clemsondds

Had three rods setup this past Monday for cranking...two had tatsu and one had abrazx. Had no backlash with tatsu and several with abrazx. Could have been me but I'm going to switch to tatsu for everything since it makes life easier. I have a ton of 10lb test someone gave me...is that sufficient for cranking? Or should I buy some 15lb? Any thoughts? What's your rational for picking the lb test? Depth? Thanks

Has anyone noticed that prespawn starts around 48 and goes up to around 56...and then when it gets closer to 60...they slow down?? Is that a thing? I'm sure it was a combo of weather...but just wondering if it got too close to spawn and just missed the prespawn bite by just a little bit. I know bass all spawn at stages so I'm sure there were still plenty at the prespawn stage...but just curious what played the major factor in them not in a feeding mood. But I spent most of the day in the backs of creeks and secondary points and flats and just couldn't find them...so that's why I thought it might be more of a weather thing. No idea ha...that's what frustrates me. But I still had a blast...one of the first times I was able to fish from sunup to sundown...it was my only request for my birthday...my wife thinks i've lost it lol

So what do you typically use? thanks for the feedback

That's interesting. I looked for bait but just didn't see much except out deep. I did see a lot of bait against the wind blown rip rap but couldn't see any bass with them. I'm sure I just wasn't in the right place. Lesson learned. Sounds like a good system you have. thanks Oh LOL I was kinda wondering lol...sorry it was a long day...fish on That's a good idea. I should have stuck to flippin/pitchin a little longer...Thanks for the help!

Thank you for your thoughts! That's interesting to hear! I didn't realize that!

Ok so I don't have any bass fishing friends or knowledgable family members; you guys are the closest I have ha. So would you mind helping me try to figure out something out? I know there's a ton to bass fishing to I'm not asking you to figure out why I didn't catch them...just curious about a couple things. Went to Lake Jordan in NC. My second time there. Air temp was 60-75 Water temp: 58-62 1.5-2 ft visibility Wind 20-25mph Sat and Sunday were nice in the low 70's so Monday was the warmest day. Tues (today) is a high of 62 and there was rain last night right after I got off the water. So I was thinking, with that water temp and the pre-front conditions I was really hoping to smash them. But that's not what happened ha. The wind was blowing hard all day...white caps first thing in the morning and all day. I fished mostly moving baits all day. Hit wind blown points, coves where it was blocked by wind so much calmer, rip-rap that wind was blowing into...not much luck. So my question is...with it being pre-frontal, prespawn conditions, could the wind be blowing so hard that it shuts the bite down? Or is it possible a lot were already moving in to spawn? I fished a lot in the backs of coves and I didn't see much of anything. I have livescope (2nd time out with it...so still not 100% with it) and still didn't see much. What do you think happened? I tried to switch up to different parts of the lake to try different clarity but still got the same result. Right as the sun was setting, I picked up 3 real quick with a squarebill. And during the day I tried most everything moving (buz, walking, squarebill, jerkbait (ito), lipless craw, rockcrawler, 6xd, flippin jig, football jig, senko neko... Just trying to learn. Thanks

Ok so here is what I decided for the 2022 season... Cranking (squarebill, med and deep divers) - tatsu 10lb fluoro Jig/skipping docks- Seagar 12lb abrazx bottom contact/football jig- seagar 12lb abrazx (would prefer tatsu but this is what I already had on) skipping rod/topwater-seagar 12lb abrazx bottom contact worm- pp 30lb braid jerkbait-pp 30lb braid spinnerbait-40lb braid topwater- pp 30lb braid blade/moving bait -pp 30lb braid chatterbait- 40lb braid A-rig 50lb braid pp What do you think? I figured I would give fluoro another chance. The two I'm still not for sure on is the jerkbait rod and the topwater. That skipping rod is a great frog rod as well...I feel like I skip better with fluoro but I know frog and fluoro is a no go...so I'll prob switch this to braid. And on a lot of these braid rods...I will probably be adding a fluoro leader. I might switch out one of the crankbait rods for straight braid and just see how that goes. I have an extra reel so I will spool it up with braid and throw it on a rod when the bite is good and see if there's a difference. Always fun trying new stuff lol

Definitely have a boat ha. And I don’t really feel like different brand rods have as much impact as different brand reels. I love my rods and they are very specific to the technique that I use it for. But reels have external braking, digital braking, ergonomics, and various other attributes that make it a little more challenging to switch from reel to reel. Again, not asking you to solve my situation…just want to hear what you would do if it was you. Been great responses so far!

So went to our regional boat show today and hall of famer Davy Hite was there. I got to ask him this same question and he had an interesting response. He said he uses fluoro 95% of the time...I asked him about braid and he said he doesn't like using it (except in some topwater situations) because of the sound it makes. He said that if it makes that much noise going through your guides...you know it has to make that much noise coming through the water and over logs and such. It was an interesting thought...I hadn't thought of it that way. And by the way, super nice guy!! Gave a high five to my 8 year old son and that made my sons day! What do you think about this? I also ran in to a finishing youtube personality and asked him the same question and he does braid to leader mostly. Said he just feels more confident with the fluoro on there knowing it has the invisible factor. He uses the fg knot. One last thing, Davy Hite was doing a demo into a trailer/aquarium and we watched him set the hook on a bass...but his line broke lol...we watched the fish swim off to the other side with hook and senko. I bet that wouldn't have happened if he had straight braid. ha Any more thoughts on straight braid vs fluoro?

Yes this is what I’m thinking. But others have made good arguments for sticking with a variety. Great discussion!

Just thought I would get your thoughts. I have finally amassed together a nice set of rods and reels. It's a big mix of shimano, daiwa and lews reels. Some examples of what I have are: Shimano: Bantam, Metanium DC, 21 Scorpion DC, Curado K, SLX DC and several SLX Daiwa: Zillion SV, Catalina TW, and a few tatula SVs Lews: hypermag When I started out...I had no idea I would buy soo many...but the monkey got me lol. I know this isn't the most high end reels...but my goal is best bang for your buck and I think these reels are pretty solid. So the problem is: I don't fish that often due to having a young family....but when I do, it's difficult to remember each braking system and nuances when rotating through various baits (I like to have bait specific rod setups so I can maximize my time on the water). So would you just stick with it and try to keep these same reels (maybe change out the slx's ) and just try to learn them...or would you replace all of them with your favorite brand and even maybe the same model (as much as possible)? Again, not trying to get everyone to tell me what I should do...I know only I can answer that. I just want to hear what you would do in my situation. Thanks for your thoughts and time!

Ok great thanks. Man, switching to all braid is so tempting. I feel like I get less backlashes with braid...and since I only fish once a month or so...every second counts when I'm on the water. Anyone else quit fluoro/mono and go straight braid? Or vice versa...

Ok cool thanks. I really was looking for a way to protect them and get them out of the way. I guess the only option is to try to tuck them into the anchor well. I just can't believe they don't make caps for them

Interesting! Thanks for your feedback! What lb test do you use?

For those that use straight fluoro…what’s your biggest pro and your biggest con? Maldonado, for those that use straight braid, what’s your biggest pro and con? I’m mainly referring to cranking/moving baits. Backlash, visibility, no stretch, sensitivity, depth…

Any other ideas? I might try to find a way to have them tuck the wires into the anchor well where the other wires are tucked into. Thoughts?

Thank you all for your feedback! Looks like we have pretty much a perfect 3 way split between FC, Mono and straight braid.

Thanks. I know you have explained this before but can you break down when you use each? Thanks Tom

There’s always one…congrats to being that guy Mind sharing why you prefer fluoro?

Anyone else want to share what they use and why?

That’s interesting. So in gin clear water, do you use straight braid for crankbaits? I’m sure some would worry about the visibility of braid in that clear of water

Can you expound on this a little? When do you choose to use a leader? Mind sharing why you don’t use straight fluoro? Thanks

I know there have been several threads on this but just wanted to get your thoughts from this particular angle. Over the past couple years I have switched back and forth from braid to fluoro and back again. Trying to weight out which is the best in each application. I see guys like tacticalbassin and jonny schultz recommend braid to leader but then I see them fishing straight fluoro quite a bit. I watched David Dudley's video on which is more sensitive and he recommended when you have a straight line then use braid, but if there's slack in the line, then use flouro. But then I saw him recently in the MLF tournament fishing a crankbait with fluoro.... it seems very rare to see a pro using braid to leader for moving baits. Maybe I'm just seeing it wrong. So what do you use in each application and why... looking at crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits/underspins, a-rig, jigs, spinnerbait, dropshot and ned rig. Thanks everyone! Always love a good discussion!

Here's a pic of what it looks like

Thank you all. Yeh I guess I wasn’t very specific. I have a cable guard like that for the transducer cables and all going to my tm, but I was referring to the other side of my deck where I just have 4 or 5 cables coming of of the gunwhale right under where the df would be. So just exposed cables…about 8” long. I need to find some way of cleaning it up and protecting the plugs. Thanks again!