smalljaw67

Some lines will slip with that knot, Hi-Seas Black Widow is a really slick copoly that has terrible knot strength due to how slick it is. P=Line CXX is tough too with an improved clinch, the best knot I've found for slick line is the palomar, it is very easy to tie and it holds great even with slick line.

Why not just get a Berkley digital lip grip, use the grip to hold and weigh the fish at the same time plus they are much easier on the fish.

I have had a couple rods break when hooking a fish but it was more a defect in the rod than anything else,it is caused usually by a nick in the blank or someother defect. I have watched a lot of anglers, most of them younger, break rods and then curse but the reason was high sticking while landing a fish and it happens a lot. They bring the fish to the boat and as they are landing it they have the rod sticking straight up in the air in the 12 noon position and what happens is the top 6" or so of the rod breaks. You be surprised at how many people believe that high priced rods are better because they are more durable which we all know is most of the time the exact opposite. I fish good gear, I have a few high end and custom rods, 6 in total but the bulk of my rods are in the $150 to $250 range and for the most part they haven't even looked as if they were going to break. I had 1 Quantum tour edition break years ago, it was my fault as I was using braid with the reels drag locked down and was horsing a snag, and I had 2 St. Croix LE rods break in the same place which I assume was due to a defect in the blank but under normal conditions a rod should break.

I' sorry if I seem out of line here but why do you want the rod more moderate for jerkbaits? Jerkbaits are a close second to spinnerbaits as both are favorites for me and after a long time fishing them I have what I feel is a great set up but I have tried soft rods and it is so hard to work a bait with one it seems hardly worth it. I fish a jerkbait pretty aggressive in warm water and I'll do it in cold water but I use long pauses and only short movements but I can change the way I use them but with a soft rod I found myself moving the rod a foot and the bait only moving a few inches because as I moved the rod it would flex as the bait would move so half of the time the rod would flex rather than the bait move. For making long sweeps and stops it was ok but other than that it was really hard to fish and that is why I use a fast action rod but I recently found a moderate fast rod that had a tip more like a fast action rod that allows me total control over the bait yet still flexes when hooked up and applying pressure. I'm just curious if you have used a soft rod for jerkbaits or is it something you want to try, because that is a good rod that you may end up making it a bad rod. I suggest if you haven't fished a jerkbait on a truly moderate action rod that you try it on a moderate rod befor transforming the GLX, you may like it but you also may end up not caring for it, either way it would be worth your time considering the cost involved.

X2 !!

Me either. Shorter rods in the 6' and shorter don't seem to have balance issues and the only rods that I ever used that were tip heavy were rods 6'6" and longer, especially the 7'+. Before I make any suggestions, what kind of fish and lures/baits are you going to use with the rod? I have a rod that is a casting rod with a full cork grip, it is light but the balance is off as it is butt heavy, it is a fantastic jig rod but trying to cast a spinnerbait side arm or underhand and it feels like the rod weighs 10 pounds but because it is butt heavy there isn't much I can do about it but I don't want to since it does do a super job fishing jigs. If you are going to be using live bait I can see were you may want more weight on the back but if you end up with a reel that is too large it will hurt your casting ability as the line is really going to drag the stripper guide and that will hurt distance and sensitivity due to the amount of friction on the guides. Your best bet is to use the appropriate size reel and then go to BPS and get a balancing system.

The Zoom super fluke and super fluke jr are more of a topwater bait for me, I live and fish in PA and the way I use them is I let them sink a few feet and then give a couple of quick jerks and stop it and repeat. I also like to use a 1/8oz scrounger for fishing close to but not in cover and open water. For a slug-o I fish the same way but I do move it faster as it doesn't come up as fast as the fluke and I found a bait that is awesome, River Rock Baits jointed jerkbait in 4" and 5", these are made with a denser plastic but they have a joint in the center so it has a lot more action than a standard fluke or slug-o. Those I fish with a jerk-jerk-jerk, quick stop and repeat, they stay a little deeper in the water so you can fish them unweighted much faster than the others.

Thanks cadman, in all the years I've been doing this, it is the first time I was asked to make identical baits with completely different blade configurations. When I finished them I knew I had to take a pic because even up close there is an illusion that one is larger until you put them side by side, I thought it was pretty neat. I also made one for myself, the angler that I made these for has been getting this same pattern for years, he told me has has won 2 tournaments with it and has placed high in a bunch of others so I need to see for myself on the waters I fish if there may be something to it or it may be a local thing where he fishes.

Here are 2 spinnerbaits I just did for a local angler, the both are a pattern called "Pink Shad", these were made for stained water. Both a 1/2oz baits but I thought it was neat to see how different blade configurations make one bait appear to be larger than the other. The bait on top is 1/2oz with a size #6 indiana blade as the main and a size #3 colorado blade as the secondary. The bottom bait is also a 1/2oz but it has a double mag willow configuration with a size #5 mag willow as the main and a size #4 mag willow as the secondary. Both configurations are intended for slow to moderate speeds with heavy vibration.

7" power worm or a 5" Senko, I know most wacky rig the senko style baits but I love T-rigging them.

Why not get him a gift card for tackle warehouse? Get him one based on the most expensive model of carrot stix and if he wants the slitly less expensive version he can use the extra for shipping and maybe a few bags of Senkos. If you do that I know it won't be quite as personal but at least he will get exactly what he has been wanting.

What you basically did was a slight upgrade to a beetlespin, those types of spinnerbaits catch fish but I stay away from them as the places I fish , they tend to catch a lot of bluegills and perch. Since I make my own spinnerbaits to match certain situatations I really don't know of 1 that isn't the best in its own right at certain times but for my money the best "all-purpose" spinnerbait would be a 3/8oz in white with a #5 indiana main blade in nickel and a #2 brass colorado blade as the secondary, that is a bait you could fish fast or slow in clear water or dirty water and from the surface to 6' deep.

Jonh G is right, bass fishing swimbaits range from 1/4oz to 6oz or more. The price range you stated, 100 - 200 isn't going to get you a Loomis unless it is a GL2 and in my opinion the components used in that rod plus the weight, it is heavy, don't warrant anywhere near that price. The distance you are looking for can be done with just about any length over 6' so what kind of preference do you have on length. If you provide a little more specifics you'll get a lot of good suggestions.

I don't know what affect it will have but I can tell you this, no matter what you do, you can't change a fast action graphite rod into a moderate fast action. A moderate action graphite rod is done using different materials and tapers, thats why you see a resurgence in glass rods as blank makers can only make a graphite rod so soft, I think Falcon rods have the most moderate action blanks for graphite rods.

What he means is you don't want your jika rig using a heavy duty 4/0 EWG superline hook to fish a finesse worm or a 2/0 lightwire hook with a 5" creature type bait. Whatever the plastic you are going to use make sure the hook on your rig works with the plastic you are using either big or small, don't try using the same hook for a creature bait and then use it to thread a finesse worm on instead of changing out the hook.

The frog-r and the Koppers walking frog are different and more like a sammy or spook. I think it would be very effective since it is a different profile in a walking bait, the frog-r from rebel is something I may try as it looks to have a smaller profile with a good weight, I could see this getting inhaled much easier and more oftem than a spook, I think it is more of a numbers bait but still any fish on topwater is welcomed!

Coffin bills are usually found on flatsided baits, and right now is a great time to use them. I have a wonderful crankbait that I use all summer, I call it my finesse square bill, it is a Rapala DT flat 3, it doesn't wobble, it shimmys and you'd be surprised how many times I fished an area using the DT Fat 3 without a strike and then go back through using the flat 3 and end up catch 3 or 4 nice fish. The other thing is they are great around wood as the deflection quality is outstanding.

How did you manage that...lol. Sorry about that, yeah it is pretty easy to do if you don't pay attention because Amazon has both spinning and casting lumped together and both spinning and casting have the same lengths and actions so unless you look for it to say spinning it could be confusing. I got my 6'9" M-XF spinning direct from Fenwick but I had to pay retail but it was right when they were released and nobody had them yet. I think Fenwick realized a potential problem as the spinning and casting models were on different pages. Can you send the rod back? If so you may be able to get a refund purchase it elsewhere or just wait until it comes back in stock. If that was the rod I was looking to get I would buy it from you but I'm actually looking to get the 6'3" M-MF casting rod.

Use the baby rage craw for a trailer on a 3/8oz jig, rig the rig the regular rage craw on the jika rig with a 3/0 ot 4/0 hook. A finesse worm would work but you could accomplish the same thing using a drop shot or shaky head, the jika lets you present a creature bait in a different way which is why I would go with the craw on it. I use rage craws as a trailer for swim jigs in 3/8oz but I make my own and I know for a fact I'm using a bigger hook than most production model 3/8oz jigs but the baby rage will work just as well. I know a lot of things we hear is hype but the rage craw is a really good bait and I'll tell you, I don't care for Strike King plastic baits, but they really have a winner with the rage series and the craw is the best of them, you won't be sorry.

Could it be the FLW series angler used an alabama rig while the Elite series pros didn't bother with it? I say the Elite series pros are the better anglers, while UMF is a one on one matchup, the overall format has a lot of luck involved unlike a 4 day tournament but everytime I see one of the elite anglers fish an FLW event they seem to dominate it, in fact it happened so much with Ike that FLW began making anglers pick and pay for tournaments 6 months in advance and they can no longer cherry pick events, I like that rule but it was done in part to keep elite guys from showing up FLW circut only anglers. Both series feature great anglers, there is no disputing that but I think the top 25 elite series guys are slightly better than the top 25 FLW anglers.

I own 9 baitcasting reels, 2 are high speed, 1 is a 5.4:1 and the rest oer in that 6.2:1 to 6.4:1 area. I use 1 high speed reel for jigs and worms, and the other for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. The 5.4:1 is my deep cranking reel and the others are all purpose but I use them mostly for jerkbaits, square bills and mid depth cranks.

Justin, what I'm about to tell you may seem a bit harsh but I don't mean it that way, I'm only interested in helping you. I've been making spinnerbaits and other stuff for over 15 years so I know of a lot of sources for materials but when someone wants to know the most affordable way to make baits I tell them just to buy them because there is no such thing in tacklmaking as affordable. That being said the most affordable way is to buy the heads and do the rest or buy them painted and do the rest but it is still going to cost a good bit and if you are looking into bending your own wire, pouring your own heads and making skirts and basically the whole nine yards then you need a significant investment. If you want to make 15 to 25 baits the initial start up would be around $200 to $300 depending on how many items you can get discounted. Affordable buld blades are raw steel and it won't make for a good bait unless you can afford to have them plated which is why steel blades are cheap, because without any treatment they rust in 2 days. To make a great bait you have to be willing to use premium blades, you need to use good hooks and the wire must be of good grade, there is no affordable in it, affordable makes you produce 1 dollar walmart specials. The most important part of a good blade is the swivel, crane swivels are cheap and work but you aren't going to effectively slow roll a bait with a crane swivel, then you have roller swivels which are good but at only a few cents cheaper than a good ball bearing swivel it makes no sense to use them. Ball bearing swivels are expensive, the imported one that are of a good price all fail, trust me I've tried to find good one and they don't exist, there are only 2 swivels that will ever go on my baits, and they are Sampo or Worth, personally I use Worth swivels almost exclusively and to make them affordable you need to buy a thousand at a time and buy the split rings seperate and it is going to cost you $300 just for those. I know it sounds like I'm trying to discourage you, I'm not, I'm trying to let you know that making tackle is about quality and quality isn't affordable because if you are making tackle to save money it isn't going to work because of initial investment and if you are doing it for better lures then you can't do it with cheap components. If money is an issue there are 2 things you can do, 1 is to save up about $500 and get good quality stuff or 2 is find a partner that can help split the cost and you and your partner can learn together but to save money you are just spinning your wheels because even with bulk pricing a good bait with good componets is still going to run about $2.00 per and that is only counting the blads, swivel, paint, eyes, and wire, not included is the lead or your time. So think it through and if you want to get started I'll help you out by giving you places I've found the best prices for different things, and this is not going to be a one stop shop, once you get into it you'll end up with 10 or 12 different suppliers as some will have better prices on one item while another has a better price on a different item. Good luck on what you decide.

I like the Yum Dingers as well as the Senkos. If fish are spooky and just nipping I'll use the Senko, there is 2 reasons, the first is the Senko falls faster and that often gets more of a reaction strike. The second reason is the softness of the Senko will often make spooky fish hold the bait longer and even decide to eat it if they are just grabbing the tail, in fact I had fish do that in the fall when the water temp dropped a lot in one day, they hit the Dinger but just barely and then spit it out but they held onto the senko eventually they would take it far enough that I could set the hook. Dingers are great if fish won't hit a faster sinking bait, I often use both in the same day and it is why I use both, if they won't hit the Senko they will hit a Dinger, it is just that simple.

I have 4 colors all the time, watermelon/red flake, green pumpkin, black neon, and black.

I use these and it works great for weeds but not algae, you need to use the drop shot. It isn't hard, and you can use a tube. Just tie a palomar not but use enough line that you leave at least an 8" tag end and attach your weight, not you are using the tube but the weight is actually in the algae instead of the tube.