fishwizzard

I fished a DS in Maryland for most of last spring and summer and caught a good range of bass in most every body of water I tried it in. I do fish the DS the "wrong" way, I use it more as a t-rig substitute to deal with all the muck-bottomed ponds I fish. 6" Robo, t-rigged, maybe an 8-10" dropper, 3/16oz weight. I retrieve with with the reel at a slow crawl, only stopping to shake/deadstick it when the weight starts to snag on something or I feel it go up and over something.

It's an awful picture but that is an FJ1000, a BG 2000 and a Ci4+ 2500 The BG is as narrow as the 1000 but about as long as the 2500.

That is super helpful, thanks! I don’t seem to make very long casts compared to most, so that should be fine for me. Yep, but I sub Drew’s Craw in for Mud Minnow.

How much 20lb Suffix are you getting on that spool? I have an Airy Red that I am going to use a ton this year for Ned rigs and other small plast presentations and am still mulling over my line options.

In my memory it is in-between a 1000 and 2500 Ci4+ but clooser to the 1000. I will try to grab a picture tonight.

Yea, Other than instant reverse, I think the flipper design is far better than any prop design will ever be. I bought my kayak maybe four or five years ago now? Any case it was before the market really blew up and before Hobie had come out with their reverse system. I still place a ton of value on the ability to hands-free and instantaneous reverse however. I generally fish very close to cover with relatively light tackle and the ability to instantly reverse myself and whatever fish I’ve hooked into more open water comes in handy for me all the time.

I have a pair of the 1000 Shinanos, an FJ and a Ci4+. I love them with braid/thin mono but have a Ci4+ 2500 I use for 6-8lb fluoro as the larger spool handles it so much better. I also have a Daiwa BG 2000 and honesty other then being far heavier I am liking it as much as the Ci4+ at less then half the price......

The best “small open hook jighead with small plastic trailer” rods I have used have been the Loomis MagLight/XFast spinning rods. The power and taper are just perfect for this applacation. Used IMX versions come up on ebay from time to time and they still make them in E6X and GLX

Google up “DC Tidal Baisn Fishing”. It’s right downtown and has a bit of everything in it. It’s a cool spot to fish right among all the monuments.

Both have their place. I don’t think I would want a peddle yak that was too cumbersome to paddle if I needed to. I have a Slayer 10 and leave the peddle drive at home maybe 50% of the time. I fish a lot of small, shallow spots and being able to park myself in the middle of a pad field is how I do most of my fishing in these spots.

I have 12lb Inzivx on 4-5 rods and it’s by far my most used line. I really like it and am often surprised at how much abuse it can take. Some of my less-used reels have had the same line on for like two seasons and As always I remember to squirt a little L&L on it the night before, it still handles great.

Never mind the frog, those hooks slice my thumbs up. It happens about every 100th time I go to squeeze the water out of them. Are the tails smaller on the Jr's? I would love to try a smaller/lighter tail on the full sized ones.

Weightless on a 3/0 straight shank hook. Just drag and swim it through spare pads. The plastic life is awful but the hookup ratio is outstanding.

I only really like Dingers weighted, they sink too slowly and blow around too much for my otherwise. They are soft enough to wiggle/shake pretty well. If you have access to a Bass Pro then their house brand stickbait is pretty good and is very very cheap when they go on sale.

I set mine with a little spool wiggle but with the brakes between 50 and 75% on. I rarely want to make a super long cast and like a bit more forgiveness if my lure hits cover before it hits the water. I do add spool tension and reduce the brake if I am casting into strong wind as it seems to offer more control and less distance loss that way.

That is my issue. I have the self-awareness to know my weakness, but not the self-control to overcome them, or at least my laziness.

Not having kids makes it easier, I am willing to roll the dice a lot more often as I know that I am the only one that will suffer if I make a poor financial decision. What kills me about getting a bass boat is the cost of storing it and hauling it. I don't have or really want a truck or a large SUV nor do I have a place to store a boat indoors. I know myself enough to know that I would not be on the ball enough to keep a boat outdoors. Trying to find someone around my area with an unused barn is proving far far harder then I thought it would. Or at-least a barn that I would be willing to park a boat in without sweating bullets every time the wind picked up. The towing issue is a bit easier to solve, but again it would be an added cost. I am sure no one wants to know the answer personalty, but I would be curious to know the average "per fishing trip" cost most people's boats cost them over it's lifetime.

Sure, if you are talking about the belly color. I am trying to impress the herons that I fish alongside and need to keep things fresh for them. They pay my frogs so much attention that I know they appreciate it when I show them a new color.

Major Craft also has a lot of ModFast/Regular taper rods in their lines.

Destructively test one and if you are satisfied that they just have some surface rust then go ahead and fish them.

I use MorningDawn Robos all the time, they, MMIII, and A’sMagic are about the only colors I use. I have been trying to make a go of pink Trickworms for the past two sessons and while I do catch on them it seems like GP Magic gets hit like twice as often.

If by “floating worm”, you mean “Zoom Trickworm” then it with a 3/0 hooks weighs it at like 1/4oz. I think most any lighter-MH/F or heavier-M/F would be what you are looking for. The two rods I use for trickworms are an Avid 6’2” M/XF and a GLX 783c. Both at the higher end of things but the older Loomis CR and MBR rods can be found on ebay for good prices if you are willing/able to wait for a deal to pop up.

This is the “classic” anwser, but I want to make a case for the GLX 783c. It’s a great, versatile rod for close in/mid range fishing and it’s short legnth makes it great for target-casting, which for me are what senkos/wrightless plastics call for.

So far it seems like the old loomis mbr 784 rods are the most “reasonsble” option but I have yet to find one in ebay for a price I like. Otherwise Japan/SE Asia has options in the form of snakehead rods, but they start pricy and go up from there.

I like to start new people off with a weedless plastic that works on a fast retrieve. New people seem to go too fast so something like a burner-worm, ribbontail, or craw seems to work out well. Less snags and plastics work when deadsticked as well.