smalljaw67

I normally won't comment on something I haven't used but I can tell you what my fishing buddy told me. He has an NRX spinning rod, an 842S that he says is the most sensitive rod he has ever used but he wanted a little more length so he got a 902S Conquest. He had it on the water the first time yesterday and called me to tell me how disappointed he was with the rod, he said the action is nice but the sensitivity isn't even on par with the GLX and nowhere close to an NRX. Now, sensitivity is subjective but what isn't is action, he said he felt the rod would be more valuable as a moving bait rod, and because of that he thinks he spent way too much. He said the rod has a nice fit and finish and feels great in hand and it would be fantastic if it had the same sensitivity as his NRX which is what he was hoping for, or even close would have been good because he wanted the length. He is packing the rod up to send back and get a GLX 892S instead. I have heard similar reports that the rods lack the same sensitivity as their predecessor but you can't always trust every report you read but I do trust my friend and he just got this rod and used it for 5 hours just yesterday, I know as I heard him complain about it for an hour straight and for that price I guess I'd complain too. So if you are looking for a high end spinning rod with good sensitivity then you'll be happy with it but if you are looking for NRX type feel, you may be slightly disappointed.

The Morel jig from Seibert Outdoors is a 5313 hook, not a 5318, there is a huge difference between the two hooks. The 5313 is a 1X strong and has a large bite with a cutting point while the 5318 is a light wire hook with a normal bite and it has a needle point. As for Gopher tackle, they use a few different types of hooks but there heavy hook models start at 3/32oz and all of their smaller sizes are made with light wire jig hooks. I think Fishwizzard knows what he is talking about but is using the wrong terminology making it difficult to understand. Gopher doesn't use magic or a special hook, they use standard light wire hooks but their head uses a collar with small double barbs, the puts some weight on the hook shank which helps the bait fall straighter is the worm is rigged slightly off center, that is why he experiences "roll" with other heads. As for the hooks being brittle, well not really brittle but flexible, the Aberdeen style hook is meant to have flex so it can be straightened out on a snag, the Z-Man hook is brittle, there are a lot of examples on the internet showing numerous breaks on the hook shank. I believe that happens on the Z-Man heads because of that keeper being welded on the hook, it may be affecting the temper and instead of the hook having some flex it just becomes brittle. The Gopher heads as I said before, use standard hooks in their smaller size jigs, they are Gamakatsu 114s and Mustad 32746/32755, these are the ones that would be the same as the Owner 5318 and they are also the type of hook guys complain about bending out. The light wire hooks are sticky sharp and if your set up is balance you shouldn't bend them out except for hung on a snag but braided light and heavier powered rods have a tendency to get anglers in the habit of using too much force which is why the hooks will bend out. The size #1 I believe is the perfect compromise in hook size, the larger bite will result in fewer lost fish but it is still allows the worm to move more than a larger hook which can help in drawing strikes. The purpose of the rig is to have a subtle action, almost do nothing but if you watch on of these in clear water using a 1/0 hook versus a size #1 or #2, you'll see there is a big difference in how the worm falls and behaves. The 5313 that is used on the Morel Jig is probably the best universal hook you will find, it is strong enough that a heavier rod and line isn't going to bend the hook out so easily, it can be bent but it takes a lot more force than any light wire hook. The other thing is that even though it is a 1/X strong hook, it is still super sharp and the wire is still light enough that it allows more finesse oriented anglers the ability to get positive hook ups with light line, I use 6lb line and have not had an issue with losing fish or hooking them and I can even reel set with a light powered rod. I'm sorry for the long rant but there are a lot of misconceptions with hooks and sometimes just having the power of suggestion is enough for someone to shy away from something that is good just because of someone else's perception without any real world experience.

I'm in PA and topwater was good into the first week of November. This latest cold trend has sent water temps down into the low 50s and I don't see it getting too much better. In all the years I've been at this I can say that once the water temp drops below 55 for more than 3 days straight, the topwater bite here will be done, we will still get some warm days but they aren't long enough to warm the water to get a topwater bite. You can still try it, there are 2 baits that I would use, a Popper or a buzzbait, the popper is slow enough that you may entice a strike or two and the buzzbait may get you a reaction strike from a fish hanging up in the water column. To put it in perspective, you might get 1, maybe 2 strikes on a topwater right now but there won't be a steady bite, shallow running jerkbaits are your best bet if you have enough water clarity, and right now is the best time of year for me with an under spin rigged with a fluke Jr. or small swimbait.

You do some fantastic work sir!!!!!

Bluebasser86 nailed it, the Bomber 9A!!! I like Bomber cranks, they aren't flashy but they catch fish but I never used a 9A, only from the 8A on down and the Fat Free Shad series.

It is a Berkley slip jig, you put the line through the hole and then tie to a size 3 split ring. You then take the split ring and put it over the hook and pull the line tight so the split ring is against the collar. If it is the Berkley model it will have a ball collar that the split ring will be seated against.

I have 2 Hammer rods and I really, really like them, the most versatile rods out there. That said, the one thing that might have cause your problem is the action of the blank, you said one was slightly thicker than the other. It could be possible that the guides are spaced to how the blank flexes instead of just put on by template, I know Kistler does the same thing so two identical rod lengths and actions might not be exact in spacing because of a small difference in the blank flex. I'm not sure that is the case but it is possible, the other thing is my Hammer rods have a USA flag on the blank so I'm not sure what the issue there is. You did the right thing by letting the guys at the Tackle Trap know, they should be able to tell you what the issue is but I can tell you this, most guys that have used those rods usually end up surprised at the performance, and for me it dispelled a long held believe that there wasn't a rod with a parabolic action that could be used with a jig or worm. The sensitivity of those rods still freaks me out as I got my heavy power for big topwaters and the MH for large jerkbaits and square bills and while they are parabolic they aren't soft like a cranking rod, I have no problem setting a hook even when using mono and as I said, the sensitivity is really good with great backbone and the perfect amount of forgiveness.

River2Sea makes one. http://www.river2seausa.com/specialties/502-dragonfly-popper.html It is a light and you can't cast it in the wind but when it is calm it is deadly. It has a bib like a jitterbug only it is plastic but it moves the bait just enough for it to look real on the water surface.

White or black, they are what I refer to as universal colors. What I mean by that is they are natural enough to use in clear water but still show up well in dirty water. Look at something like Sexy Shad or Threadfin Shad, those will work in just about every water clarity.

A Loomis E6X 7M cranking rod is going to be way to soft for square bills, at least in my opinion. The E6X has a 3/4" shorter butt section but for a rod that soft to fish square bills a longer butt would be better because it will help with leverage due to the action of that rod. The rod you got is a mod-fast action but it is a 3 power Loomis cranking specific rod, the tip section will flex into the backbone faster than a full moderate action but on that power rod the backbone is too forgiving, you'll think you have a full moderate power rod. I mentioned here once before that I fish with a guy that likes the E6X series, he has the exact rod you have and he uses them for small shallow cranks only, a DT-6 is the sweet spot and it doesn't have enough to pull a square bill over 1/4oz over cover, it is rated to 5/8oz but at 1/2oz it'll feel like you are at max.

You can get good blanks at Predator Bass Baits. There is a small custom shop called "Adam's Custom Lures" that I believe uses those blanks. I only have experience with their 1.5 and 2.5 square bills but I can tell you they perform well, around my area they are more popular than a KVD 1.5 because of the custom color patterns and the lure having just about the same action. The blank lures from Strike King have the eyes installed so in order to paint you'd probably have to remove them and once glued the 3D eyes get brittle so you'd more than likely have to buy eyes as well which is tough when the baits are full price.

Ok, I just checked them out on the Yo-Zuri website, I haven't seen those before and never knew they made one in that series. I'm ordering a few of those myself in the Prism Tennessee Shad and Prism Fire Tiger which should be a good perch imitator. Thanks for asking about these, I'm a big fan of the Rapala DT Flat 7s, a really good cooler water crank and a great change up in warm water that gets bit in clear and pressured water.

They are really good baits but they are big bodied and they have an aggressive action. I can hit bottom in 6' with 10lb mono but I wouldn't use these in water under 60 degrees just because they have that wide action. At the prices you've found them I'd grab a few for next year during the late August, early September Fall transition, that 5' to 7' zone is right were we do well for big fish until the water temp drops into the 60s and that is when the square bill bite really gets going.

I really like the Yo-Zuri flat side crank but it isn't what you want for cold water. The Yo-Zuri flat side only dives to 2' deep, it has a shovel bill that gives it a wide kick and erratic action making it ideal for shallow warm water. A really good cold water flat crank that gets overlooked is the Bomber Flat "A" and the Deep Flat "A".

The Jacks worm was the first worm I used in what is now called ned rig. Back in the day we would take the Jacks worm and cut the top 1 inch or so off of it and then thread the smaller worm on to a 1/16oz ball head jig with a size #2 hook.

You don't want the crankbait specific model for square bills. The medium heavy will fish like a strong medium which will give you enough power and forgiveness and since the rod is a mod fast action you will have some backbone to pull the crank through cover and the forgiveness to fight the fish, it would be an awesome rod for and shallow crank from surface to 6'. The other thing is the length will also make it a good topwater rod and it will be awesome for those heavier jerkbaits.

Hammer Rod, 6'9" MH which is a moderate fast action. That rod is perfect for what you want to do, they fish about 1/2 power lighter than the rating, so the MH will have enough power to pull a square bill through cover and over rocks but still have a good tip with enough forgiveness for fighting the fish on treble hooks. Remember, that rod isn't in their crankbait series, their blanks all have a mod-fast action which make it very versatile and from owning one myself I can tell you that it is a really good rod.

When I'm fishing lake largemouth my color choices aren't many, green pumpkin and watermelon for clear to light stained water, black for dirty water, and sometimes brown instead of watermelon if I'm fishing rocks in high visibility water. For the river smallmouth I pursue, color is really important. I can introduce you to a gentleman from Florida who I took out for 3 days of smallmouth fish who caught all of 9 fish while I boated 104 , yeah, it sounds like a story but true, he refused to believe that the smallies in clear water were really keyed in on color opting instead to just throw downsized baits. The color was smoke purple, and it didn't matter if it was a tube or a swimbait, those were the only two baits I use, my friend from Florida didn't have anything that color and wouldn't take my baits, and he insisted that eventually they would eat a different color, the short story was they didn't. Now, this doesn't happen all the time but it happens enough to place color a few rungs higher than the bottom, and that is another thing I found. When it comes to smallmouth, color factors way more than largemouth, at least in every body of water I ever fished for them in, you may be able to catch them on several different colors but you will quickly notice that certain colors will get bit more often or by larger fish on average, and I've had a lot of days in which the bait had to have glitter. Black wouldn't buy me a strike during a small club tournament but black neon was getting hit so hard I had to change baits every 2 fish. For the most part I'm with the general consensus on color and that it is the least important element with location and presentation being on top but in clear water fishing smallmouth, color is much more important that some would like to believe.

Finesse jigs for me. We had a lot of rain this year and I thought it would make for better fishing with the water being murkier but everything got muddy and there really was no solid bite. The best pattern that I had that was even close to consistent was to fish light 3/16oz and 1/4oz finesse style jigs to isolated cover. I guess I can say there really wasn't a consistent pattern that was present throughout the summer.

River Rock Custom Baits Jake's Craw and a Smallie Beaver.

I'm going to assume you are talking about suspending jerkbaits. When the water is in the 60s you don't really have a problem, as someone mentioned previously they will usually hit it and run as it is more a reaction strike and not to mention you are usually working the bait faster. In cold water you normally have 3 things happen, the first and second happen a lot, you give the bait a couple of jerks and pause and after 2 or 3 seconds your line will jump and you will feel the bite so you reel the slack up and set the hooks, a fast reel helps. The second thing that happens in cold water is you give the bait a couple of jerks like normal and let it pause, then as soon as you go to give the bait another series of jerks, a fish is already on it and the jerk got the hooks set. The 3rd thing that happens is what you already experienced, you get the bait close enough that you can see it and you see the strike, this happens with smallmouth a lot when there are packs of them in the same area, one will follow and won't commit but it will get a few more interested and then one will come up and just take it.

Cgolf, every angler adapts a presentation to fit their needs and the Ned rig is no different. The difference is that a lot of anglers are adapting the rig in a way that it isn't a Ned rig but a shaky head or jig worm and there is a profound difference. A Ned rig will seldom be heavier than 3/32oz and the normal range is 1/32oz to 1/8oz with 1/16oz being the most popular size. The mushroom head jig is the standard as is a small 2.5" to 3" stick worm but a small ball head can work as well, the reason for the mushroom shape is that the bottom of the head is flat allowing the head to sit on top of the worm flush. The light weight and light tackle used to fish the rig makes it tough for power anglers to use as it is often referred to as a "no feel" type of technique so anglers accustom to heavier power oriented techniques tend you use heavier heads and bounce or hop the bait on the bottom which is a typical shaky head or jig worm approach. Ned rigs are either ticking the bottom or off the bottom and while there are retrieves that have the worm on bottom, they are normally pulled with a drift and not reeled. The places Ned rigs are used are more often open water or very sparse cover, and the reason is the fish that are suspended or cruising open water tend to be difficult to make bite which is why the smaller profile baits, when fish are in cover they can be made bite more traditional offerings like a worm fished on a heavier jig head or shaky head, so that is why you really don't need a weed guard with the technique, purists will tell you the fish that you are targeting with the rig aren't active and are light biters so a weed guard can hamper the rig more than help but if you find fish are in cover there is probably a better method to get them than a ned rig.

I read an interview with KVD in 2007, 10 years ago and he was discussing sponsors. He said he had been offered more money from different lure companies, boat manufacturers and just about every tackle manufacturer and he said it doesn't matter to him. He said he is sticking by the sponsors that helped him from the beginning and for him loyalty means more than money. He said that you'll see sponsors drop guys when business is slow or if the guy has a rough couple of seasons but all his sponsors stuck by him even in difficult times and he has pledged to stay with the same sponsors until his career ends or when they end the commitment. Now it is easy for him to do that since I'm assuming he is paid generously and his name recognition alone would mean he will never have to wait to pick up a new sponsor should one leave. I also read in a fishing tackle trade magazine that KVD is probably the only angler than can put his name on a product and it is almost guaranteed to generate sales.

I was using dark colors for a long time, mainly black, black/blue, and black/purple for every season. I would throw green pumpkin or brown variations in water that was clear or lightly stained but the last 3 years we've been killing it during late summer through fall with 1 color. Watermelon magic craw, it is watermelon with a blue tint and we pair it with watermelon or watermelon seed color trailers, it works better with little to no contrast.

Offset shank just refers to the offset or bend that holds the worm. An offset point means the point of the hook is off to one side so it isn't even with the hook shank. A round bend hook is just that, the bend on the hook is round which is a typical worm hook. A gamakatsu offset shank round bend hook is the same as a Gamakatsu offset shank hook, the only difference is one description takes it a bit further and tells you it is a round bend while the other does not. If it was different it would be described as an offset shank EWG or O'Shaughnessy or Sproat, the fact the description says nothing tells me it is a round bend. So unless there is something you didn't add to the "offset shank", I'd say there isn't any difference and if is just one description tells you it is a round bend while the other assumes you know. The round bend will work for all soft plastics but for thicker plastics some guys prefer EWG (Extra wide gap) or straight shank heavy hooks.