Co-Angler setup advice needed

[Alex Ball]

Below is a list of my combos for co-angling with my buddy on the Bull Shoals Marina side of the Bull Shoals Lake. Clear to crystal clear water, limited grass. Heavy rock and timber beds. 20-80 ft. deep on average. Bluff walls are the primary coastal feature. I'd love any advice on line, lures and if it's redundant and can be trimmed. The boat is an '87 ranger 17' so it's not big.

combos
spinning
pan/trout-denali pryme 7' mlm/4-12/1-64_1-4/denali dens50/5.2-1/22.4"/10lb drag 
light trebles-fenwick eagle 6' mlm/4-12/1-8_3-8/kastking lancelot 2k/5.0-1/21.3"/12lb
light power rig-lew's xfininty xj combo 6' mlf/4-10/1-16_5-16/lew's xj10/6.2/30"/13lb
pred special-shimano speedmaster fightin rod 2593 mhmf/6-20/1-4_1 1-4/shimano sahara c5kxg/6.2/41"/24lb
casting
trebles/tops-shimano crucial 6' mm/6-15/1-8_1-2/piscifun spark/6.6-1/25.2/16.5lb
power-lews mach 2 7'4" hf pitchin' rod/15-65/3-16_1 1/2/kastking megajaws/9.1-1/37.7/17.6lb
spinners/jerks/swims-denali kovert 6'10" mmf/bps pro qualifier 2/6.8-1/28/10lb
heavy movers/toads-lew's david fritts 7' mhm/bps johnny morris xps/7.1-1/31/14lb

[813basstard]

Too much

[MN Fisher]

42 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

Too much

Agreed - I'd cut that in half (at least) as a co-angler

Keep: Denali spinning rig

Denali casting rig

Both Lews casting rigs

 

Between those four you can handle just about everything you need to.

[new2BC4bass]

My eyes crossed just trying to read what is in your arsenal. 

[Phil77]

Keep one fairy wand for drop shot, 7MH casting for everything, and 7M casting for cranks or topwater. I don't see how all of your gear would fit on a 17 ft boat without stepping on or tripping over rods. Your main focus should be fishing what you're most confident in not having 20 different setups on deck. I've fished over there years ago, focus on jigs/T-rigs for rocks/timber and a deep jerk bait this time of year and you should limit out fairly quick.

[islandbass]

9 hours ago, Alex Ball said:

Below is a list of my combos for co-angling with my buddy on the Bull Shoals Marina side of the Bull Shoals Lake. Clear to crystal clear water, limited grass. Heavy rock and timber beds. 20-80 ft. deep on average. Bluff walls are the primary coastal feature. I'd love any advice on line, lures and if it's redundant and can be trimmed. The boat is an '87 ranger 17' so it's not big.

combos
spinning
pan/trout-denali pryme 7' mlm/4-12/1-64_1-4/denali dens50/5.2-1/22.4"/10lb drag 
light trebles-fenwick eagle 6' mlm/4-12/1-8_3-8/kastking lancelot 2k/5.0-1/21.3"/12lb
light power rig-lew's xfininty xj combo 6' mlf/4-10/1-16_5-16/lew's xj10/6.2/30"/13lb
pred special-shimano speedmaster fightin rod 2593 mhmf/6-20/1-4_1 1-4/shimano sahara c5kxg/6.2/41"/24lb
casting
trebles/tops-shimano crucial 6' mm/6-15/1-8_1-2/piscifun spark/6.6-1/25.2/16.5lb
power-lews mach 2 7'4" hf pitchin' rod/15-65/3-16_1 1/2/kastking megajaws/9.1-1/37.7/17.6lb
spinners/jerks/swims-denali kovert 6'10" mmf/bps pro qualifier 2/6.8-1/28/10lb
heavy movers/toads-lew's david fritts 7' mhm/bps johnny morris xps/7.1-1/31/14lb

Sorry, but it is difficult to make heads and tails. Was that 4 spinning rods?

 

Im going to rib you here but did you leave any room for the boat owner? The first thing that came to mind was the scene in space balls when they panned to all the princess’ stuff in the desert. 
 

I’d try to limit myself to 4 max. And you can probably get away with 3. 
 

If 4 then:

spinning 

1 ML

1 M

casting

1 M or H

1 MH

 

Im not a boat angler, but if you brought all those rigs with you, even if you fished all day non tournament, I will bet you a floating rapala minnow that you will not use 75% of those.

For the casting M or H, choose the H if you think you might encounter conditions that dictate it. If not the casting and spinning M and casting MH should give you the overlap and redundancy. All three should handle a lot of techniques. 

[rangerjockey]

  Depends on the time of year but right now...

A spinning for the Ned and 2.9 Keitechs

A jig rod or 2

Crank bait rod for warts and RKcrawlers

Topwater rod

 It will be time for the A rig in the not too distant future. Then drop one of the jig rods.

 

[Alex Ball]

9 hours ago, islandbass said:

Sorry, but it is difficult to make heads and tails. Was that 4 spinning rods?

 

Im going to rib you here but did you leave any room for the boat owner? The first thing that came to mind was the scene in space balls when they panned to all the princess’ stuff in the desert. 
 

I’d try to limit myself to 4 max. And you can probably get away with 3. 
 

If 4 then:

spinning 

1 ML

1 M

casting

1 M or H

1 MH

 

Im not a boat angler, but if you brought all those rigs with you, even if you fished all day non tournament, I will bet you a floating rapala minnow that you will not use 75% of those.

For the casting M or H, choose the H if you think you might encounter conditions that dictate it. If not the casting and spinning M and casting MH should give you the overlap and redundancy. All three should handle a lot of techniques. 

Thanks. I never bring more than 5 setups. Those are just the ones I can catch on. Actually got it down to 3 yesterday. Jigs are definitely going to work. Cranks too. I live by the motto of Always be Prepared. I also sell fishing gear online so, there's always too much stuff. As for the driver, he only uses 4 rods and I sorta serve as his caddy on the water. Most of what I bring is backups for his stuff if SHTF. 

      You'd have won that Rapala for sure. Good thing you didn't, I only have one lol. I use it as topwater.

[ironbjorn]

I can't even make sense of your combos. Of all the ways you could type them out, why that way? It's a cluster.

[Alex Ball]

4 minutes ago, ironbjorn said:

I can't even make sense of your combos. Of all the ways you could type them out, why that way? It's a cluster.

Not my intention. The way it formats here versus my computer is a little different. It was far more streamlined on the original. Thank you for the advice.

Thank you everyone for the advice. I should note that most of those setups were to cover all my bases for the post. Both of us have a habit of having too much stuff, so we're both trying to trim down. 

   Apologies for the list being so weird it didn't set up that way before I tried to post it here. I will definitely form at it better if I need to do that again. 

   Finally, I've decided on 5 set ups. The 3 Lew's and The Denalis. The heavy crank rod is very specific for two places we go. The smaller Denali is for one very specific place. Otherwise I run the light Denali as a drop shot and C-rig the Fritts.

     Thank you very much for all the advice. I greatly appreciate it. We may try tournaments next year so I want to get set up now. 

[new2BC4bass]

22 hours ago, Alex Ball said:

COMBOS
spinning
pan/trout - Denali Pryme 7' MLM 4-12 line,1/64-1/4 oz. with Denali Dens50 5.2:1, 22.4" IPR, 10 lb drag

 

light trebles - Fenwick Eagle 6' MLM 4-12 line, 1/8-3/8 oz. with Kastking Lancelot 2k, 5.0:1, 21.3" IPR, 12 lb drag

 

light power rig - Lew's Xfininty XJ combo 6' MLF 4-10 line, 1/16-5-16oz. with Lew's XF10, 6.2:1, 30" IPR, 13 lb drag

pred special - Shimano Speedmaster Fightin rod 2593 MH-MF, 6-20 line, 1/4-1 1-4 oz. with Shimano Sahara C5KXG, 6.2:1 ratio, 41" IPT, 24 lb drag

casting
trebles/tops - Shimano Crucial 6' MM, 6-15 line,1/8-1/2 oz. with Piscifun Spark, 6.6:1, 25.2 IPT, 16.5 lb drag

power - Lews Mach 2 7'4" HF Pitchin' rod, 15-65 line, 3/16-1 1/2 oz. with Kastking Megajaws, 9.1:1, 37.7 IPT, 17.6 lb drag

spinners/jerks/swims - Denali Kovert 6'10" MMG with BPS Pro Qualifier 2, 6.8:1, 28 IPT, 10 lb drag

heavy movers/toads - Lew's David Fritts 7' MHM with BPS Johnny Morris XPS, 7.1:1, 31 IPT, 14 lb drag

Okay.  I think I figured it out.  Am I right?

[islandbass]

4 hours ago, Alex Ball said:

Thanks. I never bring more than 5 setups. Those are just the ones I can catch on. Actually got it down to 3 yesterday. Jigs are definitely going to work. Cranks too. I live by the motto of Always be Prepared. I also sell fishing gear online so, there's always too much stuff. As for the driver, he only uses 4 rods and I sorta serve as his caddy on the water. Most of what I bring is backups for his stuff if SHTF. 

      You'd have won that Rapala for sure. Good thing you didn't, I only have one lol. I use it as topwater.

Sorry! I just misunderstood what you meant. It just seemed like all those rigs were going on the boat. 
 

Now that you narrowed it down to 3, you can always choose the 3 rigs you think would best serve you well. Try to sneak on a 4th rig if possible, as it would help you better live up to your belief of being prepared. I too believe in that. Heck, if your name is really Alex, then we have that in common too! ?

[Alex Ball]

9 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

Okay.  I think I figured it out.  Am I right?

Yes! That's exactly what it looked like before I hit post. New computer. I've got it figured out now and will be able to present it right from now on.

[Alex Ball]

9 hours ago, islandbass said:

Sorry! I just misunderstood what you meant. It just seemed like all those rigs were going on the boat. 
 

Now that you narrowed it down to 3, you can always choose the 3 rigs you think would best serve you well. Try to sneak on a 4th rig if possible, as it would help you better live up to your belief of being prepared. I too believe in that. Heck, if your name is really Alex, then we have that in common too! ?

   Ya, I definitely got that all sorts of clustered. LOL. Was up all night figuring it all out. I need to learn cranks, jigs, jerks, and ned/dropshot to be successful here. Very tough lake according to friends who fish at the higher levels professionally. I've been told that if you can catch a bass here consistently, you can do it anywhere in America.  They also said these are very difficult methods to learn, cranking and jerks. I'm good on toads, frogs, spoons and getting there on Keitechs(In love with em already) which work here as well.

  My buddy runs drop shot, deep jerk, ploppers, spoons, and jigs. We want to try to cover as much of the strike zone as possible and also I try to compliment and not copy his style. Therefore, he drops, I crank, he jerks, I run swimmers, he goes top, I ned etc.

   My name is really Alex. Fishing saved my life cuz it got me away from the gang life. I approach this like combat, and I KNOW I'm outgunned for now. That'll change. My nickname is Rainman cuz I'm a steel trap for info. Thanks for the support. I started out in muddy swamps and then moved here where the water is like glass down to 25 ft in some places, so huge adjustments are being made.

     Agreed on 4. More room on the boat than I led you to believe, but we ride on a relic and everyone here has a friggin Bass Cat or Vexus from the last 2 years. Those boats are massive. Ours is pretty small by comparison. I can carry 5 but that's the limit. Here's where I'm at.....

Spinning

Light Lures-Denali Pryme 7' MLM Combo 

Ned-Lews XJ 6' MLF Combo

Casting

Trebles-Denali Kovert MM 6'10/BPS PQ2 681  

Power- Lew's Mach 2 Pitchin Rod 7'4 HF/Kastking MegaJaws 911

Heavy Movers- Lew's David Fritts 7' MHM/BPS Johnny Morris XPS 711

I feel this is a good series. Please help with Line! 

 

 

[islandbass]

4 minutes ago, Alex Ball said:

   Ya, I definitely got that all sorts of clustered. LOL. Was up all night figuring it all out. I need to learn cranks, jigs, jerks, and ned/dropshot to be successful here. Very tough lake according to friends who fish at the higher levels professionally. I've been told that if you can catch a bass here consistently, you can do it anywhere in America.  They also said these are very difficult methods to learn, cranking and jerks. I'm good on toads, frogs, spoons and getting there on Keitechs(In love with em already) which work here as well.

  My buddy runs drop shot, deep jerk, ploppers, spoons, and jigs. We want to try to cover as much of the strike zone as possible and also I try to compliment and not copy his style. Therefore, he drops, I crank, he jerks, I run swimmers, he goes top, I ned etc.

   My name is really Alex. Fishing saved my life cuz it got me away from the gang life. I approach this like combat, and I KNOW I'm outgunned for now. That'll change. My nickname is Rainman cuz I'm a steel trap for info. Thanks for the support. I started out in muddy swamps and then moved here where the water is like glass down to 25 ft in some places, so huge adjustments are being made.

     Agreed on 4. More room on the boat than I led you to believe, but we ride on a relic and everyone here has a friggin Bass Cat or Vexus from the last 2 years. Those boats are massive. Ours is pretty small by comparison. I can carry 5 but that's the limit. Here's where I'm at.....

Spinning

Light Lures-Denali Pryme 7' MLM Combo 

Ned-Lews XJ 6' MLF Combo

Casting

Trebles-Denali Kovert MM 6'10/BPS PQ2 681  

Power- Lew's Mach 2 Pitchin Rod 7'4 HF/Kastking MegaJaws 911

Heavy Movers- Lew's David Fritts 7' MHM/BPS Johnny Morris XPS 711

I feel this is a good series. Please help with Line! 

 

 

Good gosh do we have an excellent name! Thanks for sharing. Glad fishing had such a positive impact on your life. With a nickname like yours, you’d probably fit in just fine here in the pacific nw, lol. Having a strong memory is definitely a plus. 
 

I like choices and approach in the spinning setups. Let the environment dictate or at least influence the line strength you’ll need to use. For example, when I drop shot, I’m in clear water no more than 20’ and primarily in rip rap and very little if any cover. As a result,I can get away with 6# fluorocarbon. Your situation might warrant 8 or 10 or even higher. Just an example. With that said as much as I like the traits braid possesses, I don’t usually use it, or even my well loved invisx in 6# test unless I decide to treat myself to use. The rip rap I face can be brutal and I can lose a lot of line from forced breakoffs as a permanently shorebound angler. When I first used invisx, it was around $13 or so and now it’s around $22 locally. I can lose half my spool capacity in a very short period of time so I use as a matter of economics mono for most everything. I still have invisx, but I’ll use it as a leader when 6# mono fails me. I haven’t had to do that in a very long time.

 

It doesn’t take long to learn a technique but it could take a lifetime to master it.

 

Well that’s something I learned about bass fishing early on — and I’m a late comer. I started in 2004 many of the traditional bass lures evaded me. I couldn’t buy a strike. I broke through with spinnerbaits in 2018, then senkos in 2019. 2020 was a fat zero because my state shut it down for much of the year. I broke through a weighted (3/16 oz.) t-rig this year with creatures, stick baits, craws, etc. It had been such a blast to learn these. The traditional skirted bass jig and trailer is one monkey still in my back. ?

 

The trial and error, putting in your time and paying your dues — May you enjoy every minute of it, because I’m enjoying mine. ?

[Eric 26]

23 hours ago, Alex Ball said:

   Ya, I definitely got that all sorts of clustered. LOL. Was up all night figuring it all out. I need to learn cranks, jigs, jerks, and ned/dropshot to be successful here. Very tough lake according to friends who fish at the higher levels professionally. I've been told that if you can catch a bass here consistently, you can do it anywhere in America.  They also said these are very difficult methods to learn, cranking and jerks. I'm good on toads, frogs, spoons and getting there on Keitechs(In love with em already) which work here as well.

  My buddy runs drop shot, deep jerk, ploppers, spoons, and jigs. We want to try to cover as much of the strike zone as possible and also I try to compliment and not copy his style. Therefore, he drops, I crank, he jerks, I run swimmers, he goes top, I ned etc.

   My name is really Alex. Fishing saved my life cuz it got me away from the gang life. I approach this like combat, and I KNOW I'm outgunned for now. That'll change. My nickname is Rainman cuz I'm a steel trap for info. Thanks for the support. I started out in muddy swamps and then moved here where the water is like glass down to 25 ft in some places, so huge adjustments are being made.

     Agreed on 4. More room on the boat than I led you to believe, but we ride on a relic and everyone here has a friggin Bass Cat or Vexus from the last 2 years. Those boats are massive. Ours is pretty small by comparison. I can carry 5 but that's the limit. Here's where I'm at.....

Spinning

Light Lures-Denali Pryme 7' MLM Combo 

Ned-Lews XJ 6' MLF Combo

Casting

Trebles-Denali Kovert MM 6'10/BPS PQ2 681  

Power- Lew's Mach 2 Pitchin Rod 7'4 HF/Kastking MegaJaws 911

Heavy Movers- Lew's David Fritts 7' MHM/BPS Johnny Morris XPS 711

I feel this is a good series. Please help with Line! 

 

 

I’m not really going to suggest line sizes/lb test, but I will suggest suffix advance monofilament for your needs. I’m using 10 lb on my bait cast setups and I’m very pleased. 

[Alex Ball]

3 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

I’m not really going to suggest line sizes/lb test, but I will suggest suffix advance monofilament for your needs. I’m using 10 lb on my bait cast setups and I’m very pleased. 

    Thanks Eric. I was out today and my #10  P-line C21 spooled reel was my go-to. Sufix is good stuff. I love the braid. Need to be mono/flouro on everything here so Sufix is now in my box. I like P-Line but haven't tried the Sufix mono, so I bought some. Spooling it up now. 

     Any suggestions/thoughts on best "newbie" methods? I'm a crappie angler originally, but it's SOOO different here. Bass/Walleye are the targets and while I know my setups backwards, this lake is like Mars. I'm stumped here.

 

[Phil77]

If you haven't had a hard freeze over there yet and the water is still in the high 50s-60s there will be big schools suspended. A deep jerk bait like the one plus or strike king kvd deep work really well. Look for hard bottom as well, they will be sticking to it in the 20-30 foot range and a paddle tail on a Tokyo rig will clean up. Let it hit bottom and reel slow enough to run it along the bottom, long casts and a 3/4 bullet weight will work wonders over hard bottom. Pound the banks parallel with spinnerbaits T-rigs and red eye shad, there will always be some stragglers 1-10 ft. I always had a harder time on Norfork. 

[Bluebasser86]

On 11/6/2021 at 5:43 AM, rangerjockey said:

  Depends on the time of year but right now...

A spinning for the Ned and 2.9 Keitechs

A jig rod or 2

Crank bait rod for warts and RKcrawlers

Topwater rod

 It will be time for the A rig in the not too distant future. Then drop one of the jig rods.

 

This would cover everything for me at BS right now also. Make sure the Topwater rod can handle jerkbait duty as well and that the spinning rod is a versatile one that could do a light shakyhead/drop shot as well as the Ned and Keitechs/grubs. I caught some A-rig fish this past weekend so I would keep that in consideration for sure, it can clean up when that bite is on. 

 

That lake can be a lot of fun this time of year. 

[rangerjockey]

Another thing to mention. .Del Colvin guides out of Bull Shoals Boat dock. He puts up some you tube fishing reports on Bull Shoals also. The guy is really good and you will pick up some tips.

[Eric 26]

4 hours ago, Alex Ball said:

    Thanks Eric. I was out today and my #10  P-line C21 spooled reel was my go-to. Sufix is good stuff. I love the braid. Need to be mono/flouro on everything here so Sufix is now in my box. I like P-Line but haven't tried the Sufix mono, so I bought some. Spooling it up now. 

     Any suggestions/thoughts on best "newbie" methods? I'm a crappie angler originally, but it's SOOO different here. Bass/Walleye are the targets and while I know my setups backwards, this lake is like Mars. I'm stumped here.

 

Wish I could help ☹️  I don’t fish any bodies of water even similar to what you’re describing. Best of luck and looking forward to hearing your results. 

[king fisher]

Looks like you have everything.  Just add a stick of dynamite and you are set.

[Alex Ball]

48 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Looks like you have everything.  Just add a stick of dynamite and you are set.

I just might..... sometimes I feel like that's the only thing that'd work.

 

4 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

Another thing to mention. .Del Colvin guides out of Bull Shoals Boat dock. He puts up some you tube fishing reports on Bull Shoals also. The guy is really good and you will pick up some tips.

Yesir. Met Del while at Virtus one day. Dude's a computer for this lake. So is Jim Noland. I'll be buying a Virtus rod soon.

[Alex Ball]

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

This would cover everything for me at BS right now also. Make sure the Topwater rod can handle jerkbait duty as well and that the spinning rod is a versatile one that could do a light shakyhead/drop shot as well as the Ned and Keitechs/grubs. I caught some A-rig fish this past weekend so I would keep that in consideration for sure, it can clean up when that bite is on. 

 

That lake can be a lot of fun this time of year. 

 

 

5 hours ago, Phil77 said:

If you haven't had a hard freeze over there yet and the water is still in the high 50s-60s there will be big schools suspended. A deep jerk bait like the one plus or strike king kvd deep work really well. Look for hard bottom as well, they will be sticking to it in the 20-30 foot range and a paddle tail on a Tokyo rig will clean up. Let it hit bottom and reel slow enough to run it along the bottom, long casts and a 3/4 bullet weight will work wonders over hard bottom. Pound the banks parallel with spinnerbaits T-rigs and red eye shad, there will always be some stragglers 1-10 ft. I always had a harder time on Norfork. 

Thanks guys. Wow Phil77, that's the guidance I needed. Thank you for the detail and specificity. I've heard stories about Norfork. Bluebasser86, I love it so far here. I chose this lake because of how it sets up, so I knew I was going to have to start over from a gear/learning standpoint. I've caught a few and man it's a different rush I get here. I'll post my final list of rigs a bit later.

         Thank you all for the help. This is why I think BR is the only place to go for me. I'm so happy I found this site.

 

[rangerjockey]

I've seen the Virtus but never fished one. They look and feel just like a Falcon and even share a lot of the models. 

 Maybe made by Ark rod ?  They made the Falcons before the move overseas.