Busy

I'll throw a 1/2oz jig in 5 ft of water. I don't think weight is so much about depth as it is about rate of fall. With more active fish I want a faster fall rate. Depends on what you are doing with the jig, also. If you are punching thick grass you will want a heavy jig. I like to use lighter jigs for swimming if I want to stay off the bottom without reeling too fast. With football jigs I like them to be heavier because when you are dragging or hopping or twitching (etc.) them on the bottom they cause more commotion. In muddy water I will use heavy football jigs to fish grass horizontally for the same reason (more commotion). You should read the Fishing Like an Idiot article on this site. IMO you can't go wrong with a jig no matter how you fish it. Sometimes I will use a lighter jig on a split-shot rig to fish rocky points. Sometimes I don't even use a trailer.

I haven't had a chance to fish this week but my father and I did get the old 67' 18hp Evinrude Fastwin running so I took it out to run some gas through it on Tuesday. Man was it ever windy. I was very pleased with the motor and that it put the boat up on plane right where you want it. The '69 9.5hp wouldn't plane it out. I've been wanting to go to Perry or Clinton with it lately so maybe now with a bigger motor I can get on some bigger water. Hopefully with the rain last night this weekend will be better fishing! I really wanted to fish on Tuesday but didn't have the time. I would have imagined that even with the wind, the fish would be pretty deep. Everything weather wise is happening so early around here!

I think a set-up guide would be a great idea. Like having a low speed reel and ~7' Medium, Moderate action glass rod for deep diving cranks. Basically what to look for in technique specific rigs for rod, reel, and line. Personally I would stay away from the brand wars or naming specific models because everyone has their own preferences and/or budgets. Or include the more popular/proven models that fit the mold to start people looking.

I can understand the need for a language filter at times but seriously? ***HT. N I G H T. Not a bad word. Kind of annoying.

I'm a bit the opposite, I fish senkos/worms several ways and different jigs/trailers different ways. I fish very slow. I have almost no confidence in spinnerbaits (unless they are inline) or cranks. While I would like to get over this I think my next expansion will be bladed swim jigs. I never understood the huge 10" worms myself; 5" worms will catch big fish if you are on big fish. At least I better hope so lol. Glad you got a nice fish on your outing!

I like the one on the left a lot. I like the light blue on it and would use it in dirty water, but probably not at night. Baby Rage Dirty Craw or Plum Crazy trailer.

good luck!

The worms at the store are small and I'll only use them for panfish. But lift up some hay bails and find the big 10" long worms that almost look like snakes more than worms and the bass LOVE them. I hear blue gill make a great live bait too but I'm not ambitious enough to have to catch one fish to catch another one lol. Using a bigger hook size should keep the panfish from biting it.

I don't have a Smoke but I absolutely love my Quantum Kinetic PTi.

Picked some up at BPS yesterday. Ive been cutting and using my old soft plastics for trailers but am almost out. I picked up the Baby Craw and Chunks in Black/Blue Flake, Green Pumpkin, and Bama Craw. Really cannot wait to use the Bama Craw color on the football head Booyah Creek Craw color jigs.

lol if I find it I'm keeping it! just kidding

Thank you for the responses. I was looking at the Okuma Helios reel ($219) which I can find for $160 and the Okuma Helios Hs-Cm-701H ($175) which I can find for $140. The retrieve speed is 6.2:1, which is what I use for senkos as well. Never spent that much on a combo before and I want to get it right, plus I want to try out Okumas stuff because I never hear about them or see anyone using their stuff so I want to give them a shot. I might have to look at faster reels just worried about changing the retrieve because I feel my muscle memory is pretty set in stone with 6.1-6.4 speed. Edit: I don't pitch or flip, never tried but I'd like to learn. I have a lazy man method with an underhand cast I use to flick the bait along the top of the water lol. I don't burn baits back to the boat either, I always fish them the whole way. Good point point about the fish wheeling to the boat though.

and Keystone Light! xD

I don't know the weather in PR but I imagine it is HOT right now. It's hard to go deep from the shore. I would look for where water moves into your lake, either from a stream or an underground spring. The water will be cooler here and more oxygen in it. What I've learned is that a lot of fishing advice that people give precludes finding fish. They've already found the fish. If you are fishing where there are no fish you won't catch any. Not sure what times you fish at, but I would find where that cooler moving water enters the lake and hit the area around there before the sun comes up. Go SLOW and size down. Fish as small as you can until you catch a few. Big or small, you need to find the fish before you can figure out the best way to catch the good ones. Hope this helps. Don't get discouraged! Positivity goes a long way I'd rather be outside getting skunked any day than inside watching TV

I have to ask a question on this. I'm looking to buy a dedicated jig set up and was wondering why have a reel with such a fast retrieve for jigs? This reel is out of my price range anyways, but is this pairing more about the weight of the reel, its retrieve speed, or both?

Thats something to consider J Francho. Wonder how my Quantum Code would feel if I dropped $72 on it for the works lol. I will definitely give them a try with one of my more expensive reels though. Thanks! Don't know how I didn't notice the banner, I think I automatically ignore advertising.

Where do you go to have your reels maintained? I don't know too much about the internals but I have a few that I'd like someone knowledgeable to look at and make sure they stay in good working order. Upgrading bearings and such could be a nice option, too.

Sensitivity is pretty important in feeling bites and timing your hookset. I've always said I won't spend more than $200 for a rod/reel combo, but my god I've been looking around and that Okuma Helios is flat out SEXY. Not heard much about people using Okuma but I'm going to have to take a leap of faith for it at some point lol. Congrats on your new rod and success!

What state lake? I live about 4 minutes away from the LV County State Lake.

Advice fishfordollars gave me about 3 years ago. I've not seen him around here in a long time "Cloudy, darker lures Clear Clear top waters and try to match the bottom colors. Lighter colors with flakes work Muddy, go shallow and tight to cover. Large lures that move a lot of water" This is also true!

greyleg33 nailed this, the profile of your trailer controls your fall rate. It will slow the jig down. A trailer made with floating material has action in the water when you are dead sticking, which is pretty important if you are REALLY fishing slowly. I do use jigs without trailers and they still work.

Nobody knows exactly why bass will hit artificial lures. Matching the hatch and using natural colors works well for many, but then there are days when you will slay them using chartreuse worms. Ever seen a yellow worm in the wild? Lol. I think any lure can get a reaction strike if you get it close enough to the bass. It's a pretty bad answer but the only thing to do is to figure out what works, and that's half the fun too. I've caught tons of fish on different shad colors in ponds where there are no shad. I've also caught a lot of fish on lakes and ponds with rainbow trout color patterns and there are no trout in this area. Craws usually are dark and it sounds like the water you are fishing is very clear. I might try a lighter colored jig and trailer for starters. I've never bought or thrown a craw patterned crankbait personally, because I've never seen a crawdad swim in the middle of the water column, but I couldn't say that they don't work!

I really think it's a matter of personal preference. My main point was that if you don't learn to use a baitcaster because it's too frustrating you may be selling yourself short. Something being difficult isn't a reason to give up on it. But as far as pros ripping fish out of the water to cash a check I very much disagree. I find it a bit unsporting to intentionally 'play' the fish out to exhaustion and then release him all worn out to go catch his next meal. I can't think of another outdoor sport where this is done. You don't wound a deer so that you get the pleasure of tracking it until it collapses. I know it's all in fun and to each his own, but I always figured the point was to catch the fish, not to fight it. I want to get the fish in the boat and back in some water as quickly as possible so I can go after the next one.

Thanks guys, I'll definitely have to check out Northstar and Bass Tackle Depot as well. I live pretty close to the Kansas City Cabelas and BPS, they usually have the lure I want, but not the colors I need it in. Seems like out of 12 colors, they'll only carry 2 or 3 in store. Can't blame them really, that's a lot of shelf space.

Only time I managed to catch a fish without hooking it we were fishing for bluegill to use as catfish bait with a cane pole. Bluegill took the worm and as I went to yank him out of the water a bass hit the bluegill and came out of the water with him too! Two fish with one stone? lol, interesting stories on here! Also caught a bass one time on new shiny circle hook after I accidentally pitched of my hot dog (again catfishing). Was reeling the bare hook back in and a bass hit it. Maybe we spend too much on tackle!!