Ozark_Basser

I used to own the 6'6" medium for creek fishing. Good rod for shakey heads. Kinda stiff for treble hooks. Maybe the 7' has a little more give to it.

The only hooks I really bomb are football heads which generally come with lighter wire hooks. Pretty much every other head is more close range target fishing so I don't really need a lighter wire, but I would recommend checking out that owner hook or perhaps making your own.

Then that jig is ideal. I would just fish it TIGHT to cover if that is where they are holding. If you fish a lot of ponds, that and a bladed jig would be my go to lures for the bigger fish. Learn to pitch. Learn to skip. That head is not the easiest to skip, but it will, especially with that trailer, a lot of big flappy craw trailers don't skip as good as twin tails. There is no wrong way to fish a jig, but some are slightly better than others for certain situations. It just depends on the head. I've caught tons of nice fish swimming football heads when it was all I had. Also, in ponds, I find I catch more fish swimming or pumping a jig than just hopping or slowly pulling it across the bottom. May just be me, but it probably depends on the conditions as well.

I agree that is what an oxbow lake is.

Just googled oxbow. It is just a u shape bend in a river. I find this true in periods of warmer water but not so much in the winter unless the current breaks are large like wing dams. ???? Do you have oxbow lakes where you fish? I would just focus on places that have no current and have access to deeper water. Flats adjacent to deep water are always good asnwell during the winter.

So who designed this rod? Shimano?

In cold water, bass don't like fighting current. They will seek out deep water and places where they can seek refuge from current no matter how high the water gets. Oxbows and places where the river makes a sharp turn tend to be good places to find both of these.

I personally never mess with the weedguard. That is a brush jig. Its made for wood, but you can throw it anywhere. It would probably not be the best option for rock. Flipping/brush heads like that tend to get lost in the rocks, but you can still fish it there if you want. Its green pumpkin which is probably the most versatile color. If your water is really stained up, I'd get some in black and blue as well. The only two colors I really use are black and blue and some variation of green pumpkin.

I can get decent blanks down the road for cheap. I will build a few for my mom, nephew, etc. before I tackle my own project. Just to get a good idea on my strong and weak points. I'm not much into anything too fancy, but I want them to look as good as possible so a few practice rods couldn't hurt.

They call one stream a river and the other a creek. The last half of the Buffalo National River really does seem like a river, but around the area where I live, it's more of a creek if that makes sense. Crooked Creek is actually the better of the two If you ask me. Everything in there is just bigger and more plentiful for some reason. Carp, catfish, minnows, suckers, along with bass are all bigger. It's strange, but I can't complain.

Good point. I tend to target good looking shallow areas adjacent to deeper water first since those are usually the more aggressive fish, and they are easier to catch if they are there to feed. I'm not too sold on the soft bottom idea. The softest bottom I usually target is sand. Although there isn't a lot of areas with soft bottoms where I fish or sand for that matter. I suppose crayfish could use these areas to burrow and come out when the sun warms the area enough. Is that what you are getting at?

It's graphite. To the OP, When it comes to swimbait rods, the lure weight rating is rarely ever completely accurate. In the price range you are looking at, I would go with the Okuma Guide series 7'11" xheavy.

If you are ever in NW Arkansas, take a float trip on Crooked Creek around the Pyatt area. I have caught five 18" in one float before. However, I rarely catch them any longer.

Frog. Skips well. Fun to walk. You can throw it anywhere without getting hung up.

For 1/16-1/8 oz weights? A light action is about all you can use effectively. Just go by the lure weight ratings on the rods. Although these aren't exact, they are a good guideline. A cheaper and lighter rod than the mojo is the tfo signature series. It also has a better warranty. I like mine a lot.

If you are going to throw 1/16 oz and 1/8 oz weights, I'd stick to a spinning outfit unless you wanna drop some serious dough on a good finesse baitcaster. You can still throw those weights with casting gear, but to me it's a pain. It's up to you though.

It really doesn't matter. Try them all.

This is very true. It all depends. However, if you are just wanting to fish sparse cover and some rocks with a Texas rig, I would recommend the following.If you mainly throw 1/4 and 3/8oz t-rigs - 6'6"-7' medium power fast action rod on 10-12# fluorocarbon line 3/8 and 1/2 oz - same just up the power of the rod to medium heavy and jump the line up to 12-15#. Anything heavier or lighter just move up in rod power and # test accordingly. A good cheapish fluorocarbon line is Seaguar red label.

Thank you all for the replies. I found someone down the road that will hook me up for cheap.

I would but our house burnt down and took a lot of my stuff with it.

I plan on it. If I buy a blank from you guys and the handle, can you tell me what size reel seat I will need?

Girly

Get some lipless cranks as well. Yo yo them and rip them out of the grass. Awesome technique.

Bring a variety of soft plastics and look for a real big one on a bed. Learn to pitch.

Molds, but either way would work. It would be cheaper to buy pre-poured jigs and modify them.