Bluebasser86

I think you'd have more success with a hollybelly type swimbait fished over the top of the weeds than you will with a Storm swimbait under a bobber. I have nothing against the Storm swimbaits but like you said they are not super realistic and sitting still under a bobber were a fish can really eyeball them probably isn't the best idea. Plus the tails don't move very well unless they are falling or you're reeling them along at a pretty good clip.

I fish a 3/8oz shakeyhead fairly often. I'd rather fish an 1/8oz or 3/16 but because of the wind we're usually dealing with around here it's impossible to feel anything that light. I usually drag them a little way and then shake them in place for a few seconds, let them sit still for a few second then repeat. Sometimes more of a hopping retrieve will be better though.

I finally pulled the trigger on a Megabass Vision 110 and a Mattlures bluegill swimbait. It hurts getting 2 baits and almost spending $50 dollars but if they're as good as I keep hearing it will be worth it!

Pretty sure Ike uses/used to use Cocoons? They seem to keep the light out pretty well without being huge, bulky things like you might expect.

Those conditions sound perfect for a jerkbait to me. If that doesn't work I'd probably go slow with a jig,tube,shakeyhead, dropshot.

I think it would be nice if they put them in reusable packages and then gave some kind of incentive to return them. Like if you buy 10 baits and return the package to the store you bought them from then you get a free t-shirt or a 5 dollar rebate. I already recycle the cardboard and plastic from most bait packages so something like that would be awesome!

Whichever side they are running towards, bend the eye the opposite direction. Sometimes it just takes a tiny tweaking to get them running straight. Lots of different baits occasionally need tuning out of the package. It's annoying to have to deal with but once they're fixed they usually stay running true pretty well.

I pretty much try to imitate a crawdad with my jig. So it helps to know how the forage you're imitating acts. In cold water craws move very slowly across the bottom, so a slow dragging retrieve is usually best. In warmer water they become more active. If you've ever seen a bass eat a crawdad they will a lot of times rush in to get the craw to jump off the bottom and try to swim away because they are much easier to catch like that. Otherwise they're sitting on the bottom in a defensive position and to eat them a bass has to deal with the claws and legs. So in warmer water I usually fish a jig by hopping it a few times and letting it settle back down. Sometimes bigger hops are better, sometimes just short, small hops work. The jig bite is similar to a worm bite but it seems to me that a lot more jig bites are just "mushy" feeling. I think this might have to do with the fact that a lot of jig fishing is done around cover and the fish doesn't need to move with it's meal anywhere, so they just inhale it and sit there. It takes a little practice but it is worth the effort!

Thanks man! I was just getting ready to place an order today! Glad I got on here and saw that!

Nice fish! She looks like she's about ready to pop if we could just stop getting these cold snaps.

Anyone catching any walleye while you were out there? We caught a couple at Melvern Sunday but man that wind was terrible and the fishing was pretty slow too. I've been wanted to go down there but the bad thing is if the walleye aren't biting then there isn't much to fall back on. Those are some pretty healthy looking whites it looks like!

I make lots of jigheads, shakeyheads, football heads, and weedless jigheads along with sinkers. I get my lead from scrap at construction sites. Any house with copper on the roof will be attached by smelting lead it seems like. If you catch them while they're picking up all the trash around the house and ask if you can look to see if there is any lead laying around and tell them why you want it they'll usually let you look, they're just going to throw it away anyways. Makes sure you clean it off really well before you use it. It's probably not the purest lead but it works. If you're not making a bunch it's not going to be very cost effective either. I wouldn't bother with it if you don't have a way of getting free lead because it isn't cheap to buy the ingots to melt down.

If you get the diagram of the reel or find it online they're not too hard to take apart. There's an old thread on here on how to take apart a Curado to clean all the grease out of them and relube the bearings. I did it with several of mine this winter and it makes a huge difference in casting distance and overal performance of the reel. I just spread a cheap white sheet out on a table to take them apart so if I drop something it usually catches in the sheet and is easy to spot. If you don't feel comfortable doing it there are plenty of people who do it for reasonable prices as has been mentioned.

Have you ever taken it apart and cleaned all the grease out of the bearing and relubed them? I did that with some old Bantam Curados this winter and they cast like they were brand new again. A couple of them were making noise like you were saying and casting distance was terrible, not anymore.

I agree with KenG on the rod and reel suggestions. Don't scrimp, get the best you can get in your price range, you'll never be made at yourself for buying something nicer than you wanted. I'd say in your range a St. Croix Triumph or one of the new Abu Garcia rods would be good choices or Shimano makes some nice rods that would be in that range. The reel is a little tougher but if I was looking to stay in that price range I'd keep my eyes peeled on the Flea Market forum on here or check Ebay, either way you'll find some really good deals on reels that would normally be out of your price range but will still be in great working order.

The old Creme rigged Scoundrel is one of my favorite baits to give to newbies. Little kids to seniors, bluegill to catfish, they'll catch any of them for all of them.

I loved the old YUM wooley bug in motoroil neon, it changes colors after it hits the water and the fish around here crush it. Now they don't make that color anymore, I'm hoping the cajun neon will be similar. Just waiting for some warm weather and for the fish to move shallow so I can give it a test run.

The flat head helps keep the swim jig from rolling and it helps keep it up without having to reel too fast. You can swim a regular casting jig and I've caught plenty of fish after trying to reel a flipping jig in to cast again. I'd say if you're reeling and then letting it drop a casting jig would probably be a good option.

Do the Trokars keep a point very well? I've heard they're very sharp but lose that point very quickly even just after catching a half dozen fish or so. Any experienced this problem with them? I like sharp hooks but not expensive sharp hooks that are only good for a few fish.

I'd suggest different rods for poppers and spooks than I would buzzbaits. I like a longer stiffer rod for buzzbaits to fish them through cover and pull big fish out of the woods. I use a 7ft M/H for buzzbaits and a 6' 2" medium for poppers and spooks, makes it easier to snap the rod without wearing myself out with that short light rod.

EWWWWWWWWWW!!!! That sir, is disturbing.

Bombers are probably one of the best cheaper crankbaits out there. The 4F Fat "A" is what my PB for a long time came on. I love the little square A. Wal Mart always has them in the assortment bin for 1.97 in some pretty good colors. I let my wife fish with them and she catches fish like crazy on them things! I got one of the natural craw model A's that has the eyes on the back of the bait that I can't wait to try!

I've got big tupperware bins full of baits still in the package because they were on sale or being discontinued and I wanted to makes sure I had some extras or baits that just worked well and I wanted to make sure I have extra in case of emergency. I've got 3700 boxes stacked in the garage with enough baits to start a tackleshop and those are the baits that don't make the day to day cut. I started to go through some of it this winter but it was way more of a task than I ever dreamed . I promise there are guys on here way worst than that (I've seen some of the pictures on here so nobody try to deny it).

Nothing like a nice mixed bag of brown and green fish!

I've got a 6' 8" light action spinning rod and 1000 shimano symetre that I put 6lb test on that will wing them out there a long way. It still has enough backbone to get a big fish in when they come along though. I throw some baits down to the size of the Bitsy Pond minnow with it easily. If they're lighter than that then I have a 6ft ultra light and a 750 symetre with 3.5lb test. So I guess my answer is to use spinning gear.