biggfeast

I'll throw 20lb P-Line on pretty much any size reel lol..... so my answer would be 20lbs line

Nice one!

In my experience, the big difference is just leverage when fighting a fish in. When they make their runs left to right, it feels like the guides toward the rod tip stay with the fish better since they're underneath. You'll see most anglers with traditional wrapped guides move their rod opposite of the fish to keep leverage... with the spiral wrap this kind of happens naturally. Other than that, if its a custom rod, I like it just to be unique lol

For budget friendly the MS Slammers are awesome. 3:16 baby wake, Toxic Whippersnapper & Wade Hoggs, UFO Gill, Bull wake, and mostly any rat bait available all get some good ones for wake bites. Wake bites are arguably one of the funnest and best presentations so Im sure youre going to enjoy it whichever route you go.

Haven't been on here in a good while. Good to see bassbass still on 'em!

For a production rod, I love the Phenix M1 Swimbait Casting Rod 8' Heavy for a higher-end feel. Or the Daiwa DX Swimbait Casting Rod 8' Hvy/Fast for a more budget friendly option. For a custom rod, I love the MOAM 5150 sticks Lunatic. You can get it in a "jig hook" build specific to soft baits. I like sturdy fast taper rods for soft baits to give them a strong backbone to set the hook with.

I like to use Owner Hyper Wire #5's for almost everything, but i generally am using smaller hooks than normal. Think #5 & #6 are all around the best sizes. If the bait is huge, i may use #7 but thats usually the biggest i'll go.

I think @bassbass method with the Straight braid custom's weighted hooks would be a good idea. We've also added a tear-drop weight to the nose of the regular UFO to get it to be a slow sink. Not sure how big of a weight will be needed for the Mothership, but i'd give it a try. Easier way to adjust its sink without doctoring it up too much

I’m digging the Looker. Looks real good. Also, nice clean work on the tails

I think the line can alter the baits swim a tad bit, especially depending on the type of bait. Here what I personally ise braid - use it for most top water baits. Wakes, walk-the-dog, and the 3:16 Minnow. Braided line gives me way better hook-up ratio since it doesn’t stretch. Let’s the fish kind of hook themselves. copoly - use it for most sub-surface and cranking applications. Tends to do a bit better cranking through brush than floor does (doesn’t get knocked up as bad), and for sub-surface I prefer a little stretch so I don’t pull the bait off the fish when they soft strike it flouro - use it for anything I wanna grind the bottom with, like soft baits (and magnum spoons). The low stretch let’s me feel when it gets hit, and the sinking of the line is critical to keep the bait down low longer as I retrieve

Just a heads ups on the baking soda/ca glue combo, its not bouyant so it could make your bait sink a bit faster (depending on how much needs to be used), but it does work as a good filler. Also, spreading/smearing Kwikwood over the rash works well for me too and keeps bouyancy, but doesnt look the prettiest on the sides of the bait.

I like em!

Thats looking money!

I think it’s worth it to put on the front hook. Manny Chee swears by em, and I’ve seen buddies use them and fish do hit that front hook more it seems like

1. Deps 250 2. 3:16 workhorse 3. Gancraft Jointed Claw 230 Magnum 4. Hinkle 5. Donut Shad