BrianMDTX

As a rule, the MH has more power than the M, and the fast action bends closer to the tip than the moderate. A good question is what do you plan to fish with it? Crankbaits? Texas rigs? Spinnerbaits? Let everyone know what you plan on using the rod for and you’ll get all the answers you need.

I’m in that camp lol. I use the IC a lot. It’s a knot I can tie in my sleep.

Berkeley XL 6 or 8 lb on spinning rigs and 10 or 12 lb Big Game on baitcasters.

Not a great day, but not bad for 3.5 hours of late morning-early afternoon fishing. Caught one on a Zoom Trick TR and 7 on a 5” Senko WR. These three were the biggest. As no one else fishing this pond caught anything, I cannot and will not complain!

First, got started late as I had to replace the booster pump for my pool vacuum, as it got toasted during the recent Arctic Texas weather. Got on the water about 10:45. It was bluebird skies and breezy so I decided to skip topwater and just fish soft plastics. Tried the new X Zone floating craws and tubes. Not a bite. Tried a Neko rig with Daiwa-GYBC Neko Macho. Nada. Figured I’d try ol’ reliable #956 Senkos. Had 9 strikes and boated 7 (also caught one on a Zoom Trick). The strange part was when I got strikes on the Senko. Normally 90% of my catches are on the initial cast and fall. I did not get one strike on the initial cast today. All were while working the bait back to the boat, and at least half were while I was either lifting the Senko up or starting to retrieve it back to recast. That’s a new one on me! Good news was these were all caught using a Daiwa Revros LT2500 that I switched back to 20 lb Sufix 832 and a 6 lb YZH leader. Haven’t tied a leader on in a while and while no big bass, still caught 7 without a hitch.

Umm...spinning reel?

I bet you get the stink eye from the Bait Monkey when you buy one of those!

I can skip a Zoom Trick, but nowhere near as good as a 5” Senko. They definitely have enough weight while “weightless” to carry distance. Plus that stickbait profile really skims the surface well.

I have no slippage issues with a properly tied IC. You can if the loop twists while tightening. Keep the loop untwisted and wet the knot before tightening and it’s a good knot.

I don’t have docks to skip, but I do have a lot of trees at the water’s edge with branches about 6” above the water that can extend out 6’-8’. I normally use a Fenwick HMX 66M-FS-2 rod and a Daiwa Revros LT2500 spinning reel with 6 or 8 lb mono or YZH. Either WR or weightless TR (75% WR). IMO it skips them pretty well. I find it easier with the Senko about 10”-12” from the rod tip when skipping. Too close to the tip makes it more likely to overpower the cast.

I tie an Improved Clinch 90% of the time. No issues.

Nice fish and great write-up!

That reference is going to go over a lot of people’s heads lol.

I normally loathe site redesigns. Seriously. There’s an archery site I’ve posted on since 2003 that just did a redesign last year and my participation has dropped 75% as it is hard to navigate, view and it looks cheap. So when it was announced that BR was undergoing a similar route, I was gritting my teeth in despair. My worries were unfounded. The updated site is fantastic and looks spectacular. Kudos Glenn and staff. An award well earned and deserved.

I used to use PB. Now I use Imgur. Very easy to upload pics to Imgur and to download and insert in posts on BR.

I second that. From fit to finish and everything in between. Makes me want one. I heareth the Monkey sing the siren’s song...

They’re good. Either weightless TR or Neko rigged with a small weight in the nose. I just cut off the heads of some 1-1/4” ring nails and used those.

I fish shallow water ponds with the standard muck and debris you see in such waters. I find a weightless TR Texposed is much easier to fish. Most catches are in 4’-6’ depths so weight is not normally needed to reach the bass and no weight severely reduces snags and fouling. But sometimes a 3/16 or 1/4 oz weight is called for when short hops on the bottom is what they want on a particular day. Most catches on Zoom Tricks are either on the fall or slowly crawling it on the bottom.

Ok, I did not list Senkos as I look at them a bit differently than what I would normally call a plastic worm. But for sure I will be casting Senkos up the wazoo this year!

I just got my first St. Croix (a Bass X ML/XF spinning) rod in January. So far so good!

Zoom Trick Worms- numerous colors Zoom Mag II Worms- purple Mann’s Jelly Worms- blackberry Weightless or weighted, a TR plastic worm is likely my favorite way to fish, followed by a Senko WR.

All I can say is that when I bought my 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 QC 4x4 in 2007 with 18K on the odo, I swapped the stock tires with LT285/70R17 BFG AT/KO's. I have almost 180K on the truck. It's on the 2nd set of BFG's. I put almost 110K on the first set and probably could have gotten more, but with winter approaching (when back in MD), I opted for a new set at that time. They are quiet, have a decent tread pattern and wear like iron.

I have a M/F and MH/F (both Daiwa Aird-X’s) and a H/F (Fenwick HMX). If I’m fishing standard plastics with single hooks, it’s with the MH (the HF is for bigger swimbaits). Pretty much anything with a treble hook is on the M. But if I only had one, it’d be the MH.

I use mono or YZH for leaders. I bring a partial filler spool if I need to replace a leader.