WI_Angler1989

"Enough" Kalin's grubs? What's that?! I always have room for another pack of Lunker Grubs hahaha

I fish both a LOT. Probably 70% tubes 30% finesse jigs. There are times when one is the better choice and gets hit more, but usually if one works for me the other does too. I will say that I catch a lot of fish and sizes on a tube, but the average size on a jig tends to be bigger.

I don't always feel like it, but I know what I want, what works for me. From time to time I'll splurge on things I've never tried or don't really "need", but I gravitate to the tried and true. Whether that's frugality or a byproduct of my income... Who knows.

I've never seen a Smallie here chuck up a perch while it was hooked, but I do have a lot of success on perch colored lures. In particular a perch colored Husky Jerk or Shadow Rap will always produce for me. Then again, whites and silvers work really well too. It makes me think that whether I'm imitating a perch, shad, shiner, minnow, crawfish or hellagramite... the fish are opportunists. If they can eat it and want to eat, they will probably try.

I only have 1 comprehensive first aid kit. I use it for all of my outdoor adventures, whether that's fishing, camping or bushcraft camping. It had assorted bandaids (standard sizes, trauma, butterfly, suture strips which are a must!), nu-skin suture patches, medical grade "skin glue", antiseptics, iodine, topical numbing agent, itch cream, burn cream, aloe Vera, medical grade scalpel, suture needle, sterile gauze, sturdy joint wrappings with clips, painkillers, lighters, wax, and 10 pounds braid.

In all honesty, there are a lot of techniques that I haven't tried or put a lot of time into. Dropshot is one that I want to/plan to/NEED to get experience with. I fish lots of rivers for smallies and I don't know of its the best place for the presentation with all the current.

Thanks for all the input, guys! I've got a little bit left of a few FC lines that I'll use up, then I may try YZH since I have a big spool of it for other reels.

I'd say that I'm a minimalist compared to a majority of the other anglers on here. I fish out an Old Town Osprey canoe or from the bank. I have all of 3 combos, all spinning, that i chase my river smallies with. I'd say that my sweet spot is 6'10". I always get the best performance out of my St Croix Legend Tournament Bass 610mlxf. That's probably a by product of how much I use it, but my 6'6" and 7' foot weird compared to the LTB.

@Turkey sandwich I've been wanting and drooling over the Legend Elite! I've even veeery briefly hoped that my 7' Avid would succumb to some crazy accident so I could do the Upgrade plan!! It felt wrong to wish harm to any St Croix though haha

Thanks for the input! It's always great to have a variety of backgrounds and experiences weigh in on topics. And congrats on the first post haha!

Awesome, thanks guys! I've never used a leader line specifically, so I always just assumed it was a smaller spool for those planning on using a little at a time. Good to know!

So you opt for a specific fluoro leader? Idk of I've seen a leader specific line before. That's one of their more affordable lines too, isn't it?

Hi folks, I want to weigh the opinions of my fellow Smallie aficionados on your Favorite Fluorocarbon Line to use as Leader Material. I'm talking bottom contact, rocks abound, tubes, small jigs, craws, etc. I fish a lot of rocky rivers with fast current, so line control can be sketchy at the beat of times. Abrasion resistance is key! I fish braided line as a main (obviously?), so how limp or manageable a fluoro is or isn't doesn't necessarily make or break it for me. So, do you guys have a favorite? Is there one line that has rarely let you down? I've had a 330yd spool of Sunline Super Sniper for, literally, years now. Using it only as leaders makes it last and last. It served me well, but it seems I got lucky, as many people have had serious quality control issues with Sunline. That price tag is hard to stomach when it could easily be garbage based on a daunting amount of reviews... Thanks in advance! And feel free to counter my braid-fluoro preference if you have another line you prefer.

Nice! That's what I use on my LTB. It pairs well on my 610mlxf.

That's too bad. It's nice being able to feel a rod in hand before a purchase. A store near me has everything from Triumph to the brand new Legend X. The Ci4+ is a super light reel too. It may accentuate the tip heaviness, but I dont have any personal experience with it.

Are you looking online or can you go somewhere to get your hands on one? I've handled that same rod recently and thought it felt pretty nice. The lighter power makes it a bit less tip heavy than the series tends to be.

I have both and fish both a LOT. I think that I would have to agree with everyone else. Sensitivity wise, you aren't gonna get a huge leap from the Avid to the LTB. I will say that it's a different kind of feeling however. It's hard to explain until you feel similar strikes with both rods though. My Avids have a sharp feeling on a hit, where as the LTB feels more solid. All in all, they're both very sensitive and feel really nice to use. The LTB does have a few bells and whistles that the Avids don't: FRS resin, ART reinforcement. They're advertised as helping the durability quite a but, and preventing the blank from "ovaling" on a big hookset. It comes down to what you want on the end! They're both great rods and very sensitive. One just has more St Croix tech.

Right?! The smallies in his rivers are beasts! Plus, add in the current and every fish feels like a tank. It sure is, man! I'd love to join him or just fish those waters. The rivers here are really nice, but those over in ND are my kind of heaven haha.

60 degrees?!?! You lucky man haha

Nice! Seems like your having a pretty good late winter down there man. It's still ice up here so in Super jealous!

1) Heddon Super Spook Jr (saltwater version) in Red Head 2) 3/8 black Cavitron Buzzbait 3) Rebel Pop-R (Honorable mention) Whopper Plopper. I had success with mine last year, but didn't fish it a ton. So it's hard to be a favorite. Although it was a lot of fun.

Here's why I decided to try the Whopper Plopper. Clearly they aren't "magic" or massively innovative, but they work for a lot of people. I'm a through and through smallmouth guy so this makes me very happy. If this type of thing doesn't do it for ya... then I don't know what to tell you!

That sounds like a good choice. It's all up to you honestly. I vary mine based on the season, water temps, or dish activity. Colder/less active... more subtle. -4" Kalin's grubs in the spring/cooler waters. -2.75" Lunkerhunt Grubsters when the water warms or the fish are more active. (May try other brands this year)

Great thread that's pinned to the top of the Lures forum page. You be probably seen it, but there's a fantastic post near the top to help you understand ALL aspects of jig fishing.

It's been a fairly slow winter for me, as far as Bait Monkey activity goes. By design, by the way! Still, you have to indulge occasionaly. So far I've taken home: -2 Whopper Plopper 90, perch and sooner colors. -8 pound Berkley Sensation- gonna try it out on a second spool for my Stradic. I plan on switching between my braid/fluoro spool to the Sensation one when I fish open hook presentations to make re-tying quicker. -3 Cabin Creek Salty Critter Jr tubes 25pk (green pumpkin blue, Tennessee orange, pumpkin purple) -5 Get Bit Baits tube packs (super excited for these!) -3 packs of Kalin's Spot Stalker jigs (1/16, 1/8) -4 Mepps dressed Aglias in brown and white. --Still Need-- -Kalin's Linker Grub restock -Siebert Sniper Jig restock -River Rock 3 3/4" swimbaits