Finessegenics

I don’t want to pick your brain too much because I know how complicated this can get, a whole book can be written about it. So basically in heavier cover you’d go for a jig? Rocky bottom with lots of wood and junk?

Wanted to add: Looks like I’m already being proven wrong! When would you choose a skirted football jig over a tube or Texas rig for dragging bottom? Do you guys get bigger bites when going with a skirt?

Why does it seem to be the case that jigs are not popular baits for smallmouth bass? I mean big skirted jigs in the 1/2 oz or more range. I don't often see people dragging jigs for smallmouth around here. I know small finesse jigs like bitsy bugs or craws on plain jigheads are somehwat popular but why aren't bigger skirted jigs like the SK Structure Jig (pictured below on the left) as popular? Is it because they are meant for flipping and not dragging on rocky bottoms? Or is it just that traditional smallmouth jigs, aka tubes, are just so much more effective? I also have some War Eagle Heavy Finesse Jigs which I bought because of the smaller profile. Would those work better than the structure jigs? Maybe I am wrong about big jigs not being popular for smallies. It can very well be a local thing too. But if I am wrong, does anyone have any experience with jig fishing for smallies? I'd want some advice on where and how to get started/be effective. Thank you!

Thank you. Don't think many people realize this. Italy is the perfect example of what can occur if we are careless.That being said, I do think all this panic shopping is over the top and irrational. Just do your day to day routine and be mindful about hygiene.

Do you find that the rod is more of a moderate fast than a true fast? I've played around with 6'6 M/F Croix's in store and they seem to have a good parabolic bend. What are your thoughts? Was looking into a Bass X 6'6 M/F for squarebills, cranks running up to 12 feet and topwaters. I know people say croixs generally have a slower action but I don't find that to be true with my avid x 7 MH/F.

A 5/0 swimbait jighead should do it, while for a belly weighted hook a 6/0 would be your best bet since it looks thick. Good luck and welcome to the forums!

Flukes are one of my confidence lures for fall time. It works well when you know that the bass have baitfish pinned in a cove against the shoreline. Might not even be obvious this is happening if you’re fishing deeper water, even from shore. If you’re fishing deeper water I suggest taking a 1/32 nail weight and screwing it underneath the eyelet of the hook, starting through the hook slot on the bait. Still has that swirling erratic action but gets down there much quicker and can even be jigged off the bottom. I don’t like the zoom flukes, my favorite is the Berkley “Jerk Shad” which is not the same as the “Power Jerk Shad”. The Caffeine Shads are also great. Besides during the fall, they don’t really produce for me so give them a shot then. http://www.berkley-fishing.com/berkley-bait-soft-bait-berkley-powerbait/powerbait-jerk-shad/1285513.html

They do have a pretty good system, thanks to @moguy1973 for linking it. The only thing that bothers me about that whole process is what if a female bass is caught off a bed?

Posted this the other day in a similar thread: I have no experiences with longer rods for bass fishing, I’ll just be giving advice on what I’ve heard. A lot of people will say a 7’6 ML XF rod is best for hair jigs or ned rigs. Basically, it’s good for very very light presentations. Specifically 1/8 and less when you aren’t expecting the bass to choke the bait. More like a soft inhale. This is because you will “see” the bite before you feel it. The long rod with the soft tip of the ML will begin to deflect (showing the bite), before you can even feel it. Basically, the tip will bend ever so slightly and you’ll realize you have a fish on there. This is probably amplified when using hi-vis braid. I personally use a 6'10 ml/xf and it works well enough for me. Also better with a shorter rod if you're bank fishing in tight spaces.

Great suggestions but I'd also throw in a ghost/translucent color. It looks super natural in clear water considering that most baitfish are silver and their scales reflect their surroundings. This makes baitfish hard to see from below on a sunny day and a ghost pattern imitates this perfectly. I realize we usually dont want any lure to be hard to see but for finicky clear water bass it may be more attractive since it looks so natural.

Catfish have sand paper teeth, sort of like bass. But I’ve tried lipping a few and sometimes they clamp down on your fingers and it honestly really hurts. They have strong jaws.

It’s a 4/0, and looks like it is quite beefy. Not ideal on the rod you have but it can still be done. Your rod would be perfect for small and light bottom contact baits like shaky heads, hula grubs, tubes, ned rigs and plain round head jigs with your favorite soft plastic rigged on. It looks like the rod can definitely also double as a dropshot rod. I wouldn’t be worried that you wasted your money, I saw your post saying you got it for 100$ (or close to there?) which is an absolute steal. My guess is you can throw these dirty jigs you linked above on your casting MH/F or M/F so there’s no worry. So look into those baits or look for finesse jigs that actually have lighter wire hooks. Here’s some favorites that a lot of people would vouch for: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_King_Bitsy_Bug_Jig/descpage-SKBB.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Shroomz_Micro_Finesse_Jig_2pk/descpage-ZMSMJ.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-BALLHDPILLH.html?from=basres Edit: I would still go with the 15lb braid to 10lb fluoro

I haven't used that particular rod so I can't make a good judgment. To me it all depends what you mean by "finesse" jig. A lot of finesse jigs now have heavy gauge short shank flipping hooks, so I'd judge it based on the gauge of your hook. Which exact jigs will you be using? If they truly are finesse and have light wire hooks, then I wouldn't be worried at all. Of course, even if its a heavier hook you can get the job done though it's not ideal. The E6X 7' MH 843S SJR looks like it might be better for heavier jigs with heavier wire hooks. As for the line, 20-15lb braid to 10lb fluoro seems good. Here's a video from someone who knows a lot better than me.

St Croix's 6'10 ML/XF in any of their series are great. I use mine for neds, dropshots, inline spinners for smallmouth and also jigging for Walleye. Your 6'8 M/XF is a nice compliment to it too, with those two spinning rods, you can throw anything "finesse".

Bassmaster.com has a live stream of it all. Totally free and not too many ads. When a stream is live there should be an icon to select “watch” and you’re in: https://m.bassmaster.com/tournaments/2020-bassmaster-classic There’s an elite series tournament at chickamauga next week so that’s a perfect time to check it out. The commentary isn’t the most thrilling and the cameramen are usually placed with the more popular fisherman. I still enjoy checking it every few hours on tournament days because the fantasy fishing stuff (also free) is cool.

You’re just fine, although I find a lot of M’s too stiff for a ned rig. I prefer a ML. Also depends on the weight of the ned heads you’ll be throwing and any other applications you’d want to use the rod for. A 2000 size reel is good but a 3000 usually allows you to have a deeper spool (more line) and more inches of line retrieved per turn of the handle. Not a big deal on spinning gear, it comes down to personal preference in my opinion. A M/F spinning rod will let you do a lot of things from ned rigs, tubes, dropshot, poppers, jerkbaits. So at least you have the versatility. I’ve also heard a lot of good things about the Aird X so I wouldn’t be worried at all. It’s a good budget choice and a M/F is the place I started with ned rigs and if you can only have one spinning rod in your arsenal a M/F should be your choice.

I’m a pretty big st croix fanboy. When looking for a new rod, I always start there unless I’m completely convinced I’m getting better value/performance elsewhere. I don’t have a huge rod and reel arsenal but they’re all Croixs except for one Fenwick ETW. When it comes to reels it’s definitely Shimano for casting and for spinning I split it between Shimano and pflueger.

I have no experiences with longer rods for bass fishing, I’ll just be giving advice on what I’ve heard. A lot of people will say a 7’6 ML XF rod is best for hair jigs or ned rigs. Basically, it’s good for very very light presentations. Specifically 1/8 and less when you aren’t expecting the bass to choke the bait. More like a soft inhale. This is because you will “see” the bite before you feel it. The long rod with the soft tip of the ML will begin to deflect (showing the bite), before you can even feel it. Basically, the tip will bend ever so slightly and you’ll realize you have a fish on there. This is probably amplified when using hi-vis braid.

That's funny because I've heard a lot of good things about the Cutters. I'm going to give them a shot this season.

Maybe you should use this as an opportunity to get your hands on one of the new Legend Xtreme rods and let us know how it goes ? 6’10 ML XF model could be the ticket https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/St_Croix_Legend_Xtreme_Spinning_Rods/descpage-LXSR.html

I recently gave away mine cause I saw no use for it anymore. I had the 7450 which I used for bottom fishing for catfish/whatever would bite and It was the perfect size for inshore fishing too. I had it on a 7 foot MH rod rated 3/8-1oz. I was mostly using 1oz sinkers and let me tell you, you can bomb sinkers out there like it’s no joke. It handled channel cats anywhere from 1-10lbs and the drag was great, never doubted it for a second. All in all, good reel. For me, it was useful because the spool had great capacity so I can sling baits out there and not have to worry about having barely any line left on my reel. An advantage of such a wide spool is also less line coiling, meaning you get more performance from your mono or fluoro. The advantages are probably magnified when you’re using the right size line, a longer rod and weights in the “sweet spot”. I don’t even think you can find the 7450 online anymore. I’m sure the arbor spool does have an advantage but I wouldn’t use it for bass fishing. The size 30 is the only one I would go with for bass fishing and you can fit a decent amount of braided line on it, so why not? If you’re going to be bank fishing or focusing on long long casts (accuracy is more important than distance though ?) then I would consider it. It’s quite heavy at 8.6 oz but that’s how much most entry level reels weigh and even some pricier ones. It has a very slow gear ratio though (4.3:1) and takes in 25” IPT. If you’re gonna be using it for bottom fishing like I was then that’s no big deal. But it’s a little slow for reeling in slack line and catching up to running fish for most bass techniques.

1 day to go

Can't go wrong with z-man. If you want to try something different though, check out XZone Fat Finesse worm. Works well on a shakyhead but I imagine it can be deadly on a neko. It actually does float (the tail stands up) when I rig it on a football/shaky head. It supposedly has no salt but I'm unsure if its buoyant enough to just completely float if you were to test it at home. Xzone even makes an 11" floating ribbontail worm.

Unless you're really fishing some nasty thick stuff, you should be good with 12#or 14#. A lot of people will laugh this off but if you're going to be fishing all those other baits on that reel too, 14# is probably the most versatile. I'd personally go with 12# even for jigs...but I dont have thick cover around here so that explains it. 12# is plenty strong for setting a hook and if you're breaking off your knots may be weak or you're just setting the hook way harder than you need to be or the drag is too tight. If you're doubting yourself, try 40lb braid and tie on a fluoro leader. I know it can get expensive but only you know your preferences and the cover you'll be fishing. Experiment with a fluoro leader ranging everywhere from 20 to 14. Good luck, you'll get lots of good advice on here.

I had a 1000 size sienna on my UL setup. Rod was 5’6 though and not 5’...even at that, it felt unbalanced but still very light...I guess it’s a trade off you’d have to make. The 1000 size reel definitely increased casting distance for me. If you plan on buying your setup in store, ask if you can have a 1000 mounted onto the rod of your choice.