timsford

That twin spin is a good lure. I've caught some good fish crawling it on bottom in murky water almost like fishing a football jig but faster so the blades still spin. They make one with double Colorado blades designed for waking the top that works good too when the water is murky or muddy

I'd take a look at the Powell max 3d cranking rods on Sheltons clothing site for 100 or the tatula or tatula XT cranking rods from Sportsmans warehouse over either of those. The Powell is a composite rod between graphite and glass and is lighter and more sensitive than most glass rods. The tatula lines have both graphite and glass rods for cranking.

I'd use the bait caster for anything heavier or with single hooks, and the spinning rod for treble hooked baits and lighter plastics and single hook baits you can't throw on the baitcaster. Since the spinning rod is a medium moderate the softer action will help keep fish hooked better with trebles

I fish a lot of ponds and do really well with bluegill swimbaits, hard topwater walkers, and frogs. I figured this would be a good lure to try since it's all these rolled into one. I went to a clear pond i fish quite a bit and could see several bass cruising. Every one of them swam away quickly when the sunfish bait got close and hid under brush or weeds. I tried it in murkier water a few times and still nothing so mine is going into the box i put lures in until i get several i don't want to keep and sell. Keep posted I'll probably have a gently used one without a single scuff from a basses teeth coming up in the flea market soon. It sounded great, but basically looks like I caught a bluegill and killed it and then hooked it's stiff floating body and cast him out

Is want to fish with Raul on some of those Mexican lakes! I've been chasing a dd for years now and have come SO CLOSE, but I would love to have a crack at some of those south of the border bass and I think I could make it happen. Also wrb for the same reason. I've gotten on a kick where I would rather catch one over 6 than 10 over 2 lbs and these two guys both live where and know how to catch the trophies

I use the chartreuse and orange quite a bit. I like the orange for coloring the tips of crayfish imitating stuff on lures I can't buy in that color. I do this anytime I use craw baits because all the crawl in my area are greens and browns with orange highlights. I've gotten more bites by doing it, especially in clear water. I use the chartreuse if I'm specifically going after smallies or spots, or when the water has a little color to it.

Is it a bait casting or spinning rod? If it's a spinning rod then most definitely but most bait casting rods rated medium are a little too stiff for 1/8 to load and cast well unless you are using a bulky plastic. A lot of it depends on the reel too. Some are designed for lighter stuff, but most baitcasting reels aren't going to do well under 1/4 oz

Black cavitron buzzbait and a lipless crank

Big jigs with loud rattles in black and blue, larger chatters it's with paddle tail trailers in the same color, and spinner baits designed for night fishing with big single Colorado blades.

I'd rather catch fish on the buzzbait, but I can catch bass in 18 inches or 40 feet of water on a spinnerbait.

I use both but if I had to pick 1 it would be yamamoto because of the senko, ika, and skirted double tail grubs. They both have lots of good products, but these 3 are some of my favorites when moneys on the line and I have to catch fish

Try fishing some bigger stuff like bigger profile jigs and worms and swimbaits. Jigs with a large profile and swimbaits that imitate bluegill like the mattlures gills catch most of my big bass in ponds. I've fished ponds with regular lures and catch a LOT of fish on regular lures and rarely one over 15 inches and go back to the same pond and only fish mop jigs with beaver trailers and bluegill swimbaits the size of your hand and catch 2-3 or more over 5 lbs. I'd definitely try those and maybe 10 inch worms before I was sure there weren't any big ones

I think sensitivity is over used, but the klx and helium 3 both feel more sensitive in my hands. All 3 balance well in the lengths I've tried, and I think the Kistlers are a little lighter, but that may just be me. I also like that the Kistlers are made in the us on us made blanks(nfc). The Dobyns is also a nice rod, but I personally prefer the kistlers

I throw mine on either a 6'8" or 7'1" mh extra fast depending on whether I'm trying to cast really accurately or casting for distance

I grew up reading bassmaster, in fisherman, North American fisherman, and bassin magazine. I don't think the last 2 are still published but the first two taught me a lot of new techniques and how to fish them, and also about how bass act based on seasonal and weather conditions and basically most of what I know now. I also learned a lot from older books by bill dance and roland martin, bill murphys book, and a few sets of hardback books published by bassmaster and in fisherman. I have learned a few things off the internet, but mostly techniques since I had been bass fishing a long time before the Internet became what it is now. Nowadays though sites like this and others have a lot of articles that help so I'd definitely start there.

I retie after at least every couple of fish and I also add a hyperwire split ring to the front of every bait without a split ring to let it move more freely. I use mono because I'm fishing them on a fast action rod, but if I used a more moderate action rod I'd use braid. I personally think you can both pull the bait away too fast on a strike with braid, and also pull the hooks out if a fish is barely hooked, but that's my opinion

I'd be throwing swimbaits, superflukes, crankbaits (lipless and square bills if shallow), jerkbaits, and topwater poppers and walkers along with the white baits in your pic with silver blades in sunny or clearer water and gold in dirty water or if it's cloudy.

In that price range I'd also check out the mojo, the Fenwick aetos rods on their site if there are any left, the daiwa tatula rods on flea bay for 110, the Powell max 3d rods, and the 13 *** black and *** green. The aetos rods are probably the best deal. They are around half price and have titanium guides and lifetime warranty. The tatula and max 3d rods are very nice also, and all 3 if those retail for over 150, but can be found around 100. If you like the smoke the exo rods can be found cheaper than the smokes retail price. Both are really lightweight rods and balance well. The *** black and *** green are great buys at retail, and a lot of the new *** black rods can be found for less on ebay, around 80 shipped.

I'd go with the daiwa because of spool and other customizing options, and also because of the t-wing and sv stock spool. Also the price is cheaper and Imo the daiwa braking system is better, especially with an sv spool

The best reel for the money around 100 to me has to be the daiwa Procyon. They can be found for about 110 on eBay depending on size. Aluminum frame so it will last and all the latest technologies. It is much smoother and more solid feeling than the shimanos at that price that all have graphite frames. It will last a long time and retails for 150. It's a great buy at retail and at 100 it is definitely the best new reel design I have used. That being said I also have a very soft spot for the tournament ss 1300 from daiwa. Rock solid and should last practically forever with maintenance. They haven't been making them exactly the same since the early 90's for no reason, and they are bulletproof and last forever. Not quite as smooth on the retrieve as the Procyon or some newer reels, but the drag is silky smooth and the reliability more than makes up for any lack of smoothness on retrieve. Lots of guys use these in salt and have for years. These 2 would be what I would look at. If you never want to buy another spinning reel, buy the tournament ss . If you want the newest stuff, but still a very well built reel that should outlast it's competition, look at the Procyon.

If you want something as nice as the zodias but cheaper I'd look at the tatula, aetos, or Powell Max 3d 684. You don't need a rod labeled for spinnerbaits. Any 6'6"-7' medium or medium heavy fast or mod fast powered rod. I'd go med or mh depending on the weights you usually throw and I prefer a fast rod, but some like a mod fast like a stiffer cranking rod. The tatula rods can be found at 110 on sportsman's outfitters. The fenwick rods are under 100 on their website. The Powell rod is a do it all rod based on the loomis mbr taper(check out the tackle tour review). It is a couple inches longer than the loomis 783 and has almost exactly the same power curve as the 843 except the backbone is stiff like the 844. Very versatile rod like the loomis mbr rods the design is based on. It's the rod I use when I throw spinnerbaits. Perfect length to both roll cast and cast accurately shallow, and still long enough to get a good distance on the cast and set the hook. Mine handles baits for 1/4- 1 oz great. Has the sensitivity to use for bottom contact too if you want. I'd definitely look at these if you want to save a little. All these retail for 150 plus and are in the same league or better IMO than the zodias. And they are around half the price. All have a better warranty too(at least 5 years). I've fished some of the old lews hm85 speed sticks that they just retired for the new ones. They were nice rods, but not as nice as a lot of the others at retail in the same price range.

If I'm bank fishing in an entireIy new place I always start out with faster moving stuff to cover more water. If fishing from shore I fan cast all around and then move a little and repeat. Lures I usually start out with are cranks , spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swimbaits, and topwater. If I don't catch much on that I use texas rigged worms and jigs. Finesse stuff like wacky rigging is usually my last resort. I use a had and craw colors on the cranks, shad and bluegill colors on the other reaction baits, and green pumpkin, pumpkin, purple, watermelon and black/blue on worms and jigs. If I don't catch fish on that stuff I just start trying anything and everything

In a pond I'd throw a jig, 10" Texas rigged worm, soft frog like the horny toad, weightless 8 inch lizard, or bluegill imitating swimbait. Almost all my big ones have been on the bluegill swimbaits in ponds the last few years. No 10lbers but I've caught 7 over 8 lbs and probably 20 over 6. Bluegill are usually the main forage fish in ponds. I'd start out with the swimbait or jig and about halfway through if I hadn't caught anything I'd switch to the Texas rigged worm til the end. If the pond has heavy cover I'd forget the swimbait and fish the jig or worm for about half the time and then fish the weightless 8" lizard. It provides a bigger profile than the frog. I'd stick with it til maybe 15-20 minutes from the end and then go to the horny toad or rage frog as a last resort. No matter what though I'd use bigger baits if it's bigger fish wins. I've gotten to where I stick with the bigger stuff no matter what, in ponds especially though. I just like to catch big fish and while my numbers have went down a little, I catch 3-4 times as many 6lb+ largemouth and 4lb+smallmouth as I used to

I use it several different ways. I cast it out and shake and pause it back when fishing it most of the time. I have used it vertical a few times, but usually use a jigging spoon if I do that.

I use the Carolina rig quite a bit during warm weather when fish are on deeper structure. I like a 1/4-1 oz weight depending on the size of my lure, amount of wind, and the water depth. I want it to get down fast and stay on bottom because I use it as a water covering technique because I can drag it faster than a Texas rig and catch fish. I use a medium heavy fast or extra fast 7'2"-7'6" rod and a reel with a fast retrieve. I like a 7.3:1 so I can take up slack quickly on a long cast and the longer rod to get a good hookset with so much line out. I use fluoro line, usually 15-20lb test and a Carolina keeper, brass weight, glass bead, and 1/0-5/0 hook depending on the bait. I usually use about a 3 foot leader. I like fluoro because it sinks and is more sensitive than mono, and it's more abrasion resistant than braid. If I fished a more weedy lake with less rocky structure, I'd probably use braid. I use the same hooks as when Texas rigging. Baits range from finesse worms and small 3-4" baits to 10" worms. I like to experiment and I've caught fish on a lots of different saltplastics. I've even read articles and seen videos of guys using floating jerkbaits on the c-rig and wearing fish out. I tried it but lost a lot of baits quick and decided to fish it only with soft plastics. My biggest producers are trick worms, centipedes, super flukes, and stick worms.