Sphynx

You'd have to tell us which sort of jig, how far out it went, what you were fishing it on, etcetera. I don't treat my Zman finesse Jigs the same way I do a 3/4oz or 1oz grass jig, I don't set the hook the same when I am doing close by soft entry stuff vs. Bombing a cast out there and dragging it back, "jigs" encompasses a whole lot of territory, but basically you have the two methods explained, your task now will be figuring out which one works best for which situations for you...and then sooner or later you are going to have a fish spit another hook, just works out like that as part of the game, you can't land them all.

I find the Summer/Fall transition to be among the most awesome (and productive!) times of the year to be fishing, I laid a serious beatdown on the fish this year and it was my first year targeting smallmouth primarily. Trouble is, we aren't in that transition around me anymore, we are absolutely passed it and into the fall patterns, that sucks as a bank guy, unless you happen to be fishing when they come to feed all schooled up near wherever you can get to them, otherwise your pooched. Big thing this time of year for me is searchbaits, because they school so much to corral baitfish, I cover water until I get bit at least twice, then I stop dead in my tracks and pick the area apart thoroughly, every piece of structure, every part of the water column, you name it, if you find one this time of year, you have an unbelievably good chance it's a bunch of them schooled up, so find ways to eliminate water quickly and you should do well, easiest with electronics, but crankbaits and jerkbaits are your friends this time of year.

I have recently purchased a few packs of the Owner EWG heads, haven't had a chance to put them to use, but I have been guilty of rigging a normal Ned head weedless, it looks perfectly ridiculous, but it does confer the desired characteristics and as long as you do it properly, it still hooks up at least as well as any other weedless presentation.

One of the biggest reasons for buying one of each was to settle for myself which overall system I preferred, there will be more reels purchased to fill out my rods, and in varying ratios, honestly 5.x/1 or 6.x/1 suits me great for most cranking applications, there are times I want something faster, but you have to be careful with it because if you go too fast you can get some undesirable action from the bait, but there are times especially at the beginning of the fall feeding where it seems based on a lot of my own experience that there is no speed at which I can crank which is "too fast" as far as the fish wanting it is concerned, some days the faster I crank the more they wanted it, so the 8.1/1 was an experiment to see how far I could take that theory, the normal application for that reel is going to be on my frog and punching rod, and for those 2 techniques the high ratio and the heavy braid are perfect.

One of the biggest things you'll hear people complain about with frogs is the hookup ratio, it's a tradeoff game, the tighter the hooks hold to the hollow body, and the harder that body is to compress, the more weedless the frog, in return for that added weedless capability your going to give up some hookups, the reverse is also true, not exactly rocket science but worth mentioning. The next question I'd ask, is how fast are you moving the frog, if I had a nickel for every time I twitched a bait just before a strike and pooched it I'd have probably won a few tournaments by now, don't be afraid to kill it near places likely to hold fish, ducks structure all the usual suspects. Try different retrieve speeds, walk it a couple feet, kill it, walk it a few more, kill it, sometimes they want a constant walk, but if they are missing, don't be afraid to experiment with it, the worst that could happen is you learn something and miss fish you were missing anyway, but there's a good chance you change it enough you'll stick them. I am no expert frog fisherman, but I enjoy it as much or more than any other lure at my disposal, it's a lotta fun

Would need more information on what's going on to give you any useful advice, but one thing a lot of people just getting into frogs don't do is trim the leg bits up, it sounds dumb, but it really does help.

Why did I even go to TW and look...seriously this is out of hand, madness I say! Might just be crazy enough to work though, gotta order a few and see now.

That is precisely why I pointed out that my largest gripe was the grips and specifically pointed out that it was a minor issue at best, I may or may not change them, I clearly prefer the Shimano grips over the Daiwa grips, but to continue with your car example, I prefer a Chevrolet to a Ford, but I wouldn't necessarily not buy or enjoy the Ford overall because of a minor preference.

I'll toss in my support for a Curado DC, there are 4 brake settings, you'll figure them and the reel out pretty quickly, it casts a country mile, and it's a proper workhorse. The Daiwa Tatula Elite is a reel I picked up a week ago, so I won't endorse it yet just because I haven't had enough time and fish on it to do so, but so far my biggest beef with it has been the grips, which is a pretty minor issue all told, so I would go on record as having said try that one too if you can, it's been a pretty positive experience in the 3 or 4 days I've fished it so far.

There are times I am glad I haven't got a fish finder, because I never know how buggered my chances of catching fish are, I just go, and start throwing and adjust based on what fish and conditions and opportunities tell me, I get skunked a few times a month, but overwhelmingly I end up with a few fish anyway

You have less than 6 months with a boat, whole new animal, think about it this way, when you went from the bank to the Yak you were looking at bass fishing backwards, throwing towards the bank instead of away from it, took time to adjust I expect, it'll take time to learn a boat too. As far as baits, I have thousands, if not 10's of thousands tied up in baits, and sometimes that leads to analysis paralysis, or the temptation to change baits every 10 casts, I have begun to restrict myself to 5 or 6 baits when I go fishing, 3 or 4 that I expect to be useful, and a wildcard just in case I blew it with my predicted conditions (i.e expected wind and can see my reflection etc) truth is I have caught more fish this year than last because of it, I'm forced to be thorough, and to cover the available water multiple times, with multiple retrieves in different ways, if I play the game long enough, and the bass haven't gone deep, I WILL get bit, the question is am I willing to work at the puzzle long enough. If it helps, my frogs have been turned in for cigar baits and poppers, my bottom baits are my terminal box (t rig, c rig, ned rig, drop shot, wacky rigs) and a jig box, and the three moving baits I bring are my squarebills, my lipless, and my spinnerbaits...they are all doing work at one point or another.

My grandfather has been fond of saying that "He has no idea how he ever found time for work now that he's retired." For the last 30+ years, it's incredible just how much of our lives we dedicate to a job that for many people is nothing more than a means to affording to do the things we like to do.

I have seen several instances just in the last month where a 3+lb smallie about ripped a rod outta my hands swimming against the current, now I'm not a physicist, but I don't think that helps them any though I admit I could be wrong...I think that fighting the current every day of their lives has the same effect on them as it would us, you gonna get real strong.

I beat bank harder this weekend than I have in ages and came up with a single 1ish pound smallmouth for it, probably put in 3+ miles to do it, I'd say the conditions are tough, and boy I earned that fish, but then there is nothing more stimulating than a challenging set of conditions, they give you an opportunity to learn things, and an opportunity to succeed where others have and will continue to quit and fail, chances are if your struggling, lots of other people are too, pay attention to what isn't working, and of course to what is, you'll get out of the slump, just gotta keep grinding.

I think they do, had some 3lb smallmouth bow up a 7'1" MHF rod like you wouldn't believe, I just knew I done caught a salmon or a steelhead and then it jumped.

I think you just won the thread lol

1) Frog 2) Texas Rig I prefer a topwater bite when I can get it, the Texas Rig makes a great following bait if the miss my frog or if the just aren't interested

Last few days have been just about rotten, rising river, bluebird skies, windy as all get out, couldn't buy a consistent bite if I had the cash to burn, gotten 2 fish in the last few days, one on a crankbait right at the bank as I was getting ready to recast, and one on a Ned Rig a few miles on down, on a rocky bank, he followed it the first time, and I nailed his butt two casts later, it has been tough sledding though for sure.

The answer is ALWAYS yes, I have gone fishing in -17 and spitting a blizzard down on the river, I caught a whole lot of nothing, but I would do it again in a heartbeat...besides, don't want the old woman to get the idea that I'm NOT as crazy as she thinks I am...

Ned Rig is a foolproof finesse presentation to pick up too, saved my day today, and has done so a bunch of times

One of the great mysteries of life I am afraid, and one of the greatest things that ever happened to football players is my decision not to pursue coaching, because I guarantee you that entire program would be attending practices and press events in dresses and wigs until further notice, and bleachers would be getting run until an ambulance was required.

Well, happens to all of us sooner or later, this river just keeps rising and I am running out of access points, they weren't having a squarebill, ned rig, 4" ExoSwim, or an ExoStick, I just flat can't figure them out this morning, guess I'll have to come take a second bite at the apple this afternoon, but my back and feet are telling me that it's time to go have a pipe and a coffee, and listen to the Cowboys game a while...I'll get'm next time.

I'm a Longhorns fan, but since living in the Swamp I have adopted the Cajuns as a second team, I abjectly refuse to support LSU after the Les miles/Nick Saban era, that put an end to it for me.

Good luck with the plopper, I have a love hate thing with those

You too? I demonstrated a mastery of the hook and the slice within nearly every swing my first time out...they just weren't always the swings I wanted to be hitting at the time