Bass Rutten

I get it man... budget and priorities, but he did say he’d consider anything in any price range

In my opinion the overall weight of the rod and reel has as much if not greater effect on accuracy than the length of the rod, but not everyone want to spend the dough on high end rods and reels. When I got my first nrx paired with a 6oz reel I was flabbergasted ?at how much more accurate my casts became due to better control of trajectory.

What use cases for those one ouncers, punching, deeper water?

It’s a fine jig, I use them without issue. I “tune up” every jig before using, thin and trim both the skirt and weed guard and don’t miss many.

The weedless boogers from dreamsmasher swimbaits looks like they’ll work on hudds, been meaning to try them out, just haven’t got around to it.

Bubba shot uses stout gear and heavier line which is hardly finesse, perhaps you meant powershotting which is drop shotting modified by using a heavier weight but the same gear and line as usual which should meet the op’s criteria.

Plano z-series lure wrap. Roll up style binder works great for plastics, lures, even big ol swimbaits.

First visit from the hairy banana boy since late last year...

If you want to fish it in deep water off the bottom then you want a slip bobber setup, if you want to fish it deep on or near the bottom then you want a lindy rig or split-shot setup. Fyi these are walleye techniques.

I presume your swimsuits are for diving in after a snapoff?

I’m just getting back into fly fishing for bass, it’s something different your local fish likely have not seen before and a nice diversion from the conventional.

BFS is what the human body involuntarily screams out upon seeing the prices... Bull freaking schnickerdoodle!

I have the 7’3” mh and it definitely works great for flashy swimmers up to 4.8, spinners, chatters and most moving baits (w/o trebles). I can’t imagine the heavy being better for any of those, it’s likely more of a pure bottom contact rod. I’ve thrown the 1/2 oz dark sleeper on the mh but haven’t caught anything with it yet.

Video review below, relevant part at 2:45

Since you own both rods shouldn’t you be the one telling us? ?

Did this last year, reduced my daily arsenal to three rods and committed to throwing 3 lures for all of 2020... jigs, worms, and paddletails. Is it a coincidence I had one of the best years of fishing in my life? ?‍♂️

Thanks for calling out the oft parroted "leverage" myth, the longer the rod the more leverage goes to the fish.

I owned the orochi version as well. One thing I wish I knew before I bought it was that the handle is very, very short (levante may be different?), this makes it efficient only at pitching (hence the name I suppose), standard two handed casting is not fun or comfortable. I would only purchase again for the single purpose of pitching to targets, it doesn't much else very well due to the handle.

I bought the tatula 7'3" swimbait rod last year to throw mid-sized glides and rats with it and love it, but I do occasionally throw 3/4+ oz spinnerbaits with it (with trailer can easily weight 1.5 oz) and you are correct in assuming it fits the application nicely, the rod bends deep but it still has the power for driving home the single hook of a spinnerbait.

More expensive but the shimano expride 7'3" ex-hvy makes an excellent and surprisingly light frog rod.

Bangs lake in far northern Illinois was covered with ice yesterday and totally open today, I imagine all the larger bodies in the area are open as well.

The 7’ mh st croix spinner is very stiff and very heavy, you will likely not enjoy jerkbaiting nor do it effectively, you’ll be better off with their medium or medium-light. I actually used it for light frogging and t-rigging back in the day, sold it a few years back. Length is entirely personal preference, I use a 7 footer for jerkbaiting, but then again I’m a bit taller than most people. I prefer it over the usual shorter recommendations for casting distance and quicker and surer hooksets.

I use the 7’3” version

It does load up a bit even on smaller fish so no it’s not a total broomstick, but it’s still a powerhouse of a rod. I use it a lot for it’s hookset power to throw 5.8 & 6.8 keitech paddletails rigged with beast hooks.