00bullitt

I run the Johnny Morris Platinum and have a few in 2000 and 3000 size. They are phenomenal and well worth the step up from the Carbonlite. I tried a Carbonlite since they were out of Platinums and took it back to exchange it for another Platinum. Just does not compare IMO.

BINGO!!! But spool tension is directly related to lure weight. Less spool tension needed for lighter lures and vice versa. The big benefit to me is when the lure can accelerate fast enough to stay in sync with the release of the line from the spool. I upgraded to Boca's for my frog rod and jerkbait/finesse baitcast rod. Very noticable difference! I could skip a Spro popping from about 70' before and now I can skip a dock and come out the other side at the bank 100' away....AND without loose line on the spool. Same principal as the BFS reel principle. I did not see as much gain on my deep crank rod that is 8' long throwing 1oz. plugs. It does feel smoother though.

Why short arm? How about compact and heavy to get down? SpotSticker Mini-Me ROCKS! https://spotsticker.com/product-category/spinnerbaits/mini-me/

The design of the crankbait is important for speed cranking. As mentioned, The TB Tactical DD 75 was designed to be burned. The Berkley Dredgers also react well to speed and don't fatigue too much. The resistance created by the actual body design coupled with a wide bill create alot of drag. Slimmer, smaller CB's perform much better at high speed. The Berkley Dredger 17.5 is often my go too. I get that to just shy of 20' on 30# braid with a short piece of mono and to 19' on 12# fluoro. I burn it with a 5.6:1 reel. I tried using 6.8:1 and have found that 6.1 is the fastest I would prefer for deep cranks. I do catch alot of fish cranking and crank more than any other technique. Cranking has also produced my biggest fish and twice in derbs I have weighed bags in excess of 25#.

Lanier is not short on white bass! Those things annoy me!

I fish popping frogs 95% of the time and the tip is too important to me for accurate casting and skipping and getting the frog to react the way I want. I've tried to use Heavies, but the just dont work. I also have no issue burying those frog hooks in their jaw with the MH. I often skip it into holes and under docks that are just 8" off the water and 12-24" wide. Without some sorta tip to get that hollow bodied frog movin, it aint happenin. Now, if I am froggin across mats, slop or pads, I have an 8' IMX Pro heavy action/moderate cranking rod that is amazing. I will throw a Scum Frog Launch Frog with some added tungsten weight to it and slang that thing 120'.

Every Zodias I have is the new Monocoque handle.

Bluebird skies in 85deg or hotter weather on clear water.....top water can be king.....and over fish 50' deep. I mostly fish Lanier, Hartwell and Russell (in GA). I fish over brush in 30-50' of open water and make 100' plus casts. I keep my top water box on the deck and cycle through topwater baits and presentations until the fish get fired up enough to come eat at the surface. Livescope has been extremely enlightening for this. I did not do this before I had livescope. Once I find the bait they want, and get the wolf pack fired up, I will fire a big glide, swimbait or magnum fluke (6-8") in there and typically yield the bigger/biggest fish of the pack. I always have a one/two punch ready. Spotted bass and even Largemouth will flat out destroy topwater from deep haunches in the summer.....it just takes the work to figure out what sound, style and presentation they want on a given day. Then it often repeats as a pattern over other deep structure spots.

Favorite Sick Stick MH 7'2" Solid backbone with a great tip. I only throw popping frogs. I also have an SLX M/XF in 7'2"....I can feel the weight difference between them. The Sick Stick is a very light feeling rod in the hand and inexpensive at about $120. I will go weigh them and edit here in a bit. OK....Sick Stick is 4.4oz and SLX is 5.0. The SLX was not as heavy as it feels (I expected it to at least be a full ounce heavier). I do think the Sick Stick is a very well balanced rod in contrast.

The Zodias Heavy in any of their lengths is a VERY stout rod. I have all 4 powers of their 7'2" (ML, M, MH, H) I use the H for my 3/4oz. Swing Heads. It really starts to excel for 3/4 and heavier lures. Any lighter and its like fishing with a shovel handle. I tried using it for frogs, but it just does not have enough tip to cast well as frogs are too light.

I used to be of belief that those things did not matter. Dad and I used to argue about it all the time. He put feathered trebles on all of his top waters and spoons and always outfished me. I used to just chalk it up to him having the front of the boat. He started doing the same with red hooks before red hooks were really a thing. One day he was out fishing me with red hooks on a bone Chug Bug. I put a red hook on a spook and started catching fish. Started to test out the theory further and would move one hook around and every fish I caught was hooked on the red hook regardless of one of the 3 positions I put it. I now run at least one red hook and/or feathers on most all of my topwaters and spoons. If it gives you confidence, do it. Its the subtle things that sometimes make all the difference. Being able to realize and key in on those subtle changes is what separates alot of anglers.

I will also mention that while most only use spinning rods for Dropshotting, I use a baitcaster often. I still always have 1 and sometimes 2 spinning rods rigged up for a drop shot, but there are days when I want to use a heavier than 1/4oz. weight and will prefer a baitcasting setup. I use my jerkbait rod as it is set up perfectly; its a 6'8" Med Action X Fast Tip, with an 8.3:1 reel and 10# Tatsu. I rig up a 2/0 offset shank Gamakatsu or an Owner 3/0 CoverShot (they are basically the same size). The Gama has a slightly wider bend than the CoverShot. I use the cover shot more on a spinning rod when I am trying to be more finesse. I use bigger works on the baitcast setup. While I grew up on a Carolina Rig and have caught a bazillion fish on it, the Drop Shot has all but replaced it for me and I use it much the same and then some. As far as Live Sonar goes, it may not be for everyone. I don't stare at it and watch the fish bite. I use it to eliminate water and understand behavior. Its just another tool in the tool box. I can now pull up to a spot and determine if fish are on it without having to drive over it. I can determine if the fish are interested in a given lure or presentation. Its a time saver, which in turn translates to more fish in the boat due to efficiency and better understanding. It does not catch the fish for me. I will say, in the 40 years I have been fishing, its the best investment I have ever made in fishing.

The 2 that I use are the Dirty Jigs Guppy Head if I want more than 1/8oz and the Megabass Okashira Screw Head for 1/8oz. I have never had a need for the 1/16oz. I wish Megabass would make a 3/16 or 1/4oz Screw Head. The Keitech 3" Easy Shiner and Shad Impact is the heat on the screw head though (I actually prefer the Shad Impact as the screw head imparts a great secondary action to the straight tail). The Guppy Head seems to work the best for me on the Fat Swing Impacts as it matches the body profile better than the Okashira head. The Zman Finesse Eyez work really well on the Keitech Easy Shiner and the Zman Slim Swimz. I just wish they made them in the heavier 1/4 or 3/8oz. with a 1/0 hook though. Pic below shows a few options that I use: - VMC Moon Eye in 1/8oz and 1/0 hook (my main Damiki style vertical setup) - Okashira screw head with Reaction Innovations Shiver Shot 3.65 cut to 3" - Okashira screw head with Keitech 3.5" Easy Shiner cut to 3" - Okashira screw head with Keitech 3" Shad Impact

The technique is called "dropping in" on fish. You can see the bait on 2D sonar, but the movement is too subtle for it to see, but Livescope, Active Target and now MegaLive all see it in real time which is a whole other ball game. Don't get hung up only fishing the drop shot that way.....fish it like a carolina rig, but drag it slowly a few feet and just sorta shake it/vibrate it in place for a few seconds. I fish longer worms (Zoom Trick, Xzone Deception, Netbait Tmac) on an Owner 3/0 Cover Shot hook when fishing that way. When I drop in, I am typically nose hooking small 3-3.5" baits (Zman Trick Shotz, Zoom Zdrop) on an Owner #2 Sniper Finesse hook.

I live around the corner from Zoom in Watkinsville and drive by their facility often. There does not appear to be a shortage of cars in their parking lot at any hour of the day. I think demand is higher than its ever been and their capacity can only support so much output; that also depends on vendor supply for raw materials. Management may be in question, and thats another issue in and of itself.

The Yum 6" Thump'n Dinger; a swimming style worm. I'm a fan of Yum products as they are good quality and proven fish catchers at an affordable price. I use alot of their products, but this one gets used more than the rest. I can swim it, cut the tail down a tad or cut it completely off and also cut if down for Ned rigging. I fish it texas rigged swimming style, Neko and Shakey style with the tail cut down, wacky with the tail cut off, Ned with the worm cut at the egg sack and tail cut off and Ive even used it as a spinnerbait and chatterbait trailer. Just a versatile worm that has produced untold numbers of fish for me. When I am creek or pond fishing, its the one pack of plastics I can shove in my back pocket and do alot with.

Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm 4.95 & 6.95

Hog Farmer 4.5" Spunk Shad (pin tail) when I want a bigger presentation but mostly the Zoom Twin Tail Creepy Crawler.

Neko is always my first choice. I use a heavier weight like 1/8 or 3/16 when doing bottom contact; and lighter when working more vertical and catching them on the fall. So much I can do with one spinning rod with a #1 Sniper Finesse hook tied on. Regular Wacky, Neko, nose hooked fluke. Just a change of plastic. Shaky head is typically the more weedless option as the wireless Neko hooks are only marginally effective.

The 6'10" handle is about the longest I would want in a kayak. The rod itself is extremely versatile. The longer Zodias are a no go for sure. Checkout the Megabass Levante 6'10" Jerkbait and 6'11" Flatside Special. They both have shorter than normal handles. Both a touch shorter than the Zodias 6'10".

I did not create that below. I saw it on Instagram last year and took a screenshot as it was a solid reference and a good representation to what I practice, granted not all hook sizes are the same across mfgs. One companies 2/0, may be closer to another's 3/0 and vice versa. I stopped buying weighted hooks and swimbait heads a while ago other than the Dirty Jigs Guppy heads I throw on 2.8's & 3.3's on occasion. I now use my worm hooks and pin the eye with a toothpick and use pegged/bobber stopped bullet weight as the head. Action is great and they are weedless. I do have some belly weighted 4/0 hooks that I use on the 4.3's and 4.8's as they also serve double duty for flukes on some occasions and keep the keel weighted some to improve the roll action. This solved my problem of having to have a bazillion heads with different weights and hook options. I dont throw bigger Keitechs/Swimbaits often, but when I do....this is how I do it and it has worked extremely well.

Really depends on how fast you wanna work it. I can keep the 1.25oz. Zman Chatterbait Elite at 18-20' and retrieve it moderately. I use a Hog Farmer Spunk Shad in 4.5" for a trailer as it does not provide any lift but does fill out the body. I can keep the 3/4oz. in 10-12' and the 1/2oz. in 6-10' relative to speed of retrieve. Certain trailers provide lift and are counterintuitive. I don't even own a 3/8oz.

Agreed...hard to beat for a weedless presentation of finesse worms. I have dropshotted about everything....except a lizard. I do NEKO rig a lizard with excellent results. I prefer to nose hook with an Owner Sniper Finesse hook in #1 or #2, but the Covershot is the way to go when around any type of cover that you dont want to snag on; granted, its a pretty small bend hook and not sure how it would perform with thicker plastics.

The Buzbe boxes work really well for keeping everything separate and very customizable, but pricey. I have two 3600 sizes for my terminal stuff. https://buzbe.com/

Sebile Magic Swimmer 095SK & 125SK in Natural Shiner or Holo Greenie. Its a small jointed swimbait that can be retrieved slow down to about 4' or burned just under the surface. Stripers, wipers, whites, LM, SM and Spots ALL love it!