BrianMDTX

I started reading this thread a few days ago. Didn’t know why, as me and spinnerbaits are not on the friendliest of terms lol. But if there’s one thing I love about BR, it’s not just the “ask a question, get answers”; it’s the impetus it gives me to try new baits or keep plugging away at ones that frustrate me at times. I got home today with the single thought of stripping off old mono off a Black Max on a MH/F Aird-X and respooling with 12 lb. Big Game. I did that. And when I put the rig back in the rack, I spied my Falcon Lowrider All ‘Round Fast MH/F with a 4/0 EWG and a 3/16” oz. bullet weight and decided to tie on a…spinnerbait. I put a green pumpkin Rage Menace as a trailer and hit the pond for 30 minutes. The first few casts were snagging algae every 2nd or 3rd cast, but I stuck with it. About 11-12 casts later, I felt it snag on algae again. Except the algae starting fighting back! Holy crap. I caught a decent bass on a spinnerbait! Not a giant, but boy, I was happy with it!

I’d be spending most of the day picking out bird’s nests lol!

Uh-oh! The jig is up!

Looks good to me!

That’s what I use. No lead and they’ll rust away if lost.

Thanks. It’s definitely not one of my biggest producers. But I’m trying them out every time hoping to improve.

Agreed. Especially in ponds. So my question is, if total water depth is maybe 7’-8’ max, and casting off the bank and working the jig back through 2’-4’ of water, do you cast, and basically start the retrieve about a second after it starts to sink? Or do you let it bottom out and then start to swim it up the water column?

Great may be an understatement. That’s outstanding!

Having a pool party starting at 11:00, so not a lot of time to fish this morning. Plus, it got very breezy around 8:00, which ain’t a good thing in an inflatable lol. Still boated three and lost two. Started with a frog that was not wanted. Switched to a Whopper Plopper 90 and that fared better. Had a strike and hooked one, but it threw the lure halfway to the boat. Likely a dink. A few casts later, this bass whacked it. Nothing on a wacky rig, or a Texas rig with a Mann’s Jelly Worm or a Zoom Ol’ Monster Worm (maybe too early for that big a worm). Jig-n-Craw was fruitless as well. Caught the other two on a #297 Senko weightless TR. Not big enough for pics.

You’re not going to “try it” lol. You’re going to spool it up, fish with it and say, “ Yup! My new braid!” It’s a little more $$. But man, if you fish braid-to-leader, it’s cheap in the long run. It lasts a long time. I really like that it’s silent on the retrieve. Sufix 832 makes noise. Not severe, but it’s there.

I agree 100%. I like Sufix 832. Have it spooled on two spinning and one baitcasting reels. But I have Smackdown on one spinning reel. That is some nice braid right there. Very smooth and supple.

First off, to answer the question, as Newman said, “I loathe it”. Well, not really. I have a lawn service maintain our lawn here in TX, but when we lived in MD, I always did the lawn maintenance. On almost 1-1/4 acres that was 90% grass and 10% wooded. On a lawn tractor for the most part. But I’m starting to believe that lawns are likely one of the worst things for the environment. The amount of exhaust emissions, the impact to our waterways from fertilizers, the amount of landfill space for grass clippings, large amount of water usage for watering lawns… all for what? For something that “looks good” but is not good for native animals and plants. Yeah, I loathe it lol! ?

In my local ponds, sometimes I have better success casting Texas rigs from the bank and working them back in towards the shoreline, then I have when casting towards the bank and working them back to the boat. The presentation is essentially the same. My guess is that if the bait is coming towards a bass in shallower water, they might be more prone to attack it vs. chasing it out into deeper water. It’s kind of mind boggling that I’ve caught many bass fishing out of my inflatable boat on various local ponds, but all of my 5 lb.+ bass have been caught from the bank. Either on a TR or WR.

When I was a kid, I watched an episode of American Sportsman about two college kids (well, young men, and most definitely men to me at the time I watched it) that canoed completely around Great Slave Lake in the NWT. They fished places that never saw an angler, and lived off of lake trout and grayling, and caught some monster pike. I saw that episode likely 50+ years ago and it stuck with me ever since. That’s a dream. As is fly fishing for trout in Montana. But a “realistic” dream is to find a place locally that I can access in my inflatable and holds bigger bass than what I’ve been catching lately.

Kinda slow morning. Only fished 8:00-12:00. Nothing up top, in fact, nothing at all except on 5” Senko TR. For once, #297 ruled the day. Caught these three and three dinks. Speaking of dinks, man, they are small, but boy, do they fight! It’s surprising how much resistance a 12” bass can put up! Also lucked out and found a frog in some overhanging limbs.

Yep. I’ll be out on the pond a day or two. The only water skiers I may have to deal with are these!

I use 1/4” I.D. O-rings on my WR. No tool required.

I like Sufix 832, but of the three asked about, I also like Seguar Smackdown.

I’ve done that for LMB. Get a good retrieve going, stop, and rip it a foot. Probably have caught more on a Whopper 90 that way than with a straight retrieve.

My mantra is simple: I regret no decisions made in the past, unless they were made with deliberate attempt to cause others pain and suffering. It’s so easy to Monday morning QB decisions. OP, you regret those swim jigs. Yet had you not purchased them, you would likely still be wondering if you were missing out on a (to you) great bait. One never knows. Like Yoda says, “buy or don’t buy, there is no try” lol.

That’s the way we did it. I think I’ve heard some chatter about potential damage, but I’ve never seen any.

I remember oh so many decades ago when I never had a rod, spinning or BC, with a hook keeper. We just used the first guide. Does anyone still do that?

There’s fishing. And there’s life. Makes one think about what’s truly important.

A MH/MF is going to be a better bet for crankbaits. If you feel that your current rod it’s more akin to a MH/F than a M/F, that will suffice for Texas rigs, etc.

It’s a real drag to forget tightening your drag, man! A real bummer!