iceintheveins

No jigs are better than the pepper jigs from Pepper Custom Baits. Three colors are really all you need, green pumpkin, clear lake special (an orange brown jig) and black blue. Get a jig in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 ounce for each color. A matching rage or paca chunk for water in the upper 50s and higher, and a zoom super chunk for colder water is the way to go.

Was tough, got seven with a couple two pounders, water temp 49 to 52 in the electric only lake in my 12' alumacraft. Lipless cranks and jerkbaits were the ticket, but spinnerbaits and jigs also got bit. Fish were outside spawning areas in grass and on deep grass edges in 8 to 15 feet of water. At the bigger lake in my bass boat, caught only three all day, with water temps 44 to 47. A wiggle wart caught one, jerkbaits caught the other two. All three fish were around 2 pounds. All fish were on a rip rap bank in 8 to 12 feet. Fish on the left was from the bigger lake, fish on the right, the smaller lake.

Gamma touch fluoro. Expensive but better than Tatsu. P line tactical is good for a mid priced fluoro.

Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and all topwaters besides frogs are best in my opinion on a glass or composite cranking style rod. You lose a lot fewer fish and the hookup rate is higher.

The lunkerhunt lures have been notorious for sinking and filling with water, and not being durable, so proceed with caution.

High action trailers would be stuff like rage and paca chunks. Low action chunks would be stuff like a Zoom Super Chunk or beaver style bait, that more just has a gliding action on the fall but will wave a little bit when stood on the bottom.

Given these have been big time players in cold water classics, what are your favorite underspin models and trailers? Do you prefer a low action trailer like a fluke or a paddle tail trailer in water under the upper 40s?

No doubt certain baits work much better at certain times of the year. I use a lot of different lures much of the year, but I don't often use suspending jerkbaits for water over 60 or topwaters in water temps under 55, for instance. I can give you a seasonal breakdown. Early Pre Spawn - Suspending Jerkbait, Lipless Crank, Tight Wobbling Finesse Cranks (shad raps ect), Wiggle Warts, Some deep cranks, spinnerbaits, jigs with low action trailers, swim jigs, ned rigs, drop shot, carolina rig Later Pre Spawn - Squarebills and shallow cranks, spinnerbaits, Ned Rig, Jigs with higher action trailers, medium crankbaits, flukes, senkos, and topwaters once the water hits 60 Post Spawn Through Early Fall - Jigs, flippin' creatures, worms of all types, buzzbaits, all sorts of topwaters including frogs, cranks of all types, spinnerbaits of all types, Ned Rigs Mid Fall to Early Winter - Lipless cranks, suspending jerkbaits, many of the same things I use in the early pre spawn. This is just a generalization, not a hard and fast list. There are variables like water clarity, amount of wind, light level and cloud cover, pressure, lake specific forage ect.

Tomorrow on an electric only lake that's shallower, with water temps probably close to 50 (I'm in Western Colorado). Then taking the bass boat out on Saturday to a bigger lake that's still colder, especially to adjust my new Helix 5.

Abu Veritas, Abu Ike Series Delay, Phoenix Glass, St. Croix Mojo Glass.

I like a crankbait style rod for spinnerbaits. MH for most applications, but a medium for 1/4 ounce spinnerbaits (yes they have a very important role in some situations). I have two BPS Crankin Sticks in 7' M and 7' MH, and also a Abu Veritas Winch in that size. Any mid level crank rod is great for spinnerbaits.

Halo Deep Cranking Model, 7'11" MH. The I Rod's Fred's Crank launcher in the same size and action is also great.

I don't go over $200 for a reel. The mid range reels are usually great and last a long time. Even entry level reels like the BPS Pro Qualifier last 5 to 10 years. Of course this is with proper maintenance and care.

Reaction innovations flirt Robo Worm Fat Straight Tail Strike King Baby Finesse Zoom Finessse

Don't overlook any clear or natural colored walking baits, poppers or props. If the wind comes up or it's low light, you can go louder. Calm conditions = subtle topwaters. Windier or low light = more aggressive. It's a general rule, not an absolute, but it works.

Anyone have any pointers on how to reduce the risk of interference when routing the transducer cable through to boat? The Transducer (a side imaging one) will be mounted on the starboard side of the stern. Should I keep the wires from touching any other wires or does it really matter? Could running the wire along the hull be a better option to avoid interference? I'm think I have the an unobstructed spot for the ducer, but I just want it free of interference.

I have broken off on bigger fish over 5 or 6 pounds a couple times with 50. Fifty just casts like a rocket though, but you have to retie and be careful. If fish over 5 or 6 pounds are common, rather than just being a nice bass like where I'm from (Colorado), go with 65. Heavier frogs will still fly far enough.

Quantum Hot Sauce, Shimano Bantam, or Reel Butter Oil from Ardent.

Absolutely deadly in stained or off colored water in the shallows. It comes through grass better than any other crank, and the wide, loud wobble really calls for attention. Catches lots of nice 4 to 5 pounders like this one when banged through cover. So in dirty water, it's the first squarebill or shallow crank period I reach for.

The dredger is one of the best deep cranks on the market. I also really like the wild thang for a hunting style crank.

For a regular hollow bodied frog, the Livetarget or Booyah are the two best by far. If you want a frog with kicking legs for extra noise, the snag proof wobbtletron or Stanley Top Toad are amazing. Can't wait to try to teckel sprinkler or the Booyah Toad Runner.

I'm old fashioned in that I prefer a slow reel for almost all cranking applications. I feel I can control the speed better this way. You can get away with a 6 ratio reel for shallow and medium cranking, but for deep cranking, as well as slow rolling spinnerbaits, a 5 ratio reel is mandatory.

Pflueger President!

I probably catch better numbers on craws/creatures than jigs, but not always. I prefer a jig in off colored of choppy conditions more than a plain creature.

Live Target. Also really like the Strike King Wobbletron for a buzzing type frog.