IndianaFinesse

Stupid question from an offshore novice, but when do you mix in deep cranks if you start out with jigs and t-rigs? I had always thought that it would be better to start out with cranks, and throw slower lures if necessary.

Wow. That dude can fish with the best of them while holding and working his rod with his chin. He would be absolutely scary if he had arms and legs. Thanks for reviving this thread, I had never heard of him before.

This is a largemouth. This one's a smallmouth.

Are you looking to use them to fish on or to provide the cover needed for bass fry to increase their' survival rate?

First off, how come this thread was revived after like ten years? And second, you should never pour soda down there throat. The acid can actually burn the operculum. If you want more info and the actual data behind it, here's a link http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/doing-the-dew-to-your-bass.html

I live in Indiana, and I spend a lot of time finesse fishing. First thing that popped into my head.

Fed my last 5xd to an easy 50+ pound flathead this morning, and he didn't give it back...

It was an interesting experience... Fishing out of a 14 foot aluminum rigged with a 9.9 HP motor we caught a small limit of bass that weighed about ten pounds. We were close to getting dq'd for being late, the guy heading the tournament up walked over and told us that if we would have been ~35 seconds later he would have disqualified us. Which wouldn't have bothered me much, but we were the second boat out of eight to arrive! The other six were late (including the winners) but not a word was said about them. Then when we went to get our fish bumped, the same guy that was in charge of the tourney dumped our fish in the sink with a golden rule in the bottom of it, and with out even individually measuring the fish he tossed three of them back. They were all within an inch and a half of the minimum, but all were legitimately keepers and he didn't even really measure them. Then a couple of his buddies brought in a couple obviously short fish (the minimum was 15" and they didn't look 12") but he let them slide and was even ribbing them about bringing in dinks! Still got third place, but it ticked me off enough that I haven't competed in that club since.

Sounds like a good shallow cranking rod.

@xtraorange, you should be fine with the rods you have (as long as one is at least medium lite or preferably medium powered). I would highly recommend trying Midwest finesse style fishing, it targets high numbers of bass and has an emphasis on frugality. Here's a link on how to get started https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/186214-the-basics-of-the-ned-rig/

I mostly use it for finesse baits like the ned rig, 1/16 ounce Bucktails, etc. but also for throwing crappie jigs and what not. I have a hard time casting 1/64-1/16 ounce crappie tubes on anything else, and it works fine for bass to. You would be surprised at how lite of line you can get away with, unless you're fishing around heavy cover.

Yep, it casts a proverbial country mile. Nanofiliment is the line I use for the super lite (4-6lb.) stuff. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-LNEBERKLEY.html?from=basres

Nope, it won't get stuck underneath the line roller. I use braid as lite as 4 pound test on my spinning reels, and have never had this problem.

2.5-3 pounds, not trying to rain on your part but that definitely doesn't weigh 5 pounds.

Zoom trick worms and finesse trick worms, and no I don't care if it floats or not, except in the winter when I am dead sticking them I prefer a floating worm such as a zman worm or squarell tail worm.

Good luck getting the smell out of your clothes anytime soon.

Here's a couple links to articles he wrote about a few myths (extra long tag ends, if different shallow cranks really matter, color) he's tested and disproved. Some interesting stuff that makes you wonder what else we overcomplicate. http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/2012/06/breaking-the-rules-tag-ends.html http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/2012/06/choosing-a-crankbait.html http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/2011/03/which-is-more-important-color-or-action.html

The pop x is not designed to have the tail sitting very far down, only in the 20-30 degree angle to the waters surface as stated by Dorado. @Dorado, I usually retrieve mine by quickly walking it in (occasionally making it spit works well also), sometimes with pauses and sometimes without. I usually don't have to pause it. People say that the pop x is no different than a spook if you walk it, but it has a very unique sound and action far different from a traditional walking bait. You definitely have a defect, don't give up on them yet.

Are you talking about Texas rigging, wacky rigging, or using a straight shank hook? I'll see if I can help you out if I can get a little more info on what you're asking.

Just my opinion... But is there really a reason to buy a sensitive stick if you're going to mostly use it for bobber fishing anyways? A much cheaper rod would do just as well, say something in the 20-30$ range would do fine for bobbers.

I ended up buying the pop x, and it is well worth the money. Walks as easily and tighter than a spook, spits, pops, it does everything and it does everything well. I used it to set my current record for numbers a few weeks ago with 99 bass in 6-7 hours.

Got the 7'4" mh kvd tour edition cranking rod in the mail last week, and it is one sweet stick (especially for the 60$ i paid for it brand new). It has the perfect bend for keeping fish pinned up on crankbaits yet doesn't feel like a wet noodle. The extra length easily added another 50% of my casting distance to. Sensitivity is also pretty good to. The rod is thicker than I expected, which doesn't bother me at all but it's something to think about. Haven't hooked any big bass on it yet, but a ton of white bass and a 30 inch channel cat put it to the test while deep cranking a couple days ago. On a side note, the seller (e-bay) went above and beyond with the packaging. Instead of shoving it into a cardboard box filled with paper like most companies do, it arrived inside a Styrofoam rod casing that fit around the entire rod, inside a durable PVC pipe. And just incase if the end of the PVC pipe happened to break off, the seller tied a short rope around the rod and through a set of drilled holes in the pipe, so even if the end broke off the rod could not fall out. I would highly recommend them, they're a place called Shelton's clothing.

I don't think they really care what color the braid is, but since high vis line doesn't help with frogs/toads anyways I usually use green.

I just checked, you're at 91.7%, and 7th in our group. We have similar teams, except you have ike instead of herren and I have kvd instead of Greg hackney.

Ish and skeet dropped way down the standings today, Ish went from 24th to 71st and skeet down from 7th to 35th. Picking Ish over swindle really hurt me in the standings. Got three inside the cut, kvd in 2nd, rick clunn in 7th (that gamble is paying off) and skeet in 35th.