IndianaFinesse

Pitching a swim jig would work, but a flipping style head would be better because it is more bullet shaped so it slides through cover better. The other difference between flipping style head and swim jig is the line the placement, flipping jigs have them at the front of the head and swim jigs have them on top of the head, The side of the jig the hook is on.

Definitely agree on the shore fishing part, my biggest bass was caught from shore in a gravel pit in Nebraska, a mile and a half hike from the nearest road. And I to have caught some big bass on tiny jigs, I once caught a nice bass on a tiny hook with a pipe cleaner rapped around it because that was all I had with me at the time.

14# Gliss. Casts farther than braid, sensitivity of braid, no memory, nearly half of braids diameter, all around awesome line.

The belly of a real frog is usually white, and that is all they see. That being said, I don't know if they really care what color it is.

I bought two villains for fifty bucks and a couple orras over the winter and love them, and now it looks like the bait monkey talked me into getting a veritas now?

Yep, pretty much the only part of the frog where colors matters is the belly of the frog. The rest is to catch fisherman, not fish. My personal favorite color of frog is all black, just be a use it throws a better silhouette.

Do you know if there is that much difference between the villain and veritas?

Why don't they sell Elite Tech rods anymore? It seems like everyone loves them.

Yes, I just wish Indiana was half as good as Arizona. Indiana ranks last in the country if they are ordered by the average weight it takes to win the BASS tournaments there.

Nope, nothing you can do about it. Unfortuanately it's just part of fishing with jerkbaits

Yes, unfortuanately it is normal, especially with jerkbaits that have three trebles. I have hooked them just about everywhere, gills, eyes, belly, tail, everything. Sometimes it is because they slap at the bait and get hooked, sometimes they will be hooked with the back treble in the mouth and during the fight the other trebles will snag into the rest of the fishes body, occasionally ripping the back treble loose.

I almost always get a higher priced rod than the reel I pair it with. For example, one of my combos is a 200$ villain on a 70$ orra (although I only paid 90$ for the combo, I never buy a rod or reel unless it's at least 50% off) . I just feel the rod is much more important than the reel, so I save money on reels so that I can get a better rod.

Those are some beasts! But calling a 3.5 pounder a baby, well, that's the almost the average size of the big bass winners in tournaments where I live.

Got out for a half an hour today, didn't have enough time to use the boat so I was stuck shore fishing. Since I didn't have much time I just grabbed one rod with a roostertail on it. Surprisingly I caught three crappie and a small bass in one to four feet of water in a area protected from the wind. I wish I had brought a crappie jig, but at least I know were they are now so I can go back and get some more another day.

Been there done that, kicked myself for it to.

What is everyone's favorite Abu Garcia or Fenwick rod?

You might want to add the Ned rig to that poll list, you already have eight un-official votes and counting for it.?

I usually throw a white/chartruse spinnerbait, as far as the retrieve, if the spinnerbait bite is on it will be bit as long as it is wet!

3/4oz. and up I would go with the heavy, under 3/4 of an ounce the medium heavy would by better.

Nice hawg, how much did it weigh?

There is nothing more fun than catching bass after bass all day, no matter the size.

Ned rig, unless the bass are very active, then I will usually go for a jig or bladed jig. Most people think that Midwest finesse style baits only catch small fish, but that's not true. Although they do catch small fish, they also catch big bass to. I have caught (and weighed) bass up to six pounds on the TRD.

Sorry, I didn't see that. I didn't find ffo till after five years of bass fishing and buying rods. Really kicking myself for not finding it sooner, could have saved some serious money and got better equipment.

Yes, that mold looks like the best one for pouring Ned rig jig heads. What I figured I would do is get the screw lock style, and after being poured and the lead has hardened, cut part of the screw lock off and bend the rest into the shape of a wire keeper.

I agree that the most fun way to catch them is sight fishing bedding bluegill with a dry fly or small popper.