smalljaw67

I'm a jerkbait fanatic, I use suspending ones in Spring and Fall and floating models during the summer. When I saw that ripstop I'll admit, it made me a little weak in the knees.

The drop shot rod will be a lot better. I like shorter rods but 4'6" is too short for UL power. I was using a St. Croix Avid X 7' ML-F but I now switched to a G.Loomis Bronzeback 6'9" light power-fast action, and the light power on that series of rod is more like a ML, rated 1/8oz to 5/16oz.

I'm a Fenwick fan!!! The thing with it is that I don't care for the HMX and they changed the SilverHawk which is exclusive to Cabela's so I can't comment on it. What I can tell you is the HMG line is really good for $99 but the handles and blanks are thinner than the old model HMG and not everyone cares for it. Turkey sandwich gave you a really good assessment, the discontinued Elite Tech Smallmouth rods were very good, I got a few of them and after fishing the spinning rod I actually gave my Grandson my old Loomis IMX rod as the Fenwick was superior in every aspect. The new Elite Tech bass line is very good when it comes to sensitivity and comfort but I don't like that they added weight to them to add power, but if you never used the smallmouth series the bass line is fine. I also agree with Turkey sandwich in that the Aetos line is really good, they are over your budget but if you keep your eyes open you may get lucky and find some discounted models on FFO (Fishermen's Factory Outlet). They have a ton of sensitivity and the actions, to me, are perfect along with the weight, I honestly believe if they had a Shimano or Daiwa logo on them they would retail well over $200 but that is just my take. If I had to get a rod below the HMG line I'd wait for Cabela's to have a sale on the Silver Hawk 2 rods and grab one, it looks as if the new version uses the HMG blank with Fuji Alconite guides and a Sea Guide reel seat, I'm not familiar with Sea Guide but I'm noticing other manufactures beginning to use their components so I wouldn't worry.

Probably not your style but the Bagley Balsa Shad is just sick when it comes to catching fish. The size 8 will hit just a bit over 15' on 10lb line, I use the 5 and 7 mostly and they have replaced my Rapala Shad Raps. The 5 is 3/8oz but just a hair longer than a size 5 shad rap so it can be used on casting gear, I liked that about it. The real kicker of it though is the ability to catch fish, I use it in water under 60 degrees for the most part, from 48 to 52 degrees my number one color is purple shad and for the rest of the water temps I like yellow perch and even the black and chartreuse has worked for me in dirty water. You want a high detail Japanese style bait, these aren't those but I fish with a lot of different anglers and so far I haven't had anyone throw a shad crank that was even remotely close to the effectiveness as the Balsa Shad with the exception of the Shad Rap but with the Balsa Shad being easier to cast it just checks all the boxes.

They are excellent rods!! I have a Bronzeback spinning rod that is not a GLX model, the rod has nice sensitivity with a great action, light tip with solid backbone. The topwater rod you are looking at was made specifically for those types of baits and that is a great deal so I'd grab it. The thing I noticed about rods in the "fiber blend" series is they have a tad bit more weight, not like the GL2 but still a little heavier, probably close to a GL3. I think at full price it is a good rod but at $160 it is a no brainer and hard to beat.

I might be able to help with this. I fish the Susquehanna river and when the water gets high the first place we usually find fish is close to the bank, anywhere you have an eddy or current break is where they will be but for some reason they like to move close to the bank. The second thing is bait choice, my number 1 bait for that has been a 1/2oz single Colorado blade spinnerbait, and you retrieve it slow so that it is hitting the bottom but the blade is still spinning. That bait in high muddy water can get big fish to hit and this time of year you can get numbers but the giants are tough to come by but with that bait in those conditions will get you the opposite, small numbers but some bigger fish for sure.

All the different wire forms serve a purpose. The reason you don't see many coiled eye wire forms is because they are usually made for jig spinners like the beetle spin. In other words they are used on light wire for the most part and it is because it is a vibration killer. When you have a closed loop you get a stronger bait with a little bit of vibration dampening, the problem with the closed loop is if you are using a line that is limp, it can get wrapped around the loop and cause the line to break. The "R" bend is the best for vibration but it also is the least durable because the line tie is open it allows the blade arm to be pulled open when fighting a fish. The coiled eye doesn't have any areas for the line to wrap and is a durable design but if you are making a bait to handle pike or anything over .031" diameter wire, it will have very little vibration, even with a large blade. If you use a large blade you'll get more of a list to one side or the other and if you slow it down the bait will rock more that vibrate because that doubling of the wire really stiffens the blade arm up but it does make for a durable bait so if you are fishing in clear water the coiled eye will work for a durable bait but if you need any vibration it isn't the best choice.

Fenwick Lunker Stick, $80 - $90, and from what 2 guys in my former club tell me, they are the best deal in a glass rod. They don't make a heavy power but they do have a 7/8" MH that works well as it has a moderate fast action so it is a little more stout up front than a typical glass rod, probably more like how a heavy power would act.

You are absolutely correct!!!!! I still have some ingots of the 281 and I remember getting it because it was more dense than pure tin and the first time casting it I had to torch it out of the mold. I appreciate the heads up, I do not like giving bad info and it has been awhile since I was casting non lead alloys. I also like the pewter alloy deal, a little lighter with higher melting temp, that could help me out down the road, I now have reason to look at all the different alloys on Rotometals.

I have a stash of discontinued Xcalibur One Knockers and they are big fish slayers. That said, I find that there is reason to have several different brands and types to cover a lot of situations. Right now I'm really liking the Bagley Rattlin' B Minus, it is a slow sinker for shallow water, as the grass started coming up it has been a real player.

Just close the bait by hand, no modification needed.

If you are going to pour tin buy some Frankfurt Arsenal Dropout. The dropout is a graphite spay lubricant you spray in the mold cavities to make releasing the casting super easy. The reason you'll need that is unlike lead that shrinks a bit the tin doesn't, in fact I think it may even expand a little. The first time I used tin I had to take a torch to melt my casting out of the mold, it wouldn't budge. Also keep in mind powder paint isn't going to work, tin has a low melting point so you'll need regular or vinyl paint.

You don't need the loop knot or the split ring. I'm not an expert with larger swim baits but in my limited experience I've found that unlike crankbaits and topwaters, the extra freedom of movement provided by the ring or knot really doesn't do much for those type of swim baits, at least I never noticed any.

What Bluebasser 86 told you is how the technique is supposed to be fished. You can fish it anyway you want but the original way the technique is fished is often called a "no feel" technique because you don't really feel it dragging or bouncing along the bottom. The guys that use it on the rivers I fish try to keep it anywhere from a few inches to 2' off the bottom depending on how high the water level is and other conditions like water clarity, weather. I use a 1/16oz and a lot of true finesse guys like using even lighter weights like 1/32oz, the technique for fishing current is to basically drift fish it like you do a fly, make a cast up stream at a 45 degree angle and let it fall and then reel slowly, how fast you go depends on how deep the water is. My river is 4.5' deep right now and fish will be near shallow riffle so I'll be focusing on the area right above and below the riffle, and that bait just moving in there from upstream will resemble a small prey item that got washed out from under a rock.

Sassy Shad on a darter head.

I have the bluegill crankbait, the 1/2oz shallow version and it is very good.......At certain times. It is flat sided but it swims different than most flat sides so it hasn't been great in colder water, and it doesn't get the reaction bites like a square bill does but there is a time when it is the best bait you can throw. During the bluegill spawn, and we just had that happen and it was working very well for me again just like every year. Move into the shallows and see where the bluegill have beds which seem to be in 2' of water here, all I need to do is move off the flat until no beds are visible and begin casting and within the first 5 casts I'll have one. They made that crank look like a bluegill and I'm not sure if the action was just luck or if they designed it that way but it swims like a bluegill, but the weird thing is that it will catch more fish during the bluegill spawn than any other crank, or spinnerbait or swim jig but once that spawn is done I do better using other cranks in the same depth range.

No problem, and the pros are the worst at spreading bad info!! Like the use of fluorocarbon because it has no stretch, then low stretch, and now it is fluorocarbon leaders to provide some stretch. I think they just use talking points given to them by the manufacturer. I use mono for cranks and using a good mono with good abrasion resistance and small diameter works well and the only advantage I see with fluorocarbon is the fact it sinks, you get a little extra depth along with the clarity but in stained water the clarity isn't as big of a factor.

I appreciate the kind words on my videos, I'm glad you got some help from them. As for your line of thinking, the 30 degree hook is going to be tough, I think the only one in a size that will work is the Mustad 91768 and I've only saw 1 place that carries them in smaller than a 1/0 and that is Captain Hooks. To be honest I'm not even sure if they are still available but they are listed in a size 4 and a size 2 and with the length of the shank on that hook I believe the 2 will work but the 4 is probably the better bet. That said, you'll need a custom mold, there is nothing that small that uses a 30 degree but I also believe that at that head weight you don't need the 30 degree as there isn't enough weight to have the jig running off of level anyway. The reason of a 30 degree hook on a swim jig is to pull the head at the front, that puts all the weight behind the line tie so the jig follows straight and true, when you use a 90 or even a 60 depending on the type of head, the angle of the line is higher and it can cause problems when fishing certain types of cover and it can also cause the jig to not run straight but at an angle but it isn't enough to really worry about, especially at such a small weight.

I don't want to contradict you but almost all of the diving depths of crankbaits are based off of 10# to 12# mono. There may be Japanese baits or some newer baits on the market that use fluorocarbon as a depth gauge but every single Rapala DT, Bomber, Bandit, Berkley, Bagley, Storm, and Yo-Zuri as well are all based on 10# -12# mono. I know this because I have asked that question repeatedly to each one of those companies listed, my specific question was as follows: " with the popularity of fluorocarbon line being at a peak, are your crankbait depths based on fluorocarbon or mono and which strength line is used"? The answer I got was almost identical from each manufacturer with some minor differences, like Yo-Zuri told me their depths are based off of nylon line using diameters that would be equivalent to 10# monofilament. Berkley was the only one that used 12# mono but acknowledged it would depend on line diameter and Bagley went a step further by stating that even though fluorocarbon is immensely popular right now, diving depths are still based off of mono since it is still the most commonly used line. I say this because your statement is how misinformation gets spread, it is one thing to have an opinion or guess but stating something as fact when it isn't gives all of us bad info. I'd suggest contacting some of the newer manufacturers and see what they say, the ones I listed are the ones I got in touch with but like I said, it is possible that newer companies are using fluorocarbon but I would still think the majority of them use mono for testing depth but make some inquiries and let us know, I'd like to find out if any one is using fluorocarbon for depth.

Shaky head is one of my top finesse presentations, you can almost guarantee a fish with it. I use those in 5' down to 20' and I also use them if I'm around some type of cover on the bottom like stump fields or weed beds. Wacky rig is my shallow water target bait, if I'm fishing visible cover and looking for a bite the wacky is perfect but I'm not covering a lot of water, if I'm not getting bit on a jig or T-rigged worm I'll go wacky and then if that isn't working I'll cover deeper water with the shaky head. The Ned rig for me is light heads even in 15' of water, if you go to Z-Man and read the blog there, they have an article titled the 8 most common Ned rig mistakes, the top 3 are hooks too big, tackle too heavy, and jig heads too heavy. The reason is the Ned rig is a no feel technique and it isn't supposed to be felt on the bottom but rather just skimming along, feel anything more than a slight tick and the head is too heavy, and that said I use the Ned rig when the fish are scattered, if I'm not catching fish on visible cover or if I'm noticing fish cruising and not biting I'll go to the Ned rig. Sometimes if I go and we have bluebird skies or other conditions that I know I'll struggle I'll go right to the Ned rig. Most of the time I'm fishing it adjacent to normal areas that hold fish like docks or transition banks and points, a lot of times I find that if the fish aren't directly on those places they usually aren't far off and are either cruising or suspend nearby. The Ned rig is becoming a mainstay for me when the fish are suspended just off the bottom, I could never get those fish to bite consistently but they will bite a Ned rig moving past really slow, the key is that it doesn't crash the bottom but sort of hovers over it and lightly hits the bottom and moves up when reeled, and that I learned over time with it, I originally fished it more like a shaky head with 3/32oz and 1/8oz weights in water less than 10' deep and when I started using the light head last year the catch rate jumped dramatically, just some food for thought.

I fish a shallow rocky river a lot and the tactic will change based on conditions. Water clarity plays a major roll, I don't know how your river is normally this time of year but the water I fish is normally super clear but we have had a lot of rain so it is stained. That said, in shallow water with smallmouth you will want to use reaction style baits when the water is stained and finesse style baits when the water is clear or lightly stained. You did good with a NED rig, so expand into tubes and at 3' you will want a tube jig that is 1/16oz to 1/8oz with a 2.75" to 3.5" tube, a 4" tube is good if you have stained water but go to the smaller side if the water is clear. For the stained water I like shallow running cranks and wake style cranks as well as spinnerbaits, double willow models and if you have lightly stained water say, just stained enough that you can see the bottom but not too well, then a 1/4oz spinnerbait in pearl or some type of shad pattern will work. The darker the water the larger the bait, 18" to 24" of visibility you'll still want a double willow model but in a 3/8oz version in the same natural patterns, but when you get 1' or less visibility you'll want a 1/2oz bait with a willow blade and small Colorado kicker. It is important to realize that in shallow water even when the water is stained, there is still a lot of light penetration and I'll still use a willow blade, the only time that changes in a river is if I'm fishing deeper water or if the water is muddy like chocolate milk, then I'll go with big Colorado blades or a chatterbait. I also like using soft plastic jerkbaits, a 5" super fluke is a good option and will get crushed in stained to clear water, if the fish are swiping at it and not getting the hook I'll switch out to a floating style hard jerkbait, with treble hooks you'll get those swiping fish, the key is to working the bait fast, three quick jerks followed by a 1 second pause and repeat, it will result in some of the most violent strikes you can imagine.

The craft fur is similar to marabou in action but it comes in tons of colors and is less expensive and it tends to last longer. As I said, I tie my jigs with a little craft fur, some Krystal flash, and mallard flank on the sides, the result in the water is a jig that has the perfect profile of a small baitfish.

I use craft fur, extra select it is called and I get it from Barlow's Tackle or Cabela's. Then I had a single mallard flank feather to each side.

I've made small 1/16oz bucktail swim jigs the walleye head. It works well but no weed guard but it wouldn't be hard to modify to add an FG-9 if you'd want one.

That is my number one shaky head worm. It is the only soft plastic that I've even caught a largemouth in water under 40 degrees. I've caught countless smallmouth in water down to freezing but largemouth here shut down when the water is in the 30s, but I was using the SM Killer on a small 1/16oz shaky head I make in 37 degree water and ended up with 3 fish and actually lost 3 that didn't have the hook really well. What made that even better is there were 6 other boats that were fishing the same area and nobody even got as much as a sniff. Anyway, the worm is thin and 4.5", it resembles a finesse worm made by Berkley a pretty long time ago, one of the sides is flat and it gives the tail a lot of movement, as I said, I use it as a shaky head worm but I also like it on a split shot or Mojo rig and a drop shot but when fishing for river smallmouth I fish it on a ball head jig, usually between 1/16oz to 1/8oz with a size 1 hook.