Chris at Tech

Hey Snook -- UM didn't do to a Bowl in 2008 or 2009 so I think you can consider that bowl streak snapped

At that price, Avid.

You'll need to go as far north as you can. I think Blue Ridge and Hiawassee have some SM.

I'm sure they'd work, but something like a Zoom Ultra vibe worm would be a better choice.

Start with a few basics.... 1) walk the dog style (Zara Spook, etc) 2) popper (Pop-R) 3) white buzzbait The popper and buzzbait are relatively straight-forward to work, but getting the cadence on the walk-the-dog bait takes some practice. But I assure you the practice is WELL worth it

To further RoLo's comments, use your rod tip to control the depth that the bait dives to. To keep it shallower, raise your rod tip and lower it as you want your bait to go deeper. Obviously you need to pick a bait that dives to a depth appropriate to the situation you're fishing, but the rod tip height can help you make some minor adjustments that can help reduce the weed snagging.

I like it. BR Official 2012 roadtrip to El Salto...

A mod action crankbait rod would be preferable fishing in open water situations but I think a MH/F rod is a better choice for ripping out of grass.

Does Suffix make a sinking braid?

I was just watching Shaw Grigsby tear up some redfish on an inline buzzbait and was thinking about this. You may have some luck searching saltwater tackle websites.

Spinnerbait, crankbait, swimbait

The 5.5" inchers in Ayu have done me well. I picked up some of the Owner Beast hooks that I'll try soon but in the past the 6/0 Bass Magic weighted hooks BPS sells have worked just fine. I'd slit the belly open along the seam, and this made rigging and hooking easier for me.

Hey all, After resisting for whatever reason for many year, I'm forcing myself to throw jigs this year and I'm actually having good success. Next step is finesse jigs. What trailers do you guys use on those? Somehow I get the idea that a Rage chunk may overpower a 1/8 or 3/16 oz finesse jig Anyone use small shaky head worms for this? Seems like a way to combine a jig with a worm for the best of both worlds.

I'm getting in the car now. Be there in about 15 hrs

Pondboss -- what are you fishing with? Bottom contact baits like jigs and worms, or moving baits? For moving baits you're likely to not notice the difference as much. But the different should REALLY become apparent for bottom contact baits.

Is missing fish on a jig a pattern you've noticed in your fishing, or was it just a one-time thing that you feel about because it was a big fish? If it was just a one time thing -- sometimes, crap just happens regardless of how well you prepare. The fish bites, you swing and in an instant it's over.

Just so you're clear, the TFO rods are NOT under the "G Loomis" brand. Yes, Gary Loomis is supposedly involved with TFO. I haven't fished them myself, but I haven't seen terribly glowing reviews either.

A St Croix Avid 68MXF would be a great choice. I have a 3-power Dobyns spinning rod and it just feels a bit underpowered to fish 5" senkos to me.

You say that you "just don't see the difference". Does that mean you've fished more expensive rods, but you don't feel any difference over your $25 rod? If so, then good for you. If not, you should try to get your hands on a higher-end rod to fish with to see how it feels to you. I think you'll be amazed.

In that price range, St Croix gets my $$$

Freakin' squirrels...

X2 on Roostertail

jig

Price range? The St Croix M and ML powers are usually good candidates and available at different price ranges.

As I mentioned in another thread I started, I'm really trying to scale down the amount of plastics I carry with me so I wanted to ask some opinions. If you were forced to select only 8 styles of baits to carry with you to be as versatile as you can be, which would you select? For the purposes of this exercise, let's assume you're packing for a trip but you don't know what lake you're going to, the geography, the weather, the water conditions, etc. Let's not worry about colors here, just styles. And let's also say that two different sizes of the same bait will count as 2 styles (so if you want to carry 5 inch and 7 inch senkos, that would count as 2 styles). Let's hear 'em!