ChrisD46

+1 ... I'm with Bluebasser86 all the way !! - I also use the regular Pad Crasher in the same colors when fishing in the spinach. On my very short list to try would be the Bronze Eye Frog in a couple of colors (only because I like / respect Arizona's Dean Rojas so much !) ... Just as much love for Jason Christie though as I have seen what he can do with the Booyah Pad Crasher and Poppin Pad Crasher Frogs !!

*Mine was a thin 6 inch red soft plastic worm with a small spy bait like propeller + pink plastic bead on the front as well as the rear of the worm with two small exposed hooks front and rear . This would have been around 1966 (have no idea who made the worm - maybe Manns ? ) ...Some neighborhood old guy just gave me the set up to use that day on a Zebco 33 spin cast out fit . The technique I used was tracing sky cloud out lines with my rod tip or dancing the rod tip after a dragon fly would land on the rod tip - erratic action I could not duplicate in 100 years as an adult now (lol !) ... My first and only bass that day was a nice 4lb LMB ! ** I might might have caught more bass that day but as soon as I landed that bass I got the shakes real bad and had to immediately run to the porta john to relieve myself holding my rear end with both hands as I ran ! ... That my friends was my introduction to bass fishing !!

*I take it you are referring to the Sierra 703c. casting model ? Have you tried this rod with BRAID mainline + Mono / Co-Poly leader line set up ? If not , try using #30 lb. braid with a short 12" ~ 18" #12 lb. ~ #15 lb. Mono or Co-Poly leader and report back . *Braid mainline + leader requires far less work for you and the rod for working top water baits ! You can absolutely BOMB a top water bait out a long way using braid main line plus you can work the baits better out at the end of your cast and get much better hook sets ! Again , if you haven't tried braid main line + mono or co-poly leader with the Sierra 703c. then you are missing the boat as this rod excels with braid for top water usage and will change your mind about this rod !

I recently bought the Fatty Bottom Hopper (7") and the Skeet Reese designed Straight Money (7") worms to try : Both worms have tails that float - the straight money is better as a Neko rigged worm or other more finesse applications like wacky rigged or as a lighter duty drop shot worm or lighter duty shaky head worm where as the Fatty Bottom Hopper is my power shaky head worm now fished on a 3/16th oz. or 1/4 oz. shaky head . The Berkley Fatty Bottom Hopper is thicker / longer than the Zoom Trick worm but not as thick as the Zoom Mag Trick Worm ... Berkley's Green Pumpkin color is a good all - around representation of the Green Pumpkin color (many manufacturers are not) , so that is the place where I would start first with both the Straight Money and the Fatty Bottom Hopper . Lastly , both worm series come pre-scented with Power Bait scent and will hold up to multiple catches . *Disclaimer : I have no affiliation with Berkley - I am simply a "finesse and power worm snob" who seeks special qualities in the worms I use for bass fishing . These new Berkley Power Bait Worms check all the right boxes for me and very might do well for you also ...

Very cool ! I want to try for sure ...

*I was going off of a list I made , I will pull out my O-Rings and measure again . I believe three sizes of O-Rings will cover from larger diameter Senkos , Medium size Yum Dingers and smaller for Zoom Trick & Finesse Worms .

Insert drool here : *That is a sweet set up ! Dobyns Sierra 703 with a Daiwa 3000 size reel with PP #10 lb. Hi-Viz braid + FC #8 lb. leader is my M finesse set up , my Ned Rig set up is a 7' ML / F Cabela's spinning rod (not made any more ) with a President 2500 series reel , PP #8 lb. line + #6 lb. FC leader .

McCoy Mean Green would be of interest in #12 lb. and #15 lb. sizes - I would like to compare it to Big Game , Spider Wire Ultimate Mono and P-Line CX-X lines.

After specific experimentation I am listing the O-Ring sizes for various soft plastics (one size does NOT fit all ! For 5" Yamamoto Senkos , Big Bite Trick Sticks and BPS Stik-O's : An O-Ring with 3/8th" I.D. is correct. For 4" of the same above stick baits an O-Ring with 5/16th" I.D. is correct. For 5" Yum Dinger an O-Ring with 5/16th" I.D. is also correct . *Now I want to experiment with correct O-Ring sizes for 4" Yum Dingers , Trick Worms and then Finesse worms as these get the lion's share of wacky rigging duty for soft plastics . Lastly , creature baits and craws are starting to get some attention needing large o-rings for Neko rigging - these would be good candidates to for researching o-ring sizes but I expect more variation in sizes than I do with stick baits and worms ... I welcome comments so hopefully this topic can become a sticky note for future reference here .

The Yum Thump'n Dinger is longer and more slender than the Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm - cut doen to fit a swim jig or chatter bait , both will have their place as a good trailer (and stand alone as mentioned) .

Of late , I have become disenchanted with trying to use 3.5" ~ 3.75" paddle tail swim baits (such as the Reaction Innovations Little Dipper) as a swim jig or chatter bait trailer . What I find is when 5" paddle tail (such as a RI Skinny Dipper) are shrunk down (such as the Little Dipper) the action suffers plus I find them to be a tad too short ... *What I have discovered is a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm (**or similar Gambler or Yum worm design) cut down to 4" makes for a very good swim jig and chatter bait trailer. First , the Ultra Vibe Worm body is symmetrical - so whether you rig the tail up or down it doesn't alter the shape of the swim jig / chatter bait . Next , I find the Ultra Vibe Speed Worm works better than a paddle tail swim bait as a chatter bait trailer (especially with the tail rigged upside down). It just seems to provide the right amount of action with out over powering a chatter bait as paddle tail swim baits tend to do . Lastly , for colder water I use the Ultra Vibe Speed Worm without any modifications (except cutting the length down to 4") . However in the warmer water months , I take either a small open ended pop rivet or an empty .22 caliber brass shell case and used like a cookie cutter , I open up the union / intersection where the ultra vibe speed worm's vibrating tail meets the base of the worm . What this does is make a small hole at the union / intersection where the tail meets the worm which provides a slightly wider vibration and wobble of the swim jig and chatter bait . With the left over 2" soft plastic worm chunks , I make small "buttons" to secure spinner bait trailer hooks (the Ultra Vibe Speed Worm or similar can also be used as a fantastic Spinnerbait trailer !) P.S. For Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed CRAW users - Zoom just announced a larger size Magnum Ultra Vibe Speed Craw (approx. 4.25") that will be available in July ... This should be of interest for those (like me) who feel that the current 3.5" Ultra Vibe Speed Craw is a bit too small to be used as effectively as a swim jig / chatter bait trailer .

*You have to individually inspect the Hank Parker Lew's rods at WM - the ones I saw myself had curved tips and the rod guides did not line up . It's possible that if you have several of the same model to choose from you might find a good one - but conversely at a $50 price point you can't expect too much .

I appreciate the replies - I suppose the conditions you fish will have a lot to do with the choice of rod and line used with a chatter bait : I fish mostly highland reservoirs with chunk rock and clay bottoms void of much vegetation with man made Christmas trees and artificial structures planted in many places . Interesting to see new "chatter bait specific" rods being introduced and see what features the rod has and the way they are being marketed . Seems to also be a trend in rods to have more "tip" than years past where I believe more rods were either F or XF rated with what seems like less tip than many of todays rods ... That , or rods are becoming more specialized for cranking , chatter baits , jerk baits , etc. ?

*At my local Dick's about two months ago they dismantled about 35% of their fishing rows / aisles to make room for cooking and camping equipment - most were Zoom and Z-man soft plastics . Dick's previously had a significant Zoom collection of soft plastics with rare colors I liked . *Since Dick's got rid of black rifles and adopted the political stance they took - I believe they have lost quite a few customers (the COVID-19 certainly hasn't helped). I still buy things at Dick's when it makes sense (sales) or one or two lures I specifically need quick they have in stock .

Perhaps no other application elicits as many opinions as does what are the necessary characteristics that make for a good chatter bait rod ? ... Some like a shorter 6'10 to 7' bait cast rod while others like a longer 7'2" to 7'6" bait cast rod . Then there are those who like a MH / F profile while others prefer a MH / Mod F profile for their chatter bait rod . Some feel a rod similar to a cranking rod that enables a bit of a delay helps with chatter bait hook ups and keeps the bass pinned more while others prefer a stiffer , faster jig type rod to use for their chatter bait fishing . * Which camp are you in and why ?

#20 lb. braid on a bait cast reel ?

Curious what your current favorite mono or co-poly line for top water poppers , spooks , twitch baits , etc. ? ... I currently have a bait cast reel spooled up with Yozuri Hybrid #12 lb. line but unsure if it is suitable or not for top water due to the FC coating which could possibly make the line sink ? Otherwise , the Yozuri Hybrid #12 lb. line is a decent all - around line (just not sure for top water) . Thanks in advance for replies !

*The Tatula 7' M/R is of interest ... Is the "R" like a Moderate / Fast action ? For treble hook lures (and chatter baits) I don't like too Fast of a rod action . I am also considering a Dobyns 733c. Sierra (on sale) as they tend to be a little softer (MH is more like a strong M) and the Sierra series has a little slower tip.

*You are referring to a drop shot rig using a Ned worm ... While of course this will work , it's not a Ned Rig using a small jig head and Ned worm .

I appreciate the replies - all rods I am not familiar with , so looking forward to research them !

What is your favorite M / F or M / Mod F 7' to 7'3" bait cast rod under $125 ? ... This rod will be used for top water poppers , swimming / pitching finesse jigs , Neko rigged soft plastics and lighter crank baits and jerk baits where you don't need a super sensitive rod or too powerful of a rod - essentially the types of applications where a medium action bait cast rod won't over power an application like a medium heavy action rod would do ... Thanks in advance for replies ! *I had the Abu Garcia Veritas 7' M/F rod on my short list at $99 - however there are too many complaints regarding the latest generation Veritas having cheap or poor reel seats which easily break .

Awesome AJ - I just bought the RI Little Dipper because I envisioned it would look good on a swim jig , thanks for the reply !

In North Georgia 50% or more of those swim jig combos would be in some form of a shad pattern . *Is that the Baby Menace you are using on the above swim jigs ? ... The paddle tail looks good and appears to be a good fit (what ever brand that is) .

Thanks Smalljaw67 - could be killer using a grub !

*Thanks Sam - will do !!