Scott804

Sounds to me like you need a stiffer rod.

Hitting a biggun with a thick jig hook on a big flipping stick is like when you crack a perfect homerun. It just feels good. Pitch...pitch...pitch...pitch.......THWACK! There he is! You definitely don't have to do it and honestly a lot of time it is the unideal thing to do. However, when you need to get a big girl out of thick cover real fast.... Main point is, different hookset for different applications/scenarios. It is like casting techniques or gear choice. I don't use an extra fast broomstick to launch my deep cranks the same way I don't jig hookset with a crankbait.

3-7 3700s. Spinnerbait box. Plastics storage. Depends on the time of year and whether or not it is a tournament. Usually have 3-5 rods. I like having options.

Same here. I am a pretty lanky and tall guy and I still haven't had any length issues when it comes to kayak fishing. Not sure why a lot of kayak anglers are so insistent on short rods. Might be because I use a massive net too though.

Those Megabass poppers are awesome. Those things walk like no other popper I have ever used. I've fished spooks harder to walk than the MB popper. I use a combination of the Deps, MB, & an occasional KVD Splash Pop. I'd like to try a Rico but just haven't gotten around to it.

Only one way to find out. Keep fishing! Can't tell you how many bodies of water I've written off as a numbers spot only to catch a random biggun having a bad day!

If you aren't opposed to spending a pretty penny then the Deps Pulsecod is an interesting popper. It has a little spring and BB inside that lightly "vibrates" on the pause of your retrieve. It has done really well buying those couple extra bites for me. Really good on schooling spots or shallow smallmouth. The bigger size is perfect for a casting rod. A tool that would also go well with that is a Yum Dinger in tin foil on either weightless EWG or weighted wacky hook. Makes for a great follow up for missed topwater blowups. I really like the color, very dense with chrome flake and it looks like a bunch of shredded shad scales. Another fun one (if you can get your hands on it) is the Jackall Bounty Fish. Would also pair well with the Dinger. I can't do the thing justice in text form - look up a video, it is quite the lure.

Depends on the brand but yeah I agree. I probably wouldn't throw a full sized 110 on my Zodias ML but my Megabass Orochi Whipsnake is a ML but isn't very soft at all. Most of the people I know who use spinning for jerkbaits use St Croix Victory or Megabass rods which tend to be on the stiffer side.

The hooks are designed to be used with a medium light spinning rod which might be why they are getting bent out of shape. I haven't had them bend out on my casting setup yet but they are pretty light wire. I would recommend Gama Aaron Martens G-Finesse trebles. They were basically designed to be 110 replacement hooks, as Aaron is a former MB Prostaffer.

I don't think bigger = bigger totally but I would say size of the blades is one of the most important factors of the spinnerbait. I have so many different variations of spinnerbaits nowadays though I just throw whatever looks coolest that day unless I have seen the bait or have some idea of what the bait will look like.

I definitely am a tackle collector. I have come to terms with this. I have fished with guys who used some of the most asinine tackle you have ever seen and they absolutely catch the heck out of fish. I have no doubts that you can thrive with a random assortment of gear. However, I really enjoy knowing that I am throwing a relatively obscure JDM lure or perfectly suited lure that there is a 99.99% chance whatever fish I encounter has not seen. I like to experiment with new stuff, but I can only experiment with so much, so some stay on the wishlist for awhile. Right now my big ones are probably the Jackall Bountyfish (very cool idea, but can be pretty hard to get your hands on), and some JDM bladed jigs (the chatterbait patent is a US patent, so JDM companies can freely make Z-Man style chatterbaits for the JDM market) and I am yet to try Deps but they have a lot of interesting stuff, like the frogs with hair tails or the interesting plastics. I have also been wondering if that Strike King Hybrid Hunter is any good too.

Right now, St Croix Legend Glass 7'2 M/M. It is just too much fun to fish. Normally my answer would be some dropshot stick probably. I love feeling a loaded up fairy wand with a 4lber on the end of it. Orochi XX Whipsnake or Zodias 7'0 ML/F. Both aesthetically awesome rods.

That is one heft boy right there.

I don't think the 705CB would make for an adequate chatterbait rod. It is a little on the lighter side, especially for medium heavy. I use a St Croix Legend Glass 7'2MM and do incredibly well with chatterbaits and cranks on the same rod. Obviously that rod is a pretty big price jump from the Fury 705CB, but I believe St Croix makes the Mojo Glass on the same blank. A lot of the guys in here are talking about using HXF rods for chatterbaits. Don't let that discourage you from a moderate rod. I know guys who use braid, mono, fluoro, heavy, medium, fast, moderate, glass, composite, graphite all for chatterbaits. It really is just a personal thing. Run what you like, and if you want to use cranks on the same rod, go moderate! I really would consider a St Croix glass rod though. Worth every cent.

I used to be of the mindset that you could probably get by with only green pumpkin & black n blue. However I have fished a lot of tiny ponds, like the kind where you can nearly cast all the way to the other side, and have watched how MY fishing pressure singlehandedly effected the fish in the pond and eventually they wouldn't give green pumpkin the time of day. Until I switched to gold flake. So on so forth. I think there are some days where they will refuse you for the tiniest detail and then others where you could throw a rock with a treblehook attached and they would eat it. I will say though, as far as applicability goes, it is pretty much impossible to know what to throw in that regard. So I just try to buy the colors that I think look effective and different enough from the basics to try to stand out.

Spike-It sells markers that are scented that you can use to draw gills/wounds/anything on your soft plastics. You can get pretty creative with it on flukes.

I like to use the same color and then modify one of them. Usually I use a scented red marker to add some wounding type marks. I am sure if you dyed a tail or something that would work great too though. 90% of the time they choose the modified one in my experience, even if it is in front!

I would honestly recommend starting with the new Berkley Stunna 112 jerkbait while learning. It is a slow sinker instead of a suspending jerkbait and I think that makes it a lot more forgiving in a sense. A large part of the jerkbait learning curve is learning to tune them and it can be super daunting at first. They also come with primo hooks and that is a pretty big deal with jerkbaits. Don't be afraid to be aggressive with it in the fall. Just caught four non-stop hitting it hard about an hour before typing this.

Sounds like a job for the Perfect Pitch to me. The Brailist really maxes out at 1/2oz+trailer imo. Spinning? or casting?

I would go Perfect Pitch for your described uses. Can't go wrong with the Brailist either though. Both fantastic rods.

I have tried a lot of jerkbaits. The KVDs have always been the epitome of mediocrity for me. Not great, but certainly not bad. The deeper 300 version has a time and a place though.

I was going to say a 110... but if you fish a new body of water every week then I feel like the grass would probably get annoying.

Big ol' flippin stick and a 1/2oz casting jig. Probably braid solely because it would hold up better over time.

I like a slow sinking jerkbait when they are biting it aggressively. Working it non-stop.

What WRB said. The TD is an excellent "dancing" jerkbait. Very tight action.