iceintheveins

Original gitzits and strike king coffee tubes.

XL just doesn't hold up for me, and XT has way too much memory. Go with the best of both worlds, stren original.

For fairly sparse cover and lighter baits, MH. If fishing true heavy cover for big fish go with heavy. A MH is also a good choice when using braid too.

Flukes, spinnerbaits, senkos, buzzbaits, poppers, jigs, creatures, finesse worms/french fries.

Great squarebill for sure.

Yeah in lefty states where there are a lot of salmon and trout, sometimes they try and blame bass for declines and won't manage them properly, or even propose to kill some of them. But Oregon has some great smallie fishing on the Columbia, but also the Umpqua and John Day if you prefer a more modest sized river.

You are close to Sand Hollow and Quail Creek, which are two of the best largemouth fisheries in the entire state. Lake Mead is fairly close as well, and if you are up for a longer trip, the Phoenix area has a bunch of big reservoirs with on occasional double digit fish in places like Lake Pleasant, Apache, Saguaro, and Bartlett.

I match the diameters as well. About 15 yards of line will do for backing.

Abu Garcia's entry level cardinals used to be great reels, the last couple models have not been nearly as good though. Shimano's quality has seemed to go down hill as well in Spinning reels, though I have only used the Sedonas and Saharas.

I would have bought the 5.2:1 for any cranking application but that reel you got should be fine for shallow cranks, just reel nice and easy. The PQ might be the best under $100 reel out there bar perhaps the Lews.

The rage and paca chunks are about all I use, and I match the color of the trailer to the jig. Smaller finesse jigs you can use a 3" double tail grub, a baby paca chunk, baby rage craw, or yum craw papi.

Pepper jigs from pepperjigs.com are my favorite by far. I use mostly 1/4 and 3/8 ounce since I fish shallower cover mostly, but I always carry 1/2 ounces as well. I prefer green pumpkin for clear water, and black blue for stained and murky. Brown/orange is also good in clear to moderately stained water. I always try to match the color of my trailer to the jig, and for regular jigs have settled pretty much on two trailers: Rage chunks and paca chunks.

I do tend to like quieter cranks in more clear water with a smaller profile and tighter wiggle. That being said, it's not a hard and fast rule. If the usual quiet and subtle isn't working in clear water, do the opposite and see what happens.

I am a mono man. I only use braid for frogs, heavy vegetation punching/flipping, and hard jerkbaits. I use fluoro only for large hard jerkbaits, drop shotting, and deep cranking. Mono for everything else. It's cheaper and more manageable then fluorocarbon, and I like having a little stretch in the line most of the time, with braid they can also feel you easier and drop the bait. However like I said, for frogs, small hard jerkbaits, and punching, it is the ONLY way to go.

Pflueger all the way, go with the president. I have five of them.

Around four inches.

Spinnerbaits still work in clear waters, especially in more neutral colors and when there is chop on the water, or overcast skies. Mostly just go with the most natural colors you can and most standard bass baits should get bit. Go with fluorocarbon or a fluorocarbon leader too. Subtle presentations like senkos, tubes, drop shotting, and the like are really good under calm blue skies.

Pit boss.

I don't fish topwaters till the temps are at 60 or above. A shallow crank, original rapala, or a spinnerbait fished a foot or two under the surface will work though.

Really depends on the time of the year and water temp. Water temp 45 - 53: Dynamic Lures J spec Jerkbait or Travado Jerkbait in Ghost Fish, or Holofoil Gold Water temp 54 - 60: 1/4 Ounce Terminator Super Stainless Spinnerbait, Colorado Willow gold blades, gold shiner skirt, or 1/4 ounce terminator super stainless Double Willow Leaf, Nickel/Gold with a chartreuse shad skirt Water temp 61 and above: Cavitron 1/4 and 3/8 ounce buzzbait, gold blade with ghost shad skirt, Rage Shad Green Pumpkin/Chartreuse, or Rapala Skitterpop #7 Lime Frog

1. Berkley 4" Pit Boss 2. 6" Curl tail worm 3. Rage Space Monkey

I like throwing a plain craw or creature bait instead of a jig when the weeds are thicker and clingy, seems to accumulate less grass than a jig.

Dynamic Lures J spec suspending jerkbait, on a 7' M BPS Bionic Blade Spinning Rod, Pflueger President 6940 reel, 15 pound power pro braid with a 12 pound P Line CFX Fluoro leader.

I really improved with jigs last year, so much so they are a go to for me now. Looking to drop shot more and improve on some finesse techniques.

I use buzzbaits, rage shads, prop baits, and poppers in murky or stained water and do well. Louder is usually better, especially in low light conditions. A big black spinnerbait waked just under the surface is good too.