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Fishing with a regular ol' jig is not my strong suit, so that's why every once in a while, like today, I try to use one exclusively, mainly to keep my jig skills up, but also because I like how a jig bite feels. There is one particular black/blue jig with which I sometimes have some success, and I tend to pick that one out of my box if I can find it in the jumble of silicone tendrils. I don't know what brand it is, the paint and eyes are long gone, the skirt is ragged and mostly missing, it has a bent wire trailer keep, but it works. With the help of a Rage craw and a hook sharpener, this 5 pound 10 oz fat bellied beast was tricked by that old jig this evening. I do believe that old lure has a few more lunkers still in its future. Fishing with a regular ol' jig is not my strong suit, so that's why every once in a while, like today, I try to use one exclusively, mainly to keep my jig skills up, but also because I like how a jig bite feels. There is one particular black/blue jig with which I sometimes have some success, and I tend to pick that one out of my box if I can find it in the jumble of silicone tendrils. I don't know what brand it is, the paint and eyes are long gone, the skirt is ragged and mostly missing, it has a bent wire trailer keep, but it works. With the help of a Rage craw and a hook sharpener, this 5 pound 10 oz fat bellied beast was tricked by that old jig this evening. I do believe that old lure has a few more lunkers still in its future.

Shhhhhhhhhh......... ?

Maybe more of a tacklemaking thing but funny nonetheless So, I have been getting in depth with my jig making, I am seeking to pour my own non leads, and so on. But, I have been tying on my bass jig rubber, and silicone skirts for years now. I had found a good source for tying materials at a local fly tying shop, and figured some hair and feather jig versions may be useful. I found a fly pattern for a hellgramite, (NH's lakes region has them),...that calls for some black raffia material, and as my girlfriend was going to a Micheals craft store I decided to tag along, since we dont have any black raffia.... As we pulled into the parking lot the discussion turned towards the tying of my jig skirts as my girlfriend has seen me tie some, but wondered what the raffia was for. Now this store, has a smaller vestibule, and sound echos in it, not that I dont have a loud voice,...cuz I do,..But I digress. We discussed the raffia some, and as I opened the first door for her, she said,.."So, ,...whats up with your skirts?", she opens the second door and I say,.."I dont like when they slip down, Id rather they stayed up where they belong, so I tie them up tight",.... the store went silent, and all the customers and employee's (all women) at the stores front, turned and looked straight at me.,...I think I turned all shades of red, and the girlfriend? is still laughing...lol,,.........

Yeah trout. Found a state park Lake showed up the day of the stock. They dropped the trout and about 30 mins later it started to happen. There was discovery Channel style straight carnage for the next few hours. Ended up with two fish. 6.9 was the biggest. The second pic was a smaller fish but still had a trout in her throat. It was one of the coolest days I've had on the water. P.s. I wasn't kidding about the total carnage. It triggered Bass behavior unlike anything I've ever seen.

3 egg mcmuffins,a crunchwrap supreme,half a turkey sandwich and a 2 liter of Pepsi.

That reminds me of a story on my wife --- which I will deny sharing if she asks... She was in a restaurant, and walked in on the end of a conversation about Dick's Sporting Goods. She pipes up, a little louder than intended, stating... and I quote, "I love Dick's!" Obviously referring to the store... The entire restaurant went dead quiet. She followed up, "Sporting Goods! Dick's Sporting Goods! Oh my gawd!" and shriveled. She now always uses the full name, lol.

Love them big girls

Well, try this recipe: Begin with a cedar plank and soak for at least one hour. Remove soft tissues (guts and gills) and wash the fish thoroughly. Lightly season the cavity with salt & pepper, then stuff with lemons and finish with basil. Place the fish on the cedar plank and grill over hot coals for 30 minutes or until the plank begins to steam. Remove the fish on the cedar and let stand for 5 minutes. Throw away the fish and enjoy the plank! Bonappetit!

To add to Roadwarrior's link, I buy all of my jigs from Siebert. One of the reasons for that is because they are big enough to offer good pricing and a large selection, but small enough that they can serve as more of a boutique vendor. In other words, if you send Mike an email about your specific water that you fish in, he has the experience to make a recommendation for you on color, size and specific model. If you really want to just dive in, go buy a Dredge Jig package for $15. http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Dredge-Jig-Pack-455.htm This will be a minimal investment, you get to try the product out in several proven colors, and I guarantee you will have found your long term jig supplier.

IPT = spool circumference X gear ratio Two reels with the same gear ratio will have different IPT if the spools are different sizes. Larger (or fuller) spool = higher IPT. Check out the listed IPT for the same gear ratios in 50 size reels vs 200 size - IPT will be significantly less with the smaller reels, because their spools are smaller. Handle length doesn't affect IPT.

So, after 3 pages of suggestions you bought a swivel and a weight? I think this thread is done. Good night Irene.

Yes and I am not pretending to know how a bass perceives its environment . I have stayed away from that .

Fished tue. And Wednesday with great results. Tuesday fished the bend and managed to catch 28 with the best almost 24 lbs. best bite was early with a lull after 10:00. Bite picked up again around 2. Biggest was 7lbs. Most caught on traps in staging areas in the grass !! Fished housen and six mile areas. Fished Rayburn yesterday and ran the same patterns as Toledo. Traps seem to be the best bait .. red and gold with black back. Tuesday I only saw 2 or 3 boats all day. I wish it would rain every day !! Lol

Exactly, don't waste your $14. With a little more $, you could buy 3 Bandits.

Catt , you're the one who keeps bringing eyes and brains into it . The chart I posted has nothing to do with a basses eyes and brain , humans eyes and brain or an aardvarks eyes and brain . Bass could be completely blind but the light waves act the same way . You are making an argument where one does not exist .

Sunline Armillo Defier Nylon line, 15 lb for the 200 size reels and 25 lb for the 300 size reel. Tom

I'm sure. Here's another hint

Ok this is kind of funny.. I believe in Asian language (it might just be Chinese or Japanese or some other) they do not use any L's in their language... I've constantly heard radios , TV shows and people speak without using L's when this (Asian) language is their first language.. like 'rove you' and "rifting weights " .. idk how true it is but the fact that it's bubbling shaker and you say it says on the package bubbring.. is more than coincidence it seems. I tried to say this on a thread a few months ago. And @J Francho thought it was just the craziest idea that I would ever use a carolina rig for bedding fish.

Got the Whopper Plopper 130 Bone along with some Hydras that were on TW sale.

Toss up between the Helicopter lure & the Banjo minnow.

You might have tried explaining that you like your skirts a little shorter than usual because you get better hookups.

Won't tell your bass club buddies but you'll post it on the internet..?!

If that Fat Slaunch Donkey is headed to a tournament scale, as long it's not a belly full of lead or tungsten, I think you'll be OK. Nice One ~ Congrats A-Jay

Woooooo.... I have never paddled past the second bridge. Only Jon Boated that far. you are right, it is a ways. I have seen every corner of that lake except the extreme beginning of the millpond. I have even gone up the creek under I-64. I have done pretty well here and consider it my home lake ( i lived in sandston for years). The lake has DEFINITE seasonal patterns but will surprise you. I can't give up my locations but here is some info. -when you go out from the launch, that first arm or two on the side is really poor fishing, skip it. I have found this to be the case year after year for all species (crappie, bass, pickerel and bowfin). I met the wardens thier last year by chance. I told them everywhere they shock up fish and where they didn't i was spot on. Those creeks are the WORST for electrofishing survey sampling also. -The lake has a tremendous shad population, I believe Gizzard. When they are spawning in the spring, keep a topwater on. I have literally seen 3-4lb bass running the shad up on dry dirt like a saltwater blitz just past the first bridge. IT WAS ON LIKE POPCORN THAT DAY! -With the shad population the lake can fish textbook just like Kerr at times. When the wind blows hard, grab the white spinnerbait and stay in the wind if it is May or later. When it is hot, there are large populations of fish suspended in open water. I haven't tried it yet (cuz i broke my Humminbird) but it sets up for A-rig fishing perfectly. Crank baits are BEAST on that lake at the right time. but you gotta figure that out for yourself ;). If you make way past the second bridge up to the right, the character of the lake changes completely. You start seeing Cypress and the water is a lot deeper on average. By the launch there are huge expanses of water that are <3' at full pool. The millpond area also has boat docks as houses are close to the water. I have two Citation Largemouth and 1 Citation chain pick from that lake. Average spring time fish is 2.5-5lbs for me. That is a hell of an average! Some things to consider.... The lake got choked out with grass a few years back. It was growing to the surface in 17'! I stopped going in the warmer months because my son couldn't contend with that obstacle. They stocked carp HEAVY so I am not sure what the loss of habitat has done to the fish or how much habitat has been lost. Tournament fishing has gotten very heavy at that lake in the last few years also. Baits that work consistently for me: Spinnerbaits Poppers Prop Baits Plastic worms in varying sizes/ rigging methods CRANKBAIT Small swimbaits ( I am a finesse type of guy!) DM me if you guys want to or get me on IG: @aliloffkilter since you are in my neck of the woods!

For a while now I've been trying to write a recap of my experience as a marshal for the Elite Series during the Angler of the Year Championship on Mille Lacs. A lot of you received text messages and pictures from me pretty much hourly during my time on the water but for everyone else hopefully this will do it justice because honestly for a fisherman and someone who wants to become a better tournament fisherman the experience was incredible. My trip started out with noticing my wheel didn't look straight on my trailer so after pulling the wheel off and realizing that when they replaced the spindle they didn't weld it on correctly I drove it to Glenn's welding and they told me they'd have it done within an hour, needless to say seven hours later they hadn't even started it yet and told me they would get to it the next day. That wasn't going to work so I took it home hammered the **** out of it and straightened up somewhat and took off towards Mille Lacs early the next morning. Registration for marshals began at 4 PM with our meeting at 5pm and driving up to the casino I saw a bunch of recognizable boats at the ramp including Jason Christie, Edwin Evers and Ike. Walking up to the registration table was like a kid walking into a candy store for the first-time KVD, Skeet Reese, Shaw Grigsby we're all standing around ***ting and I introduced myself to each of them just to say hello. One thing I will say about the elites that I immediately noticed is they all talk the same, " biggun, did you catch em and the juice" are their favorite words. And they all are super approachable and genuinely appreciative of the fans. I'm guessing with their careers based on sponsorship more than actual tournament winnings they know the importance of taking time out to interact with us. After some basic rules meeting everyone received a text message on our day one pairings with our pros and I was lucky enough to draw Matt Herren the reigning Toyota Texas bass classic champion. I found Matt in the crowd and we discuss when and where to meet the next day as he had to go down to Minneapolis to do a quick promotion for one of his sponsors and wasn't able to sit down and talk during the dinner and social hour after the rules meeting. The next morning I arrived at the ramp pretty much the same time as everyone else bright and early and even though it was very windy and rainy I was super excited for the day that I had ahead of me. While waiting to launch and during the singing of the national anthem I noticed water coming up through the floor and both Herren and I realized he forgot to put the plug-in. Instead of going back and trying to put it in he just told me he would run the bilge pump all day and to put my boots on because it was going to be wet. Twice on the way to our first spot which was about an 8-mile run we speared a wave, the first time breaking off a front graph and the second time snapping 2 rods. Obviously, you can't let small things like drain plugs and broken graphs effect the way your day is going to go because after one small keeper and a quick move we came to "The Juice". We pulled up to a huge reef with Brandon Palanuik, Randall Tharp and Boyd Duckett all in the same area and Matt decided he wanted to fish the deepest point on it roughly 22-26 ft. of water. With 3ft rollers he tried out the new Ultrex trolling motor for the first time and it was beyond amazing. We spot locked over a huge boulder roughly the size of a car and with BMP fishing right beside us they both caught four pounder after four pounder for the next 6 hours without moving or touching the trolling motor. Matt was fishing a zman jerk Shadz which is similar to a fluke but he informed me it's made of a different material which floats differently and gives it more of a dying baitfish action. Palanuik was fishing his signature money maker wacky worm and we were catching 3-1 against him all day and the fish were all higher quality. When we decided to leave early for weigh in just in case anything happens he had caught 32 small mouths on the day all over 4.5lbs and had 26lbs to put him on 5th place. It was amazing. After a super rainy weigh in I got back in my truck and checked the phone to see I was paired with Jordan Lee, one of the best young anglers on tour who also had over 24lbs day one, I was super excited to get in his boat and see how he approaches tournaments. With zero wind and bluebird skies we started on the reef surrounded by Ike, Alton Jones, Jason Williamson and Tak O. who actually led after day one with 27 pounds. He threw a drop shot for the first three hours with a strike king dream shot but couldn't find a big bite and after throwing away his eighth walleye of the morning we decided to head to the north end of the lake closer to where Matt Herren was. Even though Jordan is a very accomplished young angler he was telling me since he is so new on tour he still doesn't have the persona of some of the other veterans and that allows some of the other anglers to hole jump him or crowd his spots. His first day he had battery problems and broke down back in a small pocket and when Dean Rojas came in and saw that it was him he turned around and took off without helping him. Luckily Chris Lane came by a little bit later and gave him a ride to weigh in. So, Dean Rojas can go **** himself in my opinion. Well since Jordan didn't want to hole jump anyone on day two and he wasn't really fishing for much since he already had a top 10 angler of the year finish locked in he decided he wanted to go throw a frog for a while. His first cast into a patch of reeds resulted in an immediate blowup followed by the hardest Hookset I've ever witnessed in my life which in turn exploded every guide except for the top tip off his quantum rod. The sound it made was like a rifle going off right next to your head. With the fish still hooked in the line running straight from the reel to the tip while the rod was doubled over Jordan battled that bass for about 15 seconds until it came off. He then cut his line took off the reel and threw that rod about 50 yards into the water. He still had about 17 pounds at that time and that would've moved him up to over 20 to put him into top-five category again so he seemed pretty demoralized. He continued to throw a swim jig and a frog for the last two hours but we didn't say much to each other since I knew he was pretty ticked about losing that giant. I used this time to really watch Jordan's technique when casting and it was nothing short of amazing. Every single cast was pinpoint accurate but with distance and speed. Another blowup and a miss and Jordan was done messing around with the green fish and headed back out to a reef to try to finish his bag with a giant brown. He ended up catching like 6 walleye in a row and after a decent but frustrating day we headed back to weigh-in. 17lbs is a great bag for any lake in the country, except Mille Lacs and Jordan plummeted down the leaderboard. After thanking Jordan for a great day on the water I drove back to Baxter and went fishing for a few hours before calling it a day. The next day was Saturday and the elites had the day off for seminars, autographs and the expo. I decided to wake up early and try a local lake that Chris Harvey told me about. It was a great time despite the wind and the rain. Minnesota lakes are so diverse and offer some incredible fishing opportunities. After I got tired of the cold and rain I stopped by the expo to get a few autographs of pros I hadn't met yet and to check with my day 3 pro, Bassmaster Classic Champion Randy Howell. A few side stories to the Angler of the Year Championship is not only is it an end of year Championship it also decides the Angler of the Year and the top 40 in points make the Classic. Gerald Swindle was leading the AOY race coming into the tournament and as long as he didn't take dead last, he would have it locked up. Well after day 1 he was in second to last place and after day 2 he was in 47th out of 50 anglers. Not the tournament he wanted but since Keith Combs was only top 15 it was almost a certainty Swindle would win AOY. Mille Lacs is Seth Feiders home lake and everyone knew he would win it was just a matter of by how much. The last little story was the guys fighting for the final spots to the classic. Randy Howell was 4 points out of last in and after "struggling" with only 40lbs after the first two days he was in 19th place and needed a monster bag to move into the top 10 and secure a classic spot. Randy is very spiritual and from the moment we met at the dock he informed me that he had a "vision" about today and that it was in the lords hands. He truly believed he would catch a big bag and did everything he could to make it come true. We started on an isolated point throwing cranks just like I thought he would but after 2 hours and just one tiny 2lber he noticed that his Daiwa teammate Seth Feider had moved from his starting spot and we headed over there to try to make a miracle happen. The first thing I noticed about Randy compared to Matt and Jordan is how meticulous he was with his gear and tackle and how organized his boat was. Everything was prepped for the day, he checked his line after every cast, he retied every 10-15 casts or every other fish caught. There was no wasted time or movements. He was focused on making the classic and nothing would stop him. After pulling up to our second spot the wind picked up and we hovered over the same huge boulder for the next 5 hours and caught 5lber after 5lber. It was amazing. A wacky rigged pearl senko on a drop shot, the exact bait Seth was also using and had borrowed Randy, was absolutely crushing the fish. Adrian Avena was right next to us and while we caught 5-6 lb. smallies he caught 2-4 pounders on roboworms. The key for Howell was using a very large round drop shot weight to allow him to drop the senko up and down to achieve the fluttering action while maintaining contact with the bottom. He also used 7'6" rods and 40 size daiwa reels to better handle the monster smallies of Mille Lacs. At one point, we had 5 over 5.5 in the livewell and it took 20 minutes for Randy to cull his fish because he couldn't believe he was throwing a 5lb smallmouth back. What an incredible day. We left an hour early to get back without having to put any stress on the fish and after checking in I told him according to Bass Trak he was in 7th place and made the Classic. It was his biggest bag ever for a tournament with almost 28lbs. An amazing experience with an incredible Angler that never lost faith in what he could accomplish that day. I was truly blessed to get to experience it with him. The rain came pouring in and I decided to hit the road instead of going to the final weigh in. Watching on Bass Live I saw Feider and Swindle win their respective trophies and not only resurrect Seth’s career but also solidify Swindle as one of the best to ever be on the water. After being on the water and seeing the amount of time and hard work it takes to make it at this level I had a new understanding and respect for these athletes. This is a dream job but it is far from easy and full of joy and disappointment. If you ever have a chance to be a Marshal I would highly recommend taking part in the opportunity. I was extremely lucky in having three of the best anglers and people I have ever met let me spend time in their boat and it's something I will never forget.

I'm going to make a suggestion. Leave the center seat out. I have a Nitro Z-8, bought new. After five years, I finally pulled the seat out, and made a step to the rear deck. There are two small step pads between the seats for doing this, but not very compatible with older fellows, such as me. The new Nitros do not come with center seats, though they may be an option. If I need it, I can put the throwable pfd on the step. The non-skid strips are peel and stick. Available at Home Depot in the paint department. They are two feet long, six inches wide, and come with a durable grit, and the yellow stripes. I cut one in half, and rounded the cut corners to match the radius of the existing corners. Any holes which show can be filled with these. Available at most hardware stores. Makes access to the rear deck a breeze.

I totally understand all the "scientific" charts & research but you're failing to understand it's "as seen by human eyes & interpreted by a human brain". As to what a bass sees & does not see or how it interprets what it sees is shear speculation! To the human eyes & brain red " disappears" under water (actually changes color) but yet it's highly productive. This whole thread & thousands of hours of experience by anglers leads one to believe bass don't see what we see. How does a bass find my black worm sitting perfectly still on the bottom in 25' of water on a moonless night?

Yeah. This argument. The guy who wrote the book on this showed up here and the conversation got chippy. I like WRB and Catt, but this is one conversation where I've embraced agreeing to disagree and avoid the topic. Lol.

The Upper Delaware around Dingmans and Milford is a great smallmouth fishery. I plan on doing a float trip in May this year from Milford Beach to Dingmans Bridge. Lots a good smallies to be had in that stretch.

I ordered some crankbaits years ago on eBay from China and a few of the lips pulled out of the body with very little effort. The hooks were brittle also. Never used them as they were trashed quickly. Wasn't going to chance losing a fish over crap lures.

http://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Extreme-Football-Jig-1002.htm

I have tried a few of the very small ones (for trout), exactly the same kind of lot you are looking at. They looked fine out of the package besides the hooks and split rings being awkward sizes, however every jerk/crankbait sank with the tail end down. So yeah, those sucked. I did however buy an ultra-cheap fleabay lot of In-line spinners (also for trout) last spring and nearly all of them worked well, the better ones on par with mainstream spinners. I think I paid ~$12 for 30 assorted spinners, and I think that went over as well as it could, there were a handful, maybe 6-9 spinners that worked but did not spin as freely. Avoid the hardbaits. Spinners worked for me, but you should still proceed with caution, or not at all haha.

"What are you thinking about throwing out there today?" "I'll probably start with Fishing Lure. If that doesn't work, I might give Fishing Lure, or Fishing Lure a shot."

SHHHHHHHH

Eagle....Dang it.I knew it.Its always an eagle.

@scaleface you beat me to it ~ A-Jay

for me, it's a Gambler BB Cricket. When asked what I was punching. I just simply say "a small creature bait, nothing special."

Secret bait? Piece of pepperoni on a jig.

If you knew when you were going to need it........it would not be an accident......it would be a planned activity.

I've seen a red tail hawk take out a stray cat. Made my day.

Producto 6" Tournament worm in bubblegum, weightless in dirty water.

Here is something to think about http://pilotonline.com/news/military/local/navy-off-duty-seal-died-after-overturning-kayak-near-cape/article_f1601d9f-5ca4-59a0-bead-7ed6d6cb3573.html

From Jan 1st all the way to Dec 31st. As usual during this time of the year it's one of them yank dudes threads.

Pink buzzbait on a drop shot rig.

How many of you already been on TW and placed that order for Bubbling Shakers already?

Medium Power/ Fast Action will probably be a very good fit for you.

I would not fish them for free.

eggs??

@A-Jay lol he'd spend his winnings stuffing that bass with tungsten !!

Here in PA a lot will depend on the weather, sometimes ice out will occur during a big warming trend and will have the water in the mid 40s by the time you can launch a boat. If that is the case then it depends on water clarity, clear water my first lure will be a suspending jerkbait, if I got stained water to the point a jerkbait isn't any good then it will be a jig, either a dark craft fur hair jig with a chunk trailer or a small finesse jig with a chunk trailer. If ice out happens normally when the air temps are in the mid 40s during the day and below freezing at night, well the water will be in the mid to upper 30s by the time you can launch a boat. When that happens I'll be throwing a hair jig first, its that simple.