FryDog62

I’ve only fished Zumbra a couple times and found fish, but size was small. Lots of 12-14 inchers... a lot of lakes in the area that seem to produce better size - yes, using the types of techniques you listed above, so haven’t been back..

I agree fished differently, but I’m finding more overlap for me personally - and in those areas I find myself gravitating away from DS. Wondering when/where you decide to drop-shot vs. Ned/Neko?

You know, that’s kind of been the pattern for me several times this Spring/Summer. I keep starting shallow and don’t find them, and eventually toss something into 9-14 fow and there they are... nice fish!

The new one I’m using this year with good luck is the Yum Genie - as a Neko Rig and also Chicken Rig. Stands straight up with the seductive tail undulation...

I wouldn’t say it has completely for me, I still drop shot in deeper water. But have to admit, I do work deep weed edges, mid-depth rock piles, etc a lot more with Neko/Ned rigs where I used to drop the Dream Shot worm routinely. Neko/Ned are less hassle/knots to me than DS, also seem to be able to work a bigger area of the bottom a little faster too. Maybe just a confidence thing...

I use a baitcaster when throwing 5 inch Caffeine Shads on an Owner Twistlock Light 3/32 hook for smallies... deadly combo for the bronzebacks. I use a Daiwa Tatula Elite Ehrler M-MH XF and Tat SV reel. Great combo..

I’m personally not a big fan of St. Croix in anything more powerful than a Medium, tend to be tip heavy, fatiguing to me. I actually sold my SC Legend Tournament Bass Frog Rod as a result. I use a Tatula 7-1 Heavy, half the price and so much better, walks frogs very well. The Tatula XT is at the $100 price point and comes in a 7-3 Heavy and is also a good rod for the money.

Agreed. I was out yesterday and either with the heat or storms, they were scattered. Best luck was still outside weedline on a Chicken Rig 8-12 fow.

XL will abraid too easily around dock posts, chains, ladders, etc... braid will too and is too visible... The two lines I use for skipping light plastics are either 6 or 8 lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid, or if I need more strength, 16 lb Sunline FC Flippin’ line with hi-viz alternating with 30 inches of clear line. Tie the plastic at the end of a 30 inch stretch of clear fluoro for lo-viz. Both lines sink better than mono or braid... Sunline slightly more than YZH.

I Texas Rig a #1 Neko hook in my Ned’s and push a 1/16 oz nail weight in the fat end. Most snagless way I’ve fished it. I use a VMC Neko hook for this and the hook up ratio seems as good as an open hook for me. Sticky sharp, but no/few snags...

5 1/2 inches of rain down by Rochester… There are cows floating away in the river right now. Glad I didn’t bring the boat!

Anyone ever fish a Chicken-Rig? Kind of a Texas-rigged Neko set up...

If I’m throwing really light lures, or skipping anything - then the SV is the way to go for sure. I can’t skip a baitcaster consistently without SV. The Tat is a bit bulky to palm but not terrible, great value overall...

Or football jig... sunken rock piles, shoals. Everything is about experimenting to find the right depth that time of year..

I dunno for sure... my goal was a big worm, with the skirt to create a large enough profile so the little bluegills would leave it alone and hopefully the bigger bass would still like. Funny, my first cast a 20 incher nailed it half way to the bottom in 12 feet of water... so maybe the skirt helped slow the fall..? The skirts are nice, the down side is they are obviously more expensive than just a nail weight - and second, makes it tougher to skip... not that I’m skipping 8 inch worms very often, but even on a 4-5 inch worm it will make it a little harder. Will be fun to try this around docks. I guess like anything else skirts are a plus in the right situation... (if you know what I mean

I’ve said many times if price was no issue, the only boat I would trade mine for is a Caracal. Might need a longer garage though to store it... ...then it gets a lot more expensive because I’d need a bigger house..

8 inch Big Bite Finesse Worm, 1/8 oz VMC skirt. The smaller Ned rigs were getting pecked to death by small bluegills but they didn’t go after the big profile worm.

10 feet deep, just outside the weed edge... dropped waypoint, used side imaging, dragged spoons... no sign. Anyone have ave a coupon code for TW?? Will do my best to feed the bait monkey and keep the economy going..

Dragged spoons with treble hooks for 30 minutes to no avail...

While releasing a fish... got the hook out and released the fish but didn’t realize the line was wrapped around the fish’s inner gill - overboard she went... and dragged the rod/reel with it. Don Iovino MajorCraft rod and Daiwa Tatula SV. Ouch...

Neko Rig worked well this morning. 8 inch worm, VMC skirt, 9-14 fow on outside weedline. Wondering when topwater bite will kick in ?!?

If it would mean getting the new Nitro but financing it for the next 10-15 years - then I would say to keep your Ranger until it’s paid off. Re-evaluate your options at that time... just my .02

I’m not sure you want to launch a 3/4 oz lure on a extra fast rod that is only rated 5/8... you snap a cast a little too hard and could be trouble. FWIW, the 3/4 oz is the size of DS I use the most... smaller than that they tend to float up on retrieve. I throw them on an Orochi Braillist and I think the sensitivity approaches an NRX, maybe not quite as much but I don’t think I’m giving up on anything either. I can easily throw 3/4 oz and even the 1 oz which hits the top of the lure rating for a Braillist. Never had a problem, very good sensitivity.

The three rods I use for frogs are ALX Toadface, Orochi Perfect Pitch and Daiwa Tatula Heavy 7’-2”. Each works well for jigs too, Alex at ALX touts the Toadface secondary use as Chatterbaits (works well IMO if using fluorocarbon/co-poly). Very versatile rods overall. Only caveat on those rods is if you also use for Whopper Ploppers - the Perfect Pitch is only rated to 1.25 oz and the WP 130 is 1 3/8 oz. Don’t ask me how I know ... but don’t push an extra fast tip past it’s limit ?

The only other thing I would add is if you are there for several days and either want to try something different - or if the wind is too strong on the lake - consider fishing the Vermilion River. Multi-species, smallies/wallies, and especially big pike fishing.