Hook2Jaw

8 casting setups and 2 spinning setups for bass. Then I've got a surf setup and 5 inshore spinning setups. I'm done adding saltwater gear, but I still want to add a dedicated frog rod, Texas/skipping setup, and a long, light spinning setup for tossing a Ned rig.

I been practicin' my letters, and I'm gettin' good.

My stump. My pads. My domain. A soft splash occurs above my massive head, the same one I've used to engulf bluegill for as long as time itself. A flick of my powerful tail pushes me through the depths, and my keen eyes investigate. It is long. A snake? An eel? It quivers. KILL! I pull the little dying thing toward my massive crushers as my thick jaws close around it, and something between those doorways registers. It matters not, the food is mine. Everything is mine. I rule here. Pain. Fear? No! FURY! The insignificant thing between my jaws has tightened, and the tiny creature has somehow slipped past my crushers. The little demon has slipped a spine into the apex of my jaws. Somehow, it pulls me. I pull back towards deeper water. I pull and thrash, baring the rough inner edges of my jaws as I fight. This weak thing has lied to me! It is strong. I cannot pull away. I rush for the surface, breaching it with barely half of my massive length and girth. I am thrashing now, my world of naught but red filling me with the energy of anger. It pulls me across the surface, my tail can push me no longer and my eyes gaze upon a tall thing of many colors with a stick in it's grasp. You lied. Neither small nor insignificant... I hate you, trickster. The tall thing reaches for my jaw, five tentacles seeking to wrap around it and do Poseidon knows what. I must fight to the bitter end. The thing reaches as I gather the last spark of power inside me, one ignited by my fury and indomitable will to live. A final thrash, and the spine of the trickster leaves my maw. I will never forget the insignificant thing emulating my prey. I will never forget the day I battled to evade the grasp of the trickster. I will never forget that haunting moment when I was not the queen of the water. I returned to my home, free. My stump. My pads. MY DOMAIN! (Author's Note: I went after that fish several more times, but never got to fight her again. I think she may have been larger than my personal best I would catch a year or so later. I hope she's well and continued to evade capture. She deserves it.)

@A-Jay, you must not be quite as pole bound as Kentucky, or North Carolina.

My water temperatures in South Georgia are hotter than the air temperatures in some of them Northern reaches now. Like Kentucky.

I crossover almost immediately from a Wacky Rig to Neko rig when I'm getting bit on the bottom. I slide my rubber band down the bait, normally a YUM Dinger or Money Craw, almost ⅔ down the plastic. Considering I switch from weightless Wacky to Neko, the hook is normally a Wacky Hook. I use Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Wacky Hooks or VMC Ike Approved Weedless Wacky Hooks, both in the 1/0 size. I then shove a Big Bite Baits Neko Weight in ¹/¹⁶ for less than 10 FOW or a ⅛ for more, but I normally don't fish them past 12' or so. I let it get to the bottom and drag it along until it gets bit, rinse and repeat.

While we're on the ribbontail worm topic, I'd like to hear how everyone rigs theirs in addition to their choices. I typically Texas rig my YUM Ribbontails with ¼ lead and a 4/0 offset round bend. I'll go down to ⅛ if I'm wanting to stay on top of grass but that typically means I'm on a medium powered rod. I have also fished them deep with a ½. I like to fish Ol' Monsters on a heavy Texas rig, ¼-½ and with a 5/0 offset round bend. I normally string those up on a heavy rod. I also like to Carolina rig them with a ⅜-1oz with the same hooks. I've been wanting to try them out on shaky heads, I just haven't gotten around to it.

My selections echo this almost completely. I don't fish the Mag II. The Zoom Ol' Monster and YUM Ribbontails do work for me. The Ribbontail smashed it so badly last night I was in the "this is main lineup during the summer" mindset. I was fishing the 7.5" and the big ones would simply pull it up, the dinks were on a rip slash kill fest. 2.99 for 12 of them, one simply can't go wrong.

If I'm allowed to terminal it however I please, a ZOOM Super Fluke.

My Daiwa DXSB 8' Heavy Fast will toss beautifully down to ¾ and I haven't reached the upper limit yet, but I don't see any reason why it can't lob 6 ounces or more. It's a tad lighter than it's rated, but it's a capable rod for a bit over a bill.

If there's anything I've learned from the small craft experts here on BR, it's that hooksets and grinding fish is impossible from a kayak, much less a pool float! All jokes aside, you'll be fine. As stated, put the life jacket on and that goes for being on any craft, in my often not-so-humble opinion.

I rock a Daiwa Tatula 150 and I'm pretty pleased with it, as I am with all my Daiwa offerings. It has good line capacity, balances well on my 7'9" cranking stick, and is fairly set it and forget it in no wind, or into a light wind. I can touch 50 yards with it, 53 yards being my longest cast with it thus far. I'm sure a better caster than I can make it a regular occurence. I acetoned the spool bearing right after I got it, ran the bearing dry but the spool would simply get too fast for my ability. I added one drop of oil and that slowed the spool enough to not backlash often. Finally, I filled half of the spool with 30# braid and topshotted it with a cast and a half of 12# fluorocarbon. It now gives me 40 to 45 yard casts on the regular, and 50 happens often enough. The 5 speed is very easy on the muscles, and I highly recommend it in my primarily uneducated opinion. This is my first deep cranking reel, but it performs well enough to make me happy and I'm glad I spent a little time ekeing out every bit of performance from it.

Fishing naked or scantily clothed streamlines me and adds an easy 5 yards to each and every cast. You have to ask yourself if you want to perform your best or worry with subjecting the populace to your hairy mammoth legs. I choose performance. I choose bikini bottoms.

I'm going to guess your line is slipping around your spool.

I've caught a lot of stupid pond bass absolutely slashing and reeling a jerkbait as hard as I can, and a lot of those jerkbaits have been the slow rise versions. A jerkbait is one of my confidence baits from post spawn and through the heat of the summer all the way into the fall. I don't pause this time of year! I'm trying my best to annoy suspending, lethargic bass in deeper water or trying to cause enough commotion to have feeding fish pop out of grass and cover.

I throw brown and green pumpkin in clear water, I throw green pumpkin and black and blue in stained water, and I throw black and blue in chocolate milk. All three get ate up for me.

@Bluebasser86, how are the Provokes?

BOSS Big Boy. I like them because after you slide a BOSS skirt on, they're $2.67 each and pack a Mustad Ultrapoint on them. That's quality per dollar. The eyes don't get knocked off, the paint doesn't chip coming through grass or pads. They shed grass well with the hidden line tie. I like them in ½ ounce with a white skirt for imitating shad or bluegill for, well, bluegies. I tip them with a YUM Pulse swimbait or their Money Craw or Craw Chunk. I really need to find a good heavy moderate fast stick for throwing them on. I've also been wanting to experiment with this head from BOSS to hit those heavier sizes and have a cheaper California swimjig to get through the grass mo' better.

The thrill of a big one can keep me chucking a swimbait in the blistering winter wind with rain beating my gear like a drum. Numbers will make me keep saying, "one more cast." My ultimate fishing high is a big limit. Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than figuring out what the fats want, where they are, and putting them in the kayak.

West Marine will price match BPS if you can go to one physically. You're welcome.

I just started with X9, but it casts very, very well. I prefer it to PP. I can't say about the abrasion resistance yet.

If you've got a grand to drop on 22 ounces of wood, hook hangers, and a hinge I imagine you've got money to drop on shoulder surgery. I'll stick with an S-Waver 168.

The Cane Thumper is probably my favorite paddletail. Big Bite Baits makes great stuff! Their shakeyheads are good terminal tackle, as well.

Berkley X9 is a solid, solid line. Tackletour rated it more highly than Seaguar Smackdown.

Check out the Old Town Salty PDL 120 and the Topwater 120.