Lottabass

What is the difference between a swim bait and a swim jig? Other than tackle companies wanting to sell you more stuff!

This is all good advice. I'd like to add one thing. You will find that, without knowing it, you will have a death grip on the rod. Loosen your grip and that will help your feel.

I use an 8 ft Bass Hunter. Used to own a Pond Prowler (bps). The PP is thinner plastic and will wear holes from dragging. Also, the PP doesn't track without a rudder on the back. It would spin like a leaf on the water in the wind! The BH tracks straight. I bought a lawn mower trailer to carry it on. Good luck!

Thank you! This is just the intelligent, thoughtful discussion I was hoping for! I will use braid with no leader as much as I can this year and report the results back here. Open water is probably weeks away here in Iowa...I can't wait to get started!

This is all great info. My 2 cents worth will be short. If you fish a jig all day and catch the five fish that you felt bite it, then you missed the other fifty that bit without you knowing it.....

First of all, thank you for your replies! This is my first post on this forum. I have been using a flouro leader on the braid on my spinning reel when in clear water. I do this because it seems the thing to do. All the pros do it but they are selling line. I can't bring myself to believe that bass won't bite because they see your line. What do you think?