Hook2Jaw

I've learned a lot in this thread, but none of it is gonna learn me to lipless more better.

I catch a ton of largies on Morning Dawn. Aaron's Morning Dawn and Bold Bluegill are my two Roboworm colors of choice, it seems they always get bit when I start doing nothing with a dropshot.

I fished Juliette a lot this past fall and winter, and I'm sad to see I've got to worry about my truck these days. Oh well, to Sinclair and Oconee I go.

RIP Busey Brake.

Hook2Jaw and HookInMouth getting their first TV tournament on. I like it.

This is the first bass tournament I've ever watched... is it normal for Bradley Roy to pull up on Brian Thrift like he has? I feel like Thrift was in that area first and Bradley should have moved on instead of pulling into the same daggum pond.

Take a look at the Crescent Ultralite and CK1 Venture. I own a CK1, and it is an absolute pleasure to throw and go.

How do I retrieve a dropshot fished horizontally? Barely. Some of my retrieves last minutes.

Your answer is a 13 Fishing 6'7" Medium Fast, I own quite a few different 13s and one thing I'll say is their Medium has enough backbone to snap a jerkbait without having to move the rod 2' like one does with a moderate action. Add a bit more resistance(a fish) and they load up well, and I've yet to lose a fish on a jerkbait from last fall to now. Shoot, I even caught a double on a KVD Deep this year and both those fish ended up in the kayak. Great rods, give the Fate Black, Fate V3, and Omen Black a look. I went a little heavy on the dollar end and opted for a Muse Black, but the other lines feature the same action. If that rod can keep one pinned on #6 hooks, they'll have no issue with #4 crankbait hooks.

Finally, someone who understands leverage! As far as using a swimjig and flipping jig in the same situations, that's a pass for me. I can make a swimming jig work in a flipping situation, but the flipping jigs I use have too much weed guard for me to not blow a mouth open. I've had that happen several times trying to swim my flipping jigs. I also fish my swimjigs on a heavy power moderate action glass rod, the same one I use for chatterbaits and spinnerbaits.

I don't have any experience with reels in that price range, but my thought process says that SV spools from Daiwa and MGL spools from Shimano will handle light squarebills and deeper divers equally well. Both spools are more than capable of rocking more than enough line to make long casts, so my vote goes to... The Daiwa Steez SV TW in 6.3:1. I don't know Shimano reels enough to suggest any of those, but my second vote goes to the Okuma Hakai in a 6 gear ratio as well. That 170 dollar baby will be my next reel.

Pitching from a kayak is a great time, either standing or sidearm pitching from the seat. Deep cranking is made much easier with an anchor or spotlock if you're targeting a specific area. It's not too terribly hard with pedals and sometimes a different angle keeps the bites pouring in.

Considering you seem to favor the following baits; "True to spec" MH : Jig, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits all tend to favor heavier lines, 12-20# fluorocarbon or monofilament. I'd run my single hooks on it. I'd worm on this rod as well. "Moderate" MH: Crankbaits, jerkbaits, and swimbaits. I'd run my smaller hooks on the most forgiving rod. 10-12# fluorocarbon or monofilament. "Heavy" MH: Straight braid this fellow and run your frogs off of it. Also pitch and flip jigs and Texas rigs from it. Spinning Rod : The Ned and Tube designation works for me. Also keep in mind smaller swimbaits will fish well on a Medium spinning rod as well as jerkbaits. Spool it up with some 10# braid and apply leaders from 6-10# in monofilament or fluorocarbon.

I've added two Fire Craw Original Chatterbaits and some matching Rage Menaces and Z-Man Paddlerz. I've also got some Strike King Red Eye Shads ready to go in Delta Red for pre-fishing for my second tournament of the year. I've never built any confidence in red, but maybe this year will be different. I'm gonna give them a good go this coming Saturday, but if they're not slapping it's gonna be back to the Jackall Rerange and SK KVD Deep on tourney day.

There are quite a few Elaztech offerings I favor for some applications, but then there are plastisol baits that I haven't been able to replace with a Z-Man offering.

For sure. I just wish they were just as effective as a lot of plastisol alternatives for quite a few applications.

I started my bass fishing success with the Yamamoto Senko, but quickly became annoyed with the price. The YUM Dinger began to replace it as my knowledge grew and my catch rates didn't suffer much, if at all. On tougher days I'd still opt for my Senko stash. Years later I don't have a single Senko in my bags, and years later I've come to understand the strength of the Dinger. Lesser weight, slower fall, and still an enticing wiggle. YUM's Dinger is my shallow water weightless stick bait. 5' and under gets the Dinger. 5' and over gets the Z-Man Zinkerz, they sink like rocks and wiggle frantically and if you wanna save money... I've caught over 15 fish on a single Zinkerz. YUM can't contend with Z-Man products on long term cost effectiveness for some baits and some applications.

I like my rods and reels to do multiple things, so I keep one rod for squarebills, lipless, and medium divers. The lure weight ranges from ⅜ to ¾, and my Daiwa Tatula XT 7' Medium Regular is a glass/graphite composite that offers the sensitivity and forgiveness I've come to enjoy for treble hook applications. The rod itself retails for one hundred bucks but can be found cheaper. As far as the reel goes, I've got a Daiwa Tatula 100 6.3:1 on it backed with 50# braid and tied to a 90 yard section of Yo-Zuri Topknot Mainline Fluorocarbon in 14# test. The braid keeps my spool light and gives me a few extra feet on my casts. A little more footage cast after casts covers a whole lot more water and changing out half a spool of braid is much cheaper than than a whole one. As you can see, there are tons of ways to effectively fish a squarebill crankbait. I hope you find the way you like to fish them with the recommendations everyone has given.

In my experience, a gator that goes underwater is avoiding you.

I've been fishing around alligators my whole life, and have kayak fished near them for ten years on and off. More often than not, they dive and hide out on the bottom or resurface farther away from you. Those that hold their ground or close distance are avoided. I've also purposely charged alligators in fishing areas to avoid them chasing my frogs or fish, but those are always the smaller variety. In a decade of being close to the water in a kayak sometimes shorter than they are, I've had one instance of alligator aggression and it was a female making a beeline for my boat because there were babies in the area. Steer clear of hatchlings and males during mating season. If you're unsure of your mating season, call the DNR or ask the locals. I wouldn't trust a gun, I once watched two six footers face off before one went completely airborne from a dead stop. They're stupidly powerful, fast animals.

I've had tons of largies rip claws off my craw trailers.

Can you link me to the thread where you talk about this?

I've tried the Z-Man Hella Crawz as a jig trailer, and with my half ounce jig it emulates that scrap posture very well. If that's what you're after, have at it. I think a defensive crayfish is a harder meal than one calmly scooting along the bottom. I've always had better luck with other trailers instead of the ones that look prepped to take a limb off.

VMC Boxer Heads average around $1.25 each and are available in ⅛ to 1 ounce. They've done well for me, and one stood up to a 29" Red Drum on New Years Eve this year. The hook penetrated the hard mouth of that fish without issue and the point did not roll, the shank did not flex. If you want to save more money than that, Big Bite Baits offers the BBJ jig and they're even less. They come with a sharp hook and pretty eyes on a ball head. I've caught tons of bass last year throwing that with a Z-Man Slim Swimz.