walleyecrazy

I got into BFS fishing this year, and have found a few baits that have quickly become my go to baits. For bass my absolute favorite is the Keitech tungsten mono spin jigs. I always have one tied on, and have caught a ton of fish on them already this year. The Eurotackle Metacraw 1.8" makes a great trailer for these jigs. I have also been throwing the Eurotackle Z-Spender 2" jerkbait with good success. For trout if you are are in creeks with decent current and don't want to break the bank the Tsurinoya DW106 Intruder 50S is a great bait. IT is relatively cheap compared to the offerings from Duo and Megabass, and I find it performs very well. You can pick these up from Bait Finesse Empire in the US.

I always throw my Neko rigs on either medium or medium light power spinning rods. I use 10-15lb braid to a 6-8lb flouro leader. With the light wire that most neko hooks are made from and the lack of stretch in the braid I have zero problems getting a solid hook set with even the medium light rods.

Omnia is doing a 25% off sale on all of their fishing lines right now. Good time to stock up on what they have in stock.

That’s awesome information, thank you! I will be staying at the Gaylord Texan Resort which is pretty much right next to the park so I’m sure that’s where I will spend the majority of my time fishing.

The Daiwa Tatula TTU701MRB 7' M is designed for exactly the techniques you are looking to use it for, and I find it does them all very well. I have used it for all of my shallow cranking, jerk bait fishing, and lighter top water fishing for the last two seasons, and I love that Daiwa rod. I bought a new dedicated jerkbait rod this year, but that was only because I wanted to keep the Daiwa rod dedicated for shallow cranks at the same time of year I am generally also heavily fishing jerk baits.

Not so much on cranks as I don't fish them much, but I catch the majority of my jerkbait fish every year on perch pattern jerkbaits.

I got confirmation this morning from Missile Baits that these have in fact been discontinued. I guess my search for a new micro jig trailer starts now. The bait monkey will be pleased to hear this news.

thank you, I’ll check them out. Google has not been my friend in trying to search for these baits for some reason.

For me it’s an under spin. I don’t know why, but I have had zero luck on them.

Does anyone know if the Missile Baits drop craw has been discontinued? I use these as trailers on micro jigs, and can’t find them anywhere right now as I am trying to restock my supply.

They rate it as an extra fast, but I would personally rate it as a fast. I honestly think it has about the perfect tip for jerkbaits. It is crisp enough to effectively work the jerbaits, but soft enough to launch the baits, and to keep the fish pinned.

I really have a hard time picking a favorite, as I have a few that are my favorite for different things. I love my Dobyns Sierra 734c, Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS 7'6" ML, and my Daiwa BLX 7' MH. If I absolutely had to pick my favorite currently though I think it would actually be my newest rod which is the St Croix Victory 6'8" Medium XF "The Jerk". Jerkbait fishing is my absolute favorite way to catch bass, and this rod has really impressed me so far in the short time I have owned and used it.

Monkey got me again… I am a sucker for smaller size jerkbaits, and I can’t wait to see how these LC Pointer 78SP’s stack up against my personal gold standard for small jerkbaits which is the Duo Realis Rozante 77SP

The place I will be staying is right next to Katie's Woods park, and I have had a few people recommend that spot to me so I'm hoping to have some success there.

Thanks for the heads up on the forum. I'll have to check it out.

I don't think the aluminum vs brass really matters much in a reel like the Zillion. In cheaper reels where the gears don't maintain their alignment as well it becomes more of an issue. I do prefer brass gears personally, but again in a reel of this caliber I don't think it makes a huge difference. The gears are so well supported, and maintain such perfect alignment, that it minimizes the stresses on the gears. I also don't think the made in Japan vs made in Thailand is much of a selling point for me either way as Daiwa controls the production in both places, so the standards should be the same. To me the main thing that pushed me toward the US version is the warranty. To my knowledge Daiwa will not warranty a JDM version bought in the US, and though the chances of an issue are slim it just isn't worth it to me to take the chance on a reel that cost that much.

Awesome, thank you! I really appreciate the info, and will likely be in touch to see if you are around while I'm down there.

My wife just found out that she has a work conference in Grapevine TX in early June. After looking into it, it turns out that it is at a convention center right on Grapevine Lake, so naturally I am going to take advantage of the free accommodations and go with her so I can fish the whole time she is in her conferences. Does anyone here have any experience with Grapevine Lake? I will be limited to bank fishing, and will only be able to bring very limited tackle with me due to the fact that we are flying there. Being that my tackle will be limited I want to make sure I am bringing the right stuff so I give myself the best chance for some success while I'm there. Any help or advice anyone may be able to offer would be greatly appreciated. The only thing that I currently know I will be bringing are my two Temple Fork Outfitters travel rods. One is a MH casting rod, and the other is a ML spinning rod. These should allow me to cover the vast majority of possible techniques.

I use nothing but copoly on my big swimbaits. My go to line is 20lb Izorline XXX.

My favorite are the Rock Star finesse jigs from True South Custom Lures.

I currently have 6lb Sniper on both of my BFS reels which are the Daiwa Alphas Air TW and the Shimano SLX BFS.

I look to the outdoor/hiking type companies when I get rain gear. They make gear that is designed to be as breathable as possible while still providing the protection needed, and a lot of it can be had much cheaper than you will find from the fishing brands.

They are up there with the best in the business in my opinion. Orders placed before noon ship the same day from what I recall. I actually had shipping confirmation within 20 minutes of one of my orders.

The areas I fish have a ton of rock on the bottom anything that makes too much bottom contact is most likely going to be gone pretty quick. Ticking the rocks with the swimbaits is generally as much bottom contact as I get.

I pair my Daiwa 7'6" rods(both Tatula and Taula Elite) with either the Tatula LT, or Procyon AL reels. The Procyon AL is actually a little nicer to fish with these longer rods due to the slightly heavier weight helping to better balance the rods. As far as line goes I think you are on the right track with the light braid to leader. If you are targeting walleye I would likely go with a 8lb leader where as I generally use a 6lb leader for bass, but the 8lb will be fine for them too. As far as shallow river walleye I don't think you can go wrong with slow rolling 3-4" swimbaits on or just above the bottom, or throwing jerkbaits. Those are my two most productive lures for river walleye.