Finessegenics

A. Pipkens B. Zaldain C. Pirch D. DeMarion E. Preuett

I’m no expert on cranking either, but they are my favorite shallow cranks. My local tackle shop always has them in their discount bins too, not sure why. I’ve never had to mess with them out of the package, always swam true and straight. They have an aggressive side to side wobble and it rattles loud. They’re easy to cast and the stock hooks seem pretty good to me.

Yup, blood knot. My favorite connection knot to tie. I find it way easier to tie than a standard Uni to uni.

Not sure what your budget is but I personally use St Croix’s 6’10 ML/XF sticks. To me, it has to be a ML because it offers the easiest/most accurate casting with a 1/16 oz jighead. I know some people who still use M rods despite the light jig heads because they are worried about big fish overpowering a ML rod. A quality ML rod will have the backbone needed for powerful fish. Unless you’re buying some 10$ rod I wouldn’t worry about big fish overpowering you. Even though I use the 6’10 ML, since you specifically mentioned what you want your rod to do, I’d recommend a 7’6 ML (or anywhere around 7’6). The reason being is that you will often “see” the fish before feeling it. Since the rod will be so long and soft, you’ll see your rod tip deflecting from a bite before you can even feel it. Even if your rod is XF, there will be a good portion of the rod deflecting before it becomes pure backbone. This gives some hope that the fish will hold on longer since it will take more time for it to feel the resistance. Still, we don’t know at what point fish realize they are hooked or what makes them aware that their prey is the real thing or not. In a way, some resistance is natural. I’m sure crawfish don’t get swallowed by a bass without a bit of a fight. St Croix makes the 7’6 ML/XF in a lot of their series and even offer it in 2 pieces if storage may be an issue for you.

The dropshot is great for fish suspended just off bottom. But since that’s already been mentioned, I’d suggest a Carolina rig with a long mono leader. I’d add a buoyant bait to make it even better. Something Zman.

Before I got into dedicated bass fishing, all my multispecies fishing was done on 8lb mono. Bass, walleye, panfish, catfish, whatever. I landed lots of big fish with no worries and I still do. The setup that’s in my hands the most often is a ML rod with 10# braid to 8# or 6# leader. Sure, we don’t have 10lb+ bass here but I’d still be confident. All it takes is a well tied knot and a reliable drag system. Too many people try to horse fish in or don’t have confidence in their gear. If the fish wants to run, let it run. Play it out by feel with your drag system. And the best part Is, you don’t need expensive gear, there are lots of budget spinning reels with extremely smooth drag systems.

I recommend firm soft plastics with lots of “rocking” action. It’s also interesting how the trailer must fight against the actual weight of the jighead. So a trailer which “rocks” a 1/4 oz swim jig might not do the same for a 1/2 oz jig. That being said, a speed worm wouldn’t be on my list of suitable trailers but you won’t know until you try. You won’t lose anything by testing it out and it would be interesting if you can report back to us! My personal favorite trailer for a swim jig is the XZone Swammer. Decent price, good action and good durability.

All depends what qualifies as a skunk. Are we talking no bass or any fish at all? Do the winters count? If so, I go around 6 months every year without catching a single bass (my last fish usually comes mid November and my first comes early May). But legitimately bass fishing, I went a almost a month late last summer, August 4 - September 1, without catching a single bass. I was doing one or two 3 hour sessions per week and I just couldn’t get them to bite. I’m guessing it was 15-18 hours on the water without catching a bass.

Haven’t used em but zman actually makes their own jig for the Giant Trd. They’re called Mag Shroomz and come in 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 and 3/8 oz with a 6/0 hook. 4.99 for a 3pk doesn’t seem terrible either. I figured they’d be even more expensive when I went to check the price on TW.

I’ve boiled my zoom flukes before because the tails have been bent or warped out of the package. Boiling them restored them to the correct shape. What I did notice though was my baits were definitely softer (so more action) and almost somewhat sticky. So I have the same experience as you. The two ends of the forked tails often stick together and sometimes when I go to take one out of the package, it’s almost stuck to another bait and I have to take them apart. They haven’t been out of shape since though. All I know is that when a substance is heated, the molecules “vibrate” faster and then spread out, so the substance takes up more space (on a microscopic level, of course). Not sure if this has anything to do with baits becoming soft because once the bait cools down, the molecules should be bound tightly together again. No clue but it sure is an interesting topic. My response doesn’t really help with your question but hopefully someone will chime in with some knowledge soon.

Champlain has to be the most interesting tournament fishery. Smallmouth vs largemouth, shallow vs offshore...Weather is supposed to be good so the largemouth oriented anglers can make the long runs to the south end of the lake. I went with some guys who can catch them anywhere, as well as two northern guys who might just feel a little more comfortable. My tie breaking weight is 83lbs 6oz. Here's my lineup:

I agree that Zman and Reaction Innovations have the best ones. They’re not necessarily funny but I admire their originality Here are some other notable ones from Zman: - Yoga Pants - Meat Dog - The Dude - Bubble Gut - Iguana Daiquiri

I love the flicker shads and they have produced for me but I’m not much of a crankbait guy so I don’t feel qualified to give any specific advice for them. They have a tight action but even some of the deeper diving models are light and low density so you need a spinning rod to cast a lot of the models. I think they are marketed towards walleye fishermen and that’s why a lot of people associate them with trolling. I’ve caught bass, walleye and pike just long line trolling as well as casting over rock piles.

Really? I didn’t know any places have banned certain techniques ...is there a particular reason? I assume because of all the snagged lead weights?

Went night fishing last night with some buddies. We caught nothing huge but this guy gave a good fight.

Picked up some “old reliables” some of which are actually new to me. I’m excited to try the phenoms but wondering how you guys rig them. I have a lot more confidence in a shaky head than i do a Texas rig so I think I’ll go that route.

Saw this thread so I decided to pick some up today. Mr Twister is a staple here thanks to the walleye guys so all their plastics are rather easy to find in our tackle shops. I still rarely hear of anyone using the phenom for bass though. I’m sure it’ll slay the smallies on the river.

Mojo Bass 6’10 ML/XF. It’s my all around finesse rod and I feel like it fishes waaaay above it’s price point. I think it’s the way St Croix lures anglers into their more expensive lineups. Im sure there’s quite a few other members on here who also fish the model. It’s rated 1/8-1/2 oz but I can comfortably cast 1/16oz ned heads with braided line. The only downside it has is that the 1/2 oz rating is exaggerated in my opinion, unless you’re vertical fishing (which you rarely ever will be since you’re bank fishing). I wouldn’t cast anything above 3/8 oz on it.

All I can say is that St Croix is my favorite and I actually have a mojo bass rigged with a supreme xt. The reel is super super lightweight and has the smoothest drag i’ve seen for that price point. Only thing to beware is that the handle is apparently fragile. Mine is perfectly fine so far and doesn’t feel fragile. It’s just that it is made out of magnesium (which is also why it is so lightweight) rather than aluminium like most other reels. Therefore rather than warping under excessive force, it snaps. Hasn’t been an issue for me but you’ll read reviews concerning that issue online. And in case you didn’t realize, Pflueger‘s size 30 is actually a standard 2500. The 35 would be a standard 3000.

There was a post about this today as well...here’s the message I left, the way I make my ned rig weedless; “ Now to go truly weedless; there are a lot of EWG ned heads out there but I have a gripe with most of them. A lot of them don’t come in 1/16 oz, which is my sweet spot for the ned rig. Secondly, most are made with 2/0 EWGs which are way too big to be putting on a 2.75” TRD. I mean sure, it fits, but the plastic loses the little action it has. The top half of the TRD will no longer be swaying with the current and a big hook just turns a TRD into a log. I’m sure it still gets bit but I have a somewhat better solution. I like to take a size 2 EWG and Texas rig one end of the bait. On the other end, I screw in a 1/32 oz VMC neko weight, which is just one of those pagoda weights. The bummer is it’s hard to fit anything more than 1/32 ozpagoda weight into a finesse trd but if you go with tungsten you may be able to squeeze a 1/16 oz weight in there. It’s hard to rig straight into the Elaztech but once it’s in, it’s not coming out. The bait falls a little different and can be harder to cast without appropriate gear but I use this in shallow water when pitching around weeds and logs. I still occasionally get hung up but you’ll see that ithappens a lot less. ”

https://www.bassmaster.com/news/cayuga-lake-bassmaster-elite-series-event-canceled-two-ny-tournaments-still-scheduled Apparently the next two NY tournaments are still on, for now. Doesn't make much sense considering they're all a week apart from each other.

The fish should be following the rising water and be super tight to cover and that includes the bank itself. I tend to do well in high water situations but maybe the rapid rising of the water is what shut your fish off...Anyways, in muddy water I like to think of the 3 S’s. Size, Sound, Speed. I heard about this in a YouTube video which I’ve linked below. It helped me out with my muddy water fishing. Size: Go with a larger profile bait as it should be easier for the fish to “feel”. Larger bait will cause more vibration and have a bigger presence in the water. Sound: Add a rattle or try brass and glass if you’re throwing a Texas rig Speed: I actually like to slow down in muddy water as it gives the fish more time to hone in on your bait. Think of a slow rolled spinnerbait.

That was beautiful

I know a small stickbait is a very popular choice as a trailer for a finesse jig. I don’t see why upsizing the whole presentation wouldn’t work. On a moving bait like a vibrating jig there are probably better choices as you want some sort of movement from your trailer. A swimming senko or swimming dinger are very popular choices as spinnerbait trailers since they don’t “overpower” the bait like a swimbait could. Maybe try out a normal senko and let us know how it works!

Also involves a black spinnerbait and it was only about a year ago. Got to a spot on the St Lawrence I hadn’t fished in a while. It was a small bay with some man made rock piles sunk in about 6-8 feet of water. Visibility was maybe about 2 feet, so not super clear. I was looking for active fish because the bass season had just opened and I figured some fish would still be pre-spawn. Was casting a black skirted 1/2oz booyah spinnerbait to the rock piles. On my third cast at the spot, I see a huge smallmouth following the spinnerbait. I’d say it was definitely over 20inches but I can’t be definitive. It was approaching the bait fast and it felt like time stopped. Before I knew it, it had engulfed the whole spinnerbait. I felt the weight and I knew the hook had been buried without much of a hook set on my part. After maybe five seconds, my knot slips and the fish is still thrashing everywhere with the spinnerbait in its mouth. I felt so guilty that I left a fish with a huge lure hanging outside it’s mouth but hopefully she was able to shake it off...I have no idea what was wrong with my knot, as I had just tied it. Ever since that day I triple check my knots.