TorqueConverter

I was fishing a Yamamoto Flappin Hog on a shaky head pitching docks and managed to boat a tiger musky pushing 40 inches two weeks ago. The bite was so soft and the bait was just a little bit heavy as I noticed the line move. I set the hook and then had a hell of a fight. He decided to chomp off the line and throw himself over the boat and head back home. Those tigers are mean fish.

BPS Extreme. The Pro Qualifier is good too but not nearly as nice as the Extreme.

The same way I fish the Pit Boss. Both baits generate a mechanical motion through their displacement of water meaning that they have wiggly bits on them that move on the fall. I like to pitch baits like that to docks when I'm getting bit on the fall.

Switch to a lighter wire hook on the back and throw it on a limp noodle of a rod.

I fished West Okoboji in North West and the fish were definitely prespawn as of last week. Some of the smaller bodies of water I am fishing the South West are postspawn into summer patterns.

If I was willing to spend $200 for a deep cranking stick then I'd have no problem dropping an extra $40 for a Dobyns Champ Glass Crank Rod 7'6" Med Hvy Check out the TackleTour crankbait rod shootout for some rods to have on your radar.

Crankbait rods are going to have the appropriate actions required to fish crankbaits without the treble hooks coming unhooked from the fish. This is typically achieved through the use of rod action and material. Graphite cranking rods are typically very moderate in action while a fiberglass rod can have some fastness to it's action, even being an X Fast, due to the forgiving nature of the material. In regards to composite rod material, you are going to see a either a composite construction (graphite blank with fiberglass tip) or composite material (fiberglass with bits of graphite stuck in it). An example of a composite construction ro would be the BPS Crankin' Stick.

I've had both rods. The Shock series are slower in action but equally powered to the regular LR. Think of them as more of a moving bait stick when compared to a regular LR.

Cheap? Not really. I think you're going to be looking at $200 minimum for one pole anchor and one mount. If you really want to be cheap about it, you can cut quite a bit of the cost by using a large key ring and some rope tied to your boat. This allows you to stick the fiberglass anchor through the key ring and forgo purchasing some $150+ mount. The fiberglass pole anchor s still going to run you between $50 and $100.

I'm new to them as well and I had a real good few days on the water thanks to shaky heads last week. I prefer to use creature baits with lots of wiggly bits such as the Flappin Hog II and Rodent instead of a worm. The hot bite for me has been to make those perfect pitches to fixed wooden docks and let it sit and then gently move it slowly. The T-rig does not encourage the bait to stand up like a shaky head. If I need to pitch a bait to fish and have the bait stand upright in it's face, then the shaky head or jig is my go to rig. If I'm looking for slow fall and to get bit on the fall, then the T-rig is what I'm going to be pitching.

On days like that it helps to have a wimpy rod laying around. I've got a Dance Class Quantum rod that is wet noodle that I throw when fish are coming unbuttoned. The sure sets are wonky, but they stick the fish as well as any other hook.

Working big 3/4 and 1 oz jigs in deep weedbeds is par for the course in the northcountry. I like to work them through the weedbed rather than fishing them on the bottom. Think of it as offshore deep punching.

XPS squarebills, RC squarebill, Arashi squarebill and KVDs are all produces for me. The XPS is my favorite because of the extreme buoyancy and good action. I have a Cabelas Flatside Pork Chop crank that the fish have been crushing lately. It hunts side to side rhythmically like a Scatter Rap when the retrieve speed is picked up. I doubt they all do this but it's worth picking one up when they can be had for less that $4.

I do well with the Scatter Rap Shallow in Bluegill and Smash right after ice out. The irony is that at these water temps I fish it so slowly that is does not hunt side to side and instead I rely on the subtle, tight and slow wobble. As the water warms the bait becomes less effective for me, even at faster retrieves. Due to the bait's very shallow dive angle you can make the bait run quite shallow by raising the rod tip high as the bait reaches the mid way point between the point of entry into the water and your location. Paring this up to a long 7+ foot rod can make the bait run as shallow as 1-2 feet. One thing to be concerned about with the bait is weedlessness. The very small lip on the bait does little to prevent snags.

An 03-04 21' Stratos 201 is widely considered to be one of the best rough water bass boats ever built. I'd look into the 201 or if you're wanting a cheaper smaller boat, a Javelin Renegade 19' or 20'. I've got a Rengade 19 and regularly boat in 2 - 3 and sometimes 4 foot whitecaps staying bone dry so I can only imagine how nice a 21' Stratos 201 must be.

Open up the side plate and turn on a couple of the centrifugal brake shoes. It'll govern the spool RPM and prevent it from paying out line faster than bait can take line.

Brad is fine for cranks as long as your rod is up to snuff. The stretch in your line and the flex in your rod work together as a system equaling total "give". Braid has no stretch, so your crankbait rod needs to be sufficiently flexible to use braid or you will run the risk of losing fish. The advantages over monofilament lines is the incredible power per diameter and casting distance due to no memory. A good #30 8 strand is where you want to be at.

A multispecies deep V rig is your best bet but if you really want a bass boat then it's hard to beat a Javelin in rough water. For a bass boat, a Javelins ability to slice a wave in half and spit it out the sides is remarkable.

I loved my 7'10'' MH but broke it a few days ago. They're awfully thin walled for a glass stick.

I like the BPS Extreme 7' H. It's got a long soft tip that works well with treble hooked baits in the 1/2-1 oz range.

It's a broomstick.

If casting distance and power are key then braid is your line. If you want a translucent, plastic line for reduced visibility and increased abrasion resistance then I'd recommend using it as a leader to a braided main line.

A MH 7'10'' Quantum KVD Tour. It's just a big 'ol glass workhorse.

Are the magnets physically there? They might have been removed or never found their way into the reel in the 1st place.

Either the Yamamoto Flappin Hog, Havoc Hawk Hog, or Havoc Pit Boss. If I had to limit myself to just one it would be the Hawk Hog. It fishes better on a T-rig than the rest and casting a T-rig is how I fish plastics 90% of the time anyway.