GetFishorDieTryin

Downsizing will catch you more fish for sure. Using a lighter head especially from now until March, slowing down the retrieve will help greatly as well. Make sure you stop that bait and let it fall, if there's a fish following it most of the time he'll grab it. When the water is really cold the bass get lethargic and dont need to eat nearly as much. While you can catch bigger fish on small baits all year, I feel like late fall to late winter is a time when small baits have the highest chances of producing a big fish. If I were fishing that pond I would start with a 3' easy shiner or rockvibe shad on a 1/16 darter or ball head. That will tell me right away what kind of fish are in there. You can throw a ned rig too, but I can cover more water with a small swimbait in a shorter amount of time. I like to throw smaller JBs as well. My go to is a Rozante 77 or a MB 110 Jr if I have a little more depth. A shallow shad rap is a good bait to use as well. If you add enough weight to slow that float down or even get it to suspend it becomes more effective. Finesse/smaller jigs work well. They tend to get a bigger bite, but they are pain to fish in small ponds because you have to clean them off constantly. A tube is a good alternative to a jig if there is too much snot grass around.

Without going to bigger baits there are a few things you can do. Be quiet, mind your footfalls. Concentrate on the bank, isolated cover and hard bottom. Dont just walk right up to the edge of the water and start fishing. Ease your way in untill you are about 5 or 6 feet from the water then take a couple casts where you plan to stand. Fish in before or just as poor weather moves in. Make sure to fish wind blown corners. It may be uncomfortable in the winter, but its where the fish will likely be. Make sure to fish the moon. Fish 3 days before full or new and 3 days after, especially when there is a frontal change or drop in pressure. Lastly, just keep at it and don't get discouraged. Eventually you will run into that fish you were looking for, just make sure to tie good knots and check your line for nicks and abrasion regularly.

I keep them in the clam shell until I use them. I dont use them nearly as much as I use the Easy Shiners or Swing Impacts so I dont have to keep a ton of them around. Keitechs are pretty soft, even in cold weather they dont tends to set like other baits. If you do want to carry a good number of colors and sizes and keep them perfect, you can cut around the edges of each bait leaving an 1/8 or 1/4 of plastic around each bait. You wind up with individually shelled baits.

When it comes to night fishing different people have different philosophies about it. It varies from the guys who want to light up the area like a football stadium and yo uhave the guys who will try to tie a knot on a new moon to avoid attracting googans to their part of the jetty. I avoid using white light unless it 100% necessary because it ruins you're night vision for a few minutes. Its worth using the bright beam to see submerged rocks while wading or if you need to climb. Other then that you want to use a red light or even green light because it doesn't hurt you're night vision anything like white light. Personally, I think head lamps are the way to go. Like I said if you arent climbing up and down or wading you don't need super bright beam. You do want a lamp with at least a red light thats somewhat easily accessible. If you have to cycle through 4 white light setting to get the to the red its a PITA. The sliding switch lamps are nice, for that reason, because you just slide it left or right to get red or white respectively. The problems with sliding switches is that they can easily be turn on when the lamp is in your pocket or a bag. When you go to use the lamp the batteries are dead or close to it. I prefer the lamps with a button, even though it makes accessing a particular setting a little more complicated. The button lamps also resist water intrusion much better which is a big help. You should carry extra sets of batteries and honestly carry an extra lamp in you're boat, car or person if possible. See if you can find this lamp on amazon: Cyclops Force XP 350. For 25$ it does everything you need and its very water resistant. It does run through batteries if you use the brights often but so all other 3x AAA lamps with 350 Lumens.

7-7'4 MH F would be what I would recommend. I have an Ark 7'3 MH F that's an extremely versatile rod. It fishes anything with a single hook exceptionally well. Ive found it to be a really effective chatterbait/swimjig rod. Without knowing you're budget it makes a little harder to recommend which line to go with. I have the Essence, but Ark uses the same or very similar blanks(40t) on their mid price point rods. So the action and powers of each line don't differ a whole lot. The Ark Lancers are buy 1 get 1 right now at Arks site. You could get a 7'3 casting rod and a ML spinning rod to put that stradic on for a little over 100$.

Yeah, the Victorys are probably the best feeling rods in hand they have made at that price point as a whole IMO. While its more than serviceable, knowing that a rod half the price will blow it out of the water sensitivity wise makes it really hard to even consider SC rods for future purchases. I had gotten the M XF Vic and it doesnt have the tip dampening issue that the 6'10 ML has. I thought about exchanging the 6'10 but I would have had to pay 60$ to send it in and once SC approved the rod for trade then pay the 35$ for the exchange. I dont know if they were going to charge me to send the new 1 out or not but at 100$ I could spend a few more $ and get a whole new rod.

Whatever you do NOT go with the 6'10 Victory if you want to throw light baits. SC decided to put glass in the tip which isn't a problem for me action wise, but it kills nearly all tip sensitivity with light baits. A 100$ blows the 6'10 Victory away sensitivity wise with light baits. You can hardly feel a 1/8 tungsten dragging on a hard bottom. I think SC rushed them through development. I've relegated mine to JBs, shad raps and tail spins. The rod I recommend is the Tatula 7'1 ML F. Its so close to being the perfect ML rod. If I could change 1 thing without disrupting its excellent balance would be to shorten the rear grip by 1" or so. Other then that its outstanding.

x2 for the Realis Nano's. Theyre sharp enough to hook bass on that slap at a JB on slack line, but light enough to not affect the action.

The Tatula (cork handle) is probably the best rod for the money(150$) youre going to find. Weight, action and sensitivity aside, which are all excellent, they are super comfortable to fish all day. As for the reel, you have some good options. I have an Exceler (80$) on mine and even though its one of my less expensive combos its one of my favorite. Fuego (100$) is a good option, its an Exceler with a bearing supported spool and mag seal to help keep water and debris out. Shimanos are nice, but the issue with the budget Shimanos is that they tend to be considerably heavier then the Daiwas at the same price point. I think thats why they felt the need to put a lighter budget reel on the market which is what the Miravel is. If you can swing a Miravel, thats the reel I would reccomend over any other. That would be an awesome combo for sure.

Mono and Braid float, FC sinks

As long as they are out of the sun and its cold I dont think its going to be harm them. Just dont do it in warm weather, particular with boot foot waders. The rubber dry rots and cracks extremely fast. Once that rubber degrades it very susceptible to cracking.

I would go with a brush hog jr or small creature bait on a t rig with 3/16-1/4 unpegged, just for something to pitch around. I would have a small JB like a pointer 78 or 110 Jr rigged up to fish points and channel bends. If you want to try something more aggressive first, go with a 1/4 lipless. Fish it in roughly the same area you would be throwing that JB, back in the creeks. Sometimes that reaction bite is there, just find healthy bright green grass if you can, avoid the dead grass. A chatterbait is d**n near interchangeable the lipless. The advantage of the lipless is in the smaller profile and the trebles will snag the fish that just slap at the bait. If the lipless/chatterbait doesnt the work and you want to throw something that covers more water then a JB try a silent SB. Now if you really think things are going to be tough start out with a small paddle tail, like a 2.8 keitech or 3"-3.5" easy shiner on the lightest head you can get away with. Just work it slow as you can without hitting the bottom. This always works for me, even in absolutely frigid water. As long as I cover enough water eventually something will eat it. A DS or soaking a ned rig gets similar results, but I can cover more water with a swimbait. A few baits to keep in mind: Finesse Jig Jig worm Tube

Thats pretty much perfect. 15# 832 is a strong line and casts noticeably better then 20#. Most PE lines float. The drawback to suffix is its water absorption.

Taking some power off of you're cast or going with a heavier lb braid more than likely won't change anything. If the line lay of the reel doesn't have any gaps the knots are being cause by taking up slack line and or line twists. Instead of going with a heavier test of the same braid, its more beneficial to go with a stiffer braid, but if you are taking up too much slack line it you are going to run into problems regardless of the properties of the braid. If you're line is twisted the braid will constantly wrap around the tip, the limper the braid, the worse it will be. It can be fixed a number of ways, but prevention is the key. Make sure you're bait is rigged as straight as possible. After you rig a bait up, put in the water and make sure its not spinning on the retrieve. To prevent wind knots, you must minimize taking up slack line. Start by manually flipping the bail and putting tension on the line before you begin to retrieve. To put some tension on the line you can close the bail at the end of the cast and lift the rod to get some slack out, pinch the line between you're fingers and reel, or a combination of the 2. The lighter the bait is the more attention you are going to have to pay to managing the line. Now the line doesn't have to be super tight before you begin to retrieve, just do the best you can within reason. Some baits I use are so light that the line still spools fairly loose on the spool in ideal conditions, much less a heavy cross wind. As long as you can get just a little bit of tension where you are taking up what I call "semi slack" line you won't have issues. I know it sounds like a PITA, but its really not. It wont take long until it becomes an effortless natural process after every cast. Once proficient, its extremely effective, I haven't had a wind knot that I have had to cut in years and I fish practically everyday. Best of luck to you.

The stock hooks are fine, you just have to fish them accordingly. One huge aspect to JB fishing particularly when the water is very cold is the hooks. The fish should hook itself when it slaps at the bait or tries to blow it out of its mouth. If you throw that bait in a pile of other JBs in a plano without of banding or capping the trebles, the hooks will dull. The same thing can happen after fishing a bait for a long time. Hook rash beats up the bait itself, but also wears in on the points of the hook. If you want to replace the hooks and keep a similar buoyancy the Gami AM TGW Nano G finesse trebles in a #5 or #6 work great.

Theyre small, about the size of the body of a paca chunk minus the claws.

The Tatula 7' M F is a great all around rod, but its a lighter medium power wise. The 7'2 M F Phenix Maxim is a great do it all rod. Ark gives you a great blank for the money. Either the Tharp or Invoker, both have a 40t blank. If you want to go with a SC, it would either be the BassX or the Mojo. I havent fished the new BassX, not crazy about the look of the foregrip, but once I got my hands on one, I was surprised at how much I liked it. The blanks are nice, lighter and better balanced then the premeir and triumph. The mojo is a little more $. For that you get a considerable upgrade in blank quality, which translates to less weight, faster recovery and more sensitivity.

Yup, lots of shallow cedar water millponds in this area that are overpopulated with chains.

Ark and 13 make some good budget rods and 13 has awesome customer service. Even if the break is youre fault there is a good chance they will replace the rod for free. With black friday coming up you can get at least 20% off of nearly any rod at TW. The Ark rods go on sale around BF usually. I dont know if you can get a additional 20% off of the sale price or not.

The Zako is actually considerably more durable then other similar trailers. Ive had a couple that lasted over a dozen good fish. Usually the inside of the bait wears out first and starts to slide down the shanks before its destroyed from the outside.

I always prefer to tie direct then to use speed clips. Honestly I dont think there are any detrimental effects action wise other then very light baits. The speed clip style, like the TA and Spro are the most efficient and effective as far as changing baits out and losing plugs to a duo lock that has opened up. I can cut retie and trim pretty fast, but once you get the hang of using the TA clips its faster then retying. Even though its easier and quicker I only use the clips when I'm throwing plugs or metal in the surf and even then I don't use them all the time. If I were going to go with a FW snap, it would be the Spro Prime snaps for sure. Theyre expensive, but if you want to go with a snap that is fast, easy and nearly guaranteed not to cost you any baits they are the best bet.

Its the perfect hook for that size jig IMO. Its thicker then a medium gauge, but not quite a heavy. A MH or even H F is perfect. Great design on the keeper as well, keeps the trailer in place without tearing it up.

The basic shape looks promising, like any other bait it will likely take some fine tuning. The most obvious thing to me is you want the head to be flat. That way it will be more durable on a keeper and fit flush against the jighead. I would think that removing some of the material on the tail so that its a deeper V would give it a more erratic action. I could be completley wrong, but thats just my 2 cents. Good luck.

I like 8-10lb PE for ML-M power spinning gear. A thinner 15 will work I just prefer the thinner dia. I prefer FC for casting gear for the most part. Although I prefer FC, Big Game is a great line for the $. 12BG is just as if not stronger then 15lb Invizx, which is what I like to use for chatterbaits, swim jigs, full size spinnerbaits and t rigs. Unless were talking a heavy outfit like something you would use for heavy flipping you could get away with 15lb BG IMO.

Most of the water in my area is very shallow. By june some of the lakes nearly full of milfoil which makes crankin inefficient. The best time seems to be late feb-mid to late april. Ripping DTs out of milfoil is a good way to catch them in march but by the later part of april or may in colder years the grass starts to get a little thick. From about now to till early winter can be really good too for cranks. You can still work them aggressively and get bit consistently. The dead and dying grass can get in the way. If you want to fish grass in the fall, find the bright green healthy grass.