Hook2Jaw

I run rods in 13s 80 dollar price range, and so far, they've been pretty decent sticks. I can't say they're as nice as a Dobyn's, Fenwick, or St. Croix, but I've enjoyed them so far. I imagine those plastics are going to be a tad out of my price range, so I'll probably remain YUM, Berkley, Big Bite faithful, but for a budget angler I've been pretty please with my 3 Chromes and I'm really looking forward to when my 7'6" MH gets here. The medium casting, medium spinning, and medium light spinning have crushed my Daiwa Aird-X lineups sensitivity. You still won't catch me with bright green rods or reels that don't say Daiwa on them, though.

Man asks question, gets aggressively talked to about mono. Okie dokie.

I don't prefer reds and trout, but I do enjoy chasing them every other month or so! Welcome.

Walk a fluke on top to imitate the fleeing baitfish.

I've caught 30" redfish on my Daiwa Fuegos CTs. I rinse them off every trip, and acetone the reel and spool bearings every three before adding a drop of oil. They're still smooth, functional, cast great, and they have the best braking system on the market. I think you're going to love the Daiwa Tatula 150.

Man, if this dude was shining a flashlight into my son's room he would more than likely be rolling his big, lying, cheating, scumbag, 6'18" butt in the grass outside said bedroom with a load of buckshot in it. Truly a great big stinky turd of a person.

@Brett's_daddy mine is about 12'. Gives me room to retie.

Which floating baits would you suggest?

There's information on the new Stradic FL everywhere. A techy friend of mine said it'll be sealed, to some extent, like the smaller models of Stellas.

I've been running 1/8oz weights for shallow water, 3/8oz for deep water. I'll probably increase the amount of weights I carry to accommodate current, running 1/4 for shallow current and 1/2 for deep. The latter two weight options are just my theory, though, so take that with a grain of salt. The two former have been working out well. As for hooks, I use Lunkerhunt 1/0 for my YUM Killshot and Warning Shot, and a size 1 for my Sharpshooters. I bought those hooks on a whim and they are sharp and 2.50 for a pack of 8. Great deal, in my opinion. I haven't quite figured out my hooks for Texas rigging larger plastics. As for line, 12# braid to 8# fluoro has worked well thus far. Braid to leader seems to be the general consensus and I believe I'm drop shotting quite similarly to most people. I have limited experience with the technique.. Lemme tag @J Francho so he can get in here and drop some knowledge. Pun intended.

@JG233, if it's too loose I don't see why you can't just cut it and retie. Adding a 2-3' length of shock cord wouldn't hurt, either! The shock cord will allow you to get that puppy tiiight and still allow for adjustment. Square knot the shock cord into the paracord and finish the knot with an overhand in the tag of the paracord to prevent it from slipping.

Buzzbaits. I have other weaknesses like flukes, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits, but I've never caught a bass on the one buzzbait I own. I can catch fish on ploppers, dingers, and paddletail swimbaits which are all similar to the above three, though. Heck them buzzbaits.

If you're just gonna do one side and primarily use it for a stake out pole, I opted for my right side after my old Outback had one on the left. Why? I'm right handed and stronger there, and more proficient at stabbing my stick in with force should I need it and clip in quickly. Left handed is gonna lose me a second, and even in a 14', 38" wide boat your positioning can change rather quickly, making the connection more difficult. I'll post up my setup when I get home, I've got a pretty cool modification on my stake. I used some paracord and a carabiner to add a sliding friction hitch to the pole to allow myself to clip into my anchor trolley at water level. I don't pull my stake in current nearly as often as I used to.

Big Bite Baits makes one of my favorite paddletails, the Cane Thumper. I'm excited to see them dropping a bladed jig trailer.

Thou shalt not argue the merits or negatives of Ned in every topic.

What can you tell me about that new crankbait?

What's in that picture @J Francho posted, guys? I'm Ray Charles in here. As someone who just got his drop shot specific setup, I need to start picking your brain more. I don't have much clear water access, but fooling them with a drop shot appeals to me.

Rage...Ned. ? I'm excited for Jordan Lee's new series of plastics. I've been waiting patiently for them, but I never put 2 and 2 together and figured they would release them at ICAST. They being Berkley. Them being the Champ Craw and Champ Minnow. The swimbait doesn't excite me much, it'll have to be cheap and effective because I've already got that covered. As someone who hates the Ned but understands it's usefulness, I hope YUM drops a Ned offering.

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@Derek1, it's a Daiwa DXSB 8' HF. It's a little tip heavy, but that kinda helps me to rest the butt against my forearm or under my armpit while fishing. I haven't thrown it all day yet, but I plan to do a write up for it here when I do.

In the clear ponds I fish, my first order of business is absolutely rip reeling a suspending jerkbait. If that doesn't catch fish I'll Texas rig a YUM Dinger, and that will. I slow the jerkbait down in winter, but this time of year I'm a bank or kayak bound power fishing machine. In stained ponds, creeping or burning a paddletail swimbait on a weighted EWG is my first offering. I allow the fish to tell me what they want. If that doesn't catch them, a YUM Dinger to cover will. I throw quite a few plastics and hard lures, but I currently prefer powering the jerkbait around or the steady cadence of a 3.5-4.5" swimbait.

I'm sorry, but fishing weightless plastics with tension, albeit small or large, introduced into the presentation seems to go against the best part of the technique; the slow, tantalizing fall of a quivering bait. Giving lift and an amount of pull to your bait is going to pull it towards you, and away from the bass holding to cover you've casted or pitched your bait to. Your target is lazy, and that's the entire reason he's sucking in your Senko, YUM Dinger, Strike King Zero, or Zoom Fluke. She doesn't want to pull off her stump. Will she? Often. I try to not leave that to chance, though, which is why I let it fall right on top of my targets that hopefully house my target. If you're using weightless Texas rigs to cover water, what I typed does not apply. If you're target casting to get the skunk off after a front, though, it's my humble opinion that you're shooting yourself in the foot. Fish that thing on slack line for the most natural fall with bright braid to identify the strike. Waiting to feel them is also probably gonna up your chance of gut hooking these fish most of us want to conserve.

@Choporoz, I've almost convinced myself to go with a propeller drive instead of a Hobie for my next boat for that reason. Boat control. I'm in a behemoth of a kayak, so leverage isn't really an issue. I also stake out when I'm pecking away at a laydown if the wind or current is up.

@Choporoz, why do you think your effectiveness with a jig goes down in a kayak? I know you've been at this a lot longer than me but I absolutely love pitching jigs from my kayak.