Masaccio

Great enthusiasm for the Medium Light. Anyone care to share what their favorite things are to do with it? It would be fun to read and helpful too.

I used a 3.0 hook on a 4" offset Keitech paddletail. Was the hook too large? I did have a nice little weight on it with a bobber-keeper that worked perfectly. Otherwise, every time I threw the bait, it wrinkled up on the hook or it caught a lot of weeds, or both. I have these: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=30&searchtext=versatile+keeper Maybe they will help the head stay in place? Sigh. It was a fun day anyway. My casting kept getting better and better. The only catch was a baby largemouth on the lowest tech rod I brought along, with a finesse grub (successfully Tex-rigged (dumb luck)) that I'd already prepared for creek fishing. That should have read a 3.0 offset hook on a 4" Keitech paddletail.

Thanks. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything re: the Neds. I've had that problem with t-rigged sticks too.

I bet Ned rigs are great, but they're not weedless. I'm watching a Ned Rig video right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhgmLM2lg7A The guy says he misses bites with a weed guard. That's been my experience too. How bad is it when you accumulate weed crap on the hook, if you don't actually get stuck?

I don't know why exactly, but I've been wanting a Dobyns rod for a long time. Every time I've considered a particular Dobyns rod, I find another make/model that I think will suit me a little better. This time, the Dobyns medium light spinner 702 has rung my chimes. And I'm going whole hog on it with the Champion Extreme (I like the full cork handle). Christmas is coming a little bit early. And since I'm a bad boy, if I waited I probably wouldn't get it anyway. And I'm building my "arsenal." Another great justification. And my crankbait rod is back ordered anyway.... One reason I'm posting this is because this forum has injected me with new life and excitement about fishing. I was away from it for the entire time of COVID because when it hit I was just starting out. So thank you, everyone, for your great support. Maybe I'll be able to pass some knowledge along to somebody else in the future. Maybe I'm concentrating on finesse fishing because I don't know if I'll be a successful power fisher. Hope that's not the case. It would be great to hook a big one. That might have to wait until next year.

I hear you. Don't have any, but settled on the Big Bite 4" finesse grub - pretty close. Using 1/16th lead bullet weight for ease of casting with the short rod. (I hadn't planned any of this when I posted.) Also taking 4.5 " PlasmaTails and the 6" Creme Scoundrels. Using 1.0 offset worm hooks for texsposed rig. Sounds like a reasonable plan. I've never fished this way before. Watched a ton of the YouTube Creek Adventure guy. I got waders when I thought I was going to fly-fish. That didn't last long but I got the equipment. I might have the little spiders or something like it. Thanks! Been meaning to ask this question - my smallest swimbait is 3.5" paddletail "suicide shad." Is that "small"? Also have become interested in the Itty Bitty baits, but those might be too small to entertain bass(?)

Everybody needs at least one monkey in their life. Not all monkeys are created equal. The Bait Monkey is one of the coolest!! You buy stuff in the moment that you think you gotta have. Then short term you say, "You moron, that's the last thing you needed." Fast forward a few months, or a year or two. You're reading about a technique you like and the recommended baits/tackle. And you already have it! Attaboy!

Thanks, buddy.

I want to fish a narrow, slow section ing hte Paulinskill river. It's either a bank fishing or a wader kind of thing. Could I have thoughts on bait and tackle for a cast and retrieve. Wade-able water. Thinking a texposed worm, 1/8th oz weight? I have a medium 6-6 fast tip rod and an ultra-light, fast, 5 ft Kunnan (1/16th - 1/4oz lure). Thanks.

Really interesting comments and they raise good questions for me. Thanks. I've been letting Tactical Bassin online be one of my go-to guides. There's one particular a video survey focusing on deep diving that I latched onto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdwso8LM5OA&t=47s Even for the heaviest rod included in the video, (the Loomis Pro 968) for the biggest stuff, and all the other rods except for one, they pair with the Tranx 200. That Tranx only offers 110 yards at 14 pounds (155 at 10). I'm not contradicting you at all. I'm just curious as to the difference of opinion here. (The gear ration is also higher at 7:2.1) It might be because they wanted one do-everything reel to recommend to use all year, but especially suited to fall speed cranking. But that's just a guess. Wondering about this is helped me though. The one other reel that they recommended for a particular "workhorse rod" (the Loomis IMX Pro 906) is the Bantam MLG. Which starts at 6:2 and goes up to 8:1. Still much higher than the category you noted. The Bantam MLG is only 110 at 12 and 90 at 14.... I don't know what IPT is. Something else to learn!

All things considered (including what I really can't know until I make a choice), the Shimano Zodias makes sense for a first cranking rod. Moderately priced, highly versatile, 7'6". It really can't be a "wrong" choice at this point. I'm looking forward to trying it. Shimano Zodias Casting Rod 7'6" Med Hvy Glass Taper Line Wt. Lure Wt. Guides Handle Type Handle Length Stock Price Qty Moderate 10-25lb 3/8-1 1/2oz 7+Tip Zodias Cast E 17-1/2" $249.99

Thanks. It looks interesting. It offers a nice range of baits. What reel do you use with it? I'm also trying to imagine the difference in the feel of throwing a glass rod with heavier baits, opposed to graphite. Mainly how one might work more easily than the other sitting in a kayak.

Great point. I wasn't thinking that far ahead!

I'm focused on bass fishing because of where I live. I'm thinking seriously of relocating to the NC coast. Any cross-over comments or recommendations? Thanks!

This comes extremely close to being a perfect response. A thoughtful fisherman with lots of perspective and experience giving an informed opinion. Thanks!! Thanks! Great advice. The rabbit hole is where I don't want to go. I want to go to success. Large, small, it doesn't matter. I just want a foothold that I can build on. You understood my question better than you might think. Mainly, that a serious crankbait guy is going to need more than one rod. Thanks for the references!

Not to post a "What rod should I buy" message, I've done some online reading and watching about crankbait rods. Of the info sources I felt good about, I zeroed in on the Tactical Bassin' November 2021 Buying Guide for baits and rods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdwso8LM5OA I'm really feelin' the Shimano Zodias 7'6" Glass for a first crankbait rod. They recommend it as a do-all rod; not that it does everything spectacularly, but highly versatile. It also would be an opportunity to try a glass rod. Reasonably priced and I could get a feel for its shortcoming and strong points in deciding on a second rod and possibly third rod in this category. The lake I have in mind is extremely deep, but small enough to be covered by a self-propelled kayak in one session. Given the depth of the lake, I was also looking at the Loomis IMX 968 CBR (8'). I feel good about trying this rod for extreme deep-diving cranks, but possibly not as a first rod. I'd also immediately require a second rod for more traditionally sized cranks. Third possibility might be starting with the IMX 906, rated for 1.0 oz. Not sure if this one will throw cranks that will really get down there, though. There seem to be conflicting thoughts about this from a few posters here. Thanks in advance for thoughts!

Great info! Thanks so much, Jaderose.

Yeah. Thank you for answering my bitter, rhetorical question. The selection seems staggering even keeping this in mind. Thanks for another “yes” vote for Pad Crasher and Trophy.

Must try that. I once picked up a chain pickerel trolling behind a friends boat. The idea just struck me. We were on our way out but I’d wanted to fish a little more.

Mine is a sit inside model. Not built for standing at all. The side jerks could work. And dead pressing myself up so I can get my feet halfway under me after sitting for 2-3 hours is just all kinds of fun.

I wanted to add to my little story about my uncle and mom. More often than not, they would come dragging in around 7am the following morning, empty-handed and quite a bit the worse for wear. Both of them having to confront my "Christian" aunt who was (and still is) a very good woman, but very much not amused with being confronted with this high level of debauchery.

I don't think I did this, though I've posted a few times by now. I'm really glad to have discovered this forum. I grew up in North Carolina (Fayetteville/Charlotte). My my connection to fishing was mainly through my grandmother. I wish I knew how she got turned on to fishing. All saltwater for her, which she passed down to my mom and her brother, my uncle. I visited grandmother every summer we would always head to the shore for daytrips. They would usually start off with a few hours on the fishing pier at Ocean View and end up on the sand for the kid who had to jump in the ocean for the day to be complete. And then that phase of my life was gone when I continued to grow up and left NC for college my life to come. I only remember catching a gigantic flounder off the pier one day, which had the whole place in an uproar. They had to lower the big net to haul it up, and we had it for dinner that evening. Many, many years later, here I am in Sussex County, retired, and having lived and worked almost 30 years in NYC. I only had the smallest exposure to freshwater fishing with another uncle. He was an avid bass fisherman and lived on Lake Lynn in Fayetteville about the same time I was fishing with my grandmother in Virginia. He only took me out once or twice. I can't remember being at all interested in being awaken a 5 in the morning to go with him in his rowboat. I wish I'd done it more. So, fishing being in my blood, one way or another, and never having stopped missing the South, I figured I could learn how to do it up here, on my own. I feel like I started from Ground Zero and haven't progressed much along that progress chart. I do enjoy being outside though, and I'm a water-lover since forever. It's just seems a lot more complicated now. So many lakes with private access only and the ones that aren't are often weedy and overgrown. There's not much correlation between bass fishing here from a kayak and being at the ocean, hauling out a double rig with shrimp or worms. I myself never stayed up all night on the pier, but my uncle and mother did - he fishing off the end for "King" and enjoying a few beers together in the process.

Popping the rod tip down from a kayak. Not sure how that would work.

Let's just start with Booyah Pad Crasher frogs. Why/ when would these be a bad choice? https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Booyah_Pad_Crasher_Frogs/descpage-BYPC.html Cheers.

I hope this comment hasn't been made before. The problem with your recommendation is that bass fishing isn't about basics for most of us, even beginners. Beginners might wish that success could be reduced to basics, but they will waste a lot of time and money to find that perfect "basic" setup that makes the dream happen for them. It doesn't work. "Basic" bass fishing doesn't exist in the real world.