matstone7

The 4/0 and 5/0 will cover most any bait without any issues. They may even increase your hook-ups because of the angle of hook point.

I disagree with that statement. While this is a jig hook, it is designed to have a plastic threaded on it and still stick a fish. People use straight shank and standard offset to T/rig all the time and the gap is no different.

Yea A-Jay, it does throw quite a bit of vibration and works well. As far as coming up with it, the spinner rig was shown to me by a guide one day on a jighead. Just adapted it to a keel weighted hook, changed to a bigger blade and the rest is history. Fishing the Rooster like that without the spinner-rig works well too and is always my first choice as a search bait. It can be fished fast and anyplace you would throw a fluke or swimbait. The spinner-rig really comes into play sometimes at night, and/or in real dirty water.

Welcome aboard eagles.

Can't pick just one! T/rigged lobster or thumper, C/rigged Eeliminator and of course a keel-weighted craw or smokin rooster will always be found rigged on my poles, sometimes with a little twist to the rigs comes into play too.

Just so they don't find out about the short cut-tail thumper on a swimjig.

I would have to agree. Rage Tails aren't released until they are as good as it gets.

Many times, the very tips of a smallmouths spine will stay in the fingers or hands. Can be very irritable and even get infected.

Tell me about it Francho, that's FUNNY! :lol: Great fish as usual Big O. Wonder if Dwight is on to something, can you do that with a plain color pair of cargo shorts on too?

The screw actually is there for two purposes. One is to hold the O-rings and the second reason is to be an adjustment for positioning your senko center. Insert till senko stops, slip o-ring over. Your senko shorter, screw the screw in further till senko is centered.

Great fish and a big congrats to Nikki for landing it.

Rage Tail Lobster Rage Tail Thumper Rage Tail Baits Fish with Big O Lol, someone had to do it.

If I had to choose just one...... T/rigged Rage Lobster (Falcon Craw)

Now that sounds like the Lobster I know and hhow it can smack someone down! Just imagine how hard it is to catch a fish behind Big O when he throws it, lol. Just a side note: if you are ever flippin' for fish with Big O, you can choose the bait before him, he won't throw the same thing. You might want to choose a lobster in Falcon before him, lol.

KVD Line & Lure is an asset, I use it all the time. I would also venture to guess that anyone that doesn't appreciate it or see a difference hasn't used as directed with the first application. Improves my casting distance and saves me some headaches with the spinning reels ad line memory.

You forgot the "bite off a 1/4 inch" part twice before wacky rigging, lol.

The spring locks are the typical everyday hitchhiker found on swimbait hooks. As for my nails, I borrow my wife's hands when I need nice nails, lol. I'm not certain the mendit will do your French tips, let me know if it works. I know it works well for bait repairs though. As for the Poconos, fishing and finding tackle, be sure and bring your own baits with you unless you want to take a drive to Gilbert, PA to visit the Wacky Worm tackle shop. WW is the only good bait shop around, he even has more than the usual crowd pleasers. Bring a good supply of Rage Tails, the fish around here have developed a taste for them.

It seems more often than not I see posts concerning the durability of soft plastic baits. We need to face it, they are just plastic and fish swipe at them, they get slammed, smashed and chewed on, they are gonna get worn out at some point. It's just part of the game. With that said, there are ways to make baits last longer and work harder for you. This past week I was reminded of just how long, one bait can last. The photo above is a Rage Tail Eeliminator tipped with JJ's Magic and rigged on a hook with a spring lock. The bait never slipped down the hook like with a typical offset hook. It never slipped up the line when a fish was caught and this one bait was fished for two trips and landed more than 25 fish! You can see the chew marks on the bait and it was finally changed yesterday because it finally didn't want to swim right anymore. This is just one example of making a bait last. I can also say that trying to cast a bait a half-mile when it only needs to go a quarter-mile will destroy baits prematurely. Anyone else have something that will help make a bait last longer?

Great fish Red! The keel-weighted craw is a great rig, you can't beat the presentation in shallow water or when the fish want a slow fall. Keep after them.

To answer your question, read quote above. Catt hit the nail on the head....again, lol.

Your local store could do great with the complete line of Rage Tails especially the craw, you got them off to a great start though. As for colors and the craw; GP, Double Header, Dirty Craw & Falcon Craw are my favorites.

This is an awesome idea, good topic. Thanks for the links Glenn

You have just figured out one of the big secrets of many river smallie anglers. A nose-hooked fluke drifted in the current is almost as good as a tube.

Considering it takes a company the size of Strike King quite a lot of money to release a new bait on a national level. I'm certain they must be very selective about each new release, especially when they have cranks, spinnerbaits and various plastics to consider. It all adds up, everything from design work, molds, marketing, advertising and just the amount of initial inventory in colors alone could easily be quarter of a million per new bait released, if not more. With that said, I think it's a great idea too. A bigger grub from RT would be awesome.

Catt is right. Now that you know the techniques, it's time to formulate the plans on where and when. Like you mentioned above, you may be throwing a spinnerbait but, thinking about the senko. Both may work and it really depends on how you're fishing. Do you want a search bait or do you want to pick a place apart. Back to formulating your plan and applying the techniques. Consider this, throw your spinerbait and have a senko as a follow up for missed strikes.