smalljaw67

It really depends on the season but I'll just assume it is post spawn. 1. Spinnerbait - 3/8oz white, since I don't know the lake I'll use the smaller size that will attract more fish but still get big bites. 2. Eakins Style Jig - 5/16oz, again, I don't know the lake or the cover so I'm going to choose a jig that can be fished in any kind of cover from grass to brush and rock. 3. Square Bill Crankbait - This is a bait that can be deadly all season and draws good reaction strikes. 4. Shaky head/4.5" finesse worm - 1/8oz and this is my skunk repellent, if there is fish in the lake I know I can catch one on this. 5. Lipless crankbait - 1/2oz in chrome/black back, this is a search bait that really works in all seasons but can also load the boat when they are chasing baitfish.

How is the shipping cost?

They are made exclusively for Cabelas by Fenwick. You'll never find a rod with Alconite guides for $60 anywhere unless it is used.

The Netbait Paca Chunks are really hard to beat and I also like the Zoom salty chunk.

The Xcalibur Xt3 twitch bait was an awesome jerkbait, and so was the XS4 and the EEratic shad and sadly all were discontinued. Now the brand is gone but I'm happy in that I was able to get some of the the 200 series square bills in good patterns and all my 100 series are from the real craw patterns, they run well, deflect well, hold up being banged off the bottom and cover and they catch fish. That said, the Arashi square 3 and 5 are very good and Bagley has a line of plastic square bills in the Rattling Killer B and soon the Rattling Honey B for those that like the small version. The square bills were very good but can be replaced, the one konckers that are under the Booyah name, hopefully they stay the same quality as I haven't found another one knocker lipless bait that can touch it, but all in all I'm disappointed the brand is going away, high end baits at a great price point.

You really don't need a technique specific rod when it comes to spinning with the exception of drop shots as a special action really helps with those. The reason is spinning rods are softer than casting rods of the same power and action so just about and medium power, fast action spinning rod you like. I would assume you are fishing from the bank for the most part and even if you are fishing from a boat, a slightly shorter rod makes it easier to work a topwater bait. That said, look for a rod from 6' to 6'9", medium power with a fast or extra fast action, spinning rods are very forgiving.

This^^^^^^ !!! I throw swim jigs in murky water but I will use larger ones or bright colored patterns. The thing is I will not start with a swim jig, I'll go with a bladed swim jig aka Chatterbait first and only switch to a swim jig if I can't get bit on the bladed jig.

I fish the Susquehanna river and right now the water temps are fluctuating in an extreme manner, mid to upper 60s by late afternoon and falling into the low 50s by daybreak, and it is making for fish with a serious case of lockjaw. Scott F is exactly right, if there are going to be any active fish, they will be shallow, look for shallow pools and flats near riffles and run a shallow crank and as a back up I'd keep a wacky rigged 3" senko, the crank will pick off the most active fish and the senko will get the less active fish.

I let the mood of the fish determine that for me, water temp plays only a small part. My favorite worm for shaky heads is 4.5" and I use it in both warm and cold water but if the fish are hitting hard and aggressive or if I'm getting a lot of smaller fish I'll upsize to a 6" worm. If I'm throwing a 6" worm and bites are slow or I'm missing them because they grab it by the tail, then I'll drop back to the 4.5", but the way the fish react is what makes me change, not so much the water temp but I will start with the 4.5" worm when we get into the mid 50s with the water temp.

The only type of hair jig I've had success with in stained water was a 3/8oz arky style that I tied with black bucktail with a black/blue flake Zoom super chunk trailer but that was in 58 degree water but I'm sure it would work in higher water temps. With my being a Northern angler, most of my hair jig fishing is done with smaller baits 1/4oz and under as it is a cold weather staple, the exception is the arkie jig I mentioned previously I make that to use when we have mid Fall cold fronts when the water temp starts dipping into the 50s and dark colors work in stained water but stained meaning 1 foot of visibility, anything less I'd opt for something that moves water a little bit better.

I let the fish tell me when I need to use a trailer but I tend to use a trailer when the water first gets into hair jig range and for me it is the low 50s. If the water is 52 degrees and I can't get a reaction bite, I will use a rabbit hair jig I tie called a "creeper jig" that I make specifically to use with a chunk style trailer. When the water is in the mid to upper 40s then I will often use a bucktail jig with skirt material strands tied on it and I won't use a trailer, the silicone skirt material will provide just a little more movement and bulk without having to incorporate a trailer. When the water is in the low 40s to upper 30s the only trailer I'll use is tied on the jig and it is almost always a rabbit strip tail, it adds very little bulk and it will provide me some action if I needed it but not too much. The lower 30s is a time when the hair is used plain, I use bucktail or marabou, that is it and no trailer. As for dragging and swimming, it depends on the type of water and the mood of the fish, the way we drag is just slowly reel with the rod pointed right at the bait and it is only one or two cranks and then stop for a bit. We will drag it of give a slow lift and drop depending on what the fish want and what kind of jig, for example is I use a rabbit hair craw jig tied on a football head, well that jig is one I use with a drag or hop bottom presentation while a small 1/6oz or 3/32oz marabou jig will be slowly swam along the bottom with a few pauses during the retrieve but it depends on the mood of the fish and I'll usually start based on the weather conditions like warming or cooling trends.

The issue is real, it seems to happen more to reels that have been used with fluorocarbon much more than any other line. Most have been taken care of but Daiwa will take care of it by sending you the part or you shipping it to them and make sure you tell them to send you a shipping label.

I tie a lot of hair jigs and I use a lot of different material and anglers not familiar with them have a difficult time understanding of exactly what the "action" is. On a bucktail jig, there really isn't a lot of movement, what makes bucktail work so well, especially in cold water, is that when it gets wet it makes a perfect small minnow profile and while there is a little movement, it is very subtle and that perfectly mimics the movement of minnows in cold water. Marabou will compress when wet and it gets very thin in the water when it is moving but when you stop it the hair will expand and move but it has to be tied properly for that to happen. Craft fur has a very fluid like movement, and so does rabbit hair, the craft fur will compress into a minnow shape like bucktail when it is moving but when you stop it it will wave back and forth in the water very life like but in extreme cold like 34 degree water, it may have too much movement. Hair jigs work any time of year but the reason they work in cold water is because they have a subtle movement and that is more natural. Fish are cold blooded and when they get cold it isn't the same as us getting cold, their muscles that allow them to swim can onlt move a little bit and it is the very reason flat sided craks work well in cold water as the tighter action is more natural as that is the movement the fish are seeing. So, when you are fishing a hair jig don't expect it to have a real dramatic action, instead it will be the opposite, a very subtle type action as the main drawing feature is the profile with action being the triggering aspect of the bait.

Go with a 6'6" rod in 1 piece, it isn't too short. I use that length rod a lot, I have a few casting and spinning rods in that length and when you are looking at putting a spinning reel with a small spool on the rod, the extra casting distance the 7' rod will give you isn't worth sacrificing any kind of sensitivity.

I'm another that sticks with worms and lizards for C-rigs but for the swing jigs I like the Sweet Beaver, there is something about that profile that the fish like. I have also used Rage Craws and Brush Hogs with some success on the swing jig but nothing works as well for me as the Sweet Beaver.

Bladed jigs are my alternative to spinnerbaits and there are times when they shine and other times not so much. Taking the skirt off and using a swim bait as a trailer seems to work well in clear water but I do better with a skirt in stained and dirty water.

LPO (Lure Parts Online) has it in regular round rubber, fine cut (only 3 colors, black, brown, and green pumpkin), and reptile (round rubber with a print on it). You can also get it from living rubber company, it isn't the round that is hard to find but the small square rubber that is tough to source.

They are very subtle and work anywhere you have clear water, that is the key. The problem most anglers have with them is they use heavy hooks and heavy line and it takes away the subtle action that it has. If you have reasonably clear water, like 2' of visibility on up, and you aren't afraid of using 6# or 8# mono or fluorocarbon along with a light wire 1/0 with a 1/16oz or 1/8oz weight or a small jig head with a size 1 or 1/0 hook then you might want to try them. I know a lot of guys also think of this as a drop shot bait and it is really good that way but we fish them on Mojo rigs, light Texas rigs and on small jig heads like a mushroom jig and these are a really good NED rig bait. I use the Darter Jr. as a trailer on small micro jigs that I tie, the one thing I can tell you is that when fish hit them, they rarely spit the bait, you seem to always have time to set the hook and I believe the ribbed body is the reason. So if you have some water that is kind of clear, you may want to try one and if you have stained water, the black with blue flake is the only color that I know of for stained water and on a NED rig they work. The reason you don't seem them used in dirty water or in the deep south is they were made primarily as a smallmouth bait, if you look at the colors there are a lot of melons , smoke and copper and the color comes from the glitter that is used, hardcore smallmouth guys will use tubes that have colors like smoke copper, or smoke purple chartreuse and the Erie Darters are all made with those types of colors but I found that largemouth eat them as well but clear water is where they really shine.

The performance difference between the Avid and LTB doesn't match the price difference, the LTB is a little more responsive but not by a lot, sort of like the difference between a G.Loomis GL3 and the IMX. Now, the Avid X is nice and feels and fishes better than the regular Avid and the price is the same, it is amazing what a split grip and micro guides do to that blank, you don't realize it is the same rod. I agree with a custom rod but they aren't for everyone, it is great if you know exactly what you want but if you are just exploring and getting into better rods, then you still will benefit from a factory rod simply because they will have a length an action you will like. I have 2 custom rods but they were made because I needed spinnerbait rods with a different reel seat other than the Fuji ECS but that is another discussion. To truly benefit from a custom you will know what reel seat you want, what action, what type of guides and what type of grip and to me it sounds as if you are just starting to experience a better performing rod and please forgive me if it isn't the case but I'm just trying to help. So if you don't want to go custom, I'd go with a new Legend Elite 7' ML-F, for $380 they have the new Fuji reel seat with titanium framed Torzite guides, the difference in that compared to what you have now is going to be worlds apart.

I really like the SK2 and the ACS, surprisingly the ECS is the sore spot for me, I know, I'm in the minority. I have large hands and the ECS has a long, wide trigger, it is fine if I'm fishing jigs and worms but chucking blades or cranks all day would leave my hand swollen and sore between my middle and ring fingers and that leads me to this. I palm my reel with the little finger behind the trigger and when I cast I have my index finger and middle finger in front of the trigger and my ring and little finger behind the trigger, so when I make the trigger rotates between my ring and middle fingers and if the trigger is wide it constantly rubs in that area until my hand hurts. The ACS sort of locks my fingers in one spot so that the trigger doesn't rotate and the same thing for reel seats that have a deep curve but the old ECS was a killer and the new skeleton reel seats have been a God send to me.

I use mon except for heavy flipping and frogs which are the only techniques that I use braid with. That said, I've tried a bunch of lines and Big Game is one of my favorites but if stretch concerns you, try Spider Wire Ultimate Mono, the stuff is as thin as fluorocarbon and it has very little stretch, I 'm with WRB in that Big Game requires a lot of force to make stretch but this ultimate mono feels like it has almost no stretch. Great knot strength, abrasion resistance, and strength with less stretch than any other mono I ever used before.

Cadman is the master of the brush-tap method, I can't do it too well so I always used a Badger model 260 hobby sand blaster to spray the powder. You can blend colors but you can't get much detail.

I'll defend Rippin-lips because the post did read as if you never really heard of doing that before and you usually us the same 1/4oz spinnerbait with a single willow leaf blade. Most will use whatever conditions call for and if I'm not getting bit I'll try a different approach, so yeah, your post did sound as if you are new to fishing which isn't a bad thing as we all had to be new to it at some point, there is no shame in being new to the sport. Now to answer your question, I like ripping square bills out of grass as well as lipless cranks and if the grass is close to the surface a floating style jerkbait is another good bait. I'm a spinnerbait fanatic and I fish them in grass and rip it through but I find they don't get the same amount of reation strikes that a treble hook bait gets because it never really gets slowed down like by the grass like a crank does.

A jerkbait would be good but chances are the water will be off colored too much for it to be effective. Jigs fished in cover, look for stumps or weed beds close to a drop off, shaky heads and drop shot will be effective if you find concentrations of fish. Slow roll a spinnerbait near sharp breaks that allow fish to change depth quickly, these will be places the will now gravitate too as the season changes.

I know I'm in the minority but I don't care for JDM rods. I know they look cool and have great components but the actions are just not to my liking, even their fast action rods seem much slower than what we have here. From what I gather, that type of taper is used pretty much with their rods as it makes them more versatile but when you get use to rods having a distinct shut off point and a ridged backbone it makes the rod hard to use, at least for me it does, I always feel like I didn't get a good hook set or I'm not applying enough pressure.