Ogandrews

I would definitely give a buy one of the mid range Diawa reels to give it a try if they offered a version without the t wing system which makes the long leaders I use pretty much impossible to cast. I know they make a quality product, not better than Shimano for the price based on the ones I have used, so it would be nice to give them a real try without having to alter the way I fish to accommodate for a system that arguably doesn’t make much of a difference. I know the vast majority of people aren’t using braid to a leader on casting setups so it’s a small market, but it would still be great if they offered no t wing as an option.

This is a thing of beauty. Exactly the taper I was hoping for and super light for the power of the rod, can’t wait to stick some pike and musky on it. I really like a light tip on a swimbait rod and this has exactly the blank I was looking for. Another winner from Loomis. No need to talk about the tranx, best reel in the world for bigger baits and fish, no idea why somebody would get a lexa or Revo beast when you can get a tranx for the same price.

If you want a softer 7’6” rod than it would be really hard to beat the g loomis/Shimano conquest 7’6” heavy, also comes in a xh but it’s rated 3/4-3oz so probably really heavy. The NRX comes in an 894 and 895, 7’5” heavy and xh. I’ve got the imx pro version of the 894 and love it, used it for frogs in really light cover before and it worked great, also a good rod for a 168 s waver if you need to throw one in a pinch. If you could find one in stock somewhere the new st croix legend extreme comes in a 7’4” heavy, haven’t fished one myself but from everything I’ve heard they would be on par with the two loomis rods.

Seems like people are now calling any soft plastic on a jighead a ned rig now. Yes, a grub on a jig head catches fish. A grub on a jig has probably caught more fish, regardless of species, than any other lure on the market. I think that grubbing is somewhat of a lost art, with all of the other baits on the market it seems like people forget about how good a single or double tail grub can be. Fish have been eating grubs for a lot of years and I don’t think their going to stop any time soon.

A jerkbait, kinda like a swimbait, is one of those baits that will always be able to catch fish regardless of the time of year. No matter what season it is, a bass is always going to want to eat what they see as an easy meal of a dying bait fish that is trying to get away. It’s one of those baits, as well as a glide bait fished right, that will pretty much always trigger a bass. Granted there are times of year that are better than others, but an easy meal is an easy meal any time of year. In the summer I only really throw them for smallmouth around rocky shorelines, islands, and reefs. Only reason I don’t really throw them for largemouth is they get pretty deep in the heavy grass this time of year otherwise I’d do it more. For summer smallmouth my favorite jerkbait is usually a deep shadow rap, seems to work really well when fished fast. Usually only giving the bait 1-2 second pause and then 2-4 hard rips, really fun way of fishing. A smaller glide bait like an s waver 168 fished erraticly seems to do really well in this situation as well, caught some great smallmouth on it.

Majority of bass baits come with garbage hardware regardless of the price, always pays to upgrade the hooks. It’s good to invest in a good hook sharpener too. Coming from a musky background I’m used to sharpening the hooks after pretty much every time I bump against some cover, no idea why most bass guys don’t carry one with them.

Well decided I needed another pike/small musky bait/swimbait setup so I sold one of mine and ordered a g loomis e6x 965 with a tranx 300 hg, 80lbs maxcuatro, 30 and 40lbs sunline fc100 and a handful of other things I needed. Pretty ticked I forgot to order more 10/0 owner beast hooks and 3/4 oz swim jigs but I guess that gives me a reason to make another order. Cut the total out because I really don’t like reminding myself how much I spend on fishing stuff.

Majority of the time I’m using 3/8 or 1/2, but the 3/4 definitely gets some use from me especially when I’m fishing for pike and am hitting a weed edge in 10-15 ft. Next TW order I’ll throw some in my cart, every time I go fishing for bass I have a swim jig of some sort tied on so I’m always looking for new options. Just took a look at them and they come in a great perch color which isn’t easy to find, definitely will get bit up here.

I have a very active digestive system so I very regularly need to do the old hang off the side of the boat, some of the best poops of my life. I’m not joking when I say this but multiple times while up north I’ve had yellow perch come and, while, “hit” the sinking material I had to get out of my body.

A garmin striker 4 cv is a pretty good graph for the money although the mapping feature on mine has been pretty iffy, will randomly stop recording and half the time won’t record at all even though it says it is. I just got a humminbird helix 5 SI for my boat and am really happy with it. It was the least expensive option I could find with both side imaging as well as being able to use a lakemaster chip on it, both of which I use all of the time. It is $499 so a good amount more expensive than the striker but it’s worth it. Garmin makes a 7” model in that price range with side imaging but you can’t put a chip in it so I’ll take a smaller screen and lake maps any day over an extra 2”.

All of my usual favorites have been covered here but my new favorite for small jerkbaits is the duo realis rozante 77sp. Just over 3” but still weighs 3/8oz and has a transfer system so it still casts well on a baitcaster. Incredible action for a small bait, all of the biggest brown trout I caught this winter were on it as well as some nice walleye and smallmouth this spring in the river.

I’ve fished in Florida a good amount while visiting family and your weeds are very similar to the ones I fish here in southern Minnesota in the summer. Takes a very specific swim jig to get through the slimy stuff, I have always done really well with dirty jigs but I’ll have to give the revenge a try as well.

90% of the time I’m using some variation of green pumpkin, it’s what I have the most confidence in so it works the best for me. I really like the color black with a little bit of blue, the dirty jigs hematoma is a perfect example. It’s got all black skirt material that has almost a blue shine to it if you look at it right, pretty subtle but still shows up some more. I know black and blue works great for some guys, but I’ve always done better on straight black or very subtle blue. It’s probably just a confidence thing, but it works for me. Unless the water is super super muddy I’m almost always using a green pumpkin trailer, just seems to give a more natural look. Once the water gets dirty I’ll also pretty regularly throw a black or June bug trailer on a green pumpkin jig, done super well doing that. Trailers don’t need to match the color of the jig, playing with how they pair up can really make a jig stand out in the water.

You’ll be fine with a 6.1, I’m a big fan of both the curado k and the dc. I like the dc, helps get every inch out of your cast which can be very helpful with cranks but the K is going to do a great job as well.

Like everyone else says exprides are awesome rods, just very difficult to get as they are constantly sold out online. Another great rod in that price range is the st croix legend tournament, I’m a huge fan of all of the ones I own. If you want to spend a little more than 300 the g loomis imx pro is an incredible rod that comes in a lot more models than the expride. I only own one, a 894 fpr, and it is perfect for a wide range of jigs, t rigs, shorter c rigs, t rigged senkos flukes exposes hook senkos, and has enough tip to throw a bunch of others. Incredibly sensitive and balanced rods. Dobyns champions aren’t the lightest or most sensitive rods for the price, but my champion 736 is my favorite rod I own. So many of the champions are so well balanced that it makes them so comfortable to fish, makes them feel lighter than they actually are. It’s hard to find a rod that balancee, there will always be a place in my lineup for some dobyns.

Dirty jigs finesse swim jig in 1/4 oz for a smaller profile, usually early in the year or if I’m just looking to get any bite, huge confidence bait for me DJ no jack swim jig in 5/16,3/8, and 1/2 my all around swim jig. Weight just depends on depth and thickness of cover. In broad leafed weeds over 4-5 ft I will usually go to the 1/2 because I like how much commotion it makes banging through the weeds. This is my go to bait for a moving bait coming through grass, flooded shorelines, thick brush, flipping docks, anything really I can bang the bait through. Once in awhile I’ll throw a 3/4 California swim jig if I’m fishing deep weeds or really want the bait to bang around on a flooded shoreline but 95% of the time I’m throwing that normal no jack Im almost always throwing either the yellow perch or the bluegill pattern as either imitates both a perch and a sunnie really well. If I’m on the Mississippi I’ll throw tactical Shad because that is the only place around here with Shad in it, but anywhere else it’s a perch color. finesse 1/4 gets a 3.8 keitech in sun gill, the no jack gets a 4.3 or 4.8 depending on weight again in sun gill, and the California gets a local made swimbait really similar to a salt shaker, way harder kick than keitech. If I’m imitating Shad then I usually use a sight flash or rainbow Shad. very rarely will I use a crawfish style swimjig, but if I do I just use a green pumpkin version of what I just talked about with a paca slim on it.

I’ve always been curious about trying some high end glides like that but with how many pike and musky I have in my waters it’s always kept me from pulling the trigger. I’ve had a mid 30” pike split a 168 s waver in half after he rolled around in the net with it, would hate to see that happen with a high end glide. Most glides aren’t designed to be fished on 80-100lbs floro or titanium leaders either, really impacts the action. Worst part is the best times to throw glides for me, spring and fall, is also the same time when the pike are shallow and the most active.

On Sunday I was out on the water and found myself in a situation where I could have been deeper cranking. It’s not something I’ve done in the past because most of my fisheries dont have areas where it would be effective, but I’ve been exploring a new reservoir around where I live and I think I could do well with it. I don’t own any cranks over 10ft besides walleye stuff so I went on TW on Sunday night to pick up a couple baits. Ended up with this in my cart, as well as going to my local scheels and buying a st croix mojo glass 7’4” MH cranking rod and paired it with a curado K 6.1 with 30lbs suffix 832. Hoping to try it out when I hit up the Mississippi this weekend to crank some steep rap for smallmouth and walleye.

That’s awesome

Those things look awesome, might just have to add one to my next tw order.

Well I brought my floro combo out with me on Sunday when I fished from my boat. Casting wise it was night and day, idk why I had such an issue using it from the shore but from the boat I wasn’t having nearly as much of the fluffing issues I was having. Still didn’t cast as far as I would have with braid, but it wasn’t much off. After doing it some more I can understand why guys like it, Im still going to stick with braid though. I’ll keep using that setup with the line that’s on it until I feel like the floro is past it’s prime, I’m interested to see how I would like jerkbaiting on it.

I also was throwing a d bomb and a rage bug, mostly on a 4/0 Gamakatsu superline ewg. with a 1oz pegged tungsten weight punching through the heaviest weeds I could find. Fishing it on a dobyns 766 with straight 65lbs braid. Had an almost 100% hookup to land ratio with over 20 fish caught with that setup. I always seem to have a better ratio when flipping with a 4/0 instead of a 3/0, doesn’t seem like a big difference in size but I’ve seen it make a difference. Same conditions here yesterday, 20+ degrees colder, 20-30mph winds and water temps dropped about 8 degrees. What rod/line were you throwing it on? My hookup to land ratio skyrocketed back when I switched from floro to braid/braid to leader.

Have you tried the bull herring? Most of my fisheries have yellow perch as the main forage and their profile is pretty similar to a herring. Sadly it only comes in a white color but I could get it painted, always been really interested in trying it for pike and musky as well.

Chartreuse gets no love it seems like, I throw it more than all the other colors combined. I have found some other frogs with a real chartreuse belly but none as good as the little allen bullywa2, such a good frog.

All of my swimbait fishing is done with braid to a leader. I use powerpro maxcuatro, best braid on the market much thinner than regular power pro and casts better. I always use leaders, less visible than straight braid, better abrasion resistance, gives the line some stretch and shock resistance. I prefer 65 over 50 for swimbaits. It’s not because you need that extra 15lbs for fighting the fish as your usually not in crazy heavy cover, it just gives you some more insurance that you won’t snap your line if you bomb a cast and backlash. Don’t worry about leader knots. A lot of guys on here will tell you that it’s a weak point in your setup and will break when your fighting fish. I have never once had a leader knot break while fighting a fish, and that includes fighting much stronger fish than bass. It’s not an issue, learn how to tie the knots and you won’t have an issue.