BrianMDTX

I wonder how many glossed over or simply missed the “early season rigs” lol. That’s quite a collection for the entire year, let alone just the early season. Your BM’s surname has gotta be Kong! Frankly, I love the color coding. It appeals to my 5S nature.

I agree. I like to catch bass on various baits, but there’s something about working a Texas rig and feeling a bass tap it and then setting the hook.

Keeping it at that price range will limit you on either the rod or the reel. I’d go with a Daiwa Fuego reel and a Daiwa AIRD-X rod. Of course, you’ll have to pick the power and action of the rod best suited to the baits you plan to fish. MH/F is a good all-around and works well with Texas rigs, jigs, etc. If fishing crankbaits, topwater (except frogs), you would be better served with a M/F. They come in 6’6”, 7’ and 7’3” lengths. They also have a 7’ HF if you’re looking for a rod for frogs. A Fuego 100HS 7.3:1 would be a good reel.

Wacky Rig: Gamakutsu 1/0 circle octopus hooks #956 5” Senko 1/4” ID O-rings Use on your spinning rig. Don’t set the hook. When the bass grabs the bait and runs with it, lift the rod up and reel in the slack until the hook sets itself. Texas rig: Gamakatsu 3/0 EWG hooks 1/4 oz. bullet weight Zoom Trick worm and/or 5” Senko. Use on your casting rig. It takes practice and experience to discern the “tap-tap” of a bass lightly taking the bait vs. feeling structure. When you know a bass is on the line, lower the rod while reeling in any slack and then set the hook like you mean business!

I didn’t catch it, but Saturday I had a bass strike (and miss) a Whopper Plopper right at the boat. Just as I was lifting it out of the water.

I added that as many use a Senko as a WR bait. I also use the Neko Macho a lot, which can be fished as a weightless TR, Neko rig or a simple WR. But not the Fat IKA.

I like the Fat IKA, but I fish it as a weightless TR (heavy enough to cast on its own). I don’t think it would make a good WR bait.

Maybe. So I’ll preface that by saying that I started fishing with a baitcaster (a Daiwa Millionaire 3H) at 16-17 years old back in the 70s. But I never used it much. My friend and I each bought baitcasters because “that’s what the pros use”. But I didn’t fish again with a baitcaster from maybe the mid-80s until 2020, when I bought my first modern baitcaster- a Black Max. Bought two of them within a month. Are they inexpensive? Yes. Did I find it hard to learn how to cast with a modern, low-profile baitcasting reel with a magnetic brake and spool tension? No. Do they cast as far as my Fuego or Tatula? Are they as smooth reeling? I’d say no, and no. But so far they’ve given me zero issues. I just respooled one of them with braid for the first time- 50 lb. Sufix 832 and a 12 lb. YZH leader. Used it with a frog and a jig-n-craw and didn’t have an issue with it at all from the first cast. Would one be better off starting with a higher-quality reel? Probably so. But I would not say that it’s “very hard” to learn with a less expensive reel.

Just saw this, Catt. Glad to hear you’re feeling better. Take care!

I use a 5” Senko for WR, but lately have had more success when using a TR with 4” Senkos.

Been there. Done that. No matter what, an educated thumb works wonders!

I was thinking about using it with shakey heads with lightweight soft plastics.

My God! That’s such a big…hand! ? Sucks about the lost jerkbaits. That adds up to $$$ quick!

@DN3, if you’re using a 5” Senko, use o-rings with a 1/4” ID (inside diameter). Easily bought online, or at Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Reminds me of a seiche.

At least he didn’t end up as crab bait!

Sometime in the 70s, my buddy Mark and I (still in HS) went fishing in Loch Raven reservoir in Maryland. We rented a wooden rowboat from the Fishing Center (which is operated by Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks in cooperation with the Baltimore City Bureau of Water Supply) along with a trolling motor and three batteries (we each had 17 lb. thrust Minn-Kota trolling motors- my God, I still have mine lol). Loch Raven is a reservoir that supplies drinking water for Baltimore City, so no power boats are permitted. It was a beautiful spring day, so we made a beeline to fish under the Dulaney Valley Rd bridge for crappies. Sometime in the early afternoon, with no warning, a heavy squall line appeared. The next thing we knew, we were hit with 40-50 mph wind gusts that started blowing us across the reservoir. We beached the boat just as the deluge started, followed by severe lightning strikes- some of which we saw hit the water. We tried to turn the boat over for shelter, but man, those old, wooden rowboats were heavy! We got soaked, but at least we didn’t drown or get electrocuted.

I fish a lot of baits on my MF spinning rig (although 99% of the time it’s set up as my WR rig). I have a Daiwa AIRD-X 6’6” rod that’s been idle ever since I put a Tatula on a Dobyns Fury 705CB last year. The 12 lb. YZH was in need of replacement on the Black Max reel, so I just respooled it with 10 lb. Big Game. I’m trying to figure out what it’s best suited for. The Fury is my crankbait/topwater rig. What else would be good on a MF baitcasting rig?

They are. I have a few and they are top notch.

It’s not a great pic, but this is 20 lb. Sufix 832 to 8 lb. mono leader with a Lefty Kreh knot on my Daiwa Revros LT2500 on a Fenwick HMX MF spinning rig. It’s not too big for me, but may be for others.

I just spooled 50 lb. braid on a baitcaster for the first time last week. I have been using either 10 lb. mono or 12 lb. YZH copolymer. I didn’t have any issues, but I have been fishing with a baitcaster for years. I agree that braid is probably not the best choice for a novice. @islandbass note about loading the rod on the cast is spot on. Years of “flicking” a bait with a spinning rig had to be unlearned, as that’s a recipe for disaster. Also (and others with more experience may know better than I), I notice you mentioned 30 lb. braid. I think the vast majority of posts I’ve read on BR show baitcasters spooled with 50 lb. and up braid, due to smaller diameter braid digging in. That may also be an issues you’re having.

Agreed. You don’t want a metal barrel swivel banging through your guides. If you struggle with leader knots, try the Lefty Kreh knot (also known as the Seguar knot). It may be a little bigger than an Alberto or FG knot, but I haven’t had any issues with casting. It is simple to tie and so far Inhavent had one break yet. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GDxGy3Nld2g

In all honesty, I just simply have fun. Catching bass is a bonus. It was such a beautiful morning to be out on the water. But I’ll admit feeling that one bass whack that bait hard was a big plus! Sounds like Dickens in A Tale Of Two Cities. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Thankfully you didn’t lose that Megabass!

I like Sufix 832, but Smackdown is great and seems smoother when reeling.

WhenI first got back into this fishing game, I spooled my spinning rigs with 8 lb mono, then switched one to braid. Didn’t like it. Why? Because I wasn’t used to it. Months later and all my spinning rigs had braid and leader (all 20 lb- two with Sufix 832 and one with Seguar Smackdown. Having learned how to fish with it, I can’t believe I once disliked it. I also use 8 lb mono leaders. No matter how many snags or how many times you change baits, you never lose any main line. It’s a great system.