RyneB

Ned rig, and its not even close

I don't think a bass is a picky eater. I've seen bluegill tails,crawfish,frog legs,crappie, small bass,shad,bird feathers, and perch in bass throats at all stages of the season. I do notice in my area, that ice out is when the bigguns want a 7inch glide bait in a shad pattern. Mimic a craw,bluegill,shad and you can't go wrong. Having said that, my best post spawm bait is a lizard.

I use 10lb power pro to 6lb InvizX. I have been doing this for 3 years with no problems at all. I have done straight braid as well. I guess the leader is a confidence thing for me.

Good luck man. Not exactly the easiest baits to acquire. Fat wallet and time to find them.

This is my favorite time of year to throw bigger glide baits. KGB ChadShad,Deps 175 and deps 250. I'm hunting for the alphas.

First cast I ever made with a Megabass vision 110 was my PB largie. That same exact Vision 110 also caught my 2nd and 3rd PB smallie.

A 5 inch bull shad is a great bait for a beginner wanting to get into serious swimbaiting. It just gets bit. Can be had for only $50. Tried and true. It is without a doubt my 2nd best producing hard swimbait. It's expensive in terms of bass baits, but it's a very affordable swimbait. Heck, my favorite hard swimbait is a KGB ChadShad and its ONLY $110. That's still on the low end in my eyes. Try getting yourself a Pizz or a Pat's. Now you're talking real money, and people aren't usually willing to sell them.

3.5 inch tube. Green pumpkin with a little orange flake.

Hard for me to narrow down favorite, but when a smallie hits a 7 inch glide bait. It's about as good as it gets.

I've won more money with a 3.5 inch tube than any other bait. It's my confidence bait, and it seems to always get bit.

Finesse jigs, small poppers. I also like to carry a good amount of good old ball head jigs, and a bunch of different plastics. Whether it's a simple black grub, a hand pour goby, Keitech 2.8, small finesse worm. I can switch them out easy and cover water and pick apart spots.

I fish 4 main topwaters for smallies. -Plopper 90 in bone or Loon 110 -evergreen Shower Blows in 105 and 125 -Discontinued Lake Fork Magic popper -megabass pop max and pop max jr

ALX Ikos Hanmer will do exactly what you want it to do. Great rod for the price. Ounce and a 1/2 may be a but on the high side for the rod. But I punch 1 oz with it all day. Even boat flipped a 4.6 with it.

I caught 4 over 5lbs. Megabass vision 110 (my PB) Whopper plopper 130 Loon KGB ChadShad 5 inch hand pour swimbait (homemade)

3.5" green pumpkin tube.

3.5" tube. Or a shad shape worm on a drop shot, depending on lake cover and what not.

I like my MGXs, but you can get the discontinued Abu ALX on Ebay for much cheaper than that and its every bit as good as the MGX. It just doesn't look as good or have a carbon handle. But it's a solid little reel that is super light. I actually sold 2 of my MGX and bought 5 ALX and had a few dollars to spare.

Tube

15lb big game. I have never once been concerned of not having enough line on the spool. I'm not launching those pricey baits like I would a 5 inch hand pour. I'm target casting and staying within range where i feel comfortable. The only reel that I ever get concerned about spooling is my Tatula, that thing flat out slings it.

I grabbed 2 last year for $50 during the spring sale. I rigged both up with braid for when I want to switch to braid on the water. So basically they're backups. They impressed me. One tourney I tossed a Plopper 130 with 65lb power pro on the reel and it performed very well.

I toss 8 inch hudds,bullshooter 160s, and deps 175s on a Curado K 200. Handles them just fine

My .2. I always hated jerkbait fishing. Bought a few KVDs one year and decided I was going to commit to working on it. I didnt have much success at all and gave up. Fast forward to winter of 2018 and I decided to get a Megabass vision 110 because the price was right and I needed to get to $50 for free shipping. (I know, they get me everytime). It was early early spring, ice was still on half the lake. I had my megabass vision 110 rigged up. I started my truck and was ready to leave the lake when I realized I hadn't thrown it yet. So I grab it just to make a couple casts to see what the hype was about. First cast I landed my PB. This was a spot I had tossed a KVD,swimbait, jig etc. It made me a believer and it put fish in my boat all year, and eventually landed me my PB smallie as well. I have fished it right next to a KVD on days where they're biting a jerk bait and it just flat out catches more fish. It casts like a dream too. It may not be worth the price to some people, but it's the bait I have the utmost confidence in. Which makes it priceless in my book.

I put owner Stinger 36 hooks on all of my topwater baits. I fish in Illinois, we dont have massive fish, so I can get away with 36. If you have big fish, step up in size. But those owner stingers are crazy crazy sharp. I cant remember the last time I had a fish throw a bait with those hooks on.

I have a Daiwa DX extra heavy I use for Deps Bullshooters,Deps 175 slide swimmers, 8" hudds. It handles them great, rod loads well and makes for easy casting. Not as much as a broom stick. 20% off at TW and regular price is $109. Certainly a good bang for buck. I have it matched with a Curado K200 and it does great.

ALX Ikos Hammer 7-3 is the rod I do these exact things with. 1/2-3/4 oz jigs and punch with 3/4-1 oz weights.