ClackerBuzz

Just came across this old threat. Parasite clips are amazing but a cheap alternative is a #4 or 5 barrel swivel (I prefer the closed/welded eyes as opposed to old school wire twist b/c the wire ends pick up more grass). Also try threading a snip of rubber band above and below the fluke on hook shaft to keep them from sliding up or down. These techniques work with most soft plastics and save time/money. This guy uses silicone tubing but rubber band works just as well.

Can anyone recommend a small light-wire 1" hook, maybe #4 or #6? I'd prefer EWG but can round bend as long as it's off-set. I know it doesn't seem like bass gear but it's going on a 4.5" zoom finesse worm, 4 lb line in pressured waters. Thanks

I'll second Ned rig and Mepps spinners. Highly pressured water and/or stocked fish don't make for a great combination. A senko can cast a shadow like a bald eagle in those conditions so fish will be more spooked than aggressive. Also the weather can play a huge factor. Glassy/mirror calm surface is much harder to fish. Any wind chop on the surface will work to your advantage. Also hide behind trees/weed beds/points when casting. Use nature to your advantage to ambush them.

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Well said. Only thing I'll add is go cast in ur backyard at night. No house lights and preferably in the complete dark. You will instinctively do two things: Make short casts. Thumb spool the entire cast. Not being able to see ur lure/weight means you won't know when it's going to hit the ground. It will force you to thumb brake the entire time. Go crazy and over thumb brake. There is no consequence to stopping the lure mid air with a total spool thumb brake (something even us 'experienced anglers' should do during an aborted cast). You'll have a smart/educated thumb much faster and make shorter casts from muscle memory alone. Help a blind man see.

I used to be a glass guy but finally switched to composite. There are some extremely experienced guys in this forum so I respect their opinions. Many of them have made the switch to composite so I was willing to experiment and I'm glad I did. If I had to narrow it down to one reason: composite rods allow you to work a crankbait through timber. Glass isn't sensitive enough so the rod loads far more and fouls a crankbait in wood. Composite is slightly stiffer so CB deflect over timber. You also feel the bump sooner so you can give the rod/line back allowing the CB to float up/over the timber before you continue ur retrieve. Composite with fluoro is the best of all worlds. If it's too sensitive for you just spool up some monofilament and you'll be very close to a glass setup. I still have an old backup glass rod which I spooled braid with mono leader to overcome its lack of sensitivity. It's reaction time is still too slow to walk CB thru timber. It works okay for buzzbaits, chatterbaits, small swimbaits etc.

This. Not trying to cast a mile will allow you to open up ur brakes and cast much farther with far less force. I know when I cheat when casting b/c I'm punished with backlashes and a sore shoulder. Also get over the mental worry that ur going to hook the back of ur head if you keep a tight casting radius. We tend to swing our rod far away from our body so we don't hook ourselves in the back. It's nearly impossible to do even with ur elbows tucked tight against body.

This^ Fish shallow near those tight contour lines on map. Very easy to find and fish from a boat. Very difficult to find/fish from the bank. Still possible but shoreline real estate is much more restricted due to private property, thick brush etc.

No you can't use the gift card to pay for the same order. However IIRC they email the card within 24-48 hours. You can then immediately use it to shop. Order 1 is buy gift card. Order 2 a few days later...go crazy shopping.

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If you fish quality water, have a good ecosystem and/or aggressive fish you can absolutely use straight braid. If you fish poor water, have a poor ecosystem, and/or skiddish fish you absolutely will get more bites using a leader.

Thanks. Line is too cheap and too important for me to roll the dice.

we all fall victim to searching for the adrenaline rush of bass fishing. ultimately fishing is about enjoying the outdoors which is what you have to re-learn during slow times.

'Budget' rods have completely elevated their quality yet sell for the same price. 'High end' rods have stayed the same yet completely elevated their price.

I can address this from a biological view. currently my lake is in a biological funk (which can sometimes be confused with fishing pressure; a combination of both is truly the worst). you'll often read lakes go through 20 year cycles, from good to bad. i've found i need multiple conditions on my side before the bass even think about getting remotely aggressive (to give this contest they will not hit a senko/jig on the fall and you'll have a very long and miserable day if you don't get this thru ur head. you need to let lures hit bottom and soak 60 seconds before even thinking about slow dragging). i need multiple conditions on my side to have a good day fishing: heavy cloud cover/rain, minimum 10+ mph winds, darkness of a new moon, prefrontal, various insect hatches creating a visible feeding time for baitfish, dusk/dawn. i won't fish the 3-5 days before or after a new moon unless there is also wind/rain/prefrontal etc. if the lake is smooth as glass the bite will be extremely difficult. Whereas the bite turns on with a new moon and high winds. Prefrontal alone can be useless. But add some winds in and you have my attention. That's not to say you can't catch a giant at high noon with calm bluebird skies. however i fish 5-7 days per week b/c I live on the lake and know you can waste endless hours fishing the worst possible conditions. i won't start getting excited until multiple conditions are met and high percentage times are lining up. when that happens I can't get on the lake fast enough.

You bet ya. I'm game for an experiment if you want. You hold my weedless senko in your closed hand just as you believe a bass holds it in it's mouth and I'll be in charge of the hook set! On more serious note pushing my finger or 'depressing' it into the hook point was a poor choice of words. I pull the worm forward into my finger while applying some pressure much like the action of pulling a worm forward in a bass's mouth. There are so many variables that go wrong with a hook set that texposing takes the blame for.

Next time don't set the hook instead trying 2 things: 1 wait to see if you feel a million taps. if so it's a baitfish shaking the bleep out of the lure. in this case don't bother setting the hook. I immediately cast or relocate to deeper water. 2 get ur rod tip high and slowly reel upward. most of the time you can lead a dumb baitfish to the surface, yes even if they are only lipping the back of the plastic. Texposing plastics, including Z man, has never been an issue for me. How do I know? I got serious grit and push my finger into the plastic right where the buried hook point is. The hook point stabs me every single time. and just think that's using 100 times less force than a rod generates.

get a jig that has the lead poured around the eye like BOSS swim jig or Gary Klein. I prefer a vertical eye b/c imo i comes over/thru weeds and timber better. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/BOSS/catpage-BOSS.html

1 buy a hound dog lure retriever 2 if you continually hang up using a technique you have to keep lightening the weight until you're not getting snagged anymore i.e. if ur snagging around chunk rock with a drop shot or tubes....keeping lightening the weight until ur not hanging up. this may lead you all the way to fish a weightless T rig. works like a charm. 3 learning when/when not to use treble hooks will make your life so much better. I personally hate trebles and use them as little as possible. i'm deadly with my two favorite topwater lures: frogs and buzzbaits. there is a reason why i gravitated toward them vs poppers, spooks, whopper ploppers etc. crankbait or rattletrap? I'll take a swimbait on a jig head with exposed hook facing upward any day of the week over them and catch just as many fish. 4 'exposed hooks catch more bass' is more anecdotal than anything. T rigged weedless plastics catch just as many bass but make sure to adjust your hook set. don't cross their eyes but instead make sure to take your time, reel up all the slack and give a firm hook sweep. i'm just as confident with weedless lures as exposed hooks and you can be too.

You can often get 6+ bass off of one worm. Think of the worm as being square---you can rotate the hook entry points 4 times. When torn rig the hook 1 inch lower (closer to the nail) and repeat. Lots of times you can tear them in 6-8 different places. If you take your time you can even rig the hook around the nail weight and it still glides nice. Having said that I'm currently experimenting with weedless wacky hooks and either a cable tie or crossed wacky rings (I seem to remember wayne--can't remember his screen name-- is he still around?) using heat shrink. Combine that with a Z man elaztech and you could fish one bait all day. I also need to find the right nail weight to get Z man to glide properly b/c they are very buoyant. Yes the fall is more horizontal. Kreit made a good point that when you sweep it forward the nail caused it to glide back toward the bass which they aren't used to. Since that video he has modified so the J of the hook is positioned at the nail weight end. That allows for much better hookups b/c you are sweeping the hook into their lip instead of making the hook do a 180 deg turn in their mouth first.

T tig the middle of worm with EWG or off set hooks, then feel free to cast it into the nastiest cover you can find. and for pete's sake stop by home depot and buy 3 different size nails (finishing or framing).

trick worms flat out work so don't worry about the color. the 'trick' like most lures is to stop throwing it if they aren't interested...but try it again in 2 hrs later. Texas rigging the middle of the worm with a 1" nail in the head is deadly.

every example looks the same to me yanny.

gotta love when that happens. guess what insanely productive lure i found hanging in a tree? yup a clacker buzzbait