softwateronly

I also have the gamakatsu tungsten one you were avoiding in the initial post. That one has lost a 8" hags tornado for me. I think the large mass of big worms is detrimental to those pig tail designs. The mustad has never lost one, but I also stopped throwing big worms on that because of the gammy. I now only eel comfortable with a more positive connection like the gambler. scott

The gambler wrecking ball, add your own split ring and hook of choice. I've used the mustad fastech as well. scott

@Blue Raider Bob Thanks. I'm thinking the original tightline to the bottom has been the key. The spoon just slowly wobbles it's way to the bottom, giving the bass time to identify it as a struggling prey and also time to slowly move toward it. Nothing happens very fast in this 30 something degree water but yet I've been thumped numerous times on the initial fall near the bottom. Once it's on the bottom, I work both the spoons and blade baits relatively fast, never leaving them on the bottom for more than a 2-3 count. I will say the blade bait is usually better with less is more on the lifts, just 2-3 wobbles before I let it back down. scott

I prefer wagging them in the hot water, seems to reset them quicker. Good luck. scott

Apparently you're not up on all the trends and watch your perineum.... scott

My usual is 3 small inland lakes and some shore fishing on Lake Michigan. There's a chance I'll get to new water this year and certainly look forward to the possibility of it. If not, I'll still be happy. scott

I haven't thrown them, but I can see how they would work. I tried hag's tornado's this year and they quickly became one of my favorite worms and they have a similar sounding float and water displacement. The 5" and 8" have been my most productive. There was a bogo deal for raid libero's around black friday. I've already caught a few on them and love the size, blade, hook, and the cold water kick. Might be something worth checking out. scott

@Firstoutfisher me either till this year. I thought it had a role on my lake and turned out to be right. Started in post spawn and has carried all the way through till now. Late fall gave me some epic every other cast early morning/evening as the shad migrated from/to their nighttime cover. scott

Ivan doesn't stand a chance...

Could barely get a bite on anything else. One on a blade bait, and o-fer on a little swimbait, crankbait, jig, jerkbait, and 15 ish on the little spoon and a 4" spoon over the last 4 days. I dodged a little bit of ice the other day and think the shad die off is still in full swing. Tightline to the bottom, half to 2 reel turns, tightline back to the bottom. repeat. And get bit relatively often, for me, in this cold water. scott

That's an ingenious little rig. scott

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FG, modified albright, and blood knots are my 3 connections knots that I'm confident in and can recommend. scott

Yes scott

6” magdraft I’d throw on the 7’7H before I’d throw it on the 7’6XH. But that completely flips when I fish a freestyle. I usually use the heaviest beast hook so that I can bounce it through the cover and I love the power to get that hook stuck from any distance. scott

I push or overthrow many rods listed rating. Starting with an easy lob cast should tell you what you need to know. An Arig on a dobyns 735 is something I've done specifically. scott ps - the 2 rods I've snapped while fishing both happened to rods I had never pushed and was well within their respective ratings.

Energy expenditure and angle of descent were not considered in any meaningful way in the MN DNR study. It's almost complete garbage. scott

Coming up on 10 years of no senko/stick bait. Curly tail worms, showerblows, grubs, and s-waver/shine glides round out the used less list, straight tail and chad shad kind of took over confidence and I just forgot about grubs. Never really got on a topwater bite this year other than frogs in the matted slop. scott

Chad Shad, Free rig (beavers, otters, komodos), flutter spoons, and jigging spoons were my new to me baits this year. All of them posed some challenges to learn but ultimately opened up opportunities for bass I'm not normally able to target, especially the spoons. The spoons have kept a place in my arsenal from mid July till ice-in sometime in the near future. There was a population of shad eaters in open water that were almost uncatchable to me before the heavy metal, but there was also a morning and evening bite on structure that I became more efficient at. The spoons have been a revelation in some ways. I caught 18+" bass on the chad shad, gambler big gz, burritos, frogs, grass jigs, swim jigs, preacher jigs, 10" straight tail worms, dd crank, and spoons. I missed the early spring this year due to work and missed my usual big fish jerkbait bite. Hoping to add another good one in before the ice. scott

I agree with @Pat Brown. I fish braid to leader and I haven't noticed any appreciable difference between 16lb-25lb floro on glides. scott

It's winter man, we need all the help we can get up here. scott

When you're thinking about it, don't forget about Dobyns upgrade program. I'm about to take advantage of it myself. scott

Can I be an honorary SW Michigan guy? The lakes we're on and the lake my in-laws are on account for 3 of 60ish bodies of water I could be on within a 30min drive. Michigan is rather remarkable for it's amount of fishable water. scott

Incase your MB search doesn't pan out; For me, this rod is the diawa steez ags "the sensor". The xfast, soft solid tip, transitioning to what feels like a mod/fast mid section is way more versatile then I expected. I don't throw senkos anymore, but I do throw shakey heads, split shot, free rigs, finesse jigs, hair jigs, blade baits, tail spinners, nichols mini 33 spinnerbaits and underspins on this. I pair it w/ a jdm zillion spooled w/ pe #1.2 to fc leader. scott