Ozark_Basser

Are you using braid?

Those are street prices.

The hook is tied with what appears to be a Snell knot.

I disagree. I built a North Fork Composites 709 HM with Fuji micro SiC titanium frame guides. Also, it has a carbon fiber handle with a carbon fiber foregrip. It cost me around $430. If you bought the G Loomis edge series it would cost you $550, so I saved $120.

I like the round braids like smackdown and fx2. Casts better. Seems to have better abrasion resistance. Thinner diameter. They are a little pricy, but a spool lasts a long time. If you are going to tie a leader, I would recommend the Alberto knot. Learn to tie it right. When you break off and at the leader instead of the bait, you are not tying it right.

I'm sure a smaller swimbait could work, but it doesn't have the drawing power of a Hudd to get followers.

Steve Gardner came up with micro guides? That guys been helping me out a lot on rod building.org's message board. He sent me an email for his formula for spiral wrapping too. I feel special lol.

I own a 7'MH signature series ($99). I love that rod for spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and swim jigs. It doubles well as a good jerkbait and top water rod as well. It has more of a mod fast action than fast, and it's not the most sensitive or crisp blank, but it's perfect for the techniques I previously mentioned. Also it's pretty lightweight for its price point, and really keeps fish pinned up due to its parabolic action. I highly recommend it. I'll never get rid of mine.

Also, it's easier to pitch a t rig if the weight is pegged.

I would be pitching/casting t rigged beavers and jigs into the thickest stuff there. Also I would be throwing a 68 special weedless Hudd. Even if they don't bite it, you're likely to see a big girl follow it up, simultaneously giving away her hiding spot.

Fishingskirts.com has loads of skirts for cheap. You can buy them with the bands or without, but if you buy them without, you will need a skirt making tool.

You can always add weights like suspendots to get it to suspend.

I like how with custom rods you get the first shot at newer components or designs. Spiral wraps are just starting to get popular with mass produced rods but have been very popular among custom builds. Torzite guides are another example.

60 won't solve it, but it helps some. I have 65 # smackdown on that casting rod I previously mentioned. It's top notch braid that's not supposed to dig as much, but it still does sometimes after breaking off a bad snag. You gotta check any braid after bad snags in my experience.

I would throw as light as I saw fit on spinning. 30 # would be heavy on spinning for some. I have 65 # on one of my casting outfits right now. I use it for jigs, heavy cover, and smaller swimbaits. I always tie a fluoro leader except for with the spro rat and smaller glide baits.

Be mindful that the lighter the braid, the more it digs on casting gear. I wouldn't go lighter than 30#, I tend to use 50# the most with a fluoro leader.

D bombs (super bug) Kinky beavers (California 420)

Longer rods 7'+.... Pros- longer casts, better hook sets, better for deep diving crankbaits, swimbaits, big jigs, flipping and pitching, and winching fish out of cover. Cons- not as light or balanced, accuracy is not as good, can be a pain for fishing in close quarters (creek fishing in canoes, bank fishing in spots where space is limited), generally cost more. Shorter rods <7'..... Pros and cons - take all the pros and cons of the longer rods and reverse them.

I favor plastics that catch fish. Some baits are better than others, and some have scents, and some don't.

Have caught fish on anything and everything, mostly jigs just because that's what I tend to throw. All of my biggest fish except for a couple have been caught on a t rig mainly because they have came from lily pads. Jigs don't fish through pads as good as a t rig. Top water bite is still kinda meh. Night fishing has been meh so far this year. All of my best days have coincided with the best days according to the moon phases. According to my notes, that is the only trend. Wind direction, air pressure, etc. have shown no trends as far as my best days go. I haven't even fished the lake once this year. I just moved into a new house so money has been tighter than normal, and the boat needs some repairs also. All of my fishing has been from the bank in rivers, creeks, small lakes, and ponds, so all of my fish have been caught shallow.

What you're saying is true, but I have caught quite a few females off of beds. Do you not think it's very likely to see a female on a bed during the spawn?

Something big and/or fast. Also, top water. If the water is clear, I like big jerkbaits fished with very short pauses. Swimbaits. Jigs with a big trailer. Pumping swimjigs. Big crankbaits.

Use elaztech baits. Zman makes their plastics from elaztech. They will float a hook.

Or you could just order a decal from mudhole with your stuff if you haven't already ordered it all yet. I just ordered one for my grandpa with his name on it. It was $7.50.

Frog Swimbait Swim jig T rig creature bait Jig