jonnyblazex

I fish in MN, the southern part of the state mostly. The water down here is usually green, brown, or sometimes muddy, and less than 1ft visibility. I usually use dark colors, like black/blue or green pumpkin mostly. If you want to catch bass fish cover. Weed beds with a Texas rigged worm or creature bait. Lay down trees are also a good area to hold bass. Hit them with tx rig or jig. Topwater popper will get you lots of bites too, and if you are in an area with not a lot of weeds, don't be afraid to try a ned rig. You will catch lots of fish of all species. Tight lines, and post some pics when you catch a bass!

For my baitcast topwater treble lures rod I use a med/fast 6'10 St. Croix rage rod, and Lews Tournament Pro G reel. Works really good! I would say a fast tip would be better for casting and loading up on a fish, as well as being able to pop or walk the bait. This rod also doubles as my jerkbaits setup, and I'm running 10lb mono line. For really light lures I'll use a spinning setup, same length and power/action, except a little lighter line.

10# suffix siege mono for bait cast, and either 6lb fluoro or 10lb braid for spinning using small jerkbaits.

Are hooks like a kvd ultrapoint 2x short 1x strong geared more toward crankbaits spacifically? (I figured the hook is more like an ewg than round bend). I have been using them on jerkbaits, caught fish on em, but lost some too? It seemed like if the fish actually ate it good, it was stuck like a stuck pig, but if it swiped at the bait or barely nipped it, the hooks did not grab good enough to be able to land the fish. What hook would most recommend for jerkbaits? Would some do a round bend in he front and ewg in back? Replaced hooks with same size also btw. Sorry to thread jack, but thought it goes hand in hand with title. Thanks

Rapala skitter pop. The bigger sized one in frog color. I caught a nice one yesterday, and the water temp was 50 degrees. That's 3 weeks in a row now that that popper has been catching fish!

St. Croix Rage 6'8 medium fast works good for me. For small jerkbaits I also use a spinning rod, a 6'6 medium ex fast tip

I use the nrx 822 syr for my shaky/ drop shot and it performs flawlessly. The jig worm rod will have a stiffer tip, possibly a little stiff for drop shot when you want the rod to load up. The 822 dsr has a nice soft tip that loads up really easy on a surging fish going under the boat, but lacks the tip to slam the hook home on shaky head, unless maybe you use braid.

It depends what kind of top water you are talking. A slop frog rod is a lot different than one you would use for treble hook baits, like average sized walk baits or poppers. For the later mentioned I use a 6'8 medium fast or even 7' medium moderate. For a slop frog it's usually a MH, fast or extra fast in 7 to 7'6 flipping stick range. You will be a lot better off with a stiffer rod for frogs, and a little softer rod for trebles

I've been using the Aetos 7'2 ex fast since it came out several years ago, Its not my favorite rod, but a decent rod, especially if you can get it under $100. One thing I didn't really like about mine was the cheap crimped on tip, which snapped off a couple months after purchase, while fighting a bass actually. No big deal to me, I fixed it, and put on a better tip. Rod is 2" shorter, but I like it a lot better now, as it is stiffer, and just right for 1/2-3/4 t rigs it seems. I like the special cork grips too, they don't slip out of your hand, and are very comfortable!

I've had pretty good luck on them in the fall when the water temp drops (the only time I throw them so far). I recall one morning where I couldn't get bit on anything else I was using, then put on a shadow rap and caught lots of nice walleyes, smallies, and some largemouth as well, water temp was around 50 degrees. I lost a lot of fish, on my old setup, because I was using too heavy power and too stiff a rod. I was using a 7'MH fast rod, and since switched to a 6'8 M fast. The rod is much softer than the MH I was using, loads up a lot easier, and keeps the hooks in the fish much better when they make a run or get hooked by slapping the bait. It is my dedicated jerkbait setup. I haven't had a shadow rap break yet, but I wouldn't recommend slapping them on the water to clear weeds, or casting them into a dock, as these will damage them. I think the video of the guy squeezing them is kinda silly. It is an unnatural thing that would not normally happen when out on the water. Yes they are made out of pretty thin plastic, that gives them the best action.

If you broke off the tip a couple inches, the Fuji tip repair kit from walmart can be handy. It only cost $4, and comes with 3 sizes of guides and the glue stick. I repaired one of my rods with this, and found the medium sized guide fit best on my rod. (Fenwick however) I believe Fuji also makes micro guide kits as well.

Ive been throwing frogs on a 7'6 MH Powell Diesel for the last couple years. It works awesome, and I can sling the bait a mile with the quantum accurist PT on it, and 50lb braid. I have caught a lot of fish with this setup, and even my PB of 7.3oz, which isn't too bad for a MN bass. For the price, I'm not even considering replacing it any time soon, besides, it doubles as a flipping/pitching rod as well.

RichF had some very good advice. Look for something different. Sometimes you see a log or stick, rock, or different vegetation amongst the other vegetation, but just in a small area. I have noticed many times, I have caught a bass in this area.

You can get a used lift off c's list for cheap if you keep looking around! My grandpa passed away a few years ago, and my grandma sold the boat. The lift was sitting on the shoreline for a a few years when she finally sold it to a guy for 500 bucks, and it was only maybe 7 years old and in really good shape yet. Stuff like this happens all the time, and most of the times the lifts are made of aluminum, so they are generally in good shape for years and years. If you got a lift and a canopy it would deffinatly be the way to go

I use straight 50lb braid, and have caught my PB 7.3lbs on topwater frog, and lots of other big ones. I avoid any kind of a leader at all costs, that will be the first thing to break on you. I use a palomar knot, and it has not failed me yet, knock on wood. Im not concerned about the fish seeing the line at all when im fishing the slop, especially when its on top of the slop. Ive tried mono, and it is definatly a no go for me. I cant seem to drive the hooks home with it. I like the braid because it casts a mile, and slices through weeds, unlike mono.

I agree on the kids fiskars scissors, they work geat. For some reason they wont cut your finger, but slice through braid like a hot knife through butter.

If its still 8ft long ^

I deffinatly like boat fishing over bank fishing. Bank fishing, your limited to where you can go, and boat there are no boundaries. I just bought a old beater 16' aluminum boat, and it is a lot better than no boat, no doubt about it! Is it a kick ass bass boat? No, but It gets me out on the water comfortably, and quickly, and I catch a lot of fish out of it. You would be surprised that you can still catch bass out of an old boat, just the same as a high end bass boat!

Cabelas had this same deal on black Friday, except it was only good for the reels that the store had on hand. You had to go to the store to get them, no online orders. I went to the store bright and early, and there were none of these reels left. The manager of the fishing dept told me there were only 2, but theyre gone, and they were sold out. What a crock of $hI+, 2 reels in the whole store!!!

Does the prop spin freely when you spin it with you finger? If not it may be damaged. If it spins freely, are you keeping the rod tip up high, and reeling fast enough to keep it on the surface?

That's right, you don't adjust the brakes themselves, just the dial on the outside. Its an external centrifigual brake adjustment. I own the same reel, and read the manual that comes with it in the box, tells you everything you need to know, as well as maintenance. One maintenance item that stuck out was that you are supposed to lightly oil the drum that the brakes ride in (the cover side) brass part after about every outing with supplied oil, which I believe I also read in the manual for the Shimano Curado I, both reels recommend this.

The 7'1 MH will swing bass in the boat just fine. Problem is when you try to swing a 5 pounder with a missing guide half way up the rod. Ask my brother what happened to his. LOL I still have mine, and it is an awesome rod. Sensativity is great, and has a heck of a powerful backbone, but is also an overall stiff rod. I don't like the reel seat very much, but you quickly forget about it when you have a hog on the end of the line.

The top color of the frog can be an advantage at times. Not for the fish, but for your eyesight. A brightly colored frog will be able to be seen easily amongst the weeds. Frog fishing is more of a sight fishing style, right? Sometime I lose sight of my frog, especially around lily pads, or if I did a super long cast (all of the line off the spool) and then took my eyes off the frog for a second. I know a cast like that is normally not used, but at certain areas it really works, and is nice to be able to see your frog gently be slurped under the water if its a subtle bite, which of course is also not always the case...

Nail polish would not be durable at all. Whats wrong with using a regular lead colored head anyways? They seem to catch fish just the same as a fancy painted head. On a couple rare occasions, I used a bass jig so long that I wore all the paint off, skirt got mangled, and probly on at least its 12th plastic trailer. The thing still caught fish like crazy, so Im not sure if it has to look really pretty or not.

I agree, and the test has no comparison to real world fishing. I use these, and like them a lot!