80 pound test braided fishing line XS Big Game Braid White / 130 lb. / 2000 yards No stretch Reaction Tackle X8 Braided Fishing

Since smallmouth typically stage just off the bottom, and like to feed up into the water column, the way a drop shot suspends your bait a foot or more off the bottom is irresistible

But if there is one lure on this list that has earned the right to be #1 in my eyes its a Jerkbait/Fluke

Ive found their lighter strengths to be remarkably strong, and the heavier sizes to be less prone to coiling than even some premium lines

This blank made a very good rod

Soft Stick Bait: Yamamoto Baits Yamasenko (Senko) Around these parts, we call the Yamamoto Senko the stupid bait because you could be the worst fisherman in the world and throw the Senko near a bass and catch it

we would have liked a little more in case a big Alaska rainbow raced through rapids, sending us scrambling through the brush in pursuit