Bass Rutten

It seems a little less intuitive most likely because of how use to it I was. It isn't so bad that I would start a thread to complain about it but I do prefer the previous version, in a short time I'm sure it'll be a non-issue.

Thanks for the reco, I'll check them out.

I don't have a single favorite brand but it's mostly megabass, lucky craft, and rapala for hardbaits. Zoom, zman, and gambler for soft baits. I never gave any thought to Gambler before moving to Florida about a year ago, now the goat swim jig, burner craw, and big ez get thrown every trip, solid lineup.

The answer is yes. It is always better to have a better reel or rod 😎

Nice! Send your address and delivery date. I'll make sure it doesn't get stolen off your porch by some scoundrel 🤥

That's true as well, I use to re-tie all my jigs out of the box but I fish jigs a lot more than I used to and came to the realization that I lose them well before wearing them out, gotta put em where no one else does!

I wouldn't limit myself to hand tied only, skirts are easily fixed with a few wraps of braided line and a dab of superglue.

Swimjigs are available with many different hook sizes and gauges. The earliest "traditional" swim jigs were finesse oriented and tended to use lighter wire hooks.

A must read for crankbaiters:

Been thinking about trying those, have you done any pitching/flip[ping with them? I like jigs that can pull double duty, seems to have a wide base.

Well the op did specifically ask for a heavy medium or a light medium heavy 😉 I agree their naming convention is a bit silly. I use a lmh helium in a 7’0” length for pitching finesse rigs around grass lines, pad edges, docks etc neko rigs, shaky heads, flick shake, finesse jigs, perfectly suited for this purpose ime/imo

Funny, I had that debate myself between the slx and one of those AliEx spools for my tw80 before getting it. In the end it was the 6oz total reel weight that made me choose it.

Check out the slx bfs, Asian Protal and JapanTackle both have it in 8.2 in stock, essentially the same reel as the scorpion with the only difference being cosmetics, bearing count and type: SLX bfs - 5+1 s-arb (sealed) bearings, Scorpion bfs - 7+1 a-rb (non sealed) bearings.

Solid choices, the only thing I would probably do different is 12-15lb mono on the aird.

I've had some issues with Digitaka and Japan Lure Shop. Their shipping is faster than US retailers; I occasionally find extra stuff in there like high end chatterbaits and other nice lures; oh and fantastic & gracious customer service. If you don't mind those potential issues go for it.

Nothing special needed for that imo, I got a plain ol' standard tat 100 on a heavy daiwa for pitching and frogging heavy cover.

AKA Bottom buggin' or the biffle bug system.

I used to own the exact same rod, I still own and use the avid x. The premier is older blank technology that’s getting long in the tooth, it feels beefier and heavier in hand than newer rods of the same power, but in actual use I’ve found both the premier (and the avidx) to be spot on with its medium power rating. If you were to fish some jigs or Texas rigs with it to test its backbone I’m confident you’d come to the same conclusion.

I agree it's the rod that's more important than the reel, but only slightly more so with bfs over standard gear. Even if a rod loads with a given weight the reel must also be refined enough to not backlash with lighter weights. Both components have a job to do. Yours truly, -Captain Obvious

If by "they" you mean lucky craft then yes, their 1.5 squarebill weighs 1/2oz.

I'd burn a chatterbait over them, occasionally dig in and rip out. The same approach with a swimjig might work too.

The back to back uni is tried and true but is slightly bigger than other knots causing noise and friction (distance thief) from guide contact. I’ll take the blood knot (highly slept on), or the crazy alberto over the uni2uni, but the FG was well worth the headache to learn and is my go to.

It isn’t candy, but I still grab a box once in a blue moon.

Why, it's just a Texas rig, right?

I stumbled across a Sportsman's Wholesale in Homosassa FL while on a work related road trip and came across these fine deals. All the rapalas and the live target frog were $7.99 each, the 1000yd of sufix was $6.99, should've bought a few more.