RDB

It’s going to depend on the lure size and cover you are fishing. I have 2 primary jig rods...1 MH/XF (NRX 893) and 1 H/F (Steez). I use the 893 for lighter jigs and t-rigs in lighter cover. For heavier cover or heavier jigs, I use the Steez. A MH will work fine in the right conditions.

I believe if bass are actively feeding, a splash is less likely to be harmful but I still opt for a low splash unless I’m casting past the juice. I always err on the side of stealth. Many of these bass are feeding up and often will see your bait before it hits the water. I think that is usually what happens when you get bit as soon as your lure hits. I’m sure everyone has seen a bass hit a dragonfly above the water.

^^This^^^ If it’s the slimy lime green goo, it’s best to avoid. It’s going to stick to anything that touches it. Bass don’t like it either. If it’s regular vertical vegetation, there are a lot of options. The highest potential areas are going to be the edges (inside, outside, top, bottom, pockets, irregularities).

NRX for bottom contact. Witch Doctor for moving baits (getting ready to test Alpha Angler).

You are kind of asking 2 questions...one about rods/reels and one about splash. Your splash question is more technique related...I pitch with most of my rods & reels. If you want a small splash, the lure should stay close to the water and enter with minimal forward momentum. You probably need to adjust your settings. If too tight, the lure wants to pendulum up on release. I would keep my spool tension loose to lower start up inertia (on mine, I have a very slight amount of play in the spool), and over tighten the brakes. Then back off the brakes until you get the trajectory & distance you are looking for.

I’m like you in that I can’t stay married to one brand. I just ordered a rod from Alpha Angler. A little more obscure company but I have heard great things so I had to try.

Have fun, enjoy being outdoors, and if you catch a fish, that’s a bonus.

Unfortunately it happens. The more worrisome thing would be not caring at all...shows you respect the sport. Handle the best you can and accept that occasionally one will die.

There have been some folks (including myself) who have mentioned that some of their jigs will not fit snug in the Plano jig box. Today I finally had the opportunity to test an idea and it worked great. I used heat shrink tubing over the arms only for the smaller sized jigs and they all now have a snug fit. I have included pics of the box as well as the tubing package (Home Depot electrical section). Hope this helps.

I would suggest watching some videos and judging based on your needs. There are a ton of videos that provide feedback from people who have actually used it. Here is one talking about bank and kayak use (and this guy already has sonar on his kayak).

Kind of nice when you get the last laugh. Should have brought your fish to the weigh-in in a plastic grocery bag...that would have been priceless ?.

A lot of folks use these super high speed reels when pitching/close quarters. When pitching, most typically only work the bait for the first few feet. The higher speed allows you to get the lure back in and out more quickly. More pitches over time.

I’m always interested in the creative ways that anglers solve problems and thought this was a cool temporary solution for a broken rod guide. I would love to see a pinned thread where folks could post interesting fishing hacks. I would be happy to do it but as a newbie, I didn’t want to overstep my bounds.

Thought I would share a hack that I have found useful using a split ring (not my idea). Sorry if it has been previously posted. In the first pic, you can see the ring next to the head. When storing, you just slide the ring down to keep the arms together.

+1 on the Yellow Magic. I haven’t used the Rico Rio but they have a loyal following. During the last Tackle Warehouse 25 Days of Savings sale, they had Rico Rio blemishes for $9.99 for 1 day and limited the number you could buy. They still sold out before I could place an order.

If you are going to be fixated on a specific type of fishing, I can’t think of a better one than frogging. IMO, nothing quite like a frog bite.

Do they feed well...yes. As soon as the water starts warming, bass know what’s coming and will start their transitions and feed up. Brandon Palaniuk talks about a concept of finding bass by season and he calls it the percentage triangle. Basically identifying summering and wintering locations and connecting the dots to locate higher percentage areas during various seasonal transitions.

Agree...though you have more experience with 2’ long bass than I. Although not foolproof, I can usually tell if it’s a big bass by the head shakes.

I put the rear hook on the rod keeper and have a hook bonnet on the front hook.

My weakness is slowing down. After reading A-Jay’s thread about stitching, I picked up a copy of In Pursuit of Giant Bass ($15 at Lunker City). However, I’m going to set the bar a little lower than A-Jay. My goal is to stick with it for at least an hour before I go nuts.

I’m not sure what you are referring to with Ben but like MN Fisher said, there are several toss out versions. One is called Deeper which syncs to an iPad. It’s about the size of a tennis ball and tossed or cast out with a rod. I have seen the images and they look pretty good. It is basically down imaging but you also have the ability to create contour maps.

No, I get all of that Tom...I still have pork from the early 70’s. Hopefully you don’t think I was questioning your technique. You don’t see hair jigs used a lot in Texas, just like you don’t see a lot of folks using 8” swimbaits so it’s not something I am very well versed in. I was asking because I was intrigued. I enjoy experimenting or trying new things and had never considered using pork on something like a preacher jig. I may have to dust off the old pork trailers.

I’m probably stage 3, 5, and the unaccounted for stage 6. I don’t really get excited about numbers but still get that overpowering rush when I hook a good fish. I now find myself focusing more on lakes where I have limited history (my stage 6). I enjoy the process as much as the result...studying the maps, putting the pieces together, developing a plan, adjusting on the fly. The satisfaction I get when I have success is much greater for me than a great day on my home lake. Thank God bass can be such confusing creatures.

I’ve heard you say this a couple of times now and admittedly I had never heard of that combo. I made an effort to use hair jigs this winter and they were really effective. I have threaded a piece of a stick bait on the shank to flair out the hair more but never a trailer. Is pork the ticket or is it any trailer?

Well heck...that’s not much of a savings. I did see some that were 50 for $4.50 but I haven’t seen the button on anything other than Owners.