ww2farmer

I don't change much of what I do based on air temps, unless it made the water temp drop alot, and fast. I am more concerned about light penetration, it was 65 here yesterday after being 90 for two days, but they were on fire, because it was overcast, and the barometric pressure was falling, today will also be 65-70, but clear skies, high barometric pressure, I expect a tough bite. I will go low and slow, into heavy cover, I might even downsize my offerings as well. If the wind is putting a chop on the water, I 'll toss around some reaction baits, but they will usually be downsized as well. I find top water to be the worst option on a bright, sunny, post front day, even if they are burried up in the mats, the don't seem to want to blast a frog, so you got to go in after them. There are things that negate the post front slow bite....If you still have bedding fish, they can be had provided the front didn't push them off. If the bass bite sucks, I also find bluegills and rockbass still biting LOL

One of my 51E's and my Citica 201E are mounted on the same spec rod (St Croix 7' MH/fast one on LT,one on an Avid) with 50lb braid on the Citica/Avid, and 30lb braid on the LT/51E...With the same bait, the Curado 51E/LT will out cast the Citica/Avid every time.

I am a St Croix fan, my 7' ML power, fast action Avid spinning rod has been a great dropshot rod, which is how I fish for smallmouth alot. The 6'8" M/XF St rods are also great all purpose rods, that can do every thing from dropshotting, tubes/grubs/jigs, unweighted soft plastics like flukes and senkos, small crank/spinner/jerkbait's. And that rod come in just about every series to fit your budget, for the $100 Mojo to the $400 Legend Extreme. I have the Mojo, paired with braided line and a good fluorocarbon leader sensitivity is fine, the rod is lightweight, and balances very well with a 2500 size Shimano spinning reel.

I have been doing very well lately with a swim jig tipped with a rage grub.

Durability in soft plastics is over rated. I want baits that catch fish, Yeah, the SK 3x/Zman stuff works, and is durable, but I find other, less durable, stuff, like GYCB or Jackall, products, just flat out catch more fish. Heck, Zoom products catch the crap out of them too, and they are way more durable than Yamamoto or Jackall, and they are pretty cheap too.

That sucks.Well if your going to be boat-less for a while, come down and fish with me.

8 is as low as I will go for bass fishing, tied to 10lb braid. Good ones hooked out in semi-open water make me cringe on that when they make a beeline for the weeds or cover once hooked. Most of the time it's not an issue, but with 4 or even 6, I probably would lose alot more. I have caught some nice bass panfishing on 4lb test mono and an UL rod, but I have also lost a few too. I ice fish with 2lb test, but I have yet to hook a bass that was a challange on that.

Forgot that....same here. I would say a large % of my spinnerbait fish are hooked on the trailer. I'd have a lot less confidence with out one.

No, I have been using the KVD frog excluisivly this year. Why??? Because it's $2 cheaper than the Spro, and comes in the same colors I used in the Spro anyways. IMO It's every bit as good if not better than the Spro.Hooks are as good, might even be the same, and I like the fact it comes with a rattle, If you don't like/want the rattle take it out, I have taken it out of a few. This frog walks better, I thought it was just me, but after using it and tying the Spro back on just to compair, it's no compairison, it just does. It also skips under overhanging cover better, yes it takes on water..............they all do. About every sixth cast or so I give it a few quick squeezes and all the water is out. The only thing the Spro has on it is durability where the nose meets the hook eye, but I can't really complain too much, I have caught 200+ fish this year so far on them, and have trashed 4 frogs. IMHO 99.9% of the problems people have with fishing and hooking up on frogs is on them, not the bait. Give me a Spro, a SK, a Snag proof, a Koppers....any of them, I will catch and hook fish on them.

Yes, I spinner bait with braid, 20, 30, or 50 lb. Med or MH power rods, with fast actions. No issues.

In my family I am the only one who fishes. I bass fish,and ice fish for bluegills. My wife gets it, and my kids do as well. But every one else thinks fishing is drowning worms under bobbers for hour on end while you chug beers. My grandfather used to fish...........but he was the worm drowner/beer guzzler type. At work, no one fishes, but one guy is as sick in the head for deer hunting as I am for fishing, so he gets it. I try not to make too many friends LOL, but the few I have some fish, some don't.

I catch the heck out of them on SK cranks, rarely do I get a bad one. Are they the best out there....I doubt it, but they work fine for me. If you can't catch them on a SK crank, it's a you problem, not the bait. Not saying that in a way to crap on you ....more like maybe you have more confidence in LC, Spro...etc....I am the same way with some baits too. Things that work great for some guys, just don't cut it for me. Rage craws for example. I can put one on, fish with it for a while, not get bit, take it off put on a Paca craw, and catch a fish. Is it a fish I wouldn't have caught if I didn't switch, probably not. Confidence is key. I will fish that Paca craw for hours with out a bite, but I know sooner or later if I do my part and put it in the right place, at the right time, I'll get bit on it....because I have so many times before. If I would just stick to rage craws they same would happen, but I don't...so it don't. There are no magic baits, it's all about time/place/presentation AND confidence.

I use the 7'10" Legend Tournament "Magnum Cranker", 5xd's and 6xd's are a dream to fish on this rod, and I can cast those baits a mile on that long rod.

. With the exception of Erie your going to need a rod with a little power, even though it's finesse fishing, just to keep fish from taking you into heavy cover and breaking you off around here. I would go with a M power with a fast action, and at least 6'6"...7' would be better IMHO, you want a little "give" in the tip to protect the lighter lines used on this type of gear. XF is great for vertical fishing with no cover around. Of the rods you mentioned, I have used the Kistler, and the Abu. Both on Erie, both belonged to a buddy. The Kistler was a noodle, 1lb bass and gobys felt like monster pike on it, and it had ZERO power, the Abu was nice, just about right IMHO, for a vertical " fish in the sonar cone" rod, felt like a tad more than a ML in power.......they are just not my cup of tea. IDK if I would want it as a rod where there is a chance of any decent size fish running you into weeds/wood, or under a dock.

I am late to the rage tail party, but I like the Toad, Shad, and grubs......the craws are not in my arsenal, nor will they be. I have had too much success and confidence in Paca craws to ever switch.

One of the reason I have liked them alot the last few years too. Local availability sucks on them tho. Dicks, Gander, Walmart etc.... don't stock them, and there not "must have" for me. If you want something that you can run out and pick a few packs up if your running low without making a TW or BPS order, Zoom finesse worms and Robo worms have caught me tons of fish. Don't over look whacky rigging a senko on a DS rig either, some days it seems like it's all they will bite. If you want plenty of general fish action, not just bass, Gulp stuff like leeches, and minnows work great. The small 1" ones are impposible to not catch fish on, and the 2.5"-3" have caught me every thing from bluegills to 5lb bass, and everything inbetween. The panfish will drive you nuts with gulp, I generally don't use it unless it's a tough bite, or I want to just catch whatever. I have also had some decent success with dropshotting small craws and creature baits as well. Actually I don't think there has been any bait I have dropshotted that has not caught me fish, so long as I have stuck with for a while.

No new "S" model Revo either...........IMHO that was the best one. Oh well, not like I am going to buy any. They have a big problem as far as I am concerned......They are not a Shimano.

My frog rod history goes like this, the first rod I had dedicated to toss frogs on was a 7' H/ Fast St Croix Premier............hated it. Next was a Fenwick HMX 7' H, I loved that rod, but I broke it and Fenwick dosen't make it any more. Replaced it with a 7' H Kistler "Jig and Toad", was a good GP frog rod, but like most all the other Kistlers I have owned it started falling apart. Sold it and finished the season last year frogging with my 7' MH/Fast St Croix Avid, or my 7' MH/Fast St Croix Legend Tournament. Both are more power full than the H rated Kistler and Fenwick. And they worked fine, but I frog alot, and those rods are used for other things, so I "needed" a new frog rod. This winter I bought a couple Berkley Lightning rod Shocks to use as "toss in the truck/pond fishing/loaner rods" I have had them in the boat ever since I bought them, and have been using the 7' MH as a frog rod.............and I like it alot, has plenty of power, nice tip too. It can sling frogs a mile and the slower action combined with 50 lb braid I use for frogging has been great for not yanking the frog away from the fish. I am keeping it in the boat as my frog rod for now. I have also used it in some pretty heavy nasty matted stuff and it was more than enough rod to get the fish up and out. Now I can have "feel" baits tied on the Avid and Legend Tournament full time again.

What ever they bite. Somedays they bite anything, other days you have to toss the works at them.

Right now I have 3 spinning rods: one 7' ML/F for drop shotting, one 6'8" M/XF for flick shake/finesse jigs/shaky heads, and a 6'6" M/F for skipping docks/ soft jerkbaits. And 7 casting: 7'11" H flipping rod, three 7' MH/fast rods for a little of everything, from spinnerbaits, c-rigs, jigs, frogs, t-rigs, to big square bills, 3/4 oz lipless cranks, a 7' M power/fast action for senkos, lipless and square bill cranks, light cover t-rigs and alot of other GP stuff, a 7'10" H/Mod deep cranking rod, and a 6'6" M power fast action for jerkbaits, top water, and other stuff.

No....I think the Mojo's are just fine, I own and use a couple of them regularly..................just that model sucks, the H/Fast " Frog and Slop", unless it's super thick slop. is too much of a broomstick IMHO. I was just telling you what I use, which are MH/Fast Avids and LT's. A MH/fast Mojo, Triumph, or Premier would be a good choice if that's all you want to, or can spend. Also, IDK about any H/Fast St Croix rods beyond the SCII line up, I have never felt or seen them in person, except a H/Fast Legend Extreme, and it was very light and felt right....but it's also $400. Thats a bit much for me to spend on a frog rod where the bite is visual.

We call them Sheephead around here, they are a freshwater drum

I am a big St. Croix fan.............but skip that rod. I had it in the Premier series (same as Mojo) and it was a broomstick. Heavy, no tip, casted soft plastic frogs like a Zoom horny toad terrible, and was not much better with hollow body frogs, no matter what reel/line combo I had on it. What it would be good for is a short punching rod, or maybe slinging an A-rig around. If the only way you fish frogs is to drag them across the thickest mats in your lake, then it might be OK for you, as it has plenty of power, but I like more versitlity in a frog rod. A MH powered, fast action St Croix (I have both the Avid and LT) works much better for me. They have plenty of power, plus they cast frogs worlds better than that H powered rod. When there is a good frog bite over super thick mats and those rods seem under powered, I tie a frog onto my 7'11" H power, mod. fast Mojo flipping stick. It's better balanced in my hands than that 7'er was, has a mod fast tip and longer length so it can sling a frog a mile, and it's got all the power I need. HTH

Hook the graph to your cranking battery. I run two graphs, livewell pump,and any other elec. accessories off my group 24 cranking battery for full 8+ hour tournaments and have never had any issues. I use a Walmart Everstart dual purpose cranking/deep cycle, and then have 2 dedicated deep cycle ( 1 one I had a 12V system) just for the TM and TM only.

10 gauge wire is pretty small for TM useage. Most recomend 6, my boat was prewired with 8, and I have had no issues going from a 45lb 12V motor to a 70lb 24V motor, but I am pulling around a smaller, lighter weight aluminum bass boat. I guess what I am saying is, I wouldn't use 10 gauge wire.