fishwizzard

Do you do anything special in terms of rigging it? My last trip out I rigged it upside down and it seemed like that might be the ticket for smaller pond bass who can't engulf my finesse worms.

I agree, it looks like it will never work, but like it does, very well some days. I have gone 10 hits to 10 hookups with it a few times but other days it's like 50/50 at best. In terms of getting a small Neko through light wood cover on 7lb line, it's the best hook I have found, so I am willing to spend some time trying to get it to work out.

These hooks dive me crazy, some days I do well with them, other days I seem like I miss 75% of my hits. Same worm, same combo. There is something I am missing but I have yet to devote the time to sorting it out. I need to as they (when they work) are the best weedless neko hook I have found.

No idea about the TS, but if you are looking for a short frog rod, I was on a quest for one a year or so ago and did a ton of research I would be happy to share via PM or a new thread.

If you really want to go high end, there are a few Megabass rods that will be great for this specific presentation. From the current p5 Destroyer line up, the F3-610X Bait Finesse would work so long as he isn't going to be fishing much cover. I use mine with 10lb line and similar weights/plastics. It's an amazing rod but at 6'10" it's a little long for really tight banks. The F4-66X Cyclone from the same line is a more powerful rod that is also a bit shorter, it should also be a good fit. Both of them are also good "all around" rods and he will be able to use them for lots of other stuff. I don't think any of the current XX rods will be a good fit as they are all longer rods. One thing to consider is durability. MB rods are not "weak" per se, but they will be far far less durable then a fiberglass or composite rod, which a lot of the very low end Walmart stuff is. Megabass's warranty isn't great compared to most US brands, but the main issue these days is availability. Even if the rod is covered you could be waiting months to get a replacement as they have been out of stock more often in then in stock since they were released.

The 1/4oz Dock Rocker Dredge jigs are a staple for me, they are what I really learned to fish jigs on. With a Rage Menace they come it at 0.061oz and are imho the ideal match for a 3 power Loomis or similar rod. I fish a lot of shallow water so 1/4oz jigs are my bread and butter.

I take it one step further and divide plastics up like this: Long Skinny Lots of action Not a lot of action Short Fat Lots of action Not a lot of action

Ned Kehde for me. I stumbled into MWF very early in my bass career and it was what helped me start catching bass “on purpose”.

Thanks! Even just seeing if they feel salty like a Senko will tell me something. I love fishing the Baby Supers on light tackle but they are so light that any kind of wind blows them around, esp if I am running braid/ leader.

Two questions, 1) do they have a split-belly? 2) do you know what they weigh? I have been using the baby zoom supers a lot but would love a heavier plastic with about the same profile.

Thanks, I had never heard of Jakes. I haven't been to Anglers in a while, good to hear their bass section is growing. I recall the gas station next door had oddly good Mexican food too, will have to make a trip out there soon. There used to be a great bass shop up by Towson but it went out of business. I made it up there 2-3 times a year but the drive was rough, esp not being able launch into any of the reservoirs up there.

Whats the name? My part of MD is so salt focused that no one really stocks much bass tackle.

Jerkbaits all the way. At least fishing them slowly is absolutely maddening to me. I fish from the bank in winter and if it takes jerkbaits to catch a bass then I would rather just go hiking that day.

Hah, the wood rack is the only scenic part of my yard, the rest of it is just hillbilly mayhem.

A member on here was nice enough to offer me some classic Loomis rods and let me scratch an itch that I have had for a while: I have been reading about the BCR line for a while but had never managed to track one down. I have only gotten to do a little yard casting with it, but man this rod is nuts. It's by far the fastest rod with the stiffest tip I have ever used, but somehow it's like a laser with a 1/4oz jig. I am going to try to shift some work around so I can take Friday off and fish the hell out of it. I threw an old Alphas 103 on it for period appropriateness, the reel needs some love but it feels great on the rod and I think it's going to stay.

Copy. Surprise pickerel are what I really want a net for, the little ones that are too small to get a lip gripper easily attached too.

How does the netting do with pike teeth?

A lot of the time I throw poppers on a powerful M/XF rod with braid to leader. I set the drag on the loose side and take a little care in fighting the bass in. Now, poppers make it easier by virtue of having the bass start the fight on top, so this might not work as well with cranks or jerks with the same diameter hooks. As for your current rod, my memory of my 6'6" Premier L/F was that it was on the powerful side of Light and a little on the Mod side of Fast, so it might work out perfectly for you.

Very much agree that open-hook vs t-tigged is sometimes a huge difference with lighter tackle. When it's too cold to wet wade I will use a weedless EWG jighead for my Ned rigging and my hook up and lading rates go down noticeable on lighter tackle then in warmer weather when I am using open-hooks.

I don't like small braid at all for lighter/BFS casting, but I do mostly fish weightless plastics or small bottom contact presentations with them. I use either 7lb or 10lb Sniper fluoro most of the time. The 7lb will not survive much in the way of a backlash, but I tend to only spool up 40-50y of it at a time, so it's not too painful to replace it often.

A 6” Zoom lizard rigged on a 1/8oz-3/0 Spider Pro head is a staple presentation for me. It glides over soft cover but doesn’t take forever to sink into holes. I use it a lot when I want a bigger profile that is reasonably light in weight.

I kind of feel that way too. I never really target them but because I do so much finesse fishing for bass I end up catching them relatively often and I fight them the same way I would fight a bass. I’ve caught them on almost every type of bass presentation imaginable and never really noticed any difference between them and a bass of equal size in terms of losing them via ripping a hook out.

This is my “1/4oz” jig and worm box. It’s what I use with the aforementioned P3 Criffhanger. Most every presentation I can build out of it will weigh 3/16-5/16oz. I have a similar box set up for “3/8oz” jig and worm stuff that I use with a heavier BFS outfit. I also have kits of smaller presentations I use with my UL tackle but for the most part they only see use when wading small waters or in completely open ponds.

There is a separation between “BFS” and “UL casting” that confuses discussion about the topics. Bass-specific BFS reels have plenty of capacity for ~10lb line and the rods tend to be built with very progressive tapers, ie they have very light tips that transition to fairly stout backbones. Reels meant for UL/trout/inshore fishing have shallower spools and the rods usually have less sharply progressive tapers and lack much power in the backbone. Didn’t get a weight on her, but she was using a MB P3 Criffhanger, a “Light” BFS rod, and 7lb Sniper and got her out of some light hydrilla w/o feeling like I was pushing the rod much at all. If I had been using one if my UL casting rods I don’t think I would have been able to land her. I think the relatively recent availability of BFS/UL tackle on Aliexpress is what caused this confusion. With most every Japanese brand I have seen, their rods are fairly well labeled with “BFS/Bait Finesse” or are obviously part of a bass rod line and have powers/tapers deisgned for general light-cover bass fishing. Most of the Chinese brand on Aliexpress use much more generic language and most of the rods there are more generic L/UL rods with power/tapers not well suited to anything other then open water bass fishing.

Check out the Decoy “Nailbomb” jighead. I prefer them to the Owners for most thinner plastics. I want to say I saw hooks like they use on ebay years ago.