KCFinesse

I love tinkering with buzzbaits- they resemble nothing natural, sound like nothing natural, but catch quality fish. I am all about the analytical and finesse side of bass fishing- the pure instinct reaction bite is so different and fascinating! Also- I got a chance to meet Larry at a classic a few years back. He is a class act!

I can almost hear the sound of straight braid hooksets! Nicely done!

AND the blue on blue trim just looks mean!

I have a buddy who at one point had a largemouth, a spot, and a smallmouth in an aquarium. When feeding with live crayfish, the largemouth tended to inhale the crayfish, the spot tended to grab and shake them like a dog on a chew toy, and the smallie tended to repeatedly inhale and spit the crayfish until they were 'pliable'. I wonder if that is their reflex reaction anytime they chomp on something hard? On a related note- I wonder if the 'just kill it first' attitude is what makes smallies and spots so fun to catch ? -Jared

I even started putting cheap mono behind flouro to maintain spool height while saving flouro... I also change out my flouro quite a bit after backlashing etc... Plus the neon green cheap catfish mono backing makes my reels look extra fancy... Seriously though- how many yards of useable line are needed at a given time- I think the wide spool JDM style designs were a big eye opener on that for me at least...

I think a lot of builders realize the importance of components and balancing a rod. Those are things that really separate building from buying. I really like Northfork, the Amtack Bushidos, and CRC rods. NFCs are awesome but more expensive. I've been told that there's really no difference between the Bushidos and MHX, but (for whatever reason) I think my Bushido builds have been better. I've been impressed with CRCs- they are American made reasonably priced and are not gimmicky despite the multitude of color options. You won't really save money, but you can definitely build a $150 rod with quality components that you generally wouldn't see on rods that list for less than $300. I stopped building for a while because lifetime warranties were really common on solid <$150 manufactured rods. That trend has definitely slowed so it makes more sense to me to build a quality rod with components that don't break as easily. Take your time, don't be afraid to redo anything. You can turn a quality blank into a less than quality rod, but I think there's a 'high floor' when it comes to custom built rods built properly. -Jared

I bought an opposite hand zephyr to help provide a stopgap until my dominant elbow heals up. My normal bfs reel is a size 50 aldebaran. Casting-wise the zephyr is great. Its also light and readily adjustable. The reel has a tendency to get line behind the spool (b/t frame and spool). Its happened to me three times over about 12 hours of fishing it. That drives me nuts- with 6lb test you don't have room for error on stuff like that.

Welcome! I'm a Nebraska guy who went to school in Ames- I'm more familiar with western Iowa, but kicked around the skunk river quite a bit. I'm always amazed by the amount of resources and locations represented on this site- I know there are eastern Iowa folks on here. Have fun, learn a bunch, catch some fish ?! -Jared

Awesome info! Thanks!

Glad I'm not crazy! My SB722 showed up with a MB734 sticker (just to add to the confusion ?). The SB722 seems like a pretty legitimate medium light. It'll make a nice 1/8oz Ned dragging bfs rod. The MB736 looks like a heavy t-rig machine- I wish I was building that one for myself! I also grabbed a delta SJ705 to hit the free shipping threshold. Definitely doesn't seem to have the 'umph' that the MB736 has... All of them are pretty cool although the hoopy scrim is a little obnoxious to pack against. -Jared

Bluff points- especially with pole timber!

I've built a few of them and really like them. I built a SJ72 8/15 as a senko rod for my dad and considered it a true medium. I also built a mb73 10/20 and thought it a heavy side medium heavy (all pretty subjective). The blanks themselves are deceptively light for how solid they are. The crankbait rods are super awesome. -Jared

Black buzzbait- straight braid- heaviest junk you can get it through (although I might say that in a bunch of other circumstances as well) It seems to work well in quickly warming areas or mainlake shallow staging areas with a little bit of chop. If nothing else, you can cover a ton of water either looking for active fish or the big bite spring buzzbaits are known for. -Jared

Anyone build on an XRay SB Series? I just placed an order for a sb722 and was planning on turning it into a bfs casting ned and light boot tail rod. Thanks! -Jared

He certainly seemed pretty shook up about both the bait and the fish when he broke one off!

Think about what you've had tied on at the end of a tournament you really struggled... I realized that about half the time I'd end up asking myself "what was I thinking???" I realized that my theory on baits was wrong. Answers don't come from the bottom of the tackle box- they come from finding the best presentation for getting the 'right' fish to bite. It seems like this subject comes up a lot with co-anglers digging for magic baits repeatedly. There are exceptions, but much of the bait selection game is choosing what best addresses the mood of the fish in the location they're at and fine tuning from there. Even with the big selection @A-Jay has- much of it is high confidence stuff with tweaks and variations- big random changes in bait is just grasping at straws. Food for thought! -Jared

Funny- #297 and #900 are my favorites and I find myself cycling between those two depending on water clarity...

Senkos are expensive- I like using twist lock hooks as they extend the life of senkos. I buy hitchhikers and wide gap swim jig mold hooks and make my own twist locks at a much lower cost. Jig hooks run big when not used in a mold- I like the 2/0 or 3/0 sizes with a five inch senko.

Congrats, Glenn!!! Table Rock is a personal favorite- a bass factory with TONS of different things going on at any given time.

That's a heck of a doco fish. Good work!

The doctor is a great rig slowly falling or on a controlled drift. I'm a fan of split shot rigging and and really light shakeyheads (gliding on the fall). Also- experiment with the flat side being up or down, it changes how it falls/moves. -Jared

We just got a big slug of rain in the Midwest and many of the highland reservoirs I fish are getting dirty quick <1' visibility. I have a small club tournament this weekend at Lake of the Ozarks and the weather looks post front clear and calm. Water temps will likely be in the mid to upper forties. These conditions are difficult but seem to kick my but more than any others. My gut says flat sided cranks and maybe spinnerbaits... Maybe get a bite or two early in the morning but things will pick up as the sun gets higher. I have a mental block when it comes to high skies and mud on highland lakes. Water color says spinnerbait, but can the spinnerbait deal hold up through a very non-spinnerbait-y day? Swim a bulky jig with a bunch of thump as a spinnerbait surrogate? Is it better to just cover turf grinding a crank? What are your thoughts? thanks! -Jared

The fish should be prespawn with some fish maybe getting started. Water clarity will vary but generally 7' plus. This is a great time to be out there. I haven't fished back there in particular but I've fished up Indian and fished a lot of stuff around Baxter. Secondary points and 'stair step' rock banks. If the water is up, the buck brush will hold fish. The old adage at TR is that the right spawning bottoms are the same areas that grow buck brush. Sight fishing can be fun (neko's, neds) if they are moving up- I've had better luck on the fish I can't see. Dragging natural colored menaces and neds on secondaries adjacent to these areas will get you fish coming in and staging. Spinnerbaits can be good on grey windy days. Natural colored suspending jerkbaits can work, vary cadence. Keitechs and neds always always work to some extent out there. Always think natural colors and light line on calm days out there. Good luck! -Jared

Hank Parker-ism- You can't catch a fish on everything cast unless you catch one on the first cast.

I've done okay running them through brush and laydowns especially in the spring. Bumping cover is important. A little color to the water improves the bite- but I feel like it works well in any situation where either you or the fish can't quite commit to a spinnerbait...