iceintheveins

I find smallies hit buzzbaits better and more aggressively/consistently than largemouths do even here in Colorado. Both species love them here but smallies especially. Even a nine or ten incher will nail a buzzbait around here.

I'd go with a Lew's Laser MG speed spool, or a BPS PQ if they are on sale (the PQ is a better reel), and then a BPS tourney special or Abu Vengence Rod. Now that will be a combo that's around $120 to $140 that is quality. It's not a chronarch with a dobyns rod but it will work well.

I have four PQs and they are fantastic reels, the best out there for a hundred bucks. The dual breaking system really lets you keep backlashes to a minimum, and I like that they come with a range of gear ratios. That being said, the Chronarch E IS a better reel. Go with it if you can afford it.

Spooks, spook jrs, and zara puppies.

Very good lure and makes a lot of racket. Casts just fine with 12 - 14 pound mono on a baitcaster too.

I smash them on the rage shad, along with the chunks on my jigs and the space monkeys.

One of my best buzzbait days was during the middle of the day when a bunch of frogs were all over. They worked even better than hollow bodied frogs that day. It was every cast and the temp was 100. Never had a day like that again, but have caught them during sunny, bright day conditions during the day still.

Get a 7' H Veritas Micro Guide and a 7 ratio Curado I or Chronarch.

I was turned onto parasite clips a while back and use them with just about all my plastics. Doubles the amount of fish I can catch on one bait and they don't slip down the hook.

I go with a creature bait or senko in the openings. But it's hard to put that frog down in heavy vegetation anytime it's there.

Yep. You need 50 pound braid for even your average 1 - 2 pounder in slop or cover, and a heavy action rod, trust me.

Pit boss is a go to of mine. One of the best pitchin' baits out there.

Try the accent hi rider, it has floats to make it more buoyant so you can reel it even slower. It's the best double buzzer out there.

Topwaters, especially poppers, buzzbaits, rage shads, and spooks.

Stren is better than Berkley. Original Stren is in between XL and XT for both castability and abrasion resistance. It's a good compromise.

Mr. Twister Split Double Tail, Zoom Swimmin' chunk, Missile baits twin turbo, or a Yamamoto double tail. All the others mentioned before are good too though.

Natural bait works best by far in tough conditions, like really cold weather, very heavily pressured fisheries, and lethargic bass. Sometimes it badly out fishes anything else. All that being said, there are plenty of times when a well presented artificial will outproduce live bait. The factors in that are more about the angler being more in control of the depth and speed of the presentation, as well as covering more water. But it's awfully hard to beat a live baitfish for bass when they've seen it all. A big, 10" - 12" shad or shiner will have every 4 pound plus bass in the lake salivating, and in some of those trophy fisheries (especially in florida) you're more likely to bust a double digit fish using a big live minnow. Those fish can still be taken on just about any lure though, it's all a matter of the conditions being right for what you are using. That fish would run or hide from a flashy spinnerbait when it's high and calm. Bring it over her head though suddenly when she's active and there's a 20 mph breeze and she has a good chance to nail it.

Fifty is the minimum, 65 is better when the cover is outrageously thick or the chance of a 6 pound plus bass is greater. Twenty pound braid is too thin to throw on a baitcaster, it will bind up and dig in on itself. I wouldn't throw anything with less than a eight pound diameter on casting gear. Actually 10 pound diameter is the thinnest I use for a BC, thinner calls for spinning gear. With 50 - 65 you should have no problem.

That isn't to say that squarebills and all cranks don't have their time and place. They do, and in the right conditions they will outproduce a spinnerbait. It's like that with any lure, the conditions dictate lure choice. What caught 10 bass last week might not get a hit this week.

This is why the spinnerbait is probably my #1 choice if I could only use one lure.

Very versatile. Carolina rig, finesse carolina rig, texas rigged with a sliding sinker, texas rigged pegged, even with no weight too. Works well for bedding bass and in the summer too when you want a big bait in deeper water or thick cover. Zoom is still king when it comes to offering a variety of sizes in tons of colors, and the action is good. The rage lizard though is amazing in it's action, but sometimes it's too much and they want the more subtle zoom.

I find them fairly durable, I've caught up to 50 pike on one bait before it was destroyed, and bass are no where near as hard on the bait. Smallies love buzzbaits just as much if not more than largemouth IMO as well.

Good idea. Be that makes a great trailer I love those baits.

We can only hope. No fish that's endangered has ever been removed from the list, and killing the other fish around it has never helped.

They do this in Colorado over suckers, chubs, and squawfish. It hasn't helped numbers of endangered fish at all. We can only pray they won't do this to clear lake. I'm tired of endangered species hogwash.