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Zoom Ultra Vibe speed worms, both regular & magnum sized, are one of my fav ways to fish a weightless plastic. You can buzz em on surface over any cover and then pause next to wood, weed lines & gaps in pads to let ‘em sink slowly. I normally use a Gamakatsu superline 5/0 hook for extra weight to aid casting with a baitcaster.

Straight braid. I’ve never used leaders. Fluorocarbon leaders just overcomplicate things imo. I’m either using straight braid or straight fluoro 99% of time; hardly ever use mono anymore. I even use 10-15 lb straight braid for my open water finesse presentations like shakey heads or pseudo Ned rigs (you just gotta use a spinning rod with a soft tip).

Never caught a dang thing on that monstrosity. ? And believe me I tried like crazy all thru high school before giving up. Thing had decent action, it just never caught squat. ?

I’ve witnessed this first hand….. more than once. Yes it’s quite humbling. ?

I know these are more like a mini Texas rig than they are a traditional Ned Rig. But these are all I use now for z man plastics like the big TRD and the pro craws. They’re very weedless. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Finesse_Bulletz_Weedless_Jig_Heads_3pk/descpage-ZMFB.html

I’ve been in the same situation and got tired of my lightweight shakey heads & Ned Rigs getting snagged too much which lead to breaking off. I had really good luck switching to a Neko Rig using a big TRD. Hardly got hung up at all. Comes thru rocks really well.

Man this is tempting, argh! But I just stocked up on some Z man stuff a couple months ago.

Sounds like somebody already has their 5 baits of choice in mind? ?

When I bought this battery at beginning of year, it was only $300. It’s gone up to $350 now. Last lead acid battery I looked at while in Academy Sports was $150. https://www.amazon.com/LiFePO4-Battery-Perfect-Applications-Warranty/dp/B084DB36KW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=202ZWL4666GOC&keywords=li+time+battery+12v+100ah&qid=1683430301&sprefix=li+time+%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-3

This is one of the rods I just bought. Seems like a good all around rod for multiple techniques.

Thanks for replies! Looking forward to testing em out soon. ?

Wakebait burned above the grass.

I just picked up 2 new TFO rods the other day. I’d gone to my local Sportsman’s Warehouse to replace a spinning rod I broke the previous week - my fault for high sticking a 4 and half pounder. ? Anyway, they had their TFO rods marked down half price to $80. Too good a deal to pass up so I bought a spinning rod and also a bait casting rod. Anybody a big user and fan of their rods? I’ve never used em. But they are super lightweight and felt great in the store. I’m excited to try em out.

This & I’ll take it a step further. By my logic & reasoning, if the Li battery I bought for $300 has twice the lifetime as a traditional Lead acid battery that costs $150, then the cost is a wash. So the big benefit for me then becomes that the Li lasts longer for a day on the water per charge, and then there’s the major weight reduction. So far, I’ve yet to run outta juice in 8-10 hrs of fishing with heavy trolling motor use. Also my new Li battery weighs less than half that of my old Lead acid battery.

Another lake you might wanna check out in your area is Elvis Presley lake.

Hey @Bush Leaguer, welcome to the forums. I see you’re from Tupelo. I’m from Columbus and then lived in Starkville for about 17 yrs. Been living in Southaven for the last 15 yrs. You should be able to find some good places to fish close by where you live, especially if you got a boat. I would suggest checking out the MS dept of wildlife & fisheries website. There are a few state parks in your area including Trace State Park where the MS state record largemouth was caught.

Yeah, I bought the Genius 10 charger. Def think I could used battery again all day Sunday without having charged it night before. I ended up buying a Li Time battery on Amazon for $300. It’s 100 AH and 12V. Also bought a Noco Genius 10 amp charger that was around $100. I had some Amazon gift cards from Christmas, so I was only out a couple hundred bucks from my own pocket. I was in an Academy Sports in Montgomery, AL Sunday night and noticed they had quite a few of the Noco genius chargers. So they may be carrying them now. Looks they they’ve gone up in price a little. https://www.amazon.com/LiFePO4-Battery-Perfect-Applications-Warranty/dp/B084DB36KW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=T1BWGET5YNSI&keywords=li+time+lifepo4+100ah&qid=1678973729&sprefix=Li+Time+life%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS10-Fully-Automatic-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B07W3QT226/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3UD0BMRJX51BU&keywords=noco+genius+10&qid=1678973825&sprefix=noco+ge%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-3

I absolutely love coffee but only started drinking it about 15 yrs ago. I drink 2 cups in morn to jumpstart the motor when I get to work & drink 2 more around 2 to kinda keep the motor running. Had a work buddy introduce me to 100% Colombian about a yr ago. Best coffee I’ve had by far. Even the cheap Walmart brand columbian is good stuff.

Big shout out to @MN Fisher and @casts_by_fly for the great advice on Li deep cycle batteries and the Noco genius chargers. Took an annual fishing trip this past weekend to southern GA with some old college buddies. Got to put the new LiFePO4 battery thru some real testing with a 12 hr day of fishing on Saturday and another half day on Sunday. Man, did that battery perform. Can’t believe I didn’t invest sooner. Windy days and even after 12 hrs of fishing, I don’t think the battery was close to being depleted. And you gotta understand, my 30 lb minn kota is my only motor in my 12 ft jon boat. So I’m on the minn kota heavy throughout the day. It was fully charged in 2 hrs after I got back to hotel that night. Trolling at full speed was still going at end of day, even after so much use on a kinda windy day. And best part was unloading it after a long day on water & being fully exhausted. It’s so lightweight at only 24 lbs. The charger works great too. Appreciate all the advice & instruction about my purchase. If this thing keeps performing like this for next 5+ yrs, I will be a happy camper. And last but not least, we caught 65+ bass over weekend with plenty in the 4-7 lb range. ?

Original 4 strand Power Pro is the only braid I use. I’ve tried plenty of other brands & didn’t like any of them as much as Power Pro. And yes, I know I’m in the minority here. ? That being said, Wal-Mart has always been the place that seems to have the best everyday price for Power Pro. I think it’s still just under $13 for a 150 yd spool. Forgot to add, Wal-Mart might have bulk spools available online, but I’ve never checked. Biggest spools I’ve seen in store are 300 yds.

And so it begins. ? That’s how it started for me about 10 yrs ago. If you get on a good bite with it, it’s a lotta fun. The Mann’s Baby 1- was prob the first bait that I used a lot and then it grew from there. I’ve had pretty good success with the KVD wake the last 2 seasons, and also the Berkley Wake Bull. I’ve got a couple new baits/brands from Profound Outdoors and 6th Sense (the speed wake) that are still in package waiting to get used. Good luck with them this season.

I fish Ribbit & Horny Toads a lot. Great baits to buzz around vegetation and submerged wood. Only time I’m not buzzing on surface is when I might pause it for a second or 2 around a really good looking piece of cover. Also, may I suggest using the Stanley Double Take hook for Ribbit frogs. Great hook that fits perfectly on the bait & increases hook ups. The hook will work on Horny Toads too, but it takes a little more finagling to get it to fit on the body straight.

A Jay that’s our problem here around Memphis even when the roads aren’t bad. ? I’ve been driving home from work on I55 in rush hr traffic with idiots racing at speeds of 100+ mph. ??

I’m in Memphis area also & work on President’s Island. Think our work is shutting down around 3 to get home before the worst of it hits. I’m so over winter already!! I’m ready for warmer weather & flip flops. ?