softwateronly

I throw 4 different rods for jerk baits and a 7’1 Feather ML isn’t one of them. I prefer under 7’ rods and the way the tip behaves I feel like I can’t cast as far as I should be able to or control the way I hit the bait on slack line. It is used mostly for little free rigs and tail spinners. I can recommend; expride 6’10M/MF adrena 6’11M+/F major craft Days 692 M/F major craft Days 360 6’10M/RF The Adrena plays best for me on the larger/ heavier jerkbaits, 1/2oz up. The other 3 have been real versatile for me, able to fish them all, but usually best 5/8oz and under. scott

I have no actual knowledge, but I would keep a 7" fluke and flutter spoon tied on and dead stick/weightless fall/ tightline the ares with blowups. See if I could entice a big girl looking for something easy to eat. Hard to beat the real thing on a swim, maybe the injured are the key. scott

@MediumMouthBass has great advice. I also will rig it slightly above the centerline if I feel I don't have enough gap in the bite of the hook. Good Luck! scott

It's not dirt cheap, but the Major Craft Days in the 2 piece models at $140 shipped no taxes from digitaka is the best bang for the buck series I've ever tried. It's like a half price expride that gets small to fit in the car. The newer Days 360 fishes just under but similar to the Steez AGS in my opinion. I've even found 2 different salt models that excel for me. scott

Tails float on tornados not t macs. scott

The airtail wasn’t available my last TW worm order so I moved over to hags tornado. The 6.5 & 8” are both big bass magnets, float, seem to last forever, and storm chaser is a hard to beat color. I’m not sure I’m gonna go back to grande bass. scott

DJ guppy head, unpainted silver is my favorite. Good ml wire hook, and nice body roll. Gamakatsu, owner, and deps all have nice ball head designs as well. scott

My MI lake is 10-14' visibility most of the time, but late May - mid June we usually get a vibrant green phytoplankton bloom. That has been my historical best time to throw Red bug/plum. I haven't noticed a difference between those two colors. scott

If you rip chatterbaits out of milfoil, give a MH/F rod a try as well. If the rod has too much deflection before it pops free, I feel like I get less bites because it probably travels too far/fast from the strike zone. scott

I really like the 6'10M expride for mb 110's, jr's, +1's, showerblows, and poppers. If you end up choosing that rod, feel confident that those lures will certainly work. MB orochi's are nice rods too, I just don't have any experience with them. scott

I fish braid as a mainline on all my gear. The rods, leader line, and drag setting help me re-introduce flex or give, back into the system. Every decision in life has tradeoffs, for me, braid to leader works best at limiting what I don't like. The fact that an fg knot is in your arsenal greatly increases the chance that you might like your setups like I do. But if I were doing a derby, I wouldn't want such a drastic change all at once. And I wouldn't want to fish freshly spooled braid when the stakes are high. I agree with @LrgmouthShad that it's a system and it takes some time on the water to refine your preferences. Good luck! scott

Send in the clowns! Catch the pigs. Another great video, thanks. scott

These do well for me... https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Fin-tech_Title_Shot_Shorty_Jig_2pk/descpage-FTTSS.html scott

The poison Adrena 6’11M+ is a great light jig and worm rod. It also kills in the 5/8-3/4oz jerkbait category. My definite favorite out of the 4 I’ve owned. scott edit: I bought 3/4 used. The one I bought new is the one I broke by catching a cleat 3 years after buying it. If you look you can get used adrenas around 250. Well worth it.

That tracks with my braid use. I pull some line out and pinch the line with my thumb and forefinger post cast and pre retrieve and reel to get to semi slack, then start my retrieve. It's almost unconscious at this point, and serves me well on dig and loop knots, but I fish braid as a mainline for most everything. Training myself to keep some tension allows for hassle free fishing, mostly. scott

I run Varivas 8 strand pe#1.5 on alphas 800s, and pe#.8 on an alphas air. @bulldog1935 helped me out and in the future will probably up to pe#1 on the air. The .8 is doable but dig happens a little more frequently than my vigilance. scott

You could also drag a ned apparently... https://www.wsiltv.com/news/illinois-state-record-smallmouth-bass-caught-in-lake-michigan/article_7adfddb0-df50-57e3-afcf-b3d6e06ae6be.html In all seriousness, most of my night time fishing success for LM has come in waves. Often I'll sit on the shelves between deep water and shallow flats and catch 3-4 then slow down for awhile till another group comes up to feed. Every now and then I can get on a school/wolfpack working an area nonstop and that is some of the best fishing I've ever had. Swimjigs, chatterbait, spinnerbait, jig, and worm are my best producers. Dark nights are better than bright nights in my opinion. scott

LM - 25.25x18.75 Poison Adrena 6'11M+ / jdm 20 metanium / 30lb pp 16lb fc 100 100mm d-walker on a flashy swimmer SM - 5.5lbs 7' cane pole red wrigglers under a bobber; caught loads of little perch that day and still think the sm actually hit a perch eating my worm. scott

Yeah it can happen, but it's usually infrequent. Wagging the bait in a pot of water on a low boil can reset the tails in seconds, but can't be done on the boat. Clamshell is best, but bulky and inconvenient. Sorting by color is second best to me. The salt content can do a number on your hooks too, something to watch out for. scott

The 22 Bantam is one of my favorite reels, and though I no longer have a 734, when I did, the 18 bantam was right at home on there. One of my favorite things about dobyns rods, is that a 6-8oz reel feels nearly identical. Allows for a lot of reel swapping with other rod companies less interested in balance. scott

Color does bleed a bit over time and with heat, so I usually sort by that. Sometimes, you can get real interesting mixes though if you keep them together. scott

To each their own. 1.25-1.5oz jigs handle well for me. scott

Don’t know that Loomis power, but the steez ags power pitch is my favorite heavy cover jig rod, big spinner bait rod, 1-1.5oz spoon rod and a very good swim jig rod. Only consideration is that I wasn’t a fan of the balance with a sub 7.5oz reel, just a touch too tip heavy for my liking. scott

I’m a huge fan of this rod. Plays like a half power heavier than a MB tequila bacarac for a third the price. Under $140. https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/5/4573236260358 mc days 702X scott

For me, short pitching rods in descending weight are the MB Tequila Bacarac, Steez AGS 7’2 power pitch, and the MC Days 360 6’6MH. scott