10,000 lakes Bassin

I’ve never fished big swimbaits or glidebaits for bass. I live in an area where if I was to throw a 6in or bigger bait I’d probably catch way more pike than bass. I think I’m going to start swimbait fishing but I don’t want to be constantly loosing expensive lures. I normally use braid to leader for general stuff and the heaviest leader I’ve used is 20lb fluoro. I land pike with it regularly but I also break it off pretty commonly. Would upping my leader to 25lb and using something higher quality like Seaguar blue label prevent most of my issues? I know the only way to be 100% is wire leader but I fish clear water and I don’t want to stop those giants from biting.

Lighter weight rod. It’s a Diawa tatula elite (non ags) 7’3 MH/F. I had been using a old Abu Garcia 7’0 MH/F

The rod is much higher quality than my old one, almost double the price so it’s more sensitive than the old one

If it’s too long should I trim it to where it’s just above the hook?

That might be the issue, the ones I landed were hooked in the lips, they weren’t swallowing it

I was casting and working it along the outside grasslines

Should I just try hitting em harder tomorrow?

I’ve never had the issue of loosing fish on a jig before this. I normally hit them with a solid hook set, keep tension on the line and they end up in the boat. But today I was using a new 7’3 rod instead of a 7’0 and a faster reel than normal. I lost more than I landed. They all came off right at the side of the boat when they went up to jump. The line and jig were exactly the same. Is it an issue with my new combo? What can I do?

My local store had a big sale on some red gamakatsu ewgs. Do any of you use red hooks on t-rigs? Why or why not?

I’ve got some 10lb fluoro laying around that I’m not going to use for anything. Could I put a couple layers of it on a reel as backing to prevent the risk of braid slipping, or to I have to use mono?

I don’t believe I got it on any of my fishing stuff, but there’s always that little bit of doubt 😂.

I know that pyrethrin is highly toxic to fish but can fish detect it? Or is just odorless to them? I got some pyrethrin treatment for my dog and it got my ocd thinking 😂

I’m a big fan of braid to a leader so that won’t be an issue 👍

I ended up going with the SLX 70, I hope it will work well for me as an all around reel

So it should maybe get something like a fuego or the SLX A if I wanted a reel I could beat up more? And would it be stupid to put a $100-$120 reel on a $190 rod? If I got a reel in that price range I might get the regular tatula instead of the elite

So if I want a reel that I can use in grass and pads that’s not the one to go with? Should I get the tatula 100 on Amazon for $111? Are there any issues with ordering directly from Japan through Amazon?

Would the SLX 70 not be great for multi purpose stuff? I would mostly use that setup at a light flipping and pitching combo but for now it’d have to do everything

Could I get tackle warehouse to match that?

I’ll be using 30lb braid to a 20lb fluoro leader. Is the slx more comfortable to hold?

Would you go with the shimano SLX 70, or the daiwa tatula CT? Would be going on a daiwa tatula elite rod.

I end up mostly roll casting when I’m in my kayak because I’m so low to the water that pitching is a pain

I was going to get some megastrike but they have been sold out of the original and crawfish for a long time on tackle warehouse. Would the garlic megastrike also be good? I saw they had some on discount tackle but it didn’t say what “flavor” it is

Have any of you used it? Would you recommend? Would the BANG spray can be a better option?

I was gonna say… 60 bags in 2 weeks is like 4 bags a day 😂

What soft plastic do you have the most confidence in when flipping and pitching? How do you like to rig it?