smalljaw67

The skirted mushroom jig isn't for a NED rig, it is simply Z-Man's version of a finesse jig. If you like the way the jig stands up, well guess what, take a ball head micro jig and add the Z-Man plastic and it too will stand up, I've done that with ball head shaky head jigs just to prove you didn't need a flat spot on a 1/8oz head for it to stand up. The other thing is when you begin getting into weed guards or big hooks, you get further away from the concept of the NED rig, which is intended to fished around sparse cover and open water to catch fish that are pressured or in a neutral mood, the reason for the mushroom head and small hook is that the bait is flush with the head which helps it come through grass better. The small hook benefits from the bulk of the plastic plus the hook point is close to the head so anything the head moves out of the way the hook seldom grabs, and fishing it myself the way it was described by purists I found it rarely hangs up. If you go to In-Fisherman there is an article by Ned Kehde about a guy that uses the 1/20oz Shroomz head and actually cuts off some of the lead to make it 1/32oz and he cuts down the different baits he uses so that most are 2.5" to 3" and depending on the bait, some aren't retrieved on the bottom but 6" to 2' above bottom. So as most anglers are adding weight to their rigs, the guys that are masters of it keep trying to shave weight, but I get it, I've watched guys fishing 1/8oz shaky heads with 30lb braid with a 12lb fluorocarbon lead on a MH casting rod and tell me they are finesse fishing.

I have a bunch of the Yo-Zuri 3DB square bills in both the prism and painted colors and they are great!!!! I do a lot of shallow cranking, 6' and less and most are good but I have a few special ones. The Mann's 1 minus series are fantastic, the baby 1 minus and the mid 1 minus are used most, and I also like the Baby X which dives 1' to 1.5' deeper than a 1 minus. The Rapala DT Fat 3 has taken its share of good fish from the shallows as well, and one of my newer ones is the Bagley Rattlin' Killer B2, it is a plastic bait that gets to 3', it has a rattle but it is low pitch and works in both stained and clear water, one of the few rattling baits I use in clear water.

I agree with you on this but I wouldn't bring KVD into the mix and I'll tell you why. That guy is loyal and money be damned, I read an article about 7 or 8 years ago and I can't remember the name of it. Anyway, they were doing a segment about sponsorships and KVD has had the same boat sponsor as well as rod and reel sponsor that he started with since he became pro. It doesn't sound like a lot but according to the writer, KVD has turned down offers from every other boat manufacturer who offered more money and stayed with Nitro and he also said he was approached by every single big name lure and tackle maker with most offers exceeding what he gets now. Most other anglers I would not believe because I watched Ike, Reese, and Martens just to name a few, switch long time sponsorships without blinking an eye while KVD is still with SK and Quantum and you know that there are others in the tackle game with deeper pockets, at least on the rod and reel side. Every other angler is the same though, if the money is right they will sell you vinegar and claim it is sweeter than sugar.

When they were with In-Fisherman they used Quantum, then they switched to Shimano for a few years. After Shimano they went back to Quantum and now it seems to be Daiwa, and yes, I'm with Darren 100%, whoever shells out the most money has the best according to the "never lie" Al Lindner. But then again, when it comes to money I guess God can forgive Al for spreading some small "white lies".

My preferred brand has changed names but it use to be the Xaclibur One Knocker, and the follow up is the Sebile Flatt Shad. For some reason the painted Xcalibur one knockers just kill and if they aren't hitting those hard, the Flatt Shads will get bit. I have Lucky Craft LV 150s and 250s as well as the Spro Aruku Shads and none of them work as well as the Xcalibur and the Sebile. I do have a few others that are niche baits but those two just seem to get bit all the time no matter how I use them.

St. Croix Avid X 7'ML-F, I fish my micro jigs and small hair jigs with it and the action is perfect for what you want to do.

I use the Avid X 7' ML-F. I was using a lot of different rods over the years, my favorite was a Quantum Super Light (Don't laugh, that rod was $230 when introduced) 6'6" Medium power, fast action spinning rod. That rod has a ton of sensitivity and a great action but on small 1/16oz hair with no trailer, my casts were just a little short so when I tried the Avid X in a 7'ML it was all she wrote, perfect for Ned rigs, hair jigs and other light line techniques. I use 6lb mono exclusively for hair jigs and never had a problem. The thing is the light wire hooks that most hate work wonders when used with the right rod and line. I've been using Spider Wire Ultimate Mono the last few seasons, it is the best mono I've used in terms of knot strength, abrasion resistance, and low stretch. The down side is that it is very similar to fluorocarbon in that it will have a lot of memory if on a spool for a couple weeks. I give the spool a couple quick spritzes of KVD L&L right before I make my first cast and I'm good the rest of the day, but prior to that I used Berkley Trilene XL and Silver Thread AN40 and never had issues with setting a hook.

The Strike King Red Eye Shad!!! I have a nice selection of lipless baits but the Red Eye Shad, it may be because my buddy uses that bait exclusively and he has yet to beat me when there is a lipless bite going on.

I didn't buy a mold but I may do it next spring. For my waters the ideal condition is hard bottom with scattered rock and it works best when the water is like glass. Early in the summer we had a day when there wasn't a bit of a breeze and the skies were partly cloudy. I threw square bills, spinnerbaits and swim jigs, nothing. So we started hitting some cover and pitching worms and I was getting ready to finesse fish when I decided to give the Biffle Hard Head and a beaver a shot for a few casts. Over the next two hours I landed 11 fish with my smallest being a 17" smallmouth and the biggest was a 21.5" largemouth. It didn't seem to be a fluke either, almost every outing when the water is super calm and the fish are scattered this works, you'd think the square bill would be just as good but it isn't, so ideal conditions for my water is hard bottoms with smooth as glass water. We fish them like a square bill but slower with no stops, we will alternate speed but never stop and almost all my strikes come after hitting rock.

The lure specs on the rod will give you a general idea of the power but since there isn't any industry standard you really have to try the rod out. As for the stiffness, there really isn't any way to know if a rod is stiff or it is soft, not even taper can tell you that. The only way to really tell is to fish with it or ask someone who has fished with the rod, otherwise it is a guess.

I made a video on tying that type of jig. You need Bucktail that has at least 4" to 5" long hair, that is the hardest part to find and why there are so many tied with synthetic hair. You will also need saddle or neck hackle that is 6" to 7" long, that is going to provide the extra movement for your jig. After that it really comes down to what type of flash, Krystal flash which is thin and gives off small multidirectional flashes of light, or flashabou which is wider and gives off larger flashes.

I'd take even the regular Supreme over the Shimano and there are a few reasons. The first is the Pflueger supreme XT is almost a full 2 ounces lighter in weight than the Shimano, that is nothing to sneeze at. The second thing is I really like the sealed drag of the Pflueger and that should be important to you since you will probably be fishing in colder weather at some point, water freezing on drag washers reduces performance. If you are looking for a good Shimano reel look at the Stradics, anything under those you're better off with a different brand.

I have lost numerous Pointer 100s, and a single Megabass Vision 110 to the toothy ones and I found a solution. The Storm Twitch Stick, it has a similar profile and action as a Pointer 100, it has good finishes but nothing close to LC but the bait does have great triggering properties. The bait is $5 and it is that good I'd even pay $10 for a few of the colors but the best thing is the price, if a toothy fish grabs it and you lose it, the hurt isn't too bad.

In no set order. Smithwick Suspending Rogue LC Pointer 100 Rapala X-Rap 10 Honorable mention goes to the Rapala Shadow Rap but it is still too new for me to put in the list. Another goes to the Luck-E-Strike RC STX and I'll include the Storm Twitch Stick, these would be my value picks, very inexpensive but work extremely well.

The absolute cheapest place is Grandpa Bobs Custom Jigs, he sells Krystal Flash cheaper than everyone but he is unreliable. If he has it in stock you'll get it right away but if it isn't in stock, it could take 2 months, and you won't know until you want 3 days and see your order is still processing. Other than that you can go to ebay, and the reason is most vendors sell close to the same price for that stuff and in the same package size. The other place is Fly Tyers Dungeon, they have their own style flash, their H2O Twist is the same as Krystal flash and the H2O flash is flashabou, the products are awesome and great prices but they offer a different length and color spectrum.

I've been a big fan of the newer Rattlin' Killer B2, they managed to make that plastic square bill deflect as well as the balsa model. The best part is the rattle, it is low pitch and it has worked well in both clear and stained water, I have a dozen of them. Another new bait that have that I'm sold on is the Balsa Shad, the #5 Balsa Shad has replaced my #5 Rapala Shad Rap as my number 1 cold water crank. The bait is 1/4" longer than the shad rap but it weighs 3/8oz and runs at the same depths so I can use it on a casting rod and get long casts with it. The new one I'm really waiting to try as soon as they hit shelves is the Rattlin' B Plus and Rattlin' B Minus, they are 1/2oz lipless cranks with the plus model made to sink fast for deep water and the minus model made to sink slow so you can rip it over shallow grass beds and still use it slower, that will be a killer. In addition to these are the Sunny Bs which were discussed here, they haven't quite taken the place of my DT-6 but I use them about the same amount of time, I wasn't sure if they were going to work as well but I've been pleasantly surprised, so it is safe to say that I've become a Bagley fan, I have a lot of the newer stuff and none of it has failed to impress.

Worth Company makes a shallow cup willow blade that spins at slower speeds than a standard but you will have to pay 10% excise tax and there is a minimum order. The other option is the royal blade, it has great flash like a willow and spins at ultra slow speeds but it also has a heavy thump so you may not want that kind of vibration and it will also cause more lift.

The Bagley Bang-O-Lure and the Bagley Minnow B, both are killer floating style minnows. The Minnow B is very similar to my favorite rogue but it is louder in sound and has a wider tail kick, the Bang-O-Lure is balsa and it great when stealth is needed. I also like using the Rapala Flat Rap, it is more subtle than others but fish will hit that when they won't take any others.

I'd say it depends on hook sizes you will be using. Both will work but if you are using any heavier type hooks of anything over a 2/0 I'd go with the 6'9" ML-XF, it has more backbone while the 7' has a little more flex further down making it great for smaller hooks and exposed hook baits.

Now that I read this, I have to ask. How in the world do you get better action with fluorocarbon?? I can see if using a short leader with braid as the main line but not straight fluorocarbon. I was fishing with a buddy 5 years ago, I remember it because it because of what happened, we always used mono for jerkbaits. Anyway, his reel seized up so the only reel he had that he could put on his jerkbait rod was spooled with fluorocarbon, the same 10# as the mono we were using. What we both noticed in the ultra clear water was that the jerkbait had the same tail kick and the nose moved off to the side but it was coming back in a straight line. When the same bait was worked on mono, it was a lot more erratic, these also happened to be Pointer 100s, perhaps you can have more erratic action with a smaller bait or with braid and a short leader but not straight fluorocarbon and there isn't enough resistance from that bait to get any kind of stretch. What we figured is that the fluorocarbon was always down in the water after pausing the bait and when you jerked the rod the line sinking below the bait would pull the bait in that downward direction keeping it from moving too far left or right and just allowing the nose of the lure to move. When you have to fish it ultra slow, then I can see the fluorocarbon working a little better as it can get the bait deeper and keep it from rising but when you have to move it to get bit it just get the same action, when my buddy switched reels he caught 1 more fish in the next 2 hours, I landed 14 in the same time. To give context to this, this was giving the bait 3 jerks followed by a 5 second pause and then 1 jerk and let sit for 3 seconds followed by 3 jerks again, this cadence did not work well with fluorocarbon line, and again, with braid as the main line I imagine it would be different but when I saw jerkbaits worked with straight fluorocarbon the bait had less action, or should I say movement as it still moved but just in a straight line.

Big-Bass, the 6'9" MLXF is what you want, it is a little softer than the medium power and will give you the extra cushion needed for smaller baits that are often used with light wire hooks. I use the 7' ML-F as a dedicated hair jig rod for cold water fishing but it has also become my NED rig rod and works well with light wacky jigs.

Mustad power lock plus, it has a keeper spike.

I'm lucky enough that I was able to fish both and I got an Avid X. I actually posted on this subject awhile ago, I even contacted St. Croix to find out if they are the same blank and they are. The reason is the rods perform differently, the Avid is a good solid rod but it didn't impress me at that price point but the X, that rod is more responsive with better feel, it is hard to believe the difference a split grip and micro guides made on that blank.

It is the elite micro, I know a lot of guys don't like the micro guides but I don't have a problem with them. I got the 6'9" heavy for walking 3/4oz and heavier topwaters and the rod really is fantastic for it but when I tried my bladed jigs on it I was hooked. I now want to get a 7' 3" heavy for big lipless cranks and 7' heavy for magnum square bills. I took a chance on them not knowing what to expect as it was recommended to me when I was looking for a rod for big topwaters, but ever since using the bladed jig and then spinnerbaits with it, I'm convinced there isn't a better rod for them at all. They are light and very comfortable to fish but the action still gets me, the rod is parabolic but it isn't soft and the sensitivity is just great, so much so that fishing jigs and worms can be done because of it as there is more than enough backbone to drive home even the heaviest wire hooks. I have 2 custom rods made for spinnerbaits and the Hammer I got is better than both, if I was going to build a rod myself for chatterbaits and spinnerbaits it would have to have the action and power of the Hammer, the only problem is I've never found a blank like that and to have the blank being made in America only makes it that much better.

WD40 works well on guides! The reason the lock froze up was because of water, WD40 displaces water but inside a lock cylinder there is nowhere for the moisture to go so the remaining water freezes. On guides you simply spray a little on each guide and wipe the excess off with a soft rag. Doing that will keep the water from staying on the guides to freeze, but depending how cold it is it will only work for a short time. We use to have a warm water access where a power plants cooling water would dump in and raise the water temp up to the mid 60s, you were fine until the air temp was in the 20s, that is when the guides freeze up just from the water on the line and there isn't a lot you can do, at least I haven't found a way to stop it completely.