TyF

I have a medium legend tournament spinning rod (wacky rig model) and a ML Avid spinning rod. no mojos but in my opinion the medium is slightly stiffer than other rods and the ML seems to be pretty accurately rated. I would definitely stick with the medium if you are looking for a medium action rod though ML is probably not stiff enough for what you are looking for.

I have last years model of the mojo 7' MHF Spinnerbait rod and absolutely love it! I use it for the exact things you want to and couldn't be happier. I used it all week on the Alabama river flipping jigs to isolated wood and rocks and caught some big girls with no complaints. the mojo is a great rod for the price point. that being said I do not have any experience with lews rods.

Have a few different baits with different types of actions tied on and let the fish tell you what she wants. Most of the time the fish will react more to one type of bait than the other and that tells you which bait to use. Also switching up baits often helps give the fish a new target and may intice a strike. All bed fish are different and may want different presentations. It may take a long time to get the fish to bite but most of the time they will eventually commit. If not then come back to them later in the day. I always have these baits tied on in this order when bed fishing: 1) White Jig 2) Dropshot 3) weightless Senko (wacky or texas rigged) 4) Some type of sunfish imitating bait (swimbait, crankbait, topwater)

Live target all the way. In my opinion the extra money is justified for the exceptional quality and durability of the live targets compared to the booyahs.Yes booyah is cheaper for a good frog but in the long run you will have to buy 2-3 booyah frogs before you have to buy a second live target. In the end you wont really be saving money by buying the cheaper frog.

one of the only lures I am truly passionate about and wont buy anything else is the koppers live target frog. At first I thought they were pricey and didn't buy them until they went on sale. I used that same frog for 2 years and caught hundreds of bass, 3 snakehead, and a snapping turtle on it and it still caught fish. after all that abuse it would still float every cast and I would rarely have to push water out.i finally had to retire it as I tore the plastic one day. I have tried strike kings and right out of the box it would start to sink every other cast. The spro frog had a hard body and I missed 6-7 blowups that I know I would have had with the live target before I switched back. that being said my second choice would be the booyah a good frog for a cheap price. My advice would be to put a little extra money into 1 or 2 live target frogs and use them for a few years. I promise you wont be disappointed.

Pointers are worth the money in my opinion. I have tried other brands that look almost exactly like the pointer out of the box but have many problems when they are actually put in use. Almost all of the cheaper brands I have tried either don't run straight and are difficult to get down to depth or don't truly suspend like advertised on the box which is important for winter fishing. I know there are ways to make the bait suspend like adding split rings or changing hooks but in my opinion you are paying the $17 for the consistency of the bait and so you don't have to mess around with the bait and waste time on the water to get it to run the way you want. I try to buy my pointers used or when they are on sale so I don't spend all that money.

I have worn the Columbia drainmakers for the past 5 years and have been happy with them. I wait till the older models go on sale for $30 or so and they last me close to 3 summers. That is saying a lot as I am a fishing camp counselor over the summer and am in the water pretty much every day for 3 months straight. Very comfortable and light weight. They also dry in less than a day.

My favorite jig trailer no matter what time of year is the baby paca craw. It has a more subtle action than the rage craws and you can always rig it straight with the hollow body.

I have bought the BPS version on accident because of how similar the packaging and look of the bait is. I did notice right away that the BPS plastic was a little harder and didn't have as much action at slower speeds as the keitech. I did catch fish on them but would probably not buy them again just because I feel the keitechs are the better bait and are worth the extra $2.

I have caught 17"-19" fish in very small rivers (almost streams) in northern Virginia. One "river" that I have the most success in is about 30 ft wide at the widest and averages about 2" deep with the occasional 4"-5" stretch. Like Racerx said I don't think there is a "too shallow".

Live target frog for largemouth. one of the only lures I am really passionate about. I had one for 2 years and It never sank on me. caught hundreds of bass and many snakehead on it as will with no problem. finally had to retire it. for smallmouth lucky craft Sammy by far.

I have caught both of my 20+ inch smallmouth and many in the 18-20 inch range on a lucky craft Sammy in rivers in the summer/early fall. By far my favorite smallmouth lure no matter what time of day. it seems I catch numbers with the average size being bigger than anything else I try.