softwateronly

Me too in general. I have a lot in the 7'3-7'7, but I fell in love with the PA 6'11M+ as a worm rod that I decided to try a shorter bottom contact jig option and really happy I did. scott

If you're looking for a jig rod/bottom contact rod, this MC Days360 66MH/F is partnered up with the power pitch for me. They are my dedicated jig/t-rig rods; 1/4-5/8oz for the Days360 and 3/8-3/4oz for the power pitch. They are indistinguishable in sensitivity to me. I'm really enjoying the 6'6 length, fishing heavy weeds I feel like I'm in total control of my presentation with the tip up or down. At $330 shipped and taxed it's also a deal compared to the new or old diawa price. scott https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/5/4573236260570 D360C-66MH is completely specialized for bottom touch. It is a rod that is equipped with all the necessary elements for bottom fishing at a high level. It is a one-of-a-kind rod for bottom touch lures. In the testing stage, we focused on the feeling of using high-density worms without a sinker, and the user can control the force, speed, and line as they wish. With Toray T1100G, R360 structure, titanium guides, and an exquisite balance setting, it has ultra-high sensitivity that clearly conveys the feeling of going over each leaf of weed and each grain of gravel. In addition, it has the power to instantly pull off a big fish that has been caught around an obstacle, and it is a rod that has been completed without compromise in pursuit of all the necessary elements for bottom fishing.

Hags Tornado still catches fish for me and are available in a really large *** which can be the deal on my water. scott

If you're straight braid and getting the front hook tangle, 2-3 bobber stops over 3-4 inches can fix it. I throw leader mostly now, but this helped me in the past. scott

@woolleyfooley I find the power pitch more sensitive than my DRX755. It's number one or tied with the MC Days360 6'6MH/F in terms of sensitivity out of what I own and they're both excellent jig rods. To me the power pitch feels best with a 7+oz reel. scott

@jbrew73 Nail clippers work best for me. scott

Haymaker and beast hook in 4/0 have been what I've used in the past. Not to derail, but I saw a Japanese video the other day with a guy swimming it on a football head. Almost like the alabama shake for a swim jig. Gave it a try with a 1/2oz head and got 6-7 fish, 5 on one bait. Some fish smashed it, others just loaded up. Definitely seems like an effective method. scott PS - this is the video I copied....

I think it's slightly better because the eyelet is facing up/down seems to slip heavy grass better scott.

Osprey!! Missed that post. I landed a seagull yesterday and that was plenty of excitement for me. scott

For me it's strictly a length issue. The way I prefer to twitch the tip, the 7'3xh is about as long as I can go because of my extra medium height. scott I liked the 7'3xh so much for other things that when I came across a 7'6xh on sale, I jumped on it.

I like braid to leader and just carry 10lb in sniper and ultragreen with me. Super easy for me to just change leaders. scott

Same experience as @Hogs_n_Logs. Great Lakes Finesse is big on advertising they do matte finishes on their colors, and I think they're onto something with that as well. scott

Wild experience!! And about five hours ago I caught and landed a seagull. I don't have an answer, but smallies can get highly competitive when they're schooled up. Maybe she just was mad that the sheepshead took your bait first and then took it above the waterline and wanted it that bad. I wish you were able to have barehanded her. Tactical bassin has underwater footage of a LM ramming another LM that got to the bait first. Like a homing torpedo straight to the broadside. scott

@Swest18x Last year it became apparent that the braid itself can make a difference. My Varivas/YGK braid doesn't grab the cotton wood nearly as bad as my various 4/8 strand power pros. Probably a roundness/coating advantage, I'm not sure. scott

in really clear water I think unpainted is the best look for baitfish imitators, so it's my preference. Therefore, when I'm dragging a craw/goby presentation, I definitely prefer painted or the muted tungsten look that doesn't chip/change color. This is all a bigger consideration fishing for smallmouths than largemouths. scott

My time on my small inland lake this spring has been a consistent butt kicking compared to what it usually is. March started out great, but April/May have been grinds. Conversely, shore fishing lake michigan has never been better for me than this spring. I don't have answers, but you're not alone. scott

I hate broken concrete. The lightest ballhead jig you can effectively fish is best at coming through for me. @Goby's rec looks perfect. This is the one that serves me best on the great lakes. scott

Not that I dislike them, but I rarely find kicker craws useful on a jig (doesn't apply to wobble heads or swimming). Most of the time I'm convinced the kicking is just changing the rof, meaning a beaver/d-bomb on a lighter jig will do the same and maybe even better. I like the extreme heavy weights in smaller profiles more than most. A 3" 3/4oz hairjig, a fine wire 2/0 scrounger in 3/4oz, a 3/4oz swim jig, spoons, etc. It allows me to play with speed at depth, and often trigger with a high rof. scott

This is much closer to our reality than you might expect. The further north you go or more specifically the colder the water body is, the more the spawn gets concentrated in time and waves. I think in general, they spawn deeper and earlier in temp than their southern cousins and drop closer in time. I'm extrapolating, but spending over a decade on one lake I feel like observations back this up. Basically, the start of the spawn can be from early April till early May, but is almost always finished by the 3rd week of May. This year was really bunched with a late April start because of the colder spring. Your surface temp dropped 67-55. Not the temp of the water 15 feet deep. A major wind shift could do this to your lake just by mixing deep and shallow water. Your 15' deep water might have just gotten warmer. scott

These 2 rods are the best value that I've tried, they fish between shimano expride and adrenas to me. They are japanese 2 piece rods that are perfectly balanced, extremely sensitive, and have incredibly versatile actions, from jigs and t-rigs to trebles. I often choose them over other much more expensive rods that I own. I've shipped from both of these sites multiple times without incident. Tariff issues should be non-existent today but things are changing rapidly. https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/5/4573236260334 Major Craft Days 6'9 MH/RF DYC-692MH ¥18,100 (¥19,910) 6'9” 2 1/4-1 12-20 RF 4573236260334 $150.23 shipped/taxed https://shimreels.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=40107 Major Craft Days 6'9 M/F DYC-692M ¥17,700 (¥19,470) 6'9” 2 1/4-3/4 10-16 F 4573236260310 shims15 code makes it $145.52 shipped/taxed scott

This is me, for the last handful of summers, but with only a flasher and no trolling motor. Here's what "works" for me. First, the bad news; I don't run into schools of 4-6lb bass except for a magic week in late November when the gizzards are struggling with the temp drop. And this magic spot is structure; a narrow funnel from 18' to a large open 25' deep flat. They sit right on the bottom, looking up for the migration. Which also means, my success is also dependent on me throwing uphill. Second; also not great news, I think in summer the 4-6lb open water bass (my lakes' biggest bass) are at most in smaller groups of 3-5 bass and where I've found them seems to have little to no relation to structure. The caveat is I think these are my main targets when I fish shallow (8-12' weedlines) at night, so their open water areas during the day are not that far from interesting structure/cover that they cruise at night. As an example, a productive point that tapers off at 23' will sometimes have a group of bass hanging out 75 yds away in 25' fow. The food chain is healthy, so in general, they don't need to make long commutes. So these guesses/observations and blind casting luck have shown me a few areas to cast to during the day for these fish. I tend to need bigger baits to get their attention, but obviously not always. Some favorites, large scroungers, 1.25oz and 7" armour shad or jerky j, baca burrito, 5 or 6" doesn't seem to matter that much so I use the 5 more often now because I have more gear options, 6.5"-8" flutter spoons, the 7" nichols larry spoon being my current favorite, and a 3/4oz chicken jig in bluegill. My theory is that these bass are feeding mostly on crappie/bream that are schooled up chilling or eating fry or young shad. So watch your lakes panfish fisherman. You see older dudes with bobbers over the abyss, remember that spot! Third up, are truly pelagic summer schoolies that follow shad. I literally need blow ups or birds to show me where to start. My lake is only 300 acres, and broken up into 3 "bays" of somewhat equal acreage and depth with one bigger and deeper. I do better on the 2 smaller ones in general. Topwater is a blast but falls apart pretty quickly. The 77 showerblows is my fave, but it doesn't take long before they don't want to come all the way up. If the surface is roiling, it's topwater time, but usually it's more sporadic. This is when I try a whole mess of actions to entice a bite; small flutter spoons, swimming spoons, even tightlining jigging spoons, 3/8-1/2oz finesse scroungers, tailspinners, br head and fish, 2-3" 3/8-1/2oz hair jigs, twitch baits, and jighead minnows. These fish seem to get really dialed in on both profile, action and maybe most importantly rof; in some ways these bass can be the most picky. I will have rods laying everywhere with options, it gets messy and long casts are everything. These schoolies are almost always grouped by size, less than 2lbs, 2-3lbs, and sometimes 3-4lbs. This is probably just a reflection of the population distribution, but I think there's not enough of bigger shad/shiners schooled up to make it worth it for bigger bass to chase all day. So my bait profiles are often in the 2-3.5" range. Another thing, as the surface activity slows down, the school of bass seem to move less too. Meaning you can work the last known area for awhile and still find/catch. I'm sure your electronics would tell you, but without them this is my best practice. Morning seems to be best, and any shade line that extends over the color line is also worth concentrating on. Not a big fish presentaion for me, but it gives me space and fish when my favorite shallow structure is blown up by pleasure boats and terribly inconsiderate boaters. scott

@GoneFishingLTN slow rolling the deep weedlines and fishing at night is a staple for my clear water, heavy pressure lake. Adding in a heavy swim jig/paddle tail (1/2-3/4oz) in crappie/sunfish colors would be my recommendation for the days they don't want the extra vibration/flash. scott

I have the A models, and the 7'6MH/MF, 7'7H/MF, and the 7'2ML/F are the models I'd be looking with what you said. Coming from Dobyns, the 7'6MH/MF will feel like a powerful fast action rod and the 7'7H/MF will still feel "crisper" than a DC735. I have never thrown a stickbait since I got exprides, personal thing, so my guess is the 7'2ML is in general the best 5" senko rod, but maybe underpowered for dealing with heavy cover. But the 7'6MH should have enough tip and length to get you your distance, enough sensitivity to know you're bit, and the power to set the hook at distance. Don't let the MF label fool you into thinking it's a soft rod. It will crush on bladed jigs and spinnerbaits too. scott

@T2DM took care of ya, here's how they sit on the rod, if it helps. scott

Should be able to get some pics up in the next 2 days. By memory, they are very close, almost imperceptible with the curado sitting similar height with a slightly narrower frame. scott