ChrisD46

*No , to straighten if the tube tenacles are crooked in the pack .

Mann's Little George Tail Spinner - basically a small shad shaped piece of lead , one treble hook and a small Colorado blade on the back . When shad are schooling it can be deadly .

*Nice Torpedo display ! ... I always liked how easy it was to bend the propeller up or down to get a different sound , splash and speed out of the Torpedo . I also thought the iridescent satin shad finish color on the Torpedo was ahead of it's time and would change color depending on the light.

Now trying to put together a dedicated finesse swim bait (2.75" ~ 4") spinning set up . For those that that fish the small Keitech Fat Swing Impact (2.8" ~ 3.3") , SK Rage Swimmer (2.75" ~ 3.3") , etc. what is your spinning rod , reel and line set up ?

*For the ZMan TicklerZ and TubeZ : I wonder if you can dip the tentacles in hot water to straighten them out ? I do that with Zoom Super Flukes to straighten out the tails but of course the Super Fluke is made from different soft plastic.

*Round Bend vs. EWG Treble hooks depend on whether bass are just "swiping at" a crank bait or eating a crank bait aggressively taking it whole . **This can vary throughout the year, so it is common for Bass Pros to switch back and forth between round bend and EWG treble hooks .

Thanks for the replies - I should have stated Pearl or Pearl Silver flake ... I think on a VMC Drop Dead hook 3/32nd. oz. T-Rigged is where I will start letting the Pearl Silver stick worm (Yum) glide down aimlessly like a stunned shad . This time of year during / after a cold front you tend to see shad kills , so I thought about this Pearl stick worm do-nothing approach .

I saw Brent Ehrler tie a "power uni" knot which is tied by doubling your FC line - then tie a standard uni knot (very strong for jigs , big single hook rigs like swimbaits , etc.)

Who uses white pearl color stick worms ? ... If so, how are you rigging and fishing them to imitate shad ?

I am experimenting with cutting the bladed jig skirt back to just beyond the hook bend and using upside down paddle tail swim baits and flukes as my soft plastic.

*734C balances well in Dobyns lines - can always work top water with rod up or to the side .

*I have a mental block / trust issues towards #10 lb. braid to #8 lb. leader for the shaky head (Ned Rig is fine though) ... I have to try it though one day .

I have Daiwa Fuego series bait cast reels that are nice for the money and are fairly user friendly . Stepping up to the Tatula , Zillion , etc. could get even better .

I saw a recent Mark Melendez video where he uses a naked bladed jig (i.e. 3/8th oz. no skirt) with a 3.3" to 3.5" shad color swim bait for Fall bass . According to Mark - it's all about the baitfish in the Fall for Bass and the naked bladed jig is about as finesse as you can get without going over to a small swim bait on a finesse swim bait jig head (i.e. baby Squadron) . *How many of you have experimented with a "naked bladed jig" and a small swim bait for bass ? I imagine rod ,reel and line set up would be the same as a regular bladed jig with a skirt .

I currently have PP #20 lb. (.009" / 23mm) main line + #8lb. FC leader on an all - around 3000 series spinning / M/F rod set up . I was thinking of dropping down to #10 lb. or #15 lb. PP braid mainline to target a specific shaky head set up and then re-purpose the #20 lb. braid line onto a larger 4000 series MH/F spinning set up for larger lure applications ... *For braid to leader spinning set up users , what size main line are you currently using for your shaky head technique ? **Is #15 lb. braid (PP) as light of a braid mainline I dare go for fishing finesse worms (5" to 6.5") on a shaky head jig head (1/8th oz. ~ 3/16th oz. 3/0 hook size) ? I see #10 lb. braid mainline as more of a Ned Rig main line - your thoughts and experiences with favorite braid main line size for shaky heads ?

Seiebert Mini - Swim Jigs : 3" to 3.5" swim baits , SK Baby Rage Craw , SK Baby Rage Menus .

*Would the same Baby Squadren (i.e. 1/18th oz.) still fit the approx. 2.75" swim baits ?

I appreciate the replies - the Siebert Morel Ned Jig Head uses an Owner 5313 #1 and 1/0 size hook which are pretty tough . I do prefer eyes on a swim bait jig head though (if given a choice).

*Owner makes the smallest in a 1/0 Flashy Swimmer which may work ...

Whether the Keitech FAT Swing Impact 2.8" , SK Rage Swimmer 2.75" or the BPS swim bait 3" , what jig head are you using for these baby swim baits ? I thought about either a 1/8 oz. SK Baby Squadron jig head or one of the Z-Man Neg Rig jig head or similar with a #1 to 2/0 short shank hook . What jig head are you using for the smallest swim baits 3" and under in size ?

All of my bait cast rods are MH / Fast ... For $150 and under who makes a good value MH / Moderate action 6'10" to 7'3" bait cast rod ? ... Mostly for traps , square bills plus I want to try for chatter baits .

For spinning reels , what is your favorite handling FC or Co-Poly line in #6 lb. to #8 lb. line size ? ... I currently run braid mainline + FC or Co-Poly leader because it handles so well and was considering FC or Co-Poly as a main line instead for shaky head , small swim baits , grubs , etc.

*I'm waiting for the Mid West guys like Team9Nine to weigh in with their set ups . This is where I learned about using straight Power Pro #8 lb. or even #5 lb. braid if conditions allow . Otherwise PP #8 lb. Hi - Viz Yellow Braid main line tied to a seven ft. #6 lb. InvizX FC leader as FC leader line helps to get a light 1/24th oz. ~ 1/16th oz. Ned Rig down in the water column . Also lighter FC line and lighter jig heads (start with 1/16th oz.) will get you more natural action -> more bites . While straight #6 lb. to #8 lb. Mono or Co-Poly line will work , I just like a straight braid or braid to FC leader better . I use a 7' ML/F spinning rod and a 2500 series spinning reel (more so to balance out the rod better) .

Although I have not seen in person yet - the price point of the new Jordan Lee rods is good ($99) and the rod models are application specific to make selection a bit easier . A little heavy on the rod graphics (which I could do without) and could fill in some rod holes around the similar priced Veritas rod line up . Lastly , seems to mirror the approach used by Lew's with the KVD series of rods and reels . https://www.abugarcia.com/pages/jordan-lee-series . Your thoughts ?

*The Strike King Rage Swimmer in the 3.8" size is better in my opinion than the Keitech FAT Swing Impact on a chatterbait . While Keitech FAT Swing Impact is a great swimbait alone - they are just not as good as other swim baits on a chatterbait .