Finessegenics

What’s your budget? I think the biggest tackle bag is the Shimano Blackmoon. There is a compact size and a medium size (which is just the regular size). I own the medium. I feel like it’s one of the best investments I’ve made. There are so many pouches and convenient compartments, I recommend it to every co-angler I meet. I can carry 4 3600 trays (it comes with the 4), two spools of line, easily 15 bags of soft plastics in the big compartment on top, all the tools you can imagine and more. Only issue is it’ll set you back 150$...imo that’s insanely expensive but I got a decent deal on it. I still don’t regret it one bit. Bag has held up through a full season and a half of bank fishing & co-angling. Watch the video below, it gives a nice rundown of the bag and it’s compartments. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-SHIMFSHSTG.html?from=basres

A reaction lure sounds like a good idea but if the bottom is covered in that slime like @bigbassin' mentioned, try a t-rigged swimbait. I like to use a 3.8 keitech with a 3/0 EWG and an unpegged 1/8oz worm weight. You can straight swim it, drag it, hop it or whatever. The hops should get more of a reaction bite. And while you may get into some trouble, maybe create your own mini brush piles...a few sticks, some bricks. No one will even know lol ?

I like the ZMan Fattyz or Zinkerz rigged with a #1 Gamakatsu B10 Stinger. I usually use a 1/32 VMC neko weight but it can be a little hard to rig into Elaztech.

Yo Zuri hybrid is pretty good for those who want a bit of both worlds. I find that it’s the most abrasion resistant copolymer line out there (in my experience, I wish I had the budget and time to test out every brand). If fluoro doesn’t work out for you I’d give the YZH a try. I’m currently only using it as leader material on my spinning setups but I’m impressed.

When I was looking into buying PFDs, I was taking a look at the mustang automatic and manual pfds. The salesperson came over and said I should only purchase them if I knew I wasn’t gonna fall in...I found it kinda odd but didn’t question it. I assumed he said it because they need to be recharged once inflated. Not sure why they wouldn’t be safe for non swimmers though.

Not to my knowledge and I don’t see why it would...the drag is designed to exactly do that; play a fish out.

10lb line is plenty strong. The only way you’ll break your line is by horsing fish in or overdoing your hooksets. Just play it cool and let the fish take some drag if it has to. And if you’re actually intentionally targeting Muskie with 10lb mono, I’d advise against it. If it’s just a possible by-catch when smallmouth fishing then so be it. Not that 10lb line is light, but for muskies it can be dangerous because they’d be able to put a long fight against a 10lb mono on bass tackle. The longer the fight on a Muskie, usually the less “releasable” the Muskie becomes. They’re a surprisingly fragile fish and when pushed to their limit, they sometimes don’t make it.

I throw 3/8 tubes on a M spinning rod too and up until 3 years ago, I did everything on a spinning rod. And yes most M rods are rated to 5/8 oz and even 3/4 oz but in my experience none of them really do well casting anything over 1/2 oz. the good thing about the tube is you have that exposed hook, so getting a good hook set isnt hard. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do what OP wants to with a M rod but given the tactics OP specified I think a MH would be best since most of them require a good hook set past a weedguard or a soft plastic. And yeah, a ML rod is also in my hands 90% of the time. I’m a huge finesse guy

In that case, I’d even suggest a MH spinning rod which usually still somehow feels significantly “lighter” in power than a MH casting rod. The reason for this is if you think about a 1/4 oz football jig, it is only the head that weighs a 1/4 oz. Add the trailer and skirt and you’re approaching 3/8 oz. That can still definitely be done on a M spinning rod. Same with the 6” worm and the 1/4 oz bullet weights; the total weight would probably be in the 3/8 oz range. It seems like a lot of the baits you would be throwing are in the upper end of what I’d consider throwing on a M spinning rod, unless it was some vertical kind of presentation. Another factor to think about is the power you’ll need to get a good hook set on a jig or Texas rigged worm. With the jig, you’ll have to give enough power to push the weedguard down and drive the hook home. For the worm, you have to make sure the hook comes through the plastic...all this can be done on a M rod no problem, but it might be easier on MH. Also consider the cover you’ll be fishing around. Ultimately it comes down to your choice and this is the way I see it ; M: - More versatile if you ever want to throw lighter and more finesse baits MH: - Will get you better hooksets (in theory,on the baits you specified) but less versatile I didn’t want to make this too complicated so I apologize if I did

St Croix Mojo Bass, the 7’1 medium/fast or 6’8 medium/xfast should do you well. I’d still recommend you at least feel the rods in store before you buy them though. Everyone who owns a mojo is impressed with them and this new generation (scIII blank) is incredibly sensitive. What size jigs are you going to be throwing though? Do they have heavy gauge hooks? And the worm weights ? That information can help others suggest rods and their specific models.

Lake Kipawa smallmouth. Caught a lot of nice fish in the 18” range

Pictures or it didn’t happen!

It may not be ideal but there’s no real problem with it. A lot of us bass anglers are brainwashed into thinking we need very specific equipment (tackle or rod tapers) all the time when that isn’t the case. A pointed jig head will come through grass easier than the round head of pro model jig, but the pro model jig will still come through grass. And while I haven’t tried it much, I don’t see why a swimbait on a jig dragging bottom wouldn’t work. Would make a great sunfish imitation. I know some people who like to throw swimbaits on football heads and drag them over rocky points. Try it out and let us know about your results!

I use straight fluoro on my casting reels (I don’t frog fish) and I haven’t had any reel issues. They always say braid is more manageable and that is true because it has no memory at all. Before cutting off all that fluoro I’d try figuring it out. I just think you need to find that sweet spot setting and use your thumb at least a bit. When the Curado DC first came out I think some people actually bought defective reels because lots were complaining. So don’t dismiss the fact that you may have a defective reel. If you know anyone at all who has a DC reel, I’d ask them to take a look at your reel and see if they can adjust it to the way you’d like it.

I still use my thumb on my Curado dc. The thumb is needed a lot less but the DC isn’t completely fool-proof especially when using fluorocarbon. Those guys you see on YouTube probably have their brake tension knob set really high. I bet if you set it higher you’d see the casts would go a lot better but your distance would suffer. Play around with it a bit and hopefully you can find a solution. And it’s also very possible that your spool is overfilled, so I’d check that out too. Also wanted to add that @browne762 really hit the nail on the head with his response

The Cotton Cordell Redfin? That thing is a classic and works just as well as the original floaters. I like using the redfin or original floaters in the same places you'd use any treble hooked topwater baits. Works well just above submerged weeds, where you're barely just catching grass on your trebles. I think it's essential to be retrieving this over some type of cover. As for the conditions, I find this to be particularly tricky. It's always said that low-light conditions are best for topwaters but I use these wake baits as a search bait in shallow water regardless of conditions. It's not a go-to but I tie one on every once in a while. For line, it ultimately depends on the size of the bait as well as the gauge of the trebles but I'd definitely go with mono or braid (and braid to mono leader of course). Fluoro will just sink the bait which could be alright, if you want them to run deeper. Imo you can just use a jerkbait on a straight retrieve if that's what you're trying to do. The surge shad seems to be a pretty heavy bait at 3/5 oz with #4 trebles so I'd go with 12-14lb mono as mainline or leader material. Edit: Forgot to include rod choice. Don't think it matters, use whatever you're already comfortable with for moving baits of that size. Some people use a classic mh/f, others use mod action. I'd say use your dedicated lipless crank rod for the surge shad since you might be occasionally ripping it out of the tops of grass beds.

I ended up getting a suction cup mount for the transducer. It has pretty mixed reviews as expected but most were generally positive. I’m worried about the suction cup accidentally coming off and the prop then slicing up the transducer. Or worse, the cord from the transducer damaging the motor...But we’ll see...gonna keep an eye out the most I can. Gonna make sure the transom is scrubbed and clean before each outing and all problems should be avoided.

- Pflueger Supreme XT 30 - Mojo Bass 6’10 ML/XF - 10lb braid to 8lb fluoro (been trying yo-zuri hybrid as leader too) 1/16 or 1/8 oz mushroom jig head, with a wide assortment of 3” plastics. I fish with all my setups but this has been in my hands by far the most. I was always more comfortable with a spinning reel in my hands. Even when I go up to heavier casting gear, it’s rarely ever a moving bait. Usually just a big worm weightless or with a light bullet weight.

have you tried the “baby boy” swim jig heads? how do they compare to these standard ones? I’m looking into making my own jigs for next season and I’m wondering if I’d be better off with the standard head or the finesse version.

I really like the Lunkerhunt swim jigs. Strong and sharp hooks, nice skirt options but there aren't many. I use the common shiner and perch patterns. Only gripe is the weed guard is a little flimsy, but doesn't bother me since I'm not pitching it into super heavy cover. They only come in 3/8 oz. I like to pair it with a Berkley Power Swimmer or XZone Swammer, they really get the jig rocking. I don't have much experience with swim jigs and I think 1/4oz would better suit when and where I use them. I plan on tying my own using the Boss heads and skirts from fishingskirts.com . Not sure if I should use a heavy wire hook or a more finesse one

Lots of good input here already but a lot of people’s biggest bass happens by “accident”. My biggest bass ever, a 20” Smallmouth (which isn’t giant by any means), was caught on 1/16 oz ned head with a 3” motor oil zman grub. The more you get out there, the more likely you are to catch your PB. With time, I feel like it just happens, whether you throw big baits or not.

Anyone else? Also want to add a picture of the transducer in case that helps

At that price point I like the Fenwick Eagle as well as the Shimano Convergence. The eagle is a classic and I think it’s worth more than what they sell for.

Hello everyone this is going to be a lengthy post. I’m typing this up towards the end of my graveyard shift so I’m hoping I’ll have some responses to wake up to. I plan on making the purchase today. And I apologize if I sound like a complete noob...I’m new to boating ? So let me begin; I recently purchased my first fish finder, very basic, just a Lowrance Hook2 4x with the Bullet Skimmer transducer. I got a good deal on top of the fact it’s already very affordable. I am looking for a way to mount the transducer without drilling any holes into the boat. I’d like for it to be easily removable and “portable”, so that’s why I didn’t go the route of putting it on a piece of starboard. I came across the tite lok transducer mounts at my local outdoors store. The model which is available is the High Speed Transducer 5HS798 (the one on the far left in the picture below). I have a few questions concerning that model and was hoping someone on here has some experience with that model or something similar. first off, is the high speed model meant to be mounted on the transom or off the side like the way the kayak guys do it? When I first saw it I assumed it was meant to be clamped on the transom but now I’m not so sure since they also sell a specific “transom mount” one. secondly, how the does the transducer itself actually stay in place? The salesperson at the store wasn’t much help. He said I needed to buy a separate bracket for it but did not specify which. I didn’t push the matter further because I was already confused and I plan to go back today anyways. If I do need a bracket does anyone know which one would suit my transducer? Tite lok sells some of their own and I’m assuming I’ll need one of those. Last, this specific model says it can stay in the water when moving from spot to spot . I’m sure it’ll be alright since I’m only on a 12 foot aluminum with a 15hp. Just wanted to make sure it’ll actually be ok at full throttle. And if you don’t have experience with these sort of mounts, do you have any ideas on how to make a fish finder portable? thank you!

Can’t say I’ve ever tried but I agree exactly with what @Bluebasser86 said. The whole point of the tube is that spiralling and darting action. You’d probably catch some with it on a swing head but a creature bait or swim bait would work better. If you’re looking for something that has that extra action because of the “skirt” and looks similar to a tube, I’d check out the Powerbait Zestail. It’s basically a double tail grub that is skirted at the appendages. Or you can think of it as a tube that has two appendages. It’ll be more lifelike than a regular tube on a swing head but still maintain the same profile. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-BERKLYSFBTS.html?from=basres