GetFishorDieTryin

The first bait that comes to wind when I think rain is a spinnerbait. I don't know why, but rain seems to make a spinnerbait so much more effective then they typically are. It doesn't need to be a downpour and the wind doesn't need to be stiff. As long as there is enough rain to put a gentle ripple on the water I have to throw a spinnerbait. The rain tends to make the fish predictable, isolated cover close to current like the closest dock to a spillway, chokepoints, channel bends are just about guaranteed to hold a few good fish. The dirtier the water the closer they will be to cover, if you can bump a piling or branch your set. Chatterbaits and SBs work too, but spinnerbaits don't snag on cover as easily. It works just about all year too, as long as the water is in the mid 40s or higher the pattern is still there. Keep a rod with a senko at the ready to follow up if you miss a fish or dont get bit and suspect a fish to be there. I like to throw a different color senko then spinnerbait, if Im throwing a white spinnerbait then I'll throw a PBJ senko. If I can get a fish that wouldn't hit the white spinnerbait to hit the PBJ senko, then Ill consider using a PBJ spinnerbait at the next spot or 2 to see if it outperforms the white.

Are you planning on using anything else on this rod or just exclusively hair jigs and what is your budget?

I think the skinnys with a closed eye are the best way to go for an all purpose DS weight. They do a little better with grass and slime then the ball and tear shapes. As long as your using lighter line 1/8 will hold surprisingly deep. I like the idea of minimizing line twists, but some of the more effective swivel shot hooks just look incredibly bulky. I do like the Trokar Helix DS, the swivel isn't all that effective, but it makes it much easier to change from a DS to another bait or vice versa.

Me too, I like the SCs XF ML for floating worms and nose hooked flukes

They used to make an excellent waterfowl shotgun case, 54" floating zippered case which are rare. Rogers, Mack PW and Midway took over the waterfowl market so BPS stopped investing money into it. I admit I like some of the plastics, the river bugs are pretty good and I like the colors. They have some cool creature and craw baits that are under 3."

Instead of buying out a bait company, I would think BPS would prefer to essentially make a blatant copy of a competitors design. BPS can afford a lengthy court battle where other companies especially smaller ones cant.

I get good sets even with 2 and 3/0 EGWs. The fast recovery speed gave me some issues with keeping smaller hooks pinned. Reducing the drag pressure has helped a whole lot. Im sure I would like the ML, but if its true to the suggested weight range it would fish just like the M powers I have.

Legend Tournament Casting. Its the only ML casting rod I know of that's made for bas fishing made by SC.

Cabelas products were usually of higher quality then BPS, but there were some good Redhead products. In the early to mid 2ks both companies began to prioritize lower production cost over quality of products. Cabelas most popular products, like the Waterfowl Sweater and neoprene waders didn't suffer nearly as much in quality as other less popular products. Both companies used that business model until that shady deal with BPS occurred. It didn't take long for BPS to discontinue or dramatically change any Cabelas product that superior to their own. Cabelas did the same thing when they absorbed the once great Herters, I suppose its karma.

No, I'm not. BPS not only ruined or discontinued the few great products Cabelas still made. Once they felt they had eliminated the majority of the competition in the market what little quality was left in Redhead products also disappeared.

I hope not, BPS has proven they are second to none at destroying reputable brands/products.

I like that mean melon color

Pearl grubs will catch fish just about anywhere. In the spring chartreuse laminates or dying tails can make a big difference in numbers and size. I dont really use bubblegum in freshwater, but I throw it all the time for stripers and weakies.

What kind of JBs do you want to throw?

You ever have a ML SC before?

I want a rod for 1/16/3/32 SHs, 1/8 jigs and lighter chicken rigs. The L would be fine for anything with a lighter wire open hook but the tip may be a little soft for to punch through a plastic worm. The only rod off the top of my head that would most likley work well would be the SC LTC 6'10 ML, Im just trying to see if I cant find another rod that would work for a little less $.

I been thinking about buying the 7'1 L Feather, but I cant find too many reviews on it. What do you use it for?

Using 1lb PE isn't as crazy as it sounds. I could see the small dia. being an advantage if your trying to fish deep. Odds are the breaking strength is closer to 3lbs then 1. With the dia. being so thin I would think that the tiniest abrasion could dramatically reduce the line strength.

Ive done really well using Fluke Sticks which is just a Senko knock off with a split tail.

3.8 iShads, 3.5 spunk shads, little fuzzys, smallie beavers all go really well with the Zman TW Custom ChBs. Trimming or completely removing the inner layer on the lower end of the skirt can dramatically change the profile of the bait. Skirts are cheaper then ChBs, so I buy a half dozen GP, half dozen black and half dozen white and change the skirt if I want to match a particular color. You dont always have to change the skirt to change the color, just changing the color of the trailer makes a big difference.

Same deal here with the LMB. It catches fish all winter, but just as the fish start to group up and push shallow to feed for the last hour of the day is when you can really beat em down. Smallie beavers and dart hogs have consistently done the best for me that early.

IMO the 2 biggest mistakes I see the most is fishing them too fast or using trailers that are too big. Slow down and let the bait work if you cant get bit. No matter if your fishing it fast or slow, add pauses to the retrieve. Sometimes they wont eat it until you stop it or just as it starts to move again after a pause. You want the trailer to compliment the chatterbait not the chatterbait to compliment the trailer. Swimbaits that have a big profile and hard kick mitigate the action and cause the bait to rise in the water column. You can flip the bait upside down to get a more fluid action. On bluebird days or tough conditions trimming the skirt and using a smaller trailer can get you more bites. I also like to color the blade in with a black sharpie even on cloudy and windy days. Make sure to carry a good file or hone to keep that point sticky sharp, you wont lose as many fish that way. Be persistent, theres a reason why they blew up the way they did.

Everyday is different, so its hard to know exactly how the fish will react to a certain bait on any given day unless you try using it.

If the rod feels like its bottomed out on the back swing it can take too long to recover on the release, which can really affect distance.

If not Landsat then Addermine maybe Check out the Steez AGS, supposed to be outstanding