deep

For most of the little lakes I fish from shore, my first step is google maps -to check out the big picture for points, coves, channels, etc. If you have google earth installed (it's free), you can hopefully find a few older maps too. Next, I go to angling technologies, and overlay the topo map over the actual map. And that gives me an idea about the drop offs. After that, it's mostly trial and error.

I see. Thank you.

If you're looking to toss sub 3 oz baits (once again swimbaits: I have zero knowledge about alabama rigs) I'd say 15-20 lb test mono or copoly should be sufficient. I have been throwing small swimbaits (Matt's gill, hardgill, tournament series, 6" hudds, weedless hudds, 68 hudds, 7" and 9" slammers, 7" and 8" triple trouts, 6" BBZs, 316 softbaits, 316 wake jr, smaller punkers etc) on my medium heavy swimbait rod/ Curado 301E with 14 lb Trilene XT, 15 lb Yo-Zuri, and 20 lb PLine fluoroclear at different points in time. I also tried 80 lb Samurai braid + leader once, and that worked out well too.

Nice catches! How big were those stocked rainbows Blue? And do you usually catch them right where the trucks drop them?

Tackletour did a cranking reel shootout I think. Other than the Crazy Cranker and the Curado 200E5, they had the Revo Winch and a Quantum. The Revo Winch comes in a lefty, and I believe the newest Chronarch has a lefty low speed version too.

Not sure about A-rigs (never fished one); but you'll be casting swimbaits off left and right with 30# braid. In fact, if I were you, I'd use 80# braid (or 20# mono/copoly) for smaller swimbaits (in the 2 oz range). Anything 8" or larger, I'd use mono/ copoly/ fluoro. 25# - 30# Big Game, and Maxima are some of the more popular lines used by swimbaiters.

IN.

haha I'm not trying to catch a muskie. I have a very special bait to throw, for bass, and want to know what muskie guys use. Just looking for another viewpoint, because I know muskie fishermen fish big baits day in and day out. Thanks for the links, and I will check the forum out.

IMO, jigs and worms look "natural". It doesn't matter if the bass are actually eating crawdads. If it looks like food, a hungry bass will eat it. Or at the very least, a curious bass will check it out, and a bass doesn't have hands.

Best: Have faith in big baits Worst: Too many to mention..

I would like to think so; just like with almost everything else. I used to fish wearing $20 strike kings, and last year around this time I found a pair of $150ish 7-eyes at a ridiculously marked down price. So I bought that, and it was a big improvement (in seeing underwater). It's not very fashionable, but I don't care what I look like when I'm fishing. The type of fishing I do tends to elicit more followers than biters. I want to detect those followers so that I can come back at a later time and hopefully catch them.

I think you should get a pair of polarized sunglasses. I also think you should start with one lure, and learn it before moving onto another bait. Topwaters are fun. Rattletraps and spinnerbaits are supposed to work in colder water. Jigs and plastics are said to catch fish all year around... Good luck.

LWD, you might want to start out with a heavier bait. Maybe even a casting plug.

OP, I'd advise you to spend some money ($60-$100) and get a decent reel (not a walmart special). It'd actually help your learning process. Used is fine too, if you don't want to spend a lot. Centrifugal braking reels are probably easier to learn on. Anyway, all my reels have centrifugal braking. So it's just my opinion. Good luck.

What rod do you guys use to throw 12-14 oz soft plastic baits? I understand the baits are called "bull dawgs". And how do you guys retrieve these bull dawgs? I'm especially interested in the length and action (not power) of such rods. Thanks for any info.

Powell Max 753 FB jig rod (TW special), Citica 201D (7.1:1), 55 lb Daiwa Samurai for jigs bigger than 3/8 oz.

Not trying to be a smartass, but what are those baits? Are they Japanese? I don't recall ever having seen these, and would really like to know.

The Toro 60 size is comparable to Shimano's 400, and the Toro 50 has the same line capacity as the 300 size Shimano reel. I did own a Toro Winch 51 for a few months, before I sold it. Great reel. If you're really looking to fish swimbaits (different people think of different things by "swimbait", I thinking along the lines of a hudd), you might want to think about getting the lowest speed version, i,e, the Toro Winch 60. That 60HS is too darned fast IMO. It picks up almost 31 IPT as per the Abu website.

Along with what has been said; I think there's a certain finessing involved. Unless the vegetation is slimy algae, you can try popping the bait free off the junk when you feel it's getting bogged down. I don't fish a lot of plastics, but I do fish bottom bouncing presentations pretty often. Sometimes that popping off will trigger a bite. Usually it's not the hook, but the weight/ head of the bait that's picking up that junk. You need to feel what the bait is doing down there. Is it crawling through rocks, dead leaves, grass, or something else? "Be the bait". Instead of working the bait with the reel as you mention, you might want to try working it with the rod sometimes.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a heavier gauge hook (4x as opposed to 1x say) might deaden the action, because it'll be heavier. I prefer to use the smallest and lowest gauge hook that (I think) I can get away with; a smaller hook will stand out less or so I think. I'm not trying to catch stripers or muskies though.

Never used trick worms, but I've caught some pretty small (and I mean really tiny) bass on 6" senkos.

I had a spinning bionic blade rod once. It wasn't bad at all, but that's all I remember about it lol. I can't even recall the length, let alone the power or action, it was so far back.

Looks like a good deal! Try it out and let us know.

I'm shooting for a 10 lb northern strain lmb now. Catching 5 pounders get old after a while lol. Just kidding.

Very cool. How big was the bass, and can you guess how big the trout was?