Aaron_H

The duality of man.

I fish all black for several of my topwaters, IMO it silhouettes very well and is easy for the bass to target. Typically I only throw black or white topwaters, with a few exceptions.

Thank you! That means a lot coming from such an accomplished angler. When they say big bass should be held horizontally, I'm not sure this is what they meant lol. Awesome catch! Nice ones, Mike! Looks like the break in your normal pattern worked in your favor.

That's very kind of you! It's Florida, though, those big bass grow on trees down here 😅

So a little backstory, Earlier this year I moved from Orlando to the Tampa area for work, and have yet to find any bank fishable waters that aren't private/gated as well as non stop thunderstorms that plague us in the summer. I have not fished a single time since February and it's been eating me up inside, gong from fishing an average of 100+ days per year to not fishing in 6 months has been....an adjustment. Yesterday, there was supposed to be a break in the weather back in Orlando, so I made the drive over and hit one of my old spots. Still ended up getting caught in a thunderstorm after 2 hours of fishing, sat in the car for an hour, then got another ~1.5 hour window before the lightning rolled in too close again and called it a day. End of August, heat was brutal at first with no wind and the bite was tough. After the first part of the storm rolled in the wind picked up enough to give me a slight surface chop and the temp dropped down to 80 and the bass were a bit more active. Picked off a handful on a Booyah One Knocker, lost a couple but nothing crazy. No giants, but the biggest one was decent at 4.14lb, which I will gladly take this time of year.

This one? RT640 Bones Chrome Gold

If you want a 3/4oz bait but don't want the larger profile or want to shell out the $$ for the LV500, check out the Thunderhawk Sergeant. I throw them in shallow water all the time, does a great job on a straight retrieve but shines on a yo yo or jigging off the bottom. The lead weight in the chin makes it stand up on the bottom every time, and the rotating hook hangers are a nice feature. I do swap the line tie for an Owner oval split ring, but rest of the hardware is solid. They get bit.

The answer to "Best rod to throw a 1/2 oz bladed jig on?" will be a hundred different rods. Your rod and line combo are fine. I have thrown bladed jigs on MH/XF jig rod paired with 40lb braid, MH/XF spinning rods with 20lb braid, MH/F graphite rod with both braid and mono, and currently throw them on a MH/MF glass rod with 15lb mono. There is no worry about hook setting power as long as you set your drag properly and are reeling/sweeping into the fish.

It seems more durable, but I cannot confidently say if it makes a difference. I don't throw a spinnerbait as much as many others here, so I don't have enough time with it to say one way or the other.

I started doing it last year after I broke one, just to see if it would make a tangible difference. Didn't realize it was a thing others did.

Soon you will have boxes of them.

That's kind of you to say, thank you.

It is the same reel (same frame and everything) with an improved spool. I cannot speak for you, but I would think you would like it if you are already a fan of the 150 MGL.

It's the profile and how well the tail moves with the blade, in my opinion. The Chattershad would be the closest, but it doesn't have the deep belly like the Zako. I don't mess with elaztech stuff for the most part. I typically catch plenty of fish on a Zako before it's worn out, aside from the random unlucky fish that thrashes one.

So far, when I have it paired up with a Spunk Shad it seems to hunt easier without the flat forked tail to act as a keel. But jury's out if it makes a difference to the fish, so far Zako is still the king.

I've played around with the pin tail trailers like the Spunk Shad and the Freeloader (and I will continue to throw the Spunk Shad more to test), but the Zako is still undefeated for me when it comes to triggering big strikes. To answer the OP, yes I 100% think it really matters.

This is how I'm finding out he passed....Just now saw the thread in Everything Else. Wow.

Not much to add that hasn't been covered already. I would suggest tailoring your lipless to the retrieve you want to do. The Rat-L-Trap, for example, is excellent for burning on a straight retrieve, but not the most effective with other lipless retrieves. The Rapala Rattlin' Rap is another one that excels at a straight retrieve but has a less aggressive sound profile. Baits like the SK Red-Eyed Shad, Thunderhawk Sergeant, Booyah Hard/One Knocker, 6th Sense Quake, Bill Lewis Hammer Trap, Jackall TN, Berkley Warpig, etc are really good at yo yoing, jigging, stop and go, etc, but still great on a straight retrieve or ripping grass. Pay attention to your sound profiles, too. Pressured fish might not go for an obnoxiously loud bait like the Rat-L-Trap, but the Rattlin' Rap or the silent Thunderhawk Sergeant can trigger those fish on the same retrieve. One Knocking baits can also be the ticket here. Not just around pressured fish, but in higher visibility water, as well. If I could only take one, it would be a 50/50 call between the 1/2 Booyah One Knocker (one in Copper Shiner was responsible for my biggest lipless fish at 9lb 1oz yo yoing through a shad ball in late fall), or the 3/4 oz Thunderhawk Sergeant. Both very versatile in that they can do any of your common lipless retrieves. You mentioned fish coming unbuttoned, it's something you'll have to live with throwing a lipless, but you can mitigate it. Throwing a rod with a much softer tip, specifically a crankbait rod, will help absorb a lot of the fish's head shakes and keep them pinned. I throw them on a Dobyns Fury 705CB, paired with a 7:1 Curado 150 MGL spooled with 15lb fluoro and my landing percentage is vastly higher than when I was throwing the same rod with braid, or throwing mono/fluoro on stiffer rods. Some baits, like the Thunderhawk Sergeant, also have rotating/swiveling hooks that also help keep the fish from getting leverage and throwing the bait.

Braid backlashes easier, but (as @PGA Dropout said) it tends to stop on itself and not run too deep. Mono doesn't backlash as easy in my experience, but the memory means more of the spool fluffs up when it does and it takes longer to pull out.

Curado 150 MGL has the MGL Spool II, new Curado 150M has the MGL Spool III. Difference ideally should be lower startup inertia so further casts and able to handle lighter baits more effectively than the 150 MGL. Your mileage may vary, the 150 MGL is already a lot of reel for the money.

Second reel showed up a little early. Spooled up with 12lb InvisX on my jerkbait setup. Next round of upgrades will be rods, I think.

The Metanium was on my radar recently, but ended up passing. I'm sure it would result in another round of upgrades if I did. 😅

If you insist. Slowly been going through and upgrading my SLX reels. Excellent reels at their price point, and responsible for my personal best and many plus-sized bass, but once I tried out the Curado 150 there was no going back. Only ones that will stay are the SLX 70s. Doesn't hurt to get a deal on them, either. Picked up a Curado K right when the Ms were dropping for 108 brand new so threw that one on my frog rod. Not sure if I want to try to recoup a little bit and sell the SLXs used or burn through them as inshore reels until I get a Tranx. Might just give them to some buddies, they're still in great shape.

New reel day, got a stupid good deal on it NIB, so I couldn't pass it up. Spooled it up with 15lb fluoro and threw it on my jig rod. Really want to try the new 150M, but lefties won't be out for a couple of months and I paid under 140 for this one so I figured why not snag another one as I've been very happy with my others. Have an SLX 70 that I also got for a steal NIB that should be here Saturday.

How I imagine you in your bait laboratory. A true mad scientist, but it's working!