Bass Rutten

I fish weedy natural Midwest glacier formed lakes where shakyheads and football heads just don’t work well due to the amount of vegetation. I use the very similar screwlock version of those, usually with trick worms or various finesse worms in lieu of shakyheads. Swimming them with various styles of plastics should be no problem. Never thought of using the speed worm with that head, going try it now that you mention it.

High heat can absolutely damage fishing rods. The first gloomis I ever bought was ruined when some idiot (me) left it in a vehicle on a hot day pressed slightly into to ceiling creating a slight bend, well that rod has that same bend to this day ?‍♂️

I’d spend the ten extra bucks and get a daiwa exceler, 2500 on the auction site right now for $60, this is a fuego minus the sealed bearings, I have a few, excellent value

I was thinking about dabbling with lews reels this year. What don’t you like about them?

I have a cheap mini torch I use to melt of a little lead to get the weight I want. I use lead wire to add weight. Curious about how you do this, you wrap the lead wire around the hook and melt it in place?

Just an fyi It all depends on how deep and fast you fish them, the 6/0 weighted beast only comes in 1/4oz which is too heavy to fish the 5.8 real slow in the 1-5’ range which is where and how I fish them 80-90% of the time, it works great though if you’re targeting deeper fish or want to burn it shallower. You’re better off buying the unweighted beast or trokar hook and weighing them yourself, bps makes hook shank weights. The 5.8 with a 6/0 (beast) or 5/0 (Trokar) 1/8oz weighted hook is my shallow go to.

@houghystik21 You can make your own with any hook, bps makes a weight designed to clamp onto a hook like a split shot. I use trokar or owner beast hooks and buy the 1/16oz size which allows me to create any weight swimbait hook. I find a lot of the pre-made sizes too heavy for where I fish. Just an idea, hope this helps.

Great picks by jedi. Just to offer a few alternative choices... savage gear shine glide, mega bass magdraft, and a blackdog shellcracker. That’ll give you a nice budget friendly 3 piece meal, if you want a soda to go with that throw in a triple trout or bullshad.

Thank you for the responses, since this post I have acquired a megabass perfect pitch for jig fishing.

I find the 705cb surprisingly versatile, perfect for 1.5 and 2.5 squarebills as well as jerks, I throw the pointer 100sp and shadow raps on it. Lures at 3/8 oz or lighter is doable but a little trickier. I even occasionally throw spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and keitech/jigheads on it too.

Well that’s good to hear, I wasn’t trying to spread misinformation I was just using the word lockdown in a general sense, hopefully the forest preserves are still open

Yep fishing is screwed, but that’s the least of our worries now with the whole state of Illinois now locked down with a stay at home order in effect until April 8th, W T H

Pretty sure he meant extending as in how long the battle lasts not how far from the boat, the faster you land and release the better for the fish, prolonging the fight for your enjoyment is kinda just torturing and stressing the fish

Been curious about this one, would you mind expounding upon it a little bit?

How does the 744c do at throwing 1/4oz jigs? I see it rating starts right at 1/4oz, I mostly throw 1/4 and 3/8 finesse, pitching and swimjigs.

Looking to pick up the much heralded Dobyns 734C to use primarily as a jig rod, for anyone who’s owned both series how big of a difference is there in sensitivity between the Sierra and the champion series and did you feel the champion was worth the additional $80?

On that note, live bluegills catch some lunkers and are cheap to boot

@MN Fisher just curious how does that fuego do with lighter lures say in the 1/4 oz range?

Open water spotted in northern Illinois!

Shaking worms and head probably same thing, not sure what they exactly mean by shaking worms, that’s a vague description for sure. Haven’t owned a dobyns 2 power but should work well for wacky styles, prefer spinning with braid myself for wacky.

Manns 1-minus wakebaits, I dunno why but it works here

Very true of course, but I’ve read a number of reports of this particular kayak not tracking well and causing that problem worse than most yaks

Crazy Alberto for me, 5 up 5 back, through the loop twice, then hit it with a rizzuto finish and a dab of super glue.

I’d like to see you try that up here in Illinois ?

Thanks I’ll try that