smalljaw67

The bait you want for that situation is the Rapala DT Thug, it gets down to about 3' or 4' really quick and if you reel slow and steady it will stay at that level, but if you add just a little speed and it doesn't take much, you can get it down around 7' on 12# line probable another foot or so on 10# line. Anyway, I use it to fish tapered points where I'm fishing from 2' or 3' of water out to about 8' or so. I have the boat in 10' of water and I throw it close to the bank and reel, once I feel it hit bottom I slow the speed up so that every 3 or 4 cranks it ticks the bottom and as soon as I go a few cranks and it isn't hitting bottom I speed it up until I hit bottom again. Trust me, that bait was designed for fishing shallow out to deeper water, the very situation you described.

Mustad Triple Grips !!!

I think you did ok, if you are just getting back into it there are things you may just want to try at a later time like crankbaits because they are about the only thing you really would have a hard time fishing with what you have. It isn't that you couldn't fish a crankbait with those setups, it is the fact that you will lose more than you share of fish with them as the rod is a little too stiff, a rod with a deeper flex like a moderate or moderate fast action will be a lot better with most treble hook lures. A spinning rod an reel wouldn't hurt either as they are easy to use for finesse techniques like shaky heads and drop shots.

Floating style jerkbaits, to be specific a Rattlin' Rogue ARB 1200 series in clown, log perch, or silver shiner. 3/8oz spinnerbaits, double willow blades if the water is clear, a single colorado if the water is dirty and an indiana/ small colorado tandem if the water is just stained, which is usually 2' to 3' visibility. 3" and 4" grubs in white, yellow , chartreuse, green pumpkin. Tubes are also going to work very well, colors like black, green pumpkin, watermelon/red flake will all be good choices and the hard baits you have for largemouth will also work for smallies. A good way to fish the tubes is with an insider jighead, it is just a tapered lead jig that fits inside the tube and then you push the hook eye through the wall of the tube and tie on your line, it isn't weedless but it is a very effective presentation.

Go with the Revo S as the others have said, for 10 dollars more it is head and shoulders above what you are looking at especially the Caenan as it has a graphite frame.

First of all go with a rod that Diawa officially recognizes like the T series, actually the T series has got some really good reviews so that is where I would go. Second thing is don't get a Caenan or the $79.99 Lew Laser MG, both of those reels are graphite framed budget reels that will be ok for a while but once the graphite frame flex, and they will eventually flex, the gears will go out of alignment and you'll be left with a coffee grinder. Get a Kinetic, Citica, or the 99 dollar Lews Speed Spool, all of those can be had for under a hundred bucks and all have an aluminum frame that will last.

I really want the 100 size of that reel but I'll wait for some reviews as the Aggrest looked good and it turned out to be a POS. Well that may be harsh as it wasn't completely bad, just over priced by $80 for the performance. Anyway, I hoping this is on par with the old TD Advantage, and if that is the case I'll get 2 of them as I really could use a good solid work horse reel, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Diawa has a serious player in the $120 to $170 price range.

Match the size jighead to the mood of the fish, I always start big and then downsize most of the time if they don't want to bigger bait. You also need to match it to the depth you're fishing as well as the size of the bait you are using. For example, if you are using a 3" grub and you are swimming it in 4' to 6' of water and the fish are lethargic then I would probably go with a 1/8oz jighead, if the fish were on the aggressive side I would go with a 1/4oz at those depths to get the bait down faters and keep it down better as I would be working the bait faster. Clear water jighead colors are going to be black, keep that part simple as a black jighead is pretty universal in that it will work with any color platic you use with it. As far as a clear water grub or worm color, that is easy, black, green pumpkin, junebug, brown, watermelon and watermelon/red flake. These are also colors that you can use in stained water and in dirty water use black. By keeping it simple it limits you options and makes you focus more on your presentation and location which are much more important than lure color. Remember, you can have the perfect color bait for the conditions and it won't mean nothing if you aren't fishing where the fish are. The same thing can be said of your presentation, you could be in a good spot with the right color bait but if you're moving the bait too fast or too slow then the presentation is off and the rest doesn't matter, you need all three, lure + location + presentation = Success!!!

The BuCoo is very light and is nice to fish with but it all depends on what action and length you want, a lot of the rods are moderate or moderate fast action which is great for cranks and spinnerbaits and topwaters with trebles but not so much worms and jigs. You are pretty much limited to a 6'6" medium heavy, 6'10" medium heavy, or a 7' heavy as general purpose rods, also the specs on the rod are really close with this series, if the rod is rated to 1/2oz you can bet that the rod isn't going to be too good with anything over that weight.

X2 !!!!! BTW, make the font a little bit bigger, my vision isn't great but I really thought it was bad when I saw your post.

The only buzzbaits I used that ran true were a custom made on with counter rotating delta blades but every one of the single blade buzzers I use runs slightly to the side.

Nodda4me showed you the beaver style baits and the jerkbaits are the plastics that are in the slot just left of the bubblegum (pink) colored trick worms, they resemble a worm but have a thicker body and while I not sure if the ones in that kit have them, a lot have a forked tail to resemble a baitfish.

When I'm not is really super thick cover I use a good copoly and it works great but it isn't Big Games which I happen to like also. I use Cajun Clear Lightning, it is super clear and has very little stretch and the abrasion resistance is awesome, it actually handles more like a flourocarbon. You will hear some bad comments as some people have tried this on spinning reels and it tells you straight up it is for round and low profile casting reels and trolling reels. The reason I like it over big game is because it has the least amount of stretch I ever saw on mono, at one test it had 30% less stretch than Seguar Carbon Pro, one of the first available full spools of flourocarbon and while it did stetch it was right around the same as the best mono line but the clear lightning was much better but it also makes it hard to manage but on a casting reel I love it especially for pitching and flipping in sparse to medium cover situations. If you have heavy cover there is no substitute for braid, that is the ultimate heavy line.

While I like to have a spinning set up it really isn't neccessary with the casting reels that are available. Shimano has the 50 size reels and Diawa has the Pixy, and you can probably use the Abu MGX too as all these are considered finesse casting reels because they work well with light lures and they have shallow spools for light line and quick start up for throwing light lures, the downside is they will cost you a pretty penny. If you got the cash and you don't want a spinning outfit then there are options available but for myself, well I just can't imagine me working a small shaky head or drop shot without my spinning outfit.

The lightning rod isn't more sensitive than the premier, what you're feeling is the same action that caused you to miss fish, it has a lot of tip for a medium power rod. That soft tip will make a spinnerbait feel like the blades are the size of hubcaps but try feeling a strike on a worm in 12' of water, a whole other ball game.

I have the Smoke 100 and the 150, they have been fished hard for over a year and I have no trouble, in fact I think the Smoke is the best reel Quantum has ever made. I haven't fished the EXO so I can't comment on it.

That is actually a nice kit, beavers, tubes, trick worms , stick worms , lizards and even soft jerkbaits. Let the box sit in the house in a cool dry area with the box open for a day or two or seperate the baits in zip lock bags, either way the scent will disapate and if it doesn't get a little megastrike or lunker sauce and put a little on the bait when you use it.

I have the Fenwick elite Tech smallmouth 6'9" M-XF spinning and I absolutlely love it, the 6'3" M-F spinning rod would be one to consider but if you want the lighter action the 6'9" ML-F is a good rod. I really like the medium because it doesn't overpower the small fish and it has a ton of backbone for those bigger fish. I think the medium is more versatile, I know it is rated to 3/4oz and I put that weight on my rod and while it does handle it it does feel like 3/4oz so I wouldn't want to use that kind of weight on it all day, 5/8oz is more reasonable. I honestly don't think there is a better rod under 200 dollars, and no matter which you choose it will be a great rod, I just think you would be happier using the shorter 6'3" rod even if it is slightly more powerful, you will still be required to play a 16" smallie and these are super light weight wise, you could get that rod and a president reel and still be in budget with a high quality set up.

If the lures you use are within the specs of the rod then you will be ok, but if you are looking to fish 3" tubes on a 1/8oz head with it then you may be a little over powered. I use medium and medium heavy outfits for smallies, I never use light or medium light as it takes too long to land a 4lb smallie on that kind of tackle and a long battle in the summer is sure death for the fish.

I use them all year, I use suspending baits in water temps to 58 degrees, once it gets to that I make a switch to floating style jerkbaits, there are 2 kinds of floaters, some float to the surface very fast and others slow. I have a lot of success with these and part of the reason is most anglers quit throwing them after the spawn, but I use them anytime I see bass chasing baitfish. I use them at the same time a topwater would work, low light early and late in the day but I've had days on the river were I used one from morning until 5 in the afternoon. The most important thing is match the bait to the water clarity, if there is less than 2' of visibility then I will use a differnt kind of lure. The less visibility the bigger the lure, you want to throw the 4.75", 5" and 5.5" baits and go down in size as the water gets clearer, also match the bait to the mood of the fish, if they are lethargic I'll use a slow floater like the Rapala Flat Rap and if they are aggressive I'll use a fast floater like the Smithwick Rattlin rogue or super rogue.

In the area you are fishing them, are you able to catch them on other lures and if so which ones? Typically if I'm fishing stained water with at least 2 feet of visibility I'm using an indiana main blade with a colorado secondary blade. I normally throw 1/2oz spinnerbaits but I have had success downsizing to 3/8oz and 1/4oz when the bite is tough. Years ago I was having a tough time getting fish to hit the spinnerbait in clear water and so I worked on it until I found a way that works and that is willow leaf blades with a fast retrieve and translucent skirt colors like pearl or clear blue illusion, as those mimic hues of natural baitfish. Use nickel finish blades in sunny conditions and gold or brass in cluody conditions, those are just fundamental things that you probably know. Another thing is wind, if you are out and get a good breeze that puts a ripple on the water, that is the time for the spinnerbait, the ripples distort the light which keeps the fish from getting a good look, while I'm not sure on that reason for it working I can tell you it produces big time in wind.

I would say wait until you could afford to buy a rod and reel seperate. The graphite framed casting reel isn't going to last you too long depending how much and how hard you fish and they are pretty much disposable since the cost of repairing one is typically more than what the reel costs. The lowest I would go on a casting reel is the Lews Speed spool, the Quantum Kinetic, and the Shimano Citica. So if you have a budget of 70 dollars don't spend it right now, put it away and add to it and then get a good set up. BTW the industry ICAST show is coming up in a couple of weeks, that is when new products in the fishing market get introduced and what usually happens is a certain brand and style of reel will end up getting discontinued or revised and you can usually pick up the older version reels at good deals most of the time. So if you don't have to have it right this minute wait until you can get a good set up.

You typically match the size trailer hook to the size bait and the hook that bait uses. For example if you are fishing a 3/8oz bait it probably has a 3/0 or 4/0 hook so you would use a 3/0 or 4/0 trailer hook. If you are using a trailer around a lot of cover you can down size a little but no more than 1 size smaller.

You are either using them where there aren't any fish or the times you are using them the fish aren't aggressive or actively feeding. As for what you described, it sounds as if you doing things correctly and that is mixing up retreive speeds and fishing it at different levels. What kind of water are you throwing them in? Is it clear or stained or dirty? A lot of variables and by knowing the conditions we can help you by recommending blade finishes and type along with overall bait size to give you the best possible chance. I know you don't believe it right now but the spinnerbait, which is my favorite by the way, is one of the most verstile baits you can use because you can fish it shallow or deep, fast or slow but you must let the fish determine how they want it and once the specifics are known you will get some good advise and help.

You do that typically with bigger jigs, usually 3/4oz and up. The football head is different because it is wide and the shape makes it easy to pull out of a fishes mouth.