Bluebasser86

Both great baits and both have their time and place. Seems to me like the rattling LC are a little louder than the SK and have a little tighter, more controlled wobble.

I've used my boat to break ice to fish areas and loaded the boat before. You just have to fish slowly and downsizing often seems to help bring more bites. The bass don't have to eat very often because of their slow metabolism, so you bait really has to hit them on the nose and often needs to stay there for awhile before they'll bite it. Don't expect a lot of bites but this time of year is a good time to catch a big one!

Here is the exact bait I was using, still rigged on the same hook.

Probably going to have an empty back seat this Thursday if anyone is interested, just let me know.

That would also make it the only buzzbait fish I've ever heard of anyone catching out of there, and I've tossed one a lot, well done.

Good to know. I love the Havoc line up, makes it that much better that it's made in the US. Just got my first packs of the sick fish the other day and they are just nasty! Great action and so durable. I rigged one on a weighted screw lock swimbait hook the other day and added a belly treble and managed to boat 13 largemouth, 2 white bass, 2 crappie, and a channel cat, all on the same bait and minus a few scratches and a missing eye it's in amazingly good condition. The catfish was probably 3 pounds and had the bait right between it's tooth pads, would have been a death sentence for most swimbaits, didn't seem to bother the sick fish.

You sir, are the first person I've ever heard of catching a fish out of those pads. I've fished them for hours and never had so much as a bite. Several of my friends have fished them and with the same results I've had. It isn't much to look at but it has an insane number of quality fish over 18". Thankfully it's small enough, far enough away from the major cities, and down enough dusty dirt roads that it doesn't get a ton of pressure.

Send some of that rain to Kansas! I saw pictures of one of our biggest lakes yesterday and the top of the outlet at the dam is almost out of the water now! You can literally walk across the Kansas river in a lot of places right now and some lakes aren't going to be accessible by boat next year at the rate we're going because the ramps are so far out of the water.

If you decide to sell the the 200Bs let me know! I loan a lot of gear out to friends and families if I don't use it but don't want to get rid of it.

Send me a PM and I'll answer any questions I can for you.

I fish them on the same rod I fish spinnerbaits on, 6' 6" MH/F.

It is great line for a few techniques. I love Nanofil for swimming grubs, wacky rigs, weightless senkos and flukes, small cranks. After a season and a half of fishing Nanofil I have not had the breakage issues that most others seem to have. Tie your knots carefully and give them a good pull to make sure it isn't going to slip and you're good to go. I always use a short fluoro leader with mine. It's terrible for bottom contact baits. Any kind of breeze blows a big bow into it and you can't feel anything. I've never fished a line that casts like Nanofil on a spinning reel. I've tried a lot of different kinds of line and Nanofil is in a category of it's own when it comes to launching a bait a long ways.

Cast again. It wanted it the first time, why not again? If that doesn't work a wacky rigged senko style bait is my next option.

I'd be pulling a suspending crank or deep diving jerkbait over those weeds and letting it sit for a long time. Also any steep shoreline, like 45 degree angle or more, with sun shining on it would be a place I'd hit. Pull a jerkbait along the drop or drag a jig or shakyhead slowly along the bottom.

I have a knotted rope I pitch around the living room and down the hallway that our puppy loves to chase. Good practice for me and good exercise for her!

The biggest reasons I see big bass lost are lack of preparation, and the angler panicking at the sight of a big fish. I spend all that time on the water trying to get the right combination of timing, luck, presentation, and whatever other factors might play in to hook a big fish, I'm not losing it because I didn't check my knot or didn't retie after dragging a fish out of a brushpile because I'm feeling lazy. Almost without fail it's when I lose focus of the little details and get lazy when a big fish comes calling and makes me regret it. The second factor I watched happen no less than half a dozen times just this past season. I watched what would have been a PB bass eat a guys swimbait next to the boat, he freaked out and tried to boat flip a 6+ pound fish with a 6' 6" medium rod and 12 pound test, it didn't work. My friend Jon has it terrible. I watched him lose what would have been his PB bass 3 times in the same day. First time he hooked a fish in the 7-8 pound range and just froze when he saw it. The fish knew what to do and wrapped around a branch several times and pulled off. Next was a 7lb class fish on a crankbait. Same thing, saw the fish and froze. Instead of trying to keep the fish down he just watched as the fish wallowed on top and tossed his bait. Last time was a 6lb class fish on the same crankbait. He at least was fighting the fish but still was in such a hurry to get her in that he forced her to the top and she jumped and tossed his bait back at him. He also was suffering from the first factor because he still had the stock hooks on his KVD 1.5 that are notoriously bad. Unfortunately the best way to get over the panic of hooking and losing a big bass is catching big bass. It helps to have a plan in your head what you're going to do when you hook a big fish. If you know what you're going to do beforehand you can concentrate on fighting the fish instead of trying to divide your attention between the fish and what you're going to try to do next.

I'll be there with my buddies Jon and Chris (Basshunter0731 and Kanasbassfisher08). I've got a question for you guys that have been there. We're staying at Jon's grandpas cabin on the lake and we can't make the drive back and forth each day so we plan on just being at the expo and weigh in the final day. Are we going to be missing out on a lot by just going to the expo the final day? I only took the weekend off but I'll have Friday off too so I'm thinking we could drive straight to Tulsa the first day and then to the lake after the first weigh in. Any thoughts from you guys that have been? I'm pumped up to be there! This will be the first tournament I've ever got to attend and for it to be the Classic is just that much more awesome!

I'm lucky to live close to a couple power plant lakes with good fishing in them. It does a lot to keep the winter time crazies away when I can get out to some soft water in the winter time.

I like to fish the 7" Bass Pro version on a T-rig with a 1/4oz weight and 5/0 hook. It's a great big fish bait o pitch into heavy cover because it has no appendages to hang up as it falls through the cover. The weight isn't for casting but to make the bait fall through the cover nose down so it doesn't land and rest on something before reaching the bottom.

You can make pretty good jerky out of them. Not as good as duck but I've eaten a lot worse.

Heavy grass, frog fishing, or C rig on a baitcaster.

Resistance is futile! You only cause yourself anguish by trying to fight this unbeatable foe! Best just to give in to him and keep him happy for awhile instead of trying to fight him and making him mad so he starts whispering about how you're going to need a new rod to put that new reel on

Frogg Toggs are the best lightweight, breathable, and affordable rain gear I've ever found. I've had lots of different rain gear, some of them really expensive, but none of them keep me dry like the Frogg Toggs have after several years.