Big Hands

I have a St. Croix Mojo Bass 7'6" ML/XF hair jig spinning rod, but I use it mostly for weightless wacky 5" Senkos. I love catching fish on this rod. Casts weightless Senkos a mile and hooks them well and keeps them pinned as well as any rod I have ever used. I can often feel strikes on a slack line (10# braid to 7 lbs leader). The tip is so light, they'll play with it for a loooong time and never even know you're on the other end, but the XF action loads up nicely when it's go time. I am tempted to add a Daiwa 7'6" M-ML/F in either the Tatula or Tatula Elite AGS version to toss some slightly heavier weightless plastics. . . . or maybe even a hair jig.

Me neither. I clearly saw a nice following mine once, but as far as I know, that's the closest I have come. As long as we're in the 'Never have I ever. . . .' confessional, I have to admit to this too. I'm not sure if this is an obscure Seinfeld reference, but back around 1979 or 1980, my brother told me that I have to come check out this new comedian that was playing at a local restaurant named. . . . Howie Mandel. So we make plans to go see a dinner show and the night we show up, they tell us that Howie Mandel is no longer appearing there, but they will be having a show with someone else. We talked it over and were just about to leave and then decided to go ahead and stay to see this new comedian we had never heard of before named. . . Jerry Seinfeld. One of the best comedy shows I have seen. My face hurt the next day from laughing so much. Since (as I explained earlier) I'm not an experienced skirted jig angler (to put it nicely), so . . . . As with many things, I have decided to try smaller versions of the 'chatterbait' to achieve some success. Well, I've never been to England, But I kinda like the Beatles And yet, you call yourself "Junk Fisherman", LOL. Perhaps the most surprising response thus far. What in tarnation? Always room for another never-have-I-ever thread. They don't disappoint, and it cleanses the soul to confess. How about down in a tree?

Only 9? Shut the front door ;~) Expecting outsiders to understand is crazy talk. The only person it needs to make sense to is. . . you.

Yep. And the Rebarb hooks are available in light and medium wire versions.

I prefer the XH for the higher speed retrieve, but like most things in life, there are tradeoffs. Power vs speed. I opted for speed, nut YMMV. The Fuego has an extra ball bearing than the Exceler, and that's about it. They weigh the same. I have a couple of Fuego spinning reels, a 2000 and a 2500. I can literally swap spools between them if I chose to. The outer diameter of the 2000 spool is just a tick larger than the 2500 spool. I chose to get a non-USDM version of the 2000 Fuego (LT2000S-XH) with the shallow spool. I paid a little more for it, but I don't have to mess with backing and only need to put a little more than I can cast with, so it does save money and hassle in the long run. If you can get a USDM Fuego for $80, that's a great price. If you can stretch the budget to $149 for the rod, the 7'1" Tatula spinning rods are very good at that price. I'd go with a ML/F for finesse rather than a M/F. The big "A" has the 7'6" M-ML/F Tatula for $144.49 You don't have to thank me as I'm always happy to help others spend their money ?

At some times and some places, I think a case could be made for a lure that costs $125 to be a decent investment. At other times and places, not so much.

That lead to the loss of a Spro BBZ1 low sinker trout. I had a Phenix Black 8'6" with a Tranx 400 loaded with 30 lb mono. It laid pretty flat when spooling it up, but after a few light lobs, the line lay looked a little rounded and when I went to put the wood to it, it fluffed up and birdnested real good. Took me a minute or two to pick out the fuzz, but by that time, it hit the bottom. I was fishing from the shoreline and it looked pretty non-descript with a wide sandy slope next to the West ramp at Castaic. What I didn't know is that someone had abandoned a car there and my $40 swimbait found solid purchase somewhere within. I had ridden my bike there, and if ya know, ya know what it would be like riding to that ramp on a bicycle carrying a swimbait stud stick. I had taken maybe four casts and didn't have anything else with me. The lesson ($40 plus tax for the BBZ-1, and a long climb on a bike carrying a swimbait rod) for me was to be careful about over filling a spool and to check underneath by the reel seat because that's probably where it will rub.

Non flutter spoons =/= flutter spoons 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2 ounce slabs like a Hopkins, Luhr Jensen crippled herring, Kastmaster or better yet, the slabs Joe Spaits makes and sells (not his famous flutter spoons, but actual slabs). Maybe even an ice jig or a Little George.

Customer Relations/Customer Service 101: Managing Expectations Tenet #1: Better to under promise and over deliver than to over promise and under deliver. Nice to hear when a company gets it right rather than only when they get it wrong ?

Dropshot fishing has been one of those techniques that yields best results for me when I think of it as a complete system. The rod, the reel, the line, the terminal tackle, the baits . . . and me. . . are all part of the system. They are all important. If one isn't right, my success rate suffers. Regular dropshot hooks are so small that the less of an actual traditional hookset I use, the better chance I have to land the fish. I have to really concentrate to keep from doing what I normally do with a traditional Texas rig. I lost a lot of fish and I had to make adjustments that were counterintuitive to my previous soft plastic experiences. All I do now when I detect a fish is to reel down until I feel pressure and then keep reeling as I lift into it, VERY firmly. That's it. I have largely gone away from M/F rods for dropshotting and now mostly use my Zodias 7' ML/F, but will occasionally use an Expride L/F or a Daiwa M/F. The ML/F Zodias seem perfect for driving the hooks I use home and keeping fish pinned on 10 lb braid with 7-8 lb fluoro leader. Steady pressure moves the hook to where it can dig in whereas a sudden movement just pulls it right on past their lips. I think not using too heavy of a hook with the ML/F and L/F rods is key. The hooks I like for the ML/f and L/F rods are: Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse Owner Mosquito Owner Mosquito Light For the M/F and sometimes the ML/F rods I will use these hooks: Owner Jungle Wacky Owner Jungle Wacky Weedless They are a little heavier gauge wire and almost a bit of a circle hook and I have had decent success with them. The past few times I have been out, the small to tiny bass have been absolutely rabid. I have tried to wait until I get a solid tug before reeling into them, but if it turns out to be obviously small, oddly enough I can use a popping hookset motion to effectively shake them off. I think their lack of mass makes it harder to drive the hook home, and the pause in pressure lets them get free. When I first started dropshot fishing, I was using Mosquito hooks and came to the conclusion that they were junk. I was having difficulty hooking and landing fish and blamed the hook. Eventually I evolved my technique to the reel down and lift method and it made me wonder if the Mosquito hook might actually be OK if I used better technique. Yep. it sure is a good hook when used properly, and I like them enough to buy the bulk packs. I found a hook called the Owner Mutu Circle Hook that is like a dropshot hook that has a distinct bend to one side on the barb. This hook was designed to use the reel down with pressure to allow the hook to slide down to the corner of the fish's mouth where it then buries itself and it is surprisingly good at doing so, I use it for fishing live shad, but have been tempted to try it for dropshotting just to see what happens.

As far as I know, this is true. I have both a Kage and Tatula M/F spinning rod and they fish similarly, although the Kage is 6'10" and the Tatula is 7'. The differences are in the reel seats (as I mentioned above), butt/handle arrangements, and guides. I also have a Tatula and a Kage casting rod. They are two of my three favorite casting rods.

I use a polish called Flitz to polish blades on spinnerbaits. I also use it on rods between the guides. I found a G Loomis rod with a Stella reel floating in the lake a year ago. The rod and reel were probably ten years old (at least) so I don't know if the oxidation on the rod was from being in the water for a while, or just from being old, but using the Flitz on the rod and some very fine sandpaper on the cork, it looks like a well taken care of rod.

Daiwa made a five rod piece (plus a case) Ardito travel rod (Model # 70MHF-SC) that only uses three pieces at a time, but can be configured as a spinning rod, or a casting rod. I don't know if anyone is still selling them, but they were well received for the time they offered them. The MSRP is/was $139. And, based on a personal experience I had when trying to find information on a specific Kage swimbait rod, there are some models that are not widely advertised or even shown in any of their catalogs, that they still have in stock at their HQ. If you were interested but unable to source one, I recommend giving them a call or sending an email.

Every bit true. -------------------------------------------- I may or may not bring food when I fish alone. More often than not, I won't eat any of the food because I am 'too busy fishing'. I have mostly given up sugary drinks, but I do bring water. Sometimes I don't even drink water, or I have to tell myself it's OK to take a break, and I'm usually glad I did and have to admit it probably didn't make or break my fishing success. As long as I have water, I'll be OK.

Chronologically, not even close. Every other aspect is up for debate and the more I learn, the more I realize I that I don't know. And, just to add insult to injury, much of what I think I know is often proven to be at least debatable if not flawed.

I gave this a think and came to the conclusion that I don't have any set formula. It could be any (or more than one thing) of the following: Depth Structure Cover Location Bait Type Color Size Weight Retrieve Speed Technique Line Type Size

And, you look marvelous! I do too, but it isn't always a deal breaker if it isn't.

I have the 7'6" St. Croix Mojo Bass MLXF (they call it a hair jig rod) and it has become my favorite rod to fish with. I use it to throw weightless wacky Senkos on 10 lb braid to 7-8 lb fluoro leader. The 7'6" might be long for a kayak rod, but they do have it in a 6'10" version. . . . Sounds like that might be the one you've been fondling. I've had a 7'2" M/XF rod and didn't much care for it for what I was doing with it. I think the ML/XF is still light enough to have some give beyond the tip section and keeps fish pinned really well and is so light and sensitive that I can sit there and let fish play around with the bait and they never know I am on the other end.

The opposite of this. Except for the cork. I like cork better than EVA.

One of us? The Bait Monkey is just getting started. I remember the first time I did that, LOL. One of us? How about all of us? If you meet me Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste Use all your well-earned politnesse Or I'll lay your debit card to waste Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name But what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game I shouted out Who is the Bait Monkey When after all It is you and me Or is it?

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Strike King and Berkley are the only two that have a wide variety of hard and soft baits, but I own more Keitech plastics than I own Berkley and Strike King combined. Same with Yamamoto & Roboworm. So, it is kind of a moot point IMHO because I don't really have that much of either brand, but would have to resort to them if I could only choose one brand. And of those two, I'd go Strike king. Wait, no. Berkley. Wait, no. Strike King. Wait. . . .

The only Dobyns rod I own is the Fury 806 swimbait rod which is a couple steps up in power from a 4 power, and although that rod is supposedly a heavy/fast action rod, I disagree with the 'fast' part. It's more of a mod, or maybe a mod-fast. Definitely not fast. I think that the action of that rod is kind of a one-off compared to their traditional lineup of casting rods. I do often check out Dobyns rods in the local shop and they seem just a tad light on their power ratings, but not quite as much as the Feathers I own. But I haven't fished with them, so I wouldn't know for sure.

LOL I have a 7'7" MH/F and a 7'1" H/F. IMHO, find they fish a half step lower than their power rating when compared to other rods I have.