Kelvin

Daiwa or Shimano remain the gold standard. With rare exceptions like the Abu Garcia Morrum ZX other companies do not rival the quality and refinement afforded by the top two reel makers in the industry.

Bone, french pearl or eggshell white is the top producing color I've used. Gold is second then silver and transparent blue.

Jerkbaits, slash and twitch baits is my goto presentation. I've used dozens of brands and styles. Omitting the top producers like the Jackall, LC, Megabass there are a few I have and prefer. Duo Realis 77 sp. 85 and 100. Criminally overlooked for some odd reason. Slashes like no other bait I've ever used. Triggers territorial strikes, hungry and curious fish alike. Nishine Lure works 95. Subtler action. Not as flashy or aggressive as the other JBs in its class. A tighter wobble and side to side action when the fish prefer a toned down presentation. Ima Flit 100. An underrated and overlooked jerkbait. Somewhere between a slender pointer and a vision. Tight side to side and a nose down suspending lure. Aliexpress copies and KO's. Bearking, Asinia, Tsyunora. The quality has come nearly up to par. Almost as good as the originals most of the time. The action is similar and the durability is solid. I use these when making dicey casts and places where there's a great chance of a breakoff.

Looks like the bait monkey needs to be fed soon. Release date anyone?

There are at least 12 different Senko copies which was a replica of the sluggo. How many of those match the fall rate, perfected the plastic to salt ratio, scaled up and down the size to match the same qualities, the softness, the texture, the tensile strength distribution. The plastic polymer that needed additional chemical engineering to allow it to work with the salt to achieve that one of a kind 'shimmy'. Bass experience the world far different than humans do. Maybe the salt reminds the bass that its food since blood has salt content. The movement, shape, fall rate all needs to work with a ton of hook, line and weight options. Berkley reverse engineers very successful designs. There is nothing wrong with that but there is a reason why a Senko is a senko and everything else is an imitation.

Not very long. Case in point I went out of my home this morning literally walked across the street to test a few lures in a canal that connects to a lake and within 20 minutes caught a peacock bass over 2 lbs, a hybrid sunshine bass (real good fighters) and a largie. Between year round tournaments, fun fishing, tourny practice, pond hopping and all the saltwater options within a 5 to 15 mile radius living in South FL has its immense advantages and its key drawbacks. Drawbacks include bait monkey constantly needs sacrifices. Which morphs into the boat monkey. The accounts are never going to be the same after that takes hold. Too many attractive right here right now options which leads to a never ending cascade of gear for both freshwater and salt. Injuries never heal since there is no OFF season unless you are forced into it. Sunscreen and bug repellent gets soaked into cars and clothes. Wind burn faces, tanned neck and ears, casting elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome and farmers tans are inevitable. Leader line is a recurring bill. Still wouldn't live anywhere else.

Jerkbait, twitch bait, shallow and mid depth. Went out the morning in a local canal behind my home and caught a hybrid bass and a peacock within 20 minutes.

Livescope helps a great deal. It allows me to see if there are bait schools in the area. Knowing and fishing with a seasoned veteran of the craft really helps too. Best of both worlds to be honest. Being new to bass fishing myself its sorting out the wrong advice from the myths to the truth and backwards thinking that poses the greatest challenge. FFS allows for the fish to speak for themselves. Breaking down maps, topography and finding ledges is next critical step in the process. One that needs time and dedication away from the water.

I own a Stella, Van Staal, Steez (3 of them) Metaniums, Calcutta Conquest (two) and Conquest BFS. Daiwa Zilllion JDM. Aldebaran JDM. The main difference is fewer backlashes, smoother performance and that extra little refinement that comes with a high price tag.

Jerkbait or twitch bait. Best category of lure bar none. I will NOT debate this.

I have all those lures mentioned in this thread and a few more versions. Duo Realis Rozante 77 and 85 sp has the most action by far. The erratic action makes fish territorial and curious. Most of the time the fish are hooked on the side of the body and head. Nick named old never miss for a reason. Megabass vision JR. Same as above. Great action, nose down at a 45 degree angle and most of the time fish hit it on the pause. Skunk repellent that gets bit no matter what. Nishine Erie 95 sd. For tough conditions. Blue sky, no wind, high heat. I'd put the Jackall 78 sp in this category as well when the fish aren't committing to a high movement retrieve. Simple action. Megabass Flapslap. Good lure. Good action. Different feel than the twitch lures mentioned already. Caught plenty of peacocks and bass alike on it. Tweener action not high volume but not simple either falling right in the middle somewhere. A situational presentation rather than a staple. Strike King Hybrid Hunter shallow and normal depth. A hybrid search lure. Shallow running with consistent depth control which is critical for shallow water with plenty of weeds. Buzzed right over top of cover. Pauses can work but this lure was designed for a reaction bite. Gold and white are staple patterns. Megabass Ito shiner, X-Nanahan, Bevy shad and Trick Darter. Each are good on their own but to be honest the Rozante is hard to beat in its respective category. The action it imparts is on steroids. Fish tend to either crash the lure bc of its wide wobble or out of territorial anger. The depth is the only question but since I fish skinny water most of the time its not an issue.

Started out on spinning reels bc saltwater was what got me started in fishing. Then gradually moved to baitcasters. Tons and tons of backlashes later I've stuck with it bc I prefer to use it over spinning reels. Spinning rods are way easier to skip lures under docks or to throw into a 15 mph wind gust.

I tried tons of fluro lines. Tatsu and sniper are the best ones to date though I never tried Spro but I picked some up just on principle bc of the tests.

I'm a fan of Livescope. It cuts through myths that fisherman have peddled for years. I'd rather not fill my head with that kind of nonsense. Watching fish in real time react either for or against a lure makes for a better fishermen. Still have to find the fish is what I'm most concerned with at the moment. In Florida FFS doesn't make that big of a difference yet unless there is deeper clearer water.

Duo Realis Rozante 77sp is the best one so far. Ima Flit is good too. Megabass Vision Jr. Ito Shiner.