. Good luck on your decision.

What price range can you afford? The lews speed spool is a great reel but not the laser speed spool for $80, the reason is the graphite frame spend a little more and you'll have a reel that will last awhile. Tackle Warehouse has the older Quantum Accurist on clearance for $79.88 or something like that, the original price was $119.99 and it is a good little reel. I've had that reel along with a Shimano Citica and both are pretty close in performance with both having aluminum frames, you can't go wrong but stay away from graphite framed reels if possible.

Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'10" MH-MF casting rod!! It is the the best reaction bait rod I ever used, you can throw any reaction bait bait with it but treble hook topwaters, jerkbaits, and square bills along with lipless is right in the wheel house for this rod. Those are all baits that work better with a fast action rod but need a little flex for fighting fish and this rod has both, it has a fast tip to work your baits with no problem and the length is just right in that you get distance but still have nice control. There are a lot of good rods anymore in the $100 - $200 price range and I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you choose but this rod is amazing for jerkbaits and square bills and it is at a great price!!

Stay away from the Halo rods if you want a fast or extra fast action! All the Halo rods are moderate, moderate fast at best but all models have a parabolic bend to them. The other thing I don't like is the non-existant line and lure ratings, and yes, I know they aren't spot on but they at least give you a guide as to what the rod is supposed to be cable of handling as every company has a different take on what medium heavy is. Try not to brand loyal to start off, look around and try to find the best bang for the buck, the *** *** Black is getting rave reviews and then you have old favorites like the Fenwick HMG, those are classic and built extremely well with a lifetime warranty and the HMG has just about everything you'll need in the series like a 7'6" flipping stick, a 7' medium with moderate action for cranks and a 7' MH-F for what you need. Take your time and do some research, a good place to go through the brands and see if there is any models you like is Tackle Warehouse, they have the rods arranged by brand so you can look at what all the brands have in your price range.

The carbon steel rods aren't bad but you can do a lot better in that price range and the warranty is almost non-existant. Kistler got a bad reputation for bad blanks and not making good on warranty claims, they had some great blanks from Batson and then they found a cheap blank that had serious breakage issues to the point they came close to folding up. The new KLX made with the NFC blanks have been getting a lot of good reviews as well as the Z-Bone but if you are looking at the $100 dollar price point, well stay away from Kistler as you will do better with just about any other manufaturer.

This is really good advise and I will expand a little on it. I have been making hair jigs for quite some time, where they are really effective is in cold water and around smallmouth but the last 2 years I learned that they can be really effective when it is hot out and the fish won't hit anything else. For the warm water I'm using a 1/4oz round head jig fished on either 6lb. or 8lb mono, the trailer is a small worm and the hair is bucktail, I'll make cast to docks or other light cover and I'll let it sit still and then move it slowly and stop it again. The cold water period I rarely use a hair jig over 1/8oz, and I'll make them as small as 1/32oz but I prefer 3 sizes, the 1/16oz, the 3/32oz, and the 1/8oz, the key to hair jigs is to fish them slow.

I agree with what everyone else has told you, the selstiion will work great, for me, well I'm partial to 3 floating style jerkbaits that are shallow divers and can be used as surface baits and they will attract the biggest smallies. If the bite is on and you are looking to get bigger mallies look at the Rattlin Rogue, you want the ARB series in clown or tiger minnow which really looks like musky fry. If the fish are hesitant to hit you can use the Rapala Flat Rap, it is a more subtle bait and it gets down to about 3' to 4', the subtle action with no noise is deadly for finicky fish. And finally, if the fish are around and you find they will chase a little bit but seem in more of a neutral mood, well then try the new Bagleys Bang-O-Lure in the 1/4oz size or the 3/8oz if you have bigger fish around. That bait has no rattles but does it move water, bright colors like hot tiger and chartreuse crayfish have been killers, you need to be prepared as the smallies hit those really hard!! Good Luck!!