Finessegenics

St Croix?

I used to have 1 above the stem and 3 below. Then, 2 seasons ago, I went with 3 in front of the stem and my pinky in back just to experiment. After one session, I could never go back.

Why not step up to a MH when throwing that kind of weight? I feel like 3/4 oz "overloads" my M rods.

Don't think this is the kind of info you're looking for, but Google Maps and Google Earth is all I use when looking for new places to explore. A lot of the time with small rivers, it's hard to get a good look at them as trees and stuff are usually blocking the satellite view on these areas. I still think it's worth a shot.

Ate one once. A 10+ lb one at that. I was fishing near a dam with some of my buddies one evening in the spring. I'm not sure whose idea it was but we get kept the fish because my buddy snagged it in the gills with a jig. We seasoned it with salt and pepper and covered the filets with some lemon wedges and sliced onions, then wrapped it in some foil and grilled it. It didn't taste too good but considering the size of the fish and the body of water it came from, I was not surprised. I had heard that lots of people enjoy them in the south but nobody besides the bucket brigade really eats them here. Complete tangent, but I ate bass for the first time this summer. I really enjoyed it.

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For me it’s not so much a technique but a way of fishing…light line, medium light spinning rod. Nothing more exhilarating than hearing the drag scream and fighting the fish.

I don’t look at the weight of the jig. If it’s a thick gauge hook, my first choice is #15. If your jigs have lighter wire hooks then 12# is definitely fine, no matter the weight of the jig itself.

What size are those keitechs? Are you leaning more towards ML or M? Personally, I’d suggest the Mojo Bass from St Croix. Not the lightest when looking at specs, but they balance well in hand. At least that’s the case for the me but things like the way you grip the rod and the reel which is paired with the rod will affect the “tip-heaviness”. So it’s hard to make a claim about anything. They have a 7’1 M/F and a 7’6 ML/XF which are both 4.1 oz.

River smallies for me. 1. Finesse TRD or 1/2 of a Zinkerz on a 1/16 oz head 2. War Eagle Screamin Eagle Dbl Willow Spinnerbait 3. A bunch of different brands' 3"-3.5" swimbaits on a 1/8 oz head

4 rods does the trick for me. Spinning: 6'10 ML/XF spinning, 10# braid to 8# leader: small plastics on 1/8oz or 1/16 oz jigheads. 7'1 M/F spinning, 15# braid to 8# or 10# leader: weightless senkos, flukes, heavier tube jigs, poppers Casting: 7'0 MH/F, 15# fluoro : Swing- heads, skirted jigs, texas rigs 7'0 MH/F (fishes like a ModFast), 12# copolymer: Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, crankbaits, topwater

This seems more like an argument about semantics. I don’t know which side I’ll take. I understand the idea of a “reaction” bite but whether it’s true or not, I’ll never know.

Probably 50% of all my catches in my river are like that, regardless of species; pike, smallmouth, even walleye at the right times of year. Maybe more, 50 is a conservative guess. Whether it’s a spinnerbait or jig worm or swimbait a lot of my bites come as soon as my bait hits the water.

Match the size of the forage your bass are feeding on. Not sure what you mean by midrange but here are some of my favourites, which come in sizes from 3” to 5”: XZone Swammer. Awesome “rocking” action. Doesn’t have a big kick but rolls side to side aggressively. Works well if you’re retrieving it a decent or fast pace and is awesome on the back of a swim jig or bladed jig: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=30&searchtext=Swammer+ Keitech Easy Shiner. This is a thinner swimbait with a thin paddletail as well. It’s a subtle presentation and works well when creeping slowly. The 3.5” perfectly mimics the baitfish in my fishery: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=30&prevsearch=Swammer+&searchtext=easy+shiner Megabass Spark Shad. This is another subtle one but has a beefier profile compared to the easy shiner. It works equally well whether you’re burning it or creeping it. Only bummer is they’re mostly out of stock at TW but not sure about other shops. I’ve been putting these on underspins and propeller type heads like the Okashira and been slaying some SMB on them. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=30&prevsearch=easy+shiner&searchtext=Spark+Shad

It was definitely an off year for me. I didn't catch the same numbers as I did last year, though in general I believe my average size of fish was bigger. I also got out a bit less than I would have hoped for but that was because I was discouraged by the lowest water levels we've had in years, mostly due to a dry/mild winter and spring. I have no doubt that it negatively affected the fishing, at least for me. I'm a shorebound angler most of the time and with the higher water we've had in the past, I think the fish were more willing to push up against the bank, which made them easier to catch for me. Or, I'm just making crummy excuses for being a poor angler. Lol. I've heard people say that lower water should make the fish easier to catch because they should be more grouped up. I don't think that applies for the shore-caster. I didn't explore new areas/spots as much as I had hoped for. To be fair, I made some big plans and added a lot of places to my bucket list so maybe I set myself up for failure. I planned all that last winter and early spring, so I was in the midst of cabin fever and maybe overestimated myself. I didn't have as much time to venture out so when I did have the time, I made sure to stay close to home and just go wherever I could. A lot of my buddies also became busier and were less willing to venture out further with me. Can't stand doing longer trips alone but I certainly will get some done next year. Still, it wasn't all negative. I revisited spots on the river which I had written off and Surprisingly, I was successful in these overlooked spots. Despite all this, I also think I became a better angler. I have a pile of baits sitting in my tackle room, but I really narrowed down the amount of tackle I bring with me, as well as what I throw. I've figured out what works and became really comfortable with a few techniques which I already threw a lot. Even though I stuck with only a handful of baits, I also experimented a bit and gained some more confidence with full-sized skirted jigs and swing heads. No matter how my fishing goes, I'm thankful that I'm even able to get out there. Some people got it way worse and me griping about the fact that I didn't catch enough fish shows just how privileged I am. Super grateful for the opportunities I have to fish and I try not to take it for granted. Looking forward to reading everyone's posts, good post idea OP! ?

same here…the baitfish are super shallow as well, basically against the bank. This river in particular where I see these juveniles is part of the st Lawrence system. Its flows into the SLR. the green slime I have seen you talk about on other posts is covering this river too. Not sure if it has to do with the low water levels this year or something else.

I've been seeing these little dudes in numbers I never have before. All summer and still now into fall. They're super curious and always hang around my feet when wading and follow my lures back in. Must be a good sign right? Just wanted to share the picture

I have not tried the d shads on a dropshot. But I imagine they would be pretty effective because of the senko-like quiver on the tail. I believe a super fluke on a dropshot would have a similar action as well. The thing is the D-Shads have a "spade" tail while the super flukes have a forked tail, but both have hook slots. So, there is a slight difference in that sense, which could affect the action.

OK, so I have a k and a DC. I love the DC and have said how great it is multiple times on this site. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it but looking back, I don't think it's really worth the coin. I like my K more; deeper spool and lighter than the DC. Stick with what you got.

Dont mean to hijack OP's thread but since we're talking D Shads... I tried the D-Shad's last season and they just didn't perform the same way the super flukes did. I don't know if it's the way I work the bait but I just dont get as good of a "slash" with the D-Shads compared to super flukes. I thought the D-Shad and similar baits (like the Caffeine Shad) were designed to be alternatives to a senko. They have that similar quiver to a Senko when you just let them fall on semi-slack line. Am I missing something?

I don’t think it really matters. But I go dark side up because it looks best to my eyes. Not sure about the bass though

So the medium is the power and action is fast right? Just to make sure. Youre right on it ??

Thats perfect as a general purpose spinning rod. Wacky rigs, weightless plastics, small swimbaits, tubes and jig worms.

What are your water temps?

Excellent info, I have a follow up bait tied on and ready any time I am fishing a moving bait. Topwater, crankbait, spinnerbait chatterbait or whatever. A slow moving follow up bait has to be ready. In my case, it's usualy small worm on an exposed jighead. For a frog, a punch rig is usually my follow up bait. However, since OP isn't fishing super thick vegetation just about any plastic rigged weedless, weighted or not, should be perfect. The ticket is to go back with a slow moving lure. A punch rig isn't particularly slow as it's crashing to bottom but it's the only way to get through that thick grass when I do frog.