Big Bait Fishing

you didn't specify what topwater type bait you are asking about but for most of my top water presentations with treble hooks i use shad colored baits . the only time i use something different is when i throw trout patterned waking swimbaits .

here is a place that sells them http://www.lurenet.com/productdetail.aspx?id=N501&DCMP=KAC-froogle&att=N501

Are you sure it is the Bill Dance Hook remover? I did check the BPS online and could not find it! It is the orange tool.I am also looking to buy one! looks like they don't carry it anymore , probably cause they have their own which is very similar http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10213376_100011005_100000000_100011000_100-11-5

Mattlures soft and hard gills !!! with the soft gills since they have a top hook , you can slow roll them on the bottom or a few feet off of it . with the hard gills just fish thru out the water column , fished slow also but with small twitches thrown in to elicit strikes . another bait to use is suspending jerk baits , try matching the forage id possible or go with greens and slight oranges , mimicing sunfish and blue gills

there have been a few posts already on these rods.

telescoping rods don't detract from sensitivity , certainly not with the upper end rods like a St.croix legend tournament !!!!

if you want some stiff braid that won't be succeptible to wind knots try Cortland master braid http://www.cortlandline.com/products/default.asp?id=517

since your fishing stained water , i would start out fishing straight braid with NO leader . that way you will get a little more sensitivity from your line/rod set-up. if you think you need to be a little stealthier , put on a 15-17 lb. flouro leader . by the way , 50 lb. Power Pro dia. is equivalent to 12 lb. mono .

be sure to give us a report , those look like some nice finesse flipping/pitching bugs !!! i eye them at my local tackle store every time i go there ( i go at least 1-2 times a week !!)

mine vary , most of the time it's around 8 hours , sometimes it'e just a couple ( i go to a local little lake/pond that is very good in the summer and i go after work , 5:00 pm , and stay until 7-9 pm) hours . then again i have gone to this one lake also near me and get there around 8-9 am then fish till 2-3 am the next morning !!!

That thing is soooo much bigger than 13. I know he considers it a 15, but it looks significantly bigger than that to me too. it was a 15 ?? yeah baby

nice fish Matt !!! what did it go ? i'm guessing 13.5 .....

did any one notice the layered carbon fiber handle on th elite !! if you scroll down the page they have pflueger jdm's on their too , and their carbon fiber handles look almost like Bassart handles !!!!

roland martin uses yellow braid with a leader when (not too much anymore !!) he is bass fishing

Black Dog baits lunker punker , jointed trout wake swimbaits , and Mattlures floating hard-gill

Rods by Vinzant - Pat Vinzant Custom Rod Building, Rod Repair & Rod Parts rodsbyvinzant@elmore.rr.com 250 Jasmine Hollow Road Wetumpka , AL , 36093 Phone: 334-567-2712

lindlers angling edge and bass pro's and bill dance

why isn't that 19.3 in the top 25 biggest bass caught :-?

i don't know about spinning handles . my Revo inshore has a longer than most baitcasters. i am changing out the stock handle on my revo SX with the longer handle from a Revo Skeet Reese model bait caster (same length as the Revo inshore) i don't like the short stock length handles on baitcasters either , so you might try looking into the revo Inshore baitcaster http://www.***.com/Abu_Garcia_REVO_Inshore_Casting_Reel/descpage-AGRI.html

I would never spend that much on a lure especially because the Rapala skitter pop is IMO the best topwater lure. come on now , i spend ALOT more than what those things cost on swimbaits , but if they catch fish it's all worth it !!! keep positive

i am hoping that you might make a bigger version of the rage tail toad , i bet alot of other people would too !!!

there was a post just the other day about that braid and the consesus was that it was not liked , but hey , you never know !! somebody might like it for catfishing good looking out

alot of companies make their frog rods medium heavy , i like a heavy powered rod with a moderate fast tip or just a fast tip . a longer rod is a plus also . i use my 2-6 oz. swimbait rod for launching frogs and it has plenty of power to get them up on top of the water and moving quickly towards me . my swimbait rod is 7'10" , i use 30 lb. or some times 50 lb. braid . and i throw them on my Revo SX (7.1:1) , as far as frogs being lighter than jigs , that all depends on the jigs you throw , frogs are usually heavier than 1/4 oz. jigs , but stanly ribbits are light !! i throw Canyon plastics 4.5" frogs and i'm guessing they weigh about 1/2-5/8 of an oz. with a 5/0 Owner twist lock hook . by using 30 lb. braid i'm also getting good distance with the lighter frogs , i feel you don't need more than 30 lb. braid even to pull fish out of grass and cover , that size braid is still plenty strong and cuts thru grass a little better than thicker braid cause of it's thinner diameter

hope i could of been a help , that is what this forum is for !!!

frogs can be fished in open water with good success when you use slow sinking plastic frogs like canyon plastics 4.5" frogs , zoom horny toads , rage tail toads , etc... you can run them in shallow flats and let them glide under and give them twitches wich will trigger strikes , run them like buzz baits across mid depth points , even buzz them slowly , causing a nice wake out in deeper water . my favorite place is to run them parallel to tules , just slow enough to cause a gentle wake with twitches and pauses thrown in to trigger bites . another is to actually pitch them up against thick bunches of tules and let the frog sink down to the bottom , sometimes i'll peg a 1/4 oz. weight to get them to swim on the fall . anyhow , just experiment with them and you will find sucess