Airman4754

I used to throw glide baits in the urban ponds in AZ when they would stock and had a lot of success. The guys before are right. As the truck is blasting those fish into the water you need to be casting.

The Cabin Creek tubes are awesome. I caught atleast 200 smallies on them last year. I've had success with Gitzit, Cabin Creek, and Berkley Power Tubes. I honestly can't tell a difference between the three. It's just whatever is cheaper and easier to source when I need to order them.

I fish three types and I have three of each in two different weights. Every year I buy a few Wal-Mart cheapos with gold blades and rattle can them bright orange. A place I fish frequently has a huge goldfish population and the bass crush these Rustoleum beauties!

Roboworm straight tail and Zoom Fish Doctor.

The Ned catches a crazy number of fish and I would definitely use it in a cumulative tourney like the MLF ones. In a best five scenario you're looking at hitting the scale with a 6lb bag way more often than not using the Ned heavily. All those guys in the MLF make their living with five best tourneys. I get what the OP is saying and I know what Tom is saying too. The guys in those fish what they know.

Gambler and Kicker Fish.

For the green ones I go find the thickest, nastiest stuff I can use a 6" Brush Hog. For spots and smallies it's an 11" ribbon tail worm if I'm fishing deep and football jig if I'm in under 15' of water.

I do the same, but just straight fluoro.

It really depends on time of year and the species. Where I am you can be in good LMB, smallie, and spot lakes with the same drive time. Winter I'm using a Shakey Head, lipless, or drop shot regardless of species. If I pick up a school of fish on the electronics and they aren't biting on those three I'll use a jerk bait. Pre-spawn depends on the area. If it's a rocky/gravel bottom on a point of a gradual slope I'm fishing a football jig 100% of the time. If I'm in a creek mouth I'm throwing a spinnerbait. If it's a creek channel drop shot or Shakey Head. If it's a ledge a Carolina rig. For cover I'm fishing a weightless Senko. Spawn is a spinnerbait no matter what to cover all the water I want to fish. Then I go back and use a Carolina rig. Then if I can I'll sight fish with a drop shot, small swimbait, or weightless Senko. I'll fish cover with a swim jig. Post spawn is punching grass, frogging pads and mats, pitching docks, and just trying to find spots where they go to rest and recover. I'll just go looking for them in deeper water during mid day. Summer sucks. Spinnerbait in the morning, heavy cover frogging and punching during the hours of light to deep water Carolina rigging with a ton of weight and a huge bait. Fall is pretty much the same as prespawn. I own pretty much every kind of bait on the planet. If the normal routing isn't catching fish I'll get creative.

I'm speaking for NorCal and not the one lake with its never ending weed line. 1/2oz Shakey Head and a Kicker Fish Hightail in Junebug. 4" when the water is cold, 7" when it is warm. Fish it normal: shake slack, drag, shake slack, drag, etc. year round. You'll almost always feel the bite. It's a single but very recognizable tap.

A small, white Mepps spinnerbait with a single blade that could split open.

I use a big white spinnerbait most of the time.

Beast! My favorite lure to catch fish on is a lipless. 100% of the time all three species hit it like a freight train. I bet that one was a blast!

Buzzbait.

For my 3/4 I use Roboworm EZ-Shads, Big Hammers, and 6" Kalin grubs. For 1/2 it's 4" GYCB swimbait or Kalin 4" grubs. Anything smaller are Havoc Grass Pigs or Havoc double tail grubs.

A Shad Rap is a 24/7, 365 crankbait.

Someone* overpaid... *me

I use a 12lb CXX leader and the leader breaks most the time, so the knots are strong enough to hold that. You could use any kind of line you want. Big Game and CXX would be abrasion resistant enough. This just starts your line trajectory up a few inches before and it's flexible so it can maneuver a little better too. It's not snag proof, but it does make a very noticeable difference when you are fishing a deep rocky bottom and need serious weight.

Ask and ye shall receive!

Okuma Helios 7' MH. It's the lightest rod I've ever held. It's $170, but close enough.

I make my own rigs too. I use two swivels, a glass bead on back, plastic bead up front (to protect the knot), weight, and 17lb Iron Silk to connect it all. It's about 3" total. I get hung up a lot less.

I was super late to the swim jig party. I'm such a die hard spinnerbait guy that I never really wanted to throw them. They are awesome in the weeds though. I've never fished a fluke or anything from Keitech either.

I had that problem initially too. I was trying to throw it like a crankbait, but you have to lob cast them like a big bait to get distance.

I use a 7'11" MH Enigma, Aaron Marten's crankbait rod for all the small stuff: XD10's, 6-8" glide baits, small swimbaits, and my big rat if I'm not fishing open water. I mainly throw R2S 168's and 200's on it and absolutely love the rod.

I have a Phenix UMBX Swimbait 8' Heavy. It's rated for 8oz and it handles 8oz with ease. I wanted a rod that I wouldn't get fatigued with or outgrow it. This thing is an absolute beast of a rod. In this picture my Dobyn's 806 Punching rod is next to it.