Angry John

You can put heavier hooks on the square bill and it will rise slower. The bad is it will get hung up more maybe. This will give you a little more depth when slow rolling.

This may help or interest you http://anglersresource.net/GuidePlacementSoftware.aspx

depending on the cover the ewg style hook with the points that are tilted in are best. I am in love with st-41 owners but there quite spendy. I like the 1/2 oz size even the dinks will eat it. I dont fish them deep so the weight is not a huge issue. The spro shads are nice but more money. Jack them means hit them and just start grinding. If you have a moderate or moderate fast then the rod will soak up the bumps. I fish them on a MHF mostly because they pick up a lot of junk and i just rip them to clean them off. Once the head is turned they are all yours and i dont seem to rip out because i never let them turn and run. If they get a good angle to fight you back then you may have to play them out. In the mirky water you never know what size they will be and after some losses i would rather treat them all like a monster and get them landed pictures and let them go. I posted a pick of my fiver i picked up on last wednsday i think in Memphis pond hoppers if you want to see the bait and fish.

https://www.facebook.com/clinchknotfishing/videos/928700547297222/

Two colors of red eye shad for me. White and black and silver black. It's a spring bait for me and that means dirty water. Some people like red. Put some upgrade hooks on them and jack them. Never give any line and keep the rod tip low to keep them from jumping.

Find the water inlets and work a weight less black blue worm. Cast it up into the flow and let the water carry it into the main lake. I like to do this with square bill cranks also bUT may not be an option depending on your angle to the flow.

610mxf for me. Casting

Of all your plan the distance from the bed idea I feel needs the most refignment. Look at bass movement patterns and establish a more broad idea, that is refined during prefishing. Early spring would be main lake points mostly deep, as the spring progresses the will move further in and more shallow. Matt Allen just did an amazing spring movement video on tactical bassen that would be worth a watch.

Tax return setup. Mb white python and ryoga 1016. Need to get it strung up and tested.

I throw glides on a fast rod. The hooks are normally heavy duty and large. I don't know if a moderate rod would effect the action or not. The 168 is about 2 ounces. I disliked the smaller size due to the small area it covers and water it displaces.

My SV103's seem to hold plenty of line. I use one for light swim baits in the 2oz range and it holds more than enough YHB in 15lb. There are tons of sv spool options depending on what your trying to accomplish. http://japantackle.com/tuning-parts/spools-casting-reels/daiwa.html

Beaver lake is rough and I caught one dink out of there. They all see a lot of pressure but I do have some 4lb catches out of the dog park ponds

Pulled a fiver at the pond next to the cop shop and performing arts center in bartlett. The first fish over 1.5 lbs ever out of that pond. It sees a bunch of pressure and then i hung up my trap and it was all over....

Yea but mostly the forage is different. They have no shad in the PNW and in CT alewife was the primary forage in most lakes. Now here in TN shad is the main feed. I used a lot of watermelon in both CT and PNW but the water here in about half of the lakes and ponds i frequent need green pumpkin or black blue in a soft plastic. I dont by a lot of plastics for this reason and i may have 10 or so bags that dont get use. The good news is when i go on trips to Texas the water in Austin is crystal clear so i use them up there when i visit. I have prevented a huge pile of plastic by sticking to the basics and not going color crazy.

Less rods and more lures. I only say this because I keep moving and what I was using in that other state does not work. To be fair I move from NE to pnw to tenessee and nothing is the same.

I dont know if i ran into you in Bartlett today or not. There was a guy fly fishing at the church pond on Kirby witten and Yale.

I have one of there poppers that just gets it done for me. I own a pop max and still like this lure better. Jump in the lake when it gets hung up to get it back...

The best at what price range. I find people ask for the best and then have sticker shock.

Casting rod full rear grip cfx carbon. Spinning split grips cork. Got no time for Eva hate the feel.

You can use rivits, or wood screws. You can also use expanding rubber grommets but they leave bigger holes.

I like auto from Mustang with HIT. The value in HIT is that it is not going to inflate in the rain. A lot of the pill types or others will inflate in the rain and I got no time for dealing with an inflated vest or the effort and money to deal with a rearm kit just because I get caught in a downpour.

The daiwa steez flex lite rod is amazing for this. I use 6 lb flouro and a daiwa alphas. I have the medium which is good down to the #5 but there is a medium lite version of the rod that would load and cast just about anything.

As far as thoughts go, you may consider having one of the rod builders here that do handles make you a set. There are all kinds of interesting cork to include colored ones. No details of your project to see if weight is a major factor. Jans has some good stuff http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/201485-wts-st-croix-legend-elite-stradic-ci4-fa/?tab=comments#comment-2263555

Hard to pass on the deal currently in the for sale area of the mlxf st croix and C4i.