Hook2Jaw

I do like Fish the Moment for the electronic techniques!

I'll also give you the why of...why I use what I use. First, my preferred lines are Berkley Vanish for fluorocarbon because it's a decent line as long as I apply line conditioner. KVD Line n Lure really straightens that mess out enough to be easily managed. I use Kastking Superpower Braid because I don't notice much difference between it and 8 carrier braids. It's cheap and strong. That's also my though process when it comes to mono, Berkley Big Game handles that for me. Crankbaits : Various fluorocarbons. I use 14# Berkley Vanish for Squarebills and Lipless, and 12# for Medium and Deep Divers. It's sensitive enough to feel incoming collisions with cover, and allows my baits to get deep. The better I become with sensing future deflections, the more I'm liable to drop down to 12 and 10. Jerkbaits : I'm currently using 10# Berkley Vanish, but I'm contemplating using 30# braid to a length of fluorocarbon leader equal to or more than the dive depth to hopefully keep the buoyancy of braid from effecting the equation too much. The memory of fluoro actually moves your jerkbait forward and I want mine to fully pause when I pause. I think the visibility of braid will help with detecting those paused strikes. Topwater : I use 15# Berkley Big Game for Topwater applications. Braid kept getting in my front hooks on my walkers and with the amount of drag I use on treble hooked baits, there's no need for the strength of braid. I also worry about it tearing out trebles. Frogs : I use 50# braid for friggie froggies. Haven't found some Georgia slop yet that 50# Kasking doesn't haul them on through, though I haven't been frog fishing long with a dedicated setup. Bottom Contact : I'm currently using straight 12-17# Fluorocarbon for Carolina and Texas Rigged Worms in addition to my jigs, but am seriously considering braid to leader to increase sensitivity in the future. My current rod for this application doesn't accommodate a leader very well due to the guides but I hope to upgrade in the future. I would prefer 30# braid to 12-17# Vanish. Single Hook Moving Baits : For my paddletails, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits, I use 14# Fluorocarbon. Swimbaits : I use 40# Kastking Braid to 30# Berkley Big Game for these, which are currently two S-Wavers. I like braid to leader better than straight mono or copoly, as the cast distance gain is too great to worry with the low stretch eventual break of braid when I undoubtedly badly backlash. Finesse : Since nothing is stronger than the weakest link, I really go down in braid size to sink quicker and cast farther with my braid to leader selection. I use 12# braid to 10-12# fluorocarbon for weightless worming. This line selection handles my lighter jerkbaits and crankbaits as well. I also walk a fluke on braid to fluoro, as I'm twitching and popping too quickly for the sink of fluoro to effect it. My other finesse setup is 12# braid to 6-8# fluorocarbon. I use this setup for my drop shotting and Ned rigging. I think that about covers what you asked and then some. I'm at the sister-in-law's house and haven't been able to fish all weekend.

Every combo listed in this thread can throw Ned, Wacky, and small movers.

Sidearm lobs, allowing the bait to momentum itself out there or full, rod loading overhead casts? I still feel my stick is rated higher than it is capable of and most every review says so as well.

I can fit my 8' swimbait rod in the cab of my extended cab truck, so I'm betting getting a stick in a sedan, crossover, or SUV might be more possible than you think. Stick the butt in the floorboard of the passenger seat and between the two seats up front, resting the blank between the edge of the seat and the center console into the rear of the vehicle at whatever angle allows it to ride without being wedged.

If the XXH is anything like the H I own, it's not gonna huck a CNB. Hell, I won't huck over 4oz on my DXSB H.

Sounds to me you have a sticker slapping! I had this happen on my Fuego LT 2500.

I use mine for moving baits, and throw chatterbaits on it as well! Sadly, it doesn't feel a thing on the bottom even if I spool up with braid, but that's in my hands. For reference, I still use lead for all my bottom contact. Maybe if I went straight braid, or braid to leader, and started throwing tungsten jigs and weights -- I would definitely up my feel game. As it stands and what I normally fish; 12-15# straight fluorocarbon for bottom contact, I can't recommend the Aird-X for that presentation. As @MN Fisher said, a better rod option would be a Tatula XT or a Dobyn's Fury. I would also throw the St. Croix Bass X and 13 Omen Black 2 into consideration.

Fuego CT is the best bang for your buck as far as reels go, and it is a truly good reel. They are easy to use, hard to backlash, durable(I use them in salt as well), and cheap. Grab one of those to learn with. Since you're saving on the reel, spend a bit more money on the rod. Many companies offer good sticks in the 120 price area and there really isn't a substitute for a good rod. I wish all my current bottom contact setups had better, more sensitive sticks on them.

Huge Daiwa fan, owner of two Aird-X. Not a fan. There is no sensitivity to that rod, in my opinion. Berkley Lightning Rod Shock 7' Medium Moderate Fast is rated 1/8oz-1/2oz. $49.99 on tw. I can say this stick is a good one and if you plan to throw lighter cranks and jerks and stick to one rod, they might be a great option. Dobyn's Colt 6'9" Medium and 7' Medium are both rated fast and are rated from 1/8-1/2oz. $79.99 on tw. Never seen one of these, but have heard good things. Your mileage may vary. I personally throw a 13 F-A-T-E C-H-R-O-M-E 6'10" MLF and a 7'1" MF, and rate them highly. They're 80 dollar sticks and pretty sensitive. My 6'10" has landed some nice 3 pounders with 6# fluoro. Capable rods. The 7'1" casts so well with a stick worm. As for a budget reel I would recommend, Pflueger holds a special place in my heart and the Trion and President are good offerings. I've caught a lot of fish on the Trion. My first and only President was lost when a boat waked my kayak. If I had to get a good spinning setup in your price range, I would grab a 13 F-A-T-E C-H-R-O-M-E 7'1" Medium Fast and a Pflueger President 3000. That's a bit over, so if you must drop to 120 grab a Pflueger Trion 3000. @Glenn, please unblock ***.

I haven't caught the numbers I did in 2017 and 2018, but 2019 was a good year. My best fish was 6 pounds and change, from the kayak, with a jerkbait. Catching my best this year on hard plastic feels good to me. The biggest hit for me this year was having a healthy baby boy who has been on quite a few bank trips this year. In no particular order after that, adapting the jerkbait throughout the year, catching my first few spotted bass, a 21 striper day all on topwater while they mauled herring, catching a fish on my swimbait rod, and jumping a 5-6' tarpon 10' feet away from my best friend in a kayak. The biggest miss for me was losing a very nice fish on the swimbait stuff, the particular pond I was fishing is notoriously tough. Oh well, we don't get hard water here. I'll be at it again next weekend. Good reads, friends! Congratulations on the good and I'm sorry about the bad.

I get my gear ready the night before or get to my launch early enough to finish rigging. I always slap a new length of fluorocarbon onto the braid before I hit the water on every stick. It's especially important to me to take care of the fish I'm targeting. I don't have too many breaks in leader or braid, but when I have it has been due to not retying a new leader after a particularly tough fight and my leader has become damaged. I definitely don't tie a new FG after every fish, but I do check the leader and the knot itself after landing one. If my knot or leader line has become damaged, I either stow that rod if one of my other sticks can pull double duty or switch presentations altogether, or, take the time to tie on a new length of leader. You owe it to the fish and yourself to land them, unhook them, and release them healthy and as happy as an animal can be after having sharp metal jammed into their mouth.

Take ya shoes off.

This has been a really informative thread and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has chimed in. I'm going to be adding some beaver styles to the backs of my jigs and giving them a try.

So it looks like I'll keep a Bone as a baseline and then rotate to match the forage should it not produce before eventually grabbing my fairy wand and tossing YUM Dingers at the bank. Thanks, @Bluebasser86. I'll probably grab a Shine Glide in gill and a shad imitator in addition to the bone. It looks like I'm going to for sure be throwing some Huddleston 68s, and replacing my Wavers with Shine Glides. Any other recommendations for a multi-jointed hard body swimbait besides the Mike Bucca Bull Shad and 22nd Century Triple Trout? I see a lot of good opinions on Smash Tech offerings and they make some multi-jointed hard baits. Also, @WRB, @VolFan, any color input for the Triple Trout for my waters? My closest "lake" is 56 acres and the primary forage is gizzard, my local ponds are bluegill, and my closest -lake- is a blueback herring fishery.

Cool. I'm gonna wear my Wavers out for a bit more, the first day I committed to fishing it I got crushed by a tank -- then I found out my braid wasn't tied tightly to my spool and the whole spooled section of line spun as I tried to set the hook and through the short fight. I cussed up a storm. But anyway, the next time I grab a glide I will try the Savage Gear offerings. Which ones do you throw in particular? They have quite a few glides. Also, which colors would you recommend for Gizzard Shad, Bluegill, and Blueback waters? I'm going to take a look myself, but your input would be greatly appreciated.

I absolutely hate regular Powerpro Spectra, I've had it come off my spinning reels with actual memory. That memory has caused wind knots in the absence of wind. I do like the Powerpro Super8Slick, but it's more expensive than good old 4-carrier Kastking which is surprisingly supple for the dollar/yard, doesn't wind knot nearly as bad, and absolutely slices through cover like a chainsaw. I would give it a try, it can't be more than 15 bucks for 200 yards, but I'm just guessing! Berkley Big Game is my favorite mono for it's price and capabilities.

I've got a Savage Gear line through gill in 5" that's accounted for one good bass, and a Savage Gear 3D line through trout in baby bass, but that thing swims so nose up I can't commit to throwing it. I'll take a look at the Pulse Tail, but the amount of snags I'm fishing through is probably gonna prevent that. I have my Hobie, but if given the option I try to learn baits from the bank and this dock is stacked with a large school of shad and the bass are with them. I think I'm gonna try a Hudd68 first. How does the shine glide compare to the R2S S-Waver 168, @Bluebasser86?

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! My hat is off to everyone and I've thrown my likes out! The help is much appreciated. I can't tag right now because BR seems to be having some issues, but, WRB and Hammer 4, why are you guys suggesting I drop the leader? I've tried my S-Waver with straight 20# CXX Copolymer and can't cast that thick line for anything. I've had no issues with backlashing and I can huck my 168s about 40 yards with the braid to leader combination. Are your suggestions simply for the sudden stop of the braid on an overrun to prevent me from snapping off mid cast and losing an Andrew Jackson plus a Lincoln?

I've got a little change in my pocket going jingalingaling. I caught an itty bitty buck bass on the swimbait rod and reel setup I got last Christmas this past weekend, and lost a 7 shortly after. Both fish took 5 hours of fishing, but that big stick and big reel feel a whole lot lighter now that I have some faith in the technique. For guidelines as to what baits I can throw, I'm using a Daiwa Lexa WN-300 spooled with 40# braid to 30# big game. It's on a Daiwa DXSB 8' H rated 2-8oz, which is wrong. I feel like I can't throw more than 3oz on this stick, anything above that will overload it. So keep that in mind with the recommendations, please. Baits on my radar are the Huddleston 68 Weedless Special in ROF12, the Spro BBZ-1 4" Shad in Fast Sink, the Spro BBZ-1 6" in Fast Sink, and the Mike Bucca Bull Shad 5" and 6" in fast sink. Also, for recommendations, I'll be throwing these in 8' of water off a dock, and the bottom is stumpy. Should I go with slow sinks or even floating for the trebles to avoid losing them? Anyway, suggest me some baits that aren't Roman Mother's, please and thank ya. I'd like to keep the baits under 60 bucks.

I've had quite a couple days where I can switch my jerkbait colors when I'm absolutely burning and line whistling through the air slashing them and start to catch fish after fish, whereas before, on a different colored offering, I can't buy half as many bites. I think color, even at high speeds, matters quite a bit.

I use a twin set of Daiwa Fuego 2500D-XHs on a 6'10" Medium Light Fast and a 7'1" Medium Fast for my finesse needs. The 2500 series reel is a perfect match to the 7'1", but if you're going to be throwing baits lighter than a Senko I would seriously consider the larger spool of a 2500 or, as others have said, a 3000 Tatula LT. I wish I had opted for a 3000 for my MLF. I think the larger spool would throw my Ned and drop shots a bit farther. That's my reasoning behind you possibly wanting a 3000 for weightless Texas rigged craws.

Cheap line connoisseur here, and I can count how many times I've broken off this year on one hand. That's not an exaggeration, that's not bragging, it's just the truth. I've broken fish off twice this year, both times on 12# Berkley Big Game. I fixed that problem by switching to the exact same thing, I had just let the line get a little old. I use Kastking Superpower Braid for all my braided line needs, Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon for all my leader and mainline fluorocarbon needs, and Berkley Big Game for all my monofilament needs. I remedy the casting distance being hindered by an often exaggerated amount of memory on the Berkley Vanish by spooling it correctly and applying KVD Line and Lure pretty liberally during spooling and every so often while fishing or after if I note memory. I remedy the underestimated knot strength by tying an improved clinch knot on my finesse leaders, as I've found a Palomar often applies too much friction. For the 14-17# vanish I use for worming and jigging, I tie a good old Palomar. I remedy the breaking strength by setting my drag to 1/3rd of the rated breaking strength via a scale. I've been doing all this stuff for two years, and it's worked well for me. I've used more expensive braids as well as more expensive fluorocarbon, but nothing as nice as Tatsu and the like.

I would rat hole another 100 bucks and look into a Feelfree Moken 12.5 v2.

Recently started to gain confidence in flukes, stick worms are my normal get bit bait. I throw mine on a 7'1" MF spinning rod with 12# braid to 12# fluoro, and have hated every instance I've put one on less than a 4/0 heavy wire EWG. If I want to wait to get bit, I'll count down a double twitch a stick. Flukes are my walking plugs down low. That heavy hook keeps my fluke dancing from side to side subsurface.