Finessegenics

Reminds me of your theory from last season that something fishy was going on with the fantasy fishing. Edit: that pun was totally not intentional

I overthink things and it usually bites me in the ***. I always try selecting at least 2 guys with low ownership percentages in hopes of getting a big lead on everyone else. I thought I had a steal in Destin Demarion this tournament as he was only owned by 1.31% of participants . He’s a PA native but actually guides on the SJR. He ended up finishing 92nd. Meaning 99% of people did better than me in that bucket.

1) finesse TRD on a 1/16 oz jighead 2) 5”-6” stickbait 3) Double Willow Spinnerbait 4) 3”-4” soft plastic swimbait 5) Swinghead

Just came here to comment the same thing!!! He said he was using a 7’3 M/XF model.

Could have been worse for me.. I've got 3 guys in the top 35 but my remaining two are 85th and 96th. Yikes

That's genius. Which wacky jigheads do you use?

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Mustad_Fastach_Clip_12pk/descpage-KVFC.html

Never heard of anyone using the jig box for jerkbaits so I grabbed mine and tried it out...The smaller ones like the size 09 rapalas fit but they are loose. I have some smaller yo zuri 3db’s that fit upside down. It’s kind of tight so I doubt it’s good for the plastic dividers in the box as well as the paint on your jerkbaits. Anything bigger than that is too wide or too long. So no, I’d say this box does not work for jerkbaits.

That's an interesting take. When I first saw the logo, it looked like "Victory" to me. But that first video they released is titled "Journey"... so I don't know.

I use them a lot for jigging for walleye but I’m not sure why I don’t cross that over for bass fishing. It’s the same concept as a swimbait or should I say the swimbait is the same concept as a grub? I don’t know. I’ve been brainwashed by marketing. The Mr Twister 3” and 4” are my favorites. They’re extremely popular here, but grubs in general are. If you take a walk in many of the riverfront parks here, I’d say the majority of people are fishing with a twistertail. It’s Easy for people who are just occasional anglers or young children to work the bait, because there’s no wrong way to fish them. Go as fast or as slow as you like. And some of us bassheads think we are too good to be using a plain old grub ? I like vibrant colors like white, chartreuse, pink but I do own a few packs of some more natural colors. Gonna try the more natural colors this season in place of a TRD.

Also, in case anyone missed it, SC released a video explaining the "new" material this rod would be made of.

I've got it at 66 (I said 70 in my previous post) but I'll probably lower it. It already was a toss-up but now with the weather being funky and the possibility of the a whole day or two being cancelled, it's really anyone's game. If I'm not mistaken, last year's St John's event was only 3 days and they fished in bad conditions, windy and cold most days. The winning weight was 47 lbs...

I think the "sold out" feature is relatively new to st croix's website. Before, you would only see if a rod was out of stock when you tried putting it in your cart. I could be wrong though. I also noticed the same "sold out" icons last week when browsing their site. It seems like a lot of their rods are sold out. If you go look at the mojo bass and ltb you will see that a lot of models are sold out there too. Still, these rods could be replacing the avids in the long run. If they're the same price as the avids then maybe the avids will be eventually phased out. Hard to imagine they'd get rid of such an iconic series of rods though. Or, like others have said, this new series could slot in between the avids and LTB.

If you’re looking for something with a little more thump, take a look at the XZone Swammer. The 4” size is a perfect jig trailer and they make a few baitfish patterns. I like Pearl but there is also Tennessee Shad, Cisco & Bream which look good.

Since we're getting so close, I've finally posted my picks. I have my tiebreaking weight set at 70lbs 6 oz. I think that may still be too high. I don't know if any of you have checked the forecast for Palatka but they're calling for thunderstorms on both Friday and Saturday so I wouldn't be surprised if a day gets called off. Lots can change though and hopefully I'm wrong.

I despise T knobs. Like others have said, it all comes down to personal preference.

Never thrown a slider head. No real reason why, just haven’t.

I can promise you it’s NOT a redbreast sunfish. To me, it looks like a darker colored bluegill.

For spinnerbaits, I think a fire tiger sort of pattern is underrated. Some combination of chartreuse, lime and orange. It works well for me and fire tiger crankbaits are popular so I’m surprised not to see more fire tiger spinnerbaits out there. This skirt here is a little chewed up but I’ve caught dozens on this exact spinnerbait.

Looks like they listened to the public and really tried to improve the balance on this lineup. Might just be talk but we'll see. The LTB is infamous for it's tip-heaviness. Never fished one so I can't comment on that. I can say it is not that big of an issue with my Avids, at least in my experience. More news on the 8th.

I came across this while browsing my YouTube feed this morning and now just watched it. Interesting stuff and well thought out. But like he mentions himself, a lot of the anglers use a variety of baits so how can you really confidently say “xyz” is the best shallow bait? Not to mention the possibility of an angler winning a tournament fishing both offshore and shallow.

Definitely, I use 12# for 1/2 oz spinnerbaits as well.

Soft Baits ZMan Zinkerz (to cut in half and make a ned bait) 4" Easy Shiner XZone 5" True Center Stick Yes, two stickbaits. Hard Baits I'm not crazy about treble lures so Double Willow Spinnerbait Suspending Jerkbait Swim Jig

I would not call the mojo bass only "slightly better" than the Bass X. I did not use my bass x much as I purchased it very late last season. However, my immediate reaction was how "dead" the rod felt compared to my mojos. It bothered me enough that after spending a few hours with the 7'4 H/F Bass X, a few days ago I actually went out and picked up the same model in the Mojo. Bought both of them used, and I should be able to sell the Bass X at the price I paid for it. I don't mean that as a diss to the Bass X though. I just really felt the difference after "downgrading". The Bass X is still one of, if not, the best $100 rods out there. The mojos are also made with scIII material which is supposed to be of a higher quality than the scII which the Bass X are made of. Also, welcome to bassresource!

That post was in response to A-Jay’s link which was not about these new rods, but just news about new blanks being added to the legend Xtreme as well as other lineups.