GetFishorDieTryin

I never understood, why a company would put out a tip heavy rod. It doesn't matter what technique you're doing, its never a benefit to have a tip heavy rod, it might not hurt you as much if you're fishing with the tip down, but its not optimal. You can have a 4oz MH power rod, but it will heavier than a well balanced 5oz H because you're constantly fighting the tip. I would think more companies would counterbalance rods like Dobyns does, especially with longer rods becoming more popular. Ive got the 7'3 MH F Essence, its a shade tip heavy and not the lightest rod, almost 5oz, but the action on the blank is really good. I found it to be a great 3/8 bladed jig rod. I read a *** review on the wes logan 7'5 MH F and it did really well. It weights 4oz and has virtually the same balancing point as the 7'3 essense, about 6" above the middle of the reel seat.

I dont like a MH modF at all for chatterbaits, especially if you are using mono or FC. I haven't been able to find a MH MF with enough power in the mid section to confidently set hooks at distance and rip a bladed jig out of grass without too much effort. For mostly 3/8 and occasional 1/2oz chatterbaits I like 7'3 MH F (1/4 or 5/16-1oz) and for mostly 1/2 and up I like 7-3or4" H F or R depending on the line.

For skirted baits there are situation colors, but the vast majority of the time, I'm going to be throwing green pumpkin, shad/white base, or black. The situational colors would be like, something bold in muddy water, like firetiger or red/orange in early spring. If I could only have 1 color bladed jig it would be GP. By using different color trailers, you can give a GP skirt all kinds of different hues. only 1 swimjig color it would be GP as well. 1 jig color it would be black or black blue. 1 buzzbait color would be black. 1 spinnerbait color it would be white or some kind of white based color.

Pretty sure berkley maxscent has color really close to bone and thunderhawk makes a bone color, but tubes are 3.5"

I replace nearly all my SW plugs with inline singles. They actually hold better than trebles, so long as you get a decent set. I havent done nearly as much replacing trebles with FW lures. Ive doe a little with JBs in the summer and they work better than expected. I actually find squarebils to be one the more snag resistant baits, so long as its the right one moving at the right speed. I have been replacing the trebles on my traps in late winter with duo hooks. It makes a big difference when you're yo yoing them. I have noticed that I do lose a noticeable amount more fish when even 1 treble is replaced by a duo, much less both. Ive got a few older Yo Zuri plugs that came stock with circle hooks. They do work, but the problem with circle hooks is they are a PITA to sharpen with the sharp angle they are on. I could definitely see them being useful in areas you dont want to blow out with a snag. The problem with single hooks and snags is that they are much stronger than trebles due to wire size and shape. If you do snag up, its going to be much harder to bend the hook out if you dont want to run the boat over and blow out the spot.

Ive got a couple Sol AGS's and theyve held up really well to me leaning into the rod with plugs 1oz and up. I would buy more if they weren't so hard to get. I liked everything about the older Tatula except the way the reel seat bulged toward the rear on the casting models. Daiwa fixed that with Elite, XT and now it looks like Tatula Bass has been remedied as well.

I'm sorry to hear about the bad news. Things are going to be tough, but don't despair. Modern medicine is impressive and anything with the good Lords blessing is possible. Trust your body to the doctors and entrust your soul to God. You and your family will be in my prayers.

Clean and simple will always look good when its done right and Loomis has done it right for a long time. Paint and gel coats add weight. Thats why NRX is pretty much raw blank.

Really small baits work better for me. I really like Roboworms 3" alive shad

Riots minima jig Dirty Jigs Scott Canterbury compact flipping jig

3/16 oz bullet (unpegged) or free rig weight 2/0 G finesse heavy cover straight shank Limited to one bait, it would be a biffle bug 15lb FC

5/8 2pc in black for any time of day. If I had to pick a second color, it would be Perch.

I had terrible experiences with Vanish line and leader material. The leader had a nick every 6' or 7' on the entire spool. IDK how it happened. There are guys who use heavy vanish like 20# and up as leader for inshore fishing in Florida and they love it.

I've heard a few guys liking them for inshore/nearshore jigging, fluke and bass mostly. These guys don't use junk.

I like using jig worm in the fall on those days when they dont want to eat anything. I use a 4" worm, bubbling shaker, hit worm, cutdown airtail wiggler or Robowom straight tail fat. I usually fish them in the last of live submergent grass and for that I favor a 1/16 owner darter head with a #1 or 1/0 hook, but ill use mushroom heads, like the blockhead and halfhead, but the weight is always light usually 1/16 or 1/32 no heavier than 3/32. I want the weight light enough, so it doesn't bury itself in the grass. Having a small lightwire hook is just enough to grab the grass, but easy to rip free with a light rod.

You need a lip, or the right balance/shape on a plug to get that kind of walk the dog action under the surface. There are things that are in the same ballpark with the closest being a bladed jig, if I understand you correctly anyway. As mentioned a tube and Bayruf head are close as well. If you insist on a skirt, you could add a spider grub skirt to a BR head, but the added drag of the skirt will almost certainly hurt the action of the bait.

You would probably like the JDM F tapers. Theyre generally slower than most of the tapers here in the US. Either way when you get to rods over 7'4 the tip section is longer, and the actions tend be softer. So long as its not a broomstick, a 7'4 or 7'6 F has a slower action compared to a shorter H F. I really liked the older MBRs for swimming a bucktail and soft plastics for inshore fish. I could see the 904MBR being good for open water jigs, especially football jigs, but personally, I like FC and prefer a little faster taper when working a jig through cover or dragging it on the bottom. Theres no shortage of 7'5 and 7'6 rods that are right up your alley, so option are many. Only you really know what you like and that's the most important facet to this. My best advice would be to get the 904 in your hands before you make a decision.

TB is a great fishing channel. They get into gear, but its not a deep dive unless its a particular rod they really like and even then, its not too in depth. Matt is very talented at breaking down techniques into simple terms that anyone can understand. Punch is really good too. Hes not afraid to give a bum review and hes on top of the latest baits and JDM gear, Ben is unique from the start in that he imports so much MB and JDM gear, he probably has a big share of that market. He admittedly has some bias, but it's very hard not to like high end JDM gear, so I get it. The only thing he said that I don't agree with, or frankly understand, is that rod balance doesn't matter, and he gets irritated when people try to find the balance point on a rod in his shop. I'm not a fan of tip heavy rods, it makes the whole experience less enjoyable. I would imagine the vast majority of gear he's using is exquisitely balanced, maybe he forgets what fishing with a tip heavy finesse rod is like lol. I don't find the Bible quotes annoying at all, I'm actually glad to see them. Its the disingenuous nature of it that gets to me. He does do a good job with reel specs such which is useful. Its just hard for me to support someone who exudes arrogance at every possible opportunity.

You could so it if you want, but you're going to blow through line like crazy using with the length of DS leaders.

I use a loop knot for bucktails and soft plastics because it lets the bait look more natural. A lot of other guys use TA clips, but they look clunky in clear water and are like magnets for vegetation. A lot of times I see guys using loop knots that are too big or aren't tied right in the case of the Rapala knot.(the loop I use) If the loop is too big, its not doing you any favors action wise. If the tag isn't pointing straight down, you went through the loop the wrong way. I use good FC leader, that will increase the strength of the knot tremendously over running line and good mono actually does the best breakage wise IME. I usually 10-20lb for light to MH gear and 20-50lb for heavy surf gear.

The older Terminator quick change grommeted skirts I have are similar to Picassos skirts. Picassos also uses a grommet and I tink the skirt material is better. War eagle skirts use gromets too, but i dont have as much experience with them as I do the picassos.

Robowoms are good quality for the price. They have a great buoyancy for DSing, close to neutral. I really like the Fat straight tails, but the Alive Shad are probably my favorite. They are one of the most successful DS baits I use. The only issue with them is you almost have to nose hook them. I use a #2 Trokar helix or #1 Gami DS. For T rigging worms there are plenty of options. I use Cover Shots, Hayabusa straight shanks and BKK Basilisk offset round bend. The size can be from 1 to 3/0 depending on the size of the bait and company that makes the hook. Im a fan of the rebarb, the hook is great, but the keepers always fall apart and I have to tie a new 1. I use all of those hooks because I have them already. Downshots are probably the way to go for T riggin a DS, with the bend of the eye and shank, but they are pretty much limited to DSing. I dont know the name of the knot i tie for DS, but its not a palomar or uni. Its like a dropper loop, without the loop. The line knots around the shank at the base of the eye, which causes the bait to stand straight out and has a good presentation with standard straight shanks.

I've seen some his content, and Reel test gets on my nerves, he's arrogant and hypocritical. Some of his casting battles aren't even because he might use different rods or line. When someone politely points that out in the comments, the guy who quotes the bible in his videos replies with these heinous remarks about the commenters mother or family. Tackle Advisors had great content and was open about his bias if he had any. I trust his reviews. I don't know I've bought anything outright just because of his recommendations, but I take them into consideration. I've run into him a few times over the years during the fall run and he's pretty cool, he likes to talk.

MH M and MFs can really vary in power, so its hard to know until you get it in your hand, I would bet it would be good for yo yoing a lipless and other crankbaits. at the very least.

I like darker colors around grass. For soft plastics I like junebug or a junebug laminate. Beast Coast has some of the best stock skirts around, i love the tinsel. Hard to go wrong with bruised, or green pumpkin black. Elite craw, stealth craw and neon melon are great too. All the stealth skirts have a mixture of skirt materials which gives the skirt a different action than most.