paul.

the mustad hooks Mike uses could be considered medium wire. he uses 2 types of owner hooks. one is a 2x strong (the 5304 deep throat hook with the square bends). this is an interesting hook b/c the diameter of the wire is actually fairly small on it but it is very strong. the other is a 3x strong (the 5317 flippin' hook). both of these will absolutely impale a fish on a decent hookset and dig a ditch in a fish with a good hookset. i believe he uses 4/0 sizes on his smaller weight heads and 5/0's on his bigger weight heads.

upgrade to the siebert heads with owner hooks, even if you don't use braid or beef stick rods. that cutting point sets easier and better than even light wire needle point hooks. the penetration you get with those is sick. just sayin'

lol, good question bud. i've wondered that myself plenty of times.

dude! THAT. IS. INCREDIBLE. smokin' 'em like a cheap cigar.

ridiculously awesome.

i have had plenty of aprils that weren't as good as january. it would sure be nice if the rest of the year plays out this way. here's a few of the good ones.

dude you are smokin' 'em. awesome.

looking back, the times i have felt most on top of my game usually had very little to do with where the fish were or what they were doing. for me, it usually had more to do with where my mind was and what it was doing. i have found my least productive days to be the times my mind was cluttered with something else - work, problems, anger, frustration, or just general discontent. when i bring these things to the lake with me, it's probably going to be a long, difficult day - even if the fish should be biting. i find myself just going through the motions. i'm oblivious to important clues around me. i try to force things. i find myself wasting time on baits, spots, or techniques that aren't producing. and when i do get bites, i fail to connect the dots so that i can fine tune a pattern. anything less than instant success tends to weaken my determination and resolve. on the other hand, the days i have found to be most productive were the times where my mind was free and unburdened. i was able to concentrate solely on fishing - finding them and catching them. all of my mental energy was available to assess what was happening around me and i was able to make the necessary adjustments in a timely fashion, on a few rare occasions even anticipating things before they happened. every cast seems calculated and purpose-driven. success just make me try harder, but so does adversity. and days that shouldn't have been all that good based on the conditions i was dealt have turned into banner days. for me at least, it just seems like when my mind is right, my fishing is right.

here's a story. i will keep it short. As he watched the big bass swim back to her cold, deep home, he couldn't help but reflect. The past hour had been something special, some of the best fishing he'd experienced in a long, long while. It was shaping up to be a great year. And it was about time. Several months ago, he was selling his gear and wondering if he'd ever enjoy fishing again, wondering some days if he'd ever even go again. But now, smiling as he watched her disappear into the depths, things just felt right again. His friends were back in the boat with him. He started to fire another cast into the deep brushpile that had just given up three six pounders in short order, certain there had to be at least one more good fish in there. But then in a move that would make no sense to anyone but him, the angler lowered his rod, twisted the handle on the trolling motor and headed back to shore. He'd save that one for next time. Because for the first time in a long time, he knew there would be a next time. And it would be fun.

every once in a while you come across a monument to your own stupidy, something that forces you to revisit unpleasantries of the past whether you want to or not and take a good hard look at yourself. i see a couple of these on a daily basis. there's the big scar on my knee from ACL surgery because i just had to play football in that snow and ice. there's the bone jutting out of my shoulder because i thought that jumping those big gaps and climbing those cliffs on that dirt bike was so cool. and today, i stumbled across another one of these monuments to my own stupidty while cleaning out the basement. what it was isn't important. what it made me realize is. in 2011 to well into 2013, i was often a jerk to some nice people on this forum. things were not going well at work and it had me perpetually PO'd. perhaps you understand if you've been there and it takes everything you have on a daily basis for months at a time to avoid doing something really stupid where you work. but that is a poor excuse. i treated some people really badly on this forum who had been nothing but kind to me and in some cases, much better than kind. it's easy to forget that there are real people behind the screen names on here. it's easier to type and hit send than it is to take a deep breath and hit delete. i owe some people some big apologies. and i think that it's ultra weak to treat someone bady in public and then apologize in private. so here goes. Kent (roadwarrior), i'm sorry. you were concerned enough about me to try to talk to me about some of the things i was saying on here. you could tell something was wrong and you tried to be a friend. and i didn't stop and think about what you were trying to tell me. i just plowed ahead and ultimately just left. Glenn, i'm sorry. i know i said things on this forum that caused you and some of the other mods a lot of frustration. you guys have to run this forum how you see fit. and i shouldn't have said things to intentionally make your positions difficult. Steve (Big O), where to begin? you treated me like family. you took a personal interest in me and my life. you fed me, let me stay in your house, gave my daughters presents, told me you loved me every time we talked, and much more. and then i got mad at you over something as stupid as baits. i said things on here out of anger about you and your products that i should have kept my mouth shut about. instead of trying to fix things between us like i should have, i just said heck with it and walked away. i'm sorry. Shane J and Mrs. Matstone also come to mind. I said things either directly or indirectly to or about both of you on here that i shouldn't have. I'm sorry. And there might be more. if i was a jerk to you and forgot about it, then i sincerely apologize. Things were somewhat of a blur during that time period and i was often blinded by the anger and frustration i experienced at work. Thank goodness for my wonderful wife and kids. it's a shame that it took something long forgotten and burried in my basement to make me realize that i needed to do this. i should have done it a long time ago.

now, now shane. simmer down. no one has personally attacked you so there's no need to personally attack anyone else. this is not a contest or a challenge. the title of the thread says, this is about alternatives. it's always so refreshing to see someone with such supreme self confidence and positive self esteem on here. me, not so much. i am an average fisherman at best and i learn things every time i hit the water. you are obviously a great fisherman. much better than me. infinitely better than me. i idon't care which baits are better and i don't care which one of us is better. fish how you want and can afford and so will i. i get to use what i want to fish with and so do you. ragetails are great baits. i have caught a bunch of big fish on them. it's not the product that i have issue with, it's the price. peace man. so much drama over baits. wow. "trailer wars" 2013 coming soon to a forum near you.

more great low budget trailers and all of these receive favorable reviews on other sites - all under 4 bucks per pack bass assassin pur craw - 2.99 10 pack (about .30 per bait) havoc craw fatty - 299 8 pack (about .37 per bait) big bite limited edition swimming craw (paca clone) - 1.48 5 pack (about .30 per bait) bruiser baits crazy craw - 3.89 8 pack (about .49 per bait) new netbait paca punch - 3.49 8 pack (about .44 per bait) Xcite raptot tail junior - 3.59 6 pack (about .60 per bait) zman flappin' craws - 3.99 6 pack (about .67 per bait) berkley chigger craws - 3.49 7 pack (about .50 per bait) but i still think best bang for the buck award goes to the bait the original poster suggested. what's even better is that these creme baits suggested by SENKOSAM are now showing up in some wal-mart stores for 1.96 per 6 pack. but i still think where and when you fish a jig are bigger keys to success than what you put on the back of it. our dads and granddads (and some of us today) caught tons of fish on pork frog trailers - chunks of pig skin and fat that look incredibly crude by today's standards. these still work too by the way.

WRB and cadman - props guys. y'all said a mouthful. SENKOSAM - congrats on discovering a great bait. no disagreement here. i think it's every bit as good as ragetail or zoom. welcome to the ever-growing fraternity of cost concious anglers on this board who think for themselves, rise above the propaganda and hype, refuse to be sheep, and catch just as many fish for less money. to the guys on the board that post so favorably about ragetail because you get free baits (yes it happens) - your bought and paid for opinions are irrelevant to a lot of the members on here. it's easy to spot you, gushing and cooing about the baits at seemingly every opportunity trying to influence other members to spend their hard earned coin on baits you are getting for free. to the guys who choose to BUY ragetail, zoom, or whatever because you like it and believe in it, that's cool. i hope you catch a ton of fish on them. what you are willing to pay to enjoy the sport you love is your business. have fun. bottom line, fish what you want and be happy.

another phenomenal write up. and more great photos. I always like it when I see the bass rise up in the water column and start sunning themselves in that warmest top layer of water. when this happens, barring crazy weather changes, an attempt at spawning is usually only days away. looking forward to some words of wisdom on the spawn. great stuff from you as always.

the fish are just now starting to spawn around here. despite yesterday's severe Tstorms and today's 15 mph winds, i got lucky and found this nice fish on a bed. one of the most aggressive females I've ever run across. no messin' around for her. she hit within 15 seconds of the first cast. she didn't even let the male have a shot at the bait. got her on a tx rigged bruiser baits avenger. released quickly after the pic. kinda bittersweet though. saw one that made this one look small. she wasn't ready though. best believe i'll be checking back on her.

just a friggin' cinder block of a bass. awesome! love it when they're shaped like that. and that is a super cool pic too. looks like everything went right except for the electronics mishap. hope that turns out o.k.

that's a porker right there. super healthy. people underestimate the ol' lightning rod. good sticks for the money. great catch.

gorgeous pics. spots are great.

great day indeed! and I think you will have plenty more great days to come. spring is just now getting started for most folks. there's an almost magical quality to this time of year. congrats.

thank you for your deep and meaningful contribution to this thread. thank you for providing this wonderful etiquette lesson free of charge. i'll use the money I saved to buy some more havoc baits.

or you could send 'em to Reel American Heroes Foundation. Just a thought.

that's awesome man! great fish.

all good man. and you are right. I don't think any soft plastic company can claim all original designs. and I am certainly not brand loyal. the thing I like most about the havoc line is that they have really pushed the envelope on price point for quality, fish catching soft plastics. to me that's the biggest thing they've got going for them. you can literally buy two packs of havoc for only a buck more than what one pack of other brands cost. if you can catch just as many fish and save a couple of bucks in the process, that's win-win in my book. of course when saving money REALLY matters, creme plastics are good and only cost $1.99 per pack.

or you can pull a rubber band through the sinker hole using a piece of braid. make sure you are stretching the rubber band while you pull it through. then cut off the tag ends of the rubber band. works like a charm. cheap too.

great report. a trip for the ages. real cool.