BassinBrett

I have been using two Shimano Curado BFS reels with several different rods and I have not been impressed with the casting performance with lower weight lures. It will cast 3/16 to about 1/4 once lures fairly well but anything less than 3/16 was not so good. I was never able to pitch or flip a 1/16 jig at all. I did not find the stock set better than a good spinning set up for light stuff. So after being frustrated with the reels casting performance for a year or more I ordered an aftermarket spool from bait Finesse Empire. I got the Roro Lures CB26 spool for Curados and SLX reels. the spool is super light compared to the stock spool. It is well machined and finished. I put on 10 pound Suffix braid I had left over and a 6 pound mono leader and headed to the nearest lake to test is out. I am surprised how much it improved the reels casting performance. I started with a 3/16 Duo Realis mid Roller and it cast like a rocket. I switched to a Lucky Craft Point 48 at 3/32 and it cast really well too. Next up was 1/10 once Duo Tetra Pocopocos Popper and it was good too. I did not have any lighter lures at the time so headed home. I when back today and try a 1/32 crappie jig with a tube. The casting is poor with a 1/32 jig. I could feels the leader knot catching on the rod guides when casting. I think a lighter line with no connection knot may cast better but I have not had time to test that. Overall I am super impressed how much the new spool improved low weight casting performance. I wish I had the spool a year or two ago.

Nice work! It is a good looking rod

I just built a DS rid this winter. NFC ds721 as a dedicated drop shot rod so going forward yea I will have one ready.

I have used a white lure many times with success, and there are no pearly whites fish in the lake and river I was fishing. I say go for it, cause it is going to work!

That fish look like a Minnesota deer hunter! Congrats on the good harvest.

I used a pack last year on the Mississippi River. The action is great but they are fragile. I was used a 4/0 beast hook. The SM did go after them too!

I have used the Bucca Trick Shad a few times I found it easy to use. I have also used River 2 Sea SWavers. They work well too. Both are cheap in the swimbait word.

What size hooks are you all using for larger size soft jerkbaits like 6, 7 and 8 inch Jerk Shadz and Sakamata shads? I can see a time for EWG hooks and Beast style hooks and then jig heads too. What are you are favorite hooks and size? Any jighead to look for? Thanks

This also depends on the fish you may catch. I now have a Frabill Conservation Series net that has a 24 by 28 inch head. If you have Muskies around you will want the bigger size. I have had a few giant muskies bite little tiny bass lures. One musky broke my rod and got away at the boat because I did not have the bite net.

When out today for a few hours on Lotus lake. The water temperature was 46.5 to 47.5. Ended up catching 3 large mouth. 2 we’re about 16 inch long and the third was 19 inches. I left when the wind and rain started.

I have used Curado 71 for this type of lure with out issue.

The channel at Grays bay on Minnetonka is open. I am going back tomorrow before work and make a few cast. More for Practice than anything else.

I have used the following swim jig and like them a lot. The Greenfish tackle shin’s Chibi Swim Jig is the best light tackle swim jig I have found. The Cliff Pace The pulse Pacemaker jig will give you a large size profile and it falls slowly for its weight. I have found the ISM Carver Swim Jig to be one of the most weedless jigs out there. As others have said use a lighter weight jig to get over and through sparser weed grow or to run shallow.

I got my MN 3026 license but a need to get an Idaho license too. Let us know when you are going to to be in MN.

There are still a few at Three Rivers. https://threeriverstackle.com/products/megabass-karashi-80-coming-soon

I have used a swim jig spring, summer, and fall here in MN and they worked well.

I would love to catch these other bass. Here is MN there are only smallmouth and northern large mouth. I am think next year bass trip might go to TX for a Guadalupe bass. Might stop on the way in MO and AR and get one of the new species!

The first thing that came to my mind after reading your post was a paddle tail swim bait. With a few different weight jighead and hooks you can cover the whole water column with a swimbait.

I have used a soft sock a time or two with my old Kayak. They can definitely slow your drift down. I think a Kayak motor is the way to go now. I have a stern mounted motor and foot steering. I can hold position fairly well with my feet and fish heading in the wind. A tail wind can screw that plan up though. A bow mount motor with spot lock might be the best for control.

I say kayak. The type of water you are describing is prefect for a kayak. I can currently carry way too many rods and way too much tackle with my kayak setup for one days fishing so storage is a mute point to me. I think you will have an easier time storing the kayak too. If you needed to make big runs to get to you fishing spot the the Jon boat would be a better choice but you are on smaller lake so not much difference between the two. As far as stability goes you can fall out of both as well. There are many very stable kayaks out now that you can stand up in without issues like a Jon boat. Also kayak come in better colors then Jon boats.🤪

Let not forget the Jackall Micro Pompadour and Gan Craft Claw 70.

I got lucky got to choose the color I wanted. I got the specter version 2. They are very hard to find and you may not get much choose as far as colors go. The low float is the way to go I think.

North Fork Composite P700 with a Curado BFS reel would work about prefect for 3/16 crankbait. I think you could shorten the blank a bit if you wanted.

I can’t imagine how someone on BR would portage the Range bass boat into the lake you go to! 😜 The picture are so so but what an amazing day for you! Maybe I will head north next year.

If I go fishing on Friday I could be an extreme angler too. It is going to be -22 degrees here. I normally don’t go when it is much below freezing. It is not worth the trouble. I did go fishing once in AZ when it was 114 out. I got to the lake at 3 or 4 in the afternoon and fishing to midnight. It never really cooled off. I also found out lake humidity makes it feel worse.