Steveo-1969

My personal preference is similar to gnuisance. I fish braid on my spinning reel and keep the drag tight enough to get a good hook set (the drag still slips on the hook set though, it's not tightened all the way down). Then during the fight if it's a big fish I will loosen the drag a little bit at a time and even pull some line off by hand while still being able to keep pressure on him.

Thanks to everyone for your input to my question. Your answers have exceeded my expectations, what a helpful bunch of anglers on this site! I ended up ordering a few different colors of Zoom trick worms to use on 3/16 and 1/4 ounce Megastrike Shake2 Pro Model heads.

Thanks for the color recommendations Mr. Lip 'em!

For guys fishing the ledges on Kentucky Lake, do you have any color suggestions? Past years we have generally stuck to green pumpkin, watermelon red and plum for the various plastics we use.

I had thought about trying a drop shot this year. Even bought some hooks and weights and practiced tying it over and over until I could get it right (almost) every time. I have a hard time putting down my jig/worm rod, but wanted to add something different this year. Thanks for the drop shot suggestion, this could also come into play!

Great tips, thanks!

Thank you so far to all the replies, you guys are great and very helpful! I love this site!!!!! We don't have a boat and rent 14-foot aluminum boats from the resort we stay at, so no trolling motor either. We have a simple depth-finder to find the ledge, then figure out how to drift across/along it based on the current and the wind. And luck into fish once in a while... :-) I thought about Elaztech worms, but I already bought some screw-lock heads so I'm looking at worms that will work with these. Because we are drifting (and moving all the time) I won't be deadsticking them, the jig will constantly be moving so every time I lift it off the bottom the tail will stand back up, correct?

I did some searching on the forum yesterday to find the answer to my question but couldn't find it. So... Next month I'm on my way to Kentucky Lake for my annual fishing trip and I'd like to try fishing shaky heads out on the ledges. I've been looking at the zillion different plastics to use and and thought I'd try a Zoom Trick Worm. My question: Will a Zoom Trick Worm stand up on a shaky head? (Will the tail float?) Or will it slowly fall down as the jig sits on the bottom?

X3........

Even though he is now retired, Denny Brauer. I wish they would bring back "Brauer Bass Battles" with him and his son Chad. I loved that show!

I use Seaguar Abrazx. A 200-yard spool lasts me all season.

I fish smallmouth in the Upper Potomac River almost exclusively and the 3-inch YUM Mighty Bug is one of my go-to baits. I fish it on an 1/8 ounce round ball jig head or Texas-rigged with a 2/0 EWG hook and 1/16 or 1/8 ounce bullet weight.

"Big Ol' Pig!!!"

You won't have any trouble handling walleyes with this rod. This year I bought a Loomis walleye rod WPJR 821S GLX and yesterday I caught an 8-pound channel cat in fast moving river current on a jig and Gulp minnow. I couldn't horse him in, but the rod fought the fish beautifully. Your 822S will be great. Sweet setup!

Bass Pro has the Johnny Morris Carbonlite rods on sale right now. I have a 7' MH/F and love it for jigs.

X2. This is my t-rig "go to" plastic for river smallmouth right now. I rig it on a 2/0 EWG hook.

Why not try it? I don't know if you'll catch anything, but you're guaranteed NOT to catch anything if you DON'T go! :-)

My PB (6-7 pounds) was caught on a 10.5" Zoom Ol' Monster worm in Red Bug color.

What a fish! Congrats on your new PB!!!

I will probably be in the minority here but I will never buy another President. It sounded like a great reel when I bought it - $60, 10 bearings, lightweight. It only lasted 3 months before the bail broke (about 200 hours of fishing). And it sounded and felt "grindy" right out of the box. I can't speak for other Pflueger models though.

Or as they are called here in West By God, your son caught a "Goggle Eye".

Count me in! Ever ytime I fish I think I should really throw a bait with treble hooks, then I grab a jig or a t-rig.

BuckMaxx - you are exactly where I was 4 years ago. I saw a Carrot Stick in a tackle shop with a $100 price tag and thought "There's no way I would spend $100 on a fishing rod! My Ugly Stik works just fine!". And I caught fish with it. But fast forward to 4 years later, I just spent $430 on a Loomis GLX. I justified it because it's used for bottom contact presentations and this rod is in my hands 95% of the time with where and how I fish. Other posters have already mentioned how much more sensitive a high-end rod is and being able to feel everything, and it's 100% true. So for me, my only regret is I didn't buy this rod years ago.

I put mine on a Loomis GLX rod. I get goosebumps just thinking about how much fun it is to fish with...

I totally agree! I bought one two months ago and love it! Long distance casts, smooth drag and light as a feather. If someone had told me a year ago I was going to spend $230 on a spinning reel I would have told them they were crazy. Now? Money well spent...