Finessegenics

Best is different for everyone and at that different for every situation. For general purpose a 6'6 to 7'0 Medium power, fast action spinning rod.

I’ll echo bluebasser. My spinnerbaits stay the same year round, War Eagle Screaming Eagle. You can fish them slow and they are great for burning.

Shad Raps!!!

A personal favorite of mine around grass

Double Willow Spinnerbait, 3" swimbaits on Okashira Screwheads and soft jerkbaits. Fall is pretty much here for me. Overnight temps have dropped drastically in the past week and a half and the fish are getting super aggressive.

This is my belief too. But if I stop the spinnerbait or slow it down, it never turns into the fish coming back to hit the bait a second time. OP, I suggest having a follow up bait tied onto another rod if you’re getting out there with more than one setup. I almost always have one ready on another rod when fishing a moving bait. For me, the follow up is usually a ned bait. I throw it where I felt the bass “stun” my spinnerbait and 99% of the time it results in a hook-up. Your follow up bait can be anything you want really, a senko, a jig or a Texas rig. As long as it’s not a moving bait the follow up should work.

My setup is very similar to yours. 6’10 ML/XF Mojo Bass with a size 30 President XT (which is comparable to most 25’s out there). I got 10# braid on there usually to an 8# mono or fluoro leader.

Another vote for coppertreuse. Bubble gut is a good one too. I’ll add a new one to the discussion; Meat Dog. Slays on the river for me

Usually a 3” to 3.5” swimbait on a round jighead. Cover water quickly that way. Earlier in the season, that would be a spinnerbait but as of lately, the smaller swimbait has been my search bait.

XZone Deception worm in Electric Shad or Green pumpkin, rigged on an Owner Ultrahead shakeyhead. Best thing about this setup is the worm floats!!!

#1: 30# braid for the speed worm, and same for the senko under the assumption the senko is rigged weedless (If it was wacky I'd go a different route but no need to complicate things). I'd go straight braid on the swimming worm but you can use leader if you prefer that. Senko, I always use a leader. #2: I like mono or copoly for moving baits. .33mm diameter for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, which is usally 12# or 15# depending on brand. #3: 10# braid with 6# or 8# leader of your choice.

If it’s a soft plastic; electric Shad

Have a Curado K on mine and it balances perfectly.

1- Ned Rig. 1/16 oz jighead with a #2 or #1 hook. It’s the only thing I can say I always truly have tied on, no matter the time of year or conditions. Always have it on my 6’10 ML/XF Mojo Bass. There are other techniques which I may have tied on 100% of the time for a few weeks but those are usually seasonal deals. For example, early season I’ll have a spinnerbait tied on, no matter the conditions. In the fall, I’ll have a soft plastic jerkbait tied on for weeks. These techniques can work all year round though. When those rods are not tied with those lures, they’ll do double duty for other techniques. I have a decent arsenal but can’t afford to have a dedicated rod for every single technique.

This is eerily similar to what I’ve noticed in some areas of the st Lawrence, but I’m 150 miles away. That algae is there every year in the shallows but it seems 10x worse this year. I also wanna say that I’ve noticed the same behaviours concerning birds, but I’m going to keep an eye out for that.

Good point. I didn’t mean to say that what happened at that tournament was a good thing. Just saying that in the grand scheme of things it will have no effect on the population of bass in that body of water.

Yup, I don’t really eat bass but I am not against responsible harvesting. I actually ate my first bass this summer and it was tasty. In a system like the saint Lawrence’s a loss of a few hundred bass will not even make a dent. On smaller bodies of water with stunted bass, harvesting is the only way a better class of fish will be able to grow.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5823630 In case anyone hasn’t read about it, here it is

I think long casts are really the key in clear water. If you can see them, they can see you. The trouble you’re having getting a good hookset at that distance could be offset by braid to fluoro. Less stretch in the setup that way. What baits are you throwing though? I imagine a tiny ned jig or hair jig would have a thin and sharp enough hook that a hook set isn’t really needed. Just reel down until you feel the pressure and give it a little snap. Some people advocate for a “reel set” but i never quite got the hang of that.

I have a president XT and I definitely feel like it’s an upgrade over the president. It’s a lot less clunky. The reason I went the president XT over the similarly priced competition is because of the weight. Now, I know weight is not everything and it might sound ridiculous to some of you but the difference between a 7.6 oz president xt and say an 8.8 oz Sahara is night and day for me. I’ll even concede that the Sahara or a Revros is smoother than the president xt (I’ve tried a buddy’s Revros). Still, the lighter reel makes my setups feel that much better to me. I always used to feel like my lighter spinning setups were “bottom heavy”. I tried a 2500 Sedona on my mojo 6’10 ml and the balance of the setup felt funky. Once I moved the president XT 30 on there, I felt a lot more comfortable with it. Just a preference thing for me.

The Berkley Gilly just grabbed my attention too. The action looked great on video when hopping it on a Texas rig.

The Shimano World Minnow looks interesting, I heard Bernie Schultz talk about it on BTL.

I never ever intentionally match but if the jighead does match the bait then it doesn’t hurt either. 75% of the time I’m using an unpainted jighead and it doesn’t seem to affect the bite in any way. Rest of the time it’s a black or orange one. Then again, i do use a lot of baitfish-y colors which match well with a plain lead jighead.

Bass X 7'4 H/F

I assume it’ll be the bottom 15 or 12 or 10 (I don’t know either) in the points standings who get booted out. What’s interesting about this SLR tournament is that the winner will automatically qualify for the classic, even if they are not in the projected cut for it. So if Schultz wins, he qualifies for the classic and I assume that would save his career on the elites?