RyneB

Those pictures of you with the carp, that sure does look like the Hennepin Canal. I grew up catching carp on the canal. It was always a treat trying to get those carp up the walls of the steps.

I have my best success using a swedish pimple with a Maki plastic attached horizontal on the single hook. Although i have not caught many with any size, i do always catch a few every time out. If you have never used a Maki Plastic for ice fishing, you are missing out. I was a below average ice fisherman until i found these things, they just flat out catch fish.

Last year I had bought 2 packs of Zoom lizards in the seedless watermelon color. One pack, the back side of the lizard had a 1 inch dent in it, the other pack did not. I was out one day and started hammering bass on the flawed lizards. Well I used all the flawed ones and rigged a non flawed in the same color. Didnt get a bite. I rigged a used flawed one on and started getting bit. It had to have been that little flaw that made it look or act injured, but i couldnt get a bite on the non flawed.

I have only fished it for smallies in rivers. I have found i have had the most success when i move it SLOW around rocky areas. Sometimes i kind of shake it like a shaky head.

I found a silver and blue Ratl Trap on the river bank when i was a kid. I basically just used a nightcrawler on the bottom for carp or catfish. I had my dad tie it on and a few casts later i caught a small white bass. I ended up snagging it a few trips later.

I fish the Buckeye Lures Mop Jig with a lucky strike craw trailer for smallies on the local river. I dont catch a lot of numbers on this bait, but if im after a 3 lb plus smallie i throw this. I have caught a few walleyes, flatheads and largemouth on this bait also. The first time i used it i wasnt very confident due to its large profile, but all it took was one smallie to get me confidence.

Nice smallies, what was your technique? I wish a river here all the time for smallies and always seem to land a flathead or two, none of that size you caught. Gotta love river fishing. Me and a buddy were working a shallow island for smallies using rage craws. My buddy said he had a fish on. He fought it for 12 minutes and never once did we get to see the fish. It had his 7 foot flipping rod doubled over. We still have no clue what it was. The crazy thing was after the fish got away he reeled in his line and the hook never went through the craw. It was like the fish bit over the hook and craw and just had the weight.

any bait i have ever bought from Storm has been garbage, especially the pre rigged swimbait type baits. They just lay on there side. Also, the Jitterbug. My friend, and everyone else seems to kill them on the Jitterbug, but i have yet to catch a fish, and its not from lack of trying. I have lots of baits i dont catch fish on like the Spro BBZ, countless plastics, 10 inch worms, but its not because they are bad baits, its just that i dont use them often.

when i first started out bass fishing I pretty much strictly used the white wal mart spinnerbait. I really dont throw spinnerbaits much anymore for largemouths, the swim jig has just been more productive. I still throw the black wal mart spinnerbait with the single gold colorado blade and still hammer the smallmouth in a river just slow rolling it along the bottom.

my friend didnt believe me when i told him i catch most my fish through the ice on little ice fishing plastics from Maki Plastics. I took him out with me one day an out fished him and his wax worms. A Maki on a swedish pimple is deadly.

I fish a local river for smallmouth and white bass and ill pick up a few walleye and sauger here and there just throwing baits for those fish. A redeye in chrome sexy shad is always a producer, as well as rage craws and a drop shotted plastic leach. I have found that when the shad are up top early in the morning ill throw a redeye about 5 feet under the school and that seems to produce the biggest fish.

Zoom Baby Brush Hog for smallies, and Biffle Bug an Zoom Lizard for largemouth.

You should have demanded a day of fishing with KVD and a lifetime supply of Strike King baits.

I have caught most of my muskys and northern on a black with chart. tail Zoom Lizard. I dont know if the brightness of the tail draws them to strike, but it always seems to catch a toothy critter.

I just wanted to see what people think of this bait, and what is there favorite way to fish it. It has by far been my biggest surprise bait. My favorite way to fish it with a small lead weight, i throw it in the grass,weeds, etc. and i just reel it in on a slow retrieve. I always catch fish on this thing.

nice fish, another world record caught on a Rapala.

I was hesitant to use tungsten because of the price. I ended up using a gift card to purchase some. I have to say it has paid off more than i ever thought. I have much more feel with the bait, and due to its smaller size, i have far less hang ups. They have already paid for themselves and more.

If it is just grass, throw a swim jig type jig. I have thrown swim jigs in some pretty thick stuff successfully. It wont be very affective if the vegetation your talking about is moss like vegetation. Id just buy a swim jig type jig an flipping type jig and see what works. Worst case scenario is you're out $6.

3/4 ounce Strike King spinnerbait in bluegill color has been my best bait for catching good size fish. I throw all kinds of baits in the fall but that spinnerbait always catches the big ones for me.

I have it spooled on my cranking rod with a Revo s an my swim jig rod with a Revo s. I have found that it has less stretch than the mono i use an seems to be a little stiffer. My friend asked me the other day how it performed and the best way to describe it is "in between a fc an a mf." Do not put it on a spinning reel though. my cousin needed to borrow some line on a trip an spooled it on his spinning reel an it was unmanageable. I personally love it for what i use it for.

my "go to" stream smallie bait is a T-rigged zoom baby brush hog with a 1/4 ounce tungsten weight. i have found that just dragging it along the bottom is the best method compared to hopping. I have caught several catcfish using this rig an technique. The crazy thing is iv had them in my plastics bag forever and decided to finally give them a try.

I caught one 5 years ago while bass fishing. It was a light yellow and a very white belly. Like the picture above. It was pretty cool to see it come up an dive back down, i had no idea what i had on my line. It was a good 4 pounds or so.

My favorite was always a Bomber Model A. This year i started throwing a Strike King KVD series 5 crank in chart. sexy shad and have not looked back at the model A. This crank flat out catches fish.

I tied one on the other day for the first time. Caught a 5lber on the 3rd cast. I was just playing with it to see different actions, it hit it as i was just reeling it on top. I ended up catching 6 more bass on it that day. I caught them working the bait in all different ways. I liked it as a sub surface jerkbait. It was fun just to see how many ways to work it. Very very versatile

I have caught Saugers as far as 4 miles up stream from the Illinois River. Im assuming these fish are moving up to spawn and feed on craws,sculpins, and other aquatic species. Im thinking maybe smallies will migrate just as far to do the same.