Wind-blown banks, grass edges, laydowns, docks, creek arms, flats
CADENCE → Steady, slow roll, burn, rip-grass, or pause-after-contact — match to mood and cover.
Direct-tie 17 lb fluoro with a Palomar. 3/8 oz finesse for clear/pressured, 1/2 oz workhorse around cover. Willow for flash/clear, Colorado for thump/dirty, tandem all-around.
Rock, grass edges, brush, docks, suspended fish, bluff walls
CADENCE → Lightest weight that holds bottom — shake/slack-line, let the bait move naturally.
Three-rig system (Nose Hook · Texas Shot · Power Shot). Cylinder weight for grass/wood, teardrop for rock/sand. 10–15 lb braid to 8 lb fluoro on the finesse rigs.
Grass lines, docks, open water, schoolers, current seams, wood, shallow flats
CADENCE → Walk-the-dog on slack for the weightless rig; long pulls + slack for the weighted; twin-fluke retrieves for the Donkey Rig.
Three rigging methods (weightless · weighted · finesse Hitch Hiker) plus the twin-fluke Donkey Rig for schoolers. Match the rig to the depth and the bait will do the rest.
Sparse grass, brush, docks, rock, shell, offshore ledges, current seams
CADENCE → Weight hits bottom first, then the bait glides, swims, spirals, or hovers behind it on slack.
Sliding tungsten weight + soft plastic — horizontal drop-shot effect on bottom. Slim Nako-style weight separates from the bait cleanly. Best when fish have seen every Texas rig and shaky head.
CADENCE → Wacky: free-fall, shake & pause, skip into shade. Neko: drop vertical, drag slow, stand-up shake.
Two finesse presentations from one rod. Wacky rig flutters horizontally on the fall; Neko stands the worm upright on bottom for finicky fish. 10–15 lb braid to 8–12 lb fluoro on a 7'0" medium spinning rod.
Rock, grass, timber, current breaks, open water, schoolers
CADENCE → Slow roll, hover stroll, burn & kill, or stair-step — keep it in the zone, rig it straight.
Paddle-tails (Keitech), finesse swimmers (Mooch Minnow), and durable cover baits (DieZel MinnowZ) — match jighead to cover, hook to bait length, weight to depth.
CADENCE → Straight retrieve, rip-through-grass, yo-yo, burn & kill, or bottom contact — match to season and cover.
Loud reaction bait for prespawn grass, fall shad, and cold-water yo-yo. Start with 1/2 oz workhorse on 15 lb fluoro, step up to 17 lb around heavier grass.
CADENCE → Drop on tension · lift 1–3 ft · follow on semi-slack and let it flutter back.
Compact metal for deep grouped fish — winter, late fall, and summer offshore. 7'3" Heavy casting rod with 20 lb fluoro, or 40–65 lb braid + 20 lb fluoro leader past 45 ft.
Open water — points, humps, channel swings, bridge pilings, grass edges, schooling fish
CADENCE → Lift 1–3 ft and follow it down on semi-slack line — most bites on the fall.
Compact metal bait with a rear spinning blade for suspended bass, schooling fish, offshore points, deep structure, and cold-water feeding windows. 7'4" ML spinning, 15 lb braid to 8 lb fluoro.
CADENCE → Match the bait — walk, pop, plop, buzz, twitch, or frog through cover.
Full surface system — walking baits, poppers, ploppers, buzzbaits, frogs, prop baits, wake baits, and bug-style topwaters. Prime late spring through fall once water pushes past 60°F. Three rods cover the family.