walleyecrazy

Picked up a few baits in the ever popular firecraw color to try out for my early season fishing.

I generally just throw them on one of my spinning setups that I use for finesse stuff, which currently happen to both be 7’6” ML rods.

Just got the rod in that I preordered a while ago for my new tube and shakey head setup that I am going to use this season. Megabass Levante Enforcer paired with a Tatula LT 3000.

Small restock of a few things I needed.

my Provoke in the perch pattern generally sees more action on cloudy days. I have Vision 110’s in a perch pattern that have a lot of flash to them, and generally are my go to on sunny days.

I will second the suggestion of a jerk bait rod. I prefer a little longer than most(I’m 6’4”) and use a Daiwa Tatula 7’ Medium power regular action. It’s got an awesome action for jerkbaits, and has a nice short handle so that it doesn’t get in the way.

The Provokes are definitely a solid bait to start out with. They quickly became one of my favorites after I started using them, and regularly see time on the end of my line. My two most productive colors have been yellow perch and gold reactor. I generally break down my jerk bait selection into two categories. 1- colors with some flash which are generally my pick on sunny days. 2- more flat and muted colors which are generally my pick on cloudy days.

My go to finesse jig is the Jewel baits finesse jig usually in 5/16oz.

Welcome to the swimbait game. Your wallet will never be the same again ?

I saw the teaser video this morning, and it has me interested. I don’t currently own any of their rods, but may grab one of these when they come out to see how they are.

That’s one of my favorite things when I fish them. People will look at you like you’re nuts if they have never thrown swimbaits, and they don’t think you can catch average sized bass on them. This bass is lucky if it’s 2 pounds, and that is a 7” glide bait.

I think they are absolutely worth it, and they can be very addicting to use once you gain confidence in them. I got more heavily into them last year, and had some pretty good success on them for my first year really taking them seriously. Two of my three biggest fish of the year last year came on my glide baits.

I used the SLX 6’10” M casting as my jerk bait rod for a season, and it did pretty well. I’ve since switched to a Tatula 7’0” M power regular action rod for my jerkbaits, and I enjoy it more than the SLX. It is a touch more moderate action than the SLX, and for me is about my ideal action for a jerk bait rod. I land more fish on the Tatula because of that action then I did on the SLX. It also has a very short handle which as we all know is desirable in a jerkbait rod.

I have my terminal tackle split between two 3700 size Flambeau containers with the z-rust dividers or whatever they call it. I do a lot of finesses fishing, so one box is crammed full of all my finesse hooks, jig heads, weights and such. The other box is full of my conventional sized hooks weights and jig heads. It just makes it easy for me to know exactly where to go when I’m looking for a hook or weight for a specific technique.

Rod - My Dobyns Sierra 702 spinning rod. This one was my fault for not thinking about how I hold my spinning reels. The rod is sensitive enough and balances well, but the way I hold my spinning reels means that this rod just isn’t comfortable for me to hold. I’m actually currently trying to sell this one to fund some more gear. Reels - I regretted both the 13 Fishing *** spinning reel, and the Lew’s Mach Crush baitcaster for the same reasons. They both just feel unrefined and clunky, and I knew as soon as I started fishing with them that I would not be using them for long.

The only reel I’ve tried from them was the *** spinning reel, and I came away less than impressed. The overall feel of the reel was just unrefined compared to the similarly priced Daiwa and Shimano models.

I will usually stay at one of the locks for a couple hours. If no action I tend to move on to the next one.

I’d have to say it would be a tossup for me between B Lat and Zona. I think both of them would be a blast to spend a day on the water with.

I’m just across the river from Albany in East Greenbush.

Fish down stream of the locks along the Mohawk and look for any current breaks. Fish those current breaks with like a 3-4” swimbait slow rolled on the bottom, or with jerkbaits. Those have been by far my most productive baits for fishing that River this time of year.

If you have the Steez and love how it feels then I would stick with them and pick up the 7’6” ML/M Steez.

I do this in one of my local rivers while fishing for both small mouth bass, and walleye, and have had great success with it.

Just a tip for that Tatula, order a pack of these bearings, and swap out the bushings in the handle. There is just a tiny bit of play with the stock handle bushings, and these bearings make it feel as tight as a drum. It just makes the overall feel of the reel that much more refined, and takes all of about 2 minutes to do. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NKS8LKU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Check out the Daiwa Tatula Elite TAEL721MHRB. It is a 7'2" MH rod with Daiwa's "regular" taper wich is pretty close to a mod fast. I find it is pretty close to what you are looking for. It is plenty fast enough for walking a spook, but loads up very well to keep the fish pinned once you get one on. I have been using one mainly as my topwater rod this year, and it has been pretty much perfect for the job.

6th Sense Provoke 106X in the Yellow Perch color would be my pick. I have caught a ton of fish on that bait.