hatrix

I was really interested in the 3:16 and the Matt Lures Hard gill but when i go the look up the baby wakes it said they were ALL sold out and I cant find the hard gill either... I was at the bait store today looking for swim baits and they had nothing that really interested me. I did however pick up koppers hollow body and walking frog that I have high hopes for, and I also got there lipless crank in BG that I also hope will work very well.

When I was a kid I use to use dough balls or just snag them. Snagging them is easy when they are on the surface and you can see them. They make special weighted hooks for it, or you can tie on a big treble with a heavy weight below it and just rip into the side of them, that's usually how I did it as a kid since getting them to bite any thing was always really hard.

So I went with my brother to his girlfriends parents camp ground today and did a little fishing there. Its only maybe like a 2 acre pond at best so I didn't really expect much from it. Any ways we started fishing and I decided to throw a jig since the bottom was absolutely weedless and I had not really thrown one since really early this season. Out of all the time I used a jig I only caught 1 fish while on the pause. Every time these fish ALWAYS would bite while I was jigging it. Same ting went for him while he was using a suspending minnow, every time he started a twitch they would tap it I don't think he ever got a bite just letting it sit, always in mid twitch did they hit it. Same thing when I was using a drop shot, they would grab it mostly while I was shaking it although I did catch a few on it while on the pause. It was just really weird to me and something I had never experienced before, I don't know what the deal was with the bass in this pond but they didn't want any thing if it was just sitting.

Not a bad list except the possibly some rage tails should be a definitely some rage tails. Also if you getting a lipless you should check out a red eye shad unless you already have one.

Well currently i have a spro 4" slow sink and the spro 2.5" or whatever it is the baby one. They both work pretty alright but I have never really had a day yet where I just wore them out. I was thinking I might like to get the spro floater or another floater so I could really work it super slow in the open pockets of weeds. I have been thinking about getting the matt lures blue gill bit I cant find that or the baby wakes.

I'm looking to buy some new hard swim baits and I am not really sure what to get. What does every one like the best or what ones are working the best for you? There is so many out there and I am sure a lot of them are probably junk and those are the ones I am trying to avoid.

Gulp minnows

My curado was my favorite reel. Till someone stole it....

I agree with skunked. I think a softer tip helps me cast farther since you can really load the tip up on the back swing and it helps to launch/fling the bait out there. Maybe some where you have scratches or nicks around your spool or guides and it is slowing down the line?

I never been a huge fan of cranks but as for lipless crank the red eye shad has really gave me a ton of confidence and has become one of my favorite baits to throw. Even when there not really hitting it it's had for me to stop throwing them I have begun to like them so much.

I have been killing them with gulp minnows this year. There durability is some what of a issue for me since they are only good for a couple fish. I started using the bigger ones last week cause the BG and RES wouldn't leave me alone.

That's the first lure I ever caught a real lunker on and ill never forget it! I bought it from a local sporting good store and it was purple with a white dot on it's back. I was 11 years old and it was so big I could pretty much stick my whole head in its mouth. A couple other guys who were fishing saw me catch it and instantly came running over, they were excited but at the same time seemed kinda upset with me because some little kid caught a monster fish right in front of them and they deserved it more then me.

So it was fairly windy today and it got me wondering about something. My grandfather use to always say "When the wind is from the east fish bite the least, when it's from the west that's when fishing is the best." and basically it was true at least out on lake Erie where we would go for perch and walleye together. If it was easterly it was usually a tuff day but if it was westerly you had a limit in like 30 min. So my question is does that also apply to smaller bodies of water? I don't know if that saying is really true but it seemed pretty coincidental since the direction of the wind usually determined how the day would be.

Well I fished it again today for a little while and did pretty decent with it. I caught a couple just slow rolling it along the bottom but I did even better using it kinda like a jig. I noticed it will stand perfectly up right when you let it sit on the bottom. I found a old bag of black power worms with a chartreuse tail that match my chatter bait that is also chartreuse. I ripped off the top 2" since 7" seemed a little to long. I would start with my tip pointing at the water and slowly pick it up to about 11 o'clock and let it fall back down on a semi clack line then let it sit for a few secs and do this all the way back. I kinda liked it better then a jig since I was covering a lot of water faster and it has incredible action while I was jigging it. I cant imagine throwing one of these all day since it practically vibrates my arm off, but fishing it like a jig wasn't so bad since I got a little break in between the crazy vibrations.

It looks really amazing and super light weight but at that kinda price range I would never buy it. In the end I think I would rather buy more reels in the $200 range and spend the rest on tackle. My lures are what catch me fish not my reels. All my reels do is look nice and catch the angler Also about the lh retrieve thing why is it bait casters are generally rh retrieve but new spinning reels come lh retrieve by default. That always seemed sorta weird to me.

@OkobojiEagle You loose a foot of line each time you re tie?! That seems excessive to me. I only loose whatever my tag end and knot is when im re tying and that is about 2" or so. I just tie a palomar and never have to cut any line off its always a perfect tag end. I also spool straight braid on my reels. Its easier that way and I don't really notice any difference with a backing or no backing its all the same to me. Maybe in the long run its more cost effective to use a backing since you will have a full spool more often and better casting, but I can re tie all day and only loose a couple inches each time so its no biggie.

What is the best technique for these things? Today was the first time I really used one and I caught 5 fish on it. I couldn't really nail down a good retrieve for it. I kept trying different things to see what would work the best, but all the fish I caught I was doing some thing different each time. I tried pretty much every kind of retrieve I could think of. Also do you use a trailer and if so what do you use on them?

I don't know if you have tried them but maybe pick up a pack of super flukes. I have better luck with flukes then senkos and it's like d**n near impossible to not catch a fish on a fluke for me at least. Maybe you can also try a carolina rig or drop shot. There not your standard set up for fishing plastics but they both are very effective.

Im not sure what the weirdest thing i ever caught was. I guess its between a bicycle a hub cap or a bird cage. I guess the best thing I ever caught was a tree branch with at least 20 lures on it when I was maybe around 12 or 13. It was like winning the fishing lottery and the rest of the day I remember trying to find more branches to snag on for more lures.

Some times I will use sunfish and gills for bait when I just want to sit and do nothing. For me it seems 4"-5" are about the best size. Any bigger and only the bigger bass like 4# maybe 5# or up will eat them. After I catch some I hook them deep in the mouth out either side that seems to be the best for me since it doesn't really hurt the fish like hooking its back or tail and they stay on good and wont fall off on the cast. I use a bobber usually about 1'1/2 or so to keep them from swimming down in the weeds and hiding. Once they stop swimming I give it a little tug to kick it back into life. Last year at a family picnic I caught a 13.6# catfish on a sunfish I missed it the first time and threw it right back and it nailed it again instantly.

Easy Glenn sorry I was not trying to offend you. I was just quoting what someone else had said about divers and my father use to tell me the same thing when I was little. I highly doubt that's actually true though. I am positive all of them are very excellent fishermen and are more then capable of catching there own fish.

Designer bass frogs. I don't know if people here really know what they are but.. I have done better with them over any other frogs I have used. They are somewhat expensive I think I paid like $30 for one a few years ago.

+1 for flukes Also maybe get some stuff to rig up a dropshot. I am starting to consider a dropshot almost as cheating. This year for me its like a guaranteed fish every cast it seems. I have been using little gulp minnows and they cant stand it. If there is a fish near by and that dropshot is bouncing in front of there face they are going to bite it for sure it seems.

I agree with fixing them. Rage products for sure I fix. They are so expensive for being plastic at about $1 a bait and its nothing for me to burn through pack after pack in one day. Sometimes I have to stop using them cause my supply is getting low and I don't want to have to run to the tackle store next time I go out. Worms and stuff i don't really bother unless maybe senkos those are pretty fragile and kinda pricy.

All of you do realize that these bass fishing shows are not real. The bass are caught before the show and put on the hook by divers who film the fight. The last real TV fishing show that I can remember was "Gadabout Caddis" who flew an small airplane to various fishing lakes and rivers and fished for most North American freshwater species. Lots of shows depicted him casting without results. The show was in the late 1960's and early 1970's. But even Virgil Ward pre-caught the bass that he "caught" on TV. The shows all have a disclaimer that some scenes are depictions of fishing. My father always told me that when I was a little kid. I use to watch fishing shows on weekend mornings and he would say there is divers putting the fish on the hooks for them Recently I have been watching quite a lot of fishing shows on VS and I have to say Dill Dance only catches 4# or better fish it seems. Also though he is never on a real "lake" I only ever see him on ponds and stuff so I can kinda believe he catches those fish but.. I dont believe he catches 15 fish that are 4# or more in one day unless its a pond where they are feeding the fish and actually trying to grow big bass. Also that hook and look show I think might be legit on the fish they catch. Its actually a pretty cool perspective getting to see all the fish and the lure swimming in the water and the fish chasing it down and nailing it.