Skeet22

D&M custom baits makes one you can put on without untying.

Whatever you have confidence in they all work. Some people even use Chigger Craws..

I can't think of any spots to bank fish. I fish all winter and will be scouting the basin often between now and spring. PM me you number and I would be glad to take you whenever you can get away. And Cat is not very productive right now. The whole area has fished really tough since Issac. They had a major fish kill in Segnette and Des Allemands.

I'm assuming you fish the Basin being you live in BR area? Jerkbaits are very productive in South Louisiana esp this time of year through the spawn. A smithwick suspending rouge in gold/black/orange is the only jerk bait you need down here. I'm not saying pointers and more expensive baits wont catch them but they eat rouges well enough that you don't NEED them. The water temps are between 50-56 now depending on exact location and a jerkbait is one of the few ways to catch them now if they are suspending on points or holding close to wood. In a month or two a productive pattern in the Basin is to pitch a rouge to the base of cypress trees and pop it a couple times. It will draw the fish off the tree and they will kill it. Another pattern to use is to hit north facing canals that hold fish in the winter and throw a rough right down the center in the deepest part of the canal where they will sometimes suspend during the fronts or under cold cloudy conditions. That and fishing jigs and plastics as slow as you can stand are the most productive ways to catch them during the winter down here. When we get those common warm periods and the water temp climbs back to 60 or so they will start eating a chatterbait,crank,spinnerbait again.

The slow presentation fits right into coldwater fishing. When the fish see a very slow falling worm it tells them its an easy meal that they wont have to chase and ease up to it and suck it in. When the water is below 60 this a very productive technique in water with some visibility whether its a tx rigged senko,wacky worm or a drop shot the same approach works as its the subtle movement that does it. If the water is dirty to muddy the better approach would be a bulky jig fished tight to cover in hopes you knock them on the head or something like a chatterbait or trap that lets them know its coming and helps them locate it. Same reason a jerk bait with long pauses and slow pulls works. It looks like an injured or dying baitfish thats easy to catch. My rule of thumb is for water below 60 especially low 50's and colder you either need to create a reaction by running a moving bait right in front there nose or into the structure they are holding to or fish very slowly to draw them closer to the bait when the water is more clear. There not much in the mood to feed or chase bait once the water gets that cold.

I'm missing both thumbs and index fingers.

The clamshells are a pita in my opinion.

Surprise - The size of fish that will eat a Bite-It! Baits Double x being it is a reletivly small bait. Dissapointment- That SK plastics are not more competivly priced per bait. I have really taken a liking to caffiene shads and rage craws but hard to justify the cost if you go through a lot of baits. I think a lot of the cost comes from marketing packaging etc when imo the baits would sell them selves without all the hype if they were priced close to zoom,netbait,berkley etc. I like the Rodents also but hard to justify paying the same price as the original RI Sweet Beaver and getting 4 less baits in a pack.

Punching- RI Sweet Beavers and Zoom Z Hogs Craw- Zoom Speed Craw and SK Rage Craw Finesse TX rig- Bite It! double x and bed Bandit Swim Bait- Nasty Baits Nasty Swimmer and Gambler EZ Fluke- SK Caffeine Shad and zoom super fluke Stick Bait - Bit-It! Trick Stick Drop Shot- Sk Dream Shot and Bite-It! Double x

For strictly swimming I have better results with the lighter1/4 oz swim jigs with a thin skirt and slightly lighter hook with a single tail zoom fat albert grub. The heavier swim jigs tend to roll a little more and just dont have the same action imo. The 1/2 flip and swim I was using is kind of a dual purpose jig but I more or less hop it around wood and let it fall rather than and a steady swimming retrieve. I keep another rod rigged with a lighter swim jig for that.

It was a beast for sure, I've caught Bull Red that did not fight like this thing... Pretty good fish for a public lake in Mississippi. She went 8lbs 7oz On another note I have never bought into the Rage Tail hype before but after my last two outings pitching a jig it will be hard for me to throw a jig with any other trailer...

Well the 1/2 oz Northstar Flip and Swim I would say did the job this weekend!

Northstar all the way. There "new gill" is one of my favorites. Here is a Bama Craw Flip and Swim with a Rage Craw trailer

That is an extreme form of punching but I would consider penetrating heavy cover with 1oz plus weights punching also. Atleast around here it's known as punching. Guess it really does not matter what you call it. I hear people refer to pitching as flipping all the time...

Makes sense. I thouhgt it was to help with blowing holes in the fishes mouth being on short line with braid but what you said makes sense. I may give it a try.

I've often thought about that Irod punch rod with the parabolic action but never could commit to that theory.

I use swimbaits sometimes but I don't know what it is about a single tail grub that drives fish nuts. I think it looks more baitfish like than swimbait the way it flutters through the water. What I usually do is on 1/4 swim jigs I use a grub almost always and when I go to 3/8 and up I will use a swimbait which in this case im usually fishing through grass and not around and on top of it like I do with the lighter swim jig.

Depends on how much you want to spend. For $99 a 7'6" MH Veritas is hard to beat or a 7'6" H Vendetta. The Veritas is rated for 1 1/2 oz so its borderline but has served me well for quite a while. If you want to spend a little more I would recommend this rod below. You can check it out at tackle warehouse. Phenix Bass Recon Casting Rod 7'9" Heavy

Reel is perfect esp if your pitching to targets it will help you get that bait back and ready for your next pitch faster. Most claim you want a high speed reel to get the fish out of cover quick but in my experience your on short line anyway so by the time you reel down and set the hook your already pulling the fish out of cover with the sweeping back of the rod which is why I prefer a 7'6" or longer it alows you to move the fish a little quicker as well as get closer to your targets when flipping. You definitly want a rod rated for 1.5 oz minimum but preferably 2oz or more.

I don't know of many people who have tried the miller weights that stay with them. I'm not much on drop shotting but I can help you with anything to do with punching. I would recommend a 1- 1 1/2 oz insert free Tungsten weight of your choice. A 4/0 or 5/0 straight shank flipping hook of your choice and a small craw or beaver style plastic of your choice. Also peg your weight with bobber stoppers they work better for me than the tapered pegs. My preference is Strike King Flipping weights, Trokar TK130 Flipping Hook and either zoom z hogs or RI Sweet Beavers. Punching is 100% reaction so you basically just need something to hold the hook that slips through the thick cover well. In my experience color does not make much difference when punching. For line 65# Braid will do, I use Sunline FX2 and have no complaints. Also a Snell Knot will help put the hook through the roof of the fishes mouth almost everytime.

Thanks for the input fellas. The more I think about it I may just nose hook and see what happens. It's mostly vertical timber in a resevoir so it may not be too bad. Hopefully they will be eating a crank and jig and this rod stays in my rod box anyway but once the sun gets high I may have to break it out.

I won't be nose hooking due to the amount of wood and brush I will be fishing around. The only drop shotting i've done has been nose hooking with an owner 1/0 mosquito hook thats why i'm unsure about which hook to use for a traditional tx rig. I really dont use EWG hooks at all anymore other than for flukes/swimbaits. I may try the 1/0 EWG and see what happens. Thanks for the input.

What hook do you use? I planning on fishing this and a baby fluke so I am thinking a 1/0 EWG. Anyone else use an EWG to drop shot?

We gonna see how that 1/2oz Northstar "New Gill" flip and swim with a Alabama Craw Rage Craw trailer works flipped and swam arouns shallow isolated wood in back of the creeks on Ohkissa Lake next weekend for a change up to the shad pattern. I will also have a 1/4 oz silver shad swim jig paired with a pearl zoom fat albert grub to swim around while the shad bite is on. Northstar jigs are very hard to beat IMO.

I use two hooks and love them both. Owner Twistlock flipping hook with Zo wire and Trokar TK130 Flipping hook. The owner twist lock saves the bait and the angle of the eye is supposed to have the same effect as tying a snell knot.