ironbjorn

I wouldn't soak your reel. Soak the spool of line before before spool, use KVD Line and Lure Conditioner on the line afterwards, and use 10-15lb braid to a leader or straight 8lb mono; 10-15lb braid has the diameter of 2-4lb mono, and if you start going 10lbs (mono, fluoro, copolymer) or more, you'll have trouble with the line on a spinning reel. If you have an anti reverse switch on the reel, make sure that it's on and won't allow you to back reel upon first taking your hook and bait off the keeper because it can throw the line off the reel. Spincast (closed face) reels are atrocious because most can't handle braid, most don't pick up a lot of line, and they all chew your line up; they also fall apart quickly.

The 7 is a great all around speed. You said shallow cranks, so I assume squarebills? The 7 again is an excellent choice. You want to fish those fast and bash them into rocks and wood. A 7 speed Tatula really isn't that much faster than a lot of 6 speeds.

This "classic example" of American sue culture isn't so good when you know the truth beyond "woman spilled on herself". McDonald's coffee used to be over 190*F, well beyond boiling point. They acknowledged that it was too hot and was unsafe, but they didn't change anything. Over 700 complaints of spills causing burns were reported and they took no action. Now insert this lady. Something like 80 years old. She was just the latest victim of having spilled the boiling coffee on herself, causing 3rd degree burns and nearly taking her life. She fully admitted that it was her fault she spilled it, but she didn't expect to be given boiling hot coffee, either.

I look like a bald hairy toad, but at least you know what's in my pants.

Men will always lie about size.

Poisonous slithering thingys, man eating dinos, and a stimmy check worth of possible damage, to recover $12? Absolutely not

It's so inferior and less talented that it's almost cringey to watch. They're not even nice to look at and half of them wouldn't be interested in my goods anyways.

Milliken and his boys, as well as many others in Texas, had perhaps the most epic week of bass fishing in Texas in decades a couple of weeks ago. You missed that window. Success was there to be had for those willing to brave it. There's a lesson there and Milliken talked about it: be willing to fish when others aren't.

Again, a lot of I in your post. Your experience, your anecdotal evidence. My experience, the experience of countless anglers, and the conclusion of studies is different. Yes, I do want to believe this, because while something works for you, something else works for me. So indeed I believe this, and my top 5 smallies and best numbers days have all been Ned Rig fish in the last two years.

It would be more accurate to say it doesn't match your reality based on anecdotal evidence. The fact is, a Ned Rig will outproduce any other artificial bait almost every single time.

It would be a waste of money to get braid ready spinning reels when you already have the spinning reels you need. You would be spending more money for something you already have just so you can waste more money by filling a reel completely with braid.

5/0 is too big imo. Negatively impacts some of the bait action. Gary recommends a 3/0.

Ned Rig

I have 2 Lew's KVDs. I love them. They're smooth, far casters, and user friendly. I disagree that they're quiet though, but that doesn't make them loud either.

When people talk yards, you can tell who spent a lot of time on a football field and who didn't. Most people don't realize just how far 40 yards is, let alone 75 or more. A lot of guys think they can throw a football 60 yards until they step on the field and find that they're throwing 35 yards.

OP saw a lure he thought looked tasty

Ned Rig For 60 days, 450 largemouth bass, plucked from the same environment, were tested using a robotic arm and a strike counter. Each group of bass was presented a crawfish bait at the same speed and angle of attack. The bass tested had never seen the bait that was presented (it was a prototype). The test then continued, with one pincer removed, then a second pincer removed, and finally, the legs. The soft bait that had no appendages (no legs or pincers, just a body and tail) had the greatest number of strikes. "The final bait looked almost like a large shrimp," said Proctnov. The research was incorporated into the Berkley Flippin Tube. "We wanted to market a craw with no appendages, but our market research said no one would buy it," Proctnov added.

Call me selfish and call me a Richard, but I don't like to see new anglers. Fishing pressure, garbage, and spot poachers become a problem. I like solitude.

6th Sense Divine Hybrid does it all for me

I've only ever had a fish break off from grabbing the line with thin FC.

6.5 ounces. We can do it!

I was too young to remember.

I was probably being conceived in the back of a pickup truck behind a bar around this time.

Honesty I've found them to be accurate a very vast majority of the time