smalljaw67

Yep, both are correct, flat eye arkie style jig head, they work well around wood and rocks but the head tends to hold on to grass that makes using it in weeds kind of tough but great in wood and around rock.

I don't use it anymore because the stuff needs to be stored in unscented talk or chalk powder to keep from getting clumped and kinked and if it somewhere warm it doesn't take much to melt. I do as Pabasser does, but the last time I used it I was only adding accent srands so I clamp one end to my bench, pull it tight and slowly cut across, they will pop free if you take your time.

I have one and it will bust the rattle bands as other tools do. I use the cheap skirt pliers I got back in 2003 for rattle bands, I don't lock them because if you open them too far the band will break but if you hold them open with the pliers you can get them open enough to put the material in and pull through. The naked bait skirt expander is a great tool but not wht you want it for.

I'm not going to comment on which rod you should get but I will try to help in another way, you want a casting rod for drop shotting, crankc and lipless along with some jigging....To me that is 3 completely different rods and no matter how you slice it you need at least 2 to cover that. Which ever rod you choose you'll best be served by a 6'6" - 7' M-F rod, that is medium power with a fast action, that will handle light texas rigs, and jigs and while not great it will handle some shallow and mid depth cranks and lipless baits but it won't too good for the drop shot. A medium power spinning rod does ok at drop shotting only because the spinning rods in that power tend to be softer than their casting cousins so get yourself the all purpose casting rod in a 6'6" -7' medium power fast action rod and you'll be okk for most things as long as you aren't using anything over 1/2oz. Normally a medium heavy would make a better all purpose rod as you can use a wider range of weights and fish heavier cover but once you throw crankbaits into the mix you need the forgiveness of the medium rod, you can catch them on a medium heavy with a fast action with crankbaits but you will lose more fish than you land just because the stifness of the rod will end up pulling the treble hooks out of the mouth of the fish in a lot of instances so unless the fish eats it you won't land it on a MH fast.

It depends on the individual and the size of the jig and for me it even depends on the type of jig. First off I quit using rubber a long time ago, the reason for that is being in a climate were the water freezes means my tackle is stored and storing a jig with living rubber is a pain because if you just leave it in a box it will get clumped up and melted together and become useless, I just got tired of messing with the stuff and all the melting problems. For swim jigs up to 1/4oz I normally use 30 to 40 strands of silicone, for flipping jigs I use 60 strands and finesse jigs I like to use 20 strands. A regular casting jig will get 50 to 60 strands depending on size, usually a 3/8oz will get 50 while 1/2oz and up will get 60. When I used rubber it was pretty much the same, frogs hair I would add in addition to the regular rubber so a flipping jig would get 40 strands regular rubber with 20 strands of frogs hair, this made for a jig with a lot of action but not too much.

I agree with Mitch, a lot different when there is no ifformation on a small lake going against someone who has fished it for 20 years but it also depends on the pro. Did you see the classic? How many pros could not fish cold water, I was amazed at that so don't think for a moment that a pro would win hands down in that situation.

That isn't added sound you hear, it is sensitive microphones picking it up and I hear the same sound when I fish with a friend of mine. When he has 16lb flouro on a reel and he has the drag locked down and sets on a good fish, the first time there is a direction change of the rod or the fish moving to the side on the tight line make a "twing" sound like an out of tune guitar string. Casting with 30lb power pro makes a little noise but not much but when he has that 65# braid on it is noisey and his GLX is the older variety without the recoils.

It depends on your budget and whether you prefer spinning or casting, but for a good start I'd look at the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'9" ML-F, it has a fast tip but is very forgiving if you use braid and it is versatile should you want to ever use it for other techniques plus it won't break the bank. EDIT: I'm refering to a spinning rod, I forgot to add that and I didn't want to confuse you.

Cadman is spot on, using wire is fast and holds silicone and living rubber really well but anything with hait you need thread. I wire tie most of my jigs and spinnerbaits when I tie skirts on but on finesse jigs I use thread because it is easier to use on small jigs. I use floral wire, 24 gauge or 26 gauge, you do have to be care full when twisting as you can twist the wire too tight and cut the material, once you finish the twisting just trim the excess and then fold over the piece of wire left sticking up.

From all the reels I currently own to the ones I've had in the past here is how I look at it. The reels I have that are in the $120-$150 range are what I call work horse reels, these have some good features and perform very well day in and day out, if you are hard on equipment that is the best bet to buy, the downside is they aren't buttery smooth as the high end reels and while you will get great casting distance out of these reels they will fall short of their hier end siblings. The $180 -$220 reels are the gold standard, these reels have features that won't take a beating but they are still solid and will take a little abuse, but the performance you will get is noticable on first cast. These reels are smoother, cast with less effort and make even high pressure fishing a little more enjoyable, guys that buy these reels have a hard time going even slightly less expensive. Reels in the $250 - $300 are on a different level, these reels will be extremely smooth, braking systems when dialed in will make it close to impossible to backlash and the bearings will be of a very high grade. These reels will have tight tolerances and are precision instruments that don't take too much abuse but at thise level you are more likely not to throw it on the deck 15 times a day either, most who can afford these never go back unless they are forced to by finacial situations. Finally we get to the 300++ reels, these are the platinum reels and just picking one up you feel the difference, they feel like they are sculped and fishing with these make everything easy as the smoothness of retrieve and ease of casting is on a level not many ever experience. I left room in the numbers as there are some that fall between the price ranges but it is what my experience has been over 30 years of buying and using tackle. I know ther are multiple reels built by one company but they are built to the companies specs, not their own and I have found that in fishing products more than any other type of product, you do get what you pay for 99% of the time. Are their cheap reels that go beyond their price point? Yep the same for rods but these are the exceptions and not the rule so choose the best you can afford and you'll have a good set up.

a 3" stickworm such as a senko texas rigged on a 1/0 worm hook on 8# line with a BB split shot about a foot above the bait and it is deadly on river smallies. I use that during tough summer bites anyplace I find a riffle that runs into a small pool, it works almost everytime!!! The other rig is a 4.5" finesse worm rigged on a 2/0 hook with a BB split shot about 6" above the bait, I use that around boat docks and after the bait hits bottom I stich it along. Stiching, if you don't know is just a simple hand method of moving your bait along, it is a great way to fell light bites.

The clevis is the secondary blade, the main blade is on the swivel.

When they came back I bought a bunch in the regular bang-o-lure and the spin tail. The way you fish them is look for shallow gravel or weed flats, make a long cast and let it sit for 2 or 3 seconds and then jerk-jerk-jerk pause for 2 seconds and repeat, after 3 of those series stop it and let it float back and leave it there for 5 seconds or so and then back to jerknig it. I find the best time to use them is post spawn, they will work prespawn but other lures will work better. I nail smallies on these in the river, and when they don't want the bang-o-lure I'll go with the shallow diving rogue, but they work and work well, especially for big fish.

They are close, I like making a double mag willow or turtle back blade on a 3/8oz spinnerbait with a #4 as the main blade and a #3 as the secondary blade both in smooth nickel finish, it provides a lot of thump and flash, it makes for a great slow rolling bait in 4' to 6' of water. They do have a significant amount more vibration than an Indiana blade, the reason is the surface area and cup, Indian blades are what I use to make a "muti purpose" spinnerbait, you have heard that they are in between a colorado and a willow and it is true, slightly more vibration than the same size willow but a little more flash than the same size colorado.

Expand your list, you'll use all of your $200 on the Fitzgerald and the only Dobyns you'll get is the Savvy line and while it isn't a bad rod you can do a lot better in the same price range as the Savvy's doesn't have a real crisp feeling blank for the price range.

First of all you need to have a pair of round nose pliers and a wire cutter handy because in order to modify existing baits you will need to undo the swivel loop in order to get the spacers, beads and clevis and blade off and sometimes the wire will get too mangled which means you need to cut the small piece of wire off in order to put your new blades on. To eliminate the skirt from falling down you can use wire and wire tie it which is the best bet as it holds well and is easier than thread if you aren't experienced with it. All you need to do is use 26 gauge wire and make 2 wraps and pull tight using pliers and then make a few twist to make it tight and trim the excess and fold the wire over, just be careful not to over do the twist or you'll cut the skirt off. and once you're done just cut the rubber skirt collar off. I don't ever use a snap on the swivel for spinnerbaits, the reason is I like to use them in all kinds of cover with grass being my favorite, having a snap on the swivel will just end up making a snagging point that will gather junk and foul the blade, a split ring is the way to go. As for the blades turtle back blades are also called, olympic, oklahoma, or mag willow, it does not refer to the finish, a hammered blade is simply a finish, the 2 most common types are smooth and hammered and they could be colorado or willow or even indiana, I don't remember seeing a hammered turtleback,aka oklahoma blade. The difference between hammered and smooth finishes is the light reflection, a smooth finish gives off a large flash while a hammered finish gives off a lot of little flashes in all directions and 99.9% of the time I prefer the smooth finish.

I'll agree with shootermcbob, just find a nice 7' medium power fast action spinning rod and you are set, most spinning rods in a medium power have more than enough flex for cranking.

Sometimes it is good , sometimes it is bad, you just have to try it but I don't think a dressed hook is an absolute must. I have them on X-Raps and on some of them I'll replace the hook with a bare hook because I've had times when the fish will key in on the feathered hook and swip at it. I was catching smallies 2 seasons ago and I was missing some and the others were hooked on the feathered treble, I was going to change the size of the bait when my buddy said I was lucky to have those feathers on or I wouldn't be getting bit so rather than change baits I just replaced the rear hook to see if the feather was the reason I was getting bit. Turns out it wasn't, once I took it off the fish started eating the bait instead of going after the treble, now I had the exact opposite happen, well my buddy did I should say as he put a feathered treble on one of his baits and began catching fish after not getting a bite without it. So because of experiences like that I say just try them without and let the fish tell you what they prefer.

I really loved the Smoke reels, I wasn't sure of the rods but I needed a longer spinnerbait rod for some new water I was fishing so I got a 7'MH-F Smoke rod, I have now switched reels and use it as a casting jig rod, it has a lot of feel which surprised me and a ton of backbone. The tips are true to action, a fast has a slightly softer tip than an extra fast but very castable, for that price I would grab one. I have no experience with the EXO.

It isn't you, the fish are swiping at it and missing the hooks, when they do that or when they follow it you have the right action you just need to tweak it to make them commit. A change in size, color or both will usually result in them getting it.

Shad raps and jerkbaits aka stickbaits tend to work well in cold water due to the tight action, the reason a tight action works well in cold water has to do with muscle movements of fish. Fish are cold blooded meaning their body is the same temp as its enviroment and in cold water their muscles move very little, I saw this with shiners in cold water, they only move the tail and they change direction far less than in warmer water situations. I will throw a shad rap when the water gets in the upper 40's, like 48 degrees and up and once the water gets into the 60's other baits work better. Jerkbaits are what I choose to fish most of the time because I can stop it and leave it sit but in the warm water I fish shallow diving versions that don't suspend but float. The reason for floating jerkbaits in summer is they have a little wider action and can be fished aggressively to trigger strikes, you can burn a shad rap but I never did too good with them in warm water.

On my Smoke 100 I have the ACS set on the first click from free spool, then all I ever adjust is the spool tension aka cast control knob. On my 150 I have it set on the 3rd line, it too stays there and then all my adjustments come from the spool tension aka cast control knob.

I used to have it and it is a telescopic model but after you fish it for a bit it makes you forget it is a telescopic flipping stick. I sold mine when I got sick but it was a mistake, it has a long handle perfect for flipping which too many flipping sticks cut down trying to save weight. It isn't the lightest flipping stick but it isn't the heaviest either and it does have a slight tip heavieness but if you use a 8oz reel it isn't a problem but the best feature is you feel bites with it in heavy cover, and it is strong, good frog rod as well.

That brush jig is worth it, it is very snag resistant and it gets solid hook up on just about every bite, very good heavy cover jig for sure!!

River Rock Baits 4" and 5" Jointed jerkbait in pearl or blue glimmer, the best soft jerkbait I ever tried!!