20lb test/Heavy rod uses

[PTasker15]

Just seeing what you guys might toss on a combination like this. Trying to designate more uses for this combo and think out of the box besides the obvious pitching, jigs, and small swimbaits. TIA.

 

For reference, this rod is equivalent to a Dobyn's 735, Lew's 7'3 Heavy, Daiwa 7'3 Heavy, etc.

3/8oz-1 3/4oz, 12-25lb test.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Big spinner baits, C-rig, frogs 

[PTasker15]

12 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Big spinner baits, C-rig, frogs 

How big do you call big? Would 1/2oz colorado be good? Or might it fit better for a 3/4oz colorado?

 

Also, what size do yall prefer to toss those thumping spinnerbaits around now? Most of my targets for it will be 8-25ft.

[JackstrawIII]

I throw big (up to 3/4 oz) spinnerbaits on a 7’1 MH with 15lb line. 

Your heavy rod would be good for that too tho. Or big buzzbaits. 

[RipzLipz]

@PTasker15 For spinnerbaits you can go as high up as your rod is rated, maybe a bit over (1/4oz or so). I normally don’t throw many under 1/2oz but I’m not typically fishing for numbers. My usual night time spinnerbait is a 3/4oz Booyah Moontalker which I believe has close to a #7 CO blade but I wouldn’t shy away from one that’s heavier or has a bigger blade. I’ve yet to dive into custom made spinnerbaits but you can find them up to 2oz (Strikezone Lures out of Eufala, AL). Weight all depends on how long you wish to wait for it to sink, really.

[WRB]

1 hour ago, PTasker15 said:

Just seeing what you guys might toss on a combination like this. Trying to designate more uses for this combo and think out of the box besides the obvious pitching, jigs, and small swimbaits. TIA.

 

For reference, this rod is equivalent to a Dobyn's 735, Lew's 7'3 Heavy, Daiwa 7'3 Heavy, etc.

3/8oz-1 3/4oz, 12-25lb test.

Action. Mod, fast, xfast?

Big deep diving crank baits, 1 oz footballjig w/trailer, medium size soft 6” swim baits, Spro rats,  5”-6” spoons and  use Sunline Armilo 22# /.015D or 25#/ .016D Nylon mono.

Tom

 

 

[TnRiver46]

Swimbaits!

[PTasker15]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Action. Mod, fast, xfast?

Big deep diving crank baits, 1 oz footballjig w/trailer, medium size soft 6” swim baits, Spro rats,  5”-6” spoons and  use Sunline Armilo 22# /.015D or 25#/ .016D Nylon mono.

Tom

 

 

H/F

2 hours ago, RipzLipz said:

@PTasker15 For spinnerbaits you can go as high up as your rod is rated, maybe a bit over (1/4oz or so). I normally don’t throw many under 1/2oz but I’m not typically fishing for numbers. My usual night time spinnerbait is a 3/4oz Booyah Moontalker which I believe has close to a #7 CO blade but I wouldn’t shy away from one that’s heavier or has a bigger blade. I’ve yet to dive into custom made spinnerbaits but you can find them up to 2oz (Strikezone Lures out of Eufala, AL). Weight all depends on how long you wish to wait for it to sink, really.

I think I'll do 3/4 oz. Feels balanced in terms of sinking speed, also since I'll be using a 7.5:1 and 1/2oz might be hard to keep close to the bottom.

 

What about blades? I'd be fishing deep but 3-4ft visibility water, and I've been told a million things. Single Colorado, Double Colorado, Tandem Willow/Colorado. I would buy all, but BOOYAH Coverts are still a little pricey even with my endorsement with them. I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket quite yet.

 

Lastly what color skirts might work there? BOOYAH has some 3/4oz with various blade types, good colors  might be white/chartruse or blue/white/chartruse maybe since stained?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

4 hours ago, PTasker15 said:

How big do you call big? Would 1/2oz colorado be good? Or might it fit better for a 3/4oz colorado?

 

Also, what size do yall prefer to toss those thumping spinnerbaits around now? Most of my targets for it will be 8-25ft.

A 1/2 spinner plus blades, skirt and maybe trailer is well within the lure range posted. It would handle the 3/4 too. 3/4 is the most versatile imo. Check Glenn’s article in the library. 

[RipzLipz]

@PTasker15 I fish some lakes around here with 6-10 feet or more of visibility. Those lakes are mainly bluegill forage based so I prefer a single large CO blade. If I were fishing lakes which were shad based, I’d lean more toward tandem willow/CO and double willow. You can also keep extra blades & change out the outside blade - might be a cheaper option than buying twice the number of baits for 2 bladed spinnerbaits.

 

White & chartreuse, solid white, solid chartreuse are my preferred colors during the day. I usually fish all black or black/chartreuse at night but others feel comfy fishing same colors as daytime. If you wish to expand further on colors, try to match the hatch.

 

Zoom split tail, SK Rage Menace grub, Zoom grubs make fine trailers IMO.

[PTasker15]

1 minute ago, RipzLipz said:

@PTasker15 I fish some lakes around here with 6-10 feet or more of visibility. Those lakes are mainly bluegill forage based so I prefer a single large CO blade. If I were fishing lakes which were shad based, I’d lean more toward tandem willow/CO and double willow. You can also keep extra blades & change out the outside blade - might be a cheaper option than buying twice the number of baits for 2 bladed spinnerbaits.

 

White & chartreuse, solid white, solid chartreuse are my preferred colors during the day. I usually fish all black or black/chartreuse at night but others feel comfy fishing same colors as daytime. If you wish to expand further on colors, try to match the hatch.

 

Zoom split tail, SK Rage Menace grub, Zoom grubs make fine trailers IMO.

Good point. Most of our North/East Texas lakes are 90% shad based, so I think I'll go in the middle and grab a 3/4oz tandem. I do have some blades laying around I can switch to if I need to. thanks.

[RipzLipz]

12 hours ago, PTasker15 said:

Good point. Most of our North/East Texas lakes are 90% shad based, so I think I'll go in the middle and grab a 3/4oz tandem. I do have some blades laying around I can switch to if I need to. thanks.

No problem. You can start small then expand as you learn what the fish prefer. I’d still get at least 1 single CO blade, even if it’s a cheaper spinnerbait, like during bluegill spawning time. The Booyah Blade is what I throw but no 3/4oz versions that I’m aware. They’re a bit easier on the wallet but produce nonetheless. I’ve read reviews the split rings are junk but I’ve not had any issues. If I ever do, they’ll get changed out with Owners.

 

I also take a twist tie from bread/bun sack or leftover from garbage bags & burn off the outside coating & wire wrap the skirts over the rubber band which usually dry rots. Twist with needle nose & trim off excess with wire cutters. Pinch down the twist so it lays back towards hook point & flat so not to snag vegetation.

[Columbia Craw]

I would think that 1/2 ounce to 5/8 ounce would be the sweet spot for rods mentioned.  Jigs, heavy t-rigs, C rigs, wobble heads, frogs, bigger whopper ploppers, and S Wavers.  Spinnerbaits in the 1/2 to 1 ounce are also in play.  

[Mike L]

I use 20# Shooter for flippin/pitchin in moderate to heavy cover exclusively. 
 

The guys above pretty much covered your other choices 

 

 

 

 

Mike
 

 

 

 

 

[PTasker15]

Alright yall, here's a rough idea. What about small A Rigs? The A rig itself weighs 7/16oz and I have a ton of 1/8oz swimbait heads with beefy hooks. When all is said and done, would weigh about 1 3/8oz, if I use all 5 hooks. Since my rod is just about rated for it, would be fine, yeah?

 

Never snapped a rod (except for once which was a very cheap spinning rod), not looking to now. Also would 20lb test be a good fit for a small a rig?

[softwateronly]

1 hour ago, PTasker15 said:

Alright yall, here's a rough idea. What about small A Rigs? The A rig itself weighs 7/16oz and I have a ton of 1/8oz swimbait heads with beefy hooks. When all is said and done, would weigh about 1 3/8oz, if I use all 5 hooks. Since my rod is just about rated for it, would be fine, yeah?

 

Never snapped a rod (except for once which was a very cheap spinning rod), not looking to now. Also would 20lb test be a good fit for a small a rig?

 

I push or overthrow many rods listed rating.  Starting with an easy lob cast should tell you what you need to know.  An Arig on a dobyns 735 is something I've done specifically.

 

scott

 

ps - the 2 rods I've snapped while fishing both happened to rods I had never pushed and was well within their respective ratings.

 

[PTasker15]

19 hours ago, softwateronly said:

 

I push or overthrow many rods listed rating.  Starting with an easy lob cast should tell you what you need to know.  An Arig on a dobyns 735 is something I've done specifically.

 

scott

 

ps - the 2 rods I've snapped while fishing both happened to rods I had never pushed and was well within their respective ratings.

 

Yeah, I want to get a 735 for my general purpose heavy because I might feel more comfortable pitching with it as that is about my favorite pitching length (6'10 to 7'3) since that's what I will use it for 80% of the time. But also accounting A rigs, Carolina Rigs, swimbaits, and Football jigs make me sorta want to get a 7'6. Might have to flip a coin.

[Jig Man]

I have a rod similar to that which was made by the original Ark Rod folks.  I have a 5:1 Curado on it and use it solely for Arigs.

[PTasker15]

2 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I have a rod similar to that which was made by the original Ark Rod folks.  I have a 5:1 Curado on it and use it solely for Arigs.

I think I'll have to put up with 7.5 until I get a dedicated A rig/Swimbait rod. Everything else I plan to use this for is bottom contact and I don't like anything below 27ipt for that.

[the reel ess]

For me, jigs, T-rigs and frogs, depending on the tip. I have a frog rod that's really too stiff for any kind of finesse, so I have a jig/T-rig rod too. In winter I'll use the frog rod as a second deep jig/T-rig rod for the heavy stuff like swing jigs and football jigs.

[txchaser]

A-rig with 1/8 heads and 3.3" will fish well on that. Divine swimbaits better than keitechs, the keitechs are heavy. 1/2 oz chatterbait with a zako. Swimjig. I have more heavy rods than MH at this point, but I'm in Texas. I do find that my H rods with softer tips are much more versatile than the broomsticky ones.

 

FWIW I've moved to 17lb line on nearly everything. I can't break it off without tying on a boat cleat, and I don't fish anywhere that would shred the line, so I get a little more castability, little less visibility, etc. And as a bonus the 17lb seaguar seems to always be on sale.

[PTasker15]

20 hours ago, txchaser said:

A-rig with 1/8 heads and 3.3" will fish well on that. Divine swimbaits better than keitechs, the keitechs are heavy. 1/2 oz chatterbait with a zako. Swimjig. I have more heavy rods than MH at this point, but I'm in Texas. I do find that my H rods with softer tips are much more versatile than the broomsticky ones.

 

FWIW I've moved to 17lb line on nearly everything. I can't break it off without tying on a boat cleat, and I don't fish anywhere that would shred the line, so I get a little more castability, little less visibility, etc. And as a bonus the 17lb seaguar seems to always be on sale.

Same, East Texas here so we've got nasty. That was my plan for the Alabama rigs. Bought some Berkley swimbait hooks that are 1/8oz but beefy. I have a few 6th sense divine swimbaits I can cut down a little to 3.25 and mix it with rage swimmers or swimming caffeine shade.

 

I use BasiX (in talks of a endorsement with Seaguar, fingers crossed) so my options are 15 or 20. 15 is somewhat hard to break, but would love 17 InvisX/AbrazX if I can get a good deal. Will probably buy a bulk spool this summer.

[msgf91]

I use my heavy with a 6.3 Bantam. Big Colorado blade spinnerbaits with keitech trailers, and chatterbaits. Also I fish horny toads either straight retrieve Texas rigged with a weight like a swim bait, or a very versatile way with a belly weighted swim bait hook. You can fish top water, straight retrieve and then jerk it like a jerk bait this way.