softwateronly

Fish Fish fish! If rock and wood aren't present, find anything green on the bottom in 15-25' near a shallower flat and stay there till they bite. Blade Baits and small flutter spoons have done best for me December thru February when the ice was gone. Neither needs to be fished painfully slow. Small frequent hops do the trick. scott

I have a Major Craft Days 6'9 M/RF 2 piece rod that I'm really really happy with. It costs @$135 shipped. The line right below Days is Benkei and costs right at $100 and is worth a close look in my opinion. 6'6 M/R https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/5/4560350818114 6'5 ML/RF https://www.digitaka.com/item/29/6/5/4560350818084 scott https://www.majorcraft.co.jp/roditem/4353

Now that I'm a better caster, I do 1 or 2 on most of my 4-6 brake models with no problem. Just oppose the brakes you do have engaged. Your centrificalness will hold up just fine. scott

I have a casting 6'9M/F MC Days 2 piece that spent last spring in my car along with a messenger bag w/ small jigs, hooks, weights, and soft plastics. Allows me to easily hit the harbors for smallmouth when they're in shallow and I have time. Great rod at a great price from digitaka at $135 ish. scott

I don't know anything about it, but here's Ben's take from the hook up tackle.... scott

Deps sakamata shad watermelon pro blue/resevoir shad are the closest I can think of, though neither is exactly that. scott

I think bite windows are more prominent in cold water, if you can't spend more time on the water maybe you can vary the time you're getting on the water. There's a surprise early morning bite up here as the shad migrate. scott

Keeping the "a bass every month" going at least one more and the last challenging month for awhile. These 2 clones were pushed up in 5-6' of a windblown shore, but the bites were few and far between. scott

He's showed this before on his youtube channel, but I can't find it. I think he's past keeping it a secret. My memory says it was to reduce leverage while fighting fish and the lead was for depth control and posture just like @Team9nine alluded. scott

I find solid white the easiest to see in the water. They’re not eating so it shouldn’t affect their behavior. scott

All great stuff above. My little add is that I use the feel of bottom cover to induce a strike. Many times I believe fish are right on top of the jig or worm and when you can successfully pop your bait free at speed but without much distance, the bass attack the fleeing prey. scott

I have a Fury 795swmbt that doesn't get much use anymore, would like to hear opinions about throwing dd cranks on a Phenix x-13 with the 300 size curado that I would repurpose. I'm mad at myself for not spending at least a day or two trying those large cranks on the Fury before the spring sales. Would like the rod to be under $200, lean more toward graphite than glass, 7'6-7'9, handle from 10XD, Z-Boss 25, down to dd70 little john and R2S TB DD. Bonus if it can be a 5-7" spoon rod. scott

Gambler has the super stinger and lake fork has the hyper freak that I know of. scott

I throw big swimjigs and have had great success with a bit off gambler 6.5” GZ. That hunk of plastic can body roll any heavy jighead. Deadly at night. scott these are pretty good if you want heavy but regular big. https://www.northstarbaits.com/flip_and_swimjig.html

Totally agree. I’ve had good luck with my nieces with a 1/8oz jig head and 3” swimmer on a light spinning rod. The cast and reel hook set all happens naturally. The challenge is putting them on fish without heavy cover. scott

^^ %&@#! ^^ scott

^^Y’all drunk^^ scott

Hag's Tornado - 5-8" various colors, but the 8" storm chaser is my current fave Netbait T-mac - junebug, black/grape, ky special Xcite Maximus - okeechobee craw, candy bug, red bug Gambler Burner worm - backatchya, gold rush Zoom Ol Monster - GP, 420, red shad Those are my current first choice worms. TW had various missle baits quiver worms marked down to $2, and I like that tail style as a finesse jig trailer/goby imitator, but I'm also going to see if there's a place for me as a finesse shakeyhead/free rig option. scott

I fish heavier jerk baits, nishine darter, 130mm rerange, etc on the PA 6'11M+ and I love it. I'm interested in people's opinions on the PA 6'10M too. scott

Basically 2 extra times through the loop on the way out, but it looks like I have the wrong name. Helped me when tying in steel leader because cinching properly is more challenging. This video is what I remember. You're probably doing it right already. scott

My lake is closer to what @gimruis is dealing with, clear water, heavy vegetation down to 20-25', but no rock or wood and the structure bowls out significantly at any depth below 25 fow. We do have a decent smallmouth population, but the lake is chuck full of LM so they are easier to fish for by far because of their preference for shallower cover. I never target SM on this water, but usually catch a few from the same spot when I run into them. Ran into a fellow fisherman on the water over the weekend and he's been fishing the lake 35yrs compared to my 15, and we spent some time chatting about the changes the last few years. The gizzard shad population has exploded over the last 5-7 years and that has radically changed the bass behavior. I suspected this, but between my learning curve and lack of sophisticated electronics, it was nice to get confirmation from others. I'm gearing up to spend a much larger portion of my daylight fishing in open water and hope to run into more SM as a result. scott

Don't want to derail, but looking for opinions on small, like 2-3", deep diving cranks, somewhere between 16-20'. I have my eye on damiki dc-400, nomad d-trak 65, nomad d-trak 80, and duel hardcore bullet 5+. Megabass deep x 300, deep six, and river to sea tb dd are my most successful so far. Small profile and tighter wobble seem to be the ticket for my water and hoping to add some more options. scott

short answer. Yes, they run longer than standard ewg. scott

I use the Tat 200 for that and have no complaints, but can’t compare it to the curado 200. Compared to the DC, the Tat 200’s larger handle and deeper spool are pluses. scott

Over the last few years, I've definitely developed a preference for rod length vs technique. One of my realizations is that I prefer 7' and under for worm fishing. I have a 6'11M+ that allows me to work a t-rig downhill with my tip down in heavy cover. It seems like I can pop free of the weeds at a lower angle, and glide closer to the bottom, which seems to translate to more bites, specifically in the summer. I grabbed a 6'6MH this winter to add another option. scott