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Lake Okeechobee was good to me today. After a lifetime of close calls I finally broke the glass ceiling with my personal best bass weighing in at close to 10 3/4#'s. The bite was red hot in the Kissimmee grass near Kramer Island. My client got a fish close to 7 #'s and before this big girl exploded on my top water swim bait(Gambler Big EZ). I was using a Chronarch 200e7 with a Hawg Handle on a Fitzgerald Rod and 50# Tuff Line.

I try not to jump on the perverbial bandwagon when new stuff comes out, but this worm really has me pumped. I'm thinking on the back of a swim jig too

My answer would be the same for soft plastics or any other type of lure. USE THEM! Seriously, years ago I'd bring out my no-confidence lures when the usual stuff wasn't working. That's the worst thing to do since I'd already established that the fishing was tough that day. When you start fishing go to spots where you have a high degree of confidence in bass being present there and use the soft plastics first to maximize the chances of catching something. It only takes a few fish to develop confidence in a lure.

Been a while. Thought you might enjoy a conversation I had with a friend over the weekend. Fish was 4lbs 4oz.

Big O was in town Monday and invited me to dinner. We had a great evening and good conversation. It's not surprising how much work is involved in designing new products. Input from 28 Strike King/ Rage Tail Prostaff is something that brings on the water expience from Tournament Pros into the equation. Mr. Parks left me with a few samples of the new Rage Tails, but I have only fished the Cut-R Worm so far. This may be the Next New Thing! The action and profile REALLY appealed to the bass in my local pond. I think everyone is going to have a new favorite worm. This bait and the others introduced at ICAST should be available at your favorite retailer in a couple of weeks. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/rage-tail-2013.html

You've met my ol' lady. "How's the fishing? Yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap. I just called to say hi"

I have always said a 7' mh/f rod is one of the best rods for all around applications. I would lean towards the 7'1'' mh/f of your choices! Jeff

Cant wait for the new DB Craw! Perfect 1 - 2 punch with the original Rage Craw IMO. Subtle DB Craw when the bite is a little slow. Lively regular Rage Craw any other time.

The boat is obviously a defect, I'll be by in the morning to pick it up.

Beverly, While there are a million different ways to fish a Rage Craw, and catch fish, here's the one thing you need to do with it right now. Rig a Rage Craw (I'd start with a Falcon Craw, Watermelon Red, or Green Pumpkin Purple Gold, depending on cloud cover and water clarity) on a 5/0 heavy wire hook, peg a 3/8oz tungsten weight to it, and go fish your off shore ledges, channels, rock piles, and brush (deeper structure). When you get to your spot, come in quiet, and lay a nice silent pitch in there. Let it fall on a TIGHT line until it reaches the bottom. From there, you will have to feel it out, and decide if they want a slow drag, a hop, yo yoing, or whatever. They will eat it if the fish are there.

You can set your mag anywhere you want and it won't affect your fall, the fall is set with the tension knob under the drag star the cap at the end of the spool axle. the mag is set to stop most backlashes at the mid part of your cast, and if you have centrifugal this is used to aid the start of the cast, and the thumb is what makes it all work right!!!! You should checkout the third thread down on this forum, "How To Set UP A Baitcaster"

I didn't measure any of these, but here are my pics for the month, so I could not "officially be the Ninja", but you guys take a look and tell me what you think, lol! Biggest five went 7 1/2, 6 3/4, 6, 5 1/2, followed by a bunch in the low five range. All throughout the month.

Wow that is awesome! I think I would hang that lure (both halves!) on the wall next to the picture.

Thanks gentleman! I know things will be fine and I'm elated he's starting this chapter in life. I guess after 12 straight years with little deviation It's going to take a little time to adjust. Tomustang, no more kids for me. Slonez, you're exactly right, it's life. Scrogg, phone time Is right. lol Sam, I already have some games picked out! MCS, enjoy your kiddo(s) each and everyday. The times you have heard "where has the time gone?" Is very true.

Aren't 6 in Hudds 2 ounces +? Seems like a bit of a all order for a MH rod, no?

I really like Lee and having him, Hamels (who i know is having a down year but really hasn't pitched that bad) and the emerging Kendrick gives them a solid starter foundation for a few years. They will need some infielders depending on the Howard health issue and if they re-sign Utley, which i think they will. Amaro has neglected the offense and was managing the players like Charlie, a little to sentimental and buddy buddy hoping they will regain their form. Players get old and he has never found a good third baseman and had a great OF in the making but sold off even though i still don't think they are that far away. They can't score runs, period. Their bullpen is all aces one day and home run derby the next. I think Lee has the whole no trade deal going so who knows if he would agree. I also thin part of the reason he went back to Philly was one of his kids has some sort of medical issue and CHOP is one of if not the best children's hospital in the country. I could be totally wrong on that one though as people come and leave from philly so often it can be hard to keep it all straight sometimes Now the angry fan in me says trade everyone and start over. Take whatever you can get and start rebuilding by either acquiring tons of minor league prospects or established younger players via free agency, either way it will be hard to pay for the MLB package the next few years watching them flounder in mediocrity.....

Exactly what I was thinking.

I am loyal to ONLY one thing...... ME..... when it comes to spending my play money. I don't care what anyone thinks, all I care about is what I like and want. I know I tease LMG about converting me to Shimano, but truth is, working at BPS, and being behind the counter a lot, when we are slow I can pull different reels out of the display case and play with them. The more I messed with those Chronarchs, the more I liked them. Same for the Curados. I still use my Lews, my Revos, and my PQ'S. Variety is the splice, { yes, I said splice}, of life. It's what holds me together. I have also been known to tire of stuff very quickly. Last week I gave away 2 Duckett Micro magic rods, with Johnny Morris sig reels mounted on them. I had used them maybe 4 or 5 times. The cork wasn't even dirty, and the reels never had a scratch. I have a great retirement, and an extremely understanding wife. I buy whatever I want. I am very fortunate to be that blessed and I know it. So to all you brand loyal guys out there, ENJOY it. It's all fun!!! Hootie

Went to DSG today to mosey around, not really planning on buying anything. Found a couple colors of the Rage Tail Recon Worm on sale for 3.47 with an additional 20% off or something like that. Wound up getting 5 packs for 13 bucks. Just a heads up if the DSG near you is running the same deal.

Really looking forward to the DB Craw and the Cut-R Worm.

I did not measure this fish for length & girth. But I believe it was 21"x21". Another fish from the same pond measured 23"x23" Both fish caught in southern GA. Obviously girth adds more weight than length in for inch.

The bass may be able to see it, but it seems like the bigger question is if it bothers the bass or not. IMHO, the bass is looking for something to eat and it focuses on the bait, and not the line.

Thanks, Quanjig. One Fish Anna! Everyone loves One Fish Anna. Lots of room to run your boat all over the place. Lots of jet boats, pontoon boats and ski boats with tubers and skiers. Lots of places to fish. Will send you a PM.

I never understood why i fish dark green braid when most of my plastics i throw are dark green as well. If the fish can see that well why cant they see my line?

My fishing day always starts before sunrise, I can't see any kind of line in the dark. It's all feel then, but the size and type of fish remove any doubt whether you have had a strike or not, you'll know it. I don't think the fish care one way or the other about being spooked by the line, if one needs to see it by all means use hi viz, I use moss green all the time. IMO when fish are feeding it's pretty easy to catch them, when they aren't feeding the day can become very long, I really do not read much more into it than that. Whatever the species is, there are certain windows of opporunity when the chances are greatly increased, sunrise or sunset, bait appearing, water clarity and so on. When the conditions change I change my target species, I try not to stick with a dead bite.

Welcome!!

Hey Shane, don't forget to change you profile PB: to 10-11!!!!!!!!!!!! Jeff

Look for Riverside Park along the GW Parkway at Fort Hunt, VA 22308 . Work the shoreline in both directions from the parking lot; also work all sides of the Little Hunting Creek bridge. Keep your catch and enjoy the food. Tight Lines‎

The dead lift capacity of rods is surorisingly high IF the rod is kept parallel to the ground which almost no one does as in the example. Never do anything to flex a rod tip past 90* to the butt and the chance of this happening to you is almost zero.

I would think you would want the best flow possible. If it really is just a piece of fiberglass separating it I would probably put some 1" holes in it. But both of my livewells are open so I have no experience with a sectioned livewell.

Not sure of your what type of line you are using. But for me once I changed to braid with a flouro leader my feel for the bottom increased immensely Suddenly I could tell the difference between going through the grass and being in the open. I use different retrieves all of the time, I do not believe that a worm is something that you can pattern. Craws and creatures maybe, but worms not so much. As previously stated practice and slowing down are the keys. And when in doubt swing away and remember the feel when you connect. .

Wohoooo. Congrats and welcome to the club! I bet your heart was thumpin when it hit topwater! I know mine would have been! Jeff

they look decent especially for a first try. A few criticisms that may or may not hold true once you start fishing them They a little to overdressed. The tails look a little long and i could see them fouling on the hook pretty often. They also look like they may not float upright well due to all the hackle prior to the tail material. If you look at most commercially available poppers they have basically one turn of hackle if any at the end of he popper body. It also looks like you used marabou for the tail which is definitely a good choice but again, make sure it isn't to long or it will foul up the hook. I haven't tied poppers in a while but when i do i keep them pretty basic, assuming they are not spun deer hair that is. Basic popper or slider body with minimal hackle and a short tail. The other option is to use deer hair or even foam and tie what looks like dragon fly bodies on the back as legs to mimic a frog, especially while at rest. They definitely look good and i am sure they will catch some fish. Just keep track of the positives and negatives of your design and modify on the next batch and things will get even better

I'm not seeing the LH ones on there. Shame.

On July 12, 2012, the Maryland DNR stocked approximately 3,000 4" tiger musky fingerlings them again last year after 6 years of not stocking them due to fears of VHS disease and the Feds making it illegal to export any fish from Great Lakes states where the disease was found. Since then, those states had to have their hatcheries certified as selling "clean" fish, free from disease. Maryland gets theirs from PA, and for the first time in several years, "clean" fish have been available. PA produces the most tiger muskies of any state by far (probably over 90%), so you can imagine that they're in high demand nationwide, hence the other road block to stocking has been simply availability (or lack thereof). Below is a letter from a concerned fellow angler from several years ago that explained the issues. My friend sent another email asking about stocking this year, and was told that they are trying to acquire the same number of fingerlings from PA this year and stock again. Availability is the issue now. That update was three weeks ago. Several years back at BH, while fishing out of my buddy's Coleman Crawdad, I had one bite off my Rattlin' Super Rogue one spring while that lure was producing several very big bass for me that day (all between 18 and 21 inches long). I cast to a log jam, twitched it once and let it sit, then wham. At first I thought it was a monster bass only to see it launch out of the water and it was pretty massive (maybe low to mid 40 inches). I fought it using Fireline on my finess rod, and it was directly below the boat about 4' down and shaking it's massive head. Inside it's mouth, deep, was my jerkbait hooked on each inside cheek sideways, with my line exposed to those teeth. I had just said to my buddy that I don't think we're going to land this one when my line just went limp. The tiger jumped a few times trying to throw the hook but didn't see that occur (not that I could have retrieved it). I was bummed not only because of losing that fish, but more importantly the hot lure of the day was gone. My replacement that day, my closest match, a Husky Jerk, caught bass, but not like that Rogue. I know own many Rogues, LOL. As far as growth rates, those 4" fish are probably about 16-18" now. The should be over 30" in two years, and after that they get pretty large very quick. They only live about 6 years or so, but some have been recorded as living as long as a dozen years. Those fish become massive. The biggest officially recorded tiger musky out of Black Hills was a dead 51" fish. The biggest officially recorded caught fish were mid 40's at most. Now that perch are in there, along with the many gills and crappie, there could be more fish approaching 50" in the future. There were two bogus reports (no pictures of fish on a bump board or other measuring device) of 58" tigers caught at BH. The pictures looked like either the tigers were mid 40's and held very close to the camera, or the angler had extremely abnormally sized hands and fingers that could engulf the head of any human easily in their fist .

Thanks Siebert. Imma send you a PM when I get home from worm. Imma have an order for you in the next couple weeks!!

Sometimes you can pull them out with pliers. Dont hook yourself. It would be best to buy unpainted heads and loose weedgaurds.

I don't have time to read all of the responses today but I thought I would chime in as an owner of two of the G's and E's as well as a couple of Chronarch E's... All I can say is that I am very impressed with the G series despite the differences. Those G's are super quiet, smooth, and cast a frickin' mile. I love Shimano period. The Citica's, Curados, and Chronarchs are all great. I've always been a fan of the Curado and still love it best....just do. I also like the G being available in all of the gear ratios and not just the 5 and 7. The G series is great!

The best part of jig fishing is setting the hook and seeing your rod bend in half and the reel screech to a halt. Then the fight and higher blood pressure wondering if she will get unhooked. Man, don't you guys just love setting a jig? It still gives me a rush and gets my blood pumping.

Having attachment problems. Here's the second! This is made in the style of a perch/firetiger topwater lure.

Welcome home!

I fish the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers a good bit, what you discovered is what happens a lot in rivers and that is the fish tend to move a lot. I was on the Juniata 2 weeks ago and we only managed 12 fish but most were over 14" with 2 other them over the 20" mark. Check your weather and find the NOAA website and look to see if you can find the stream gauge for the water you fish, look to see if the water is falling, rising, or holding steady, you will be able to tell as a solid line represents what the water was and currently is at followed by a dotted line showing the prediction, you can usually tell what the river is going to do 4 to 5 days in advance. If the water was falling and the weather is hot look for the fish to move away from slack or slow moving water and into deeper riffles, the riffles are important this time of year in shallow rivers as that is where the most oxygenated water is going to be, also look to deeper pools but only the ones with an eddy forming directly above or below as there has to be an area where food will get brought in but still have a place for the fish to lay without fighting current. If the water is rising due to rains look toward the deep cut banks, and where shallow meets deep with any type of current break such as a boulder, deadfall, or eddy but most times they will move to the bank. I hope this helps, good luck.

I would spill my whole thermos for that one. WTG Steve.

Jim, do you have a horse and buggy? Welcome. Glad you are with us. Keep those posts coming. And Jim, do you have a horse and buggy?

That's a Big O Bass ~ So you both like your morning coffee - She's telling her friends you interrupted her coffee . . . . A-Jay

Copenhagen. Alas I'm on here this morning and It's raining like crazy, thunder and lightning, and the outlook is poor for the rest of the day. I thought of another as I was typing. NEVER forget rain gear when you go for a quick trip in between storms.

A can a dip, sunglasses, and oh yeah TP... pliers are a must buy I think if your a fishermen that's a no brainer.. also some

Usually a C&R guy unless one dies on me.. but if I am in a tight spot on a fish fry I will keep a couple barely legal post spawn bass to fill the void. They taste like giant bluegill, which is pretty much what they are. The people who say they taste like crap are just believing a myth told to them by C&R bass anglers. I like the bass pro uncle bucks beer batter for bass. I don't make a batter out of it, I just roll the fillets in the dry and fry.

I'll say this too......even though I am a brand loyal kind of guy, to the brands I like/know/trust, not a single one of them has ever put a penny back into my pocket (directly), and as such, I don't feel the need to go blabbering on and on about why they are the best things under the sun that have ever been made. When some one asks a question..............I tell them what I use, and like. If I don't like something, I'll tell you why, does it mean it's garbage? No, it means I don't like it. Same if I do like it. Is it the best? Highly doubtfull, but I like it.....so what, maybe you will like it and try it based on what I said about it, maybe you won't.........I for sure won't lose any sleep over it either way. Rarely if ever do I go on and on about how great anything I have is. It is what it is in my hands, and in my situations, and every ones results and opinions will be different. The BS filter has to be set pretty high when ever brand names start getting tossed back and forth.............go look at any " Whats the best $100 rod?" thread almost ever posted here to see what I mean. Alot of people lose sight of all that really matters is the end results, and that those results can be achieved with brand X, Y, or Z, reguardless of names on the tag/package/box............I choose brand X, you choose brand Y..........I'll go fishing, and leave the brand wars to the "experts".

I like things that I know will work for me, that have given me the most bang for my buck, and can take some abuse.........because quite honestly every dime I spend on ANYTHING, not just fishing tackle, has to be spent wisely. My disposable income is pretty modest compaired to alot of people. I have to use the things I buy, and use them enough to justify having them. I don't have the good fortune, or luxury to be able to just accumulate "stuff". So I stick with what I know/trust,be it cars, phones, rods, reels, guns, etc..... And it's not all about bottom line price either.