softwateronly

I can't disagree more with @gim's assessment. Bass in the north will eat anything they can fit in their faces just like their southern counterparts. Is it always good to throw large baits? Heck no, but there are times when it pays off. Here's a few pics over the last 4 years of MI bass eating something in the 6-8" range. Many of these fish would not have been caught with a smaller profile. I could also show dozens of pics of average to good sized bass caught on 2-4" profiles that would not have bit a large bait that day. scott Gantarel - 6.25" Scottsboro 7" soft swimmer Bacca burrito 6" 7" 5/8oz chicken jig 7" Chad Shad 6.5" Mini-Mag flutter spoon 7" Sakamata Shad 7.5" Flush GP on a free rig 7" Jerky J - jighead minnow 7" Chad Shad in shad color

PS- I have this one as well, and think it's better for the heavy stuff while still being good at the 1/2oz jig weights. It's 2 piece, travels well, good sensitivity and is $166 w/tax and shipping. Major Craft Days - 702x 3/8-3oz https://north-one.jp/products/4573236260358?variant=42236178235649

Out of what's in your cart; I think the Phenix feather 7'3XH is the best bet. The feather series is pretty dang high on the "bang for the buck" rod series. They're really sensitive and have a versatile mod/fast feel even if they are labeled differently. You could do everything you listed pretty well. They run a little light, so the only option is the XH, you'd be very unhappy with the H power imo. scott

If you do the 904nrx+ and I think you own an expride 7'7H, one or both of those will work well for a 3/4oz bladed jig. Lots of kills and short handle turns, bumping bottom, 904. Slow rolling with reel bumps, 7'7H expride. My chatterbaits usually end up on these two rods. scott

Cut the line, drag about 25yds behind the boat while moving. Retie. If I’m anchored I’ll cut it and just do my best fly cast a few times, let some more line out and do it again, repeat. That method isn’t as good but can buy some time. scott

There's some good looking deals on used ones out there in the interwebs. scott

I can't comment on the nrx+, but the conquest 904c is my favorite for a 3/4oz swim jig with a 5" gambler ez on it and that has to be well over 1oz. I also pair it with a met and find it just slightly tip heavy. I think there's a different use of carbon tape between the two rod series, but I'd think it's a safe bet that it would do what you want it to at a high level. scott

That's spoon water! https://thehookuptackle.com/products/metal-adict-01?variant=42594966208679 https://shimreels.com/search?page=2&search=little jack metal adict zero Ripped and killed, give em the erratic flash they want! Seriously though, these two salt spoons have been magical at times when my fish behave like you're describing. scott

Mine twisted a bunch on a m/f casting setup. For me it's on the cast, lots of helicoptering when I'm bombing for surface busts. I fished it pretty hard before it became time for me to untwist my line. It seemed like a swivel and clip messed with the action. I need to try it again to be sure, but that's where I'm at now. scott

Yes, power pitch, sensor and the 755 are my comps. I'd rate it power pitch, 755, and sensor. The sensor has a solid tip which probably hurts it a bit. Dobyns does have a less sharp feel, but I still feel all that I need to. scott

I have a few different high end lines in terms of price, conquest, steez, xtasy, and adrena. My 2 steez's are the best, but barely. I'm most impressed with the mc days360, phenix feather, and adrena because they are 2/3 to 1/2 the msrp and are virtually indistinguishable in terms of catching fish. I no longer have any interest in chasing more sensititvity, but I do have a minimum that I enjoy. Xtasy does it for me while the champion series doesn't anymore when it comes to bottom contact. scott

I wholeheartedly agree. As much as I dislike factory farming, mono crop agriculture, and the reliance on industrial scale chemical fertilization use the rate of human starvation worldwide has plummeted over the last 50 years. I hope we can reign in and mitigate the awful conditions we raise our food in, but not lose sight that people matter more, and cost is everything in that part of the equation. Not an attack just wish we'd talk about the tradeoffs more often in society. scott

There's a couple sweet looking bogs near my lake that I've always assumed would suffer winterkill because of depth......I might need to rethink this. scott

@Swamp GirlOn any break with weed growth, throw to 15' deep and drag toward shore. Stop by, I'll point the way. scott

Saw the 7'3 expride probably needs an XH there. In my thoughts, my man. scott

Visit Michigan in late april // early may. Those 4 weeks will instill jig confidence in anyone! scott

Yep! scott

I watch most of their videos every winter . The way they fish it, I agree with them. If you pitch to holes, lift once or twice, then reel in and repeat, the 7'7H is really nice. Plenty of power once it loads fully. It's when you're trying to drag thru the weeds where I feel the amount of force it takes to load up is too much to keep control. A faster rod or a heavier mod/fast becomes my preference. scott

I do my best slow rolling the magdrafts near the bottom on a 3/4oz 8/0 beast hook on the deep weedline in 15' fow post spawn. My preferred rod is an expride XH with braid to leader because hooking up with all that plastic, cover, and most fish only being in the 3-4lb range means the bait can ball up and it takes a lot to get the hook home. A 5-5.5" scottsboro might play nicer with your weight limitations and still have a nice big profile. Has better range of speeds available and cheaper too. scott

It will be over an ounce, probably in the neighborhood of 1.15-1.25oz. But most of my rods can lob cast something like this no problem. My guess is the hardest part will be setting the beast hook when you do get bit. If you like braid, it's no stretch would probably help. Regardless, a reeling sweep set is probably needed when the rod is slightly underpowered. You might be best off with the regular mag draft that has the treble hook. Should get a much better hook up ratio. I think you should give it a try and don't forget the speed of your retrieve is everything with this bait. It's worth practicing in view to see the limited range. scott

We all have our preferences. The thing I've come to realize is that our natural weedy lakes don't compare well to most of the country. May thru Sept my water, especially shallow water, is usually closer to FL/LA fisherman in terms of cover than a lot of places even if we have a different strain of LMB. scott

I've deep cranked with a G20 on my TB a few times, not to mention glides and big soft swimmers. Not an issue at all. I don't see any hints of issues with lack of power. Just smooth and powerful, I think you'll love it. scott

Bummer the rod didn't do what you had hoped. As for your og problem, take a look at the old 2018 Poison Adrena 6'11M+/F. The nishine 115MD gets about 15-18' and the PA is the only rod I want to throw it with. Those PA's should still be floating around and also probably discounted. It'll serve as a great worm rod as well, kinda special imo. scott

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you. My stock Zillion HD lives on my Tequila Bacarac and I regularly throw the entire rod weight range, 3/4-4oz and it bombs for me. Now it's mostly for NLB, but I have run into some powerful pike over the years. Never a question that this reel couldn't do it. I'm more sad that when Amazon was on the blowout, I only bought one additional zillion instead of two. scott

Necessary, no. But I look at it like this, certain ways to catch them are more enjoyable than others. I spend more money on the rigs for those baits to maximize my enjoyment and usually my catch rate too. scott