Finessegenics

Welcome! For jerkbaits, “clown” and “fire tiger” are classics and if you’re looking for something bright you’ll be fine with those two. I also like rapala’s “parrot” color which is a chartreuse body with a vibrant blue back but I’m not sure if any of their jerkbaits are made in that color. I know a lot of the crank baits are.

Well then, I’d take the advice of your buddies who took you out. If you liked whatever setup they gave you, ask about it and see if you can go buy yourself the same setup. Ask them what size reel, power and action of the rod and line strength you were using. You’ll surely be able to replicate it with 150$. If you have the means to transport it and enough space to cast it on the bank, I’d go even longer than a 7’0 rod. When fishing with bait, I prefer a longer rod just for the distance. If you’re not going to be working lures, I believe you have nothing to lose going longer.

Well, it's that time of the year. Here's my Christmas treat for myself. Compared to last year, I did not purchase much during the black friday sales. Only thing left to buy for next season is some terminal tackle; flipping weights, tube inserts, round jigheads. As you can see, I definitely love my XZone and my Rage Tails lol. Most excited about the 6" Deception Worm in Electric Shad. Looks like a killer color.

What’s your budget? You say you use bobbers but are you using bobbers with live bait? Are you targeting gar specifically or just anything that swims?Do you plan on throwing lures eventually at some point? Do you know what kind of lures or baits you’d want to throw? Answering these will let someone chime in with a more specific recommendation. I know it can be intimidating to understand all the power/action of rods as a beginner but getting it right the first time will save you money and headache.

80 bucks? It’s a lot but never that much. Maybe if you count the taxes and duties then yeah...but I always thought the flat rate was $25 until a certain weight limit was passed.

I don't think I've ever seen a Megabass rod in any tackle shop near me or any Canadian site. I've seen guys selling them used on facebook. Next time, I'll just ask one of them where they bought it and get back to you guys. Thinking about it, we should start a new thread for us Canadian guys instead of hijacking OP's post. Would you guys be interested if I started a "Canadian Latest Sale Thread" where we can post questions about where to find certain brands or sales going on and what not? You guys can follow it so it sends you a notification when someone posts on the thread or you can opt to receive weekly email with all new posts. Would be cool for us.

We have plenty Canadian tackle stores that offer good products online. Check out Tackle Depot, Bay Tackle Supply, Canadian Tackle Store, and Fishing World. But these sites can never be as expansive and big as TW because even for the stores, it’s expensive to have some of these sought after products shipped over here. And I’m sorry to hear about that @Steelhead. Usually there is a GST that’s applied to shipments coming from the US which are over a certain price. In your case you probably paid that GST as well as the “large item” fee from FedEx. 80$ is definitely way too much but it’s our sad reality. Last winter I made a big order from TW for 230 USD + 25 USD for shipping. When FedEx arrived at my door, I had to pay an additional 45$ CAD in taxes/duties. I knew it was coming but it still sucked. To the OP: As for Sail, I actually live a 25 minute drive away from the Lachenaie location. Last time I went there, there were hardly any reels left at all and most of them were budget friendly reels. Same story at the Laval location...Sail often (and when I say often I really mean it) says that items are in stock at stores but when you get on site they’re nowhere to be seen. So I really doubt that the Tatula is in fact in stock.

Well Bass Resource here has plenty of great articles as well as already existing threads that may answer your questions. I do not know of any blogs specifically but you can find a lot of the “vlogging” style on YouTube. Some are purely entertainment without much info, others are just info and a lot are a mix of the two. There’s plenty of them and maybe you’ve checked them out already. I’ll let others suggest specific channels. There’s also podcasts that might interest you like Tackle Talk or Bass Talk Live.

The Avid series are probably one of the best bang for buck rods out there. If you like micro guides and will be using straight fluoro or mono, I suggest the Avid X over the Avid. They're made from the exact same blank but have a few different features. I like the micro guides on the Avid X and they certainly feel like they add casting distance. The micro guides and split grip on the Avid X also make it lighter than the Avid in some models. I think the 7'0 M/F Avid X is .4 oz lighter than the Avid but all that doesnt matter anyways. I doubt anyone could feel the difference. Instead of asking us what you should throw on that rod, you should tell us what you plan to throw on it. It will help others suggest a specific model of the Avid series and also give more specific advice . Size of the reel and line strength as @NorthernBasser mentioned already will help too. Best of luck!

I noticed the same thing. When I go on “view new content” I just see dozens and dozens of people posting member map markers. I wasn’t sure if it was people actually placing it or some sort of bug that was just making it act crazy on its own. I think mine is still fine though...

I think you answered it yourself. Logically, the water will be at its warmest towards the end of the day if there has been sunlight. The shallows will heat up the quickest and the baitfish may want to get up there and chill in the warmer water. The bass shouldn't be too far behind. I don't fish ponds but I still think this is especially true if you're fishing a small and/or shallow body of water.

Pikeminnow?

Rod: St Croix Bass X 6’8 M/XF (1/4-5/8) lure rating. If not, another option would be the 6’6 M/F. Reel: Shimano SLX in whatever speed you prefer. I think 7:2.1 is optimal.

Shrimp is a good one but can get pretty expensive. If not, half a hot dog that’s been soaking in a ziploc bag with garlic powder works well for me. I use a homemade bait needle made from a wire coat hanger to “thread” the hotdog onto the hook. But that means you’ll have to tie leaders with a cow hitch knot and then thread the hotdog on. I included a picture of this. There’s plenty of videos on YouTube explaining this If it’s a little unclear. Just search up “bait needle hotdog” and it should come up.

I don't own any exprides but my initial reaction would be that a rod rated 3/8oz-1oz is not at all going to overpower a 1/4 oz jig. The only way it would overpower the jig would be if the jig had some kind of fine wire hook. Then, a softer rod would be more appropriate as it would not bend out the hook. Sometimes, it is better to judge the power of rod you'll need by the kinds of hooks you'll be using. Now, the reasons I think the rod you're looking at is just fine: The jig is 1/4 oz but im going to assume that is just the weight of the jighead itself. With the skirt and trailer, your jig is definitely 3/8 oz or at least approaching it. So in theory, your casting distance should not suffer as the whole presentation itself is 3/8 oz and the rod will load up properly. You also mention that you fish a lot around grass. The "extra" power of the MH will help when you're hauling up a fish which buried itself in the grass. I wouldn't be worried with your purchase at all, a MH/F can do all sorts of things and I've used mine (Avid X 3/8-1) for weigthless stickbaits and soft jerkbaits and done perfectly fine. Best of luck with your purchase!

I don’t have anything specific to suggest but beware of the 3000 Shimanos. Most are the exact same as 2500s in terms of body size. Only difference is the 3000s have a deeper spool. So if the stem was too short on the 2500, it’ll be too short on the 3000s too.

That’s pretty much what the War Eagle finesse jig the OP uses is. Sure, it’s a short shank hook but it has a thick gauge and still requires a MH or H rod to drive that hook home properly. Doesn’t seem like “finesse” to me. OP, if you’re looking for a jig with a finesse skirt, just take one of your regular pitching jigs and trim down the skirt into that “Lion’s mane” that finesse jigs are known for. It’ll look like a smaller presentation but still pack a punch with the large hook. The only jig that I can think of that fits your description is the Dirty Jigs Compact Pitchin Jig. 4/0 hook though you may have to some work on the skirt. I think it has the same amount of strands as you’d find on a regular pitching jig: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Dirty_Jigs_Luke_Clausen_Compact_Pitchin_Jig/descpage-DJLCC.html

In my opinion, the flash just seems to give off a more natural look. I wouldn’t think there’s a certain situation where you’d want flash vs no flash specifically. If you’ve ever seen silvery baitfish swimming along, sometimes you will see their scales reflect the sun and give off tiny flashes. Even when they’re just chilling and not being chased, you’ll see this. The thing is we don’t know if the bass actually notice this and if they do, does it matter? Probably not. I just think it adds an element of realism that couldn’t hurt you in any way.

Do you guys fish these like you would a swing-head? Constant retrieve along the bottom? Or is it more of a bait to use when pitching to targets that aren't super thick and snaggy?

Are you just going to be targeting pike? Or walleye too? If both I'd suggest one spinning M/F setup and then a MH/F casting setup that you can use exclusively for pike. I don't own a Revros but I had a buddy who had never got into fishing call me up this year and ask me to assemble a "budget" combo for him. I ended up buying him a Revros and he let me try it when we went out together. Let me tell you, it's a solid reel for the price. You can get one for 70$ full price from Sail. Only issue is the 2500 isn't available online and the 3000 is pretty bulky imo. The 2500 would probably feel better on M spinning rod. Look on amazon or elsewhere for a better price. $80 CAD is still too much for a Revros in my opinion. Or just wait for black friday/boxing day. I try to avoid paying full price when it comes to rod and reels. For a spinning rod in the $100 range, I really like the Fenwick HMG. They're also 110$ at Sail but sadly not available online. Their 7'0 M/F has a lure rating of 1/4-3/4 so that's a pretty diverse range. You can throw jigs for walleye, shallow cranks for walleye too, while also using it for some smaller spoons for pike. You can get one at Cabela's for 130$ but that's over your budget. Try looking for a deal on them this black friday or boxing day and you'll be super happy with it. I'll be happy to help you out with the baitcast setup too once you get there! One thing at a time lol ?

I’d have to guesstimate that a good chunk (over 50% ?) of them haven’t finished first in a pro tournament. Think about it. There are 9 events per year on the elite series trail. Most of the time there are about 90 anglers competing on the trail. So for that year, there is the potential for 9 out of the 90 to win. Even just looking at the angler profiles on bassmaster, most of the guys don’t have a win. However, I’ll admit I didn’t look through every single profile. I’m not sure what level they are counting though. I believe they are counting the Opens + Elite series when looking at these profiles.

If that is a Rapala knockoff it’s a darn good one. The CDO7 is 2-3/4” but 1/4 oz (Close enough to 3/16) The F07 is 2-3/4” but only 1/8 oz (which is also close enough to 3/16) As for the color: There seems to be a lot of variations of the clown color in the “original” rapala baits. Rapala’s website was of little help. I couldn’t find that particular variation of clown for the countdown or floaters. However, I did find it for the husky jerks. They have it listed as “clown”. Looks like your color: This is what was listed as “clown” with the original floaters: Here’s a link to an Irish website which has the color listed as “silver clown”. It’s different from yours as the chartreuse also runs on the belly of that bait. https://fishingtackleireland.ie/products/rapala-countdown-9cm Not sure if/how this can help but hopefully someone can use this info to get you an answer. Your bait has about the same specs as the size 7 countdown and floaters. Also has what looks like an identical paintjob to the clown pattern I found with the husky jerks. Even that “scale” pattern right below the chartreuse. I can’t think of what else that could possibly be besides maybe a special edition/European edition with rattles? I haven’t been able to find information about any of that online though. Or just a very very good knockoff. Edit: I just realized the Husky Jerk has rattles. So could it be your measurements are a bit off? The HJ06 is 2.5” and 1/8 oz but has rattles.

Thanks. I just edited my post because I found the info as well. Are you sure it’s not the Chartreuse Flash Orange Belly?

Definitely a Bomber Deep Long A. I found one on the bank this year too. I guess it’s the deep diver model but hopefully someone will chime in with the exact model # and color. Edit: If it’s indeed 3/8 oz and 3.5” then it’s the B24A. Color is Chartreuse Flash Orange Belly

1. A spoon of any color works well, though one in the 5 of diamonds pattern or red and white are classics. 2. A spinnerbait. It’s also my absolute favorite to use when targeting pike, the hits are electric. If you’re going to be using a wire leader, take a look at the Booyah Pikee. The eye of the spinnerbait has a closed loop (compared the R bend in other spinnerbaits) so that your snap can easily clip on and not slide up and down. 3. A soft plastic jerkbait. I’m not sure why it works so well but I can’t even count the amount of pike I’ve caught on one. It’s also something different so I figured I’d suggest it, as a spoon and spinnerbait are probably the most popular. Also, if you’re going to be targeting pike, make sure you are using a heavy fluoro leader or a wire leader. Their teeth will easily cut through mono or lighter braids. It sucks when they swim away with your lure but it happens quite often. I’d also invest in a good pair of long needle nose pliers. You don’t want your fingers anywhere near their mouth when you’re unhooking them. Good luck!