thinkingredneck

The easier it is to hook a fish, the easier it is to hook the weeds. Offset round bend seems a good compromise, although I haven't seen a huge difference.

Is the nose hollow or solid?

I never worry about whether the fish can find my lure. A bass knows if something is different in her environment. You sonar probably annoys her. You boat noise annoys her. She has a distance, feet to inches that she will move to take a bait, IF she is hungry or just trying to eliminate the bait. Shape, color, smell, vibration, etc all effect her mood. Sounds familiar to a married man--try to eliminate irritants and put her into a receptive mood. The young silly ones are easier to put in a good mood than the old grouchy ones who have seen it all. Biology is biology!

There are a couple of interesting books out about color absorption and depth of water.

Good timing on this thread. Just starting to try a C-rig. How about a Smoking Rooster or Pit Boss? I realize that this is an old thread, very old. But informative.

I spent an entire spring and summer using one color plastics, to prove a point to myself. I would change shapes (i.e., trickworm, ribbon tail, ole monster, paddle tail, u-vibe) and speed. It was in a shallow lake with a lot of vegetation. once I figured out the shape, they would consistently bite. I have noticed I seem to do better with glitter than with a plain worm.

Orange is a popular steelhead color, also.

My organization is evolving. I am at the Neanderthal stage, currently.

Zoom trick worm in Candy Bug weightless to 1/4oz weight. Braid with fluro hybrid leader on BC reel and MH rod. Slow, aroung pads and other thick stuff. Some days Junebug was better.

Every time I throw anything on top, I have a problem with young alligators attacking it. They LOVE a jitterbug. I managed to get one back but usually have to cut the line. I had to hit one with my paddle to get him to leave. How do you deep south guys deal with this? I just go to underwater lures that they ignore.

I met an angler from our college bass team. He had a "truck box" he carried everywhere he went. It contained two of everything he usually used: a few types of soft plastics, spinner bait in two configurations, a few cranks and jerkbaits, terminal tackle. It was an unholy mess. He claims he can fish anywhere he drives to out of that one large plano box. He carried a cheap rod and reel in case his truck was broken into. He used fluro line. Impressive confidence came from that young man. He really liked the Pit boss and used a c-rig a lot.

Had the best luck with a Gamakatsu 3/0 round bend offset. Tru-turn worked well but can be dull. Straight shank work well but hang up easily in thick stuff. EWG seem to hold best, but can cause occasional missed strikes. IMO: The easier it is to hook the fish, the easier it is to hang up. The more securely it holds, the harder it is to hook the fish. The offset hook seems the best compromise to me. I fish the Trickworm Texas rigged every time I go out .

I am trying ro learn spinnerbaits. From a kayak. Don't stand on it. I managed to catch two 4 lb LM with a dual blade spinnerbait. However I am not sure I had the best set up. I had 25 lb test braid with a mono leader on a M ugly stick rod with an okuma reel. No problem getting them out of the pads. However, I was wondering if I would do better with a medium or medium heavy BC rod with mono or fluro? Not a lot of sensitivity on the current rod. I also have heavier spinning rods but the handles are long for a kayak. I hope that some of you spinner bait fisherman can help a newbie (to spinner baits) out.

I am a pretty fair worm fisherman and pretty much a novice in everything else. Yesterday I caught two 4 lb bass on a spinner bait. My first experience with a spinner bait. (I am coming at this from a fly fishing background--which is great when they are shallow, but a pain otherwise! ) Yesterday was blue bird skies and a chop. What I'd read was spinner bait conditions. It worked! Thanks for your replies.

I also fish from a kayak with two rods. My go-to is a mh bc with braid and usually a hybrid leader w Tx rig plastic. My second rod is all over the place. Sometimes a spinning rod, sometimes a second BC. Cannot settle on one. I generally only get to go for a couple hrs after work, so taking a bunch of stuff is fruitless. Trying to learn hard baits. Slow progress.

I got tired of that happening and went to silicone. A different action, I know.

Is it better for a recreational angler to master one type of lure, such as say jigs or worms, or is it better to try to be good enough with many types of lure?

What is your most prized fishing equipment or lure? Mine is a Wilson's Fluted Wobbler in the box. It belonged to my Dad and was given to him by his boss.

I grew up in a small town without a Walmart. The local Mom and Pop stores carried worms, minnows, Zebco, Eagle Claw hooks and crappie jigs. Not much in Bass lures except occasional packs of worms. Walmart came and went. The Walmart where I live now has PowerPro line, Seagar, Spiderwire, Pfluger and Lews reels, albeit lower end, Abu Garcia, Mitchell , as well as Gammy, Eagle Claw and Trokar, plus Yum, Zoom, Rebeland Arbogast. Wide variety. Even some Rage Tail. Yeah, I shop there, and Dicks, Academy and BPS. I shop there while we buy groceries and supplies.

As listed already, boaters/ jet skiers blowing by my kayak, and treble hooks, plus curious gators, angry water moccasins, and mosquitos. Oh yeah, and brain eating amoeba in the rez.

Look for any areas that look a little different from the rest. Subtle differences. I have luck with T rugged trickworms in pads.

Sometimes you get off. Like a baseball player. Subtle changes that you can't notice. Try a different tactic like crankbaits for a while and go back to your normal techniques in a while. That helped me.

Yard work, Veterinary assistant (crap shoveling, cow working, etc) for $1/hr. Bagger at grocery, flipped burgers. Momma wouldn't let me grt a paper route because she didn't want me to wake up the family. Funny how we thought a plastic Zebco, and fiberglass rod with stren mono were BIG TIME. We seemed to always catch fish with a few jigs, spoons, Mepps spinners and worms. Used a lot of minnows. My Grandfather fished for the table out of one little tackle box and was relentless. Never talked because it might scare the fish (read: ruin his concentration and relaxation). Had to learn by watching and reprimands. He was a hoot.

Fascinating book and fascinating conversations. Tom, very good to get some clarity from someone who was/is there. I fished near SD once in a rez. Don't remember the name. Absolutely the opposite of where I fish in MS with mostly shallow muddy water with a lot of plants. However I still think a lot of this applies. Woild you modify and use a worm with appendages?

I am reading Fishing for Giant Bass, by Murphy. He talks about stitchin for bass. Has anyone tried it? I could not tell what line he uses but it seems to be abrasion resistent mono. Anyone that has used thisntechnique, please share details. Do you have problems with gut hooks? Can you use this technique innmuddy water? It seems like a split shot rig fished by hand, slowly.