Aaron_H

I think there's a fair few mentions of lips, though. Probably close enough to justify for most. ? I don't personally modify any of the lips of my crank/jerk baits. If I'm looking for a different action/depth, I'd rather find a bait that fits that instead. For me, this choice is only because I don't trust myself not to ruin the lure. I tend to tinker in other areas, myself.

In FL, our regulations are already like this, no minimum size and only one over 16". Seems to work well for us ?‍♂️

Yessir.

Well, you can't go wrong there. I think the RES has better action on the fall, but the Rattlin' Rapala is one of my favorite lipless cranks and is an awesome producer. I like the softer rattle it makes versus a lot of others on the market. Just wish the stock hardware it came with was better, bent out a couple of the split rings back before I started religiously upgrading hardware. RES is one of the few I leave the stock rings on. I kept my Black Friday purchases very reasonable this year, eight One Knockers in a few colors, a Shadow Rap, and a new sharpening file.

Traditionally I have only used 3/0 and 50/ Gamakatsu Superline EWGs for weightless plastics and Texas rigs, a few years ago I switched over to the same hooks from H2O Xpress and have not had a single bad experience with them. I've used straight shank flipping hooks (Trokar TK130) as well and I do like it, though the Trokar point is a bit overkill and usually rips larger holes in the fish's mouth, so I'll probably experiment with Gamakatsu's offering. The molded hook keepers on them are a godsend, in my opinion.

I would cry on the outside.

I mean, you're not wrong ?

Haven't seen anyone mention this yet, just read a post Gary made a few weeks ago on another site about bringing a new rod series to the $99 market called the Maverick. Looks like it will occupy the spot the Fury used to before price hikes (Fury is $130 now I believe). Five spinning, five casting, and one crankbait model (705CB). All graphite blanks, split EVA foam grips, and blue accents similar to the Champion series. If there's one complaint I have about my Fury, it's that the grip isn't quite as comfortable as I'd like, so I think I will end up picking up the 705CB to compare. Blue accents will be matchy-matchy with my SLX DC, but that's less important. Also bringing casting and spinning reels to market, which isn't something I'm personally invested in but will be interesting to see. Gary definitely seems very excited about the quality of them.

Why not take advantage of their replacement policy? Only $50 for the Fury line, definitely worthwhile IMO. https://dobynsrods.com/warranty/

"Tackle Warehouse Scam (You WON'T BELIEVE this!) (World Record!!)" Nothing out of the ordinary on my end despite multiple recent TW orders. Knock on wood in case there was a data breach, but I think naming TW in this seems premature with nothing other than hearsay.

The 1/8 oz Tiny Trap is pretty great for panfish in my experience. 13 Fishing has a 1/16oz one (Magic Man Micro I believe) that looks deadly. I want to try one of those out soon.

I think the biggest difference is going to be size/weight. I've compared an SLX to the older Citica 200D (similar-ish price point, the Citica was technically more expensive when new) and technology is similar, same braking system, castability is similar. But the SLX is much, much smaller and three ounces lighter. Sitting them next to each other, it's almost clownish how much larger the Citica is, but it's still a great performing reel that catches fish even 15 years later. I'd say if you can get your reels back up and running for little cost, it would be worthwhile. But if the size/weight savings is significant to you, upgrading to newer reels could be the way to go.

Rattlin' Rapala Red-Eyed Shad Booyah One Knocker Honorable mentions to the Berkley Warpig and Thunderhawk Sergeant.

I fish my weightless senkos on a 6'10" M/XF SLX with braid to leader. If I were to throw all three techniques on one rod I'd probably bump up to MH, but keep the 6'10" length. Interesting that you're experiencing poor hookup ratio with the MH Lightning.... My father has a few of them and they seem to hookup fine.

Wacky rigged worms (senkos for me, haven't tried trick/finesse worms with it yet) are an extremely effective presentation. Like you said, it's pretty versatile in how you can work it. My biggest on it went 8lb 7oz back in late spring 2019. I feel like anyone who says a wacky rig "isn't bass fishing" is probably mad they're not catching anything.

On a steady retrieve, it should be maintaining depth. A faster retrieve will cause the bait to rise. The angle of your rod tip also impacts the depth. Keeping your tip low will cause the bait to dive deeper, keep it up high if you want to run higher in the water column. Most 1/2 oz lipless cranks will have a fall rate roughly 1 foot/second. It's not a hard measurement but it does help give an idea of how deep you're running.

Fire & Ice is my answer, too. A buddy of mine told me he'd been catching good sized bass in the canal behind his house and invited me to come fish it, and gave me a pack of 7.5" Culprits in that color as his "magic bait." I laughed to myself about how absolutely goofy they looked. And laughed, and laughed....until I caught a 6lb 6oz bass the first time out with it. I still think it looks goofy, and "magic bait" is a hokey belief, but dang if that color didn't surprise me. Thinking on it, though, it really shouldn't be a surprise; red works, blue works, why wouldn't red and blue be effective?

You're good to go. I've thrown 1/2oz baits on mine and it's not even close to overloaded at that weight.

Daiwa Aird X and 13 Fishing Defy Black have been mentioned and they're great rods for the price, but I'd throw in the Shimano Sellus, as well. They've got a couple of shorter medium power rods that would work well.

That's an understatement, you're a BEAST! ?

Seconding the Fury 705CB, I use mine for lipless (with braid-to-leader) and I enjoy it very much. Great parabolic bend for keeping the fish pinned and the braid still gives me the ability to pop free of grass even with the moderate action.

I posted a topic about this somewhat recently that had some good suggestions for currently available silent lipless cranks as well as a mention on how to silence a rattling version. I've been enjoying the Thunderhawk Sergeant recently, comes in both a silent and rattling version.

The trick is to take five steps back, scream "LET'S GOOOO" at the top of your lungs and swing for the fences. Kidding aside, I'll mirror others here that my answer is "depends." I'll hit hard on jigs, weighted Texas rigs, frogs, etc., but mostly sweep the rod to load up on trebles, and use a much lighter hookset on wacky rigs, ned rigs, other finesse presentations where I'm using much lighter wire hooks.

Like others said, shad patterns should still be effective on your fisheries, but if you want to stick with matching forage you know is present I would go with: Bluegill Red craw Chrome for clearer water Gold for stained water

My picks have already been said, but if I could narrow it to a top two, it would be a jig and a lipless crankbait. Jerkbait would be choice #3 for me, but I fully admit I don't have the most skill with that technique.