ipeeinmywetsuit

I want to start with 1/4 maybe a 3/8 for the robo ez shad trailer. I have a MH Powell Endurance btw. It's a great rod so my thoughts would be it could handle it. Who knows if these will even exceed the recommended lure weight with a trailer. Nice, I'll check them out this morning. I have plenty of craw/creature plastics but I like the idea of a swim bait trailer for this short Fall season I'll be having. It's something I've never done and the spinnerbait bite has slowed down so I feel like this may be the next step. I said this before but the rod I am using is a MH Powell Endurance 7'2" EF action w/ 12lb line. Also, the patterns I have in mind are chart/white, chart shad, and bluegill. I think thats enough light to dark colored bait variety.

I want to start fishing some of these and I've been looking at the Revenge swim jigs in 1/4oz and the Dirty Jigs California swim jig in 3/8oz. For my trailer I want to use paddle tails and I have been looking at the grandebass swim'n rattlesnake, keitech swing impacts and roboworm ez shad for the DJ Cali swim jig. My problem is the rod I have is a 7'2" MH EF rated for up to 3/4oz. Do you guys think a roboworm ez shad on a 3/8th oz dirty jig might be too heavy? Should I just stick with the lighter Revenge swim jigs and the grandebass/keitech swing impact trailers? I just want to have some sort of variety but I don't have a rod that can throw a heavier bait. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks.

Thank you! I am seriously considering a strike back. I don't need one for deeper water. The fish seem to like the shallow running baits right now. I threw one because I noticed bait fish jumping but I couldn't see the bass blowing up on them so I threw a spinnerbait and wham one after another.

I looked at these and I am definitely going to try one in the blue gill pattern. These look so good for the price. Maybe too good. I am going to try a couple booyahs, war eagles, and a revenge spinner. I'll report back with what I like!

Are there other companies you guys like besides booyah? I can't seem to find the color I want from booyah in the smaller size.

Already checked myself. Thanks man.

I have never had a lot of luck with spinnerbaits until recently. I have only one and its a Strike King bleeding spinnerbait thats 3/16 oz and in the fire tiger color. It has a gold willow blade and a small chrome indiana blade. I've caught quite a few fish on this bait the past three days. However, I want to order some more. I was wondering what you guys like for stained/murky water with some clear patches in the shallower water? What brand/type? The fish seem to love the size of mine which is fairly smaller. Thanks for reading!

Either will look great on a white duckett.. but the tp is lighter and much smaller than the Chronarch. But because that 7'6" might be a little more tip heavy maybe the chronarch will balance better with it. Also the Chronarch has a larger line capacity which will be nice considering you should be spooling up with some heavy lb braid.

Jackall flick shake in 4.8in and jackall crosstail shad. Great smaller baits for shaky head or drop shot. You can wacky rig either on the dropshot for a more enticing action.

Correct me if I am wrong but the logical reasoning behind why I C & R LMB is that I have heard that bass taste "fishy." Not to mention the odds of a bass getting above 4-6lbs are very low and the odds of a bass attaining double digits are astronomically low. The bigger the bass get the more parasites they take on and the more their taste diminishes. In addition, a lot of the waters I fish are polluted with runoff among other things, so I wouldn't eat anything of those waters. However, I have heard that smaller freshwater bass can taste good. My more subjective reasoning behind why I C & R is that I fish for LMB as a sport. I don't feel right hurting/eating a fish that I have a sort of respect for nor do I feel right about hurting/eating a fish that provides me with so much enjoyment. I feel like the transcendental experience of being out on the water and catching bass would be diluted by keeping and eating the fish that provides you with so much tranquility and relaxation. I wouldn't eat the fish and I don't know anyone that would eat them either. Theres nothing like watching the sun rise and set over a rural lake, pond, river, or stream. However if I had my own private lake/pond and relied on my property for some sort of self sufficiency I wouldn't be opposed to culling smaller bass for the benefit of my small fishery. I can't say if I would personally eat them or not but they would be used for their meat or else I would feel too guilty. I can say that I am bias in the sense I have more of a respect and soft spot for big largemouth because of the odds it has beaten. I have only kept certain saltwater species of fish to eat. I was raised fishing in the ocean and raised on saltwater fish for dinner, etc. Eating my saltwater catch is something I am very accustomed to. Plus ocean fishing can be more of a hectic environment especially on cattle boats. There are guys drinking and smoking everywhere, greasy burgers cooking below deck, sardines flying over your head, scales all over everything, and the boat rocks all day. The environment is much different that a the freshwater experience.

Have you looked at the Powell Endurance rods? They make a 7'1" Heavy and that rod is amazing for 160 bones. I believe the Powell Endurance is better than the two rods you are mentioning. It has the smaller fuji aconite guides and its slightly lighter than the Max. Plus Powell gives you a lifetime warranty. It would be an ideal rod for throwing jigs/texas rigs/and frogging. You also have to think about how heavy the baits you are going to throw will be. The extra fast tip on the Powell only allows you to throw up to 1oz baits where as the fast action Phenix will allow you to throw a 1 1/2oz bait. I would make your decision between the Endurance and the Phenix Recon not the Max.

I don't understand ridiculously violent/hard hook sets either snook. I literally straightened a hook and snapped my line with the braid/fluoro on a normal jerking upward motion. However, all the 1/16oz wacky hooks I have used tend the bend a little after a few big fish. That very day I readjusted to a flick of the wrist/side pull while reeling and landed over 15 fish. I believe I stated something like that in my first post. Yozuri is not a magic line in any case its cheaper than the Berkley vanish. I was just looking for affirmation that this is normal because I've never used braid let alone finessed with it. Since I only caught a few bass in the 2-3lb range I was worried a bigger hook set would be necessary for a larger fish but the video and some of you guys negated that possibility. Thanks to the rest of you for the confirmation that what I am doing is correct and that sort of mishap I was having at the beginning is normal for a normal hook set with a braid/fluorocarbon finesse setup. I've been fishing my local pond the past three nights and have landed a total of over 40 fish on the flick shake with the braid. Tonight was the slowest night with only 10 fish.

Haha yeah tiger sharks are apparently attracted to urine, but when the winter surf is up its a great way to keep warm while waiting for a set.

So I spooled my 2500 reel with 20 lb power pro and 8lb fluorocarbon leader. The first bite I got when i set the hook I straightened out my owner wacky hook. On the second bite I snapped the hook off entirely upon setting the hook. I found that when I just reel and sweep back on my rod with a taunt line instead it sets the hook on them. I land just about every fish doing this but my biggest so far with the finesse setup is just over 2lb's. I'm worried that this method of setting the hook won't generate enough power to get a the hook through the mouth of a bigger bass and I'll lose the fish. Also if I want to fly line a senko or something and I bury the hook (texas rig) I have to set it a little harder and that could snap the line. I'm wondering if this is normal for a braid and light leader line combo? Does it typically snap so easily on a hard hook set? Right now I'm using berkeley vanish in 8lb because its all I have but I ordered some yozuri hybrid in 8lb to use instead. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

do it.. get some green pumpkin or watermelon colored ones and rig them with a 4/0 ewg with the skirt up. enjoy catching fish.

I was bitten by the JDM bait monkey.. $$$$$. haha

My assumption exactly. I thought it was weird that he went to check in at home and most likely told his dad he was out there with me yet no one else came out with him. It's why I feel like he might not have a lot of supervision.. especially in my area where theres a lot of people. It's just not in his best interest to be alone out there.

.... obviously haha.

So I was walking a pond I fish pretty regularly the other night and I showed up before the sunset as the fishing has been better a little before the sunset now rather than at night. Caught a few small ones on the top water but it slowed down so I decided to explore the creeks and other small ponds. I found this stream that was crystal clear and chalked with bass and big catfish. It was beautiful and tranquil. I decide to just fly line a green senko because thats always a winner at these waters. So this small kid walks up to me and it turns out he's ten years old and just starts talking with me about fishing. He says he walks out here at night because theres nothing to do in his apartments; he can't skate or make a lot of noise. I cast under the bridge over the small stream and pull out this beautiful little 2lb black bass. It had a jet black on top and emerald green on the sides; just one of those pretty and healthy fish you love to spend a little extra time looking at. We're both stoked on this fish and he's telling me that they look scary especially because it was thrashing hard as I just yanked it out of the shallow stuff. Anyways this ten year old was super respectful and considerate. He wasn't stumbling over my gear and he knew to get back when I felt a bite and was about to set the hook. Not to mention he was sharp for his age.. and patient. He started to sort of guide me around to different ponds where he see's big fish from time to time. He was sooo amped on the fish I was catching he started saying he needs to get some gear to fish with and he'll ask his dad. I tell him a little about what he should look for and maybe get at Walmart or something. It's about 7:00 at night by now and I ask if he has a curfew and say I walk over by the stream near his apartments. I'm doing this because a 10 year old should not be alone at all in my opinion plus I get to explore a new creek and make sure he gets home. He tells me he doesn't have a curfew because his dad doesn't mind as long as he stays out by these ponds, but he'll check in with his dad and come back. I felt sort of bad/worried for him as it seemed like he didn't have a lot of supervision. Still he's a smart kid none the less; maybe not smart to just come up and start talking to me alone but whatever. Anyways, he came back and hung out with me until a little after sunset and I said I'm going to go back to my original pond maybe I'll see him around again and he should get home for the night. I don't have any siblings but I was kind of impressed that a ten year old was able to just hang out and not even fish but just watch and talk for two hours. It's hard for me to get friends my age to do that and I am 23. Anyways, it was a fun night and even though the 2lb fish was the only decent sized catch of the night my new fishing partner for the night made it interesting. So that's my fishing report for yesterday, not in the usual tradition. However, seeing that kid so stoked on fishing, hearing that he's bored out there, and seeing him without supervision got me thinking. I have old spinning rods that I was either going to throw away or sell on craigslist for like 10-15 bucks. They are old poles from my youth.. the shakespeare type that are cheap but work. I was thinking if I see him out there again a few more times maybe I'll give him one of these rods to occupy his time and teach him how to wacky rig a senko or something because thats all he really needs out there. I imagine I should introduce myself to his dad first before giving him stuff but I'm worried his dad will either think I am crazy or be crazy himself. I feel like I should do a good thing here but I want to protect myself. I was super cautious and formal around this kid because it was just plain odd for him to be out there alone. Maybe you guys have some thoughts on this? Maybe I should just stay away all together? Its just always awesome to see someone who reminds you of yourself at that age stoked on fishing.

Probably a good call I handled the bucoos at walmart and I liked how they felt. I found my Medium bait caster to be a pretty specific rod. Its too much give for my taste and I use it for light baits: top water, 1/4oz square bills, flukes, maybe a really light texas rig/jig. A MH is going to offer you more versatility for the baits you want to throw as well as more sensitivity to fish strikes/the bottom when you are dragging/hopping/cranking/ripping along. The bait monkey is a whole different animal.. this is more of a gear monkey I guess?

If you can spare the money I would get a Powell endurance 723. Its a 7'2" MH rod extra fast tip. I paired mine up with my Lews Tournament Pro and it balances perfectly right above the reel. The whole setup is incredibly light and I can cast further than I ever need to. I use it for texas rigged worms, senko's, ika's, lighter wake baits, square bills, jigs. Just about everything except for a standard crankbait. This setup is by far my most favorite right now. Not to mention the matte black reel on a matte black rod with the purple/pink trim is extremely steezy. It's a sharp little outfit man I would seriously consider buying one. For 160 bucks I'm convinced you can't but a better rod especially one that pairs so well with a Lews TP.

Thats odd that you say the phenix has an extra fast tip. A few of the other guys here were saying its more of a fast even moderate fast tip. I feel like the cumara 7'7" punching model would be much stiffer as its rated for a 1-3oz lure where the phenix is rated a 3/8th-2 1/2 oz lure.

Nice. I think I'm even more sold on the phenix even though I sort of have been for some time. Is that length OK/better than the 7'6" for throwing the smaller swim baits/punchin' in your opinion? I am 5'9" tall so I think it would be good for me vs something in the 8ft range. I've just never used a rod this length for bass fishing so I want to make sure I don't get something wayy too big.

Haha speaking of their power, I fish some pretty shallow ponds near my house at night with my medium heavy 723 and I have to really be aware of where my bait is and make hook sets accordingly. Every once in a while I'll pop a smaller fish right out of the water..

I would be using it for these exact applications. I want to be able to flip/pitch, punch in the heavy stuff, and even throw a smaller swimbait if I feel like it. I feel like the cumara will be on the extreme side of technique specific. Athough it's a killer deal I am most likely going to end up with a phenix. I haven't decided between the 7'6" or the 7'9" but I feel the 7'6" will still be able to handle some heavy punching and be more versatile for throwing a swimbait or a larger wakebait. Also, you all are stating that the tip is slightly moderate. Do you feel like its too much give when trying to pull a bass out of the thick stuff? Or are you able to wrestle them out just fine? I'm all for a tip that allows them to inhale the bait but if its too much give I don't want a big one swimming around some branches or deep into the cover..