RB 77

For Bass, another vote for the plastic worm. No doubt about it!

I like them just fine. I have changed them out on the LV 500 in some instances (just to adjust the hook size), but always leave them be on Pointers not to mess with the "mojo" of that bait.

NEVER! Ha! I always have at least one tied up on the deck of the boat. Now whether I'm actively throwing it or not is another story. Of course the old cliche dictates that one, I let the fish "tell me" whether to keep throwing it or not. The thing about the jig is it is so addictive to fish. Its all about that "thud" when they hit the dang thing!

Another vote for either Stadic.

I got mine in a kit that were pre-cut and yes, I rigged a bunch of mine ahead of time and threw them in the worm box.

This.

Another vote for shrink tubing.

Like DVT said, it will work just fine. You would be surprised at some of the factory builds you run across sometimes. I had a $200+ rod from one of the big boys the looked like it was acid wrapped. The rod worked just fine, but I could never get used to it and eventually got rid of it. Looked like it was wrapped on a Friday afternoon at 4:45 pm. When I build my own, I always get a second set of eyes on just in case I miss something...

Honestly, no I don't. With that being said maximum distance is rarely, if ever more important than an accurate or well timed cast. An angler also has to take into consideration that proper adjustment of the cast control knob in conjunction with properly set breaks (centrifugal and/ or magnetic, sometimes also in conjunction) according to what they are trying to accomplish, what bait they have on, rod rating, etc. Some really light weight baits, extra fast action, etc will definitely get a pin or two on the centrifugal system from me. Pitchin' and Flippin', heavy baits, etc will get less or none.

Yeah, I hear ya. My basic rule of thumb is to fill the reel with enough braid to where when I top shot it so I cant cast to the knot after several reties throughout the day. It will take a few trips and then when I'm able to cast down to the knot I basically know its time for a fresh top-shot.

To clarify, I rarely "swing for the fences" when bass fishing. Some presentations call for it when covering massive amounts of ground or "bombing" a cast to breaking fish. Most casts are more precise in nature once the electronics have done a bit of the ground work. Backlashes happen to the best of us. That's just the nature of a bait caster. A sudden gust of wind will humble anyone. A few of my reels are a PITA to adjust the brakes at all (Calcutta D) so they stay permanently off. I usually always start with the breaks off and add as needed. Most, if not all my rod and reel combos are very technique specific at this point so they stay designated for one technique and one technique only. For example, my C-rig setup is a Falcon Lowrider Lizard Dragger with a Curado 200 E7 with 12lb Yo-zuri Hybrid. Because of the nature of using heavier weights (1/2-3/4 oz mostly) and the way the rod loads the bait I do not need any brakes or one at the most. Heavier baits IE: Lipless cranks, C-rigs, big jigs, etc. usually get the hall pass...

I do it all the time with some reels. Most of them are at zero or maybe one. A few get one or two at the most. On the rare occasion maybe three with a super light weight bait on a super windy day.

Yeah, another vote for straight flouro, but back your reel with braid first so you are fishing a liberal top-shot of flouro.

You're already using the one I would recommend after trying several different brands and models throughout the years. Best ROI of any I have used yet.

LV 500 by far...

Yes, sensitivity is important. I basically fish a similar setup to what I would with plastics except I will bump up in lb test a smidgen and prefer a rod with a tad more back bone.

G Loomis 7' CBR 845, Shimano Curado 200 E7 and 12 lb. Yo-Zuri Hybrid.

Love the stuff. Use it in place of mono for the most part now a days. If I'm not using Sniper, I probably have Hybrid spooled up.

I prefer my own, but Warbaits makes a killer factory jig.

They're good and catch fish. Definitely worth the investment. Now would be a good time to fish them with a yo-yo retrieve. These and the LV 500 are my go-to's.

I have fished them all different ways and in most cases prefer swimbaits and swimjigs without weed guards...

Whats interesting to me is that I have heard the same thing from different people and I just don't see the reasoning behind it for myself anyway. I can see using them all in similar situations some times, but as far as what the actual bait is doing in those situations is quite different for me. Meaning I might fish them in the same area, maybe with the same retrieve, but I want the actual baits to be doing different tings. To me a bladed swim jig is all about the massive amount of vibration it gives off with a little flash thrown in, a spinner bait is all about the flash it gives off with a little vibration thrown in and a swim jig is neither really, a more stealthy approach. At the end of the day I prefer the balded jig in the murkiest of water for the maximum vibration, the spinner bait in slightly stained water and the swim jig in clearer water.

Not "specific" brand and model of lures but general "types" I would go with in no particular order: 1 - 6" Worm 2 - 4.5" worm 3 - Jig n' Pig 4 - Spinnerbait 5 - Paddle Tail Swimbait 6 -Lipless Crankbait 7 - Deep Diver Crankbait 8 - Suspending JerkBait 9 - Hollow Body Frog 10 - Top Water Walking Bait

Another vote for Sunline. I have fished many different brands and models of Fluorocarbon and never really cared for any before. Using Sunline has changed all that. Now I couldn't imagine not using it...

Black, Green and Brown.