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I fished a small lake like this for several seasons. it would get choked with Hydrilla just like in the pix. like Catt mentioned, short casts are key when punching. don't worry about the bass seeing you 10ft away b/c the grass is so thick it becomes a wall. i used two approaches when punching: attacking the upper half of weed column; and attacking the bottom half of weed column. the bottom half is easy and required a 1-1.5oz punch weight. the upper half requires less weight and more finesse. i got more bites if i used 1/4-3/8 oz and spent time gently shaking the lure down the weed 'branches'. a beaver trailer is standard but don't restrict yourself. a 4-5" senko, zoom finesse worm, Zman Zinker etc slip thru Hydrilla like butter. one Zinker will last you all day. forget standard craws b/c the weeds alone will tear them off. the bass in my lake are very skittish so a little finesse goes along way. the typical heavy punch rig didn't produce well so i used a 1/4-1/2 cylinder drop shot, with short leader, an EWG hook, and 5" senko (i called it my punch-drop). I used braid as my mainline and a small tag of mono or lighter braid for the drop shot leader. it went thru weeds much better and I got more bites b/c it fell slower. the bass also prefered the gentle shake thru method. I don't fish the lake anymore but if i go back i'm going to use @J Francho rig. having the line above the weight tremendously helps the vertical physics of gently shaking lighter weight downward. also try a buzzbait or ur favorite topwater in 1-6ft skinny water at dusk/dawn, cloudy/prefrontal conditions. bass often hold in the bottom half of the weeds in the heat of the day but will sit in the tops at night. topwater is useless when they are deep in their caves but they have no problem surfacing when they are in the upper column, especially if the upper half is only 3 ft. Horny toads are a nice alternative to buzzbaits b/c they float on thick weeds or slow sink in pockets so you can add pauses if the bass aren't in a chasing mood. frogs work great. if you like frogs make sure to cast them onto the shore and hop them in. it's what's under the Hydrilla that's most important. the creek channel is key and is one of the easiest things to locate. find the creek channel under those thick weeds and you'll find gold. Start where it enters the shoreline and work your way from there. also do some recon this winter while the grass is dead and find deep timber that will be swallowed by weeds this summer. timber is another prime spot b/c they hold both bass and bait. rocks//pebble/sand are harder to find and you just have to focus on feeling the tick with heavy weights. be on the lookout for when two different kinds of weeds come together. they create a seam that fish love to relate to. or where lily pads meet the Hydrilla. if ur having a hard time stick to shallow water 1-3ft. the bass are much more likely to bite b/c they don't have to travel far. try slow dragging a weedless senko thru the tops but put a glass bead in front of it. it will slip thru w/o getting hung up. don't forget to periodically burn it like a topwater. thick hydrilla is a mess for anglers but bass sure do love it. it's worth learning how to fish it.

A good Normal Crankbait ? as opposed to a bad abnormal one. Is this a trick question ? A-Jay

I've had the rod a little while even though i have hardly even used it, but i just got the reel all slicked up and they're ready to roll now! It's kind of setup as an all around combo with 30# braid, but will see a lot of time with a Keitech swing impact type of bait on it. ROD: Dobyns DX 703c HP REEL: Daiwa Steez SV 6.3L 100MM basszone carbon fiber handle hedgehog air bearings hedgehog orange parts

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Start off with a wearing a quality Life Jacket ~ After that everything else is Gravy. A-Jay

TT can be taken with a grain of salt. That said, those reels are not apples to apples. They're both good reels for their target market and price point but different animals. The citica is a lighter workhorse type reel where the Calais is refined but hefty reel.

Thanks for the report Bryan. Good luck mguidroz. Ought to be nice. Funny how mid January we can be in shorts and flip flops. The better half and I are headed up either Monday or Tuesday through the weekend. I saw on FB a 10+ was caught out of Huxley just recently on a jig in 8' of water. I'm thinking I might trailer south and spend a day exploring.

I was in a park once and started picking up the trash off of the shoreline. My girlfriend and daughter followed suit and before I knew it every kid in the park was lending a hand. We filled 4 large contractor bags full of bottles and cans cleaning the entire park. Meanwhile all the parents sat and watched in disbelief. Ghandi once said "be the change you want to see in the world". Leading by example many times has wide reaching results.

Sunline sniper FC #16 Definitely some great line!

Ice storm shmice storm. I'll be on the water in the am.

Norman. Any of them. They make a crank for any depth from shallow to 20+ feet in a vast array of colors. Great quality and reasonably priced. Tom

I use mod-fast for my x-heavy conditions. I want the full rod to load immediately during the hook set, so I can "lift & separate" the bass from cover. Don't mistake "mod-fast" for whippy or slow. generally, most rods designed for this (the TCS included, as I have a couple) fall into this category. Here's a review of the Mat Daddy: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/mat-daddy-helios-review.html

Dead on @ClackerBuzz Most anglers try forcing a T-rig/jig through grass which is all wrong, you gotta finesse the T-rig/jig through grass! When you feel the lure starting to load up in the grass...stop! Release pressure, pull up until you feel heaviness again but apply slightly more pressure, then release, continue until the lure breaks free. You want the motion to be similar to & as fast as working a shaky head, you're just applying more pressure.

I got my butt reamed solidly by my wife when I got home 3 hours late from poker night last week. I hope this helps. Sorry couldn't hold off on that one. I'll try to be better in 2017.

Never heard of any crooks that were made saints...

Action and tip stiffness are not necessarily tied. It has to do more with power and lure weight rating. It really depends on the individual rod. There are fast and xf rods with a nice soft tip. senkos and flukes are far from weightless even with no added weight. In some circumstances a MH might be a better choice. Smaller versions fish well on a ML spinning rig if cover allows. A med fast is a good all round pick.

Hey folks! I have the opportunity to interview some pros 1-on-1, and I want to include your questions. Literally. As in "Jake from Spokane, Washington asks...." So PM me your questions and be sure to include your real name, city, and state, and you'll get to see your questions answered in an upcoming video! Thanks! Glenn

Deep diving crankbaits - what you need to know.

It’s often said that in most cases catching them isn’t as tough as finding them. That statement has never been truer than in the winter. They’ll bite for sure if you can find where they’re holding. In locations that do not have hard water, here’s how Greg Hackney does it ~ http://www.bassmaster.com/greg-hackney/finding-winter-bass-part-1 http://www.bassmaster.com/greg-hackney/finding-winter-bass-part-2 http://www.bassmaster.com/greg-hackney/finding-winter-bass-part-3 I really like GH's Style. If he wrote a book, I'd buy it. A-Jay

I'd been looking for a new / longer jig rod a while back. So during the ST Croix Rage Rod Bargain room sale I picked up the 7'6" MHMF ~ Perfect for jigs, Pitching & Lite Flippin. Love putting a big bend in it - especially with braid. A-Jay

I know exactly where my Moby Dick sits. Broke off twice in six months....on the same stump....I'm going to get him this year

Posted this in another thread which I can't find at the moment, but I've always preferred a more moderate action for jigs (fast action for plastics though). I was definitely in the minority in that thread. Here's Matt Allen on the subject: Mod fast jig rods

20 years ago I spent a week in early June up at Sebago Lake in Maine. I stayed at Point Sebago which is close to some of the lakes best smallmouth area's in my opinon. The big smallies were getting ready to move in on beds, Now this lake has extremely clear water, clarity at that time was like 25 to 30 feet I could see bottom. So A long cast for the truly big girls is neccessary. I got up before the sun each morning, slipped out of the cove, and would be fishing right away. There is a few islands and hazards closeby and I'd fish my favorite topwater,...a Pop-r, and it produced well. On like the second morning I quietly fished along and came upon one of the hazards, tossed up on top of it, and tugged the first, BA-loop!, second ba-loop, then it quietly disappeared, and I set the hook, felt some good weight, but then the line went dead, and the lure surfaced. After a few choice words, and a few more casts, I moved along. I knew by the silent hit, and the weight felt,, that this fish can be my PB smallie, over (6+) Two days later I found myself around that same hazard, same bait, same time of morning I gave it another shot. BA-loop!,...ba-loop,...ba-loop,..Four more tugs and no response (im getting concerned nothings there) Another cast, rings settle down, and just as Im about to tug the line, the lure disappears,. I feel the weight and set the hook, and this time I got a good hookset, and its on. She feels like a whopper, my drag is singing and she heads for deeper water, Im playing her like a piano, twist for turn and so on, finally I see the line coming up, she's about to jump,...I reply by sticking the rod tip into the water and reel for all I got. She breaks the surface and sure enough she looks to be my new pb, She does a perfect triple gainer with a full 1080 twist, and splashes down like a pro. My hearts pumping to beat the band, Im beginning to realize whats about to happen, I've got the boat positioned right, my decks are clear, and this seems to be it, Im going to break the long wait for a new PB. After she dove deep again, she's playing around, pulling drag and racing towards the boat, but im on top of it and fighting back all I can to keep up with her. I can feel she's slowing down, Im at that point in the battle that it's time to take over and get her boatside, As Im doing so , she peps up again and heading for the surface for another jump, alot closer to the boat this time, like about 15 feet away, I reply the rod tip down and reeling again, but this time, in the middle of her divers performance, it was as if time stopped and in slow motion she appeared to look right at me, opened her mouth and the inevidable "Pahtooey",... spit the lure directly at me. ,............ I stood motionless for a few minutes, not moving a single muscle. The mornings bird chirps were muffled, the beautiful scenery was faded. That early morning fog was still on the waters surface, and it was as quiet as quiet could be, on a georgous Maine lake,... until,.. "AHHHRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!" I think I woke up sleeping kiddies on the complete other side of the lake. Wasn't intentional, but yet still quite evident, as to what just happened. She yet again escaped the hopes and dreams of another anglers clutch. Swimming off into the clear cool depths, probably smirking. As, she was a true brute of a smallie, a wallhanger, the kind of fish we all dream of. Definitely My new PB, she was a sight to behold,...I didnt see hide nor hair of her again that week, not even a sniff over that hazard from even a kibbie. I've been to the lake since, and of course fished that hazard, to no availe. ,...this? isnt over! Good morning all ! MMMP (my morning marathon post)

I have an unopen pack of Auger-Tail snakes . Same with me on the Bomber Model a's . They are not getting much playing time but they sure catch fish . The Arbogast Mudbug is a great lure with terrible hooks and no simple way to change them out .

Hurricane

I picked some of those Grande Bass baits up recently. Can't wait to try them out.

Lol. Fair point. I was just reading that wiggle wart thread earlier. But that appears to be more of a mold change issue that reduced the hunting action of the bait. My beef is the cheap hook hangers & poor quality hooks. Don't think putting some decent split rings & maybe some Gammy hooks on a Jitterbug is gonna change the action of the bait. ?

I love those Snake'Os! They are like the mullet of stick baits - business in the front, party in the back!

I used to love to throw a Tiny Torpedo back in my high school days. The problem with a lot of these old skool baits like the jitterbug, hula popper, tiny torpedo, etc. is that they're made with some really sub par components by today's standards. Cheap, terrible hooks, crummy hook hangers, etc. It's like these companies been making these baits the same way for 40+ yrs. I mean c'mon mayne, join the 21st century and make some improvements to your lures & use some higher quality components. You might sell more of your lures. ?

Constant good lead you can buy from Roto-Metals and skirts from fishingskirts.com

I think you should just spend an extra 30 bucks Crusty. why use scll when you can have sclll mojo ? I have a couple and plan on getting another.

We will coming in about noon and will spend the night a F&F and fish Saturday as well.

See y'all in Housen Saturday Thanks for the reports and good luck.

I throw Yamamoto Senko, Yum Dinger, Big Bite Trick Stick, Wave Worm Tiki Stick & GrandeBass Snake'O. They all have different rates of fall & composed of different textures. Most productive colors watermelon neon & black with a blue tail

Between those two: Senkos, no question. I've had results on Yum dingers, just not like I've had with Senkos. Now ask me about BPS Stik-O worms and I'll tell you they are quite good. IMO better than Yum. But that's just my .02.

Yum dingers.Why you ask? They are 3 bucks and they catch fish. Greens,white and black/blue for everything

I was in position to be the first responder, but decided to let you boys blaze the trail Roger

Mann's Augertail worms. Black.....It was my go to when Rebel quit making the ringworms. I use mostly Zoom plastics now and think all the time about throwing an Augertail. Bomber crankbaits. I have a ton of these baits and they have sat Idle for many years. They caught so many fish, It was unreal. Great thread!

Yea. There's no real way to discuss reaming and butt plugs and not have it taken out of context! Lol

I used Senkos exclusively for many many years. I got tired of paying a premium for them. Switched to dingers, and my catch rate, size of the fish I catch, and money in my pocket has gone up. The Yamamoto Senkos work better than the others crowd will be here shortly...............

Senkos by far. But if you think they are even to you I wouldn't spend the extra cash. Natural colors for clear lakes like greens, browns and smokes.

Having a senior moment. What do you mean by solid butt? Something without a pre drilled hole?

I'm kicking around the 6'8" med xf Bass X but going to wait until the show to compare it to the Mojo 6'8" med xf. Picked up the Mojo last year, like it so much I'm thinking about getting another. I'll walk out with one of them. I'm sure the Bass X are nice rods but can't buy a rod without seeing/touching it first.

New 100MM basszone carbon handle to replace the 80mm on a steez sv i bought recently. Really nice looking handle, knobs are squishy kind of rubber. But it did take about FOREVER for it to get here from Thailand. I think it took a vacation around New York for 2 weeks while it was "held up in customs"!

I have been fishing the susky for 25 years now. Fished it while wading and with friends and family on their boats. Never owned a boat of my own till this year. Well, it took three trips before I hit a rock with my prop! Got a little big for my britches. A jet is the best way to go but I got a great deal on this boat so it is what it is. I can't some places with it but it has a 101lb thrust trolling motor that gets me places I probably shouldn't be. The he river has gone through good and bad stages over the past 25 years. 100 fish days were common when I was younger. Fish were plentiful but lack anything really quality. I don't catch 100 in day anymore but I do catch 20 to 25 fish that are a lot better quality now. it is a great place to fish but hard on your equipment!

Siebertoutdoors.com have the cheapest Tungsten around and are quality.

Some guys just cannot fish jigs in grass The key is to stay as vertical as possible The farther off away from the boat ya flip your punch rig/jig the more grass ya gonna have to come through. The more grass ya pull through the greater odds of loosing fish. The hottest technique on Toledo lately is big football head jigs in grass! Below is a EyeMax Jig

We have started building punch skirts due to requests. We also wire tie them if you want. http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Punchn-Skirts-1023.htm

THE JIGLESS JIG In the 'Florida Slop', my most weedless probe is what I call a 'jigless-jig' The 'crawless-craw' is a Deps 4.5" Twin-Tail Grub (Very tough plastic) The skirt is 'live rubber' The Hook is a 5/0 grip-pin rebarb straight-shank Dyn-o-mite Roger

Probably at least a couple dozen Bass Resource Members! Why? Why not!

I always try to answer someone and stay in the price they want. This time howeever I am going to ask you to try and get an extra 10 bucks together.BPS has their Bionic Bait caster on sale. It is last years model, 2 less Ball BNearings(makes no difference) The benifit is I know the reel, it is durable,they service it and most important for that price IT SITS ON A ONE PIECE ALUMINUM FRAME!!!!!!!!!!! HERE IS THE LINK http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_90677_100001001_100000000_100001000_100-1-1