Big Bait Fishing

i prefer longer rods as my casting rod is 7'11'' & my spinning rod is 7'8'' . I also have two swimbait rods , one 8'6'' & the other one is 9' . i started off fishing a 7' casting rod but when i started into swimbait fishing , using longer rods then going back to shorter ones felt awkward , plus i like longer rear handles , alll my casting and spinning rods have 16'' handles and my swimbait rods have 18'' handles , so having a 6'6'' rod with a 16'' handles would be like fishing with a kids fishing rod . btw, i'm 6'1'' , i think rod length has nothing to do with your height as there are plenty of musky fisherman who are short and they fish 8-9 ft. rods no problem ...

best way to perfect your presentations of lures and to check rate of fall for jigs w/ trailers . pool water will not damage your plastic lures nor harm your soft plastics ...

i dont use musky lures for big bass , but i do use musky rods for big bass !! musky rod blanks in my opinion are where its at for throwing big baits . most swimbait bass rods are usaully 7'9''- 8' , i prefer 8'6'' and 9' rods for big baits . i do use a lot of Savage Gear baits that they promote for both bass and musky , but the ones i use are in color patterns that are primary bass forage ( trout, hitch, etc..)

savage makes some great swimbaits . the real trout 3d baits are very good as well as the line thru's . that 16'' line thru looks really good , might have to try it out ! check out their full website , they have sick baits on there that don't get advertised because they are targeted for other species but will definitly work for bass ..

handle lenths of 95mm or longer are mandatory !!!

reason for me posting pics of the rat bait is that with $5 worth of materials per bait and a little crafting , you can make your own rat bait and not spend 30,40 or a 100 $$ . but make your own that will catch you a nice fat bass . remember that wake type rat baits do not need alot of tinkering to get them to swim , BTW mine swim very , VERY well on the surface and a medium slow retrieve will pull them down about a foot below the surface and swims fantastic !!! so build your own , give it a try before you spend a hand full of cash for something you can EASILY make your self !! save some $$$ for baits you can't make yourself like Hudds and other trout/baitfish imitator swimbaits , that's what i do .... good luck

here is another one with black rabbit fur

here is a pic of it before fabric --

why not make your own ??? i did , went to a craft store and bought a wooden egg , a wooden pear , stainless eye srcews at Home Depot , some Owner split rings , a sheet of 3/16 lexan , some fabric that resembles fur , a 1/0 Owner ST-41 treble hook , some Goop 600 adhesive glue , some Gorilla glue , and 30 minutes of labor and your in business !!! i'll post some pics ...

if you're gonna do something , do it right , put some Owner ST-41's on your lures , they are the best treble on the market , period ....

on all my blanks , i take them down to the raw graphite with Citri-strip , the raw graphite looks better than any paint that could be applied . i don't know how much sesitivity you gain from it compared to a painted blank but i certainly love the look and don't mind spending an hour or two to properly remove the clear coat and paint from a blank ( it took me over two hours to strip my St.Croix Big Nasty )

What gear ratio are you using ??

here is the frog ( Canyon Plastics 4.5'' frog , Old Tymers series ) notice the hollowness of it , you can see the hook inside , these things are the best frog i've ever come across , when i see them in tackle stores , i buy them all !!!

you can retrieve a hollow body frog basically the same way , just keep your rod tip up , not down , and keep a little slack in your line .

next time you are fishing a soft plastic frog , keep your rod tip up , start your retrieve to get the frog on the surface , slow down the retrieve to were the frogs legs are churning and you'll form a bow in your line , i know , kinda hard to imagine un less you try it !! but do try it and you'll see

i'm talking about a straight retrieve , i try to move my frog as slow as possible while still getting the legs churning , if you keep your rod tip pointed up and reel slow , you will cause a bow or sag in your line but your bait will keep moving , give it a try and you will see what im talking about . with that bow in your line , when the bass grabs it , the bass will take up some of the slack and when you go to set the hook , you will hook up 95% of the time if the frog is in it's mouth . like i posted , the frogs i use are semi-hollow , but this technique will work with other soft plastic frogs/toads . i also throw Rage tail toads and Zoom frogs and this is the only way i fish them .

the canyon plastic frog are essentially a soft plastic frog with a hollow tube in the middle , i'll post a picture of it rigged in a little bit.

i use 5'' Yum dingers and 5'' Big Bite Baits trick sticks with an Owner Wacky hook in 1/0 i don't feel the need to use o-rings even though i have some , never tried them yet and probably never will

the key to fishing moving style frogs is that when your reeling them , keep your rod tip at 11 o'clock , keeping a bow in your line , when a bass hits your frog , no matter how fast you try to set your hook , the brief time it takes to move the slack out of your line (remember the bow in your line ) the bass will now have your frog in it's mouth enabling you to get a hook into it i fish mostly Canyon plastics 4.5'' frogs with an Owner beast hook in 4/0 or 6/0 unweighted . i rarely ever miss hooking up unless the bass straight missed the frog .

i use that EVA tapered butt cap on all my rods that have a blank dia. of .500 or more which most are , for my spinning rods i use the 3/8th x 1 3/8th.

spinning rods and my baitcasting rods , i have 16'' handles( all split grip) measured from the back of the reel seat , for my swimbait rods , all 18'' handles ,all split grips , measured the same way . all rods have VERY minimal EVA rear grips(1.5'') with tapered EVA butt caps . non have a fore grip and ALL are micro guide rods (including spinning rods)

call Lews , i did to ask them about changing out gears for a BB2 wide spool , they told me they can put in 5.4-1 gears in it for $20 !! i'm just gonna buy the reel directly from them and have them do the gear swap . don't know how much they would charge you for the gear swap on a used reel , might be more money .

bought this to use for drop shot and wacky rig , i havent opened it yet (the spool) probably might bring it to my local tackle store and see if they will trade me out with some 6 or 7 lb. was just wondering if the 5 lb. would hold up or should i definitly go with the 6 or 7 lb.