Finessegenics

Tip heavy means the rod feels unbalanced. When holding such a rod, it feels like the tip is weighing you down, and the tip has a tendency to want to drop. So instead of just being able to hold your rod tip comfortably in the “11 o’clock” position, it’ll feel like you’re fighting the rod to stop it from dropping to 8/9 position. I’m not sure if I can explain that any better but that’s how I imagine it. a soft tip refers to a responsive, easy to flex tip. Bites are easier to detect this way since the tip of the rod deflects with the slightest tap, making the impression that it is “soft”. This has to do with the action of the rod (XF, F and so on). Usually rods with soft tips are rated XF, but each brand and mode is different. A soft tip is ideal for bottom contact baits or finesse fishing with a spinning rod.

Absolutely not, there isn't much where you see any animal being harmed. What part bothered you?

Works wonders here too, but pearl is usually the color of choice.

x2. also, I spent a lot of my summers in Pembroke Pines as a kid. My grandma used to have a place there, I regret not doing any freshwater fishing back then, I was just too obsessed with pier fishing

Good point on the sunfish imitation, I never thought about that. Sunfish aren’t the main forage in my watersheds but I feel like a smoke gold/black flake would be really good at imitating shiners. Oddly enough, the only soft plastic colors that are truly productive for me are pearl and green pump orange. I’ll try using some smoke during bluebird skies.

Interesting...when you say stained water, how visible are we talking? 2-3 feet? My section of the river is at best 2-3 feet visibility. I realize it’s all relative to our waters.

There are lots of other people on this site who can give much better and precise advise than me but a simple tip would be don’t overload yourself too much at first. There is so much information out there and it can be overwhelming for a newbie. You’ll end up with a pile of baits you won’t need, so I’d say start out with 1 or 2 techniques and get confidence on them. Then, branch out and take in as much info as you can. Good luck brother!

Out of curiosity, which baits?

I wanna begin by saying I know color should be the last variable to consider when targeting bass. Do any of you guys use smoke colored baits? I was just wondering when a smoke, or smoke purple/black colored bait excels? Which forage do you try imitating ? I've also noticed some smoke baits are opaque with translucent appendages, while others are completely translucent. Can the opaque ones be used in muddy water as an alternative to black&blue? I was thinking of picking up some creature/beaver baits to use on swing heads or as swim jig trailers so my question is more directed towards that style of baits. Thank you!

I'm gonna get started this weekend! Everyone's talking about it, looks like a great series

The tip heaviness only seems to be true in my experience with the heavier casting models. My MH Avid X is a little tip heavy, I’ll admit that but I think it’s the best I can get around here. I can’t actually prove it but I’m willing to say for the price you won’t get rods that are more sensitive. I’ve never held a Dobyns but seeing how popular they are with the members on this site, I’m sure they’re top tier rods. On every “rod suggestion” thread on this site, spinning or casting, 100$ or 300$ budget, a Dobyns is always mentioned. That doesn’t happen for no reason. I’d say buy one and compare the two!

Storm Arashi series are great too. It seems like they haven’t been making new baits since I always find them in the discount bin at my tackle shop. When I see a color I like, I go for it.

Really nice catch! Gotta say tho, your fingers look dangerously close to its mouth ?

Definitely Rapala. DT's, Shad Raps, X-Rap, Husky Jerks and the list goes on forever. It doesn't get more classic than that. I've never had the hooks or split rings crap out on me yet but lots of people complain about them. A second choice would be Berkley. I love their squarebills as well as the choppo and the fusion19 hooks are super sticky.

I'm very surprised to here other people use the walley diver for bass too! I thought I was the only one, that and the Big-O are my go to crankbaits. Which size do you guys use most? I use the magnum (4.75") one a lot for deep diving (its rated at 10-20 feet). I've struggled with the smaller ones for some reason. You guys use them like you would a squarebill?

I have had limited success. I think I’m using far too heavy ones (1/4 oz and 3/8 oz) and I usually just jig them off the bottom. This season I’ll be doing the 1/16 route and just swim them. I think that method is far more popular too. I know some people who tie their own and they like to add leech trailers. They usually just tie them with a lot less hair than you would see in store bought ones and tip the hook with a gulp leech. Supposedly works great for walleye jigging and I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for bass either.

Which model? They don’t have a moderate action?

I’m on a river most of the time since I’m only a 15 minute drive away from it. Do you think there’s a reason the finesse cut jig excels in a river compared to the other? The biggest fish I’ve seen come out my side of the dam are 4-5lbers and as far as I know, no largemouth in there. Could have to do with the fact there’s quite a bit of current. I’ll give my finesse cut jigs a try though, thank you.

Welcome to the forums! How is the bass fishing in Spain? Are the bass in every body of water and do a lot of anglers fish for them?

To cover trout, perch and bass, I’d go with stuff on the lighter side. Inline spinners, 3” grubs on a ball head jig, some original Rapala floaters or countdowns and some casting spoons. I’ve caught nice rainbows fishing pure bass gear with straight braid but for fishing all 3 of these species It is better to go with the stuff the trout and perch are more likely to eat. Also make sure you have the appropriate gear. I think a ML spinning rod should do it in this case. Have fun buddy! here’s a rainbow I caught fishing a squarebill on straight braid. Trout can be caught on bass gear but it’s not ideal

The Rage Bug was just on my mind. Interesting...rage bug doesn’t get a lot of use up here since some brands and/or certain baits from a brand are harder to find. I was thinking of getting both the regular and baby rage bugs to use as a trailer for dragging football or pitching jigs. Any color suggestions for both the swim jig and rage bug? Only two I can settle on for sure is bama craw (the smallmouth are crazy for any orange hue) and pearl to match my swim jigs which I already own and are now collecting dust.

I personally don’t own any but aren’t those new Plano edge crankbait boxes great for this? I’ve heard nothing but good things about them https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Plano_EDGE_Master_Crankbait_XL_Box/descpage-PECX.html

Learned this the hard way...at least it was an inexpensive reel.

Do you use a craw or swim bait trailer? I can see why a swim jig would be so effective since it’s usually fished in the middle of the water column above weed beds or burned through weeds. The aggressive trailers usually used (flapping craws or paddle tails) also make it a different presentation than dragging a jig and chunk on the bottom.

I have the 7 MH/F Avid X in casting. It’s a great and versatile rod but it struggles loading up lighter weights. I use a DC reel on it so the negative effects are minimized. It’s a very stout rod and compared to other MH’s I’ve fished it feels a lot stiffer and thicker. I wouldn’t go with spinning though. I have no experience with the MH’s in spinning but I’ve heard lots of great things about the MH/XF casting rod. I’ve never even touched one because I can’t seem to find one In stores. The employees at my local tackle store rave about them but they aren’t even able to order some a lot of the times and when they do, they sell quick. I’d go witt the 7’1 mh/XF avid x or Legend Bass (that rod is also made in the regular avid, legend x and legend xtreme). The tip is super soft which is great for bottom contact baits. It’s been described as a “hinge” where the upper 1/4 of the rod is super super soft but the rest of the rod is stout. So you’ll be able to detect those bites but have all the power in the world to set the hook home. Do some research yourself, get your hands on that model. But that’s the rod I’d go with it. Just beware that the Avid X has micro guides while those on the LTB are not micro, but still kinda small. The regular avid has normal guides. The micro guides on the avid x do seem to help me but I use straight fluoro or mono on my casting gear. If you’re using braid and will have a connection knot then I don’t suggest the Avid X. Go with the avid or ltb if that is the case. Also great to see another st croix fanboy on here ?