top_dollar

Ive bought super cheapos (walmart everstart i think) for as long as I can remember and replaced them most every year. Never had any problems with dead batteries or my TM and my motorguide has been on that boat since at least 1998. I do the same with my starter battery for the outboard. Ive always felt it was more reliable than buying pricey batteries and waiting for a failure.

Plenty of good fishing in and around st louis as well!

9 inch white crappie.

I fish those lakes for bass and crappie. You're correct though that most do not.

It is a fine line. On 1 hand, the stiffer rod/no stretch line, will allow for maximum jerkbait action when you snap it, generating tons of bites. On the other hand, the softer rod and line with some stretch will allow the treble hooks to grab and stick without being ripped free. I suspect that he is ripping hooks out, when the fish grabs it, especially since he noted that they are on for a second then come off. I have had this same problem before and switched rods to a softer rod with noticeably better results. Unfortunately, I do feel like the softer rod will cost you some bites total because you are not getting maximum action on the jerkbait. My current setup for jerkbaits and walkin topwaters (which accounts for most of my bass fishing) is a Lews TP-1 5ft 9in casting rod, med moderate fast. I use a 6.4:1 reel with 10-17# mono depending on the situation. Most guys probably prefer a longer rod, but most of my fishing is done from the bank, and working a jerkbait from the bank is easier with a short rod. Its a pretty happy medium and it gets me plenty of bites, and very rarely do they come off. In fact, a good percentage of jerkbait fish I catch are in the belly, back, or side because they are swiping at it but get stuck anyway.

1. Use a softer rod 2. Use monofilament line 3. Use a 3 hooked jerkbaits 4. Make sure the hooks are sharp. 1 and 3 are the most important.

Awesome. Thanks for the tip!

Best to experiment in my experience. Monday they wanted a 2.5 inch bait under a float almost dead still, Tuesday they liked the 3 inch bait swimming at 1 crank per 3 seconds. Tuesday they also preferred my bait doctored with a pink marker and Monday they bit the bluegill flash with no color. Sometimes they get keyed in on little bugs too and a little bug shaped plastic works best.

Are you working these jigs under a float or casting them? What kind of cast distance do you get with that setup? I have trouble casting a 64th oz hair jig unless I tip it with a plastic or add a float.

I use small paddle tail type swimbaits, 2-3 inches. I generally just pull the float towards me a few feet, then drop the rod tip to let the bait fall. I reel up my slack and do it again. If there is no wind, I may jiggle the bait a bit to jig it.

It depends on the water clarity for me. Typically I use a foam float that I buy online. It's just like those trout magnet floats but about 2 inches long and cigar shaped. It helps when the crappies bite it from underneath and the bobber will lay over on its side. The trout magnet foam floats are great too. They both can be used as both a slip bobber as well if you need to go deeper than 5 or 6 feet. For super clear water and shallow fish a clear bobber is the deal. Funny this thread was mentioned...2 days ago in the snow I could only get em to eat under a float, yesterday in the high pressure they preferred a slow swim with no bobber.

Oh I catch quite a few walking the banks down that way when its low enough, but its gross and unattractive. Not many small mouths, but lots of spots, lm, white bass and drum. Occasionally I catch other stuff, and if you throw crankbaits all day your almost guaranteed a decent walleye.

For a real visual treat you'll wanna check out the meremac river from valley park down to where it dumps into the Mississippi. Don't camp on the gravel bars...

Hopefully the air stream sticks around. I have a 7ft and a 6ft 6. The 6ft 6 is too much like an ultra light rod and i dont have much use for it. That 7ft rod though has some solid backbone. That rod is a real workhorse for me. I love it for crappie. I can toss a 1/64th oz jig on it, but i can still move a decent fish with it if need be. I also use a st croix panfish series rod, the 7ft light fast. It is lighter, more comfortable, and more responsive than the air stream, but the air stream has more backbone from the handle out to the middle of the rod. It feels like it would lift more weight than the st croix before breaking, but hopefully i never actually test that.

thanks. you got em dialed in!