badgerboyng

I haven't heard of that brand, I'll check them out! Welcome to the forum!

Nice and simple, all variations of green pumpkin. I was thinking that a green pumpkin swim jig with a bit of blue in the skirt and a green pumpkin trailer to imitate bluegill and another one with an orange belly on the skirt and a sungill trailer to imitate perch would set me up pretty nicely. When you're not using a swim jig to target smallies in shallow cover, do you ever use swimbaits in deeper water? If so, does your color selection for that differ from green pumpkin?

I think the point of that color is that it's somewhat see through and green, which is great for clear water, but it's also got some darker hues like purple which makes it work in murkier water as well. Personally, my favorite bait one year was a big Texas rigged sprayed grass tube. Regardless of water clarity or location, it always got bit by bass and pike. I've been wanting to try that color in more baits... Maybe this is the season to try it!

This year, I'm planning on using a lot of swimbaits for smallmouth. Both as swim jig trailers and on their own. I have read many posts saying that green pumpkin, white, and black-blue are all one needs. However, I have also seen many posts suggesting bright and bold colors for smallmouth. Any suggestions on swimbait colors for smallmouth? Or for swim jig colors, which have a wider range of colors? Also, are there certain times when bright obnoxious colors thrive over the basic 3 colors?

Seth Feider drop shots wacky senkos all the time

A St Croix Avid pearl with a Pfulenger president lady reel is a very girly combo that should preform very well. If she doesn't like pink, mojo bass rods are cherry purple, which she might like too!

I see that they have tube jigs with bronze hooks or Mustad black nickel hooks. Which do you recommend?

I'm looking for cheap but good quality tube jigs. I loose a lot of them so I will need to purchase many. Where do you guys recommend getting them from? Trying not to get killed with shipping either.

Thanks guys, it sounds like I'll definitely have to get a medium spinning rod too!

Does the 7' MH Fast handle such a small bait well?

This year, I want to throw some finesse swim baits for smallmouth. I'm talking about Swing Impact Fat 3.3s and 3.8s. I will be ordering a St. Croix LTB swim jig finesse rod (7'1 MH XF, 5/16-3/4oz lure rating) in the next few weeks for swim jigs and T-rigs. I know a lot of guys throw these swim baits on a 1/8oz jig head on spinning tackle. However, I want to know if this swim jig rod would work for that too. Or do I need to buy a 7' medium fast spinning rod too?

Thanks, Scott. I won't worry about the dams too much then.

That makes sense. Although in the summer I'm planning on fishing the stretch of the river near the Dells, which is just downstream of a major dam. So in that area I should expect the fish to get more active when the water is being released?

I'm fishing a tournament from a boat at Lake Wisconsin, which is just upstream of a major dam.

I live in central Wisconsin, and I'm planning on fishing the Wisconsin River a lot this summer. I've heard that it's a great place to find big smallmouth. I've tried fishing the river in the past, but with no luck. However, when I was fishing it once, I leaned an extra rod against a rock wall near the water. After wading for about half an hour, I went to pick up the rod that had been sitting there, and the water line had risen to be just below the reel. I was amazed that the water raised nearly one full foot in half an hour. This is when I realized how big of an impact the dams on the river have on the fishing conditions. Upon doing some research, I learned that rivers that have many large dams, like the WI River, behave similarly to tidal rivers. I'm going to be doing a tournament on the river in late April and then fishing it a lot in summer. Do you guys have any info/wisdom about how largemouth and smallmouth bass behave in tidal rivers? I am also willing to read a book on this if anyone has any suggestions. I understand basic river tactics, such as fishing current breaks, wingdams, etc, but am looking for information on how highly fluctuating water levels impact river bass and their location. Thanks for the help!

Some of them are similar. For example, the reason why the two rods you listed are reccomended for different techniques probably has to do more with the length of the rod (you'd probably slap the water when using jerkbaits with the 7'1). Other comparisons, however, have very different softness. The 6'9 MH Mod-Fast's lure rating is 1/4-5/8oz, whereas the 7'6 MH Mod-Fast is rated 3/8-1 1/4. That said, even though they're the same power and action, the tip on the 7'6 will be much more stiff (i.e. not able to throw as light of baits). It's difficult to know for sure without bending the rods yourself, though. Even if you buy your rods online, you should be able to find these rods in stores just to look at, since you live in WI. Come to the fishing expo in Madison tomorrow and you can feel every rod they carry. Or go to Cabela's or a tackle store near you, and they might have what you're interested in.

You could ask him to use his discount to get you a new Curado K for $100 and save a couple bucks, but either reel should work fine for senkos.

Probably not... These days a 6.x is as seen as slow. The slowest the Chronarch MGL went was 6.2, so I wouldn't expect Shimano to change that.

I talked about micro guides with a St Croix rep when I visited their factory this summer. He said there was a huge push for micro guides a few years ago, and a lot of companies, including them, started manufacturing rods with micro guides. But he said now they hear from a lot of people who want them to be removed because of leader issues and how quickly the tiny guides freeze when fishing in very cold weather. He basically said that micro guides were a fad, and even though they're still around, a lot of people don't prefer them. Personally, I've always seen G Loomis as a more traditional company that's slow to change its ways. So maybe they just out-waited the fad, and when they update their rods, I think they'll continue to use traditional guides simply because there's not really anything wrong with them, whereas micro-guides bring several more issues into play.

Here's a link to the 2018 catalog: https://issuu.com/st.croixrod/docs/scr_cat2018_issuu The factory doesn't have all of the rods ready yet, so that's why they're not on the website. They told me to call and check the availability of the specific model and if they have it in, they'll sell it over the phone.

I've had good success using the Spro fat papa 55 for smallies in rivers, specifically the craw colored ones. I bounce them off of rocks.

I've actually thought of how that would be a great rod for senkos before. I always thought the light tip would cast senkos really well, and the backbone would get a worm hook through without a problem!

I've heard great things about that rod. I've been eyeing it up for a while. What do you use yours for?

Good point. Maybe the question should be: What's your favorite rod in the LTB lineup and why? Are there any that you don't like? I'm interested in hearing what people like about them, not necessarily which one I should buy.

In every rod series, there are some models that are amazing, and there are others that fall flat. I've never fished a LTB, but I'm interested in buying one. Instead of asking which rod you guys recommend for a certain technique, I want to hear, in general, which rods in the LTB line are known to stand out in terms of functionality. What's your favorite rod in the series? If you could only have one, which one would you choose? Also, are there any rods in the series that are terrible? Anything to avoid? For example, I've heard that the 7'4 Slop-N-Frog is a broomstick that has a terribly stiff tip. I'm interested to hear from you guys.