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Tackle Selection

The right tackle is CRITICAL when you are throwing big plugs for bass. Let me re-iterate. The right tackle is CRITICAL when are you throwing big plugs for bass.

The wrong tackle tied to a good lure will catch fish. But if you are serious about catching the fish of a life time, you can't leave ANYTHING to chance. If the wrong tackle lands 6 of 10 fish that bite your lure, the right tackle will probably land 8 of those 10, and you never know if those two that get away will be the two double digit beasts that you spent the whole year throwing for. Remember, the right tackle is CRITICAL when you are throwing big plugs for bass!

Rods:  When I first got into it I tried flipping sticks, soft 7' 10" crankbait rods, 7 foot "meat sticks" rated up to 30 lb line, 9'6" foot ocean rods, 7 foot worm rods, you name it I tried it. During the course of trying all those different rods I lost a lot of fish, especially on the hookset. At the time there simply were no good commercially made trout plug rods. Loomis had some very pricey stuff that worked ok, but even those rods are too stiff in the tip for many applications.

When you are throwing a large lure that weighs between 2 to 7 ounces, you need a rod that is 8' long. 7' 10" will cut it for most plugs but for the big stuff, 8' or longer is the way to go. 8'6" is great, but there aren't many 8'6" blanks and for tournament bass fishing your rod almost always has to be under 8' in length. So after much experimentation, I now have three 8 footers that I use. One is a Calstar 800L custom wrapped like a freshwater rod. This is the big gun for the heavy rubber baits and especially for the big wood lures. This rod can generate a strong hookset with 100 feet of line out and a 12" lure tied on the end. The Graphiter blank has a stiff graphite butt section but a fairly forgiving glass tip section. My other two rods are Rainshadow SW967's. They're composite blanks, custom wrapped with shaved down hypalon handles. I like these rods because they cast great and have some give to them. I would much rather hook a big fish on these rods than on my 800L because during the fight the hooks can tear more easily with a stiff rod. These rods are great for the 7 and 9" plugs and swimbaits. The only drawback to the Rainshadow is that you have to get it custom wrapped and they are fairly hard to find in stores. If I were going to buy one more custom rod I would probably buy a Calstar 800XL which is lighter than that 800L but heavier than the Rainshadows. If you're going the custom route, I would recomment the 800XL or the Rainshadow 967 for all around use.

So the question I always get asked ... What rod should I buy off the shelf to throw big trout plugs and swimbaits if don't want to get a custom rod? Well there are quite a few out there now that are good but if I had to pick one I'd buy an 8'0" Rogue Rods SB 807C Swim Bait Rod. Byron Velvick designed the rod and it is suprisingly similar to the Rainshadow. It goes for around $160. Other brands to check out are Phenix, Loomis, Wade's Rods, Graphtec, All Star, and Graphite USA. All of these companies make 7'10" or 8' rods that can be used for trout plugs and swimbaits.

For even more specific recommendations try searching the archives on the "Trophy Fishing Forum".

Reels:  A good reel is important, just like any other bass fishing application. There's only two sizes of reels you should check out. the Shimano 300 or 400 sizes. In Abu Garcia terms, that would be like a 5500 or 6500 size. The Shimano 300 series are bigger than a 5500, but the 5500 will cut it as a 20lb reel. Basically what you get depends on how much you want to spend. For a big gun reel, the dream reel would be a Calcutta 400TE. A Catala 400 would be a very reasonable, quality second. For all around use the dream reel is the Calcutta 300TE. The all around choice would be the Cardiff 300, with the Catala 300 also a good option. Bass just don't pull much drag on 25 or 30lb test, so there's isn't a real reason to fish a 400 size reel unless you are trolling or fishing a really big bait. I fish Shimano exclusively so I can't really give good advice on the Abu Garcia/Diawa stuff, but as long as you get something in the 300 or 400 size with a good freespool and a smooth drag, you should be all set.

Line:  Line is your third critical component. I fish Triple Fish Camo Escent line in 20 to 30lb test. Some guys including Mike Shaw, the maker of the MS Slammer, swear by Trilene Big Game. Other friends of mine swear by P-Line or Maxima. Line is an area where your personal preference will dictate what you use a little more. Bottom line, make sure it's heavy enough and make sure you have confidence in it.

A trick that some guys including myself have started using is to tie in a 3 foot piece of florocarbon leader with a blood knot to your main line. Florocarbon is very hard to see in the water and is also very abrasion resistant should you hang a fish in a tree. I have been using Yamamoto's Sugoi florocarbon and like it very much. Sequar is by all accounts a quality florocarbon as well. Don't get fooled by the pseudo florocarbons though! Berkeley Vanish and P-Line Floroclear are NOT pure florocarbon and do not perform anywhere near the pure high dollar stuff.

Hooks:  Hooks are as important as all of the other components mentioned above combined! I used to read articles about how having the sharpest hooks possible was very important. I thought for the longest time that this was bunk and that stock hooks were plenty good. Fishing trout plugs has proven me completely wrong. With the correct hooks vs the stock hooks you will hook and land at least 1/3 more fish. Believe me, before I switched to Gamakatsku I lost that third and it hurt! I now use 1/0 or 2/0 Gamakatsku round bend trebles on all of my 7 and 9 inch plugs. These Gamakatsku hooks are so sharp that if you're using a two hook lure and you hook a fish on the front hook, the rear hooks will usually hook into the bass around the head somewhere else. A stock hook will rarely do this. In other words, fork out the bucks (you paid enough for the plug as it is) and replace the stock hooks or you will learn your lesson the hard way. Unfortunately Gamakatsku doesn't make a hook big enough for a 12 inch lure. For my big baits I use VMC's and I sharpen them with a metal file. It's about 80% as sharp as a fresh Gammie hook, but you don't want to go small on the hook on a big lure. No matter what hooks you use, check the hookpoints frequently and replace the hook if it gets dulled.

This 13-7 hit with only a few feet of line out.  Having the right rod, reel, line and hooks were what put this bass in the boat.  It would have made mince meat out of a flipping stick and 20lb test

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