For me it's in order to allow the fish to get it deeper and delay my response, as a side bonus it doesn't rip the bait to quickly away from cover.....both points have been covered above.
All I know is that a glass composite rod (Alpha Angler Chatterbound) made all the difference in the world for me. For whatever reason, hooking fish on a full sized chatterbait is one of the toughest baits for me. The glass rod corrected most of that for me.
I've got both JDM models, the TW HD is like an Abrams tank. The SV TW is like a Porche 911.
The HD TW feels SIGNIFICANTLY more robust than the SV TW and just about any other reel I've used besides the Shimano Calais/Antares lineup.
If you're casting it, and it's under 1oz, I'd just stick with the SV TWs. If you're casting it and it's over 1oz like big deep cranks, A-Rigs, smaller swimbaits, or if you're flipping or punching and it's over 1oz the TW HD is likely the more appropriate reel.
Arguably the best part of catching a big, special fish for me is watching it swim away.
I don't care if she was "old", "only had a year or two left", "was done spawning due to age", etc.......at the end of the day the last thing I want to be a part of is killing a fish that has somehow managed to defy the powerball lottery odds against her.
Broke my heart when recently a big DD SM was killed on Erie. So stupid the State required that massive, incredibly old fish was killed. Then they come out and say "she was done spawning", "she was gonna die soon, she was really old", etc.
Near the end of true pre spawn (meaning no fish have spawned yet), the males will flood the shallows and create beds a number of days before the females are ready to start spawning, then they try to steer/court females onto their beds and will repeat this process as many times as he can throughout the spawning cycle. During this period the male is continually "fanning" the bed to oxygenate laid eggs and keep any debris from building up on the eggs and suffocating them. So, in short, the bed might be 3 weeks old, but it'll appear "shiny" or clean as long as he's courting or guarding/fanning laid eggs.
I can't say yet based on 1st hand observations if the males will abandon the fry ball to repeat the cycle for a second or maybe even third spawning moon cycle. Or if he recycles the bed, builds a new, or calls it good after one round.
But for a timeline perspective, the male is:
day 1: building a nest
day 4: courting females
day 6-8: has a female locked onto the bed, and they're actively spawning
day 22: laid eggs finally undergo "swim up" stage and form fry balls, male begins to hyper focus on the fry ball's defense and stops fanning/guarding the bed.
day 29: male has been continually guarding the fry balls
***Females can make beds as well, but it's not commonplace.
As for advice,
If you can barely see those shiny spots, just make mental notes of it and stay a good bit back and then make your presentations.
It's mind blowing, and equally frustrating how much harder the females are to catch once they discover you the first time. Way easier imho to catch big females in the "blind" casting to high percentage bedding areas.
Throw a Pegged/T-Rigged creature bait, and/or skip that whacky worm especially on the back side of docks, and under overhanging trees/bushes.
I learned the hard way at least for my fish that during the spawn (when females are actually present near a bed), moving baits aren't the best way to go. Lots of people preach to move lots during the spring and some days that's true especially after that first true wave of bigger fish spawning, but if you're fishing for bigger spawning females.....a very targeted approach with a much slower presentation is deadly, and I haven't had the same level of success with a moving bait.
Lastly, I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, I've just nerd'd out on the spawn as it's really fascinating to me. Most of the above is based on first hand observations on my home lake that has several feet of viz and easily observable beds. So like most advice in fishing, it's mainly applicable to my own lake and fish population 🙃
That's a real by product of the 110's lip, the 110 bill is actually made to flex on hard twitches to dampen the action.
The 110 is a "tap the slack" style colder/cold water jerkbait........compare that with a much more violent Jackall Rerange that excels in warmer waters, or even the Shimano World Minnow that is kind of a blend b/t the two. All three are similar sized/depth ranges, all three have different thickness lips, and the 110 is easily, and noticeably smallest/thinnest, and can even flex by hard human touch.
It's made thin by design. The 110 for all its faults, is the most engineered and perfected jerkbait I've seen to date.
eta: read your second reply about not contacting MB
100%.....when in doubt replace or retie when it comes to knots or line.
It's not only for practical reasons, but for mental and confidence reasons....once I have it in my head something is flawed, boom it's cursed.
You spend all that time trying to catch the fish of a lifetime, why chance it over a spool of line is the way I see it. I'm already pot committed though ?
This is the easy button for a normal size rig.....and they come with Scottsboro swimbaits which are amazing. So much bang for your buck, and everything you need in one kit.
Yum Scottsboro Flash Mob Jr Kits - Tackle Warehouse
Sometimes however the fish want a finesse A-Rig, and that's when I throw a Picasso Finesse Bait Ball rig
Picasso Bait Ball Finesse Umbrella Rigs - Tackle Warehouse
I like the smallest Scottsboro Tackle/Yum or 3.25 Rage Swimmers on Strikeking Squadron Jr heads.
Awesome fish, equipment, and report as always friend!
Congrats on the new PB! Weather people have ruined many a day for me, then again I've flirted with lightning and torrential down pours as well. It's the game we play.
I fish Zoom Mag 8" Lizards extensively at night during the summers. Perhaps my number one bait.
My PB and only DD came off a black 8" variety.
I'd say both of your conclusions are spot on, but I've never understood why people limit themselves to throwing them only in the Spring.
I have dozens of bags of 6" models too. Besides a 6 or 7" Roboworm, if it's dragging on the bottom, it's gonna be a lizard from me most times. They just seem to catch bigger fish for me.
Colors: Junebug, Watermelon Red, Greenpumpkin with red flake, black, and my personal favorite Blackgrape.
Baitfish on downscan or sidescan. Then stop and scope.
If I had a scope, I'd do exactly what I currently do and motor around with down and sidescan sonar trying to find bait with active predator returns mixed in. This is as far as I can go without FFS, but if I had it, I would scope the bait, predators, and my presentation and then start dialing in it based on the real time activity and response of the predators on the scope.
Where is this new article Katie, your loyal reader base demands a link! ?
ETA I found it, I don't check the home page, I'm 4 days late to the party......
The Perfect Day | The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide® LLC (bassresource.com)
Your posts have a level of detail, and organization that makes them very enjoyable to read. Concise, yet informative.
Looks like an awesome time, beautiful fish, and beautiful friends......what more could you ask for in life
AlabamaSpothunter's post in Used baits was marked as the answer
For whatever stupid hording reason, I put them in zip loc bags. Half of them have their bottoms ripped off from small Spots.
My friends 12 year old son got a worm making kit, so I'm gonna see if I can donate all the old stuff to him so he can melt it down, and if nothing else practice with it.
Exactly I heard a rod maker describe it perfectly.....anytime you have a moving lure, you need a way to slow down the rod and angler's reaction time in order to allow the fish to suck that bait in.
One other big reason why glass tips shine on a moving bait rod, the significantly more forgiving tip allows a bait like a squarebill or a chatterbait to "hunt" better, and to bounce off structure.
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