Bass-Addict

It is a major pain, but for finesse the sensitivity is unreal.

Cool, on it! Thanks.

I am finally really getting the hang of finesse fishing and discovering how effective it can be, as well as how many more and bigger fish I am catching. I have gotten pretty quick at the Alberto knot, but it is still sort of a pain to retie constantly with an application like the Ned rig where I am constantly getting hung up. I fish rivers so snags are common, and was hoping there was a lighter knot than the Palomar to tie to the jig head so that I could break off there and save my leader. Thanks!

Why would I bump up to 15-20 lb braid for river smallies?

Where you finding leader cheaper?

What is the difference between this and Sniper? It looks like Sniper I can buy in bulk and save quite a bit, but if this is superior I’ll get it.

Have you tried sniper?

I have heard sniper is very stiff, but wouldn’t this be exactly what I want for finesse sensitivity, minimal stretch? I am running 10 lb Suffix high viz neon lime to an 8-10 ft 8 lb fluro leader on a 6’10” MLXF Legend Tournament Bass, fishing river smallies and mostly using a Ned rig with this setup. Thanks!

I don’t quite understand why I hear so much emphasis on current. I’ve worked every inch of the water column in and around current in multiple streams of various sizes, from creeks to medium sized rivers. I’ve thrown just about everything from Ned rigs to swim baits to curly tails to topwater to crank baits and even spinnerbaits/Chatterbaits. The biggest I ever seem to find are in the 12-15” range, consistently too. Almost every last one of the 18”+ fish I’ve caught have been in slow, shaded deeper pools off some sort of rocky structure, most often rock piles, boulders, cement walls and chunk rock strewn banks. There is frequently current nearby, but never have I found them feeding directly on the seam or in moving water. Am I doing something wrong, or is this accurate and consistent with their shorter feeding windows? It makes sense for larger fish to conserve energy. What has your experience been?

I actually also have a 6’10 MLXF Legend for my finesse setup, would this be significantly better for those smaller swims? I really like the length and power of the 7’1”.

I thought about that, but what about for throwing 3.25” swims on heavier jigs or fighting bigger fish? Is a 7’1” MF too long/heavy to throw the smaller swim bait so I kinda gotta pick one or the other?

I have been using a 7’1” MF Legend Tournament Bass spinnig. I am pretty pleased with it, although I can’t help but notice the handle feels a little shorter than most split grip rods of this length. Particularly in the 7’1” MF. It casts beautifully, I paired it with a Shimano Stradic 2500 with 8 lb trilene XL clear mono. Yet it still feels slightly cumbersome slinging it around one handed in the medium sized river I fish. Is that a good fit for this application and I’m just still adjusting from the shorter rods I’m used to or is there a better fit? I like the length for casting distance and medium power for the large smallmouth and channels in my river. This also gives me the versatility to throw a much wider variety of lures (including 3.25” on 1/4 oz) than a lighter or shorter rod might. Is LTB about as good as it gets in that price range or are there better options for this? I use it as my primary rod that I throw a swim bait on, although I lost it today to the river ? Debating replacing or switching it up? Thanks!

Every brand I’ve found seems to top out (spinning) at 67”. Casting rods go a bit longer, but I find this strange as there are plenty of spinning rods over 7’. I just got a brand new St Croix LTB 7’1” and it is extremely snug in this 67” sock, which won’t even make down to the reel and has to be tethered to the reel knob, and bends the tip of the rod. I stopped tethering it because I didn’t want to stress the blank. What do you use for your 7’+ spinning rods?

I’m confused, you are saying the Nedlockz are in fact good but that you haven’t used them??

Wow the Z-Man #1 looks like half the size of the 1/0 Owner I’ve been using. I wish there were more uniformity to hook sizes.

So 3/16 EWG isn’t too heavy?

Yeah I do superglue the head but it slips/bunches down on the hook too at the other end.

I use a 1/0 EWG and I have experienced this quite often, having to frequently reinsert the hook point into the plastic or adjust the worm. I have heard the same complaint from several others. At the same time, I hear pretty frequently that Zman is the only way to go for the Ned rig. Is there an alternative to Z-Man that fixes this issue or are all other plastics inferior for this presentation?

What weight do you use?

Good point. Do Ned hooks need to be sharper than the hooks on swim baits? I catch tons of fish on the .20 cent ball jigs I buy from my local bait shop that I use with my soft paddle tails.

I am looking into getting the kit including the mold and 50 hooks for around $56. I’d still need a small melting pot and my buddy who makes lures says he has plenty of lead, I’m just wondering how much exactly I’ll save and if it’ll be worth it. I’m currently spending around $5.50 for 4 packs of these Owner EWG blockheads. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Block_Head_Offset_Jig_Head_4pk/descpage-BLO.html Love the quality but they are expensive, and I generally lose at least 2-3 a trip. I’m sort of unsure of what hooks cost once the 50 from the kit run out, or if I ever end up needing to buy lead how much I’d really end up saving to make it worth my time or if it’s safe to do in a small apartment with no garage. Thanks!

Superglue my friend ??

Fair enough, I have all applications consolidated into 3 rods as I primarily float, so each one is critical. I suppose you are right with your assessment about catch rate but to me the difference in sensitivity is might and day for finesse. Moving baits not so much but once you get a feel for quality it is certainly hard to go back. Not a tournee fisherman (yet) but I only have 3 setups and I like them a lot, and St Croix’s warranty schedule is so backed up that if I break another one it will be months before I see it.

I haven’t in the past but am considering it since I snapped the tip of my St Croix Legend Tournament Bass Ned/dropshot rod. It really sucks to be without a rod for ANY amount of time right in the middle of the prime season, especially when every rod we take with us serves a specific purpose which in this case cannot be duplicated with any other rod in my arsenal. If you do this, do you keep exact duplicates or less expensive but “functional” alternatives to get you by? St Croix has been extremely backed up on several lines and a warrantied Legend Tournament or Victory is sitting at an estimated mid July now if placed today. I went ahead and bought a brand new one as I was luckily able to find one through another supplier but that is an expensive rod to buy twice. But again, hard to put a price on something we love to do and have been waiting all winter for, and while the cheaper alternatives like Mojo/Premier are good they’re not nearly as sensitive or high quality components as the LTB line. Idk it’s a tough call.

Why not more than a square bill, and do you mean just as far as cranks or lure weights in general on MH?