ChrisD46

I am a fan of SK soft plastics but at $5.99+ per bag now my enthusiasm wanes ... If you don't care for Z-Man soft plastics (I certainly understand) - then take a look at Big Bite Baits , Yum & Zoom as examples of good quality traditional soft plastics at a more reasonable price ...

New non - TatulaDaiwa offerings introduced at ICAST 2021 (look it up) ...

+1 for sure ... A number of SK soft plastics offerings are becoming high priced and and with the "new normal" setting in - economically SK needs to re-assess their price structure if they want to continue to appeal to the enthusiast bass angler for soft plastics . Big Bite Baits , Chompers , Eco Pro , Yum , Z-Man , Zoom , etc. are more competitively priced for comparable products .

*If using a non - braid I believe there would be enough "give" in the line to absorb any hookset you could muster with a XF rod (as long as you are not high sticking) . Since braid has no stretch - I suggested a F action rod with braid would be about equivalent to a XF action rod with FC , Co-Poly or Mono line .

*Interesting - so I take it a drag and stop or stroking retrieve works best for you on this jig head type ? ... At 1/4th oz. I would even try swimming it too .

+1 ... There you go !

*Have you considered using #30 lb. braid + leader ? That current MH/F rod you have now might be prefect for that set up .

Green Pumpkin , WM Red , June Bug , Plum Apple , Blue Fleck , Tequila Sunrise and Red Bug all will see summer action on the starting team . Down on the AAA farm teams are combo colors such as Bama Bug , Okeechobee Craw and Texas Craw (half GP / half Red Bug combo) ready to be called up.

Good replies - will save me some money ! I have the exact same All Star C-Rig Rod plus a Abu Garcia 7' Veritas H/F rod with 6:3:1's on both along with AbraZX 15 lb. ... Now Time to find some new VMC Swinging Rugby Heads in 1/2 oz - 3/4 oz. and cover water in my local rocky / pea gravel reservoir with expansive flats .

Thanks - I know these jigs work best when they are colliding into and careening off of rocks and such ... I'm now leaning towards that 7/16th oz. ~ 1/2 oz. range as perhaps the best weight to start with as you will be reeling faster during warm water , summer conditions versus winter where you could probably get by with a 3/8th oz. weight slowed down a little on the retrieve . All I know to do with these jig heads is to let them reach bottom , hold your rod low to the side and steadily crank them on the bottom seeking maximum impact with bottom obstructions .

*Curious what your favorite 7' M/F bait cast rod is and what techniques do you like to use it for ? ... My bait cast rods go from MH , Mag MH and then H . Everything below that is a spinning rod - I know I'm overlooking a reason to buy a new rod in that 7' M/F range (need more ammunition) .

*Curious what weight people use with their swinging / articulating jig heads with worms / creature baits running say 15 ft. or less ? ... I was thinking 3/8th oz. or 1/2 oz. weight using 15 lb. FC main line would allow you to crank these jigs while maintaining bottom contact (the most important part of a swinging / articulating jig head retrieve is maintaining bottom contact) .

+1 ... The Bandit 100 is a neat deal and often under utilized in the summer - fished slow like a wake bait up top or speed it up a little for diving down a couple of feet makes it versatile. Color choices are good too .

Thanks for the replies , I have 10LB. , 15lb. & 20lb. braid (PP) available and will opt for probably the 20lb. braid as being user friendly and creating less wind knots . I only have one spinning set up left that isn't braid main line (drop shot - 6lb. FC) while all the rest have braid + leader. Now if I can just train new users to close the bail by hand and pull the line taught after closing the bail I'll be set. P.S. I keep telling myself I'll try some of the newer co-poly , mono , FC lines that have come out for spinning reels as a main line in 6lb. ~ 10lb. test but haven't pulled the trigger yet ... Based on a how to video from an Elite pro - I have a shaky head set up with 30 feet of FC leader tied to braid with an Alberto knot that is the best of both worlds : Lots of leader length acts like FC line in the water without all the line twist / slinky effect because of the braid main line plus not having a reel full of FC line to contend with . FC + Braid knot goes through the guides and spinning reel bail while winding or casting with no issues either .

I have a Shimano 6'8" M/XF spinning rod and 2500 series spinning reel I want to set up as a visitor "guest" rod for fishing smaller T-Rig worms (5" to 7.5" finesse worms and ribbon tails) and either T-Rig or Shaky Head (1/8th ~ 3/16th oz. weights) ... Pretty standard stuff - but needs to be forgiving to use and strong enough for people with inexperience . I was thinking either Power Pro #10 lb. ~ #15 lb. main line + several feet of FC or Co-Poly #8 lb. leader OR just a straight Co-Poly main line . Main objective is an easy to use spinning outfit for smaller T-Rig and Shaky Head worms that gets the job done - what is your line set up choice for this purpose considering a range of angler's ability using this set up ?

*I like Cavitron with a skirt and the War Eagle brand with a Toad ... Both have their place and are still fun to throw . Get one of each in : Black , White for a total of 4 (two with skirts and two with toads) and have fun ! ... As for Toads on a buzz bait - I like the Zoom and the Yum versions the best.

*Thanks for the replies ... Water clarity , aquatic vegetation growth and other factors perhaps more of a reason why than just a warm / cold water seasonal thing .

*I've been thinking a 7' M/F bait cast rod could see some use (If they make one in the Aird-X) for some finesse soft plastics , jerk baits or cranking 1.0's and 1.5's ... What are you using the medium Aird bait cast rod for ?

I hear more and more from serious bass fishermen who essentially put their chatter baits / vibrating jigs away during the warm water months of late spring through summer ... Why is that exactly ? Does it have to do with the blade vibration being too tight, the water column which chatter baits / vibrating jigs are best worked at - or some other reason ?

*I agree with your set ups - the only thing I would add is that for YUM 7" ribbon tails they get a 3/0 offset round bend hook and usually a 1/8th oz. to 3/16th oz. bullet weight. For the YUM 10" ribbon tails I step up hook and weight size . *June Bug , Red Bug , Plum , Blue Fleck , Red Shad , Watermelon Red and Green Pumpkin all work in the summer months (depending on water / sky conditions). Green Pumpkin and June Bug are staples and some sort of red color worm does particularly well in the summer months thus Red Bug sees heavy action for me down south .

*Wrong BPS worm I believe ...

*The WP 75 has the same size prop as the WP 110 ... While you can make a WP 90 run decently using a higher rod angle , use a tiny #10 or #8 Spro Power Swivel and don't reel overly fast - I would either use the WP 75 or use a Berkley Choppo 90 (bigger / louder prop than the WP 90) .

I have not utilized the Neko Rig much except for using with some Z-Man Finesse straight tail worms . While I see a few specialized straight tail worms employed for the Neko Rig , I have enough Zoom Trick worms in every color imaginable which I would like to employ with the Neko Rig - anybody use or tried Zoom Trick worms with the Neko Rig and had success ?

I read somewhere from Gary himself stated how useful a 733c. was for throwing a variety of techniques - weightless Senkos and Flukes being two of his favorites along with 3/16th oz - 1/4 oz. jigs , along with shaky heads in the same weight range when you want to step up from a M/F spinning rod .

*I found some #24 gauge copper hobby wire from Michaels I will try first as it's easy to work with for two wraps . I just watched a smalljay67 video where he snugs 26 gauge wire down after two wraps just to the point where a good tug of the skirt strands does not move sideways or length wise with a moderate tug in either direction ... I figure smalljaw67 has forgotten more than I will ever know about tying jigs , so hopefully I'll be safe with #24 gauge wire . If not I'll drop down to #22 gauge and try again not to be a gorilla when cinching down jig skirts to jig heads .