6'8 medium extra fast baitcasting rod Midnight Rubberized grips with flared edges for ultimate control St. Croix Victory Casting Rod

Honorable Mentions: Dark Matter Astro Spook, Jigging World Spook Best Metal Lip Swimmer: Gibbs Danny Surface Swimmer Pros Excellent when stripers are feeding on large bait fish Works day and night Cons Relatively poor casting distance Not great in rough conditions Key Features Length: 4.5, 6, and 7.5 inches Weight 1 1/2, 2 1/4, and 3 ounces Tunable by bending the line tie The Gibbs Danny Surface Swimmer has a seductive action and large profile that triggers big stripers, which is why its my choice for best metal lip swimmer and one of the overall best baits for striped bass

Sure, you could throw a deep diving crankbait

However, if youre using the reel primarily for flipping and pitching, you may want to go with something thats 8.5:1 or higher

How to fish them: Both baits can be fished similarly, a lot of people look at them both as just cast and retrieve baits

There's a huge difference between rod action preferences when using braided nylon compared to mono in spinning reel applications.

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