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My friend and I got on a pretty good walleye bite this evening/night. The walleyes were jumping when we hooked them, which is very strange, but we soon figured out why when a giant musky t boned a 15" walleye at my feet and peeled some line before spitting him out. We didn't have musky tackle with us so we just kept slaying the walleyes and pulling them out of the water before the musky could get to them. Then I set the hook into something solid, and was astonished to see my little 1/16oz jighead with a 4" GYCB curly tail stuck in the snout of the monster that had been chasing our walleyes. Somehow my 10lb leader held up for the 10-15 minute battle and I was able to beach the 42" BEAST!

Had an opportunity to get out yesterday and go check one of my "big fish" zones. It doesnt put up a lot of fish, but when it does, look out. It didnt disappoint. This may be my last day out these season, and if so, what a way to end it. Lots of footage to edit in the coming weeks when the boat goes away. In the words of Dave Mercer... G-G-G-G-GIANT BASS!

Spinning reels the smaller diameter braids overlap wrap on the spool prevents the line digging down into spooled line underneath. With bait casting reels the line isn't wrapped onto the spool with a overlap like the spinning reel, the smaller diameter line like 20 lb test can dig into the spooled line underneath. If you have a shallow spool baitcasting reel 20 lb/.010D braid works OK, 15 lb /.009D or 10 lb/ .007 D not so good if you happen to get a backlash or the small diameter line gets inside the reel frame past the spool. The problem isn't the strength of the line, it's how the line performs on the reels and the anglers ability to handle the very small diameter lines. Tom

Outside of punching heavy mats braid is all about sensitivity and line handling. 10# braid can be prone to digging in and wind knots. If it's working for you on your circumstances no need to change.

I have 3 Mets - the Met 13, Met 16 (MGL), and the Met DC. I don't prefer one over the others - they are just different tools in the tool box. I personally don't see any practical difference on the water between the Met 13 and the 16/MGL. BUT, since the JDM MGL has somewhat less line capacity than the Met 13, I had to rematch the reels to rods based on that line capacity. Since the Met 13 has the higher line capacity, I moved it over to an NRX 894C and run 18lb flouro on that. The MGL ended up on the NRX 893C (taking the place of the Met 13) and it has 14lb flouro on it. The Met DC? It's the jack-of-all trades, all wind conditions, always in the boat tool that is mounted on a Loomis Edge 705-1 and used for all sorts of stuff... Just tools...

I'd like to fall in love with the spinner bait again. Hope these phonies don't live up to their name. Feels small. #not a Hinkle #hope I'm wrong

all of my current setups Spinnerbait/Buzzbait: 7'0" MH Bass Pro Graphite Series MH/F - 7.0.1 Bass Pro Tourney Special -12 Lb Transoptic Mono Chatterbait: 7'0" Daiwa Ballistic MH/M - 5.4.1 Lews Tournament MB - 15 Lb Abraz-x Flurocarbon Small Crankbaits/Lipless Crankbaits: 7'3" Abu Garcia Ike M/M - 6.3.1 Shimano Citica I - 12 Lb Sniper Flurocarbon Jigs/Worm: 7'6" Abu Garcia Vendetta H/F - 7.3.1 Daiwa Tatula - 15 Lb Abraz-x Flurocarbon Big Baits: 7'6" Bass Pro Bionic Blade H/MF - 7.3.1 Daiwa Tatula - 25 Lb C21 Co-poly Finesse: 6'6" Shakespeare Ugly Stick Lite - 5.2.1 Pflueger Purist - 10 Lb Spiderwire Braid

I was initially planning on wrapping up my season with yesterday’s trip which included some nice smallies. But with a third day in a row of mild air temps and very fishable SW winds, I caved and headed to the same lake I started this fishing season off on. That first trip was memorable and as it turned out this one was just as sweet. The water temps are hanging in the mid 40’s and the water has stayed consistently clean. This makes the jerkbait bite here a very viable option, one I’ve been taking full advantage of for a while & especially today. This lake, like many up here, is loaded with yellow perch. Just so happens that SK makes a very nice jerkbait replica of that particular smallmouth delicacy – it’s been the bait of choice past few trips. Both the standard (3 hook) and the deeper versions get bit but today it was the deep bait – exclusively. The Leeward side of main lake sloping sandy points that dropped into the deepest water was where I focus the majority of my efforts. By positioning the Lund up on the shallow side of the point in about 5 ft of water (Love the Talons) I would cast off the deep side and work the bait back to the boat. The fish definitely wanted the lure to contact the sand & then pause. At which point they were Hammering it. Nothing subtle about the strikes today – Good Times. This seems like an appropriate way to wrap things up and I feel (reasonably) content to do it. Looking forward to next season. A-Jay

Bassmaster Nov/Dec 2016 issue has a good article on spider jigs called Return of the Arachnids, worth reading. I have been recommending the football head GYCB Hula grub or spider jig for as long as I have been on bass fishing sites, about 8 years now. Spider jigs are the easiest jigs to fish and often recommend them to new jig anglers. You can find lots of threads on spider jigs on this site for good reason...they work! The fact that a 19 lb LMB was caught recently at lake Chadot ( see the Western and Fish report forums) is proof just how good spider jigs can be. Tom

That does appear to be a bad call but it is also hard to win when you score 0 points

Is there an area in the whole USA that a green pumpkin spider jig doesnt work? I've noticed that anglers from all over report their success with one, whether its a yamamoto, or chompers, or even the old garlands (columbia craw mentioned) that color and faux jig and twin trailer design just out and out kicks bass. I have a rod specificly dedicated to the jighead presentation, and more often then not you'll find a football designed head with a green pumpkin yamamoto hula grub on it. Because its such a lethal weapon up here on the dominating rocky lakes. I've been using these since the mid 90's, right about when Gary started marketing them, which I think, was not long after his senko's success. And I actually liked these hula grubs, but saw the senko as nothing more than a "newer" do- nothing worm, and still have yet to use a senko. But the hula grub? Good lord forgive me,.. but I could have probably been singely responsable for Gary's success just on the sales from this little bass fishing gem. Much like other anglers and the senko? I cant possibly count the amount of them I've gone through over the last 20 or more years. At least 5 or 6 bags Id buy in the spring, and then throughout the year, whenever I got low? I'd shop for more. I stock green pumpkin, motor oil/ green/black fleck, A dark green, and black/blue fleck,..I wish they'd make a dark brown.,... Im going to have to check out that Bassmaster article

7' MH/M Composite Cranker from Academy. $60 for full price but they go on sale often. I mainly use mine for squarebill to mid depth baits but have used it for bladed jigs as well.

They work rigged a variety of ways too. I had a really good tournament fishing them on a plain T-rig and dragging them through rocks and laydowns (football heads were snagging in the limbs too often). I fish them on a shakyhead a lot anymore but a plain football head is great as well as the standup style head. One of those baits I do well with but often forget about.

Lew's® Tournament MB or the Daiwa Tatula and the Fenwick® AETOS have been excellent combinations for me. Of course you will have to catch one or both on sale to get in under the $200 most likely. For something a little easier to find under $200 I also use the Lew's® Speed Spool and Fenwick® HMG rods with no issues what so ever. All 3 reels above have aluminum frames and well documented history of being quality products from quality companies. As for the Fenwick rods I started using them a while back and with the sales they had it just made them a easier choice. To date I haven't had any issues or complaints with any of them.

Tom it was a pleasure to meet you. I can not wait till I get well enough to go fish again. There will be an invitation to fish coming as soon as possible.

Goose52 hit on all the major points. Seems to be fans of all 3 models. There will be subtle differences but if casting distance is your on goal the MGL is the winner. Coolness and fun factor to the DC.

Update.. I did meet up with fishnkamp (Bob) and spent about 3 hours soaking in as much as I could. It was awesome and a pleasure to meet with him. He assessed my rods and reels and showed me some of his gear. He had a written breakdown of spinning rigs and baitcasting rigs waiting for me. Later that evening he took the time to email (lengthy) basically reiterating everything we had discussed with suggestions... again.. awesome. Thanks Bob!

The "Metanium" name goes back nearly 20 years and includes the discontinued models of Metanium XT, MG, MG7 that ran from about 1997 to 2012. There was an earlier Metanium DC (digital control), also now discontinued, that ran from around 2008 to 2014. The current Metanium platform began with the 2013 model (aka "Metanium 13"). The Met 13 was superseded just this year by the Metanium MGL (aka "Metanium 16"). Also in the lineup, starting in 2015, is the new-generation Metanium DC - based on the Met 13 platform. So, for current, new, production models, you have the Met MGL/16, and the Met DC/15. Both of these reels are available in several gear ratios (6.2, 7.4, 8.5) and in RH and LH models. Both of the current models are the same physical size - Shimano labels them as "150" size. This is a photo of the Met 13 and Met DC:

The Carolina rig is the poor man's depth finder. Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are big fish lures. If you want to catch big fish, it's more important to be where there are some than to use a 12" swimbait. The hottest and most humid evenings and mornings are best for topwaters (night is good too, but most people aren't out then). Crappie jig under a float works for bass in the winter.

make as little noise as possible especially when landing a bait in the water, many time ill cast and land a bait on the edge of the bank and then pull it in. also try and not make to much noise above the water. think about it, if some one broke your window and came in your house are you gonna be thinking about eating ?

Looks blue gill to me ? Terminator

picked up a few things on saturday. 2 plano boxes one large crankbait box to help organize my jerkbaits. one for my spinnerbaits & buzzbaits i also picked up some spinnerbaits for the box can't have it empty i then picked up 2 project z chatterbaits and a few packs of havoc subwoofers

Yesterday evening I fished a Missile Baits D-Bomb for the first time. At 5:15 I caught an 8 pound bass. At nine PM I ordered 50 more D-Bombs.

Never take a laxative and a sleeping pill on the same night. Now, about this bananas in the boat thing. I take bananas on the boat all the time. A nice snack you can eat with slimy hands. A little extra potassium doesn't hurt either. However, keep in mind one should never look anybody in the eyes while eating one.

What type of water do you fish? Are they small streams or rivers, local ponds, big lakes or major rivers, or even like me, big tidal water like the Potomac River and upper chesapeake Bay. Do you fish from a boat or shore. What type of lures do you enjoy fishing? What lures would you like to fish that your current rod does not do well. You have a nice Lews reel and a Mojo Bass series rod that works as a good all purpose rod. That is great. Tell me what model the rod is. Do you own a good spinning rod and reel combo. I own way too much gear, but if I had to start over I would use a 3 or 4 rod strategy. My first rod would be an all purpose spinning rod. Something like a 6'6" to 7' medium power fast action tipped rod. It would spec as a 1/8 to 3/4. I would throw all of my plastics likes worms, creature baits, crawfish etc. either weightless or as lightly weighted texas rigs on this rod. Lures like Mepps spinners, small topwaters like Pop Rs, tiny torpedos, jitterbugs etc as well as floating/ diving minnow baits like the Original Rapala minnow would be thrown on this rod. I would also throw tubes, grubs, Sencos and Ned rigs on this one. My second rod would be a 6'6 to 7' medium power moderate action baitcaster. If you bend the top of this rod it would easily bend down past the 4th guide. This rod throws all of my treble hooked lures like RattleTraps, crankbaits, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. My third rod would be a 6'6" to 7'3" medium, heavy fast action rod, so it is definitely stiffer in action. This is my jig rod. I would throw any jig above 5/16 with a plastic trailer on this rod, as well as all of my plastics rigged up with a 5/16 or larger weight, so all of my texas rigs and carolina riggs and lots more, If I was using my 4 rod approach I would drop my original spinning rod choice in favor of a two spinning rod approach. The first would be a 6'6 to 7' medium light fast action 1/16 to 5/16 rod and the second would be a 6'8 or 6'9" medium power fast action 1/8 to 5/8 rod. These two would handle all of the same baits as the first spinning rod but would handle the lighter baits better. If the water I fished was all matted grass or lily pads then I would own one spinning rod and my 4th rod would be a big flipping, pitching, frog rod. If I fished over lots of submerged grass beds I would consider a really nice rattle trap, spinnerbait rod. These two strategies of course requires lots of money. If I was not going to spend that or if I fished from shore then 4 rods is too much to deal with, My choice would be one good all purpose medium heavy baitcaster and one good medium spinning rod. These combos are just tools. When I go to work with my tools I have screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets and hammers. I look at the job to determine the tool that will do it best. Look at fishing the same way. Pay lots of attention to the places you fish and what lures you want to be able to fish, that will help you decide what rod combo will fit your needs next.

Since I began using the Owner Twistlock hooks, I find I get a lot more mileage out of a Senko. I also throw all the torn up ones in a bag and take them back home at the end of the day and repair the ones I can with Mend-It.

I feel like I'm working a little harder and at a definite disadvantage when I'm in my yak versus my boat. Even simple things like hooksets and fighting fish are more difficult in my kayak, so when I get a good one, it's always a little more satisfying .

6'6"-7' ML spinning with 15# braid and a 8-10# mono or flouro leader

I'd opt for about a 6'6'' medium spinning rod with the spinning reel of your choice loaded with 8lb mono.

When you have to fish slow to get bit, slow down even more...you were still fishing too fast. Mike

First we are in different areas . I went to mark Twain lake yesterday and found the water pretty murky for fall , just a few inches of visibility and surface temp in the low 60's . I went to the back of a creek and found the water clearer and fished for a couple of hours . There were a lot of shad up there and I got skunked . Bass dont always go by the play book . I went out on the main lake and muddier water and started fishing the bluffs . I cast a crankbait in a cut and caught a bass . Caught three more in that cut so thats what I concentrated on for the final few hours. Ended up catching about twenty bass with five keepers on a shallow diving Rapala Crankin Rap , shad pattern . There is undoubtedly bass in that creek I fished but they just were not cooperating . I came close to being skunked but made that one lucky cast with the correct lure that steered me in the right direction .

I throw mine on a 7' 2" MH/MF. I could probably use my deep cranking rod but I really don't want to use that long of a rod for it, especially since I'm normally making shorter cast around cover and at targets.

Buy some bluegill colored skirts . I got theses at Cabelas , on a hand poured bait . .

20lb P line is what I fish my 8.0 on and it doesn't hit bottom in 5' on a normal cast. He actually said the depth of a Bandit 200 series, which is their mid depth bait rated 4-8 feet. I like the King Shad, I own a bunch, but I wouldn't fish it in the same places I fish a squarebill. The jointed body doesn't allow it to deflect off cover the same and would result in more snags than I'd be willing to deal with. It is a great imitation of a prime sized shad and the bait responsible for my largest 5 fish bag ever in Kansas. I don't, I normally fish smaller squarebills, but that wasn't what the OP was asking about. The magnum squarebills have been somewhat of a hot item lately. They're good late in the year when the shad are at their biggest and the big bass are chasing that big meal.

I fish those same baits often and can cast them just fine on my normal cranking gear, but I generally opt to throw them on spinning gear and 8lb test instead, especially the 1.0.

Spinning gear

I finally pulled the trigger on a hudd 68 ROF 5 and threw in a few swimjigs to replace the ones I lost this season to complete the order.

Just got 3 new Lew's in. 2 Tournament Lite G's and a Tournament MB, all with the 95mm carbon fiber handle added on. I put the MB on my E6X crankbait rod, a Lite on my IMX topwater/jerkbait rod (both are replacing my old MG's) and the other Lite is waiting for a home

Compared to the baits the OP is asking about, yes, they're a bit on the small side.

It would help to understand more about your specific combo. Is it spinning or baitcasting? What action is it (M, MH, etc)? I've found, for my use and needs, that a Medium-Heavy baitcasting combo has great all-round uses for everything from chatterbaits and spinnerbaits to jigs and soft plastics

There's no such thing as too shallow.

I never posted a report from Lake Shawnee--- It was a fun lake, super windy made it tough to stay where the fish were. We caught 10-12 fish, but nothing over 2 lbs. (besides a drum) My boat key broke off into the ignition, and then when we got him we were attempting to remove the prop to TM and broke it. I cannot for the life of me get the nylock nut off the shaft to get the prop off. Anyone had this issue? ( I am replacing with the MG kit once I get it off)

I put em' away when I stop getting bit on them. Usually that's when the water's about 50-55F

Send me an e-mail at fishnkamp@comcast.net . I am located just a few minutes from Martin State Airport and the Gunpowder State Park/ Dundee Creek Marina.

Misfit Fishing Co Spinnerbait https://misfitfishingco.com/collections/handcrafted-fishing-lures/products/mfc-spinner-bait

Interesting, where I live there's no shad so spinnerbaits can't imitate something bass have never seen, some places have bluegills but not all, some have tilapia but not all, still my everyday spinnerbait color has been white and with it I have caught thousands of fish no matter where I went, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nayarit, Queretaro, Sinaloa that old white spinnerbait has caused trouble.

Check out Strike King's Premier Plus or Hack Attack.

Seibert has some excellent bluegill colors and great prices on his spinnerbaits.

contact mike siebert @Siebert Outdoors and he'll hook you up with whatever color you want!

if the ones they sell don't float and you lose them they will probably sell more