ChrisD46

+1 on the smaller Bubble Walker - it is a unique walking / popper that works ! Best colors : Bone , Chrome , Bluegill and Loon (in that order for me) . You can't go wrong with Bone to begin - I picked up one or two at a time waiting for TW sales to bring the price down a bit - they last a log time , just change the hooks as needed ... Good luck !

+1 ... Another great option ! Sadly , I am finding the regular Fluke not as readily available nowadays (locally) as big stores have more and more competition for shelf space for fluke style baits and especially small swim baits . On - line ordering is always an option for sure .

Also a 1/8th oz. or 3/16th oz. spot remover using a slightly longer Trick Worm works similarly with a slightly larger profile .

*Start with BANG Garlic scent (spray) and on the other end of the spectrum - try Bobby's Megastrike standard scent (tube) ... Both scents have worked for me - perhaps most importantly I believe they are going to give me an edge which improves my confidence greatly thus I catch more fish ! Scent + improved confidence using a quality scent is the formula that works best for me .

+1 ... A Fluke does not have enough action of it's own on a swim jig to be effective (unless water temp is extremely cold when nothing much has any action - however a super fluke on a chatter bait is money ! Take some scissors and thin / trim down the belly of the super fluke to make it more streamlined and you will have yourself a great chatter bait trailer . For a swim jig you are looking at trailers such as a grub (single or double tail) , a boot tail / paddle tail or a craw used as a trailer . BPS , Strike King , Keitech , etc. have small paddle tail swim baits in that ideal 3.75" ~ 4" range ideal as a trailer for most swim jigs . For longer 4.25" to 5" swim baits cut off 1" to 1.5" off of the nose to get down to that approx. 3.75" trailer length . Shorter trailers in the 3.5" range can be used but you will want to trim the skirt length back on the swim jig just beyond the hook so the trailer action is not impeded by too long of a skirt . There are times when a shorter , finesse trailer on a swim jig with the skirt trimmed back is ideal but more often than not most guys are using a little longer , more stout swim bait and taking approx. an inch off the nose used as a trailer on the typical swim jig ... Hope this helps !

I believe you may be too heavy in your shakey head jig weight selection : A shakey head jig weight is normally in the 3/32nd. oz. , 1/8th oz. and 3/16th oz. range (for deeper water OR wind concerns) ... I'd say 90% of shakey head users use the 1/8th oz. weight as this allows the right action on the fall as well as the ability to work a shakey head properly and not get hung up as much versus using 1/4th oz. weight (really only reserved for deeper water) ; above 1/4th oz. shakey head jig weights (unless used with large soft plastics with 5/0+ hook size or in very deep water tend not to have the right action) thus you might be better off using another technique such as a T-Tig with 3/8th+ bullet weight . The above said a typical shakey head set up would be : 7 M / F spinning rod , 2500 / 3000 series spinning reel , #10lb. ~ #15 lb. braid mainline with 8' leader of co-poly or FC line , 1/8th oz. shakey head (Owner and Strike King) along with a Zoom Trick worm in Green Pumpkin (both easy to find locally) ... Lastly , Google Pro : "Jeff Kriet shakey head " videos as Jeff Kriet is highly regarded as a great , knowledgeable shakey head specialist ... Also google Aaron Martens shakey head video on Table Rock lake (very good instruction) ... Lastly , of course search Bass Resource archives for shakey head tactics... Good luck !

What are your favorite football jig set ups for cold water (Fall / Winter) in water depth under 10 to 15 feet ? Provide one for clear water and one for stained water presentations : Weight ? Jig Color ? Trailer ? Trailer Color ? Thanks in advance ...

*This is key - which is what I am now getting my head around . You have to factor in the other components of the jig set up including the trailer used for total weight which will make it heavier than you think based on jig head weight alone .

For finesse swim jigs and such in that 5/16th oz. weight range (i.e. in between 1/4th oz & 3/8th oz.) - what is your rod , reel and line set up ?

*Of the 4 or 5 models of KVD cranking rods - which two would you think would make a nice pair to cover majority of cranking situations ?

BANG Garlic , Pro Cure & Kick'n Bass are a few more to consider ...

*Like the saying goes : "Color doesn't matter for bass - until it does" !! ... A local hand pour guy in Georgia just came out with a 6" worm he calls: "Melon Dawn" which is a green pumpkin / pink laminate color which as you would guess is a cross between Green Pumpkin and Morning Dawn (both colors get bit on local reservoirs - so why not ?) ... Net Bait has a: "Texas Craw" color worm which was a Green Pumpkin / Redbug laminate color 6" worm that does well in the same lakes . *As always - great read Tom !!

Thanks for the replies - I met a guy from NorCal who drop shot the pink / purple "Morning Dawn" color got me started on west coast colors who had this to say : "Morning Dawn tends to work best for spotted bass - the theory being that the color hues of Morning Dawn appear more as a dark purple / brown color at clear , deeper water depth due to those color wave lengths being the last to change as the bait is dropped deeper in clear water (or some close semblance there of ...) which spotted bass tend to like . The gentleman also said he has caught spotted bass shallow on Morning Dawn color as well and believes spotted bass like pink as well as the translucent purple color of the Morning Dawn ... No doubt , Morning Dawn color was a west coast color that made it's way east for clear water spotted bass (i.e. Lake Lanier here in Georgia) . *Tom , what about other popular west coast soft plastic colors like : "Folkestad Special" & "Pro Staff Peoples Worm" - what is the history on these west coast colors and the men who came up with the colors ?

For the soft plastic morning dawn / twilight color Robo Worm made famous (and now others) have introduced : Do you find this is a "deep water depth only" color scheme OR have you had luck throwing the morning dawn color in shallow water depths as well ?

These are my picks for light braid (in hi - viz yellow) .

Good to know - usually though with rods in this price range I feel safer to view in person and select the one with a straight blank , guides which line up , etc. Of course , when I bought my Dobyns rods with no worries as they arrived perfect

Weedless Ned for me = the Big TRD on a 3/32nd oz. Bite Me Shaky Head jig head .

OP here : I was looking at the 7' MH BPS Crankin' Stick for lipless cranks and 1.5 / 2.0 shallow cranks ... Not sure of the action of these rods but at $79 ea. I could see having possibly a heavier / longer version for lipless cranks and a lighter / shorter version for shallow 1.5 cranks .

*I would upgrade hooks to some sticky sharp Trokar , Owner , etc. trebles - you can't expect stock hooks to be the best , especially after they have been used awhile .

Here I try to carefully match the hatch and then some guy near me catches the heck out of the bass with Sweet Potato , Lime Green , Merthiolate , or some other crazy color worm (lol) !

The above rods are the same price - which do you prefer as a sub $100 crankin' rod ? ... Thanks in advance for your experiences with above rods !

*Tom is explaining a technique (slip shot) that may fit the situation better than dragging a drop shot . With new finesse / Ned soft plastics (beyond worms) now available - the slip shot rig could be deadly as bass most likely have not seen this older technique . Inexpensive and lots of possibilities - give it a try !

*I have this exact rod (as well as the 6'6" Medium) ... Although I have not used the 7' MH extensively , I would say this rod operates more as a Fast than a Moderate / Fast as the other poster indicated - it is pretty stout (excluding the tip ).

*Good information Tom - I'm getting new prescription glasses soon and want a 2nd pair of polarized prescription sunglasses . I thought dark grey would be best over all (if I can only choose one color) .

For a jig bottom applications (pitching , football jig , etc. ) - I like the sink rate that FC #12 lb. to #17 lb. provides . For jigs I'm reeling in the water column constantly (i.e. swim jigs) , a braid mainline will do fine ...