NathanW

Another advantage to throwing a jerkbait on mod action rod is that it will load better while casting. I dont throw the 100 sized baits often so its nice to have a little extra distance with the smaller baits.

Maybe for slow dragging... But when it comes to stroking and hopping I do not agree. The way a tube glides, its slim profile and lateral movement separate it from a jig. I know! you can change the action of a jig depending on what type of trailer you use to make it glide, fall vertically, or wobble on the fall but it still wont displace enough water to make it as erratic as a tube. When smallmouth bass are present a tube will get you more bites than a jig, no argument.

Around here you cannot bet those summer mornings from 5am til 8:30am on 100º days. Temps will be in the 60º-70º degree range, no wind, clear skies, no boat traffic. Best of all I can usually get about 12 pounds in the boat before I head home for a full day of summer fun with the family.

I'll just flat say it. I was not impressed by the sniper lines of fluoro. The Shooter stuff on the other hand was great. The sniper line was, just like any "manageable fluoro" one small birdsnest away from loosing your whole spool to a deep line kink. I stick with Seagar Red Label for these applications as its painless to replace. Shooter for your fluoro jig, t-rig, bottom contact baits is about as good as it gets comparable to Abrasx and Trilene 100% for stiffness and durability.

Pretty much spend most my time looking at the boats, the fish, and the dead animals. I havent bought anything from the store yet but I always get gift cards via gifts that I use online as soon as they do the free shipping deal. There are some items they carry that TW does not. I usually spend time looking for those items. When I go to Cabelas they almost always have Lucky Craft baits on sale for like 12 dollars. Will usually grab a couple of those.

Haha...yeah it probably was 8lbs!! Really though I have yet to see one, that was properly zerod weigh too light. I know its possible but they almost always tell you the fish is bigger than it is unless the thing is brand new. I am mostly talking about the real cheap berkley/rapala/bps scale that I used to use and my buddies seem to buy over and over again.

I ran cheap Rapala/Berkley scales at first but my fish kept getting bigger and bigger. One day I got called out on it and started to realize just how bad some of these scales were. I have a boga grip now but I think back to several years ago and question my personal best smallmouth of 6.25 lbs weighed by a $15 Berkley spring scale... Maybe it was just a 4 pounder...I will never know.

Wow, I think I am due to forget something important...The only thing I ever forgot was my key to the rod lockers. I remember being pretty PO'd that I had to walk back up to the house to get it. It was the longest three minute walk of my life...

I have never owned a carrot stick but have heard more rod breakage stories about them than probably any other brand.... You are 16, so this is probably a big investment for you so you may want to get something with a Warranty. Tim mentioned the Powel Diesel which at that price even if it does break you are only out $80. Problem there is I doubt its a good idea to step right into a Medium XF rod as your only rod. Its not really a versatile choice, his info regarding running two rods is pretty accurate. 13 brand *** rods have been an outstanding deal on everyone I own. To be honest, the guides on those rods are flimsy and cheap, it seems like every time I inspect my rods one of my 13 rods has a bent or twisted guide. But the blanks make them worth every penny. Here is what I am thinking, you will probably take better care of your one rod, and wont have it banging around in a rod locker with 15 other rods like I do most the time. So this would be a pretty good option for you. You cannot beat the performance for bottom contact baits (at any price range IMO). Only thing I would say is to go with a Medium Light if you want the XF rod or Medium rod if you go with the "fast" action. Another good choice would be the Veritas rod. Very durable and reliable rod. Not as sensitive as the 13 rods but the load up on casts a little easier and might be a touch more versatile. And without a doubt are more comfortable. The 6'9" medium light is one of my favorites and quit honestly would make a great stick for a beginner... (whether you want to admit it or not (: ) Its difficult to tell someone which rod they should buy unless they ask the question "what rod for __________ technique fishing ______ type or cover"

I think this is common place for most, if not all the folks on here. When I go through my stuff it gets a little depressing that I do not have enough time to use it all. I could probably fish a decade without needing to buy another creature bait.

nope. You are getting these confused with Gulp.

OMG. Nice job. My first baitcasting experience went horribly wrong. Like you I was a lefty trying to fish a righty. I had no clue and was trying to cast these 1/6 ounce trout spinners and crappie jigs. I gave that up until about a year later I picked up a lefty BPS pro qualifier. Now I dred using spinning gear, I mean, I still do every outing but casting gear's efficiency when covering water is unmatched. Its good that you were able to covert to a righty, something I have never been able to do. The options are not as many for a lefthanded reel.

I am expert enough to tell you that your friend is wrong assuming you have fuse protection. Outboards have a main fuse that provides pretty good protection but you should also have a lower amp fuse just off the battery for your cranker.

Greg Hackney. I get his humor...Plus, you can learn a lot about technique by watching this guy fish, no bad habits, to me the best stick on tour at fishing bottom baits. My wife finds G-man to be pretty hilarious but Greg Hackney's stuff is more entertaining to me. Subtle and in no way forced.

I know....I am boiling right now reading these. Pretty much have first hand experience with everything mentioned. I get out of my mind frustrated at the boat launches especially when the party crowd and salmon guys arrive. Around here they use their $40,000+ dollar boats about 12 times a year and it really shows when they are launching. This also attracts the sheriff who wants to inspect everyone's boat before they launch.

Try to dropshot a 4.5" curl tail roboworm (arrons magic in dirty water or Oxblood in clear water) or split shot rig the same roboworm with a size 1 G-lock hook. This setup will tell you if there are fish around because the little bass will slam these baits without hesitation. If there are smallmouth around you may even get a big bite on this setup.

Can't speak to the SK KVD Bait. But, you need to get your facts straight on the Heddon lures. The Zara Spook does not have rattles. The Rattlin Spook has bb rattles, the One knocker spook has 1 large ball knocker rattle, the Super Spook has rattles, the super spook Jr has a rattle and the Zara Puppy has no rattle. The spook walks the dog extremely easy, you are right. I doubt it gets any easier with the SK bait. If they are hitting topwater walking baits they will hit a spook. Period.

What type of keeper do they use on Sieberts swimjigs?

Storage, Casting deck front and back, speed, ability to run in shallow water, livewell tank to keep fish alive.

Roughly 3' at the shallowest. The deepest one I could see was around 6'.

I have read about main lake spawners spawning later than backwater fish but had never seen it first hand at any sort of mentionable extreme. That had changed over the weekend and I was rather blown away. The first smallmouth spawner I caught off a bed this year was April 3rd in the very far back of the warmest backwater slough in the lake. I had never found a fish spawning this early, I think this was a unique situation, but regardless it happened. Since then the spawn, in all of my primary locations had come and gone. Or so I had though. On Saturday, heading back to the boat launch from a good largemouth hole I noticed that the small marina, which is a main river marina located in a small pocket, had major bedding activity. I marked (triangulated) three beds with fish on them before I loaded the boat. Next morning, before heading to the same largemouth hole I nailed 2/3 bedding fish confirming my only curiosity that they were indeed smallmouth that spooked off those beds. This is a variation of over ten weeks on the same body of water!!

This thread should probably be posted in the "other species" forum....

Yeah the puppy sucks a big one...The super Spook Jr. is a great lure. Make that upgrade...

Yes. I almost always remove the body hook. Only to replace it with a larger one.... I am going to take the higher ground and keep my mouth shut regarding the comment just above mine.

Totally overlooked way to rig these baits. I insert about 4 finish nails into a 4" watermelon fluke and do exactly as you say. Absolutely crush em. Great hook up percentage. Great way to get kids into fish.