GetFishorDieTryin

April is the tail end of pre spawn here. Early April is tail end of prime square bill bite most years. Chatter bait does damage until the fish really get bedded up, then mojo, t and neko rigs get lots of work.

4, 6 and 8 are what use the vast majority of the time for FW JBs. My 2 favorite hooks are Gami AM TGWs and Duo Nanos, both are O'Shaughnessy style bends.

I've found spy baits to be close to interchangeable with JBs. They're tedious, but the advantages they offer can payoff. Spinning gear with light FC is the way to, especially at that depth.

Very sharp and they stay sharp barring a rolled point.

Steez is very nice

Def a M power graphite. I have a 7'1 Muse that does really well with kvd 1.5s, baby fats and lighter lipless baits. The tip is crisp enough, I use it for JBs and soft plastics.

JB rods are designed with a shorter butt. Your not losing any length aft the grip, when you compare a 6'10 JB rod to a 7'. SC makes a good JB blank and so does Daiwa with Daiwa being a little slower action wise. Victory or Tatula are solid choices.

There's a video of a guy trying to break an Inshore Mojo ML and it took like 12lbs to break it. I don't use more than 6lb of drag for bluefish much less FW bass. My hangup with a 1k for a versatile bass outfit is its IPT, that's just preference.

I don't get the hate TB gets. Whether you admit it or not those guys are about it. They've been at a long time and it's not as easy as it looks, especially the underwater videos. I don't think they purposely push any 1 brand, they just like high quality gear and Id be a hypocrite to call them out for it. It just kind of so happens Shimano just doesn't miss very often. The last video I saw he was talking top end spinning outfits for strolling and it was an even mix of Daiwa and Shimano reels. My only hangup with TB is that they've burned some of my favorite baits and gear, making them really hard to get. Personally, I love the met. If I could only use 1 reel for all my rods it would be a Met. Not taking anything away from zillion, as it's a home run. The feel, size and shape of a met just puts it over the edge, for me.

Western clown might be my fav, because when they hit that color its an aggressive JB beat down. If I could only have 1 color it would probably be GP sexy shad.

The brake/line setting on a DC stays the same, you just adjust spool tension slightly if you need too. Thats a pretty neat trick to throw a 4oz flutter spoon and switch to weightless plastic, and have perfect performance with 0 brake adjustments. SV spools are good for that, but for the most part they don't cast heavy lures as well distance wise. Brake setting isn't based on weight it's based on spool speed. Weight, surface area, wind resistance and rod load all have an effect. The magnets just slow the spool, the adjustment just changes position of the magnets relative to the spool. The increments are fairly minute 1-10 or 1-20. Nothing wrong with running heavy mag brakes if that's what you need to do to go from 1/8 to 5oz lol, whatever floats you're boat man.

Theyre all a slow float, but the vertical position is strange. With other JBs that's an indication if the WT remaining in the tail end of the bait, with it floating head up in near vertical position. Definitely strange for a 110.

Length does not always equal power in lighter rods and that's what you need to get a considerable increase in distance. With mid price point light rods, you're going to notice a loss in crispness of action the longer the blank is. IME, you have to get into flagship models to get that super crisp action with light rods approaching 7'6 7'3 is as long as I would recommend going and I feel that a 7'1 is ideal. You can actually cast farther with a shorter rod using light braid than a longer one using nylon and the braid will greatly increase sensitivity. Those robo neds have a good amount of salt and are considerably heavy in comparison to other Ned baits, likely approaching 1/8. I'm not a fan of the newer SC ML for bottom contact. I love SC and sadly my 7'1 Ml F Tatula blows it away sensitivity wise and that's the first rid I recommend. The other would be the 7'2 L F M1. Really your fingers have good blank contact with the Tatula, but the M1s reel seat designs allows for full contact if that's a priority.

The moneymaker is their do it all blank. I have it the Essence, but the action and power Al just about the same. I will say that tossing anything over an 1oz is going to taxing just casting it and not very serviceable actually fishing. As far as durability goes, expride likely has the edge, build quality is outstanding and the blanks are really robust. Arks are a decent buy, because they save money with lower quality components and focus on the blank. My winding check wasn't glued correctly and broke pretty fast. Arks customer service is somewhat hit and miss. I had a bad experience, but YMMV.

That's a tough one. There's compromise, especially for a range that wide. Out of all the mass produced factory rods that I've been able to fish, Steez really stuck out as far as being extremely sensitive and efficient, with a weight range well over 1/2oz. Now I was using a buddy's 7'6 MML. It fished a 1/8 bucktail as well as 3/8 jighead with a 6" gulp jerk shad, which is a very heavy bait. The action was still crisp and at no time did the rid feel underpowered. It was actually rated 1/16-3/4 I just didn't use anything lighter than the 1/8. They have a couple options in the casting line that are rated 1/8 to 3/4, made for bottom contact. I would bet 1 of them would be a good fit.

DC braking really shines for people who only have or are limited to using 1 or 2 outfits. You can go from tossing a 5/8 trap to a weightless fluke with minimal adjustments. When you're limited to 1 or 2 outfits blowing 1 up really limits you. Although it's not likely to happen, a DC reel might help mitigate the odds. For more practical purposes DCs are great for distance and tossing baits that have considerably wind resistance in less than ideal conditions. I didn't like the weight of the spool and the increase in size of the reel to accommodate the DC system, but it appears Shimano has been able to figure that out. I haven't been able to use 1, but if Shimano really figured out how to get the best of both worlds, short and long distance, with an MGL spool and DC system, that could be a real winner in terms of versatility. As it stands I like a DC for covering water and prefer an SVS MGL for everything else.

I think the JM reels are Daiwa AL framed LTs with mismatched Lego parts to keep cost down. I'm sure they're nice, but they're noticably heavier than their LT counterpart. If I were you I would just get an Exceler 3000 from TW for 80$. It's the same reel, without the AL frame, which you don't need for a small. The composite framed reels are nearly 2oz lighter, huge difference. NASCI is no slouch either.

I don't really ever catch #s with jigs. Late winter I can stack em up with finesse footballs, but other than that I know I can switch out baits and catch a lot more fish, but jigs are a blast. I really favor smaller jigs, they get bit a lot and they still get better fish. This Chibi jig right here kills it as a do it all compact power jig

I take a size L glove, but I don't have big hands so I love little reels. They're great for jigs or anything where I want sensitivity. The downside is they always come with short handles and small knobs, not ideal for taking up line.

#1 or #2 Gami split/drop or trokar DS

I use them alot around here, especially this time of year. They work in place if a Shakey head when the bottom is nasty. Light line and knots are a little more protected with a neko v SH. Worms are great, but the most successful bait I use on a neko in early spring/late winter is a baby brush hog or game hog. What's nice is the long shank neko style hooks stick them in the roof nearly every time, I don't lose or miss many fish on a neko.

I think the best quality lenses as far as performance are MJs glass. The problem is that they're HEAVY, making it feel like they can fall off my face when I look over the side of a pier or jetty and after 8hrs it gets uncomfortable. They tend to scratch and chip a little easier as other brands as well. Costas glass lenses are light in comparison and have similar performance, with the MJs contrast being a hair better IMO. Costas plastic lenses are really good and performance wise they do everything the glass does at a lighter weight. They are poly so they will scratch much easier than the 540g. Oakleys has some really comfortable frames, but you have to pay extra for polar. If you want Costas, the best site by far is jomashop. They have most of the best frame and lens combos at prices that no one else can match. The best part is if you don't like them they will refund you or exchange them for a different pair. They got glass fantails for 118 right now, that's a steal.

I use M casting gear for SH and wacky rigs around shallow cover. Although it's not as fun to some, spinning gear is a better tool for both techniques IMO, particularly the wacky rig.

350 for GCX is crazy, they're decent but, wow.

I like PP V2 over 832, especially for spinning gear. V2 is a little more supple, which is what i like. I feel like V2 outcasts 832, particularly with light baits. 832 has a thicker dia, but it's a stout line, even in it's lightest tests. I actually like x9 for finesse/light tackle over both, but that's just personal preference.