ChrisD46

*Yes , you are correct in your assumption : Spooks , chug baits and the like ... *Great replies - I knew nothing about any of these rod suggestions and all all worthy of consideration for sure ! The Impulse Energy 6'8" Zell Rowland is now of particular interest (along with the 7' M model) for Spooks , Chug baits , etc. .

*What is your current favorite all - around 6'10" ~ 7' M/F or medium / moderate fast bait cast rod for top water (mainly) along with other treble hook and smaller swim bait finesse set ups ? P.S. To Google "favorite 6'10" ~ 7' M/F bait cast rods" mainly brings up the Favorite brand rods (smart on the company's part - but not what I'm looking for) .

*While Tatsu is a great FC line , I did not think it was needed for a weightless Senko . If I was crawling a T-Rig soft plastic on the bottom or fishing a Football Jig - then yes (#15 lb.) Tatsu would be hard to beat . *That is my spinning set up - just looking to try straight FC on my bait cast outfit for a little something different plus to eliminate a bit of the "bow" that floating braid forms on a sinking bait .

I believe you were in my Restful Meadows - Bait Monkey Rehab Group ? ... *I was the guy who got caught with Robo Worms sewn into the lining of my pajamas and got sent to the cooler for 30 days .

I have narrowed my search for a line which best compliments the fall rate of a weightless Senko on a bait cast set up : The use of #12 lb. Fluorocarbon line appears to be "about right" for either a T-Rigged or Wacky Rigged 5" Senko's ideal fall rate. *Therefore , my key question is to narrow down which #12 lb. FC line has the best characteristics for using a weightless Senko 5" in a Reservoir with clear , open water with rock and isolated brush piles . Currently, my list of #12 lb. FC line for weightless Senkos are : #12 lb. Seaguar InvizX #12lb. Seaguar AbrazX #12 lb. Sunline Sniper #12 lb. P-Line Ultimate FC #12 lb. Sufix Advance FC #12 lb. Berkley Trilene 100% FC The characteristics of a FC needed for a weightless Senko (5") are going to be different than that of say fishing a football jig for instance - perhaps more closely aligned with using FC line for a jerk bait ... The above said , what is your current favorite FC line dedicated to fishing a weightless Senko on a bait cast set up ? ... Thanks in advance !

*My daughter surprised me with a 3/8th oz. & 1/2 oz. Chatter Bait in black & blue (she liked the colors) . I'm good with shad colors with swim jigs , spinnerbaits and vibrating jigs , etc. but found I had no dedicated dark trailers . That said , I know matching black , black & blue trailer colors are a good match - I believe Green Pumpkin color trailers would also be a good match as a contrasting - yet natural color trailer ... Anyone found a favorite trailer color you like with black & blue swim jigs , vibrating jigs , football jigs , etc. ?

*Great points - this was what I thought would happen ...

Vibrating Jigs have always been a #12 lb. ~ #15 lb. FC or Co-Poly line deal for me , yet I notice a lot of Pros using #20 lb. FC line and wonder if such heavy line dampens the vibration / action of a vibrating jig ?

*Now the S.O.B. Mini Me has been resurrected by Spotsticker baits : https://spotsticker.com/product-category/spinnerbaits/mini-me/ . Also forum Sponsor Siebert Outdoors has a very nice , similar compact spinner bait series : Products | Siebert Outdoors LLC

*Daiwa Revros or Daiwa Exceler - however if Bluebasser86 is having such good success with the Revros , I'd use the money saved over the Exceler on a good spool or braided #10 lb. #15 lb. main line and smile !

*I use a Dobyns Sierra 735C. for frogs , flipping and pitching with #50 lb. Power Pro braid . The rod is more of a Heavy/ Mod Fast ~ Fast as a Mag Heavy / Fast with other rod companies would most likely be stiffer . I like mine as I also have a Sierra 734C. I use for jigs . *I also tend to be a quick hook setter , so the slight delay of the Sierra line fits my style better . The rod is high quality and it's light enough for me to cast most of the day without fatigue ... Throwing a frog all day though is more fatiguing (in general) any way so you need to take that into consideration . For about the same money you may also want to check out the Daiwa Tatula 7'4" Ish Monroe frog rod which also is very nice .

*I like the Academy Sports inexpensive Wahoo Spinnerbaits for when I want to do some underwater "off - roading" ... If I lose one (versus say a BOOYAH Covert series spinnerbait) - then no great loss .

*Slowly drag a football jig with a Zoom Chunk trailer with little movement along the bottom with an occasional slow , gentle hop ... Crawfish are not "break dancing" in cold water found in most pre-spawn waters - so you want your jigs to act natural.

*I use both and both give me confidence , how ever I give the edge to BANG ... Spotted Bass in my waters immigrated from Italy & Sicily , so I find the BANG spray attractant in Garlic scent works better for me ... If you bass immigrated from the UK or Eastern Europe then perhaps the Megastrike will work better for catching bass in your waters .

*I believe bass hold onto a spinnerbait better if using a split tail trailer , 4" Zoom Fluke or even a thin paddle tail swim bait . It's a balancing act of course between spinnerbait weight , blade size and trailer style /length/ weight .

*What rod make & series are you specifically talking about for top water walk - the - dog here ?

I currently have #12 lb. InvizX on my treble hook lures (lipless , square bill cranks) . I believe #12 lb. InvizX is pretty thin line diameter so as previous posters indicated : For single hook lures like spinnerbaits , chatter baits , swim jigs , T-Rigs , etc. I believe #15 lb. InvizX is the right choice . Lastly , If I was new to FC line I believe I would try InvizX or Sunline Sniper first (bait cast reel) as Tatsu is expensive (even on sale) as well as you have no experience with good FC yet - so InvizX and Sunline Sniper are VERY good FC lines to try first . *Wild Card* : A lot of Yo-Zuri #12 lb. line users here (including me) ... Do not over look this cost effective line for a lot of reaction bait applications .

Good information !

*Not Raul though - in Mexico they use 5" / 3 oz. size crank baits for the 25 lb. bass that live south of the border (lol !)

*I use a Sierra 735 with a Daiwa Fuego 8:1 reel and Power Pro #50 lb. braid in and around moderate cover ... Nice balance and is light weight for extended usage .

If you are fishing from an elevated bass boat deck then you could use a 7' M/F or M/XF rod for working top water baits . If not , then a rod in that 5'6" to 6'8" M/F or M/XF rod will allow you to work the top water lure without slapping the rod tip in the water . True , a longer rod can be worked to the side more however you will also move he top water lure faster out of the strike zone as well with the longer rod . Your height also plays an important role in choosing rod length as the taller you are with longer legs - the longer top water rod you will be able to employ . I use a All - Star 6'3" M/F bait cast rod , 7:1 Daiwa Fuego reel , Power Pro #30 lb. Hi-Viz Yellow Braid with a Big Game #12 lb. to #15 lb. mono leader (depending on size of the top water lure I am using) for poppers and spooks ... I Hope this helps - good luck !

*I'll buy that - sounds logical ... Another reason to feed the bait monkey !

I got the idea for the topic based on some pros who were throwing downsized lipless cranks in pre-spawn . I usually think of downsizing baits due to fishing pressure - but it may also be a match the hatch deal in pre-spawn with lipless cranks ?

Big Game #12 lb. ~ #15 lb. Sufix Siege #14 lb. ~ #17 lb.

Is there a preferred time of the year when you downsize your lipless crank baits say from 1/2 oz. ~ 3/4th oz. down to 1/4th oz. ? ... Most of my lipless crank baits are 1/2oz. so thinking about adding SK Red Eye Shad 1/4th oz. models in Chilli Craw and Blue Chrome for starters .