Crestliner2008

I like using the SK Shadalicious on a 1/2 oz. swimbait hook such as this: They work very well on early season smallies; no reason to think they'd be any less effective on LM bass either. Fish them slow along the bottom. Just make sure your retrieve is not so slow as to kill the action. You'll get use to them in a hurry.

I'm not sure what season you are going to be hitting this lake on, but I've always found one pattern that consistently gets me the bigger bite in late spring through early fall. And that's a Sammy (or Spook if you prefer) on a long cast, using mono for line. Especially in gin clear water, they will rise a considerable ways to nail something like this. Just make sure you are fishing it over some type of structure and you can see bait on your sonar or otherwise in the area. Good Luck!

Anyone know when it will be televised and on which channel?

Hmmmm....I've used them and see no real advantage over the Gamakatsus. My Gammys are "sticky sharp" too. For the price, I'll stick with those.

I agree; suspending jerkbaits and possibly the drop shot, if you could located bait balls on those structures. Also, don't forget blade baits!

Good question! "Worm" fishing means different presentation techniques to different people. Each has their own type of equipment. If you are looking for an "all around" rig, we'd have to know that too.

Most braids don't do well with bottom presentations, mainly due to their lack of abrasion resistance. I usually use a fluoro leader just for that reason. A bonus is it's diminished visibility. But again....it's probably more of a confidence thing than anything else.

Works especially great on UL mono lines. Soak the spool the night before you go out by hand lining off about a cast length....soaking...reeling it back on....soaking again. You'll cast a county mile after it has time to penetrate the surface of the mono. No so sure it's an advantage with braid though.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that jhoffman flat knows his stuff! I took his advice to solve this problem and it worked out just fine. Thank you very much. The folks here are just the best.

I find myself using bubblegum colored Senkos & Sluggos a lot in the spring time. Off & on during the remainder of the year. Especially effective in stained to muddy water.

One other note: Ice out through spring, most of your success will depend on LOCATION. The bait you choose will be secondary.

I've found that using suspend dots & strips can affect the action of the lure itself. Instead, I like to use fine wire solder wrapped around the forward treble shank. However, to put enough weight on to make it suspend will certainly be a challenge! You'd be better off getting the proper tool for the job.

7" Senko = the big bite.

Definitely hard jerkbaits for either species to start off with. Focusing on smallies, I would include bladebaits (Silver Buddy types) and Senkos. For LM, jigs and Senkos should keep you on the bite.

Welcome aboard! Tell us a little more about your expience, where you are fishing....are you bank bound or using a boat....what methods do you normally fish and more importantly, in what part of the country are you fishing? This kind of information will get you more pointed responses. You can also check the articles above and perform searches on your specific fishing conditions. Good Luck!

Helin's Flatfish. And even the Heddon River Runt, both of which are still made today. Just don't hear of anyone doing well either.

You need to get into some suspending jerkbaits this time of the year.

Two years ago (when I started tossing the big baits on my musky rig), I filled an Abu 6500-C with 20# test fluorocarbon. Big mistake, as I it is too stiff to cast well. I then tried 30# test PP. Bit into the spool too much. After some discussions with knowledgeable musky and big bass fishermen, I switched to 25# Triple Fish Perlon monofilament. Best move I've ever made. This stuff has low stretch, but enough stretch to soften the stress on your rig. Casting 8" Hudds and other similar large baits is no problem any more for me.

A 5" Kalin on a 1/4 oz. ball head, in smoke w/black flake. DY-NO-MITE on river smallies!

Just after ice out up here, you cannot beat a 4" Senko, wacky rigged on light line. When bass are in late pre-spawn to spawn, I tend to favor the 5".....offering them a full meal. In summer and early fall you just cannot beat a 7" Senko for raising kain on good structures. Big bass love big meals and the 7" has paid off for me more times than I care to think about it.

Not sure I understand your question here. The trailer hook eye is put over the main hook first, FOLLOWED by a piece of tubing to keep the trailer from falling off is all. The trailer hook is free to flop about. That's the way I was taught to rig them, many years ago. Edit: You can also use a paper hole punch and cut out a bunch of discs from a coffee can lid. Most of mine are put on with these, vs. the tubing.

You do not say if you are boat fisherman or bank restricted? This might get you some different responses here. Spring is definitely a jerkbait time. I've had good results with Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits as well. But again, depends on what your fishing situation is. Jerkbaits may not be a great option if you are bank fishing. Only because the odds of loosing an expensive bait to a snag, might make you want something else instead. Also, do you fish lakes or rivers? Target species LM or SM?

Welcome aboard!

Sorry....meant to say that is was NOT selected. I will try your suggestions a little later today. Thanks again! Redlinerobert - What are you talking about?

I do not have AVG on this system (assuming that's a virus protection program?). When I moved to Win 7, I had Norton's full protection installed, along with Malwarebytes. Full scans on each indicate no problems with the system, as far as infections go. Your second comment - do you mean to wipe Firefox's config file after or before un-installing? If I do that, won't I loose all my bookmarks? Thanks for your help. This one's got everyone I've contacted stumped!