blckshirt98

I got a Roman Made Mother but will never catch fish on it because I will never get the balls to throw it. I got it more as a collection piece so to speak, due to my hoarding tendancies. Most expensive lure I've ever caught anything on is probably a simple D&M Piranha Swim Jig - that thing just flat out calls fish to it.

4" Yamamoto kut tail, anything green with gold flake, to use on a dropshot.

If you're fishing a tournament I'd stick to the techniques you're most comfortable/CONFIDENT with and bring whatever will cover clear/dirty water conditions and a variety of depths. So say a couple of 3700's with your highest confidence shallow/deep reaction baits for clear/dirty water, a 3700 of jigs, a 3700 of terminal tackle, and a bag of plastics that'll cover your highest confidence soft plastic techniques. Also maybe throw in a some swimbaits into that bag of plastics. I think what really sets the FLVs/Elites apart from everyone else is their ability to change techniques in an instant, have the ability to recognize when they need to make that technique change, and have the skill to fish the broadest variety of techniques with confidence. Unless you're a pro and confident with almost all techniques, a tournament wouldn't be a time to try bring the kitchen sink and try something new.

I'm out on Cali, fish 100% from shore, and use a dropshot 90% of the time. A big part of that is because it's a technique I picked up early when starting to fish freshwater, and had a lot of success with it, so I never bothered to learn other techniques when I knew I'd get bit on a dropshot. I always use a size 4 or 6 hook, a 1/4 or 3/8 bakudan weight, and small plastics (3.5-5") nose hooked for better movement in the water. Whatever plastic you use be sure to drop it right in front of you and see how the bait reacts in the water based on how you impart action. When nose hooked you really don't need more than a light tap of a fingertip or tiny flick of the wrist to get the plastic to move. It's really easy to work it aggressively like say a c-rig or t-rig bait but that'll give the plastic unnatural movement. You really want to keep the bait out in the depth zones you want to check for as long as possible - after casting I'll spend 2-3 minutes at that depth lightly tapping the rod every so often, reel in a bit, fish that depth, reel in a bit, fish that depth, repeat, until I find where the fish are. Little fish will aggressively hit the bait, the larger fish will be very subtle where you may not even feel a tick, but a light pull on your line that will get heavier. The hardest part is being patient with working the plastic. I've started to fish more reaction type baits like swimbaits/squarebills/vibrating jigs and noticed that once I fish those, and go back to the dropshot, it's really difficult to be patient.

I've had one of the cheaper swivels break on me - I now use the Spro Power Swivels and haven't had any issues, and have complete confidence in them. Have pulled hard on heavy braid/fluoro and have had the line break/hook bend before the swivel gave.