Team9nine

This short piece references some of the work of Dr. Keith Jones ("Knowing Bass"). Add this book to your library if you don't already have it. Ponder this: Do bass remember your lures? http://www.outdoornews.com/February-2014/Ponder-this-Do-bass-remember-your-lures/ -T9

Throwing most of the same ones as you from the sounds of it (listed below). Have you tried the Kahara or the Megabass yet? Damiki TG Tungsten Micro Keitech Tungsten Mono Spin Kahara Kaharaba Round Head Finesse Megabass Hedge Hog -T9

^^ Yeah, this ^^ It's not the MF guys sucking them up. We've been fishing this way for years and have more than an ample supply of baits and jig heads. I could go a year or two before needing to restock. It's everybody else finally catching on in a short window of time - "the rig" even showed up in my Dobyn's newsletter this morning -T9

Closest thing to that here in Indiana is a "Fish of the Year" award for the longest (length) fish of every species submitted to the program over the course of the year. Last year I won for hybrid striped bass and buffalo. -T9

You'll have a hard time getting much agreement on "the best", especially if you try and use cost as a limiting factor, but if money isn't taken into the equation, you'll find Seaguar Tatsu and various TORAY (my favorite) lines at the top of many lists. -T9

As you can kind of tell from the above posts, there is a pretty wide variety of rods and rod actions that will work for Midwest Finesse/Ned depending on personal preference. I've used everything from ML parabolic rods to fast & extra fast action sticks, L, ML and M, all with success. There are differences in how they feel and the related hook setting, but nothing that will cause you to lose or miss fish unless your basic technique is off. The one thing I will add though is that if you use the smaller #4 and #6 hooks (Gophers) like many of us do, you might find the more moderate or parabolic action rods better for keeping the tiny hooks stuck on a hard pulling fish. If you use the larger hooks in jigheads like the Z-Man SchroomZ though, the rod action doesn't seem to matter nearly as much. If you want a baseline, keep in mind that Ned Kehde still uses mostly six-foot, medium-action Shakespeare Synergy spinning rods which sold for $20 at the time you could get them. -T9

Hmmm.... in-line spinner (Beetle Spin back-up) jigging spoon (3/8-1/2 oz) though a blade bait would be nearly as good IMO small hair/bucktail/marabou jig of some sort, with "Ned" as a suitable back-up -T9

Like Blue, I keep mine in the package just because it is so much easier, though I know guys who have set up normal Plano boxes with all their Z-Man plastics nicely arranged inside. I bought one of those small zipper binder worm bags with rings (similar to pic below) and simply use a hole punch on the original packages. Holds about 15 packs of baits. Placed the jigheads in small 2"x3" Ziploc bags and keep them in their own small box. Never have to worry about plastics mixing, hooks rusting, etc. Have also mixed colors several times and can't remember ever seeing their baits bleed like normal plastics do. Ditto on going through the trouble to pre-soak them. A waste of time IMO. Fish them "as is" and don't worry. Salt usually is all gone within an hour, especially if you pre-stretch them after putting on the jighead before fishing. -T9 Edit: cgolf, just saw your post about why you pre-soak. Another option might be to not presoak and simply start fishing with a lighter weight jighead to start until they "break in." If you normally throw 1/16, start with a 1/32 instead. Should have about the same effect/fall rate.

For me it's easily Midwest Finesse (Ned Rig and a small hair jigs) for numbers. -T9

It is possible that hybrids could reproduce among themselves, as it has been done "naturally" in the lab/hatcheries. There have been others shown to occur naturally in the field, though deciphering with 100% certainty whether these were F2s or back crosses can be very difficult. -T9

Despite what some might say, hybrid stripers (wipers) are technically not sterile, though are sometimes classified as "functionally" sterile. That said, they have been documented to backcross at least minimally in some waters with either/both native parent strains. They have also successfully reproduced offspring in the lab. It is at least part of the reason our local DNR stopped stocking them in lakes that had naturally occurring strong white bass populations. As jig man stated, they don't make beds. They are broadcast spawners like their parents, generally moving upstream to spawn and releasing their eggs in the presence of males in current influenced areas. -T9

I use hair jigs a lot, both bucktail as well as other material such as craft fur. They probably account for between 20%-40% or more of my total bass in any given year, depending. While they will catch fish at any time, I tend to use them most during periods of cooler water, say October through April around here. -T9

Good place - good people. See: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/156400-american-legacy-fishing-company/?hl=%2Bamerican+%2Blegacy -T9

Standard bassin' colors for your waters, just like any other soft plastic bait. When in doubt, buy green pumpkin or junebug Hard to go wrong with either. See if this link helps you out a bit: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/midwest-finesse-lures/ -T9

Give it a shot. It can do it, but don't worry about the "how it works" part, focus instead on the "where and when" it works (best waters and parts of waters). Remember, there are non-Elaztech plastics used as part of the system, so don't get so hung up with that aspect. Learn the basic retrieves and shapes. Last time I tracked it a couple years ago, my catch rate averaged 12.2 bass/hour over the entire season. My three best trips ran over 20 fish per hour, and I did achieve the 102 bass milestone on one trip, though it took 4 hrs and 45 mins. to accomplish instead of the targeted 4 hrs. -T9

Yup^^ Not Cabomba. Not milfoil. Cabomba is also known as fanwort...and I haven't been able to find any reference that refers to Cabomba as "coontail." Coontail is always Ceratophyllum or hornwort, unless that is just a regional reference... -T9

Probably nothing to do with the fluorocarbon. Most likely scenario to me is that your worm rig isn't perfectly aligned, or is prone to spin due to your rigging. The spinning would add the twist, and what you described would happen whether you are using fluoro, nylon or copoly. -T9

BassResource member Wayne P. is about the most knowledgeable person I know in this regard. See the following article he wrote for specifics: http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/a-better-wacky-rigging-method.html -T9

Seen them - never used them. I use the tungsten jigheads for additional weight, with or without small fiber weed guards. -T9

You are absolutely right, people are buying them because they think or have heard that the bait catches fish - lots of them. Everybody wants the "magic" lure. It's what the entire industry is based upon. But this is also the problem, because people don't take the time to research the history behind the bait/tactic. One of Ned's two basic premises behind Midwest Finesse is that the baits and all related equipment should be frugal, and the other being that you try and catch 101 bass in 4 hours (25/hr). The Elaztech baits help in both regards, which is why Ned started using them. Remember, Ned doesn't only use Elaztech baits, and there was a time when it wasn't around or available. LOL - the 25 fish per hour is simply one of the two goals or premises behind Midwest Finesse fishing. Ned only reaches the goal a few times a year, and some years he doesn't ever reach it. Again, this is where everyone focusing on the bait and not the method or mindset behind it that causes all this confusion - that and people who are more recent converts to the system with GoPro cameras Everybody wants to be able to explain what's going on and why it works, but the jigworm has been around for nearly 50 years. If all anyone reads is the headlines, then everyone will miss the details, and people can/will make up their own storyline. -T9

Zeros and ZinkerZ are basically identical. When new, the additional salt makes them both sink. As the salt dissolves, they then start floating due to the nature of the plastic. On the benefits, IMHO, I think everyone playing up this vertical standing/floating bit is a little oversold. The longevity is a biggie though. I'm averaging about 64 bass per bait. That works out to about 500 bass per 8-pack of TRDs. That's a big cost saver. The buoyancy is important, but more from the standpoint of creating the no feel retrieve, along with minimizing hangups with the open hook, not from a sit on the bottom perspective. Consider it the near equivalent of fishing a suspending jerkbait. Deep, clear water, open rock/gravel bank guys might have an argument in this regard, but for those of us that follow the original shallow water presentation approach, standing up at rest is much further down the list of attributes. Can't say I've ever seen where Ned himself has written about this phenomenon being a big deal. It's been a more recent thing since some newcomers to the technique started using GoPro cameras to document the bait differences. -T9

Pretty certain it's coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) from your description and picture - fairly common here in Indiana. Sometimes called hornwort. The grass position changes because coontail frequently forms clumps that don't root to the bottom, so wind and currents have the ability to move it around somewhat. Usually best to punch baits (worms, jigs) through the clumps, or pitch baits to the weedline edges like crankbaits, worms or jigs as described by others above. For reference, the other two similar plants in the area to compare to are stonewort (Nitella) and muskgrass (Chara) -T9

Our boater to co-angler ratio is always pretty close because all the boaters want to be guaranteed to use their boat, so they'll go out of their way to secure a co-angler for the year. Some have even gone so far as to cover all the entry fees for the co-angler just to get the commitment. That said, sometimes there are a few extra boaters in some events, and those guys (since they were not guaranteed) get paired boater-boater and have to go through the old school hassle of deciding whose boat and how to fish the entire day head to head as they are both still considered boaters. They do offer to let one of the guys change his status to co-angler, but they rarely choose to do so. Our first event this year was an even 67-67 split. -T9

Still own and throw some of the original Phenix Vibrator Jigs, the lure Brett Hite used to win an FLW Tour tournament on Florida’s Lake Toho and an FLW Series event on the California Delta in early 2008 (back to back). They were sued by Z-Man and had to stop making them back in 2011, but for those that still have the originals, including many pros, they'll tell you they are one of the best ever made in that style of bait. -T9

Same here (Indiana) as WIGuide posted. We've been doing it for something close to 10 years or more now, and I'd bet most boaters if asked would state they would never want to go back to the old way. Keeps things fair for all. Most of our organizations that run this format have guaranteed entry into the field if you sign up as a pair. That promotes boaters going out of their way to find co-anglers to guarantee their entry, and sometimes the reverse. Seems to work just fine. -T9