softwateronly

10lb sniper to 30lb power pro or varivas8 pe 1.5. I love the hard snaps braid gives and a light flouro sink is beneficial to me as I’m almost always working 12-25’ of water on jerks. scott oh god. Can’t read apparently. I use neutral to slow sink jerks 99.9 percent of the time.

One of my favorite things to do is throw in the wake of pleasure boats that cruise over the fish I’m anchored on. On busy water, I think trolling motors can be a bigger negative than loud outboards. scott

Don’t really mat up on my lake. So not really. Mostly pitching at dense clumps or the spaces around. It feels “slightly” less powerful than a 7’3 & 7’6XH expride but significantly lighter weight if that helps you gauge. scott

The shimano poison Adrena 7’6XH is what I use though I don’t pitch often. It’s super light weight, balanced, plenty of power, and a good tip. Doubles as my heavy swimjig and beast hook magdraft freestyle rod. ALF has it for $225 while supplies last and is a good deal in my opinion. scott

The curado 70 is good little reel but the 150 sounds more appropriate for what you want to do. Off topic suggestion; I find 30lb braid is about as low as I like to go on mgl spools. scott

I'm most confident in D-Bombs, Sweet Beavers, and Bruiser's Intruder XGL for both jigs and pitching. Super Bug, love bug, tramp stamp, big texan, taco truck, purple reign, and gp/junebug tips are my favorite colors. scott

I'll third the 6'11M+ love, it's my favorite of the old line up. But I still really like the 7'2H, 7'3MH, and 7'6XH too. I think ALF has the old models on sale right now. scott

I've bought quite a few 2 piece rods over the last 2 years, and have been floored by the quality of the builds, action, and price of many of them. Major Craft Days 692M/F, 702X XH/MF, MC Black Porgy 782M/RF, MC Triple Cross 792 MH/RF, and Abu Garcia Kurodai 732 MLS-BF all have a prominent place even when I don't have to break them down to fit in the car. The MC Days line at >$130 shipped from digitaka is the best rod/price combo I've found. scott

It's true, I love it. I'm only a dozen or so fish into it, but it's light enough to cast just a gram or three, balanced and floats in your hand, love the solid tip if you try to roll a jighead minnow, easy to get the line shake in resonance and feel the bites, and powerful enough to turn and control larger fish. Very very happy with it and do recommend it if you end up wanting a longer 2-piece rod. scott https://asianportal-fishing.com/products/036282110861?variant=45041350967552&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=US feed&utm_content=Abu Garcia Salty Stage prototype Kurodai XKRC-73MLS-BF (Baitcasting 2 Piece)&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvvmzBhA2EiwAtHVrbzNPiXuzjl7PRCU_BV5COrPc-zSDxswNVE9TyzDAkkofbaE77eXedBoCm4QQAvD_BwE

I'm certainly not a bfs expert, but have gotten into it a bit the last year or so. The BF70 looks to be on the alphas platform. The alphas 800S and the alphas air are relatively equivalent to the US offering, with the air probably being closest. I have pe 1.5 on my 800S and pe 1 on the air. If you never really want to throw less than 4g, the 800S at >$170 is a fantastic reel. If you're going lighter, the air, silverwolf, and zillion raced out with a roro spool and bearings are the options @bulldog1935 walked me through. I choose to upgrade a zillion for BFS and replace it with an 800S for a M/F rod, so far so good. scott

I also use it as a fluke, weightless and free rig, and jighead minnow both mid column and bottom contact and they get bit. Shakeyhead and jig trailer seem like no brainers scott

I bought them on BF but still haven't used them, hoping they would be a good punch bait or free rig/weightless on a deep weedline. Where/what have they done best for you? Their maximus worm and now the minnobi have been good to me. scott

Yet another reason for a renewal of the Pike Committee... scott

@bowhunter63 there's a lot of give in your set up. Do you have a MH/F rig or the option of adding braid to the current set up? scott edit - Or is there room for improvement on the hookset? Have you reeled down on them and swept to the side while still reeling?

My frog rod is sometimes a magdraft freestyle combo. I find a 7 speed more versatile and still good for frogging and jigs. That's my pick. I really like that bantam model, it's slightly heavy but it feels like a forever reel. scott

I don't use 832 yet I don't think it's the brand of braid with how many people like it. The 30lb diameter probably has the most to do with it from what I read above. I have pp v2 30lb on 2 different 71hg mgl's, one behaves perfectly and the other digs often, the one I swim jig with and tighten down the most. scott

@Pat Brown That Teckel shark is an open water gem. It walks so easily you can dance it in place, preferably right over their head. Don't sleep on it. scott

The dipsey swivels will beat up the nose of your bait because the eyelet is larger. Bobber stop above the knot and a small bead help mitigate. scott

There are no solutions, only tradeoffs. I like throwing 5-7" fluke style baits and a lot of them have varying densities and depth required for a proper hook gap exposure, like the difference between a spunk shad and super fluke magnum. I love beast hooks for swimbaits but find they can over keel the erratic action of a fluke and I also prefer a lighter wire hook and a lighter setup. Adding weights to various hooks I already like lets me dial in what I hope will work for that situation. scott

I grabbed some of these so I can stay with the hooks I prefer. Haven't used them yet though... scott https://thehookuptackle.com/products/ds-14-custom-sinker?variant=42751459164327

Nothing more true has ever been written... scott

Warm water period is also peak time for food options, presentations might need to be more refined to fit the energy in/energy out equation. And I also think night time gives bass peak hunting efficiency. Actively gorge all night, more toward opportunistic only during the day. I think this equation flips in cold water and now fish faster in the winter because bass aren't used to much trying to get away successfully. scott ps - Summer nights and swim jigs usually means my net gets a workout. I can't land any of these ornery 17" ers without one. They are in peak fighting condition.

@A-Jay Beautiful audio and video...Thank you! I just relived my pb brown, not as big as this one, shore fishing lake michigan 12-15yrs ago. Bill Lewis rattle trap got annihilated in front of the Shedd Aquarium and nearly spooled me twice. If it wasn't for some friendly polish kids with a long handle net I might still be there. scott

I think my main problem is that I absolutely fall in love with types of bites. I look forward to certain times of year when certain baits really shine and I get to indulge in unique types of hits that are addicting. This became apparent when I didn't get a whiff on a jig from september thru march and then wasn't able to get on the water till late may. 8 months is too long for no jig fish and I felt it every day . scott

Anyone throwing these yet? I know they're newish, but unsure how new. Man, 6th sense can get me on colorways alone, these look the part to me. scott