ww2farmer

The same lures I use the rest of the year. Location the key.

Either I'm deaf, or I just don't give a hoot so it don't bother me. But I don't find regular Power Pro to be noisy, rough, or anything else people complain about. I have used all types of braid. 832.....bleeds it's color faster than Power Pro, and costs a little more, didn't impress me enough to justiy switching. Spiderwire stealth ....this one makes serious noise, and the only braid I ever used that tore up rod guides. Spiderwire Ultra cast.....while braid in general is not very abrasion resistant, this line was the worst in that area. I swear silk string was tougher. Fireline braid, and Seaguar Kanzen were both duds, not impressed at all with either, I found both to be way less stronger than other brands of like lb test. Kanzen has been the only Seaguar product I have ever been disappointed in. I was all set to try some Power Pro Super Slick, until the best frog fisherman I know came in with a zero one day during a tournament, claiming they lost a good bag because of multiple...........MULTIPLE break offs in the slop with 65lb Super Slick, they were not happy, and I have been reluctant to try it since then. Regular Power Pro, has been, and will be, the best bang for the buck in braid, and will be the braid I use for the foreseeable future.

I have been an on and off dipper since I was 16, I am 37 now, and really need to knock it off again, hopefully for good this time. I have gone as long as two years without it before, but always fall back into it. I am not going to promote or brag about what kind of dip I use, it's a disgusting, nasty habit that I am too weak to walk away from.

Maybe for you, but not for me. In fact, I am totally un-impressed with it. So I don't bother. I do well enough with out it.

I like Abu, and Shimano, but since you said no Shimano...........Abu.

Yes, and yes. And that's all I am saying.

IMHO, those fantastic looking, super realistic, paint jobs, catch the crap out of....................fisherman. The dumb old bass around here will bite a crank bait with a bluegill pattern on the sides of it drawn by my 4 year old kid, just as much as they will those fancy ones. If they ain't biting cranks, they ain't biting them....a $20 lure isn't going to help you much there.

I have that exact rod. It's been a good rod for me. I use it for a few different things, it's a very versatile rod. It excels at fishing the flick shake technique, and is also an excellent small jerk bait rod. I also use it for shaky heads, and small finesse jigs. I don't like it for drop shotting, but I have used it in a pinch and it worked fine. It's not the best balanced spinning rod, it takes an 8-9 oz. 2500 size reel to make it "float" in my hand. I have had it for as long as the Mojo's have been out, which is a minor miracle, as I am hard on rods, so that proves it's a durable, well made rod. And really other than some dirty cork, and paint chipped off the hook hanger, still looks great. I have fished braid (with fluoro leader) on it from day one and no signs of any guide issues.

Not a fan of Trokars, for the reasons listed above. They seem to rust fast, the tip durability, and they shred plastics. Gamakatsu's have been my hook of choice for years, but VMC is winning me over with there line of "Ike" approved stuff.

It would be shorter to list the ways I don't fish them. Here is the list :

I do, but not as much as I used to. I have found other things that work better for me. But a tube is something that I always have ready to go just in case my ways are not working. I keep it simple. 3.5" green pumpkin tube, with a 3/8 oz tube head.

Open water, shallow or deep.... I use 10lb power pro with an 8lb fluorocarbon leader on ML power spinning gear. Moderate cover, I go with 20 lb braid, with a 15lb fluorocarbon leader on medium powered casting gear. Heavy cover.... 30lb braid, 17lb fluorocarbon leader and MH power casting equipment.

I prefer moderate action, unless I am ripping them out of grass. Then I go with a fast action. I get a better "pop" off/out of the grass with a fast action. Moderate tends to load up too much. I only switch if it's a problem, often times the moderate action rod will pop it free just fine, but there's times when it won't.

I am not going to get into the brand name dropping, but IMHO the thing that is most important in a spinning drop shot rod is a tip that allows you to "work" the bait in place without moving the sinker. And by work, I mean barely move it..LOL. The second most important is not having a broom stick, your often working with light line, light wire hooks, etc... and a M or ML powered rod will go along way on helping protect that line. ML fast, or Xfast is my preferred power/action in a spinning rod for drop shotting, but that is also subjective, based on who is making the rod. Some brands M power rods would be better.

It don't matter too much. BUT the type of bait can, for example, some days a spook just won't get bit, but a popper will. If it were me, I would have a basic natural color, like shad or bluegill, but in a couple different styles of baits.

Both are good, but imho with Abu you get a little more bang for the buck, especially in the sub $100 range.

I like paca craws when I want a craw with action................and yes I am a big strike king fan, but I like the paca craws better than the rage craws. Just my personal taste, nothing against the rage craw. I used to like the GYCB craws for the times a more subtle approach was called for, but man do the rock bass and bluegills ever tear them up, so much so it was getting very cost prohibitive to use them as often as I would like. So I "tried" the zoom critter craws to attempt to get a little more bang for my buck, and so far so good. They work just as well, and are far FAR more durable, not to mention easier on the wallet.

Kinky beavers are 7 per pack, but sweet beavers are 10, that makes the Kinky beavers @ $4.69 per bag ( .67 per bait) more than the Zoom and Yum. So were both wrong, and both right.......

WRONG. Per TW.......... RI Beaver: $4.79 per 10ct. bag.........about .48 per bait Zoom Z-hog $4.59 per 8ct bag..... about .57 per bait Yum Wooly bug $.99 per 8ct bag... that's about .62 per bait Reaction is the cheapest of those choices.

As some one who has, and uses both Veritas's, and Mojo's. The Mojo's are in no way better. They both have the pros and cons. The Veritas is lighter, and better balanced. The Mojo is made better, and has a longer (5yrs on the Mojo vs. 3yrs on the Abu) warranty. Both fish fine, sensitivity is very subjective, both are plenty sensitive.

Beats me if it helps, but it doesn't hurt either, megastrike goes on everything I have that's not already scented. Like Yamamoto, Zoom, or Havoc baits. Scented stuff like the SK plastics with the coffee scent, power bait, gulp, or netbait don't get any "extra" scent.

I have caught smallmouth on every single thing I have caught largemouth. But when I am targeting smallmouth specifically, it's typically very early in the season, or very late in the season. And my best results have been with downsized versions of my standard largemouth gear, fished on light line, in deeper water, with spinning gear.

That's pretty much how I do it too. I will down size to small stuff only if/when I find my normal offerings are not getting bit. I often find cold fronts actually IMPROVE fishing depending on the season. In the spring, it will put the lake on lock down, but in the late summer/early fall it often gets things going, especially for brown fish.

Are you in the USA?

I have that rod, very versatile spinning rod, as close to a "do all " spinning rod as your going to find. This is your lucky day, lol, I have revamped my spinning rod arsenal with more technique specific rods and switched brands, making this rod expendable to me. I will give you a good deal on it if you are interested.