KCFinesse

Find the lightest slip weights you can and peg them. I've been using1/32oz ones for my finesse stuff. Also- you can use split shot without as many issues if you crimp on the shot at the end of the line before tying on a hook. Sliding a pre-crimped shot up the line is a lot easier on line kink than crimping it hard in place. (But I did still switch over to slip weights almost exclusively?) -Jared

I've never used an acid wrapped rod before but I have been considering trying them. I'm building a 7' 3 power casting setup for jerkbaits. I'm using single foot standard size guides because I do not want to deal with micro guide ice-up issues in mid winter jerkbait season. Is this a reasonable first foray into acid wrapping or is this just not a good application? Thanks! -Jared

Watch the action of boottails. Good baits do two things- they shimmy side to side in addition to 'paddling' and they paddle with the lightest weight possible. I've been going swing impact fats and rage swimmers but admittedly I mostly throw 4.3s and smaller. I do think the ball head helps the side to side shimmy action, and I'd rather drop weight than switch to a swim bait hook if at all possible. I like jig heads with small collars to avoid splitting heads open. The owner ball heads are awesome but I also pour my own. Don't go too long on the hook shank or it negatively impact that side to side shimmy as well. Super glue is your best friend when it comes to anchoring baits. Also the high rod tip trick is great advice, shallow largemouth to deep open water smallmouth... -Jared

I haven't fished that lake in a long time, but I really recommend looking at Google Earth and using the time slider feature. There are dates on Google Earth where the lake is 40 feet low which makes identifying some of the offshore rock structure really easy. Good luck! -Jared

I was at Table Rock this weekend and lots of fish were pushed up shallow in all phases of the spawn. Walking baits and quick moving jerkbaits were working really well this past weekend, but things are changing super quickly down there between the rains and where the fish are at in the spawn. Good luck! -Jared

I'm doing the same thing as the @Jig Man method, but I'm using the Do-it wacky weed guard (the Shepard's crook at the end of the guard makes setting it pretty straightforward and its light enough gauge that I can still pour ones without a weed guard in the same mold.) -Jared

@A-Jay- I grew up chasing largemouth and only hitting 'easy' spring smallmouth once a year; I've since traveled all over the Midwest fishing for smallies throughout the year (learning mostly by braille and incidental discovery). This is a great summary of a bunch of tough lessons on the subject, and is really applicable in every location I've been fortunate to chase smallmouth. Keep up the good work! -Jared

I use both for light (6lb flouro) applications. Finesse baitcasting is much more subject to the equipment which is more expensive, hard to find etc. I purchased a JDM Aldebaran this spring as a means of helping deal with wrist and elbow issues (more or less to help add varity to my mechanics). Sourcing a suitable 'long' ML baitcasting rod was very difficult. I settled on a 6'8" lews speed stick more geared towards finesse top water applications. the set-up handles 1/16 oz ned rigs on 10lb braid to 6 lb flouro extremely well. I favor the baitcasting set up for more horizontal finesse applications (shallow beds, covering long points, damiki) and I use it a bunch for Midwest finesse stuff. I really like the line control of a baitcasting set up, and in a pinch, I can upsize to a 10lb leader and pitch 4" weightless senkos with more accuracy than my other tackle. The spinning set-ups are more versatile in 6lb test game and certainly excel in deep water or vertical applications, and I have a lot more finesse spinning set ups than my one finesse baitcasting set -up. If you do get a good opportunity for finesse baitcasting stuff, don't dismiss it completely, but style of fishing and definition of 'finesse' has a lot to do with whether or not you like it. -Jared

I received a Do-it SUB-5 style (horizontal eye stand-up head) mold as part of a lot of molds (and I'm not sure what to do with it... ) Anyone have any clever ways to use this? It might make an ok bladed jig as is, or maybe a swim jig if a fiber guard is added? Any thoughts? Thanks! -Jared

Don't know if you made it out, but I was out there today. I don't think they ended up getting much rain; the water clarity looked pretty good overall up until about a mile past arrow rock. We found fish really spread out, but better fish were pretty shallow cruising fish coming off of hard bottom flats. -Jared

Looks great! Nice fish -Jared

Interesting stuff! I kinda figured they would be something closer to a more stable Gulp! product than it sounds like. ?

Sounds very familiar. Good work out there; it sounded like a lot of people really struggled this weekend (some good Costa sticks included). We launched out of Edgewater resort in Aunt's, ran all over the White searching for bigger fish, and ended up back in Aunt's. I put 60 miles on the boat over three days- but the majority of the fish caught were within a mile of launch... (Go figure). -Jared

How'd you guys end up doing? We fished a tournament Saturday and pieced together a decent ned-rig smallmouth bite on the first deep edges outside of pea gravel in the Aunts Creek area. Aside from one good largemouth caught prefishing Friday, we struggled to find fish bigger than 3 lbs. We found a few good Kentucky's on mainlake stuff pre fishing as well. Those were mostly boottail fish. -Jared

Fished miola on Saturday morning, and I think the goofy weather may have had attributed to the tough fishing. The fish we did catch were mostly shorts relating to the rock jetties. Water temps were around 48. -Jared

Bummer!

I really like how those poison heads look. Excellent work at the vise to boot! -Jared

I've had Ryan from 'Ryan's custom rod shop'/ 'Smooth Reels' out of north KC work on some reels for me before. I usually do my own rod repairs, but if you're looking for an established local guy doing any sort of rod and reel maintenance- Ryan is pretty good. Good Luck, -Jared

Whoops! 300 hours I blame fat fingers for that one. At one point I was comparing the Opti vs a higher hour Yami and settled on the Merc on the basis of parts and service availability. Plus other factors in the boat itself.

I just got the boat and motor earlier this fall- I'm the 3rd owner and the opti has 800 hours on it. I've previously been an Evinrude guy, but I like the set up quite a bit on a 185vs ranger. (I think I'll be a lot more comfortable one I can get some of the gelcoat work cleaned up!) I spoke with a Merc dealer/certified mechanic, and there is supposedly nothing internal that posses a freeze damage (ie no low points that consistently retain water in the circ line). I'm still a bit skeptical, but I'm concerned more about freeze damage and less about storage. If the boat is ready by New Years- I'll be on the water. -Jared

I'm taking my boat in for gelcoat work in a couple weeks in the Kansas City area, I'm on the repair schedule for one week, however I'm assuming it will be at the shop for two weeks, during which time there will be intermittent outside storage. KC is blessed with having open water just about year round, and as such, I've never winterized my boats previously. Weather can be variable, and i wouldn't be surprised if the boat saw temperatures in the low-teens for a few hours if it were to sit-out overnight. The fiberglass shop does not do winterizing onsite, I've asked them if they thought it was an issue a few times, and I've gotten responses ranging from "it's no issue at all" to "we'll just tilt your motor down to make sure its drained of water" to "we don't take responsibility for it, but if you're good with it, we're good with it." Am I better off just going for a partial winterization (change lower unit oil, make sure water side is drained)? Should I go through a full winterization (I'm a bit leery that I can get this scheduled in time)? Or is this likely a non issue? The engine is an '05 Opti 150 if that makes any difference. Thanks! -Jared Koliha

I fished LaCygne yesterday afternoon with high hopes of pre-front, full moon, late fall feedbag fish... I was mistaken. I caught one short, but spent all my time south of the outlet. Water temps around the dam were 51-53. I did see quite a few boats up lake- which makes me wonder how much fish activity has changed with one unit coming online. The conditions were good enough that I bet someone figured them out. -Jared

The plant will cycle water even when they aren't generating (which is why cool water is flowing). Both units have had limited operation this year due to maintenance, and I'm not sure there will be much warm water running until January. -Jared

I'm a fan of good components and light wire to maximize vibration. Good ball bearing swivels are important as is balancing the weight of the spinnerbait to the blade size. I am also generally a fan of thinner blades. I also like the feel of bigger single willows, which are hard to find if you don't make them. I've also had days where the 'bad' swivel that intermittently locks up seems to stir up bigger fish... This year I've been testing out thinning the wire arm above the line tie via Dremel tool; the goal being to maximize a lower frequency vibration than a traditional consistent dimension wire or even a Stanley design. The results suggest that it might be working, but I could always use more time on the water during a blade bite! Good luck! -Jared

I fished Miami on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 5 and could not get a bite until about 4. Fish were in the warmest water I could find (I was kicking myself for not finding it earlier). The swim jig did the best for me- I had a lot of short strikes, but rotated through colors and trailers and ended up catching a quick handful. The largest fish was about 4lb and fat. Water temps were from 52-54. -Jared