Hook2Jaw

@the reel ess, I hear ya! Just throwing the recommendation. That's awesome that you probably caught the same PB twice, she sounds like an aggressive girl. As far as the spinnerbaits go I like to keep in simple. 1/2oz, white or chartreuse. @Catt, now you've got me googling. @2tall79, unweighted or weighted? I've never tried them weighted, and after hanging them up unweighted I always return to texposing them. Awesome replies, guys, thanks for helping me finish the day!

I throw Booyah spinnerbaits, but I've heard lots of good things about War Eagle. What makes them so good?

Thanks for the rod recommendation, @Glaucus! My current 7' MH has Fluoro on it, which keeps dragging my spooks under. I may have to grab another Aird-X and string it with mono. @the reel ess, I also became comfortable with casting jigs this year and it landed me my own personal best! I tend to drag a 7.5" worm Texas/Carolina when I need a fish, and a jig and craw when I want a big fish! you should try pitching your jigs, that's been fun for me. @NYWayfarer, I have fond memories of Rebel craw crankbaits and Rebel floating jerkbaits from way back when I'd go visit my grandfather. I miss fishing with him so much. That's a sweet little crank.

Ain't no shame in my stick worm game either, bro. Never thrown the ploploplop, and don't own any. What rod would you recommend for them? A 6'6" MF is my current rip/topwater rod but I think it's a bit light. What's your favorite way to throw them? iirc, that's the Mann's Jelly Worm?

What is your current favorite lure, soft plastic or hard bait? If you can't narrow it down to one, give me a few! I'm just curious and thought it would make an interesting thread for folks to partake in today. As for me, my current favorite soft bait is the YUM Pulse 4.5 Paddletail. I'm amazed at how the rib set up on the sides truly does keep the bait at depth more efficiently than other paddletails I've used in the past. As for hard baits, I'm late to the club but the Z-Man Original Chatterbait has been a blast. When I first tried it the summer before last I was just burning it close to the top, but after tying it on several weeks ago and applying some of the methods I've read about it started to catch fish for me and the feedback of the blade just stopping or getting the rod snatched out of my grip has been a blast.

Since I picked up bass fishing as my primary hobby and dropped bowhunting everything that moved, I have set my sights on getting into kayak bass tournaments and eventually, I want to start a YouTube channel. Over the past two years I've broadened the techniques I'm comfortable with, and as I've stepped into them I've bought more and more gear and tackle. I've had to upgrade my kayak crate from a 13x13 to a 13x19 to carry the nine planos I have packed full of baits, and it has 10 rod holders screwed to the side. I did my research and bought the most effective and durable gear I could, and I'm hoping it lasts years. As far as rods and reels go, I'm fairly set. As far as baits go, I focus my attention on 2 to 3 colors of soft plastics, and up to 5 colors of hard baits. I've always got two plug knockers in the front hatch. I do everything possible to avoid buying new baits at this point, but when I do buy a new bait, it's not a 15 dollar lucky craft or 25 dollar megabass jerkbait. It's always a replacement in what I deemed appropriate to my budget. Now, when the fiancee and I open our law office in the future, you might see me trying to enter big boat bass tournaments and doubling that boats weight with Yamamoto, Roboworm, Megabass and Luckycraft. But I'll more than likely always stick to a budget and I might break my bow out to skewer the bait monkey.

@MassYak85 I'm getting pretty good with my gear, but that's an excellent point. A backlash will most definitely cause a break, because I've had it happen before. The problem is, I've opted for a 250 sized reel for comfort and really need to have as much line as possible for the runs my salty fish are liable to go on. I'll also be using this rod and reel to troll for king mackerel, and I'll definitely need 300 yards, at least, for that. You're right though, I'll eventually cast off a swimbait. As far as the leader getting hung up on guides, the FG knot largely eliminated that for me long ago.

You have a great day too!

I use 8.1:1 for frogging, punching, and pitching. 7.3:1 is for my bottom contact baits; texas, carolina, casting jigs. 6.3:1 for squarebills, small swimbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits, and topwater. Finally, 5.5:1 for medium and deep cranking as well as bama rigs. As for why I opt for an 8 ratio reel for frogging, pitching, and punching, articles on the internet told me to. Frogging and punching are presented in heavy growth; pads, grass, just general slop. With a heavy rod and heavy line I've been able to manhandle bass out of that stuff and ski them back to my kayak. Pitching is a precision presentation that focuses on our favorite fish having an affinity for cover. The object is to place your bait as precisely and quietly as possible to trigger a reaction strike as your bait drops on their nose. If you don't get bit, a high gear ratio reel gathers line and prepares you more quickly for your next precision presentation. To answer the last bit of your question, a 7 speed, to me, slows me down on my bottom hopping, dragging, wiggling, shaking presentations. It also enables me to still gather line quickly to set the hook should my bottom contact baits be struck on the fall.

I own multiple Fuegos. I love my Fuegos. They catch me everything that swims, bulldogging redfish and jumping largemouth. You're gonna find multiple people in both camps, and neither is right and neither is wrong. Either one of those reels is going to make you happy, I'm betting. Get whichever one you think is prettiest.

Well, @kenmitch, I'll let you know how it performs when I get it. I'm for sure getting one under the tree. The reel test will come when I put it up against a 4-6' tarpon. I'll let you know how it fares against those beasts and the salt water as well. Hopefully someone will chime in, though.

I haven't seen any 3-4000 size spinners amongst serious southern anglers, and I run into a lot with all the public water I fish. The only time I've seen reels that size and line that heavy is when I'm doing some inshore fishing, and the size 2500 reel dominates that in my area. For redfish you'll see 20# braid to 20# fluoro. For sheepshead we step it up to 25 pound plus leaders, but that's because we're dropping crabs down amongst structure layered with oysters. They're line razors. As for why I use spinning gear? I can cast light lures much farther than I can with casting gear, use much lighter line to better enjoy a fight, and I just don't think of using light lures on casting gear. Everyone else laid out better reasoning, thanks for the education, folks! This southern bubba regularly drops down to 4# fluoro, though. ?

You can find the Fuego CTs on eBay for as low as $59.something shipped when I looked about two days ago. I've had no problems buying from those sellers. Both the 6 and 7 speed are that price, the 8 gear ratio is about 65. Welcome to fuegoresource.com, guys! Also, anything @Catt says can be taken to the bank, so I'm sure those Lew's are exceptional bang for the buck as well. The only experience I've had with Kastking went like this, "hey man, can I try that speed demon," followed by a high pitched squeal from the amazing 10bb system.

I'm getting one of these reels for Christmas and I'm pretty excited about it. Most of the reviews I've read have been short but mostly positive, so I decided on it as a swimbait reel to suit my budget. I'll be tightening it onto a Daiwa DXSB 8' Heavy. It will be spooled with a lot of 30# braid to a long leader of 25# mono or 50# fluoro when I eventually hook up with a tarpon on it this coming summer. Does anyone have any experience with these reels? Like I said, I'm pretty excited it's going to be in my arsenal soon, but I would like the educated, experienced opinions found here in regard to the reel itself. Please let me know your thoughts! Added the picture because I think it looks pretty, and for those not in the know it's $79.99, 11 pounds of drag so I'll probably be using it cranked close to that, 5.1:1 with 24.5" retrieved per turn, 3 bearings, and 10.9oz for the 250 size. The 300 size is 11.3oz. Do I have myself a decent swimbait reel or will I be replacing it?

I actually worked a winter, outside in Connecticut. Barring the worst days, I considered the dry cold much more bearable than the humid cold I experience here in Georgia.

I have no words. I tip my cap to you, sir.

Welcome home!

Meanwhile I'm over here like, "I learned casting gear with fluoro," and I'm wondering why you guys didn't tell me I would have an easier time with braid! Oh well, I don't notice much difference. Mono aggravates me the most and the only thing I've used it for since I was a kid using it for everything my grandfather handed me out his tackle is jerkbaiting. I'm switching back to fluoro for that. I don't like the way my baits behave with it.

My entire life, I never thought about you poor Northerners having your fishing holes completely frozen over. My heart goes out to you, and I promise to continue fishing whenever I can. Someone has to enjoy fishing year-round. Someone has to set hooks in December. Someone has to get bass thumb in January. Someone has to get out the house and enjoy the wonderful conditions without bugs, sweat, and absolute peace on the water. It makes me sick thinking about it. I guess I'm going to make the sacrifice and continue fishing. I wish I could enjoy the great indoors like you guys, but I'll deal with fishing this winter for you.

Pretty excited to try this little guy out for redfish in particular as the mullet around here are around this size when you cut their bellies open to check the goods out. 2", 1/6oz, 2-4' diving depth. Does anyone have experience with the Berkley Flicker Shad cranks? I know they're primarily designed for walleye, but do they have the tight wiggle to catch bass this time of year?

Yes. Is bass there.

Goodness, this is much harder now. I believe both reels to be excellent bang for your buck. I can tell you from personal experience that the Daiwa Tatula CT is hardy, reliable, and smooth in all facets of performance. I'm sure the higher priced offering from Daiwa and Shimano take it to another level and you can't go wrong with either brand. I believe the Shimano SLX to be an excellent caster, but that is information from reviews I've read, whereas the Magforce-Z braking system is the selling point of the Tatula CT and I have first-hand experience with them. Daiwa's brakes are incredibly user friendly and prevent a large amount of overruns while still providing good casting distance. Do you want less backlash throughout your day, or more distance? Both qualities will probably add another fish to your tally for the year. Both are excellent choices.

What are you looking for in a reel?

For me, YUM covers my soft plastics, except for Berkley's Hollow Swimbait. Berkley and H2O cover my hard baits. Booyah covers my jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and hollow body frogs. VMC covers my terminal tackle. H2O handles my tungsten. Lead? Whatever. Been a bit underwhelmed with H2Os jerkbaits, has anyone used Berkley's Cutter and Skinny Cutter line?

At the time of thread creation, the academy website had almost all of the h2o xpress line no longer listed. Two online associates informed me the lure line had been discontinued. Some time later, the website showed the entire line once again. Over time, some of the items have remained on clearance and the amount of colors available have diminished. So I talked to another online associate and got her to step up the chain and shortly thereafter, received an email from Academy. The email stated some lures were being discontinued, and new lures were being introduced. I decided not to update this thread with that information because I didn't want to read about more bridges for sale. Sorry, @Hank., I was not trying to come off as confrontational. I just never laid out the understanding I eventually received. TLDR: some h2o lures are discontinued, new ones are being introduced.