kickerfish1

Not a fan of watermelon red. Green pumpkin black flake or other variations of green pumpkin would be my preference.

Sadly a friend of mine has 4 bass outfits and maybe two tackle boxes/bags. He seems content as he doesnt fish that much. Going to have to send the baitmonkey his way!

Nice fish given the conditions. And by your standard test it looks like that rod/reel works. It casts, retrieves, and brings in fish!!!

If its only interested in your expensive baits its a female. If it bites on your cheaper cost effective baits its a male.

I have boxes of Keitech and a handful of knockoffs. The Keitechs flat out produce better. Love em rage rigged or as a swim jig trailer. One of my favorite baits for the above purposes as well as a favorite manufacturer.

Check the schematic in the reel box. Make sure all parts are there inside the drag star assembly. Chances are you are missing a small part responsible for making the clicking sound. If you happened to take apart your reel chances are it might have happened at that time that it "flew out".

This would echo my thoughts though I cant speak of their newer offerings from the last few years. The spinning reel I did buy back in the late 90s was one that soured me. Would probably try one of the new offerings eventually but it would have to be a situation where I was test driving one of someone elses...

Good bait and a good company. Never had an issue with any of their prodcuts and the owner is heckuva nice guy to boot. As long as they are making baits I am buying. The lobster is great for getting bigger bites.

Aarons Magic. I buy at least 2-4 packs of all their soft bait variations in this color and sprinkle in other colors as needed. From dirty to stained and even clear water that color has always produced.

Sounds like very wise choices. I have been considering going the custom route for almost two years now. Got turned off by local custom builder who's custom rods looked gaudy, saltwaterish, and overall less than pleasing to the eye. Spent hours talking to him and a half day touring his "facility". He is as smart as they come and does a good job with building and utilizing quality components but I shyed away after seeing the finished product and costs. I have some ideas but more research will need to be done. Ideally I would like a black and gold themed rod and one with black and royal purple. Good luck with the builds and throw up a few photos once they are completed if you remember.

What blanks do you have in mind? Moving baits or bottom contact stuff? Nice additions by the way!

It is an attractive reel for the money but I would compare it to other cheap reels under $60 and not to reels costing 4-6x the cost of this one new. The biggest turnoff as Ty noted is the weight. Not many guys would want a 10.5 oz reel and this is the smallest size model. It would take a longer and more powerful spinning rod to make it balance. Most guys that use spinning gear for finesse fishing would have a hard time accepting the weight of the reel compared to what can be had from the major manufacturers.

The NRX and older GLX rods are some of the best bottom contact rods around. I would take them all day over my IMX.

One of my favorites. Prayers to the family and those in the sports community that knew him.

There are a few advantages of lighter jigs over heavier jigs: 1. Their fall rate is much slower making them appear to move and fall more naturally 2. They work well for shallower lakes and working depths under 10 feet 3. Generally they snag up less than a heavier jig The downside is in casting distance if you fish deeper they aren't a great choice for that either. To me a 3/8 oz jig is a good compromise or all around jig for everyday situations. I probably have the most in this weight range.

Also the structural composition of the pond is important. Some ponds tend to be more weedy and shallow while others are deeper with more rock and clearer water. Jigs can be 100% effective in both types. Just choose the appropriate head style and weight. I would toss a swim jig in the pond that is weed based and a football or brushead jig in the deeper rocky pond. I have never had bad luck with jigs in ponds or smaller bodies of water, in fact it was quite the opposite.

I would have been done after the second step. I hate heights.

If we are talking about lure probably some sort of plastic or spinnerbait. My first bass was probably caught on a bobber and worm.

Thanks for the response. Some very nice colors and organization within that box. I haven't fished many of their varieties outside their traditional swim jig line up. I do appreciate the color options and the results they produce. If I cant get the Northstar jigs anymore I will probably move to more Dirty jigs in addition to Siebert jigs. Dill gill and warmouth seem to produce best but I would put the dill gill at the top.

Personally I feel like finesse jigs are generally lighter than 3/8 oz. A 3/8 oz jig can be casted and fished quite well on just about any MH fast of extra fast rod. If you plan on using the same rod for lighter jigs as well look at Medium fast or extra fast. If you think it would be 3/8 or heavier look for a MH fast or extra fast. Unless you are going under 3/8 oz I would fish these on casting gear and for lighter jigs a medium spinning rod would be good. For line I would think 10-12# floro or braid equivalent would be adequate. 90% of my jig fishing is done with 12# line.

Very informative and nice work with the write up and build progression pics. Oh, and a sharp looking combo with the reel mounted on it!

WarEagle, are those jigs pictured predominantly Dirty jigs swim jigs in a finesse and flip/heavy swim head design? Looking good with the brand and color selections!

Nice builds but I really enjoy the looks of the one you built for your self. Fortunately there are may reels with red accents that would nice on it.

I have never used Red Label so I cant comment on it. I have fished Invisix, Abrisix, and Tatsu. For bottom contact apps I would rate them in the order listed. I have used Sniper and Shooter and they are great lines. The difference between the two lies in the amount of stretch and abrasion resistance, which in this case favors shooter. Is Shooter 2x as good as say Invisix, Abrisix, or Sniper? Not to me but there is a difference in feel while fishing baits like jigs. This past season I moved to Tatsu and Sniper exclusively for my flourocarbon needs after doing my own testing of flourocarbon lines the past two years. I am very pleased with both but would consider adding Shooter again at some point on my bigger jig setups.

Once you get down to a 1/4 oz and under with or without added trailer weight you are looking at almost a finesse casting setup which can expensive in a hurry. A reel with a finesse spool to begin with or one that would accept an aftermarket spool will be needed for those 1/8 oz jigs and of course the right line and rod. There fore from a cost standpoint it may be best to opt for a good quality spinning outfit for these. Smalljaw is spot on with a Medium Fast action spinning rod for that weight range even though you can fish them on ML / Fast rod. It also may depend on the hair jig manufacture and what type of hook they used. Some of them with the light wire hooks and little or no weed guards should be fished easily on the ML / fast spinning rod. It seems to me at times that getting a good "positive" hook set with a "bigger hair jig" on the ML / Fast rod can be difficult and I will miss a few more fish than I typically do as it takes longer for the rod to get into the backbone. I would lean toward any 2500 series Shimano Reel for a Medium spinning rod and you could go down to to a 1000 series reel if you went with a ML rod as the balance should be better for the most part (Thinking Stradic FJ series reels with respect to weight and balance). For line I like 8# Tatsu or Sniper though some guys do the braid / leader thing but it is just not for me. Did you have a given budget on the Rod / Reel for the hair jigs? That may narrow the suggestions down to something more manageable.