RDB

I’ve had one on my TW maybe list for 6 months and needed to spend more for shipping last week and pulled the trigger. Never thought I’d get to the point where I would be fishing with imitation poop.

Fished one yesterday…10” Power Worm on a 3/8oz 5/0 shakey head. I usually have one tied on in the summer months. Most of the time in the south when you hear about shakey heads and ribbon tails in summer months, it’s using bigger worms. 10” power worms are as big around as your index finger.

Just cut the weed guard off an old jig, use 1 of the strands and wrap it with thread (I use a bobbin). The keeper doesn’t need to extend a long way to hold the bait.

As @WRB said, you are talking about stitching which is different than a traditional t-rig technique. Bill suggested using a #1 or 1/0 hook skin hooked through the side of a 4-8” straight tail worm. He also suggested that when you feel a bite, don’t set the hook but lower the rod tip and keep the excess line in your fingers while watching the line. If it’s moving quickly, reel the slack and set. If it’s not, apply slight pressure to see if the bass will take the bait better. IMO, it’s not surprising that you might gut hook a few more fish but it’s not because the eye is 1/4” more buried v a t-rig. It’s the same reason many wacky riggers have higher numbers of gut hooked fish. With both techniques, the bass feels little resistance and will often hold for longer times and some anglers are slow to set.

I replaced the hook with a heavy steel clamp. My fish consistently weigh a pound more now. @throttleplate it was a joke…I undersold the weight increase. I caught a 15” fish today that weighed a little over 5lbs.

I replaced the hook with a heavy steel clamp. My fish consistently weigh a pound more now.

Rubber band to make a saddle. Outside of a sleeve, it’s the least damaging to the worm because it’s supported in 2 spots, it’s cheap, and it doesn’t require a tool.

For me, a lot would depend on the water clarity. I just rigged up some rods for a trip tomorrow to a lake that is pretty stained with some rock & shell beds. For bottom contact I rigged: Carolina rig w/fluke Magnum shakey head w/10” power worm Tokyo rig w/creature bait Only taking 2 spinning reels with a wacky and Neko rig.

Looks like you got your order. Did you order from Fisherman’s Warehouse? I haven’t received mine and I placed my order before I posted that they had some available because I’m selfish that way. I think I may have angered the fishing karma gods.

I understand and I’m sure you know that a 110 is never going to reach deep ranges. It’s depth is ~5ft on 12lb fluoro and will likely be much less on 20lb mono. You can keep it a little higher in the water column by periodically mixing in an upward jerk. Fair enough but heavy cover and jerkbaits typically don’t get along well together. IMO, if the choice is choosing a setup that hinders the effectiveness of the lure or just choosing another lure, I would typically choose another lure. I think it’s fair to say nobody does ?. I think this is looking for a solution to a problem that likely doesn’t exist. Most everyone typically launches jerkbaits and the amount of stretch you would experience with 12lb is a non factor if you are using appropriate technique. People should go with their comfort but personally, I would not use braid for treble hook baits and especially jerkbaits. Those evil trebles trebles don’t need more reasons to expand their evilness. I’m not trying to convince you to change,,,just pointing out that you may be sacrificing some lure effectiveness with your line choice. I agree…I typically don’t buy rods less than 7’. The Oneten Stick is 6’5” and the shorter handle and length really does make it more enjoyable for me to fish. So far I dig the rod. As far as rod qualities, jerkbait rods typically have many of the same qualities as topwater walking or popper rods. As far as how hard you jerk, I would recommend folks spend some time casting in a pool. If you have an appropriate rod, you might be surprised at the action you impart throwing slack on even the lightest jerks. To think you need to stay consistent on your jerk strength or cadence is to miss opportunities to impart the most appropriate action to match the fishes mood.

I think I (and others) are saying the same thing…the terms are typically used interchangeably.

The problem is we are 7 pages into a post that is impossible for anyone other than the poster to answer. I may be wrong but I viewed the question as rhetorical (he said he was venting). The answer is in the eye of the beholder and no amount of discussion on tolerances or objective measurements is going to solve the problem. I’m reminded of this male habit every time my wife wants to share or vent and I have to sleep on the couch because I provided unwelcome feedback instead of listening. Add fisherman to the male habit and you get 7 pages of feedback to an unanswerable question.

Some people want fancy clothes or cars or want to eat at the fanciest restaurants…nothing wrong with that if that’s where they get their enjoyment. One of my biggest areas of enjoyment is fishing and I choose to have the best and am fortunate to have the means to do so. While I can’t remember the last time I have had any type of reel failure, if I found myself getting spun out if it happened, I would probably re-evaluate the appropriateness of my choices. IMO, if it has any lasting effect on your mood, it might be better to scale down. There are many good reels at every price level.

I historically have used a medium fast rod but recently picked up a JDM Oneten Stick which is more regular and I love it. I use 12lb fluoro but will drop down if I need a little more depth. Personally, I think braid or mono is a poor choice for jerkbaits, just like fluoro is a poor choice for topwater. I want a line that sinks. Edit: just curious…why would you want to use 30lb braid to 20lb mono with a 110 (or any jerkbait for that matter)? IMO it’s WAY overkill and if you ever needed the strength of that line, you have already bent out the hooks or ripped the bait from the fishes mouth. Add to that potential surges at the boat and I think you are greatly increasing your odds of losing fish.

Agree…just as USDM rods basically focus heavily on US angler desires, JDM rods tend to cater to their market...there may or may not be differences between specific rods. Quality and aesthetics on higher end JDM rods are usually next level and they tend to have slower tapers than USDM rods. Like @softwateronly said, Japanese anglers are typically not as enamored with longer rods like we are, so you will usually find more shorter rod offerings. There tends to be some different preferences with their reels as well. Personally, the only time I wouldn’t consider a JDM rod is for bottom contact and only because I can’t hold it first and want to know what I am getting from a power/taper standpoint.

Last time I fished a full moon I stuck a werewolf…drug me all over the lake.

If I remember right, that’s the lure he stuck in his leg and had to pop it out with braid. With most flutter spoons except the magnum spoons, you can use one of your MH or H jig rods with a fast tip. With some of the heavy magnum spoons, I use a heavy swimbait rod. The rod in the pic looks like a Johnny Morris CarbonLite. It looks like a pretty big blank, so I would guess it’s a heavy fast.

I saw in a previous post that you said you are a teenager, so I’ll make you a deal. You pay for the shipping and I’ll give you a 6’8” MH F Mojo jig & worm rod. It’s used but in good shape but I haven’t used it in years. I probably have 100+ rods sitting around gathering dust and am too lazy to get rid of them.

I don’t have any experience with Gomexus but I am a fan of Hog Tech handles.

This is going to be unpopular and I’m sure I’ll get flamed but I use braid backing on all my reels and the only time I use tape (painters masking tape) is if the spool doesn’t have holes (I don’t use knots). Otherwise I just run it loose through a hole, reel 4-5 times and cinch it tight, and start spooling. I do spool my braid with a lot of tension but I have never had the slippage issues that many discuss on the site.

It probably has less to do with the Trokar hook or the type of hook set and more about the bait. Unfortunately, you are likely going to lose a few more fish than normal on those oversized baits…they just have more leverage to throw them. Same goes for the large flutter spoons that are popular in Texas during the summer months. IME, the best you can do is hit them solid, try not to let them get any slack, and grind them in as quickly as possible. I would add that those baits are usually cast long distances and you often have a lot of line out when you get a strike. Personally, I wouldn’t use straight mono for large swimbaits. I would either go with braid to mono leader or straight fluoro. If you stick with straight mono, you probably need to crack them hard.

I wouldn’t worry about the best month or time…just fish whenever you can. It’s like anything else in life…some of the best growth is achieved through failure. Just keep it simple and study/focus on basic bass behavior. Bass are structure/cover/edge oriented predators and that should influence your potential target areas. As @WRB suggested, IMO one of the best baits to start out with is a weightless or lightly weighted wacky rig. They are simple and forgiving, will allow you to develop both feel and line watching skills, and can cover the entire water column in shallow to medium depths. If you are in heavy cover, I would switch to a t-rig.

It could be this or since you said there is very little existing cover, it also might be some sort of homemade artificial habitat for fry/baitfish.

Which orange came first, the fruit or the color? When did time begin? Where does a thought go when it’s forgotten? How old do you have to be to die of old age? So many questions

It partially depends on the rocks but I don’t use greater than 8lb fluoro on any of my spinning gear. With a slider head, I would assume you are probably not dragging over super gnarly stuff, so 8lb is fine. Most of the time when you are dragging a bait, only a small length of line potentially even contacts the rocks unless you are making 50 yard casts. If you prefer 8lb, just do a quick finger check every so often and you will be fine.