softwateronly

Lots and lots of great options already listed. I love swim jigs, super effective on my weedy, bluegill filled lake and one of my favorite bites. 3.75-5" Gambler ez's and R2S d walkers have turned into my favorites, they catch and they last forever. Don't overlook a heavy swim jig (1/2-3/4oz) either for the deeper side of the weed break lines. scott

@Bandersnatch not exactly related, but to me the 6'11M+ and the 7'2H have the magic in the adrena line. From what I know about the 873, I would expect the 7'2H to be a slightly lighter version. scott

Loved hearing straight from JJ about these "issues." But, I'm finding myself feeling different about Zaldain after watching this! His fishing persona always seemed "much." Probably just how the edits emphasize only one side of his personality. scott

I almost always use an fg knot and a 7-10' leader these days, and I can usually feel the knot. I don't think there's a more streamlined knot so it's just something you have to decide if you want to deal with. I can cast far enough for clear water fishing, so I don't think there's a significant distance loss. scott

I almost always anchor. Trying to pick apart weeds on breaklines with bottom contact presentations are only successful for me when I know where I am and where the transitions are. Anchoring is my only way. If you fish clear water submergent grass, it seems the only way to be thorough. scott

deleted: misread

I'm gonna have a bourbon. scott

Maybe add a skirt to 6th sense divine ned football head? I picked some up on bf, hook is small but seems stout enough. I'm planning on using it on the great lakes with a keitech spider grub and zmn crawz/pro craws for smallies. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/6th_Sense_Divine_Ned_Rig_Weedless_Football_Heads_4pk/descpage-6DNRF.html scott

Here's a fun one.... scott

I've thrown the MB deep 6 and r2s dd crank in "cold water speed cranking" conditions and caught fish. I don't crank much so I throw it on a mod fast heavy graphite with a 7:1 reel. Without electronics, I never really know if I'm on a school, but in the cold I anchor up and fancast the crank first, usually doing 2-3 passes along breaklines and up/down breaks with slightly different angles. Usually, I move to a blade bait, small swimbait, or hair jig. I can understand losing confidence in this technique, with how infrequent I get bit and the wear and tear throwing it. I barely have confidence in it and it has given me 2 of my heaviest 5 bass ever, including a northern strain pb. I definitely have not dialed it in, but I also have to keep trying because of my past luck. scott

I think op is talking about those tiny hook keitech jigs. That might change the equation, because that hook should easily be set by a 743, though it might be the limit. scott

There’s lots of good interviews/pod casts where Gary himself talks about his 1-6 power rating. Once it makes sense, I find his rods to be really consistently labeled. They might be heavier but their improved balance usually makes them feel lighter in real world applications. I like St Croix, but didn’t love the mojo series. I think champions are a worthy upgrade. scott youtube hellabass dobyns. Should find a lengthy stream.

Certain materials cut thru braid like it’s not even there. Zebra mussels, northern pike teeth, gill plates, etc. If braid isn’t compromised it’s very strong for its diameter but…. Could one guide be referring to using casting reels while the other isn’t? Is one guide setting you up with a 4000 size spinning reel? They might both be correct. I’m a fan of braid to leader and would personally go 50lb to 20lb mono if using my own gear. scott

The blade bait really is fantastic the less you do. My favorite exception is when I’m hung up and finally pop free only to get hung up again on a fish? scott

They'll never understand!

I have no idea but work is boring right now. Low sun angle, pushes the body shadow in front of the bait and unites the silhouette of the body and blades into one mass, possibly providing a more natural presentation. Also, underwater shadows would extend in this direction allowing for the bass to be in the shade but not under cover, this might position them with a wider viewing angle and extend the time available for them to react to a fast moving bait. scott

The one that really hit for me was a preacher jig, specifically the outcast chicken jig in bluegill. In summer it did what I heard it would do, generate strikes on deep water breaks. Usually, hard bottom areas between grass patches in 18-25’. As I gained confidence and threw it more, I also realized it was really effective bringing it downhill in that 8-15’ range. I had to tight line it a bit more to run the weed tops, but I was also able to pop it free much easier than anticipated if I let it get down and in the weeds more than desired. Frequently I’d get that lovely thunk right after I freed it or the next time I went to move it. I think it was something those fish rarely saw and they liked it. I picked up a 1/2oz this year to give me a better opportunity to have it sit on top of the shallow weeds instead of burying to see if this could get even better. scott

Moving from shore only to a yak opens up so much more water. If you can afford it, move it, and launch it on water that is safe for small craft, it seems like a no brainer to me. This specific yak? I have no idea, but if you wanna upgrade later, $400 is about as low as any yak gets so you wouldn't lose much reselling. scott

I have a bantam on each and thought they were both very comfortable last season. I don't remember a difference. scott

I do have both in the A model. I love throwing lots of single hook swimbaits, mostly weedless, in the 5-7" range and heavy swimjigs, 3/4-1oz, w/ 4-6" paddletail trailers. I got the 7'3 first because it's also my frog rod, but I loved it so much I went in on a 7'6 when it was on sale. They balance really well, I have paired mine with a bantam, but think I'm moving the 7'6 to a tat 200 this year. The power/action between the two seems very similar, except there's a bit more tip in the 7'6 and my casting distance is better with it fully loaded. I've pushed these rods to 2.5oz and they cast well with a decent quasi lob cast. Personally, I can't work a frog the way I like on a 7'6, so both works for me. Punching, pitching, 6"+ swimbaits, and heavy a-rigs, all slightly preferred on the 7'6. Frogs, swimjigs, and casting heavy grass jigs all slightly preferred on the 7'3. scott

I have a ML from black friday, but haven't spent anytime catching with it yet. With a shallow spool alpha, pe .8, the ML lets me cast an 1/8 hair jig about 20-25yds. 3/16 seems like it loads the rod significantly better. These are listed weights, I haven't broken out the scale. Even with the ML, I'm slightly nervous about setting texposed hooks on a long cast. I'm hoping it delivers on texposed and feel confident with open hook and light weed guard neds/ballheads/jigs. scott

I completely agree with @PressuredFishing If it's safe and you're comfortable, I've found the biggest fish get going the earliest. After the ice comes off, waiting for the turnover is about as long as I would wait if i had the option. scott

Haven't used it. Slow sink works well enough for me because I wanna run the top of the weeds. I could choose which weedline to target. I'd hope the fast sink would stay down better but I don't know. I haven't found the lure successful enough to have 2, but maybe I need to work it deeper. I'll weight what I own first. scott

Yeah, sure did. I'm curious too. scott

I have a Loco and hyperjerk finesse in my last Tw order of 22, should have hands on it soon. Happy to see you're happy with it. Gambler has thrown a few of those bags in my orders from 21 & 22. Maybe it's the back up packaging with supply chain issues, I don't know. scott