smalljaw67

I don't do much jerkbait fishing that deep but when I do I have 3 different ones. For a smaller profile I have an old discontinued Xcalibur XT3 DD, that is a killer bait so if you find any grab them. For a slightly larger profile I use the Deep Husky Jerk, and the last few seasons my main one has been the Perfect 10 Rogue.

Again, it depends on the size baits you use, the areas you use them in, and the size of the fish you catch. In open areas with smaller baits the medium power, fast action rod can fish a jerkbait and chatterbait but you really limit the size of the bait and types of trailers. A 3/8oz bait with a small swim bait type trailer on a medium power rod is right at the upper limit on a rod rated to 5/8oz like most mediums are so nothing over that will work well and almost not at all in cover situations. If you're using a rod rated to 3/4oz, well that is closer to a medium heavy and probably too stout to fish a jerkbait effectively, and so you end up doing a compromise to be able to use one rod for both types of baits when you don't need to, for $140 you can get two rods with the *** blackout series rods, a 6'6" medium for jerkbaits and a 7' MH for the chatterbait.

Thread works well but can be hard to tie when a weed guard is in the way. If you go to my You Tube channel, I have a vide showing an easy way to wire tie jigs, I'll see if I can link it here. I use 26 gauge craft wire from Darice, it is a permanent black dyed copper wire and won't rust.

I have a 3000 size Lews Team Gold carbon spinning reel, I love it!! I was concerned about the carbon frame, I figured it was a nice way of saying graphite but a call to Lews eased my worries as I was told the carbon used is both lighter and stronger than the graphite used for less expensive reels and if I had a flexing problem I could return it for a full refund. So to make a long story short, I got it and now it has become a staple among my other spinning outfits. I don't know anything about the high speed you purchased but I can tell you the drag on my reel is smoother than my Daiwa Tierra and having a 3000 size reel that is lighter than most 2000 size reels makes for a comfortable and sensitive set up when paired up with a nice rod like the one you got, good luck.

A jerkbait has treble hooks, a chatterbait has a large single hook. The only way 1 rod would really be good for both is if you got a rod for jerkbaits and used the small 1/8oz chatterbaits. A medium power, fast action rod will work for both but if you find yourself in grass with the chatterbait or use a 3/8oz or heavier model, you may find setting the hook on a larger fish to be problematic. I recently found the best chatterbait/ spinnerbait/buzzbait rod I ever used, a Hammer Rods 6'9" Heavy power, the rod has a parabolic action but isn't soft like a cranking rod, the power is about a half power heavier than a standard medium heavy power with a fast action. That rod has the backbone to drive home large diameter hooks while having enough forgiveness to fight the fish and keep it pinned but it isn't any good for a jerkbait. I like shorter rods for jerkbaits, and since I use that bait a lot I've tried a lot of different rods. Anything from 6'2" to 6'9" works for me but I like a medium power, fast action rod with a soft tip or a medium power, moderate fast action that has a slightly stiffer tip section. I can't recommend a single rod that would fit as these are two completely different types of baits used in completely different ways so you are best served with two completely different set ups. Now you can get away with one rod if you use smaller chatterbaits but you really are giving up a lot by doing that, some of my biggest smallmouth have come on using larger 1/2oz chatterbaits and a medium power rod would not have landed many of those fish as the hooks are just too large.

Remember, winter is different depending on where you live. My water will drop in the 30s and we will fish right up until the water freezes, at that time a small chunk type trailer on a small hair jig is the best way to go. In the 40 degree range a Zoom tiny chunk or old Uncle Josh spin strip pork trailer on a finesse jig or hair jig will work really well.

The Aetos uses a Fuji SK2 reel seat and to have reels not fit the Fuji is strange. Now the smallmouth series has a custom seat so that is easy to understand, Daiwa often has the same problem, I forget which brand but it was either Shimano or Abu Garcia that didn't fit their zero G reel seat right so they did have a shim available for that.

Look at the Rattler Rick Clunn square bill on TW in green copper shad, it is the same as your mistake, it seems that color is either different in the silent version or the rattling version has updated colors. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Luck-E-Strike_Rattler_Rick_Clunn_Square_Bill_Crankbait/descpage-LKERSQB.html

I'm not sure if that is the original silent or the rattling version but go to TW and check out the rattling version, it is that very same color. Now, they very well may have updated the entire line since the rattling version was introduced well after the original was being made so that may be the new color of green copper shad.

The Mann's Waker Elite, the best crankbait style wake bait ever made! I have a good size stash as I was able to buy some new old stock directly from Mann's but that wake bait can be moved at a good speed and still produce a nice wake as most others will dive too deep or blow out. If you find any of these grab them, you won't be sorry.

I make my own underspins, I use a 1/4oz on a medium power spinning rod. I'm in PA as well and I find the underspins work great in cold water, I like using a small 3.5" to 4" swimbait on the back in water 50 degrees and above and for water under 40 degrees I use a 4" fluke style bait and they seem to work well when fish aren't interested in a jerkbait or if the water is dingy. I fish them primarily in 10' of less and I keep my rod tip at 10 o'clock and reel just fast enough that I tick the bottom every now and again.

Storm Twitch stick in the 10 size and I have over 2 dozen now and I use it as an alternative to the Pointer 100. I too have lost many a Pointer 100 to toothy critters, aka Muskies, and when the twitch stick came out I gave it a shot and found it to be the best 5 buck jerkbait I ever used. First off the dimensions and bulk are incredible close to the pointer 100, it is 5/8oz and it has a nice erratic action, it is similar to a pointer, even the wobble on the pause. The best thing about it is the hooks, they use a VMC but unlike most others they use a heavier wire hook, the finishes are good too, not as nice as the Pointers but nice enough and it doesn't hurt as bad to lose one. I've done well with them, I like the pearl shad when there is some color to the water and the ghost wakasagi and ghost pro blue are excellent in gin clear water.

The size of the blades and weight of the bait determine how your bait will perform. Not only do the blades cause lift but also torque, a 1/2oz bait with a #6 willow or #7 Indiana blade will roll on its side at higher speeds so that needs to be accounted for as well. When I make a bait for deep water it is specifically for slow rolling and will always be a single blade and I'll bend the wire at a steeper angle, this cuts down a little drag and will keep it from lifting as much as a more open angle.

Had you written this earlier you may have been able to get a really great discontinued topwater rod. I have a Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth rod, it is 6'3" medium power, moderate fast action and it does a tremendous job with most topwaters but the true niche of that rod is poppers. Look for the rod on FFO, there may be one or two left and they aren't expensive.

For myself, a spinnerbait rod is a MH-F and lipless and square bills are MH-MF. Now, depending on your budget you can cover the spectrum with a Hammer rod, a 7' MH, the Hammer rods all have a parabolic bend but they aren't soft, so you have enough power to drive home large diameter single hooks and it still has the forgiveness needed to fight fish hooked on treble hooks. The awesome part is the rod has a lot of sensitivity so you could actually use it for T-rigged worms and jigs as well, I have a 6'9" Heavy power and it has been the best spinnerbait and chatterbait rod I ever used period.

The stretch mono has is equivalent or in some cases less than the stretch of fluorocarbon. The difference is that fluorocarbon stretches and stays that way but it is only a little at a time while mono reverts back and that is why anglers believe one stretches and the other doesn't. I use braid for frogs and heavy flipping only, the rest is done with mono and lately it has been Spider Wire Ultimate Mono, it is very thin diameter compared to other mono lines, it has the abrasion resistance of fluorocarbon yet handles better and has low stretch. My only complaint is that it has more memory than other mono lines, in fact it is similar to fluorocarbon but it a little better and a little KVD L&L works wonders, a small price to pay given the knot strength is vastly superior to fluorocarbon.

That rod will work for what you want to use it for. It has the power to set larger diameter hooks and if there is one area that may be tough it would be treble hook baits. You will have enough power to rip a lipless from grass but the rod is a bit stiff for fighting a fish hooked on smaller trebles but with you wanting to throw single hook baits this would be your best bet.

I have a first generation Abu Garcia Vendetta, it is actually a decent rod for the price point. Anyway, it is a medium power, fast action rod and the tip section is stiffer than other rods of the same power and action but the backbone is right on with the power of the rod. With that stiffer tip section it makes the rods fish as if they are 1/2 power more than the rating, if my rod was made by Kistler, it would be called a "light medium heavy". So look for the rod to be a half power over and that is basically in the tip section.

That is an easy mod if you have a drill press. place the hook you want to use in the mold to see where the eye goes, once it is positioned close the mold carefully so you don't move the hook location. Once the mold is closed hold on to it tight and place it in a vise between two blocks of wood and tighten the vise until the mold is almost closed. This will leave an impression of the hook eye on the mold surface, now all you need to do is find the right size bit and drill out the area for the eye, very simple. Remember to set the press up to go only have the hook diameter for each side of the mold, if you go deeper on one side than the other the hook won't be centered and it will cause it to not run true.

Suspending jerkbaits, hair jigs, 1/8oz bucktail will be like the all purpose size. I also like smaller 2.5" to 2.75" tubes and something I haven't heard mentioned, soft plastic swimbaits, preferably 4" and less for water under 45 degrees. Fish the swimbaits slow similar to how you would fish a tube or jig, my friend showed me this 3 years ago and I'm still amazed at how well it works, especially for big fish.

If I had to pick just one for all season it would be close race. Either a 4.5" straight tail finesse worm or a 5" Senko, but for me it would be the finesse worm simply because it does a better job in cold water than the Senko.

Go to " Lure Parst Online " and send them an email, they will let you know. That is the only place I've been able to get them on short notice, and when I compare the 8540 hooks I have on my RC STX baits, they look identical to what is on the Shadow rap.

I remember when 6'6" was considered a "long" rod. It really comes down to the type of cranks you are using and whether it is a crankbait specific rod. I'm assuming you are just using a 6'6" medium power, fast action rod and that is fine as long as you aren't using cranks that run deeper than 6' or 7'. I use the same Aetos 6'6" Medium light power, moderate fast action like new2BC4bass does, for me it is the best shallow crank rod for baits in the 1/4oz to 3/8oz range, but because of the moderate action it flings the cranks a pretty decent distance.

I'm with Kickerfish1, I stay in the $120 to $220 range anymore for the reasons he mentioned. Once you get past the $200 range there aren't a ton more features to have, it is basically refinement, frame materials and small details. These things added up make the reel enjoyable to use and it also adds resale value as most anglers in what I call the "enthusiast" crowd will buy high end reels and sell them off in a few years to get newer. Now, there are some that will hold onto a few reels but when you get into the $300+, those are enthusiast level reels with small added touches line anodized knobs, bearing supported level winds and machined star drags and carbon fiber handles. I like light weight reels, and one of the reasons I haven't ventured into the magnesium realm of sub 6oz reels is because of what the sub 7oz reel did to me. I so wanted to like the Tatula reels but they were just too heavy and cumbersome after using reels under 7oz for a few years before the Tatula came out, and it isn't just me, I've heard from a lot of anglers that splurged on a enthusiast level reel and now can't stand to use anything else, sometimes the lighter weight and refinement are just too good to do without.

The VMC 8540 is the one you want. These also happen to be what is on the Luck-E-Strike RC STX.