Fireguyfrank58

On a side note is that a Lews TP on a *** Rod? With PP?

I just want to see if my findings are about on par for everyone else. Fluoro- Sinks, abrasion resistant, almost invisible in water, but has high memory, is break off prone, has knot slip problems, can be a pain to cast. Braid- Floats, super strong for diameter, easy casting, great hookset power, great tightline sensitivity, strong knots, but can be seen in water, and has issues with cuts. I bring this up because I have been fishing PP # 50 for a while and I have to say that is really good braid. With this summer time hitting hard I wanted to make sure I wasnt leaving fish on the table by using a line that was scaring off fish. So yesterday I picked up some Seaguar Invisix 15 lb. I used it this morning and caught several fish. Only had 2 two lbs. largemouth but still fun. I noticed memory was pretty low but still got some bird nests and it seemed like the line always wanted to be a little loose on the reel. I ended up with one knot slip in a tree that I hung, that lost a tungsten weight!..ouch! Then I had a long cast with a light lure and the line randomly broke off with my 60' cast. So I guess I'm wondering if thats the kind of thing you should expect with fluoro? I had more bird nests then normal and a cold pretty bad ones. I was switching lures and they were pretty varied in weight. Once I switched to the improved clinch I didnt have any more knot slips. I almost wonder If its not worth going back to mono. The bad part is I love the braid I'm just not sure how much it matters with visibility.

Well I am still at it with the jig and trying new retrieves. Not much more luck so I headed back to the store to try and maximize my chances. I am changing from #50 PP to 15lb Seaguar InvisX, I got 2 Strike King Hack attack Jigs, one 3/8 Green brown and red flake, the other 1/2 oz green with black flake. I also got Zoom little critter Black with blue craws for trailer and a pack of KVD Bama craw Chunks for another option. Gonna head out tomorrow morning and see If I cant do better.

I actually ordered some Mega strike 2 weeks ago from the sight and haven't heard from or seen the package. I may need to call them. I'd like to see if it will make a difference.

The colors I have the most success are the green pumpkin baby brush, or black w/blue flake, june bug, and Zoom speed Vibe craw Black w/red flake. The water clarity I have been fishing is murky. Usually only see the bait from 8" to sometimes 1-2ft max. My reel is a 5:4:1 so I figured a little burn would mimic a craw retreat maybe. I have one brown jig but I feel the skirt is way to long. I may trim it back to where the skirt is 1/4" shorter then the end of the trailer. I feel very comfortable with Texas rigs so I may try more hops but maybe half of what I would do with a Texas and slow it down, thanks. Ill try and give it a few more hook sets. I'm still kicking myself from yesterday since on the cast I got 3-4 huge tics. It was classic strike off a cast and I hesitated and missed it. At my regular spot I know for a fact I have had a single tic strike. I just figured smaller fish were hitting the trailer. Ill give those a rip and see what produces next time. I'm just so used to waiting for a couple tics with my T-rigs, drilling them on one single tic is not natural right now.

I have been trying the jig on and off on my fishing outings with minimal success. I have read alot about how to fish them but I'm still not really sure of what kind of retrieval to do. I am casting from the back and using 1/2 oz black or 1/2 oz Blue black flake with Rage tail craw trailer. So far I have caught one fish, be it a nice one but only of the retrieve. I have had a couple bumps on the bottom but I feel like small fish hitting the trailer. Normally I cast it out far and let it sink on a slack line. I let it sit for 3-4 seconds then give it 3 or 4 bumps. Then I either burn it 3-4 turns or I slow drag it. Then I lift and drop like a Texas rig. Let sit then crawl it in. So far I just feel the bottom really well and get a bump once and a while but nothing significant. So I guess I'm not retrieving it right. One thing I am gonna change is I'm gonna switch to 15lb Fluoro to make sure line visibility isnt an issue. I did miss one fish today. I threw out a very long cast and as soon as it hit the water one engulfed it. I felt 3 very big bumps just like on a Texas rig but I waited too long and the hook set got nothing. Any advice?

I bought to packs yesterday of the Ribbits and looked at the 4/0 and 5/0 Owner EWG plus hooks. To me the 5/0 seemed just a hair to long and could almost go all the way between the legs without having to run through the lure. The 4/0 got into the lure with plenty of meat and seems perfect IMHO.

Videos like this are exactly why I bought 2 packs of frogs yesterday. Im gonna take them to Old hickory from the bank and see what I can do.

Thanks for the advice...

I fish Priest from the bank on a regular basis and from boats for about 20 years now. I have only caught 3-4 Small mouth, granted 2-3 pounders on that lake. The biggest thing at priest now is the shear volume of people with recreational vehicles using it.

I too just switched to tungsten about 2 months ago of my Texas rigs. I have been using the H20 brand and they have inserts. I have had zero problem with my PP braid.

This happens to me every time I fish from the bank. They block me from even casting alot of times. But its a free country and I cant teach people common courtesy. Still makes me really freakin mad though.

I hate to say it but report him to the authorities. I don't have any tolerance for this kind of thing and you have pictures for proof.

Thanks for all the info guys. I pretty sure my Veritas would explode before I was ever able to straighten a jig hook with my MH.

While I have no experience with the Mojo my Veritas is extremely sensitive. I have had no issues with my rods and I check it regularly. I have caught 15-20 fish on it so far and for my Texas rigs it has been nothing but perfect.

Hey guys, want to see what you guys think of what line I should use. Right now I am using #50 PP Slick 8 which has a line diameter of 12 lb. The water I fish has only 5-6 ft. of visibility most of the time and 30 ft at its max. I notice the green PP really blends nice with the water and I can only barley see the line under the water. I fish lots of rocks and reeds with light grass. I really have almost no abrasion problems and have caught 6-7 fish without having to retie. I Texas rig 90% of the time with 1/4 oz tungsten weight and a baby brush hog or worm. The other rig I would use would be a 1/2 oz jig. I was thinking of dropping to the #30 to get the smaller diameter for less visible line and also get max casting distance since I only bank fish. My Lews TP with these rigs and one break on throws them really far but I figure the smaller line will still cast better. So would you guys use the #50 or drop to the #30 like I am thinking? Thanks in advance.

If that is your next reel then congrats because you are gonna love it. Got mine 2 weeks ago and have only 100% positive, amazing reel that casts a mile. I have not had any problems with my reel and I have not done anything to it but taken it out of the box and adjusted the brakes from 2 to 1.

Just an update, I fished a 1/2 oz Jig last night with a Baby Brush hog trailer and it fished extremely well with my MH. The water I fish is fairly open, no heavy grass, mainly just reeds and light grass on the bottom. I actually caught the first bass ever on a that rig. Was not the biggest fish but weight 2.22 lbs.

Well I busted out of my funk tonight too. Caught 10 with 2 being 2 pounds. The others were small but still fun to catch fish again. Caught 3-4 on Black with red glitter Zoom speed craw, and a couple on June bug baby brush hog. I even caught my with first fish ever on a 1/2 oz Jig with baby brush hog trailer!

Nice! I'm glad to see things turned around for you. I think I may head up to the lake and fish at around 7 till a little past dark. Thats usually the best time I have had good results.

I know I'm late to the party but I am also having a summer funk here in Middle TN. I fish Percy Priest and have been throwing every jig, soft bait I can to try and get a strike and nothing. Just 2 weeks ago I was catching great fish in the same spot. Now not even a bite. I am fishing from the bank with no boat so my spots are very limited. I am thinking the fish are holding in deep water right now do to the very hot days we have been having. I have been going at daylight, and dawn and still nothing right now. Here is a bit of what I have been trying. -White Buzz bait- Nothing -Black spinner-Nothing -Black/ Red Zoom Speed Craw Texas w/ 1/4oz weight-Nothing -June Bug Zoom Baby Brush Texas w/ 1/4 0z weight- Nothing -Green Pumpkin Zoom Baby Brush Texas w/ 1/4 oz weight-Couple hits -Green/Red Brush Hog Texas 1/4 OZ weight - Nothing -Red Shad,June Bug, Black, and Black/Silver Culprit Worms Texas 1/4 oz- Nothing -Rage Tail Summer Craw-Nothing -Black 1/2 oz Jig Baby brush hog trailer- Couple hits Maybe -5" June Bug Senko Wacky-Nothing I know this wont help you much but I think they bass are just holding in deeper water. I see alot of bait fish very close to the shore but not alot of top water hits at all. Be stubborn and stay at it! I am going to also. Ill try and post if anything else I try starts to work.

I already have the Veritas I am looking at a second setup

Thanks for all the input guys. I believe I will get the heavy instead and dedicate that to mainly a jig rod. I can still tie on some heavier tungsten weights on my T Rigs if I wanna swap up the feel of the rods. I am really interested in getting into the jigs. Also, honestly I could probably use a heavy rod most of the time on the banks I fish since there are a lot of large boulders and logs that I regularly have to pull across.

I have been running my MH Abu with #50 PP and Owner 3/0 hooks since I was starting to bend Gammy EWG hooks. I was wondering if I ran my Texas rigs with those 1/4 oz weights would be way too light for the heavy rod, not so worried about casting distance mainly sensitivity.

I just got done reading the sticky post on jig fishing and now have a question. What is the down side of buying a rod with too heavy an action for your fishing. I was going to buy a *** rod 7'3" mh. I already have a Abu Garcia Vertitas 7'3 MH. I read that you really want a heavy action rod for jig fishing and that's a new technique I want to add to my arsenal. Right now 99% of the time I Texas rig with 1/4oz weights. The MH action is perfect for that and the cover in my lake. So I was thinking I buying the *** in heavy action so I could use it for jigs and hopefully t rigging also instead of having 2 of the same style rods.