Kenny Yi

X2. My most productive jig for lmb is a ballhead finesse jig. I would keep using that jig, for heavier cover and a bigger quality, the above options will do

taught tennis in 93 degree blue bird skies, suffered some mild heat exhaustion (thanks for the chart @A-Jay). please stay safe everyone and know your limits.

largemouth

if I missed the fish on a moving bait, plastic worm if I missed on a plastic worm or jig, same bait

my Lew's and 13 fishing rods have the hook keeper under the reel seat, rather than under the 1st guide.

I once used spiderwire stealth braid; would snap line on the cast and the hookset. I now use PowerPro above 40lbs and have never looked back. Could it be a brand thing?

I personally don't use any scents like Powerbait, I prefer the SK coffee scent. Not cuz I think it increases the likelihood of a fish holding the bait, but because I hate the smell of Powerbait. I would shove a menace grub up each nostril in the morning, cuz it smells so good.

The last thing i do is let the bait sit there... Shake your moneymaker!!! I use a SK Rage Bug primarily, cast past the bed, and barely shake the bait with the rod tip which eases the bait back into the bed. The idea is to mimic a "rummaging" intruder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs4TvdCmDIw

I also will use a snell knot (uni-version) for my flipping hooks, which has the eye in line with the hook shank, for the same principal of driving the hook in the roof of the fish's mouth when i set the hook. To answer the OP's question: I wouldn't since it seems unnecessary to me. I use the same Trilene knot for nearly every application, so I wouldn't want to get bogged down with too many specified knots. I don't think it'll change any hook-up percentages for wacky rigging either.

Maybe it's laziness or indifference... I don't feel that the action changes too much and i don't mind tying an extra knot on a change.

i will superglue my trailers for finesse and swim jigs, cuz skipping and fast hooksets will sometimes pull the trailer off of the keeper.

tie directly to a split ring

Yes, that is an annoying issue with the menace grubs, it's why the Z-craw, as you said, will always be preferred in my book! Only issue the Z-craw is finding some...

I would use a braid to swivel to fluorocarbon leader system on a spinning rod to mitigate line twist, but I'll be honest I use a braid-to-leader connection more often than a swivel since I don't have issues with line twist. I do sometimes use a weightless worm on a baitcaster, specifically my Shimano SLX. the SLX can cast light lures really well, like weightless senkos and flukes, so it's my go-to for those baits, but I wouldn't say it's finesse.

not a rod I use for bass. catfish, on the other hand, are great for Ugly Sticks.

smaller lures

The iconic G-Man setup, love that rig! I also use a Rage Menace and maybe a Rage Bug, just another use for those versatile baits. Black buzzbait with a black/blue rage menace

a longer rod, for me, will give me better casting distance at the cost of accuracy. im not too tall (5'10"), so a 7'4" rod is as tall as I'm willing to go. my preferred length is a 7'2" rod, it still casts long distances and it's my perfect length for accuracy. a softer tip can also help with accuracy. X2 @softwateronly, a swimbait reel seems like a good bet. also, "heavy" finesse? sounds like an oxymoron ?

3/8 oz ballhead finesse jig

practice, endlessly. I watched YT videos and just went out to try exactly what they did, still figuring out the fine details thou, a DC reel helps. If you watch world-record rock skippers, they always lean over and throw low to get the rock to glide parallel to the water, it's the same with a bait. Focus on getting the rod tip close to the water on release. my go-to skipping setup/bait is a 7'2" MHF with a Curado DC using 20# fluorocarbon and a finesse jig. Whenever Im getting skunked, I always start practicing my skipping, for both improvement and amusement.

what's your favorite lure to use?

that's a cool looking bait! my preferred rig for tubes is a weighted texas-rig. my setup is a spinning rod with braid to a fluorocarbon leader, the fluoro helps from breaking in rocks or wood.

air pressure is generally what that refers to, a cold front means low-pressure which many anglers say makes the fish more active. Taking this into account, a heatwave means high-pressure, supposedly meaning less activity. you could also look at it as affecting water temps, specifically water temps at certain depths. If the air temp is hot, the surface temp will be warmer than in deeper areas, which will affect where they congregate since theyre cold blooded. These are just my personal observations, generally in hot Summer weather, I'll be fishing thick shaded areas or deep water

Cast, manually close bail, then give slight pull on line to remove slack. If it truly is a bother, go to braided line with a leader, it's much friendlier for line twist, but that's a whole nother conversation.

a lead crappie jig, GYBC Tiny Ika, swimming it only because I saw my dad doing that technique (little did I know he was using spinnerbaits). Used a telescoping spincast rod, thought I felt weight and pulled in a heap of weeds, looked like five pounds of green. Went to pick up the weeds and a freaking bass thrashed all the weeds off, hooked clean in the mouth.