blckshirt98

if you took all the rods out there and erased the lure weight on the rod, I'm guessing you'd get 10 different answers from 10 different people on what the range should be. Use the printed lure weight as a guide, but ultimately tie on a lure and see how it casts/retrieves. If it works as intended, it works.

Are you using normal weights you need to tie a knot to attach your line, or the dropshot weights with those crimps? I was reallllllly sketchy of those crimp weights without tying a knot when I first started dropshotting but those crimps hold your line ridiculously well. With 2# or 4# test your line will probably break before the line comes out of the crimp. I do this sometimes as well after the rod sweep on the initial bite. I'll give my line a nice firm yet gentle "tug" to make sure the hook gets in there.

I used to use a double-uni but had a lot of breakage issues - it might just have been me and my knot tying but no matter how careful I was I always got breaks on the fluoro at the braid connection. I now use the smallest size Spro Power Swivel and have zero breakage issues. If your double-uni holds up that's fine, and more power to you. Everything else looks good, though the 2# VMC-to-weight you may want to use a heavier fluoro - 2# may be too light where you'll lose a lot of weights because you'll hit a lot of rocks/debris on the bottom and it'll break off when pulling your rig free. One new hook that really caught my eye is the Gamakatsu G Finesse Swivel Shot. They're not cheap but they're basically the VMC Spinshot that replaces the bottom eye with a crimp, so rigging will be faster/easier.

What, you don't want to explain Dirty Sanchez or Donkey Punch to them?

You can't really fault anglers for pushing their sponsors/companies since very few(none?) of them make enough off tournament winnings alone to make a living. Crews is always pushing his Spro cranks and Missile baits, just like Grigsby is always pushing Strike King, KVD with Quantum, etc, but I still find these guys helpful and informative and likable.

For me it's Roboworms. I used to use Roboworms on my dropshot almost exclusively but now I use other plastics. For some reason I don't feel that the Roboworms get bit as often, or, I lose confidence in them too fast.

I use an UL (Phenix Elixir) fairly often for dropshotting - setup is a size 1000 reel with 8# braid mainline with 6# or 7# fluoro leader, and size 4 Owner Mosquito hooks. Raul is correct with nose hooking your baits so the hook is exposed, you shouldn't have any problems with hook penetration. You dont' want to "snap" your rod with a traditional hookset but just reel in any slack and sweep the rod to the side. I think you'll be fine with your 10# braid mainline, just tie on a small power swivel and use 6 or 7 lb fluoro for your leader.

The M1 is my favorite rod, and the blank I'd pick if I ever get a custom rod made. Those blanks are also pretty indestructable.

I think once you fish long enough, you can get a feel of how your drag should "feel" when pulling on the line from the spool. If I change the drag I always like to err on the "too light" side and will know if I need to tighten it down after trying to set the hook or trying to reel a fish in.

What number got x'd out lmao, is it thirteen?

Line for me makes a big difference in the quality of time on the water. With braid I don't have to deal with "managing line". As for confidence I believe line makes no difference in a reaction bite, but does in a finesse bite so I'll always use a fluoro leader when fishing finesse. I've been happy enough where I haven't felt the need to compare mono vs fluoro, using braid for finesse presentations, etc. I found what works for me and what I have confidence in. If all of these new lines have you curious, it can't hurt to spool a reel up with some of the newer stuff and give it a try. If you've been fishing mono and don't feel a need to change and are happy with it, by all means stick with it.

As a shore guy if I don't get bit after about 10 minutes I'll change to a different size/color crankbait or chatterbait. After about 30-40 minutes of doing that with no bites or seeing any activity in the water (bass or baitfish jumping or feeding on insects) I'll go right back to dropshotting. I hear guys at the local tackle shop talking about someone recently throwing a swimbait for 8 hours and getting only one bite, but that bass was just a shade over 11 pounds. I definitely do not have the patience or discipline yet to fish that long for only one bite. Also +1 to quick snaps for changing out baits quickly. I use the Norman Speed Clips but may take a look at the G-Finesse Tournament Snaps since sometimes when it's wet or cold, squeezing those Speed Clips can be a chore.

I'm being critical of KVD but I don't hate the guy at all. He's actually one of my favorite pros, I try to watch as much video of him as I can find and in all of his interviews and video clips he is genuine and humble. Also by all accounts, anyone who has been fortunate enough to meet him in person, he's the same way in person and just a good guy all around. Part of me being critical is I'd like to see him make the last day of tournaments more so I can see more coverage of him. The way he explains crankbait turn-and-burn fishing I'd like to see him have the same success and hear his thoughts when dropshotting, or throwing a weightless senko, or using a mag spoon, etc.

KVD will win another event, but it will be when the fish are biting on his manic turn-and-burn style. He fishes like that in EVERY tournament. When the Elites were at the CA Delta last year, KVD said something about he could never fish slow like throwing a senko. That right there told me a lot where he's locked into his one style and not willing to slow it down or try other techniques that may work. Aaron Martens is one of the most consistent guys on the tour and he does a lot of dropshotting which is the polar opposite of turn-and-burn. If KVD doesn't recognize that his style isn't the one-all be-all, he'll never sniff another AOY title again.

Flukes aren't really designed to "swim" so that might be part of the problem. Try some Keitech Fat Swing Impacts that fit the hook size you bought. Plastics swimbaits you're looking for the side-to-side body wobble and the kicking of the tail, though more is not always better for either.

No line memory is one of the biggest reasons why I try to use braid as much as possible.

For crankbaits I use 20# fluoro. 20# is on the high end but 8# is way too light for reaction baits.

I wouldn't quit fishing after jr high and pick it back up 25 years later.

Thread weight onto braid. Thread bead onto braid. Tie swivel to end of braid. Tie leader to other end of swivel. Tie hook to end of leader.

Shaw is one of the best ambassadors for the sport, always love seeing him do his thing!

Drag depends on the pound test of the line. Think of it as the clutch on a power drill. You don't want to set it too light where the fish will just pull all your line out and run into cover and break you off, but you don't want to see it too tight where the fish will run or jump and break your line. To take it to extremes if you were fishing with 100lb line and fishing in heavy cover where you want to horse the fish in and not give it time to run under a bunch of down trees, tighten that drag down as much as possible because your rod will probalby break before that 100lb line will and you'll be able to pull on that fish without worry about breaking the line. Now if you're fishing 2lb line and hook onto a 10lb bass, you want to set a light drag so every time the fish makes a run or does a head shake, the drag lets some line out to absorb that shock. Go to 3:07 of this video and he kind of explains it in a technical way, but if you fish enough you can kind of get a sense of how much drag you have set just based on "pulling" the line out of the reel while the bail/free spool is closed.

If you're on a $100 budget I'm assuming you don't have a boat, and only have 1-2 rods. So going with the assumption that you're a shore guy carrying two rods (a finesse spinning rod and a M or MH casting rod) - Stick to mostly soft plastics - drop shot, split shot, c-rig, t-rig, shakey head. A lot of the plastics/terminal tackle for these techniques can be used for more than one technique. Hardbaits from shore you don't need a whole lot, I'd grab a couple of squarebills and a couple of lipless cranks. I'd wait on topwater and swimbaits as you may need more specialized gear for those. One place where people sink a ton of extra money, and where your money can quickly disappear, is buying different colors of the same bait. You really only need a lighter shade and a darker shade, and most of the time you just need one shade (some kind of watermelon/green pumpkin variant). So I'd get something like this - $7 - (25) 1/8oz drop shot weights from eBay $4 - beads for C-Rig, T-Rig - buy these at a craft store like Michaels or on Amazon $88 from Tackle Warehouse - the Senkos and Rage Craws are pricey so you could always substitute, but I haven't found a better bang-for-the-buck than the Zoom Trick worms and Yum Sharpshooters Yama 5" Senko Watermelon w/Black&Gold Flake Color: Watermelon w/Blk&Gld Size: 5" 2 update In Stock $7.49 $14.98 Strike King KVD HC Crankbait Neon Bluegill 2.5 Color: Neon Bluegill Size: 2.5 1 update In Stock $5.69 $5.69 Strike King KVD HC Crankbait Sexy Shad 1.0 Color: Sexy Shad Size: 1.0 1 update In Stock $5.69 $5.69 Strike King Red Eye Shad Chili Craw 1/4 Color: Chili Craw Size: 1/4 1 update In Stock $5.89 $5.89 Strike King Red Eye Shad Chrome Sexy Shad 1/4 Color: Chrome Sexy Shad Size: 1/4 1 update In Stock $5.89 $5.89 Gama Offset EWG 3/0 5pk 1 update In Stock $3.49 $3.49 Gama Offset EWG 5/0 5pk 1 update In Stock $3.49 $3.49 Zoom Trick Worm Black Red Flake Color: Black Red Flake 1 update In Stock $4.19 $4.19 Zoom Trick Worm Watermelon Red Flake Color: Watermelon Red Flake 1 update In Stock $4.19 $4.19 Danielson Removable Split-Shot Sinker 4 15pk 1 update In Stock $0.89 $0.89 Bullet Weight Egg Sinkers 1/2 7pk 1 update In Stock $1.99 $1.99 Bullet Weights Painted Black 3/16 5pk 1 update In Stock $1.79 $1.79 Bullet Weights Painted Black 3/8 5pk 1 update In Stock $1.79 $1.79 Owner Shakey Ultrahead Green Pumpkin 1/8 Color: Green Pumpkin Size: 1/8 1 update In Stock $4.69 $4.69 Gama Drop/Split Shot Hooks 4 6pk 1 update In Stock $2.99 $2.99 Gama Drop/Split Shot Hooks 2 6pk 1 update In Stock $2.99 $2.99 Strike King Rage Craw Black Blue Flake Color: Black Blue Flake 1 update In Stock $5.49 $5.49 Strike King Rage Craw Road Kill Color: Road Kill 1 update In Stock $5.49 $5.49 Yum Sharpshooter Ghost Shad 4.5" Color: Ghost Shad Size: 4.5" 1 update In Stock $2.99 $2.99 Yum Sharpshooter Green Pumpkin 4.5" Color: Green Pumpkin Size: 4.5" 1 update In Stock $2.99 $2.99 Estimated Order Total: $87.59

Say what, live goldfish for bait? Out here that's a huge nono and they'll drain an entire lake to get all the goldfish out.

The Shock Blades are solid and work great, especially if you want to work a slow retrieve. The only issue I found is that if I started to burn it, it tended to roll on me. But yeah, they're fine on a normal retrieve, and on a slower retrieve they seemed to maintain their action and work the best of any chatterbait I tried.

http://blackdogbaits.bigcartel.com/ Still in business and still going strong!