softwateronly

Doesn't stop me, or make me move, but HATE HATE HATE!!! scott

I fish alone 95% of the time. If my cousin and old neighbors schedule aligned more, I'd be more than happy to lower that percentage, otherwise, this is still great. If there wasn't such a demanding bait monkey, this would be the cheapest therapy ever. Now if I can just get my dog to not absolutely lose her mind when I have a fish on, my partner would be set! scott

I use braid to leader and wind it through and onto the reel. My FG knot lasts longest, ie I cut it, when the wrap is held w/ 2 half hitches, pulled tight, snip the floro/mono as close as possible, 2 more half hitches, and then a 4 turn rizzuto (sp) finish, trim and a quick burn on the braid. When I do it correctly, it has never failed. When the floro or mono tag pokes through in any way, failure is possible and I retie properly. This is admittedly is a lot of work, I just personally have fallen in love with combining braid and mono or braid and floro depending on what I'm doing. I have shimanos except for 1 Tat 200 and 1 Tat 300. The 300 I treat the same as my shimanos, the 200 gets no leader or 1 rod length only. scott

I'm a little confused. 8.5 ratio on a 7'6" heavy jig rod seems ideal to me. Accuracy is more about the rod in my opinion. Have you tried a heavier jig on it yet? 5/8 or 3/4oz? Maybe your accuracy is hindered by the rod not loading properly. Maybe sell the rod, add $50-100 and get a Daiwa Tatula 7'1 MH or H and your jig rod will be more accurate and possibly more sensitive. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?from=basres&start=0&count=20&prevsearch=tatula+baitcast&searchtext=tatula Or hang on to that rod and get a 6 or 7 gear ratio reel for larger weedless swimbaits, ie magdraft freestyle, 6.8 keitech, on owner beast hooks. Seems like that rod would do really well with this as well and maybe the accuracy wouldn't be as important since its a chuck and wind type thing. scott

You've been a T rig worm voice in my head the last few months, and I appreciate it and thank you for it. Just fished a churned up lake between wake boats, jet skis, and pontoons all within spitting distance on this weekend of boating idiots, and got about 12-15 each day because of the worm. The one thing that became clear though, and just seeing if it's the case for anyone else, is that I caught 80% of my bass fishing the T rig uphill. I'd sit in 1-2' fow and pitch to the first break. Almost always it was on the first drop or the second wiggle through the weeds. The bass must have been tucked in, looking deep, because I'd pull fish out of areas I'd already fished downhill. scott

I don't punch often, but I read or heard that tungsten is preferred because the smaller size has less of a chance of forcing the bass's mouth open on the hookset giving a better hookup ratio. I have been experimenting with taking a 11/4oz punch jig and bulldozing through the thickest weed beds I can find on a horizontal retrieve and have had decent success in both bites and hook up ratio so I don't think the tungsten thing is that important. I think both these techniques are more about reaction strikes. Bass see something in their area and they attack. My guess is profile trumps action in these cases. scott

I like a destabilized head to get some extra head waggle to go with the tail wiggle, this way the skirt has a pulse to it. To be honest it seems like the trailer is just as important if not more than the head. So far I'm just copying/parroting Matt Allen with R2S Dwalker and Xzone swammers on his Dirty Jigs Cali swim jig, but it works well for me. I also use a Kalins 6" grub, rigged tail down, and find a similar thump that gets bit. I keep looking for different options. scott

With those water temps and bluegills already on beds, my guess would be that most bass have spawned. But, I'm sure you can find bass in all three stages still. I fished Green Lake as a kid in the mid 80's, best couple summers ever. scott

TW just executed a shimano warranty replacement of an expride 7'7"H in one week, I shipped Friday and received it the following Friday. To me, that's an exceptional turn around to/from Chicago/NorCal. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt till CA changes their workplace covid restrictions. scott

I fish a clear water, natural lake, visibility over 12', and have done real well with a swim jig. It seems to shine when panfish or crappie are being targeted and I fish the jig relatively fast and lower in the water column. scott

To me, the 735 is an excellent swim jig rod. I like to bash a 3/4 oz swim jig through the weeds and I almost always have it tied on. I prefer the 734/MH expride for 1/2oz swim jigs and have never tried a 3/8 oz on the 735. For clarity, I fish the 1/2oz in more open water situations. scott

Yeah that's a significant difference in weight. I don't have the weights for either bait. I was telling you that your set up will be a little underpowered because Beast Coast uses a heavy, dense plastic. To me, overall weight is about casting. How the bait feels in the water is more about how it uses water resistance to achieve action and how that resistance impacts the rod. Third, once a fish bites, how much effort is required to effectively set the hook. What I was trying to say, and this is strictly my opinion, is that your current set up seems "slightly" under powered in one and three. I would definitely fish the bait with what you have, I wouldn't even change the line. I'd lob the first few casts to make sure max weight felt fine casting and I'd hit the hookset harder than normal, then decide from there. scott

I haven't thrown the Miyagi in a few years and can't quite remember, but I have a 6.5" Creep tied on right now and it is a chunky, thick back of plastic. It feels most comfortable on my Tequila Baccarac, even though I haven't thrown it enough to have a bite yet. I agree with PhishLI that this brand would be better on a 5+ power. scott

You're probably aware, but 1/2 oz jig with a trailer is probably over 24 grams. Just so you have an apples to apples comparison when you get on the water. scott

I think you have great options with what you already own. I'd tie on what you want to use and pick the Braillist, perfect pitch, or expride for jigs based on weight. T rigs, I'd start with the 703. If you need to go heavier on your T rig, braillist probably. If you ever get to dragging a 3/4oz or 1oz jig, I can definitely say that your expride 7'3" XH will do it well. I feel like the 734 is better suited to reaction baits, but does have enough "feel" to be usable for bottom contact. I think all these rods will pitch fine. These are my slightly informed opinions. scott

Welcome to the forum? Trolling isn't for me, but I love setting up a good drift. I also like that there's so many diverse opinions on this site. scott

This is my choice too, but I haven't branched out to other brands in years. scott

Since your bio says bank fisherman, it's possible and even likely, that you're unable to reach the deeper water staging areas. I think you're correct in thinking that warmer temps will bring them back to within reach. scott

I have 3 Met 20's and Bantam mgl from asian portal fishing and Digitaka, one from the auction site the rest from either site directly. I recommend checking all 3 sites, prices differ. All 3 options were legit and fast and allows me to afford way better reels than if I stuck to the USDM. scott

I fish clear water and have american shad and ghost minnow. If I'm hopping/ripping I try ghost minnow first, if I'm burning/ripping I try american shad first. scott

The last week in March and the first week in April was probably my best stretch of big fish ever, I think even my largemouth PB. I had 3 days with 20+lb bags. Since then has been much more of a grind, but thanks to this site and all of you, I picked up a lot better presentation with jigs and did a little better than alright with a handful of decent fish. scott

Maybe it's semantics, maybe it's my lack of knowledge, but in a lake that has no wood or rocks, depth is my key indicator. Deep water grass lines or grass type transitions, beyond what can be seen, are what puts me on fish. So depth in relation to structure is my main key. I fish a small lake, have years of experience on it, practically memorized the contour map, drag and pop baits off the bottom most of the time, and have an old school flasher on my boat. When I get bit, I make mental notes of where I was and what I was pulling through, and then repeat it in other areas. This has put me on more and better fish over the years. scott

Even though I was wearing rain gear as a wind break, neck gaitor for warmth, and a knit hat and hood in the high 40's weather last week, my face below my glasses and above the neck gaitor got a pretty decent tan in one afternoon just from water glare. I have to be better at remembering to fully cover up, even on the cold days. scott

Currently using 7'6" MH Expride and 7'3" XH Expride, love the feel, "softer" tip, and my most sensitive rods. I throw up to listed 1/2 oz jigs on the MH which seems to be the limit. I don't know first hand but the 7'2" MH should fish similarly, probably even a touch more "sensitive". Slightly more expensive than your budget, but close. I definitely recommend. scott

I think being in sync is important, but I don't know if the bass care. It's still new to me, but really liking the hog farmer spunk shad these days. Seems to match well with any speed. I've had lots of success with upside down keitechs in the past, but I'm more of a rip and drop rather than burn it back fisherman. scott