ChrisD46

*Go to the Ned rig !

Nice beaver flipping / punching soft plastic ... What brand ?

For heavy flipping into grass , hydrilla , etc. what soft plastics do you reach for first ? While a 5" Senko in green pumpkin or black & blue with a tungsten bullet weight pegged will work just fine to imitate blue gill and crawfish for flipping - there may be other soft plastics for flipping grass / hydrilla just as good or better - your thoughts and experiences ?

*All of these are good A-Jay , I also like the tried and true Biffle Bug in Green Pumpkin or Sooner Run colors.

Good , accurate comment - I use the VMC wacky jig head in 1/16th oz. and sometimes the 1/8th oz. in wind... Try with the Z-Man Zinkers - especially good.

Whopper Plopper 110 or 75 (skip the 90) : Bone , Loon and Monkey Butt will cover your color needs .

Here is where I would start for smallmouth / spotted bass in CA. : First would be a paddle tail swim bait (Strike King 3.25" Rage Swimmer (Electric Shad paired with a VMC Hybrid Swimbait jig head (3/16th oz.) in open water or if some weeds are present I would rig with a Owner Flashy Swimmer jig head with Willow Blade (3/16th oz.) Next would be top water (Berkley Choppo 75 , 90 or 105 in Bone color. Last would be a Shaky Head (1/8th oz. to 3/16th oz. stand up shakey head jig head with a 5" ~ 6" finesse worm (Green Pumpkin color).

Examples of VMC Cross Over Rings Rigging Suggestions : 8mm: 6" Senko 7mm: 5" Senko 6mm: 6" Roboworm Fat 5mm: Zoom Trick Worm 4mm: 4.5" Roboworm Straight Tail 3mm: Small finesse worms and drop shot baits *I believe you could drop down one size with above applications and still be fine - (i.e. 6mm : 5" Senko , 4mm : Zoom Trick Worm) ... Your experiences with soft plastic worm / soft stick worm sizing ?

Some suggest having at least one frog with a yellow top so you can see it better against mats or in low light ... Since I have no yellow frogs at all I'll give it a try .

I understand a bass mostly will see just the bottom in matted vegetation and some of the sides of a hollow body frog in open pockets . So far , I have frogs (standard and popping) in : Black , Bluegill and Shad colors . Now looking to add either Yellow (Swamp Frog) or Green (Leopard Frog) to the line up - here is the Pad Crasher versions of Yellow & Green colors : https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Booyah_Pad_Crasher_Frogs/descpage-BYPC.html . Both the Swamp Frog and Leopard Frog colors are white on the bottom , is there a determining factor in going with either yellow or green other than you may be able to see yellow better on top of thick mats ?

Interesting that VMC recommends size #7 for Senkos and size #6 for YUM Dingers ?

5:1 or 5:6:1 bait cast reels are just the ticket for deep cranking large bill , deep running 16' ~ 20'+ crank baits . Even deep cranking with a 6:3:1 bait cast reel becomes tiresome after a couple of hours .

Related curiosity question : Do Smallmouths and Spotted Bass eat frogs - or are frogs mostly a LM bass target ?

Of late , Power Pro has seen a rise in quality control issues reported plus a rise in price . I am just looking for a good alternative to keep my options open .

Looking for a new #50 lb. braid mainline for frogs and would like to know what your favorite is ? ... I currently use Power Pro #50 lb. and I'm just looking for another solid braid line near the same size (.014" / .36mm) to try out in comparison just for frogs. On my short list so far as a braid for frogs is Sufix 832 and Sunline Xplasma .

After further research - Spro built a cult frog following - but since they have come out there are other companies who offer a very good frog at a competitive price (often lower $$ than SPRO) . Booyah , Terminator , Scum Frog to name a few ...

I'm not sure if the SPRO Bronzeye 60 (popping) and 65 (regular) Frogs are named after their sizes OR how many colors each comes in (lol !) ...If you are a fan of the SPRO Bronzeye popping 60 or regular 65 frogs - what colors do you like and which version SPRO frog do you prefer ?

This ^^^ , I'm a Siera 734 owner and FrnkNsteen is correct ... I especially like a Sierra with braid as the slightly slower tip action works in your favor .

*Regarding the Mini-Max : I can not see throwing the 1/4 oz. version as that seems too light for anything but about 12" ~ 16" of water ... Conversely , I see the 1/2 oz. version as being too heavy , so I have only bought the 3/8th version to try . That is also the size that seems to be sold out or low in inventory where I see the Mini-Max displayed in stores.

There are certainly a few things that will work - a Rage Menace in a Green Pumpkin variant would be tough to beat as would be some of the Gambler blue gill colors designed for Florida waters .

Nice , base foundation primer OR refresher for T-Rigging ... You can always learn something new !

I have some green pumpkin plus variations in paddle tail swim baits already - just searching for something a little different in the body / tail of the two Zoom trailers which I'll rig sideways .

Trying to decide between the Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw and the Z-Craw Jr. as a bluegill imitating swim jig trailer ? Your opinions ?

Frog'n with the Master - when Dean Rojas talks Frogs you definitely want to tune in ... Thanks again Glenn !!

I've decided to buy the #15 lb. Basix for a multi purpose bank fishing bait cast set up (7' MH/F , 6:3:1 reel Spinnerbaits , Chatterbaits , Speed Worms , Swim Jigs , Paddle Tail Swim Baits , etc. *I've used same lures with low priced mono before so unless Basix handles awful - I see it as an upgrade to low priced Mono line (especially in clearer waters I fish) . *One potential draw back to Basix is knot strength .