Abassa

What is everyone's favorite fall lures for river smallies?I have been pounding topwater and noticed that over the last couple weeks the bite has cooled off numbers wise but everything hitting it is a bigger fish. And at what water temp does topwater become less effective? I have been having good success on a bladed jig but outside that I haven't gotten them to hit much else

Yep I am familiar with the Daiwa's reels, I have a couple zillion SV TWs and loved their ease of use. Part of me did like the I guess customizable aspect of being able to play with the spool tension knob on my Shimanos but that was more so for BFS style lures where the spool tension is much more important vs if I am casting heavier baits.

Agree, I can't think of rods that are better than MB for the money. Maybe G.Loomis but outside that the only way to get a better rod is either custom or the really specific JDM models

I have never heard of this before, is it something I just rub on the line with a paper towel or cloth? Nice will for sure take a look at the X-bites! I am a dummy and finally weighted my "3/8" oz jigs with their skirt and trailers so its more like 5/8 oz (19 grams). Also I have the Zillion SV TW and of all the expensive gear I've bought that reel has caught me the most big fish, something about it just consistently gets me into the nice ones regardless of rod or presentation Have you found it easy to break in? I have read some people saying they had to get it out a couple times to get it tuned, but for all my baitcasters I have gotten the sweet spot pretty quickly More full sized I believe, I just picked up the war eagle finesse jig in 3/8 and then some dark sleepers in 3/8 and 1/2. I'm new to the bottom contact world so not totally versed in the variety of different jigs

I actually own a couple MB rods. I have the orochi bandersnatch, PopX stick, and recently picked up the destroyer evoluzion cliffhanger. I love all those rods and honestly the biggest reason for not getting another MB rod is that I love trying new things This is super helpful! I have been fishing a ton but mainly focused on BFS so little hard baits, small crank baits, and topwater which is why the whole bottom contact world feels like learning a different language. I was planning to run braid to FC leader and given the comment above would I want to make that leader super short so that it isn't messing with the guide train? I have always had bad luck backlashing with straight FC on baitcasters so want to avoid it if I can

Nope I hadn't, the 1/4-1oz threw me off on their lure weights. I generally view that as like 1/2 oz being the ideal weight and I may get there with a jig and trailer but also don't want it to struggle with a 1/4. That said I'd love to know if you have tried throwing the minimum on there

I am looking to get a new bottom contact rod for smallie fishing on rivers. I am going to be mainly throwing 1/4-1/2 oz jigs, dark sleepers, and things of that nature. That said I have been looking at a couple different rods/reels and was hoping that people could let me know if they have used these rods and if it would work for what I am looking to do. Not going to be doing any kind of punching or flipping so I don't need something super powerful and lean towards having a lighter more sensitive rod Rods: Megabass Dark Sleeper Evergreen Orion Degal Shimano Poison Glorious 6'8ML G.Loomis GLX 854C JWR Reel: Daiwa Steez SV TW Thanks in advance for any help!

So I recently got a new 12' lund with a 9.9 merc on it. I usually fish the Potomac for smallies but due to all the rain we have gotten recently I have not had the chance to take her out on the maiden voyage, so I want to go out and run her a bit while also fishing... enter Lake Anna! Looking for general advice on where to launch/fish, what I should be using, and really any information that would be helpful. Have read online that the northern part of the lake looks to be a better area to focus on especially for new comers but again have not ever been there so could be totally off!