plawren53202

My 733 Fury (same as 703 just three inches longer) is definitely a Swiss army knife rod. However, it is a great rod for me for jerkbaits and topwaters with trebles. The only thing I don't like about it for jerkbaits is the length, which is why I got a 6'9" rod for jerkbaits, but the action is perfect for them. Just recently picked up my first SLX, a standard 7' MH/F, and it is an excellent bottom bait rod.

Although I use a couple of other Shimano products, which I really like, I only recently jumped on the SLX train. I could not be more impressed with the combo, which fishes and feels like a product WELL over that price point. In particular, I am extremely impressed with the reel, which casts a mile and is extremely smooth (my points of comparison are Lew's and Daiwa reels in the same or slightly higher price ranges).

I was just fishing it last night at Kentucky Lake and had one of my top three bass fishing outings ever. Definitely imitating what was feeding on the mayflies (bluegill). Fished under overhanging trees with mayflies in them, 6:45-sunset. Most of my fish came on a wacky rigged (weightless) Yum Dinger, "Bream" color (mix of green pumpkin and light blue), so I'm guessing that vaguely resembled bluegill . Also caught a few on a bluegill pattern 6th Sense swim jig with a "sungill" Little Dipper trailer. I was surprised that neither a Whopper Plopper nor a bluegill pattern squarebill got any bites. Now the crappie this weekend...that was a different story. They were PICKY because they had bellies full of mayflies, confirmed when I cleaned some today. Not nearly as much fun as the bass fishing.

I've started using a 10' pole (a good one--good guides and IM8 graphite) with spinning reel for single-pole jigging for crappie. Every once in a while I try heaving a cast with it. I'd be lucky to hit the broad side of a barn from 30' away with it. Sometimes lucky just to hit the water period. That always quickly reminds me why my bass fishing poles are 8' or under. ?

Add me to the list of folks who tried straight fluoro on a spinning reel and hated it. That prompted me to switch to braid/leader for all spinning combos, many moons ago, and I have never looked back. However, if you want to stay away from braid/leader and looking for something a step up from mono, I'd try one of the good copolymers. I've had good success with Sufix Advance, P-Line, and Yo-Zuri Hybrid. All of these seem to have considerably less stretch, and more sensitivity, than straight mono--but still soft and manageable like mono.

Exactly what I thought...especially with the mention of going through his dad's stuff. I was going to respond that Roland is probably a better resource than us on how to rig this ?

The way mine was angled, the urgent care staff were afraid it was close to the bone, and were afraid if they did the usual method of cutting it off and pushing the point out, they would hit the bone. They had to back it out instead. Gave me the choice of Lidocaine or not. There's not much meat on the back of your thumb, and I pictured that Lidocaine shot not feeling much better than pulling the hook out. So I went with no Lidocaine. They proceeded to use a pair of needle nose pliers and pull it out. Once that was all over with, other than the tetanus shot, my thought was that I could have done the same thing out on the water and not lost a half an afternoon of fishing. Happy to say that an hour after it was over, I was back out in the boat with nothing but a bandaid and a good story to tell.

Pun intended...? From my prematurely short trip, it did seem like they were/would have been hitting a jerkbait aggressively--the one I caught hammered it--so the Provoke seemed perfect for that. Really wish I had the chance to keep testing it that day....? My jb approach is similar to yours...I like the Vision 110/110 Jr. when they want a more subdued or slower approach. I had been using the Strike King KVDs as my more aggressive day jb (they have a rattle that reminds me a little of a Trap) but I think the Provoke is going to take over that role.

I have always liked 6th Sense hard baits because they come with great hooks out of the package. Super sharp, and I like the EWG treble hooks. Add "nearly indestructible" to the list of their qualities. I only know that because....I got the front treble on a Provoke jerkbait buried in the back of my thumb this weekend, and had to go to urgent care to get it out....and in the process of removing the hook, we (me and the medical staff) had to cut the prongs on the hook, and we nearly couldn't do it. That was the toughest metal I think I've ever encountered. Ironically it was my first time throwing a Provoke jerkbait, and I caught a solid16 incher within 10 minutes of starting...of course he got the last laugh when he planted that treble in my thumb during unhooking. But dang, those hooks are TOUGH.

My favorite spinning rod for bass is my 703SF Fury. Technically a "M" but it has a good amount of backbone (the perfect amount) for a medium spinning. Which is interesting because I know the Fury casting rods are known for being a little on the light side of their rating; my 734 is really closer to some of my medium casting rods. My 703SF "medium" is an excellent rod for shaky heads, light T-rigs, plenty of muscle to set the hook on those kind of baits; and probably not advisable but I boat flipped a 5 lber on it with no issues.

Swing 'Em In Bait Co. - Crappie, Fishing Lures, Lures (swingeminbaitco.com) Good dude, super responsive and working his butt off to build his business. I've had really good luck with the Slab Flapper in muddy water and the Slab Stinger in stained water. White/chartreuse and purple/chartreuse in more stained water and monkey cream (monkey milk) in less stained. Of course the Bobby Garland Baby Shads are hard to beat. I just tried the morning dawn in the "Mo Glo" and it worked really well, hard to say if the glow in the dark thing is real or not. My dad's go-to is the white/chartreuse in the Strike King Mr. Crappie Joker Joker® (mrcrappie.com) Finally, with now using the Livescope so much, I have been experimenting with different jig heads that present a bigger profile that is easier to see on the Livescope. Same 1/16 and 1/8 oz. weights I've always used, but things like the Jenko Slasher Slasher Crappie Jig Heads – Jenko Fishing. Also using a double jig rig a lot, not for double fish attracting purposes but more to show up better on the Livescope.

I would think that the ML in the Fury line would be excellent for your intended uses. I don't own it, but I have the M spinning rod in the Fury lineup. It is my favorite spinning rod in my lineup, though it is probably a touch heavier than you would want for your uses. I absolutely love my M Fury as a shaky head, light T rig, and small jerkbait rod.

Seems like purple, and specifically that tequila sunrise/morning dawn color, work especially well for me in low light conditions. Just last weekend, the last day of our crappie fishing trip was going to be overcast. I was at the tackle shop and saw some crappie jigs (Bobby Garland Baby Shad) in "Morning Dawn." Had never used that color for crappie. Sure enough, it was the ticket the next day. Interesting side note--those Bobby Garlands in Morning Dawn were the supposedly glow-in-the-dark "Mo Glo" series. They worked well enough for crappie that it made me wonder if there is anything comparable for bass.

After years of bass fishing, I've gotten serious about crappie fishing over the last year. Our main style of fishing is single-pole jigging using the Livescope. I have been using a Lew's Wally Marshall (the 10-ft (?) long one). I like it pretty well, and it does have an IM8 blank. I know in bass fishing how much difference a premium rod can make, especially regarding sensitivity for something like bottom baits. Jigging for crappie is kind of the same deal, I want to feel every time a fish breathes on the jig. So, that has me looking at some of the more premium crappie jigging poles. In particular, the Todd Huckabee poles. Trying to get a sense of whether that upgrade from the Lew's Wally Marshall would be worth it. The Huckabee poles are in the $100-150 range, which of course is not that much compared to premium bass rods, so I may just bite the bullet and give it a try. I'd feel better about it if someone could tell me that one of those (or another "premium" crappie pole) would be a noticeable step up from my current setup.

I was in a local mom and pop shop, with absolutely no intention of buying a rod, and saw they had the KVDs for $79. I grabbed a 7'0" MH/F (regular composite, not the cranking rod). It's a really solid rod for that price. Not exceptionally sensitive, so I wouldn't use it for bottom baits; however, it works well as a moving bait rod so it has become my chatterbait/spinnerbait rod. Again, it didn't blow my mind, but especially if you can find it at that $79 price point, it is a very solid workhorse rod. For comparison, I would say it is considerably better than the Academy H20 rod at that price (which I have a couple of).