TorqueConverter

I only have one XPS super shallow and have caught bunch on Chanteuse Perch color. It's impossible to go Bandit without getting the Sun Perch color, because it's awesome. Just get a few in natural finishes to start with to match your baitfish and few in bright colors if you really like the baits.

I've only had 3 smallmouth on the end of my line in my life an two of them were dinks. A few weeks ago I hooked into a giant smallmouth and didn't get a good hookset in and lost him by the boat. I totally understand the enthusiasm behind smallies now. What a fantastic sport fish. That thing fought like a freight train with the brakes out.

Sometimes disappears mid flight and sometimes it's the whole cast? Sounds like centrifugal braking is dry. The intermittency of the noise duration can be explained by the adjustable centrifugal braking, meaning that closer the race track is to the brake shoes the longer it screeches.

I had the 7'10'' stick, and it wasn't so much that the reel seat was large (it was the cramped Fuji ACS seat) but that the blank was enormous because it's a big ol glass stick. I think you might want a reel that sits low on it's reel seat rather than simply a small reel because some small reels can still be tall. The shortest reel I have ever used is the current gen BPS Extreme and performance wise it's comparable to the PQ witch is on the lower end of your price spectrum. A Curado I, if it's not too tall is probably your best bet.

When in doubt pick the bait up a little bait and feel the amount of resistance required to pick it up and the weight of the bait. If it feels abnormal then set the hook. Rod sensitivity is important and it goes beyond simply how well it transmits vibrations and taps. The weight and especially the balance of the rod is a big part of the sensitivity of the rod. A tip heavy rod, I don't care how sensitive the blank material, is going to make it difficult to feel the weight of the bait when you pick the bait up off the bottom.

I sometimes fish a little 13 acre weedy Iowa state pond and have been surprised by size of the fish that can come out of it. The key to catching the big ones for me has been targeting the low light periods. The big fish will get out from under the coontail beds and cruise the inside weed line at dusk looking for bluegills and bullfrogs.

Yes, when beating the bank the guy up front usually gets the best casting angles. This is especially true when fishing in the wind when the arse end of the boat kind of goes wherever. When anchored on offshore structure, it's anyone's game.

832 is softer out of the box than PP due to a factory coating of goop on the PP. Tip wrap is pretty common when fishing braid once it gets soft. The only way to completely eliminate it is switch out your tip top guide with one that sheds the braid when it tries to wrap around it, rather than catch it like most tip top guides.

10 - 14 pound Suffix Elite is my one of my favorite monos.

Small: BPS XPS Super Shallow and Bandit Foot Loose Large: 3/4 oz BPS The Egg, Depps Buzzjet, Imkatsu Waddle Buggy

Looks similar to The Egg, which is my favorite wakebait so I'm going to have to get few of these.

Depends on the softbait product. I prefer Stick-Os over Senkos for both their action and durability. As much as I like the Skinny Dipper the BPS Sassy Sally has a very similar action with a more durable soft plastic formulation. The trend with the name brands seems to be great fish catching designs/action made from a terrible, self destructing soft plastic while the house brands have questionable designs/action made from very durable plastic. When you can get the excellent action/design paired to a durable plastic is when you have real winner on your hands,

In addition to what everyone else has said, the reel uses what I call the "industry standard" sized handle meaning that any Abu/Diawa/Lews ect handles will fit.

Bumping this thread because I bought one of these things. Just a heads up, this jig has a hook that is microscopic and the weedguard is super light. I would strongly discourage anyone from picking one of these up thinking it's some sort of flipping jig but smallmouth and spotted bass guys should take notice.

I'd cover water with a Rapala DT4 followed by a texas rigged ribbon tail worm in a dark color.

Ultra fast retrieve reels are the trend now. Everybody is going to have their own opinion on how these fast reels impact fishing and mine is that too many people are fishing baits too fast. Average joe can't even make a scatter rap work because of he thinks he needs to burn crankbaits back to the boat on a ultra high speed reel.

Trigger-X Hammer Wrom

You should see what guys are forking over for pre-rapala wiggle warts.

Yep, pins out means brakes on. This suddenly becomes very obvious once you understand how centrifugal forces work.

Check out the Megabass SM-X Spriggan. It's a Megabass Wart If I ever saw one and supposedly has a very erratic action.

Getting eaten by a crock named Michael Jackson is a heck of a way to go.

The old molds were destroyed. The current warts are the "original series" warts and in their outwordly appearance they look like the old ones but the density of the plastic and the rattles on the big warts are very different. The current warts do not have the hunting action of the original baits and are a more stable bait. There's a number of baits out there that are trying to fill the shoes the old warts left. The Hunts for Center Liver Target Crawfish or Brads Wiggler might be worth a shot.

A 7' ML Fenwick HMG is pretty affordable. You might want to look at Salmon rods with power ratings that match the baits you intend to throw too.

Even with my fancy smancy electronics I still need to grab a big ol crankbait and locate that d**n rockpile or weedbed that's supposed to be on this waypoint. A crankbait can be a useful tool in getting a frame of reference on the water to where that rockpile or weedbed is that your are seeing on the screen.

There is a lot of competent shallow cranks out there; too many really. The Bagley Balsa B #2 and Rapala DT Fat 3 are often overlooked and they really shouldn't be because they are dynamite. The DT-4, while not a squarebill, can lay a serious beat down on a lot of shallow cranks when it comes to straight up fish catching.