Ozark_Basser

Mainline to leader knot - I tie an albright knot. I like to to wrap the braid 8-10 times down then 8-10 times back up toward the loop. This makes the knot WAY stronger tying it this way, even stronger than the double albright knot. Most people will tell you to just wrap your braid 16-20 times down then run your tag end back up through the your loop. That way sucks for me. As far as retying, you can kind of tell by the way it looks if you need to retie. After throwing it for a good while the knot will look less uniform, and that's when I'll retie, but if you tie it perfect, it will last almost all day. You just have to get the hang of it. Leader to bait knot - It depends on the bait for me. Baits that put a lot of stress on the knot like jerkbaits, crankbaits, or heavy baits get retied more than others. Another factor is the lb test of the line I'm using. If I'm throwing a jerkbait on 10 lb fluoro to get it deep I'm gonna retie a lot more often than if I'm fishing a t-rig worm on the same line. Also you should retie more often if you're using fluorocarbon line. Some brands have good knot strength, but some don't. I think tackle tour did a review on testing various fluorocarbon lines a while back, and seaguar invisx came out on top for knot strength. Also you should visually check your line anytime you feel it needs to be checked such as after pulling your bait through heavy cover etc. Also, if you want a knot that you tie to your bait that doesn't tighten on itself nearly as bad as other knots, I'd check out the double uni knot. It's awesome. It's also great for walking frogs because it gives a little play where you tie your knot on the bait, allowing you to walk your frog a little easier.

It's gonna happen more than once especially from shore.

Depends on the cover or structure present, but I'll start off power fishing then go to something slower afterwards.

Ahhh Flippin the bird is the one I remember. I might try it out. Might just go finesse next time.

^^^^^ this! Also Savage Gear line thrus are a little cheaper and lighter I'm pretty sure, if that's what you're ultimately gonna be looking for. Only thing I want to say a little differently is that you can use the same rod for pitching and casting jigs. In fact, for me it's easier to use a little shorter rod for skip-pitching lures. I'll pitch jigs and skip-pitch baits with a seven foot rod all day without a problem. Only time the shorter rod wouldn't be as effective would be in really heavy cover because it wouldn't have as much leverage to pull them out of it. In addition, if you're going to the Lake of the Ozarks this spring, I'd definitely learn a thing or two about skipping jigs because that lake is loaded with docks. Green pumpkin/Orange kills there.

Just wanted to share something I witnessed the other day while shore fishing at Lake Valencia in Maumelle, Arkansas. Now I've heard of bass doing things such as this, but I've never seen it person. While I was throwing a spook one evening at the aforementioned lake, I witnessed a larger than average splash on the shore directly in front a little trail some ducklings were using to enter the water. Directly afterwards, I saw all the ducklings on the shore scurry away in a panic. I hurried over to see if what I just witnessed was what I thought it was. When I got to where I could see what was lurking on the shore, I noticed it was a largemouth bass (8lb +) facing toward the shore in such shallow water his soft dorsal fin was out of the water. This bass was just sitting there picking off ducklings as they came into the water! I stepped back a distance and made an accurate cast along the shoreline about ten foot past the bass and began walking my super spook toward my target. As the spook walked slowly into the bass's domain, I seen the water swirl around my bait; however, to my dismay, she didn't commit to the strike. I sat there a while throwing different baits until it got dark, then I decided it was time to head home. As I was walking back, I took one last look at where I had been casting the entire time, and there she was. As soon as she spotted me, she took off in a hurry and splashed water at me in a way that almost seemed like she was making fun of my efforts. Oh well, at least I know where she goes during that time of the day! I'm thinking about throwing some trebles on a rubber ducky and planting it on the shoreline till I see her again. I'm kidding, but something of the sort might actually work. I'm pretty sure there is a baby bird topwater bait on the market, or at least there used to be.

7'MH fast action st. croix premier is perfect for both. It has a little more bend than most 7' MH fast action rods. Reels don't seem to matter as much but I prefer a high speed gear ratio.

As long as they have plenty of hard bottom to spawn on and plenty to eat they should thrive. I've pulled 7 lbers out of cow turd ponds with zero cover before so don't think little ponds can't hold big fish. Just keep fishing it. Try mixing up your retrieves. Fish tight to cover if there is any. If not, beat the banks anyway and mix up your retrieves.

Topwater, spinnerbaits, and paddletail swimbaits just to name a few

Reapers

Anytime I think I can get away with throwing a crankbait, and I have the cover or structure to crash it into, I throw one. Usually lipped crankbaits. Depth depends on time of day, the time of the year, etc. Lipless crankbaits are something I just recently started to like a lot, especially for submerged grass. I like to reel them right into the grass then rip them up hard using both hands on the rod and let them flutter down. I also like this technique anywhere where the bottom is flat or close to flat. For example, today i was fishing a small lake that is separated from the Arkansas River by a thin rock jetty. Well, on one side of the lake it's pretty flat, shallow and rocky. The whole thing is borderline muddy, so I opted for a red crawfish red eye shad which is a lipless crankbait in case you already didn't know. I already covered the water with a squarebill, but didn't get a bite. First couple of casts with the red eye shad using the "yo yo" technique and got a nice 3 pounder. This technique has been working well for me lately, especially for finicky fish.

If I was in the market, I would be looking at the Daiwa Lexa 400, but that's just me.

Definitely braid with fluoro leader if necessary. I like the albright knot for leaders. It allows the braid to really "coat" the knot. It really depends on what kind of cover you're pitching to though as far as what you need as a mainline, but good luck trying to walk a frog with fluoro. Seaguar Smackdown and Sunline FX2 are pretty much indestructible if you're fishing a lot of heavy cover.

If you're willing to fork out the dough for the Dobyns then that is what I would get. It'll handle a wider variety of big baits if you think you want to get into SB fishing.

I owned the 7'11 XH. I've never thrown with the 7'6". It might be a bit light for the 8" hudd, but I'm not certain. You can't always trust the lure weight ratings on swimbait rods. It would be a good rod to throw the 6" hudd and would be a good swimbait starter rod. Either way the price for the combo is a straight up steal.

I think I recall hearing about using that rod for SB fishing. Is it the bass pro one?

Look up Huddleston Swimbaits. I'd start with the 6 inch ~ 2 oz

ehhhh not so much. They are BIG swimbaits. They weigh around 4 oz for the 8 inch. You got to have the gear. You can get away with a low profile reel but not the rod. Okuma makes a good swimbait rod for cheap.

Throw huddlestons on an extremely slow steady retrieve anywhere I think there is fish. Hudds seem better in the winter because they don't have as much action as boot style swimbaits. You have to have the gear to throw them though.

Silent flat sided squarebills, living rubber finesse jigs with a pork trailer, jerkbaits (if the water's clear enough), and pitching baits multiple times to the same visible targets, especially if those targets are wood. Also, big swimbaits. SLOW. This is all I throw in the winter. It's also good to find spots with access to deep water.

In my experience, pond bass are almost always caught by beating the banks. In smaller ponds, I rarely pay mind to the wind because I can fish the entire thing pretty easily so I don't worry about wasting time fishing unproductive areas. It's cool that you study physics. I studied engineering, and I understand your viewpoint on trying to analyze EVERYTHING to maximize your fishing. However, I've come to find that studying bass is not quite like studying chemical reactions or collisions etc. It's not as predictable. I find it easy to compare a bass in a pond to let's say a dog in a fenced backyard. It's going to be impossible to predict where the dog is going to be in the backyard on any given day. However, you can use certain factors such as shade on a sunny day or where his food bowl is located to help you dial it down. Same with bass. Just remember they relate to structure, cover, shade, and whatever else will help them get what they need. Whether that be food, shelter, better water quality, etc. But just like trying to predict the location of the dog, you're not going to be able to predict everything about the bass. Just use these guidelines as a starting point and go from there. I like to start off with power fishing (covering lots of water - spinnerbaits, crankbaits etc) If I get a couple of bites that way, I'll wait till the bite slows then try out some finesse fishing to get a few more bites. All you can do is fish predictable areas and focus on your presentation.

Just drag it or hop it on the bottom bro. Mix up your cadence if you want, but there's nothing that complicated about it. The football shape head is made for rock. That's about it.

St. Croix Mojo 7' M would do both well. However it is $110

A bait just entering the water just gets them to react sometimes instead of getting a real good look at it when it's on the bottom. I was working a paddle tail swimbait a couple of days ago through some grass patches. When I popped the bait off the top of some taller grass into a hole, I had a keeper bass literally jump out of the water to grab the swimbait midair.

I agree with you on the stiffness of the 735C. Too stiff for me too. In all honesty though it's preference. A lot of guys love Dobyn's rods. I like a full cork handle as well, but the split grip just takes a full day of use to get used to. If you sell those 735's on here or tackletour's forum for half price, they'll sell fast as lightning I'd say.