GetFishorDieTryin

What the PR does better than the FG is retain strength for low test lines 10lb and under. The lighter the line, the bigger the advantage, but the opposite is true as well. IMO, its really not necessary unless you're trying to get as deep as possible with light line and micro guides. I've tied a few of them, but personally, I cant justify the extra effort because the Alberto works so well and is incredibly simple to tie. Other than the complicated nature of the PR, I don't have a ton of confidence in it, because my use has been limited in comparison to other connection knots.

I think it's an older Zuri, the color is right and they used that in different sizes for crystal, mag and pins minnows. The newer crystal. A little tough to tell from the pic because of the angle. The older small crystal minnows still had that triangular body shape, but they were thinner, with a shorter and thinner lip. Pretty confident it's the larger size pins minnow. Good luck finding that color though.

If they are tied correctly, a Uni or IC are very strong, particularly with a mono leader. The SDJ requires a tiny bit more line than an IC, but it's a stronger knot. Again, it comes down to which knot you can tie well.

I have some luck on transparent and clear plastics in FW, like DSing Robos prism shad when the water is at its coldest. I've found I gravitate to those colors much more fishing inshore. I use them for weakfish and stripers when they're keyed on very small bait, like rainfish or silver sides. Those colors don't silhouette very well so you can get away with a 3" bait when what theyre eating is actually 2" or slightly under.

Personally I get a TON of use out of a 7'1 M F. Cranks, JBs, Free Rigs, weightless T rigs, topwater, mojo rigs, small swim jigs and so on. If I were you I would try to put the braid on the 7'3 as its a perfect do it all length and power for pitching, swimjigs or even frogs. Going to braid actually makes the rod feel more powerful and faster in action because it eliminates stretch so keep that in mind.

Bluegill or GP based spinnerbaits have never produced well for me, but strangely enough I smash them on GP swim/vibrating jigs. In cold water I cant seem to do well with Junebug, but once the water warms up its my favorite color to flip or pitch.

They were good, but I the vast majority of the time a buzzbait is just as effective while being more versatile and weedless. Although I mostly used 1 size and color, black, they take room which is a premium on a yak or small boat which is what i was fishing from at the time. Like I said, I would use black virtually all the time, day or night, so I doubt the color had much to do with it. To change the belly hook on a hangar, you unscrew the hangar or cut the stock hook with wire cutters. Then you thread the split ring, swivel and or new hook. If you add a barrel or bearing swivel that will more than make up for the shorter shank length. DONT drill any holes or try to unthread the joint connection or rear hook eye, eventually it will leak, or at least it did IME. I liked a jitterbug because it was like a tight walking bait that was very easy to use, I could literally troll with it, which I did. I found it to work best on calmer nights right outside pad fields that held fish during the day, and it also worked in open water. I would rarely stop mine. I would slow down and speed up quickly to change the cadence and that or just a steady retrieve took most of the fish.

Dont get too worried over beating count. What matter is quality and placement. Regal is a good reel. I thought Legalis used hex pin?

Other than making sure the hooks are sharp I really never modified my jitterbugs. I fished the same one you do, the 2pc 5/8oz. I used to use them all the time, but got away from them. I never had many hits that were total misses, either I hooked up and landed them or they came unbuttoned, but there were no smallmouth in the waters I was fishing. As a general rule, you should wait to feel the hit before setting the hook with topwater. With a jitterbug you dont have to wind up and crack em as long as the hooks are sharp, just a swift pop should do it. Strange to hear that about the screws coming lose so soon. Ive had that happen on baits that had caught dozens of fish and hit a few bridges, but it by then the bait had paid for itself IMO. Hopefully the quality hasnt suffered since I stopped buying them. You could remove the stock belly hook, add a bearing swivel and add a #2 or #1 EWG short shank to help with leverage. Other than that I wouldn't do too much more alterations no matter where I was fishing it from. I always liked using them on lighter gear, like a M or MH MF or R action. The softer tip will help with distance and let the bait work as its supposed to. As I said before, you dont need too much power to set the hook with 2 exposed trebles.

I know MBs are expensive, but theyre worth it, especially when its cold and the bite is tough. Having said that, Duo makes outstanding JBs especially for the price point. IMO they have the best stock hooks of any bait JB I've ever used and while they colors arent as broad and refined as MB they make plenty of good ones. Aside from the Sp85 the Duo action is more aggressive heavier and louder than the sharp finesse action of the Vision 110/Jr.

The only time I use a snap or speed clip is surf fishing with big plugs and even then its rare. I just find them bulky and I can tie a knot almost as fast as swapping the bait on a clip or snap. Snaps have really improved though. They make some really nice snaps that very small, but strong. Generally, I use TA clips when I do use a clip and they work pretty well.

I apologize, I meant to say 4k Vanford not 3k, comparing the weight of the reels you mentioned in the post 3k stradic to 4k vanford. You said he got a 4k Vanford and you got a 3k stradic and said that the Vanford. The FL is the same weight for pracital reasons with a .1 difference, maybe. The 3k FM is about 8 which is roughly what its been since FK and my Vanford 4k is 7.7 without line and I think they claim 7.6 but its close enough. With line, especially with only 80 or 90yds of PE on top of mono the weight is very close to a 3k stradic. Like I had said, you have to compare like size reels to get a significant weight reduction. I completly agree, 1oz is a huge amount of weight on a light setup especially at that 7-8oz mark. I find that when a reel is under 7oz, I feel like it makes the outfit noticeably more sensitive, so long its balanced. What surprises me is that Zodias was made to pair with Stradic ci4/Vanford, aesthetically anyway, with the black and lipstick red. Even if they weren't Stradic is a reel that I would think have to balance as its their most popular mid PP spinner. With the fuji k guides on the 7' M being designed for 2500 and 3k spool sizes. I find it bewildering that they are too light to balance well at that 7.5-8oz weight.

How far exactly are you talking? I know what you mean by a crisp 7'6 ML. I use them inshore for drifting light soft plastics. They have to have give, but be super crisp and sensitive to feel a bite on slack line. Unfortunately, probably the best production rod ive used has been the 7'6 MML steez. It has a crisp action which is hard to find in that light of a power and length. A friend of mine likes the steez over his NRX, because of the action. Honestly its hard to get a good JB rod over 7'1. Once that tip section gets too long, it dulls the action of the bait and is noticeably harder to work. They have rods designed for inshore JBs that are in the 8' range. They dont have that typical FW JB blank feel, much softer and focused on distance rather than action. They are more designed to get a 5/8 or 3/4 surf pointer over the breakers to the second bar and work the trough in between. Zenaq is a company you may want to look into. They make very high end blanks that are meant to send light baits, while maintaining a very crisp action. Ive only had my hands on 1 of the heavier snipe models as they're very limited. TOMOs tackle is the biggest importer I know of. If you call them they will help out for sure. Personally I would going with the right bait and a very long casting line like gliss and go from there. I think spinning gear is the way to go for JBs efficiency wise, but Im not into the BFS thing yet. I know if you put the money into it, you can really super tune some of those BFS reels to wing a little bait, but capacity can be an issue.

Im really surprised at that. I would think the 7' M Zodias would be made to balance perfect with a 7oz or slightly lighter reel. The weight difference between a 3k Vanford and Stradic is well less than .5oz. Basically you can upsize a Vanford and it will be the same or slightly lighter than a stradic 1 size smaller. The line is what really makes the difference. If you get a shallow spool 4k the weight is really close to a deep spool 3k with FC. Reel for reel, it comes down to purpose for me, because Ive never had issues with the stem length. On XF rods that are meant for finesse or semi/slackline techniques I want the lighter reel, it will be a more sensitive outfit. For plugs or M power and stronger rods over 7'6 the stradic

LOl, I they were the 1st ones I thought of. They werent a WalMart brand because they were sold locally around here and k mart carried them as well. They made a smaller finesse worm and a larger 6.5 or 7" worm. Caught lots of fish on the little ones in tequila sunrise on a light jighead.

A 3" swimbait or grub on a light jighead (1/16 or 3/32) will catch fish anywhere. The light weight will force you to slow down and that's important when its really pressured.

Anytime the wind really blows, it rains, water has some stain or any combo of the 3 is a good time to throw one IMO.

I absolutely hate bug spray, but there are times when you can't fish without some kind of repellant or you will be miserable the whole time. There is some natural stuff that's effective, it has a heavy cedar scent to it. I think the kind I'm using now is made locally, it's called green beret spray. You have to reapply after a few hours if the bugs are murderous. Its safe on animals too. I use it to keep ticks off my dogs in the fall. I don't like carrying sunscreen or bug repellant in my tackle, so it stays in my boat. I do carry pack of off wipes and they work really well. It doesn't get all over the place like the spray.

My favorite way to catch fish on a worm is a SH.

Wow, unlucky tacklebox strikes again.

Most ML rods are meant for light wire open hook baits, like ned, DS, finesse swimbait and small cranks. Shimano are are a little more stout than other MLs, but even smaller worms on anything over an 1/8 SH are going to push the limit IMO. You can go fairly heavy on a DS especially if the bait is nose hooked as there isnt too much plastic you have to punch through. Honestly, I think a 2500 or 3k are a little better suited to bass fish and would likley balance a little better. Thats what most of the guide trains are designed to be used with.

If I really out time into something aggressive and cant get bit, I go directly to a something really small that will catch fish pretty much anywhere. I like using the keitech mono jigs with a 3" bubbling shaker. If I want to be able to cast a little farther Ill use something a little bigger like a 3" rockvibe or easy shiner on a 1/16 darter head or ball/mushroom head if I'm fishing on or close to the bottom. Both are similar to a ned rig, but I can stroll them much slower than I can with a ned rig or at least the baits I generally use for neds. Once I get dialed in with the micro jig or finesse swimbait ill upsize a little bit and use a small sahkey head or jig worm.

3.8 is probably the middle of the road for most people. 3.3 is fairly close to a 3.8 in profile and size, its just shorter. I have a bunch of the 2.8s , but honestly I dont use them very much. I prefer a 3" easy shiner in cold or pressured water, it just looks more natural to me. Of the 3 keitech swimbaits the Fat has the most roll. I like contrasting colors with some flash for the fats because that roll accentuates the contrast, making it look like the bait is changing colors as it swims. Theres so many good keitech colors it can drive you crazy. Its good to have a natural color, a white base color and a bold color, that will cover the vast majority of scenarios. For natural I like electric shad or bluegill flash both do really well. White base its tough to go wrong to wrong with pro blue and for a bold color I like sungill or electric blue chartreuse.

Good for pitching jigs/ t rigs, senkos, jerkbaits, squarebills, weightless plastics and im sure much more. The only thing I wouldnt use 8 speeds for are chatterbaits/ spinnerbaits or coldwater/deep cranks.

-GrandeBass Airtail Rattler in Trophy Hunter (Junebug/Watermelon Red laminate) 5" ribbed stickbait with stout profile, averages better sized bites IME. Air pocket in tail stands the worm up. Great on a shakey head. -GrandeBass Airtail Wiggler in Trophy Hunter Probably my favorite do it all worm. The flat head pairs really well with a bullet weight, shakey head or neko weights. Worms with blown out heads make for excellent ned worms. -X Zone Adrenaline Craw-Grn Pumpkin Blu fleck This bait is kind of like a beaver/craw hybrid with lots of action. Just as good on the back of a jig or swinghead as it is on a t rig. -GYCB Senko-Black Blue Fleck or Grn Pmpkn Purple/Copper flk While I rarely throw these on a T rig, they are bait that's earned its place in everyone's tackle bag. Honorable mentions Reins Ring Craw Gene Larew Biffle Bug X Zone Muscle Back Craw Strike King Game Hawg