Mattlures

d**n FC I am sooo jealous I cant stand it. I seriously want to stop making baits and get back to fishing! Your killing me. Congrats on an absolute monster!

I am not FC but I like your questions and want to answer them. For me its all expectations. If I get invited to a lake that just does not produce hardly any fish over 8lbs I bring worms. I have made up my mind that I am going to target small bass and have fun doing it. If I feel that I have a good oportunity to stick a big bass than I will go after them and I rarley give up. Here is my mind set. If I am drop shotting and I stick a 5lber I am excited. Not jumping or screaming but I am happy. NOW if I am throwing a swimbait and I stick a 5lber. I am disapointed the second I realize its only five lbs. It was not the fish I was looking for. I target big bass 80% of the time but Sometime I will go to a lake specificaly looking to catch a bunch of dinks ecpescialy when somebody tips me in on a wide open dink bite. I will give you a perfect example. Out here in SoCal we have a lake thats all catch and release. All the bass are northern strain so they are realy stupid. You have to buy tickets to fish the lake and the tickets sell out realy fast so its hard to get on. You get a boat and can bring up to 3 other guys. They dont all have to go in the boat, they can fish in tubes also. Ok so the first day all 4 of us caught over 100 fish each. Most of them were right at 3lbs with a few biggewr and a few smaller. We ended up booking 4 more dates. By the end of the 2nd trip we were throwing 10in senkos and big swimbaits trying to find bigger fish. We caught the up to 5.5lbs. By the 4th trip we were board. it was too easy and we couldnt find anything bigger. We actualy stopped fishing for bass because it wasnt fun anymore. The lake has huge bluegill so the whole 5th trip we just fished for gills and got a couple over 2lbs. The gills were soo much more satisfying then the bass. Why? becasue they were huge and the bass were small and stupid. Its all in the expectations. I had fished for at least 20 years before I decided I had to have a big fish. I had caught tons of fish up to 9lbs and I had nothing left to prove except a trophy. I needed a big one. Thats when my fishing life changed. In my quest, a 6lber didnt do much for me. It wasnt the one I wanted. I think most fisherman come to a point where catching small bass just doesnt have the same excitement anymore. You get good at cathing them . You want to progress. There seems to be 2 paths to follow. Either turn into a tournament fisherman and compete agaist other good fisherman or become a trophy hunter and compete against the fish. Both paths require skill and dedication to be succesfull. Both are logical steps as you become more skilled. Its just human nature to want to get better.

Actualt a paddletail tube is more of a swimbait than an MS Slammer or an AC plug. the original swimbaits were saltwater boot tailed baits. Worm king, Fish traps, Big hammers, etc. Before those would have been the sassy but they werent named swimbaits. IMO a true swimbait is a rubber fish type bait that swims. NO hard bait is a swimbait. The Castaic with the hard head rubber body would be a hybrid. Size is irelevant. If you look on Calfishing Rob has the hard baits classified as "trout plugs". even though they are not all trout, I think its better than calling them swimbaits. Yes all the CO's are trying to cash in on the hot trend. Its all about the $$$$ Most of the new baits are sub par. they are in such a rush to get something out that they dont take the time to properly develope them. Its a race. This is also the reason why smaller Co.'s like mine, Hudd, 3:16, MS Slammer etc stay in buisiness and can compete with the massive amount of new "swimbaits" being dumped into the market. the baits have been tested to death and proven to catch fish. Not saying all the new baits are bad, some are great but most are knock offs. Just incase you didnt all know Basstrix has been making swimbaits for at least 20 years. They aint new.

Bizz I cant add a whole lot to what you said. I dont know Florida either and I agree with every thing you said. Of course I would throw my baits in there but I am bias but I do get reports from a lot guys down in FL. I do think you might have forgotten a good bait for FL. I think the 6in Hudd in ROF5 golden shinner color would also be a good choice.

Bleach would do nothing. what you need to do is go to spike its website and get the worm and chunk paint in white. Do not get any type of dye. It wont work. The white paint will work.

Hey if your getting bit on a charlie then keep using it! I do disagree with you on looks though. It looks nothing like a gizzard shad or any other real fish IMO. I am by nature cheap and if I didnt make my own baits and I could get bit on a charlie thats what I would use. They just arent productive where I fish. If you think a charlie isnt very durable then wait till you fish your basstrix. I recomend getting some mend-it it will prolong thier lives ten fold

throw the charlie away. As far as action goes, it depends on the bait. there are good baits that have paddletails and there are bad ones. Same with billed baits or jionted ones. The Basstrix are great little baits and should get you some fish. Its not a big fish bait but it gets bit well. The Charlie has several issues. the first being how unrealistic it looks. You find any fish that looks like one of those and post a pic!. I would only use it in muddy water or at night. (actualy I wouldnt use it at all)The biggest issue with them is the hardware. I have heard several reports of guys actualy getting a bite on one of those biats only to have the little metel loop that hold the hook get ripped completly out of the bait.

I have 2 weights on the 4.5in shad. The light fall weighs 1 1/4 ounces and the heavy fall weighs 1 1/2 ounces. the little 2.5 in baits only weigh 1/4 ounce

Tpayneful Thanks for the kind words and thanks for sharring. I am glad you like the bait. Yeah I hate the tail biters. Not much you can do about it. You feel a bite and swing and some little 3lber is swimming away with your tail. Its ok though, I'll make more

We have a unique situation out here. A picture says a ton. If he posted backgrounds with even a peice of a bait showing or the rod he was using there would be 20 other very capable guys who would know where and how he caught those fish. You have to understand these arent 3lbers that are all over the lake. When you get into fish like Bizz did the bite is usualy very specific. So if you share it, its prety much over for you. I am so Cal and he is in Nor cal but Its the same. If you dont protect your bite you loose it. If you post your spots on the net they will be ruined. Most of us learn this the hard way. I have posted some big fish from a lake and the lake gets beat to death for 2-3 weeks straight. I learned my leson. 4Bizz likes to white out the back ground. I preferr to pull up to some thick brush or reeds and show only a very small amout of unrecognizable background. It serves the sam purpose. All of us at one time or another have been called out for doing this but its something you have to do. Again crongrats Jay, I havent put a big bag together in a long time. I get singles. I am jealous!

The dude definatly abides!!!!!!!!! congrats Bizz You done good

Biz is funny. I am prety sure he is meesin with you guys. Swimbaits, jigs, and then there is a big gap inbetween those 2 and creatures big worms and buzzers at night

Did it jump? I caught a 31lber once and it went completly airborn 8 times. It was awsome

RW you look cold. It seems every pic of you, your all bundeled up. What dont you fish in the summer time? You need to take a trip out here and I will show you what its like to fish in shots and tee shirt.

Nice Job Jay! I hate you! I have been dying for the last week with the flue and you aint helping! I am actualy contemplating getting out on the water with a 102 temp.

No rubber bands. It makes a funky dent in the bait. They should stored hanging in a Markey type box. You can pin the fins forward with a little pin whila you store them and they will stick out good when its time to fish them Hope you get a pig!

Very Nice FC, its about time to put down your swimbait and throw your custom jigs!

Brock I dont think its the same bait your thinking of. This one is a big wakebait prototype. I made sure to only show the head section of the bait. Cant tip my hand

cool

Thanks guys. Krzkev that rod is standard eqiupment for big baits. I was only using 25lb test Yahoo I love sightfishing. If you dont want to catch 12inchers then dont throw at them. I only throw at big spawners. Unless there is nothing up or I have been around the lake twice I might throw at a 5-8lber but I usualy just keep looking.

Ha Ha 6--7lbs. I will go out and get another one and then we can play the guessing game!

Go get a snorkel and then tell me they dont spawn deep. I see bass spawning in 20+ft. Of corse the water is clear.

Its only fun when the fish is "normal" sized. When you have a giant on its terrifing to watch them jump. If you have the gear you can controll them. When I feel them coming up I swing hard to the side and turn their head just before they break the surface. They stll splash some but I usualy keep them from getting a good head shake. BTW dont try this on regular gear. the fish will break you off.

That bait in its mouth is almost 9 inches. In the second pic you can actualy see 4inches of the bait. I dont ever have a tape in my boat but I think I will start. Its cool to know how long they are to. I have my opinion on what she weighed but I like seeing your guesses Of course I have been wrong before but not by much. The next big one I catch. I will weight it on my working salter scale and make a game out of it. If its ok with Glenn.

Yeah the scale is completly dead now. I left my Salter in my truck and that was my cheapo Berkley scale that I left in my boat. I was definatly not preparred. It was kinda last minute. Hey Biz notice how I only showed the head of the bait, he he. I will get a real big one this year. All I need is 20 trips and I will get a high teen. I can feel it. Funny thing is, its just about time for the spawn and I am excitted and all but I have this strange urge to go catch a big blue cat. My pb is only 25lbs and I think I can beat that easy. I am sure I'll snap out of it.