gulfcaptain

I decided to put a few 3600 tackle trays to this use. Depending on what my plan is bank fishing I can take and put that one box in my bag and a binder with other odds and ends. Have a dropshot box, creature/flipping box, and a swimbait (swing impacts/ shads) for the umbrella rig. Any other plastics such as senko's or flukes I keep in a binder. Depending on what I wanna do, I just swap them out and leave the other in the trunk and ready to go.

Are you asking for opinions on what to get, or looking to try and get one on here. As for the first, I fish a frog on 2 different set ups but as far as what you're looking for I would suggest a 7'3" to 7'6" Hvy fast action with a 7:1 gear ratio and 40-65lb braid. My set up is a Falcon Bucco 7'3" Hvy with a Quantum Accurist (older model) with 30lb braid(lighter then most fish but my preference.) What brands do you like and what's your price range?

You can always go to a punch jig......tungsten flipping wieght with a skirt attached and use a bobber stopper. And if you get hung up in the grass, fish a heavier jig to push it through. And although I don't have any of the Sebert Jigs yet, will be placing an order within the next 2 weeks for some of his punch jigs.

Believe the jaw doesn't extend past the eye either when it's closed unlike the LM's do.

I have no doubt a jig, senko, or any other bait will catch big bass...just answered the question if I was going to target only larger bass what bait would I fish. But like WRB and Raul both point out, honestly have to fish where there are big bass in the population and the high percentage areas that will hold them. Guess the best answer is whatever bait will trigger and excit them into biting.

Larger swimbaits (8" and up) tend to curve your chances. I don't think I have caught one under 4lb, but have had smaller fish follow. But you're not fishing for numbers, you're fishing for those few quality bites.

Think Raul and the others that have the same sort of reply have it right. You are paying for an imported handcrafted swimbait that they make one at a time and they are works of art as well as fine tuned lures. As for greed, sorry, I don't see greed in the price. I see pride, commitment, and quality that they stand behind and continue to make them one at a time. The few that choose to fish them CHOOSE to. Nobody forced them to purchase that bait. If it wasn't in demand then TW or whomever would discontinue carrying them.

If you can get a good map of the lake which shows you depth, and bottom features, I would start there. Look for areas that would hold fish and focus on them. Eliminate a lot of the lake before you ever start. Then take you boat out WITHOUT any rods, do some recon work, look at the areas you found on the map, look for cover to go with the stucture you found. Find areas you have confidence in fishing and fish those first. If you're a better shallow water person, just because you have a boat don't go try and fish ledges and expect to knock it out of the park. Just remember now that you have a boat if you're fishing the bank you probably have the boat in the same water you would normally be casting to. May have to back yourself off and try and sit a bit farther out. And like others said, also start with seasonal patterns that should apply to the areas of interest you found on your map.

Remember when most casting rods were 5'6" and had a pistol grip and everyone was in amazement when Diawa came out with a 7:1 gear ratio when most were lucky if they were even 5:1. Think standard was about 4.7:1 Remember when before everyone fished a shakey head, there was shaking a worm...IE Western Worms Green Weenie, a glass bead, and a worm weight with 4-6lb test. I remember the Ryobi, had a small baitcaster that might have held 90yrs of 10lb line. Remember when plastic worms came in to basic colors....black or purple.

Just be prepared to be a bit frustrated at times, especially when you see a wolf pack of 4-7lb fish follow and then mouth the tail...kinda reminds me ofa shark taking a test bite....lol But it gives you a good idea of where they are roaming as it gives away their hiding spots.

In that color water if you're looking at fishing a plastic or jig, I would go with black/blue, blue craw,bama bug, or a green pumpkin/chart. Have a few ponds I fish that are a dark brown color, but still have about 2ft of vis and all these colors produce really well.

I'm sure the fish up north will eat them as well especially with the fall feed coming up in the next few months.

Then I don't think you have the problem of it digging into your spool, more then likely the knot is slipping. I've started leaving a bit longer tag end on mine as well as changing the my knot. If you do a lot of flipping, use a marker on the first 18" so you can see if you have wear from the sinker and check the knot if the hook isn't welded closed, sometimes you can get small knicks right where the hook closure is. I've had that happen a few times and it's just from not taking that few seconds to check.

I would invest in one of the auto inflatables for sure. Use one when I'm float tubing and hope that it never has to be inflated but feel better knowing I have one on and not about how am I gonna swim back to shore in waders and this cold water I'm in.

Some agree with biologists, some don't. Some are smarter then others. Here in S.Cal, I can tell you some of the Marine Biologists are idiots, having seen them try and catch rockfish to do surveys and want to suvey muddy bottoms they serveyed to close the rockfish as they felt it was overfished. And one wonders when they say "look there still isn't any rockfish here".....no sh#t, they don't live in the mud, that's why they are called rockfish not mudfish, but they went to school to tell us what's best. This example is of the ones that have more booksmarts then common sense and like their nice degree hanging on the wall. Now others that truly love the outdoors, fish and hunt themselves, as well as manage the fisheries I have all respect for as they both have the classroom knowledge but also know how to apply that knowledge to what they do and the habitats they manage. Rough fish are just as important to a fishery as gamefish. Without those fish the systems can crash...no forage base, no gamefish. If the bass eat all the rough fish that are native, you either have to thin out their population and replenish and protect the rough fish, or have to stock some other non-native fish to fill in the gap. Smallmouth have a certain lake condition that they prefer, and here in S Cal you have to head up to the mountains or northern part of the state to find them as they don't seem to take to well to some of the lakes that our LM love so much.

When I fished tournaments with my Dad back when I was 17-18, I would run the trolling motor and by mid afternoon he was a good six pack in. Good part though is he new he was buzzed(drunk) and other then putting the boat on the trailer, he left all the other driving up to me including the drive home....lol but we made it in one piece, and the emty cans stayed in the boat, not over the side.

Only area not a fan of Quantum on is the spinning reels, namely because they did away with the ability to be able to back reel as they don't have that option on some of their reels and like using the 100 size spinning with 10lb braid, so unfortunatly I fish Okuma's which I have been plesently supprised by as well. But if they still had the ability to be able to back reel I would have purchased Quantums, just don't have the function I wanted.

I put the nail weight right between the lower finlets in the middle segment. May have to play with it to figure out what you like. I use my fishtank to get the weight right, as I don't want it to sink to fast but not float right away either. Try to get it where either it slowly rises and I mean slowly....like 30 sec to float that 8-12" to the top, or slowly sink the other way. The fish in the picture came right behind it and below. When they sink to the bottom to quick they seem to loose interest in the bait(observations made from the fish that follow). When they slowly float up or you kill it on the suface, they come in closer and seem to stay interested. I would get th lead nail weights so you can trim bits off of them so you can get the desired rate. And lots of attractant, these things have a really strong plastic smell straight out of the pack. Also change the hook, I like using the Mustad Triple Grip 2X short 1X strong. Haven't had one fail me yet or a fish come off a swimbait. These tend to sit a bit better on the back but are a bit heavier then the hooks they supply with the bait. And if your tail gets any bend from sitting, you are gonna have to boil it straight or it wil mess up the action on these. You give them a twitch when they are straight and running right and then slack they will almost do a 180 and turn broad side as it glides off. Being you are in FL, I would def get the floater or two and experiment with them, have had 3lb fish take a wack at these as well.

It's easier to break 20lb mono or FC then to break 50-65lb braid.

8' is plenty long and you should still get all the benefits you are looking for from the FC. I use anywhere from 3-8' depending on what I'm doing.

This one fell for a line thru floater which I have altered just slightly to suspend about 6" under the surface.

First, the floating is an awsome bait, and if you purchase some 1/32oz nail weights you can make it suspend as well as just suspend under the surface. Where I fish, the floating gives me more options especially when they stock as they pick the weak off first and a slow helpless surface trout perks their interest. Also in summer, well you can fish these over weedbeds as well as deadsticking it. You can quickly see the followers that deadsticking or slowly twitching these can pull opposed to fishing deep. If I am fishing deeper I swap to a Huddleston as the slower kick as well as line tie give them a more natural swim action but the floating Hudds don't swim as good as the Line Thru does. But like I stated the floater you can add nail weights and get it to suspend which is a great advantage opposed to a bait that already sinks.

All depends on what you're comfortable with. I normally don't use anything over a 1/4oz on my spinning rod. And an 1/8oz is tough on a spinning rod. Now if you're fishing a plastic worm with an 1/8oz weight that's different. May have to save and carry 1 of each so you have all your bases covered.

oh and forgot, the LC RC 1.5 is an awsome wakebait that stays right on the surface. That one and the Wakeshad I think are the two that I have found that are truly wakebaits in my line up of shallow baits.

The live targets get about 6-10" down if you really try to. But 6" isn't really a problem. SK has a series 3XS which wll run about the same depth up to about a foot. Or you could go a bit bigger and fish one of the MS Mini Slammer which would gives you both a bigger wake bait but also one that will run just under the surface which I believe runs right about $35-40.