ChrisD46

Thanks for the replies - enough to get started with !

When looking at selecting single curly tail grub colors is the consensus that a single tail curly grub imitates a minnow or shad thus a white pearl , green pumpkin and smoke colors would about cover grub colors needed - your thoughts and experiences ? *I am eyeing up the fairly new Gene Larew "Rally Grubs" and need a few colors that would cover me for bass : http://www.genelarew.com/rallygrub

*Curious why you suggest to stay with the lightest (1/16th oz.) weight ? The VMC Drop Dead hook would be ideal in 3/32nd oz. in a 5" or 6" Yum Dinger , Senko , etc.

Good replies ... I know Junebug and Black & Blue are staples for Florida's tanic stained waters but there are nuances to learn for sure between the two .

When throwing soft plastics - what determines why you would choose Black & Blue as a color vs. Junebug as a color ? ... Thanks in advance !

I've never tried a soft stick bait any larger than 5" (whereby wacky and T-Rig can work equally well) ... *What season , conditions , etc. dictates when you will fish a Senko , Ocho , Dinger , etc. larger than 5" and how do you prefer to rig it and fish it (i.e. Wacky , T-Rig weigtless / weighted , C-Rig , etc. ) ? ... Can a soft plastic stick bait even become too large to throw wacky (the thought of Huey Helicopter blades comes to mind with a 6" or 7" soft plastic stick bait) ... I envision trying a pack of 6" green pumpkin and a 6" bag of junebug with a 5/0 VMC Drop Dead weighted hook (3/32nd / 1/8th ) then lob it out on a baitcaster and dead stick it for fish cruising in to spawn or those heading back out after spawning looking for an easy , fat meal : Your thoughts and experiences of how you rig and fish the XL size soft plastic stick baits ? ... Thanks in advance !

Thinnest line with greatest actual breaking strength above rated pound test (top five) would be great to see ...

+1 Fast Action

Sprayed Grass : Bluegill imitation color best used on a sunny to partly cloudy day to allow the glitter to work best in clear to lightly stained water . If the water is more stained or it's cloudy - I'm moving to a darker color like green pumpkin or junebug ... Hopefully this helps .

Thanks for the suggestions - I think it counterproductive to have a chatterbait trailer with too much of it's own action thus the super chunk or vile craw are a bit more neutral and would fit the bill ?

*Hydro Wave for Senkos !!

I read a report from Ott Defoe regarding how he found a chatterbait to be an excellent craw imitator when slow rolled or fished near the bottom . Since most people use a shad or bluegill type trailer on a chatterbait , I never thought about not only what would make for a good craw trailer - but also a craw trailer that would work in harmony / unison with the chatterbait's action to mimic the real (craw) deal ... Your thoughts and experiences regarding the best / your favorite craw trailer for a chatterbait ?

KDW96 : Also try to give advice (later) on what mm size works best with 4" , 5" Senkos and then lastly finesse worms which would be at least two and possible three different size elastic bands ?

Dobyns rods / Lew's reels ... There are other good suggestions above as well - but one thing I have learned is : "Buy Once - Cry Once" as you generally get what you pay for .

Thanks for the replies - to decide over all between Garmin , Hummingbird , Lowrance and Ray Marine is tough ! Besides the screen clarity , I should have asked about additional features you now find "Must Have" on a fish finder ?

Shin Fukae (Bass Master Elite Pro) has a video out about the new pliers and elastic band system for wacky rigging stick baits ... It's a neat deal and a better system than O-rings but more expensive and harder to find .

Between Lowrance , Humingbird or Ray Marine fish finders - which screen do you find easist or clearer to read ? ... The topic came up at a local bass fishermen gathering and all stated Lowrance (without hesitation) citing they presented the cleanest , clearest screen image in all light ... Curious what your experiences have been ?

What is your favorite weedless wacky hook for 4" & 5" soft stick baits ? ... My short list is down to the Laser Trokar Weedless Wacky Hook and the new VMC Weedless Wacky / Neko Rig Hook . Seth Feider , Davey Hite and others all seem to have standardized on the VMC Neko #2 size hook for all neko or wacky rigging (one hook size saves money) ... The Laser Trokar in a #1 looks best for a 4" stick bait while for 5" stick bait a 1/0 may fit the bill better . Then you have weedless short shank of the Trokar wacky versus the longer shank VMC neko / wacky hook . Not sure if the short shank weedless wacky style (Laser Trokar) offers any advantage or if the longer thin weedless VMC neko hook is better for wacky rigging ? ... Your thoughts ?

A 3/8th oz. will tend to rise so keeping your rod tip low will help keep it down . Another trick to carrying one size (3/8th oz.) is to let it sink to the bottom then yo-yo the retrieve .

Another question - If using braid on a spinning reel for bass and want to know if matching the reel size (say 2500 series ) with #20 lb. braid is a better match with the new trend smaller size reduction guides versus say using a 4000 series spinning reel using #20 lb. braid with the same spinning rod with smaller size reduction guides ? Also , does this have any affect on reducing OR increasing braided line wind knots ? Thank in advance !

While at DSG I noticed so many of the new freshwater spinning rods now have much smaller guides than previously . I'm sure lighter weight is one key objective - but it does raise new questions on how to match with a spinning reel ? As an example , KVD and other pro bass fishermen used to routinely use a 4000 series spinning reel to handle FC line (larger spool diameter to tame FC line coils) ... Now I wonder how a 4000 series spinning reel would work with the newer spinning rods with the smaller guides ? ... Is the new approach to use a smaller size spinning reel to match the new spinning rods with the smaller guides? ... I like a 2500 series with a ML / M spinning rod and a 3000 / 3500 series reel for M / MH spinning rods using larger line diameters . I thought about adding a 4000 series just to use with FC line - now I am not sure ? ... Please school me on how to match spinning reels with these new smaller guide spinning rods ? Thanks in advance !

Good replies to what may be an often overlooked topic - Bass Resource to the rescue (again ) !

As the title states - is there a particular season , water temperature or other conditions that would cause you to select a wacky rig stick bait (or worm) versus a T-Rig (or vice versa) ?

I view the Robo Ned Worm as a nice option to have with a great color selection - but due to size and shape I tend to put it more in the "power finesse" range using 1/16th oz. and 3/32nd oz. jig heads with a slightly larger hook (i.e. #1 or 1/0) . *I wouldn't get rid of my Zman Ned Rig soft plastics just yet though as a well bit half Zinkerz on a 1/16th oz. Midwest Finesse jig using an approx. #2 ~ #4 size hook will still catch you plenty of bass ! In the end - it's nice to have options ...

I believe it was Brent Ehrler - Bass Pro Elite that favors the 4 " stick bait on a Neko Rig ... I'm searching to see if this a California thing only (in clear water) or if there is another reason for the 4" useage ? ... *Looking at a 4" stick bait - throwing it on a Neko Rig would not come to mind - conversely NEVER underestimate these California Pros on the FLW or Bass Pro Elite Tours (lol) !