jimmyjoe

Graphite rating in tons means little to nothing. https://www.rodbuilding.org/read.php?2,3636 Not only that, but design means a heck of a lot more than anything else. If it didn't, no one could use fiberglass rods. jj

In spring, fished low-and-slow: Eppinger 1/4 oz. Dardevle Spinnie, in Purple Rain.

Any place that puts up with an old fart like me has to be full of good people! ? jj

1) Crappie lures catch bass in every lake I've fished. Bluegill lures? Not so much. 2) In farm ponds that have no bass, I regularly see crappie in the margins. I never see crappie in farm ponds that have bass. They hide. Bluegill are always visible in the margins. 3) Gutted bass from impounded waters sometimes have both crappie and sunfish in their stomachs. 4) Bass from rivers, where shad exist in large numbers, either don't seem to eat crappie, or at least don't eat them very much. Based on this admittedly weak evidence , I'd say flowage bass eat crappie far less than impounded bass. I would say that the reason is that where both exist, shad are the preferred forage, not crappie and not bluegill. But I could be wrong. ? jj

What can we do to help his family? jj

Same here. Just on a totally wild hair, I put on a chrome squarebill, and .... bambambam! Three Army bass, all shallow and all within 25-or-so feet of shore. If I live to be 100, I'll never understand why bass in cold water act the way they do. Weird. ? jj

Yesterday morning I woke up to hoarfrost. The high was in the 40's. Wanna trade? ? jj

My dear young man; if you knew me better, that would serve to scare the living daylights out of you! ? ? ? jj

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Korean-Bulgogi-Venison-Marinade-2261349 jj

Everyone is talking about Colorado, Indiana and willow blades. No one mentions the chopper blades, which can be deadly, or the Presto blades, which were used on old-timey spinnerbaits. (Yes, "old-timey" is a thing. Look it up. ?) I've also experimented with Mepps (French) blades, and mepps-style blades. (Yes, there is a difference.) These blades spin at a faster rpm than the aforementioned designs. I never caught a fish on them. It seems that the relatively slower rotation of Colorado and willow blades (and chopper blades) gives off a flash that is relatively slower also. I'm not a fish so I can't be certain, but I'm guessing that slower flash is important. Kinda ties in with the slower frequency thing, no? jj

............. except cranks. If the OP fishes anything like the banks I fish, a squarebill is gonna be important to him. Some fast actions have a soft tip, and some don't. He'll need to exercise a little care in selection. jj

I can't do that ......... literally. My fingers are way too far forward. And that's not on small reels, that's on any reel. ? ? jj

I think you've got that right. I think it's the frequency more than the amplitude (or intensity). Yes, the speed changes the frequency, so you need the correct speed. But I've been experimenting with different weights of spinnerbaits lately (Thank you, @Captain Phil!) and the size, in and of itself, doesn't seem to mean much. If you had told me this a year ago, I'd have said you were crazy. But so far, that's what I'm seeing. jj

That looks like a deep runner. Use nickel blades; they'll be dark at depth. That will make the fish focus on the skirt. jj

The little 13A is the best jerkbait for shallower waters, bar none. It's a giant killer. The 15A is close behind. It's a good jerkbait as well as a good shallow runner. They seem to be different now, with a different action. Possibly made in a different factory. Current colors seem to be different, too, although that's nothing new for the Long A. I've got a few left, and I'm hoarding them! ? jj

I'm right there with ya. ? jj

Let me be a bit more specific. Being a shorecaster, I cast and retrieve riprap parallel to the shoreline. I USUALLY (but not always) retrieve slowly, keeping the lure close enough that I get a "tic-tic" from contact with the rocks. On smaller rocks, there's no problem. The problem seems to come on rocks about the size of a washing machine. These are the base rocks, deeper down. Smaller rocks are above them and shallower. Fish lurk in these larger rocks, using them as cover for ambush. The state uses these larger rocks to anchor bridge sites, points that they don't want to wash, points where creeks enter both rivers and lakes, and arms on silt basins below where watershed enters lakes. So I come along and cast shallow ... and slow. Nothing. So I go a little deeper, which means a leeeeeetle bit faster retrieve.. And maybe I get a hit .... or think I do. So I set the hook. And sometimes I set the hook like Hercules, in hopes of turning that fish around and getting him out of there. And sometimes there's a fish there, and sometimes there isn't a fish there. It was something else. But the lure caroms off one thing and into another and ......... CRACK! ...... broken lure. So yes, I can be a little overenthusiastic. And yes, this problem is worse because as a shorecaster, I can't always get the right angle. But I can't stop fishing these rocks. They're too productive. And don't tell me to buy a boat. I'm 70 y.o., and that ain't gonna happen. ? ? ? jj

They're breaking from contact with the rocks on retrieve. I can't be 100% sure, but when the lure hangs up on a rock and deflects to, let's say, the left, and then caroms to the right in reaction, that's when the lip breaks. I'm not saying it happens all the time, but when I fish certain places, I fish riprap almost all day. So my broken lures are coming more often, and I'm noticing them a lot more.

Be careful; you might catch more snakes than you do fish! jj

This was my first thought when I read the OP. I use big-blade s'baits over and among lake timber to get strikes. That's slow stuff. The War Eagle Wake s'bait is one of the best. It has big blades yet it doesn't cant sideways (or sink if you retrieve it slow.) OTOH, if you really want speed, just take your favorite s'bait and add weight. Most s'baits have a keeper barb behind the head. Add lead wire to it. That way you get the advantage of a s'bait that you're familiar with and know, and you get the ability to speed it up. You can go to a completely new s'bait, but it's a complete gamble whether it works the way you want or not, including whether it catches fish the way your old ones do. Either way .......... good luck! ? jj

^^ Good advice! ^^ jj

I used to have lower back pain. At least, that's what I called her. My wife called her "Mom". ? ? ? On a serious note ......... I injured my back about 30 years ago. Now, when it flares up, 400 mg ibuprofen does it for me. jj

My frog rod has a Daiwa Tatula 150H with 50 lb. Sufix 832. Usually $160, but you can look for sales. (Good luck on that!) Sounds like you're throwing little cranks if you're considering the SLX MGL. Sorry, but I can't help you there. jj

I see that there's a Bx BIG Brat, too. It weighs 3/4 ounce, and it appears to have a reinforced bill. I thought they were just balsa, and I've never been fond of balsa around rocks. But evidently these have a plastic shell over the balsa! Who knew? (I didn't!) I'll at least try them. ? I now see that on TW! Thank you!

Those are 9-14 feet of depth. That's a bit deeper than what I want for fishing around here, but I can check w/ local fishermen to see whether there is info on them. ? Thnx. That's a leetle bit light. I see now that I should have mentioned the rod that I'm using for this. It's a H/M St. Croix fiberglass rod from the Mojo Bass Glass family. I call her "Big Mama". ? She's rated 1/2 to 1 and 3/8 oz., and I found out the hard way that she doesn't like lures under a half ounce. That's why I had asked about lures that weighed from 1/2 to 3/4 oz. I'll edit my OP. jj