Brian11719

The zoom mag 2 and ol monster on a texas rig with a worm weight are two of my favorite lures. You can swim it our bounce it off the bottom depending on where they are that day and both seem to do really well for me in calmer / clearer conditions...what's nice about this setup is you can also bring along a pack of swim worms and then easily switch over to those if the wind picks up or the conditions aren't as clear as you were expecting when you get there. I've found these all come through light - moderate grass in ponds pretty well too...

^ I bought one of these over the holiday when they were on sale at T.W. I like it ok but in retrospect I wish I would have paid a little more and gone with a St. Croix Victory VTC72HM or a Dobyn's Champion DC 736CB. One good thing about the Ark rod is the lure weight rating goes over 1oz so you can throw 6XDs on it, but after using it a while and checking these other ones out I wish I would have waited and spent a bit more. If either of those are too pricey then the Ark is a pretty good bet. If you can live with a 1oz max weight the Dobyn's Fury crankbait rod also looks pretty good but I personally think it would be worth it to save up a little more and get a Victory or a Champion for this setup....just my humble opinion. Also if you need a reel I think Dick's has the speed spool LFS on sale for $80 right now so that might save you a few bucks that you could put towards the rod. The Dobyn's Kaden KD 735CB also seems like it might work for this type of thing. Alternatively, you might also consider a 7'4" heavy fast setup. I use this for spinnerbaits, smaller a-rigs and 6" magdrafts and it works great for that. There are also plenty of good options for this around that price point I guess for me I'm just a little more picky about my bladed jig rod...

I picked up a Lew's Custom Lite CLTJRS (spinning rod) on sale earlier this year and really like it for finesse jigs. My only complaint is there aren't more spots where I can throw them but this rod has a good amount of balance when it comes to backbone and sensitivity for this type of thing (IMHO)...I also like it for swim worms but please be advised it doesn't say 'swim worms' on the rod / spec sheet so I guess I'm a bit of a maverick when it comes to that...

Own several and would strongly recommend them if you are pairing with a $100-$150 rod and just starting to use a baitcaster. One of the best things about them is they are consistent which helps when you are figuring out how to set the spool tension and brakes based on your casting technique and lure weight. Sometimes you can find them on sale so I'd check google and if you see any for $80 or so then I'd argue that's about as good as it's going to get at that price...

I like this setup on a medium heavy fast spinning rod. I use a 3/8 oz cylinder weight and a texas rigged trick worm. Any color should work for the worm as long as it's red bug...does well around moderate / pretty thick grass and still comes through without having to pull anything off sometimes. Good to have one available if you fish ponds that get a lot of grass in them as the weather warms up...if it gets too grassy the only things I would throw are a frog or a punch rig / jig but if it's not quite there yet this does pretty well. I also like a spinning reel with a good amount of drag for this setup.

Caught this little lady a few days ago on a sexy shad fluke in a pond that doesn't even have shad in it...

Yes BUT from what I've seen it depends on the conditions. There are days when I've thrown a swim worm on a texas rig and had it do significantly better than a drop shot and a wacky rig. Then again there's others where it doesn't seem to work. Having said that one thing I like about a texas rig swim worm is you can go with something more "finessy" (yes I realize that's not a real word) or something with a little more thump like an ultravibe if the conditions aren't as clear...and you can bring a craw or a small yum dinger or something similar and hop the bottom so from that standpoint there are times when I feel like it gives you a few more options and the versatility itself gives me more confidence.

I feel like I can't really narrow it down to 2 lures based on the post. If I've learned anything lately it's that you might have an idea of what you think / want to go throw that day and as soon as you get there mother nature is going to laugh at your plans and if you try to argue it's probably not going to work out for you. I'd say a good casting rod and spinning rod would be good to take along and then give yourself the option of a few baits on each and pick from there based on whether it's cloudy or clear, windy or calm, clean or dirty water, etc.

Rod wise last time I called St. Croix w/ a broken guide they gave me a great deal on a new upgrade. From what I've read I'm pretty sure Dobyns has a great warranty too although I haven't actually had to call them yet. Guess what I'm saying is at least from a rod perspective I tend to try and stick to these two brands because they are smaller american-based companies and have great warranty programs. Aside from that sorry to hear that happened but that is a nice bass

I have been thoroughly impressed with Shimano spinning reels. I'd suggest the Ultegra or anything above it and if you are interested the guy in this video: did a great job (IMHO) of explaining what you get with the Ultegra vs. lower priced reels like the Miravel and also how Shimano does things in general when it comes to spinning reels...

I got a Dobyns Kaden KD 713SF for this and have been happy with it.

Arguably my favorite video from you @Glenn you could feel the enthusiasm. I probably would have had a hard time getting through customs on my way back...

After telling myself I'd take it easy on tackle for a while I ended up getting a couple packs of Geecrack Bellows Gill Swimmers since the bass in my local pond seemed to be eyeballing the bluegill like crazy today. Hopefully they are worth the price...

2500...but one of the main things I look at for a lighter spinning reel is the weight and how much line it actually holds (and the drag) so I'd also take those into consideration before settling on something. In my case I like shimano spinning reels (ultegra and up). I also picked up a lew's hypermag when academy had a sale a while back and have been pretty impressed w/ that one as well.

Rare to see a pond with not a lot of weeds in it (at least for me). In that case I'd probably opt for a bluegill or craw looking crankbait and bang it off the bottom as much as possible. If that doesn't work a craw on a texas rig or a jig (if you are going for larger fish) should do the trick.

Congrats...that's pretty much my dream drop shot rod...if I was to pair it right now I'd go with a Shimano Exsence A (3000). They don't make a 2500 but even if they did I've noticed the 2500 and 3000 models seem to be about the same weight anyway...please keep in mind I've not actually used this setup before (only wish I had) but found myself asking what I would get for a drop shot rod / reel if money wasn't an option and this was it. Hope you enjoy it.

I like to use a 7'2" medium or medium heavy with moderate fast action for jerkbaits. One of the nice things about going that route is you can also throw other things like squarebills, smaller lipless cranks and poppers on it as well. In my case I prefer spinning rods for this setup since I don't like lighter lures on a baitcaster, so I got a Lew's TP-1 Black (MH MF) when they were on sale earlier this year and have been very happy with it. The St. Croix Mojo, 6th Sense Fishing Lux and Abu Garcia Winch were the other spinning rods that looked good but it was hard to turn this one down for $75 with a $25 rebate on it...

I'd toss a frog or a popping frog in the morning. After that'd I'd switch to a punching rig and target structure or anything else unusual. Depending on how weedy it is you might be able to get away with a heavier drop shot as well (eg. 3/8 ounce cylinder weight and a weedless worm on a medium or medium heavy setup with thicker line).

For me it depends on the weight of the lure itself. I don't do that well on a baitcaster if the overall rig is under 1/2oz or so. So, for example I can throw a magnum fluke w/ a 1/8oz weight just fine on my MH baitcaster setup. On the other hand if I'm throwing a mag2 worm I'm definitely going to throw that on a spinning rod even though I'm using a 1/8oz weight w/ both lures.

lol Glenn already has a video for almost every question...I prefer 1/8 or 3/16 most of the time...I'm probably going to upset people when I say this but I can't really tell the difference between them...if I'm throwing something bigger or in deeper water I might bump it up to a 3/8 and if I'm punching into a mat my answer would be the lightest one that gets the job done but default to a 1 oz...

Depending on where you are at the air might drop that much but there's a good chance the water temp won't fluctuate that drastically. If it were me I'd focus more on water temp instead of air temp. Aside from that I'd avoid topwater this early if the weather doing was that. I'm in central Texas and still not seeing much action on topwater TBH and the weather isn't event doing that...on the other hand a bladed jig and drop shot did well this week...

So when it's that cold I'd be throwing an a-rig or a drop shot. Don't let it bug you or take it personally it's harder to catch them when it gets that cold. One thing that's not so great about our era and everything being recorded the way it is is that you don't see the 'bad' on sites like youtube just instant gratification and the appearance of catching multiple fish in seconds...it's (almost) never like that and especially not when the water temp is still that cold...if it were me I'd be sticking to my victory spinning rod with a red bug trick worm on it to be completely honest...realize people try to bag on the drop shot and swear by baitcasters and power fishing but there's a reason why the drop shot wins so much money every year...

Hard to say without knowing what rod / reel you are using currently. If it were me I'd try throwing a green pumpkin senko or a fluke or a ned rig and maybe try a new fishing spot if you still don't catch any. Rod and reel might be fine but hard to tell if that might be part of the issue without knowing what you are using. ....also hi

KD 713SF with a Lew's Hypermag 300. They had to ship the Hypermag but I already picked up the Kaden and put a Stradic on it and am happy w/ that setup for shaky heads and wacky senkos. Will probably pair the Hypermag with the Custom Lite CLWJS (MH F) spinning rod that I got a few weeks back...the drag on the Hypermag is a bit heavier so I think it will go well on that rod since I use it for fluke / tube / keitech fishing around grass. I would have bought a second rod / reel since this seems like a pretty good deal but Academy doesn't seem to carry the Victory line

My first casting reel was a black abu pro max and I was throwing a bladed jig around docks. Threw it too high on one cast and it went straight into the side of a dock at a pretty good speed and I was too much of a newbie to thumb the reel before the impact. Relatively new spool of fluoro and that rod was done for the day and I ended up cutting out the entire spool of line and replacing it all just to get it going again