Mbirdsley

Berkley rods from a budget or starting out stand point are highly underrated. I have had a lot of Berkley rods over the last 8 years. My favorite spinning rod is a 7ft Berkley tactix wacky worm style rod Paired with a Quantum Accurist. I think they were closing them out as it was with a bunch of other ones in a barrel for $29.99 and I jumped on it. The rod has a medium heavy rating but, I think it is actually to me it seems like a medium though. The rod Has it has enough back bone to get fish out of some nasty stuff with a nice faster tip. However, it is still sensitive enough to be my main creek/river bass rod and I have caught a lot of bass on it. I just bought the Berkley lighting casting rod with the shock absorbing tip about 2 months ago. So far I have no complaints. I have that paired up also with Quantom Accurist pti casting reel. I am using this rod for jigs and heavy t-rigs. They are not a st.croix or other higher end rod but, they are a preatty good buy for the money. I don’t feel ripped off after purchasing them.

Would you use a lightrr wire hook with braid or can I use the heavier hooks like normal?

I’ll use the smaller sinkers than. I don’t want rip all my line off to try one technique. Could I just splice some heavier stuff in? I only have two baitcaster one with 10 lbs mono that I use for cranks and spoons and than a heavy jig/t-rig pole with 30lvs power pro. I also have a finesse spinning rod with 8 lbs braid that is it for bass rods. I’m thinking of selling other rods for more bass stuff. . Maybe I will not need to use the Carolina rig but, I’m thinking about putting out of Linwood or Au Grey which is 1.5-2 hrs away so I plan on fishing all day. I just want to be prepaired with Plan A,b,c,and D in case nothing works.

I’m only using 30 lbs braid.

Chartreuse spoons or any spoon would work. But, you would Probally have to use a three way rig with like a 2-3 oz sinker. Or a tadpol in-line wieght or other in line wieght These spoons are made in Dearborn Mi. Or those pre rigged worms would work too. My one grandpa is famous for throwing any thing out to troll with a night crawler attached to the treble whether it’s a spoon, twister tail, in-line spinners or whatever. Catches a variety of fish though. Start at about 2.0 mph and go up in speed untill you catch fish.

July the 12 I took the day off and weather depending on weather I want to fish the Saginaw bay for smallies. On a good day I have no problem being 2-3 miles out in my 14 footer mirror craft (I have handheld radio, flares, life jackets.) The inner Saginaw bay is fairly shallow in most places minus the shipping channel coming out of the mouth and heading NE to Lake Huron I have been 3-4 miles and struggled to find 9 foot of water for perch. looking at maps and talking to some people I think I will launch on the west side or possibly baycity ( if it is too rough I can fish the Saginaw river) with such an expanse of basically feature less water am I basically looking for the weed lines. I was thinking a Carolina rig and cranks would be good to start with. Both would be good for covering water. I can make egg sinkers from 1/8 to 3 oz. I could chamfer the inside dia to get rid of any burrs. What is a prototypical Carolina sinker? The *** Carolina video the guy was using 20 lbs mono and 20 lbs fluoro leader. Biggest mono I have is 10 lbs along with 10 lbs fluoro. I understand that you use heavy sinkers for Carolina but,why such heavy line. also open to any advice about bass fishing “the Bay”

I think I am going to have to cut about 2-3 feet off but, I need to look it over better to see if I need to go farther. I’ve only been fishing about once a week but, it’s been in a big river with a lot of snags. Plus I have been practicing flipping, pitching, and casting about three times a week in the yard. I’ve only lost one jig on braid and it was my fault. I screwed somthing up on a Palomar Knot and when I went to lift a nice smallie in the knot gave out ( bye bye smallie and jig). Since than I have fixed the knot issue.

This is my first year of using braid on some of my rods. When is it time to cut a couple of feet off and get to the not so used line in the reel. Do you cut some back with a little fraying or a lot fraying. What about discoloration? When it starts turning white is it time to cut back? I only spool about 40-50 yards of braid the rest is backing.

Also, I never found it necessary to smoke a mold for boolit casting or jigs or I should say I’ve never had a mold that required me to do it ( all molds have differnt temperaments). I do hit the mold with break cleaner and wipe the cavities down before using. However, making sure the mold is up to temp before you start pouring is a huge plus. You can either run led through it or during the winter I set it on my kerosene heater for 10-15 minutes. I know I bring up cast boolit shooting a lot but, those guys are super maticulous about thier molds and a lot of those guys use hot plates to set there molds on and they will get them up to temp super quick.

Honestly it is a nice hobby if you have the time. I poured my own jigs and reloaded/casted my own ammo. When I was kid less, working a off 2nd or 3rd shift ( wife worked 7:30am-3:30). I had plenty of free time and bored. Like they say in the reloading world “ you don’t save money but, your able to shoot twice as much” or in this instance have twice as many jigs. When making your own stuff you are able Taylor it to your needs at the time. It’s a one time investment but, than you will have it forever. Fastforward to 9 months later with a 9 month old I don’t have time to cast jigs or reload ( it isn’t good to start and stop the process of reloading once you’ve started doing it or get distracted). The free time I do have I’d rather be fishing than working on my bench at the moment. It’s a process to get the heater warmed up, pour, paint, cure, and then tie whatever it is you want on the jig. At this moment in time my time is more important. That could change and out comes the casting gear and I’ll be back at it. There are plenty of people on here or other places that at this point I’m better off giving them my money for jigs unpainted. However, I still like to paint and tie/ create my own skirts. I made about 30 bucktail jigs for a guy once( I was casting, painting cureing, tying the bucktail, and cementing the whipfinish). When I thought I was going to quit my real job and make fishing tackle. They were good jigs and the guy was happy. But, they took forever to make and I started adding up the man hours vs what I could realistically sell them for and I got rid of that idea in a hurry. If I wanted to make money that is all I would have literally been doing is making jigs.

I know this is a bass forum but, struck out on bass today. Caught this guy on the Saginaw river today. I think it is a flat head. If it is a flat head it is my first one. I was throwing my chatter bait with boot fluke white trailer to some wood and bushes. Before it floated to the bottom he grabbed. I’ve fought a lot of salmon while trolling and this guy will give 18 lbs king a run for its money. I have never felt anything like this while casting. I was using 10lbs big game line. After I netted him the chatter bait fell out of his mouth. He bent the kvd snap all up. He gave my Black maxx rod and reel everything he had and the rod and reel came through with flying colors.

I only use snaps on cranks. I only use ball bearing swivels on spoons. If I’m being lazy( it happens) I will use a ball bearing swivel on the bigger three hook rapalas, bomber Long A’s and other similar longer style baits if I was using a spoon before hand. The bass and pike do not really mind a ball bearing swivel on these types of lures as long as your not in ultra clear water. If your using snap swivels at least get eagle claw ones. They are not spro’s but, for the money good.

Ned rig is deadly in rivers for small mouth. Usually I use 1/16 or 1/8 depending on current. Works better when wading or if you can get in the middle of the river. Basically I throw it up stream at a 45 degree or greater angle and than reel in just enough to keep the line semi-tight as the current brings it back to you. You want enough wieght so it just ticks the bottom and it will stand up while going over rocks. You do no want it dragging the bottom as it comes back to you. I have not tried it in a lake or the deeper wider rivers yet that would require a boat. That is on my to do list this summer yet though.

I was able to get back out fishing the Saginaw river last Friday the 22nd. Mainly I am in search for bass but, the mixed bag that the river provides is nice. Some where on the river system must have received a lot of rain. Because, the water was almost over the docks at lee st. I have only been fishing the river for the last 9 months and I have never seen the river that high. The day was overcast and a little windy while, the river was a seemed normal maybe a little murkier than normal. I didn't do all that well on the bass but, I was able to get 2 sheep head, 2 bass ( only one pic), a nice pike, and I lost what would have been a personal best walleye on a KVD Crank ( picture). I am guessing the walleye would have went 22 inches and if I had landed it would have kept it. He got behind the boat and I tried horsing him around the out board and I pulled the hook out. One sheep head, one bass, and the northern came on the KVD crank. The bigger sheap head I caught while pitching a yum black/blue/silver flake Christie critter to the underside of a bush. When I set the hook I thought I had a huge small mouth on. However, as he broke the surface I found out that was not the case. I also caught the 14 inch small mouth on the same color Christie Critter I want to get better bass fishing on lakes but, it is nice to have the Saginaw river only 30 minutes from my drive way.

My first thought is why would you nose hook a creature bait? Sorry to say it like that but I see no reason I'd personally nose hook a creature bait. I do it with drop shot baits and with soft jerkbaits in open water only. Personally the only way I rig these types of baits is Texas rigged with a bullet weight and fish around wood grass or rocks. Or a combination of those types of cover. I also usually peg my weight to keep from hanging all the time. Try Texas rigging with a light weight like a 3/16 or 1/4 bullet weight and pegging the weight with a bobber stop or toothpick. I usually bring the hook point out and then texpose it ( barely skin hook) in the plastic. Then it will come through anything. I use the regular wire gammy or owner ewg hooks unless I'm using braid in very heavy cover, then I step up to the super line ewg. I prefer the yum wooly hawgtail to the brush hog, but with either bait I always catch several fish before I need a new bait. Good luck and look at it like this.... As long as you are catching fish and having fun, what's 50-60 cents a bait lol I ment t-rigged I don't know why I was thinking nosed rigged. I had nose rigging on my mind when I was typing this for some reason. The big issue with durability I have is the stores do not sell a lot of specialty bass fishing lures like this critter. Everything is orientated towards salmon, steelhead, and walleye. There are three places off the top of my head that might sells this type of stuff; Bass Pro shop Auburn hills, Jays in clare, Cabelas in Dundee and a big maybe Walmart ( they might have them actually). I Work a crap ton of hours and 9 mo daughter. I just don't want to buy a bunch of them online and just have them collecting dust. this kit I bought only came with 4-5 of each color. I only have 2-3 left of this blue/black/silver flake after yesterday. I have already spent the fishing allowance this week on ordering some custom unpainted jigs. Which, to pay retail cost on good jigs makes them expensive if you lose a couple. The only place that sells decent jigs is 45 mins away ( same problem as above). Next week I need to buy the skirt kit. So these have to last a little bit yet unless wally world has them. Honeslty, I have been using heavier weights like 1/2 and 5/8. Due to the fact I am new to this kind of fishing, fishing deeper water ( it goes from 1 to 3 feet on the bank to 6-20ft in about three yards) and I can feel the bottom better as I am dragging it. Ill pitch/throw to structure on the river bank. Let it sit for a minute, shake it a couple of times, and then drag it down the bank.

Could use it for backing on braid or fluoro. The 2.99 zebco/eagle claw line has a purpose. On my braid rods I’ll spool up with the cheap line. Than I’ll use 50-75 yards of the expensive braid over top to fill the spool out.

So all the reviews I’ve read is that they are durable plastic lure. What am I doing wrong. I nose rig it with a 4/0 ewg hook. I Push it up through the body to the other side Leaving the hook exposed while being flush and parallel to the body.

That’s the one. Oh I thought it was just called a Christie kit because, they paid him to be on the box.

That’s what I was using but blue, black with silver flake. It came in a kit. They called it a Christie kit. Made by yum. Actually after looking at the pictures I took of the fish with the plastic box in the frame it says nothing about critters. Both the sheap head and bass tore it in half. You can kind of see it in the sheap heads mouth

Oh I thought brush hog was just the generic term for that style of soft plastic.

The cristie critter I was using is called a brush hog.

This has been my first year having bait casters and specifically targeting bigger bass. So this has also been the 1st year I have ever used bass jigs and Shad style cranks. So far I have had a lot of success with jigs, cranks, and dragging t-rigged craws or creatures. However, I’ve never been successful dragging a worm so I rarely use it. I need to change that. One of these days I need to rig one rod with a ribbon tail and the other with a wacky senko while, leaving everything else at home.

I guess I did t realize how cheap they were. I think Walmart carries them. That is where a I bought the kit at.

So tonight I finally got around to using the Christie critters kit that I bought back in March. Both the huge sheepshead aka freshwater drum ( I though I had my new PB small mouth) and the small mouth that I caught tore two separate ones up. The small mouth only tore the one up a little less so I could atleast keep fishing it. Is there a more durable critter out there? Atleast get two or three fish out of?

I see Berkley is getting ready to bring a new top water line out. Looks to include poppers and spook type lures among other things.