Ktho

Mend it is just a plastic glue marketed towards fisherman. You could go to a model/craft store and find loads of stuff of that type. I don't like superglue on my stuff so never use it.

I think you could answer the question by giving it a shot. I could certainly cast an 1/8oz jig quite a ways with my baitcaster setups. Just see what works best and go from there.

I use the roboworm rebarb hook which is a slightly lighter wire hook than most of the "flipping" hooks pretty regularly. I like it, works great and It'd definitely work going with one of the marketed flipping hooks. A Gama Superline or something would work just fine as well.

For soft plastics I like green pumpkin, black/blue, alabama craw, white for spawn, pink/purple worms. For hard baits it's pretty much red, chart/black and baitfish colors. I keep it pretty simple, generally for each category I have usually 2 maybe 3 colors at thats it. While I do think some colors work better than others I definitely am not into finding the perfect color for the perfect situation and have 15 colors of craws, worms, cranks etc. Keep it simple. I fish lakes from 12" vis to 20ft+ and I really don't think you need more than 3 or 4 colors tops.

Tournaments for me have never been based on the clock. It's always been 30min before sunrise or at sunrise. Since you guys aren't doing a shotgun start i'd start moving in the dark/gray.

I fish braided line in water with 20ft+ visibility. I don't think the water clarity is the issue here.

I don't think it would work well if rigged like the donkey rig but it does work well with something like a Cool Baits Lake Rake, I think Yum has something similar to it.

Haha now that's a good write-up! I can picture that setting perfectly.

I most always have 2 or 3 setups in my car. I do a lot of after work fishing. It's just my normal gear, but I do have braid on everything since they sit in the car in the heat for long periods of time.

Oh man my favorite spawn bait just got even more awesome!

It really just depends on the lake. Most of the time "finesse" fishing is the way to go for me. Cranks/spinners work well but need the right time/situation for them to be great. When the shad start going, power fishing works well. When the water rises and fish move into new cover, good time to power fish as well. For the most part though the default mood of the bass near me prefer slower moving stuff like a slow rolled underspin, texas rig, weightless senko, or a drop shot. I've learned a lot from online sources but almost always have to adjust and apply it to what I'm fishing.

I find that once it settles on bottom, dragging it slow, real slow is a great way to move it. In your instance what I'd do is target cast aka cast to a specific spot which would be one of the downed trees or a pocket in the grass. Let it sink while watching the line and let it hit bottom, a lot of bites will come on the fall. In a grass pocket i like to shake the senko ever so slightly by twitching the slack line with my rod tip. If no bites then I'll reel it in and target the next pocket. For a downed tree I'd cast it in there trying to get as close to the tree as I can, same thing as before watching the line and if no bites let it hit bottom. I'll drag the worm real, real slow. When I stop it and it want's to sink to where it was I know my lines over a branch or the trunk, if you can tell you're over a branch then I'll just move the bait fairly quickly until I feel it pop over the branch (moving it quickly helps from getting it hung up). Once I'm over the branch, let it sink back down on slack line, I might shake it and then resume my dragging. Once I'm out away from the cover or what I feel to be the bite zone I'll reel it back in and make my next cast.

Their lifetime warranty was ripe for abuse. A new rod coming out? Cool I'll break my old one.

The Savage Gear rat is supposed to come out at Icast, pretty stoked to see all the sizes/colors

Quit it!

I use the RDS701S which is a light power 7' spinning rod. I use it for 6lb drop shot, thin senko, underspin, etc. and it works really well. The rod is pretty sensitive and has a real nice bend to it when fighting the fish.

I think I'll have to. It's getting super hot already and hate not being able to leave it in the car without the line going down the tubes.

While I haven't used it before on paper it looks good for drop shotting to me

Rod: Cousins Tackle Raze 701S - 7' Light Power, Fast Action. 4-10lb Reel: Shimano Sahara 1500 Line: 6lb Seaguar Invisx fluoro but thinking bout switching to 10lb or 15lb braid to FC. Love the setup overall, kinda want a new reel but not a lot available in that size.

Hope that's not a JDM reel, if it's not Shimano will most likely take care of you. Fixing it on you're own would be quite difficult I believe. You'd have to drill into the remaining part of the foot and broken part and put in a stud and then epoxy it back together but it'd never be like new again.

I'll texas rig a Keitech with bullet weight and all when fishing thick grass that's standing tall, works pretty well. It becomes more of a fall bait than a swimbait but that's okay, it still gets bit really well.

They work well as a trailer for all sorts of stuff, I usually like to rig it on a jig head or a weighted EWG hook. It just comes down to the cover you're fishing. I go weedless for fishing around grass or brush/logs that stick up near the surface. If it's sand/mud/silt bottom with sparse rocks or cover I like to bump it along the bottom on a jig head.

It get's hot as hell here in Socal especially since most of the lakes are desert lakes without a lot of shade. I recommend drinking cool beverages. Wearing a hat and sunglasses is mandatory imo. Wearing the performance shirts help a lot in keelping cool. I like to splash water on myself every once in a while as well. Sometimes I purposefully only fish shady areas to get a break from the heat.

Green pumpkin is my favorite for sure fishing the ultra clear water I do. Purple/pink like morning dawn works really well in the desert lakes when it's bright and sunny

I use a 7.5:1 for top water, square bill, lipless, worm and jig, and jerkbaits. I haven't done much with spinnerbaits or swim jigs so no help there. For the moving baits I'll say that unless you want the bait to be moving fast, it's easier to get a good cadence with a slower reel but not something that can't be done with a 7.3:1