Airman4754

I throw my big stuff on a Calcutta 400 with 30lb CXX, but the smaller stuff (glide baits fall into that) I throw on an Abu 4600 C4, 20lb CXX for line.

Whatever will be the most visible while looking natural is what I will use. Color is really about being practical with water clarity and confidence. There are like 80 Senko colors, but the main four will cover 99.9% of all applications.

Now, you might not believe it, but I've fished the same lure all day and didn't catch one of these.

Johnny Morris Signature Casting 7'2" MH/Fast, Orra SX 6:4, 50lb PP, 15lb Flouro leader if I'm fishing open water. I fish from weightless to 1oz heads on it.

I have an Okuma Krios that is the exact same way. The magnetics are maxed and the brake is tightened all the way. Any cast with some zip and it blows up.

I accidentally ordered some one knocker 6th Sense lipless last summer and they were catching just as many smallies as the same size and color that sounded like a coffee can full of buckshot. The only thing that I have noticed is our strikes increase and we injure the fish way less by removing the back treble hook and going up a size or two on the front one. The bait flutters a lot harder nose down. We catch hundreds of bass over the three main species in the summers here and a fair amount in the late fall and they never bite the back hook, but it does impale their body and gill plate way too frequently.

I'm with these guys. For normal crank baits (18' and up) I use a M/Mod glass rod with braid and fluoro for leader. Braid is just easier to work with. For lipless and squarebills I use a MH/Fast with 12lb mono. I like to have less rod slop when ripping through weeds and bouncing rocks. Ultimately you want some give somewhere be it your line or your rod. Heavy cranks (20' and down) are a totally different beast.

I fully believe KVD will win at least one more Classic. His style sets up far too well for a pre-spawn tournament. I also fully believe he will never touch another win past May on the Elite Series and will never win another AOY.

His style of fishing doesn't win consistently anymore outside of pre-spawn when a spinnerbait can rake in bass of all weights. If he is catching 50+ fish per day during that time of year he can cull up to some huge weights. As the year rolls on reaction baits still catch a ton of fish but the size goes down. That's why guys like A-Mart that can fish multiple techniques extremely well are so good now. If guys are weighing 17lb bags in the middle of summer you aren't catching that very often with reaction stuff. KVD is still the same fisherman but his dominance changed fishing around him, much like Tiger Woods with golf. He will have some good days like any pro but people expecting him to be the KVD of old are going to be waiting awhile.

What I can't believe is Christie was throwing the same spinnerbait all three days and KVD could barely put any fish in the boat. No one was catching Evers, but if spinnerbaits were working you would figure the king of them would at least be in the top 20.

What an insane third day! Evers made an 18 or 19 pound swing with that bag.

For shallow and weedy you might get more mileage out of a swim jig.

Zoom in kind of an anomaly. How many super popular bait styles have those guys invented? It's crazy that so many companies copy their stuff, and turn around and charge more. I'm also with you on Gambler. They make stuff that works. I've fished the real deal Senkos plenty and I couldn't tell any difference in actual production from the 25 pack I get now from Big Bite for $6. It's just like you can catch a fish on a drop shot on every main lake point in every lake in this country March through September. It could be a Roboworm, Zoom, Yum, Kicker Fish, Havoc, etc. A-Mart isn't a ridiculously good drop shot fisherman because of Roboworms.

That thing is a chunker! We caught a bunch of Spots last weekend and each of our biggest were 15" and 1.5lbs on the nose on a certified scale. Spots and smallies fight differently, but both pound for pound put largemouth to shame.

Agreed there. Devil Spears with a skirt are great too. Two of my other favorite are Gambler Why Not's and Ugly Otters.

My Loomis GL2 spinnerbait rod, 7:1 reel, and Trilene XL 12lb. 3/8oz white spinnerbait, double blades.

Your confidence is higher because you spent more money. Do any of you deep down really believe that a Yamamoto Senko will catch more fish than an identical stick bait? You're talking about something with a brain the size of your fingernail. Did it bite that Senko because it might have 1mm of extra wobble on the fall or were you just more patient with it because you paid $7 for a bag of them so they must be good? If you give KVD an $11 spinnerbait he is going to catch 70 fish. If you give KVD a $3 spinnerbait he is going to catch 70 fish.

What he said. I would also suggest a mono leader because it will float and make your plastic a little more buoyant. Unless you are using buoyant plastics then disregard.

Agreed with the ways you can fish it. My biggest producer in and around grass is a 3/4oz Dirty Jigs California in Rainbow, Black & Blue, and Bluegill and I match it with a 6" Mogambo trailer. It bull dozes through grass.

Trilene XL 12lb. I've tried a lot of others but I always come back to it.

I use a 7'3" ML, TFO drop shot rod. It works.

I run a Duckett Micro Magic 7' H, with 50lb PP. I throw from 1/4oz up to 3/4oz swim jigs on it with no problem. I wouldn't go lighter on the action because I only fish them in slop. A swim jig to me is for places I can't get a spinnerbait or chatterbait without fouling or snagging them.

Once the pre-spawn bite hits all I throw for largemouth is a spinner bait. I have them in three colors: white, black, and chart. I use one trailer on all of them: a 4" chart grub w/silver flake. For my pattern I cover a ton of water. I have my TM on full tilt and run about 30 feet from the bank. I always use the same retrieve when I'm fishing perpendicular to the bank. It's cast right to the water line, reel it for about ten feet, stop, count to five seconds, reel it back to the boat. I stop short of every point and make three fan casts across it. Downed timber, docks, piers, etc. I make one cast down the side, one cast to the front, one cast down the other side. If there are rock walls I will run my boat parallel to them as close as I can and try to run my spinnerbait within 6" of the wall. This is how I catch the majority of my bigger fish during this period. If there is wind always run your boat into the wind and cast up wind. Work the edge of grass lines, pads, and any other vegetation. Most baits fall into this, but if your fish your spinnerbait always thinking about what technique, retrieve, and cast will make it the easiest for the bass to ambush it you will catch a lot of fish overall and a lot of good wish as well.

Shad Rap, lipless, and a square bill if the water gets dirty.

Just for sheer numbers if its warm a craw colored lipless and a black Zoom Finess Worm on a drop shot when it's cold.