Leaderboard

The NBA doesn't make sense to me when it comes to these trades. The let the Lebron, Bosh, Wade thing go through. Other teams followed as best they could. The CP3 trade or Love trade to me is no different.

In my area you would be ran off any golf course you tried to fish. They're all privately owned and you would be trespassing on private property. It's cool you were given permission to fish it. Hope you land that big one. As for the other courses near you. I wouldn't just go walking up and start fishing without first letting someone know and/or getting permission first.

I disagree with your statement regarding ethics & live bait. If a man chooses to use life bait he is no more unethical or ethical than the man using artificials. Ethics has nothing to do with either.

If you can't be with the fish you love, Love the fish you're with.

Haha bass hit hard! My friend you have much to learn! Sensativity is paramount! A bass can inhale your lure and spit it back out faster than you can blink! Worsted thing is if you are not watching your line, you wont even feel her. The easy bass are the ones that hang themselves on your hook. It takes skill to feel the rest of the bites. Yes a more sensative rod is helpful!

This has been a wild year for me, not necessarily on the water, but in the field of writing. I never imagined that my english degree and passion for fishing could be used in unison, but that is exactly what has been happening. As some of you know, this year I started writing for a few publications including Bass Quest and insideline.net. Keep in mind that I've only been doing this for roughly six months, so I feel very blessed and accomplished to say that it appears I will have an article rolling out for Bass (Bass times). I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but the editor has informed me that they're buying the article I gave them. Now, this isn't me saying I've "made it" in the fishing industry, but, to be a contributor to the most well known and renowned fishing magazine of perhaps all time is an extreme honor. To do it in just six months after pursuing this field? Well, it's unbelievable to me. I'm floating on cloud nine. At any rate, I will stop tooting my own horn, but it's hard for me to contain my excitement and there aren't too many outside of the fishing world that understand how large of an accomplishment this is. What does this have to do with you then? I'm not saying read my stuff, though that'd tickle me if you did. There is a point of application here; that being, if you set your mind to it, you can do it. You want to be a better fisherman? You want to go pro? You want to work with Berkeley and help them design new product? You want to write for bass? Go out and do it. It can be done. Thanks guys.

Fished one of the toughest local lakes we have, and it kicked my butt like normal. After I gave up on the bass I started thinning out the extremely overpopulated carp population. Normally I don't see anything much bigger than 5 pounds, so I was shocked when I spotted a big grass carp working down the bank towards me. Knowing how spooky they are I decided to Power pole down (drop the anchor ) and wait for him to come to me. After several minutes he was in range and acting a little skittish so I took a long shot and it when right over his back Cussing myself for missing my chance I decided to move slowly and carefully into the back of the pocket in case there was another. Didn't go far before I spotted another big light spot on the bottom in a foot of water. Couldn't tell if it was a log or fish but decided to take the chance. My shot was perfect and the fight was on! Mud and water flying everywhere and my arrow slicing the water like a shark's fin for several minutes before I finally subdued him with a whack from the carp club. Decided that was a good way to end the day and was very happy to meet some guys that were getting ready to go out and set lines for catfish. They said they had to go catch bait first, told them I had 27.5 pounds of bait for them if they wanted it They were more than willing to take it off my hands for me. Far from the biggest I've shot, but probably one of the hardest fighting ones I can remember.

i think you're misunderstanding me. i was trying to say that not all 5:1 reels are the same and that some 6:1 reels are actually slower than some 5:1 reels. for me, my preference for slower reels is only partially about speed (i tend to crank very fast so a slower reel allows me fish at the pace i like while still maintaining the proper lure presentation). the other part is about torque...the lower geared reels are much easier for me to fish with when using resistance baits.

OK, OK, I admit it! I was a little harsh on bait fishermen. They can be ethical. And I did say that I am for Selective harvest. Keep small fish, release the big girls. I fished bait for years, and I used to sell bait too. You could say I am a hypocrite. I'd rather think that I learned a better way to do things. I am not the only one to say that bait fishing kills more fish that lure fishing when catching and releasing. I don't think PETA is for fishing at all. My point is that when anglers become very good at catching big fish, especially in limited environments like freshwater lakes , rivers and ponds, they need to realize that every fishin trip they have the choice to do the right thing. I think it is a responsibility. Do you want to take your kids fishing and have to tell them how there used to be big fish in this lake, or do you want to take them fishing for big fish? When I fish a local 90 acre lake in my area, there have been days when my buddy and I catch catch 10-15 bass that are 18-22", weighing 3.5-6 lbs. We could keep ten a day between us. Would it be ethical to do so? To keep and eat bass that are probably ten to twelve years old and play a vital role in controlling the fish population in that lake? It would be legal, but we would clean the lake out pretty quick, and then all you''d catch would be dinks. If you disagree, just go across the river to Pennsylvania and tell me how you like the fishing. Pa has more liberal limits and allows bass fishing through the ice. I see a lot of Pa guys over here. Not so many NY guys fishing PA lakes.

We see these threads all the time what is the best rod. There is no definitive answer, except what's best for each individual. I do believe one has to match the rod to their style of fishing, for me sensitivity and weight isn't much of an issue as I do very little bottom fishing. I've used rods 2-3 times the price of my favorite brands, for what I do those higher priced rods do not cast any farther or handle the fish any better. Having rods that are close to 10 years old still looking like new the question of durability has been answered, not to mention the thousands of pounds of fish that have been caught on them. Not a darn thing wrong with an ugly if it meets your criteria.

Far as people taking limits of bream and crappies and it not being a issue, is because we will use a 1 acer pond for example. The harvest ratio for 1 acer is 20-25 pounds of bass per acer per year. and far as panfish, it is 100-150 pounds per acer per year. The bass keeps the pounds or lakes population in check. If you take out a lot of big bass out, then the bluegill population will get out of hand, causing a stunt in growth in all species. Its totally you're right to keep a legal fish, but to help grow better and bigger bass, imo eat the smaller ones and let the over 2-2.5 pounders go. It takes 6-7 years in healthy waters to grow to be 4 pounds in kentucky that is. Takes a long time to replace that fish. Panfish can be replaced in a lot faster rates. I'm not try to tell anyone what they can and cannot keep by all means feed your family. Just giving a thought on why people frown on taking a lot of big bass out. We all agree that we love this sport lets make it the best we can.

Start here. I would bookmark that and read through it occasionally. The crankbait section, while not completely in depth is helpful. As far as answering your question, we need to know whether you are using a spinning or casting rod. I'm going to assume a baitcaster since you mentioned a big tangle. For your line, make sure you are using line that your reel is rated for. This should be on the packaging that came with it. Outside these ratings, the reel will perform suboptimally, similar to putting E85 in a Ferrari. It may go, but it won't be nearly as satisfying. 6 lb is a little light for crankbaits, especially for most baitcasters. I use at least 10lb for my cranks. 12 should work. Your issue appears to be your rod. Light crankbaits do not perform well on Medium Heavy (MH) or heavier rods. Your rod should give a rating on lure weights for it to cast. Those numbers aren't gospel, but they should give you a rough idea of what to be using. The other issue is your action. With a fast action, there is very little tip movement. Combine these factors with a light crankbait and you will have the situation you are describing. However, you should be able to at least cast a crankbait on your setup without getting a tangle. I don't know your exact situation with your setup or line, but my guess as to why the 6lb line refused to cooperate with your reel is that the reel was not designed for that light of line. The other possibility is that the line was stiffer than what you were used to, but at this point, I am just guessing. For casting your crankbait further, either use a crankbait that fits your rods specifications or get a new rod. Crankbait rods are usually moderate to moderate-fast action. I actually just received my Falcon Bucoo cranking rod today and asked a question about pitfalls with using cranking rods that you might find interesting. For very light crankbaits like the wood Rapalas, I use a medium fast spinning combo with 10lb test line. It works well for the lighter lures since it can handle lures all the way down to 1/8th of an ounce. As far as attaching weight to a crankbait, I know people have done Carolina rigs with crankbaits, but I have no idea how successful they have been with it. Personally, I would not recommend it. Hope this helped, and remember, I am by no means an expert, just someone who has done a lot of research on this site for crankbait information in the past month or so. Good luck and tight lines!

I agree with you Dwight and I haven't used live bait for bass in many years. I just don't care to in the waters I fish. If I fished Erie, the Tennessee River, or other places where live bait increased my chances of a trophy I would have no reluctance to do so. I do not believe that the use of live bait is unethical or that mortality rates when using live bait in these situations is any higher than using artificial. C and G I think that keeping 4# bass to eat, if legal, is your choice. Whether or not it is unethical is a matter of opinion. I think that is the point here. While I don't keep 4 lb fish or use live bait I do not have the moral authority to condemn anyone for doing so. What I can do offer my opinion and make my case respectfully or keep my opinion to myself...which really isn't my nature.

Your whole answer never addressed your statement that live bait was unethical. That statement not only offends me but countless of other ethical fisherman. Sometimes it is best to just admitted you spoke in error.

Rod: 7'-7.5' MH (HVY Glass rod is optimal) Reel: I use a 7:3:1 on a lot of baits like these because I can burn it or slow it down, but a 6:3:1 would work fine Line: 17-20# Fluorocarbon (depending on the grass thickness) Works best IMO in grassy areas with Millfoil and Hydrilla almost like a lipless crankbait, you can rip it free from the grass if it hangs. With that said, the reason it works better in grass is because it comes through grass real well, compared to spinnerbaits. I generally throw a chatter bait more often than a spinner bait unless theres a lot of lay downs in open water. As far a trailer, I would use a trailer 99% of the time. My favorite trailer for my chatter baits are Big Bite Bait Cane Thumpers. For Shad colors I use the Ale Wife, Bluegill colors I use the Easy Money or Tilapia and for Black & Blue chatter baits I either use the Talapia BBB Cane Thumper, Berkley Havoc Grass Pig (Black & Blue) or a Black & Blue swimming Senko (Gary Yamamoto) I fish a lot of grass at Lake Seminole, so naturally I fish a chatter bait a lot and caught my PB pond bass on a Chartreuse/White Chatterbait, Ale Wife Cane Thumper Trailer and the paddle tail dipped in spike-it. Brett Hite won the FLW opener at Ockechobbee with a chatter bait and flipping and then the BASS opener on Lake Seminole with B&B Chatterbait in the mornings and a Bluegill colored one later in the day....actually here's a video on the BASS site where he goes into depth on his setup, style etc from his win on Seminole....http://www.bassmaster.com/series/elite-series-vault/3507518581001

I went to Lake Okeechobee a few weeks back and booked 3 days with a former FLW pro, Mark Shepard. He knew the lake very well and put us on some really good fish. Most of the fish were caught on swim jigs in pretty shallow water. I had the best time fishing down there. Over 3 days, I broke my PB 3 times!! I have already booked a trip to go back in January. They are suppose to be even bigger in the winter. Here are the 3 big ones that I got, first one is 6.25, second is 6.75, and third is 7.5:

I had the pleasure to fish with both Glenn and Kerri at this year's roadtrip. I have a pretty good pulse for who in the world are genuine good people, and these two fit the bill. While fishing with Glenn, I was able to hear the story of BassResource and its beginnings. I also heard the beginnings, motives, and accomplishments of Tackle the Storm. I was moved by the concept and thought behind it, to know what can be achieved in the heart of a child. Simply the smile it must bring knowing they have lost everything, but in some small way reach towards normalcy by fishing. A sport we all love and ourselves would hate to lose. As I told Glenn, the world is a cold, cruel, evil place and that's not going to change. But to know that I can somehow change that for a child for the price of a pack of plastics or crankbait......well I am all in. so here is what I am going to do, I hope you may also follow suit. For every "big un" I catch this year I will donate to Tackle the Storm, enough to purchase a child a rod and reel. Everyone's "big un" will be different, as everyone's water is different, so you decide. I have chosen 4#.

I use snap swivels on all of my rods because I switch baits a lot. It may cost me a fish or two, but with the high speed movement of most bass lures I don't think it's a detriment. I use spooks, frogs, senkos, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, and other bass lures. I think bass just aren't as picky as a fish like a walleye so you can get away with it. Well, I lost 2 big fish to swivel snaps breaking at the O-Ring. I don't know if they were northern, musky, or large bass that broke them. I don't need a swivel type, but that's just what I've always had. I've used many brands but they are usually expensive and usually rated for 35lbs breaking strength in the size I use. I bought a 20 pack (I believe) from Cabelas and it was like $17. Yikes. My friend said a swivels o-ring will get caught on a northern or muskies teeth will be popped open, even if it's not a big fish. That makes sense. I know one of them was big though because it bit my Ragetail Toad right at the boat and floated next to the boat until I realized he was hooked and he started to swim away. With one swish of his tail he was gone, blowing the O-Ring apart on my swivel snap. He appeared to be a 40"+ inch musky. That puts him roughly in the 12-20lbs. range I believe. Well, I was looking for a substitute and I found Mustad KVD Fastach Clips. They come in 2 types, one with a swivel and one without. I've only tried the non-swivel version. The swivel version's o-ring is welded, which is nice, so far less chance of a fish breaking it. What's also nice is that you can find them at Walmart for cheap. They are $2.86 for a 12 pack. Oddly enough I haven't been able to find them on Cabelas or Bass Pros websites. Tackle Warehouse does sell both versions though. They appear to come in stainless and black. I assume the black is just stainless with a black coating. Added benefit is that they seem to attract far less weeds then swivel snaps do. So that was a nice surprise. My brother, my friend, and I all used them last weekend with great results. No lost fish and we caught about 8 northern in the 2lbs-5lbs range and over 80 bass, with one being 3.1lbs. Most of the bass were in the 1-2.5lbs. range. Didn't have one failure with the Fastach's. I'm sold. I've also used them on 3 previous trips and haven't had one failure. They are easy to swap out lures and unlike snaps you don't open and close them which can bend the metal and weaken it. They are cheap and don't break. If you need a quick change terminal tackle, this is what I'd get. We used the #3 size which is a 75lbs. breaking strength. I also have the #1's, but they are fairly small and hard to use with bigger hooks. We used the #3 with our wacky rigged Senkos and had no problems. Since they don't break, I think 1 pack would last you quite awhile. Score: 10 out of 10. I believe the Break Ratings is this: #0 - 15lbs #1 - 25lbs. #2 - 50lbs. #3 - 75lbs. http://www.***.com/Mustad_Fastach_Clip_12pk/descpage-KVFC.html

I love NASCAR. My son actually got me into it when he was two, because he wanted to watch the races. I never gave the sport a second thought until then, but as I watched more and more races, I started to pick up lots of the little things that make it interesting. He's seven now, and we go to every Richmond race (qualifying, practice, Nationwide, and Sprint) twice a year. Can't wait for the race next month. Camping and fishing are my favorite things to do with him, but as far as quality bonding time goes, going to NASCAR races is a close second for us.

I've read some bad reviews on the Norman speed clips. However, I've never used them. 3 of us have not had any issues with the KVD clips though and we've caught quite a fish including tackle busting northerns with not one problem.

Moderate just means it's flex point is further down the blank vs fast or extra fast. Keep your drag set properly and get the fish turned away from the cover and you'll be okay. Falcon is known for over rating their rods. Like I have a 6'10 heavy bucoo micro and if you go by lure weights,it's really only a medium heavy. So that rod you have is kind of a mix between a med-med/light.

Yeti hit the nail on the head, If you do happen to decide to buy a new rod for just cranks the berkly cherrywood HD is a good budget option they can be bought for only 25$.

That rod has a pretty low maximum weight limit of 1/2oz. I use mine for kvd 1.0 1.5's and 1/4oz traps.

Hell, I'm not going to catch five 4lbrs. Is it ethical for a man to allow his family to go hungry. If someone is lucky enough to catch 5 large bass on live bait and chooses to feed his family for the week, who am I to judge? Driftb, Limits were not enacted because of sport fishermen. They have come into play because of meat fishermen. A conscious choice to do the right thing??? Protect the resource??? Should I Let my family go hungry because of a sport? Is that ethical? What makes bass sacred, walleye a delicacy, and panfish table fare?

Educate his thumb & he'll be set for life

I have zero experience with them. I've not even seen one in real life. That being said, the parameters you gave match the rod fairly well, and if you liked it in the store- well..... there you go. Inquire about the stores warranty, St croix's warranty, and anything your credit card may warranty. Then go and beat the tar out of it the first weekend. Catch as many fish as you can and put it to the test. If it survives and you still like how it performs- then you have your answer.

^ I think this is a perfect rod for what you described doing with it.

One thing is absolutely certain; if I were going to choose a fishing rod to kill cottonmouths, it would be an Ugly Stik.

How do you know Helen Keller was a terrible driver? She was a woman.

Usually for most people 7-7ft6, MH-H, F or XF

Thanks for the help, everyone. I've ordered the replacement parts and hope to have the reel back on the water soon!

What a loss. I remember Mork from Happy Days, and then of course, Mork and Mindy. But what really blew me away was Robin's 1983 HBO special. At the time, there was no comedy like his and it was so cutting edge. I don't think there was a moment in the special where I wasn't laughing. From then on, to me he was brilliant with one of the quickest minds in comedy. You had to think fast with Mr Williams because he would be gone and on to the next joke while you were still trying to figure out what he just said. He had a lot of great roles in movies, and like others, some that weren't so great. I know we all know the ones that received attention like Good Will Hunting and Dead Poet's Society. Going back to the second movie of his film career, I was very impressed with "The World According to Garp" in 1982. If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend it. I have to place "The Fisher King" up there with his best as well.

There are times when using spinning gear & 10 lb mono to fish Texas rigged soft plastics, getting a decent hook set could be problematic. That gear may not possess the virtually strength to over come a good sized bass from simply holding onto your presentation (think crushers) and then releasing it without ever experiencing the business end of your bait. I don't think your hook type is the villain here, I'm betting it's a the soft rod and the lighter line. Consider kicking it all up a notch. Going to a light braid & leader would change your latitude quite a bit. Good Luck A-Jay

My fellow Philadelphians showing that bass fishing is alive and well in this city. What a crowd. Seemed like there was a lot of negativity going into this event. Not a lot of fish, not a lot of big fish, blah blah blah. Well, in order to be the best you have to be able to catch em on every lake and river there is. It was great to see them grinding out limits of 1-3 pounders like the rest of us mere mortals. Lol. But it turned out great. Not to mention I got to spend a day with Tim Horton and another with Ish Monroe.

I knew you were from Colorado

I think my favorite is when I set the hook, fish jumps, and gets caught in a tree. Game over.

A cop is out on patrol, and sees a car parked in the local lover's lane, with the windows all steamed up. He knocks on the drivers window, and the guy inside rolls it down. The cop sees that there is a guy sitting in the front seat, fully clothed, and a girl in the back seat, also fully clothed. "What are you up to here, son?" "Well, officer, I'm reading a magazine, as you can see." "And what's she doing back there?" "I think she's playing a game on her phone." "Have you been drinking tonight?" "No, sir. I'm only twenty." "And how old is she?" The guy looks at his watch and says, "Sir, in eleven minutes she'll be eighteen."

Don't think there is anything wrong Lite Ugly Sticks, far better than what I learned on 60 years ago. I had no trouble feeling a bite then and don't have one now, my rods of today are not what would be classified as sensitive. I do think a lighter rod may be more comfortable to fish with. To me sensitivity is over rated along with other high end equipment for bass fishing, don't throw stones but I find bass to be one of the easier fish to catch.

Southern bass prefer Tabasco scented lures.

After a long day on the golf course, I stopped in at ‘Hooter's’ to see some friends and have some hot Wings and drinks. After being there for a while, one of my friends asked me which waitress I would like to be stuck in an elevator with. I told them "The one who knows how to fix elevators." I'm old, tired, and pee a lot.

Copperheads, and most venomous snakes for that matter, have very triangular shaped heads, which that snake does not.

It is your garden variety brown water snake. Serves a purpose in the ecosystem and no threat to anyone. A copperhead has a heavier body, a thicker tail, and a bigger head with eyes that set it apart.

Yeah sure, I'll be flipping a snake over to determine if it's venomous or not

Two sisters, one blonde and one brunette, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble.. In order to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull so that they can breed their own stock. Upon leaving, the brunette tells her sister, 'When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to drive out after me and haul it home.' The brunette arrives at the man's ranch, inspects the bull, and decides she wants to buy it. The man tells her that he will sell it for $599, no less. After paying him, she drives to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram to tell her the news.. She walks into the telegraph office, and says, 'I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that I've bought a bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here so we can haul it home.' The telegraph operator explains that he'll be glad to help her, then adds, it will cost 99 cents a word. Well, after paying for the bull, the brunette realizes that she'll only be able to send her sister one word. After a few minutes of thinking, she nods and says, 'I want you to send her the word 'comfortable.' The operator shakes his head. 'How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her just the word 'comfortable?' The brunette explains, 'My sister's blonde. The word is big. She'll read it very slowly... 'com-for-da-bul.'

If you don't want fishermen pitching your dock, wrap chicken wire around the bottom of it.

I haven't been out lately at all, but when I do, I can usually only grind out one maybe two smallmouth on the Niagara River. The only way I can get a bite is to heave a 3/8 or 1/2 oz dropshot as far as I can get it, to get as deep as I can. It also doesn't help that in the summer everyday on the Upper river is a zoo after like 10am. So far, May has been my favorite month for smallmouth because the smallmouth are shallow for bank beaters to catch and its still cold enough to keep most recreational boaters away.

About 3 years back, our best big bass lure was the 6" Berkley Hollow-Belly Swimbait. The 6" size was perfect for Florida but has since been discontinued. Nevertheless, I'm sure the 5" hollow-belly is a more appropriate size for northern-strain bass. Lois & I don't count fish, but I do record every bass over 7 pounds. That year, the Hollow-Belly accounted for several bass between 5 & 7 lbs, one over 8 lb and one weighing 9-10. At that time (about 3 years ago) I submitted a post on 'flank rigging'. The Hollow-Belly is screwed onto an Owner Sled Head (1/4 oz w/ 4/0 hook), and the hook is rigged edgewise in the paddletail minnow, instead of through the depth of the fuselage. This provides a little different action but more importantly it provides more hook gap for setting the hook (the hook is not Texposed but completely buried in plastic) Though the best delivery for northern-strain bass may be different, the best delivery in Florida (the only delivery I use) is a Slow and Steady retrieve. Crank the lure just fast enough to produce a perceptible throb and maintain that speed. It's a big fish delivery that relies on a feeding hit rather than an impulse strike. If you're looking for fast and furious action, it's probably best to remove the swimbait ;-) With a 1/4 oz head the Hollow-Belly runs a few inches beneath the surface like a spinnerbait. Some bass wallop the swimbait so hard, the water surface looks like a broken pane of glass. Though I'm still very fond of the Berkley Hollow-Belly, I've since replaced it with the Gambler 5" Big EZ using the same delivery. Cast placement is just as important as the retrieve, and in natural lakes it's best to keep the swimbait working in the salad, targeting pockets & alleys in the weedline. Roger

I'm in. $10 for every 5 pounder or better I catch this year. It's a great cause, and a great idea!

Initially sent as a pm - and now posted here ~ OK – so swim baits – The thing I wanted to pass on was fishing hollow body and solid body swim baits on a jig head. Really a super effective way to catch brown and green bass as well as walleye and pike. I first read about this method/presentation which was written by In-Fisherman editor Doug Stange who is a fanatic about this presentation. I think it started back in the Oct/Nov 2003 issue. He has written several articles about it and I’m certain if you google it, you’d find quite a bit to read. If you subscribe to the magazine then you might already know all of this. Since 2007 I've been really doing very well with this and there are a few times a year when fish will tear these baits up. The rig is simple and there are several baits you can use but the two I’ve had the most success on are the Berkley hollow body swim bait (4,5 and 6 inch size) and the Berkley Power Bait Flatback Shad. The jig head of choice is an Owner Saltwater Bullet in ½ & ¾ ounce. The hook is good and these baits fit this jig head well. Others might work also. The baits are always rigged “flat” or sideways rather than the standard method. The baits have more action this way. Don’t worry how it looks – as long as it’s rigged straight you’ll be happy. Tackle is nothing special – any med to med-hvy casting or spinning tackle will work. The line choice is whatever you like but these baits are a bit beefy so keep that in mind. I use 20lb braid on a spinner and 30lb braid on casting tackle. 6ft – 7 ft rods seem OK. How to fish it; Cast it let it go to the bottom and reel it in – fish it like a crank bait. Strikes come on the move and on the drop. An occasional pause is good. It will allow you to stay in contact with the bottom and will often times induce a strike. The 1/2 oz is good down to 15 ft or so and anything deeper the 3/4oz bait works well as it will stay deep and still allow you to keep the bait moving. As for where to throw this rig; It really excels as a search bait. So search; along the inside and/or outside of a submerged weed line, down a drop off, up a drop off (my personal favorite) and across a deep or shallow flat. Once you find some fish you can repeat what you did to get bit and maybe zero right in on them. There is no mistaking the strike – fish eat these baits so you’ll know when to set the hook. And this is not necessarily a Big Fish method; you’ll get into different classes of bass but very few real dinks. And so there you have it – hope this helps you get on some fish. A-Jay

I have tried a bunch, zoom swiming super flukes, berkley hollow bellies, havoc grass pig, and more that I have forgot. I have settled on the Netbait BK swimbait as the one I like best. Tail has action at a much slower speed that the rest, it comes in a package that keeps them from getting bent/deformed which is a must for these type of baits IMHO, and they are pretty easy on the wallet. I like them in the spring as soon as the water gets in the low to mid 50's all the way till the fall untill the water dips into the mid/low 40's. I like to rig them on a Gamakatsu EWG weighted springlock swimbait hook ( 1/4oz 5/0 for the 4" and 1/4 oz, 6/0 for the 5") for swimming over grass of submerged cover. I will peg a 1/16 or 1/8 the oz tungsten sinker to the nose of them and fish on a 5/0 EWG super line hook , rig the bait weedless, and fish right through and over thick shallow to mid depth grass as well.