Mbirdsley

For a chatter bait I’d say reeling just fast enough to get the blade moving and keep it moving. Will also result in your bait being deeper or near the bottom depending on how deep you are. slow rolling a chatter bait is one of my favorite Things in the spring. I’ll slow roll a spinner bait any time, place or weather condition.

I don’t have a ton of experience with Carolina rig but, I’d use like 1/0-3/0 off set or ewg hook. I’d also would run either straight braid or flouro to the swivel than use mono to the hook. If your talking as big of fish as you are I would want to eliminate as many of the knots or weak points as practicable possible

Thanks. That’s more than I would have thought to bend the Blaid back

Could you post a picture of one of your chatter blades that you have bent ?

I mainly buy from net craft and lure parts online. Net craft is more walleye oriented and usually cheaper than lurepartsonline . LPO from the time you place your order to it being delivered is faster than net craft. barlows has a lot of stuff neither janns or LPO have. Pick your poison they all have the same and differnt stuff. If I lived closer to barrows I’d probably order more from them, they are located in Texas. Janns is in Toledo Ohio and LPO some where in Illinois. I’d like to take a trip to janns only about 1-1.5 hours away

I make/pour my own jigs. 1/4 oz 2 tabs, 3/8 and sometimes 1/2 2.5 tabs ( sometimes I go 3 tabs if I’m feeling froggy). Anything bigger than 1/2 oz I use a 3.0 tabs.

This is good info. This last Sunday the Saginaw river which is a big river had miles and miles of Shad in it. Every so often I’d run across a tight ball of Shad. Looking for the bait balls in the river would help locating active fish rather than just aimlessly casting up and down the bank for miles and miles in all of the Shad

I’m hoping to buy the 73sv UHD this spring. Cabelas has them on clearance right now

I just ordered this in the crank version a Okuma EVX Crankbait Rod. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-OKUMARDS.html?from=basres In a 7ft medium from TW. should be here when I get back from deer hunting next week. Ill have to get a MH for my deeper cranks down the road. My 6ft6 m black max rod can handle dt15’ and xd6’s no problem. I wouldn’t got much bigger though. I’m excited for it. Hopefully get to use it before everything ices up.

Buy in bulk as it is cheaper. Purchase like 10 in each size that you plan on using. I usually order once in the spring. Some sizes I use I might only have to reorder every 2 years. Plus when you have a stock pile of them you can wait for them to go on sale or clearance. honestly tungsten jigs arnt that expensive. I was buying 1 1/4-1/12 oz punching jigs for like $5-7 a peace on eBay

War eagles are pretty good. Seems like I get those to hold up better then the booyas and strike king. The booyas, strike kings and other still catch fish. I still buy them Just seems like they are worn out after 4-5 bass. When pike hit them even less catches. only spinner bait I tried and didnt like were these booyas 3/8 vibra wire spinner baits. I bought 2 and couldn’t get either to remotely run right.

No not on the rivers in Michigan or drowned river mouths dumping into the Great Lakes. You can drop shot on the great laker them selves or any inland lake

Carolina rig would be fine because it isn’t suspended vertically and the weight is in front of the hook. Its because, the weight is below the hook vertically they say it easier to snag fish. It’s actually a stupid rule that needs to be changed. There is a difference between what you’re describing and using 3oz weight and 5/0 hook and ripping upwards with the rod. It’s to stop from snagging walleye, salmon, and lake run trout only exception is perch and crappie rigs

It isn’t legal to fish a drop shot on rivers in Michigan. Or else that sounds like an idea

I’m late to the party. My first success from any plastic lure was a pumpkin colored berkly gulp crawler in 2012. 3 years after graduating from college and had just gotten back into fishing after a 6-8 year hiatus. At this time I wasn’t that far removed from being only a live bait fishermen. Started hanging out with outdoorsmen from work and started wading rivers. I was using mepps spinners and rapala’s dead summer. They were catching 6 nice fish to my 1 dink. Tried the gulp crawler and changed my life. Actually, I used a gulp crawler exclusively for about 6 months.

So I want to get into Maribou jigs to help extend my fishing into fall/winter. I think they would be killer in the Saginaw river. Right now the river is full of Shad and a Maribou jig is about the size of a small American Shad. This last weekend the river was 50 degrees and the bass were hanging out in the old shipping channel either suspended right at the drop ( water goes from 3ft to 15-20ft deep in the space of 3 feet in length) or half way up the bank/drop. I’m just trying to figure out how I can fish a little jig in current that won’t let a 1/2 oz jig hit the bottom in 15feet of water. Only thing I can think of is cast way up stream and let it come back to me. Or I could just tie onto a bigger jig

I always thought those round abu’s would make a good deep crank reel

I’m still rocking my black max combo from 4 seasons ago ( first bait caster). I picked up a like new silver max for 30 bucks shippe d on eBay which, has been a steal of a deal. Not the greatest reels but, probably best bang for your buck as a beginner or as a extra/loaner rod

I bought a carbon light 2.0 combo last Christmas on sale for 174.99 regular $220. I absolutely love it. They go on sale a lot

Jigs and Texas rigs while pitched, flipped or dragged. I only have one reel which, is a Johnny Morris carbon light 2.0 with 8:3:1 ratio. I love that reel. . I use this reel in both lakes and rivers. I do have 2 ( one is a extra )7ish gear ratios that I use for basically the same stuff. The one I use all the time is my Diawa tatula tv sw on my heavy flipping and pitching rig. I think next time I’d opt for the higher gearing if I had to buy them again slowest reel I have is 5:4:1 for cranking ( next crank reel I may go 6:4:1). The other 3 bait casters are 6:4:1 that I use for moving baits

I’m actually interested in trying Maribou and buck tail jigs this fall/winter/spring. What are good colors for these little guys.

Since the big flood in the spring draining 2 resivours farther up on the Tittabawassee (Tittabawassee and Shiawassee form the Saginaw river about a mile from where I caught these) the smallies have dulled up a bit and turned more brown which, I guess to match the water. In past years they are greener and more viberant. However, yes she is a pretty fish

These cabelas guide wear gloves have been the best gloves I have used so far for cold weather fishing. I use them steel head fishing and ice fishing in the winter. They are made out of neoprene. They can get a little wet and still stay warm. I can chuck a crank and reel it in on a bait caster with no problem while wearing them. I think this will be my 4th year with them . I believe I only paid about $45 for them

An ocho acts just like a senko it is just bigger. I’ve had situational success with ocho’s. I like them for hot summer days when the bass are hanging out in the pads with Preferably stained to dirty water. I use the 6 inch black and blue flake ochoch with 1/4-1/2 oz and flip it into the pads. I think the bigger profile allows the bass key in on it in the pad jungle and dirty water. I also have water melon and kvd majic. Havnt gotten the other colors to work yet.

Kvd’s are hard to beat. I have had good success on the Rick clunns that are sold at Walmart might be by lucky strike? Also don’t forget bandits