ChrisD46

*MK Knot :

*Appears to be German , so must be pretty well thought out .

Horizontal rigged - you want the Z Craw Jr. flat so it helps the Buzz Bait get up on plane faster and stay there . Gerald Swindle was very adamant that he stopped using a toad as a buzz bait soft plastic because required him to take too much "Zanax" due to excessive worry & anxiety with the toad trailer (i.e. lose too many bass on the buzz bait toad strike vs. the Z Craw Jr.) . Of course , this is one man's opinion falling out of love with a toad trailer on a buzz bait . I will caution - finding Z Craw Jr. soft plastics is a challenge currently as Zoom continues to struggle at being able to supply the market an adequate supply . Don't hesitate to select another similar size soft plastic creature / craw in that 3.5" ~ 4" range (such as a Strike King Rage Bug - also works great !)

Yo - Zuri Hybrid : #12 lb. or #15 lb. ?

Dobyns Fury series or the new Lew's KVD series may give you enough technique specific rods to select from and meet your <$150 price point .

I've watched Gerald Swindle do well with a buzz bait with a Zoom Z Craw Jr. on the back as a trailer (Pearl of Black & Blue flake) . The G Man elaborated that he misses too many bass using a toad as a trailer but does favor a smaller soft plastic trailer of some sort to give a bass more to hold on to versus a skirt ... The only time he uses a skirt on a buzz bait is winter thru pre-spawn - but once the spawn is on then he trades the skirt in for the Z Craw Jr. *I'm experimenting with cutting the skirt length down to equal the bend in the hook - then add a Zoom 4" Pearl color Fluke (not the Super Fluke) for a white buss bait and then use either a Z Craw , Mondo Bug , Christie Craw , Rage Bug , etc. in that 3.5" ~ 4" range in Black & Blue flake for my black buzz bait .

I suppose there was a time when Big Game #12 lb. ~ #15 lb. mono was used for pitching / flipping . While enough lack of visibility - feel may suffer slightly due to stretch but less so with short amount of line out ?

*For those on a budget : Yum Thumpin Dinger https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yum_Thumpin_Dinger/descpage-YTD.html

*That appears to be in the ball park Mike - Sniper is reported to be very strong for it's diameter line size ...

For flipping into sporadic laydowns , moderate cover water willows , eel grass , etc. where the likelihood of bass seeing your line is higher - what size fluorocarbon line do you use for flipping senkos , craws , etc. ? *I'm thinking somewhere between #15 lb. ~ #25 lb. fluorocarbon line size (or 0.33 ~ 0.43 diameter line size - depending on FC line manufacturer) is about right . I currently have a T-Rig reel set up with P-Line fluorocarbon #17 lb. size (0.39 diameter) which should work for moderate cover flipping . Another thought is to possibly use #50 lb. braid with a leader of #15 lb. ~ #25 lb. fluorocarbon ... Your thoughts and experiences ?

My technique for 110 degrees F. would be watching a Bass tournament on TV inside with air conditioning and a cold beverage ! ... All kidding aside , I'd fish a big worm out deep either on a large jig head or T-Rigged with a tungsten bullet weight and a small bead . I'm thinking a big 10" Berkley Power Worm , Zoom 'Ol Monster or Netbait C-Mack (all ribbon tails) in Plum Apple , Blue Fleck , or Green Pumpkin colors.

Note : Throw the Ned "up current" (if there is any current you can detect) or into the wind and bring it back on the glide or kissing the bottom occasionally looks more natural . I'm in the 1/16th oz. jig head size / #2 size hook down to #4 size hook camp for majority of Ned Rig usage . Equipment can also play a role in how the Ned Rig looks in action : I use a 7' ML/F spinning rod , 2000 series spinning reel , #8 lb. Power Pro braid mainline with 6' Seaguar InvizX FC #6 lb. leader . I'm a tad lighter in my set up than many - but I believe I catch more bass as a result (i.e. I'm not MLF tournament speed fishing for bass who needs a heavier Ned Rig set up).

*For $10 more you can get a Academy Sports H2O Xpress Mettle M3 (7:1) bait cast reel with one - piece aluminum frame (Black Max is a graphite frame) making the Mettle M3 more solid and keeps gears aligned under the stress of fighting a fish . The Mettle M3 only comes in a 7:1 gear ratio though .

I use cheap #12 lb. ~ #15 lb. mono as line backing on my bait cast reels which use braid main line and it works well . I believe bass Pro Aaron Martens who suggested braid be used as a bait cast reel linebacking as it will be lighter weight on the spool - thus helping to achieve less force to get the bait cast spool moving / rotating which will enable longer casts . I'm thinking that unless you are using zero brakes on your bait cast reel with minimal spool tension (i.e. experienced "thumb only" bait cast reel users) - your probably will not notice much of a casting difference ... What are your thoughts on the great master tinkerer (Aaron Martens) thoughts on bait cast reel backing and are you in the braid OR mono reel line backing camp ?

*Mono does typically degrade faster out doors versus straight FC or hybrid FC lines due to UV . Some newer mono lines claim to have a coating or composition that deters UV rays from damaging mono lines , but it is still there to an extent . For my reels with mono - I keep them out of the sun (reel cover or stashed away) and extreme heat which helps . Having lived in Florida a long time I know all too well about having mono turn brittle which then begins to develop a powder substance on the line signaling it's time for that line to be removed and recycled !

*Interesting point about bearings* : If you are applying spool tension plus running say 2 ~ 3 centrifugal brakes on a bait cast reel - isn't there a point where the supposed high end "race" bearings (ceramic or metal) do not offer a significant real life advantage for you in controllable casting distance ? Unless I'm wrong - I believe having a nice quality mid - grade set of bearings that you can easily maintain well would be your best investment / ROI ? ... Other care to chime in on this ?

*Good reply Glenn ... The new Veritas all white PLX rods are getting rave reviews by many including Pros who are surprised at the quality / price point of the new Veritas PLX rod offering . They are sold out every where - but when possible I will be bringing home the PLX bait cast model in a 7' M/F as a fine utility rod to be used for various applications (mostly top water with braid) .

The Scum Frog Launch & Trophy series are two of the best frogs going . *Watch a few JT Kenny videos to learn the attributes of both better .

Thanks for the replies - good choices !

I find most hook sharpeners either too course - or are not suited for bass treble or single hooks to get them sticky sharp ... What is your favorite hook sharpener for bass hooks as well as tips to get the most out of it so hook points will become "catch on a finger nail" sharp ? Thanks in advance !

*Surprised by #5 as I would have thought being a newer , premium line that Berkley Sensation would rate closer to the top of the list with least stretch .

*Good reply - I will do better to use this set up outside of the weed line . Thanks , #12 lb. Stren is cheap enough to try for the added stretch .

I'm looking to run an an experiment with a 7' H/F Veritas around weeds with a bladed jig and a lipless crank and want a mono with a lot of stretch ... What #4 - #17 mono has the most stretch in your opinion ? ... Off the top of my head - I'm thinking Stren #14 lb. mono would have a lot of stretch - your thoughts & experiences ?

It might have been David Fritts who surmised that FC line will stretch to a point with repeated casts with "chunk & wind" lures and then become brittle and break . You have to strip off about 8 to 10 feet of FC line after fishing a crank bait all day to overcome this FC line phenomena with chunk and wind lures using FC line . Of course , this adds up having to cut off 8 to 10 feet of FC line off after all day of crank bait fishing thus why he has switched to co-poly line and enjoy the line cost savings .

*Having a boxed kit is a great start - since I am starting out I need to find a quality kit I can add to my work bench ... I need precision screw drivers (Philip head , torx , flat) , nut drivers , curved tweezers , small dedicated channel lock plyers , small C-clip remover , exacto knife ,bearing spinner / cleaner (awl) , small art brushes for applying grease , foam Q-Tips , lighter fluid for cleaning bearings , Ardent Reel Cleaner (or similar) , a couple of oils , a couple of greases and assorted other things .