Expert Opinions Needed - Fun Poll

[SKMO]

I have no idea why I feel the need to open this up, and I think in the past this might have been addressed, but we thought we might have some fun with it. At least open it up for civil discussion, I enjoy hearing other perspectives.

ANSWER THIS 2 PART QUESTION:

If you were limited to two rods and rigs in the boat on the Rock, and had to fish only those 2 rods/rigs 365 days of the year (1) Describe the rig (2) And why is it your sweetheart go-to rig

Be as specific as you care to be.

Someone might mention a rig close to your favorite, but put your own spin on it. And your own reasoning on it. Redundancy will happen, and if you are a thinker outside the box, drop us a bomb.

Rules: Keep same rod, reel, line, terminal junk 24/7-365...... what would you put on the deck ?

I'll put this as an original post and answer it myself as soon as I figure out my own answers.

[roy_eros]

Wow well let's see some of my first thoughts wouldn't really make sense because they wouldnt be effective year round, wouldn't be good to have to sit out a couple months. My choices would be:

1. Hand tied 1/2 ounce jig in Missouri Craw w/zoom critter craw (pumpkin): Set up on a Falcon Cara Mike Mclelland 7'4" jig rod with 15lb. p-line. Revo STX.

2. Green Craw Wiggle Wart set up on a 7' Medium Falcon Cara with 10lb. Floroclear P-line. Revo Stx.

Nothing too crazy, just can't picture myself throwing something else more sucessfully than these two over the course of an entire year.

[SKMO]

To answer my own post I would offer up these two deck rods I can fish year-round:

1) 6'10" Falcon Medium Spinning rod fast tip, Shimano Stradic reel, 8# Maxima mainline, swivel and then 6# floro below. #4 Gammi circle hook, Zoom watermelon candy finesse trick worm on business end, 1/4 oz pinch on lead as dropshot weight. I like this cause it goes deep and quick and there always seems to be at least some fish at 23 feet or deeper 24/7-365 and I have got comfortable with dropshotting

2) 7' Medium action fast tip rod, Shimano Curado, 12# Maxima, 5/8 oz football jig, PB&J twin tail Trailer. I like this because I can scrub the bottom from shoreline to 30+' if the wind is not too bad. Fantastic 20-30' bait. 1/4 oz would be good too but hard to fish as the water gets deeper and the wind picks up.

[dtrs5kprs]

I'll bite...

1) 6'6"-7' Med Lite St Croix spin rod, reel as you like it (large spool 3000 size Daiwa's for me), 6# seaguar fc, 1/4oz round head with single wire guard & 3/0 gamak, 4" smoke single tail (chompers, yammie, whatever). Good every single day for catching something that swims on this lake, from school fish to vertical fish, whites to crappie. Wire guard makes it a practical drag bait. Good bait in wind.

2) 6'6" Med Hvy trigger, whatever reel (mostly old curados for me currently), 15# seaguar fc, 1/2oz-3/4oz jig spoon in white or chrome, gamak RB treble. Good for school fish, vertical fish, can flip it in docks, hop it down gravel points. Like the grub it is multi species, maxi opportunity. If pressed, guess I could narrow it to a chrome spoon, seems to do better when you hop it.

Don't always have these both on the deck, but they are both 100% always tied on and in the rod box, at least. Would go with a jig, but have seen too many times fish get locked into "looking up" to feed. Was hard not to put a C-rig in as #2.

[SKMO]

Thought there might be more interest in this discussion but I guess not. The whole idea came about as I took a buddy a few days ago who ALWAYS throws a stickbait some part of the day and always seems to scratch some fish, it is his confidence bait.

Anyway maybe it was a tough question, or a dumb question. Obviously we like as many rods set up on-deck as we can handle, I just wondered what other peoples go-to or confidence stuff was, and what you thought might work year-round.

Not looking for trade secrets, just wanting some impressions as to what other people considered a must-have rig that you would not be afraid to pick up and try any time of the year.

[BrianS]

ANSWER THIS 2 PART QUESTION:

If you were limited to two rods and rigs in the boat on the Rock, and had to fish only those 2 rods/rigs 365 days of the year (1) Describe the rig (2) And why is it your sweetheart go-to rig

Be as specific as you care to be.

Ok, this is what I would do not only on TR but also on Bull and Norfork. My #1 deal would be a 6 1/2 ft spinning rod with a gitzit. A gitzit is 1 lure that you can always catch a fish on even if a better bite is on something else. Its a versatile bait that can be fished shallow or deep. When the bite gets tough it can save the day!

My other set up would be a 6 1/2 med/light action baitcast with a green crayfish wart. That way if the wind blows thus making it hard to fish the gitzit I can still sling and wind. This wart is a great color and if you fish it long enough you can usually catch "something" on it.

Anyway thats my $0.02 on this

[Tfsh4bass]

Thought there might be more interest in this discussion but I guess not. The whole idea came about as I took a buddy a few days ago who ALWAYS throws a stickbait some part of the day and always seems to scratch some fish, it is his confidence bait.

Anyway maybe it was a tough question, or a dumb question. Obviously we like as many rods set up on-deck as we can handle, I just wondered what other peoples go-to or confidence stuff was, and what you thought might work year-round.

Not looking for trade secrets, just wanting some impressions as to what other people considered a must-have rig that you would not be afraid to pick up and try any time of the year.

I took a guy from Minnesota fishing last August and I was catching them up the river pretty good on shallow cranks and he didn't really have any. I offered him one of mine and he asked what I thought about throwing a smaller husky jerk. I was like well it might work they are hitting shad up shallow...he ended up catching 7 with 2 of them being good 3lb blacks which made him very excited. Most fish hit him right up on the bank on his first twitch. I fish with them from Oct-June just about every year but I never would have thrown one in August that is for sure.

On your topic it is easy for me but a little bit of a gray area as well because there are many variables...BUT there isn't a day I go fishing where I don't have a spinnerbait and a crankbait tied on. Spinnerbaits range from 1/2oz to 1oz and from 3/3.5 blade combo to 4/7 blade combo. Cranks range from shallow to DD22 types. I usually throw blade on 7' MH Diawa LT rod with 17lb line and I crank on a 7' M LT Crank rod with anywhere from 8lb to 20lb line. I am a cover water type of guy and those two are always on deck. So far this year I haven't thrown any type of soft plastic or jig but I am sure I will have to shortly...or I will just run up one of the rivers :-)

[SKMO]

On your topic it is easy for me but a little bit of a gray area as well because there are many variables.

Yep there are a ton of variables but that was the whole point of the question, to try to cut to the quick and identify a couple things you would not be afraid to throw any time of the year and think you had a reasonable chance of getting bit, when the current seasonal hot pattern was not working so well.

As example I listed a football jig and actually carry weights from 3/16 to 7/8 and everything in between, in a variety of colors and with different trailers. But if forced to compromise with one "all around" it would be the 5/8 PB&J with a twin tail. It's a compromise, and a bait that has definite hot times during the 12-month season, but I can still get to work year round. Is a football my favorite thing to fish? Not even close, but it's one thing I feel pretty good picking up about any time.

I would feel really bad, almost naked, going on the water without a Sammy or topwater tied on and ready to go quick. Because ya never know when you'll find a crazy topwater fish blowing up, even in Jan, and when they do you gotta be ready.

But point being I think I can catch at least SOMETHING on a football jig and/or dropshot about any time of the year if I gotta prove to myself there is at least one dumb fish left in the lake. My beloved Sammy and other favorites have their time and place but it's not a bait I can beg and plead one to bite when it gets tough.

Just wondered about other peoples favorites that work year round.

[CaptainJoe]

7', Medium/Heavy, Fast Tip, No Name Rock Springs Tackle Rod and BPS Extreme Spinning Reel with 10# Spiderwire Invisa-Braid on top of 10# cheap mono as backing. A 5' leader of P-Line FloroClear tied to the Spiderwire and tied to that, a 1/4oz., Spot Remover, standup, shaky head with a 4", Chompers,Green Pumpkin, Salty Sinker.

7', Medium/Heavy, Fast Tip, No Name Rock Springs Tackle Rod and BPS Extreme Spinning Reel with 10# Spiderwire Invisa-Braid on top of 10# cheap mono as backing. A 5' leader of P-Line FloroClear tied to the Spiderwire and tied to that, a DropShot rig with a Gamma Finesse Hook and a Finesse 1/4 oz. DropShot sinker, with a Zoom Cinnamon/Purple 4" Finesse Worm.