primetime

I like to take some sandpaper to most of my lures to break them in, give them a scale feeling, and take off too much flash for a matte finish on many lures..I am alway's modifying lures on the water and love my Markers to add a streak of pink or chart down the middle of a crankbait for flash, file lips, take a silent lure and add a rattle either lead or bb's, usually a split shot that slides helps with casting and will often help a walking lure walk better by giving it a tail down posture... I also add willow blades to the end of lipless cranks, or put a double hook in the front for weeds, shave off barbs at times, but most of the time good quality lures are pretty good out of the package but I believe a different sound or look is key. I was once outfished 5 to 1 using the exact same lure (Bomber Long A) but mine was not as buoyant and he had silicone on this line for more buoyancy, and also sanded off the paint, filed the lip and it looked like a bomber but had more of a Red Fin action, now I mess around in ponds with modifications, some work, some don't, but adding a teaser in front of a floating minnow is a good way for double headers or fish that are short strikers....Tail feathers seem to always help as well, some days they want a white or black feather hanging in the water or even behind a fast moving lure like a lipless crank can use a deer hair dressed treble....

I always go with the following and try to include baits for salt and fresh like Rapala does and not market to any type of species.... 1-Chrome blue, Bone, Chart/Black, all chrome, black & white, gold & black, Clown...

I was just curious, I guess I never really looked at every Norman or Bill Lewis Crankbait in detail, I am a huge fan of the original rat-l-traps especially the models with the Triple grips but I typically purchased the standard colors...Chrome Blue, Rootbeer, Chart/Black, I love the Bill Lewis Translucent craw patterns, and I also usually get a few in chrome chart... I guess I need to look closer, I have never seen a Black blue flake, black and red flake or laminate or blue sapphire crank or jerkbait but maybe I am not looking close enough..I am sure it has too do with marketing since they don't want to use the same names for hardbaits and soft baits... I have a hard time believing that a bass see's an earthworm or leech when it inhales a 12" worm, the only time an earthworm ends up in the water is on a hook or is dead from drowning in water and I doubt it get's past the baitfish at the shoreline...I have no idea what a bass see's when it grabs a big 7" Senko on a wacky rig, but I guess they just feed out of instinct and opportunity.... One of the best selling fluke colors here in Florida is Electric Chicken or flat out Pink especially for saltwater, and I am probably not looking for pink lures since I rarely throw pink, but I will say that Pink sherbert senko's sell pretty good compared to other colors that you would think would be more popular....Swirls are actually more popular than I ever realized and other than craw patterns I never see a Black and blue swirl etc. on a hardbait...I paint my Zara Spooks with a sharpie to change bottom color, almost every topwater comes in the same patterns for most part..I was just wondering, I would think that Bass react to color based on water color and forage, and if they see Junebug the best and that is what they want when a jig is falling super fast, then I would think burning a purple and green crankbait would also work well, I will check out Norman...I like the Norman cranks,especially the Little N which is a killer, and I was a DD22 fan when I lived up North....Great lures for the money and the Bill Lewis One knockers are killer as well.

I like to buy the one on sale because all the Keitech baits are very good.

Slow. Then Slower, and the brilliance of the Rage Tail baits is that you really do not have to move them much to create action.....I find that my favorite technique on many days during the Dog Days of Summer is chucking a Weightless Anaconda Worm or Rage bug (Sometimes I use the Mojo Rig for weight) and I barely move the bait, maybe I move it 3-4 feet every 30 seconds, and the baits move plenty when you are not moving the rod, especially if you have some current.....The great thing about the Rage Baits are the fact they are Heavy and Soft, plus that Flange catches water and Hook size does make a big difference as other's mentioned... I have learned a lot from watching the videos on this site for using soft baits even though I have been using them for 30 years...I still learn something new every time I watch a video or fish with someone new, so I like to brush up on the basics at times, and the Texas Rig only has a few hundred variations in some fashion....But when in doubt, go slower or just kill it.

I was having this debate with a buddy and was wondering why we never see a Junebug or Black & blue flake Crankbait or Top water lure, or even a green pumpkin/gold flake etc... I have no idea what a Bass is thinking when it grabs a Senko, Ribbon Tail, Finesse worm etc...and in some lakes here in Florida, colors like Black with blue flake, Junebug, Watermelon Red, and Green Pumpkin Gold truly shine above all other color's most of the year. Since Crankbaits/Lipless cranks and Minnow baits/Poppers all essentially imitate a Crawfish or smaller fish, any reason as to why companies are not marketing a Purple Crankbait with green flake? Or am I not seeing them.... I have found that any Spinnerbait, Crankbait, or Jig in a Orange/Red/Brown pattern is often the best color during the Pre-Spawn, and then for Post Spawn color's Like Gold and Firetiger begin to produce better & then Chrome in fall. Obviously there are exceptions to every case, and everyone has their own color preferences, but I would think lures in the same color patterns would work well as soft bait colors stay similar for the most part all year long. I like Red Shad soft baits when doing well with a Crankbait in a Rayburn Red color for example, and I would imagine most people are using something totally different with a hardbait when doing well on a Junebug worm for example. Does anyone own a black and blue flake Hard bait and if so, how does it work? or Junebug etc...Thanks, Hope this is not a dumb question but I was really struggling to answer this question while using Chart/Blue crankbaits, Green Pumpkin/gold swimbaits, and black and blue Plastic worms?

The Storm swimbaits that have the interchangeable jigheads are really good at times, I mostly fish them in saltwater but when I do not have weeds I like the boot tail versions that come 3 per pack....I never liked the segmented swimbaits but I also have never given them a fair chance, I have only tried them when nothing else was working so not really a good guage... I know Bill Dance was catching fish on the BPS version which is softer than the Storm baits, but I found they swam offline but again, I have not used them enough to offer any advice, I do like the weighted swimbaits with a boot tail, they are pretty versatile and cast a mile....

When Chatterbaits work, you will know it, they often kill it as soon as you start your retrieve, but like people mentioned, if they want a subtle presentation than no need to try and force feed them something else, but I like to experiment and try different lures as well, you will figure out more and more about the lure on each trip.....It has become my first choice at night for ponds and lakes....It is fantastic at night instead of using topwater's most night but in fishing nothing is a given....Good luck, don't give up, next time it could be the reverse in the same lake at the same time.

I have found personally, that the trailer makes a big difference on a chatterbait and so does the weight and speed of retrieve. I like to wake them under the surface kind of on the slow side in stained water and a 1/2 oz is a good size, or 3/8 and I have found if I use a boot tail trailer it pushed too much water at times and fish will miss it more than they get hooked as it gives the bait a wide swing...I like to use a simple 4-5" curly tail grub and if I can use a trailer hook I will if grass is not an issue, and just like a spinnerbait, I often do best when the bait is at the level where I can barely see it....Some guys bend the blades to get more thump, or add a split ring etc..but for the ZMan baits, I like them with the skirt trimmed short, I like to color the blade with a black sharpie or will use gold in stained water, and often I like to wake it and the bigger the trailer the slower I retrieve it.... You can fish the chatterbait so many ways, it is more of a crankbait to me than a spinnerbait, I like to make it jump and deflect by giving it a few quick turns and pauses here and there, but like most lures, I seem to do better by changing speeds even if it is just a quick stutter or quick turn of the handle....My favorite way to fish them is like using a lipless crankbait in grass..I like to let it tick the tops and then let it bury a bit and rip it out, but some days it is too much and a Spinnerbait or Crankbait is better, or sometimes the small 1/8-1/4 versions are better as they all put of plenty of vibration..... I throw bladed jigs on every trip and some days they will not touch it, some days they miss it but smack it hard and give away location so I follow up with a soft bait, but when they want it, they usually let you know....Don't give up on it, Experiment with trailers from grubs, twin tail grubs, bulky beavers or creatures, floating baits like the Z Man or Strike King Zulu Flukes, and taking of the skirt is popular but I personally like a trimmed skirt and more bulk so I can get more action going slow...I hope that helps, I feel like I learn new things about the chatterbait every time I use it, and the Trailer makes a huge difference, sometimes leave off a trailer or simply use a spinnerbait Cajun style trailer in chartreuse just to give it some color contrast.....

bass pro Swim Sally is more buoyant than the skinny dipper, softer, and has better color imo, exact same size and design, but you will notice the softer body, and it get's great reviews from anyone who throws it..Not as Durable as the Skinny dipper, but better action hands down and they offer some really good colors, I like the 3.5" the best. The Charlie's worms zipper dipper is the exact same bait if you don't have a BPS near your home, just like they share the Humpin toad, they are super soft, and exact same design as the skinny dipper, just softer and more buoyant which is kind of Charlie's marketing line, buoyant soft baits...

If it floats, I like it, mainly the Rapala original minnows and Jointed minnows for waking on spinning tackle and lighter line, if I am throwing on casting gear I like the Long A, Bagley's Bang O lure with prop, or without, Rebel Original minnows, BPS speed minnow which is the old Lew's speed minnows, and I find I start out using a floating minnow bait as a topwater bait, and often it works all day long, letting it sit still near a piece of cover and gently shaking is a deadly method all year long, just make sure to have sharp hooks, it amazes me how fish blow up on a lure with 3 trebles and still will miss it all together....But follow up with your favorite soft bait and that fish will bite 8/10 times....Sometimes you need to fish them like a c-rig, drag it a foot or two and then pause, almost all strikes will come on the pause or when first starting it again.....Long casts are key, and steering it around cover, but letting it float in the wind will generate strikes from larger fish than a fluke normally will imo.

The Food Chain tubes by Power team as stated above is the way to go if fish are feeding on the bottom or feeding on craws, or on pressured waters, I mentioned them above, but on a weighted hook they seem to get bit the most for me and my landing percentage is the best as the hooks come through perfectly and no trimming is needed as they have a unique design better than the Missile style craw tubes.

If you like realistic Baits and Realistic baitfish colors with eyes etc...Reaction Strike makes a tube that has eyes, scales and is a great tube for fishing like a fluke or topwater bait.....I would disagree strongly that a tube is a tube....A double dipped flipping tube is nothing like a standard gitzit style tube, the key is trimming the tentacles as they get bunched together and that messes up the action. We always used the gitzit flash tubes in 3-4" for Salmon Up north and would trim half the tenticles off to make sure none were sticking and often a rattle makes a big difference...I agree that most are the same, that is true, most tubes are designed for flipping and pitching into cover but some companies make thinner models like Zoom, Venom, BPS, Gitzit, Case, Canyon, and then huge tubes like the Tora tubes and old school Yum Doozie tubes are an entirely different bait, I would choose a 5" Yum Doozle tube weightless over a senko any day of the week, or just an Ika which is a senko with a shredded tail... Dick's Sells the Damiki Hydra tubes for like $4 a bag, compared to $8 elsewhere, They have been getting a lot of work from me, and they are awesome tubes for fishing like a frog, or bouncing on bottom, flipping, punching etc...They are only good for one strike, not even 1 fish, but at $4 the action from the floating tails is something fish never see and I like it better than the IKA but the smallest IKA in pearl is a good tube to have for a tournament if in the back of the boat, rig that tube on a split shot rig, small Gamakatsu Split shot hook # 1 or #2 and fish it with 3 foot drags to start, then modify from there, quickest way to get a limit is with a small Ika tube, and as a co-angler often a limit get's you the win.

If trying to imitate a baitfish, I like the Gitzit flash tubes, but any thin body tube works well in a pearl, silver, or green pumpkin etc...but the Zoom, BPS tender tubes in thinner size, not the double dipped.... FLippinng I like the BPS double dipped tubes, Strike King, really all are good, just trim them up and make sure you are getting a realistic action...IF they are feeding on craws, the Power Team Food Chain smaller tubes are awesome because you can rig them with a weighted hook and they fall nicely and hook sets are easy, plus I like their colors and they have a different look than any other tube on the market.... If fishing deeper water and want some gliding action, rig one on a gitzit style flat head or darter head and fish it with your reel for action, reel it fast for 3-4 feet,pause, then same deal...It is deadly on Suspended fish, freshwater, saltwater, crappie, bass, Tubes catch everything and don't ever think a small 2" tube is too small, I have had some of my best days on a green pumpkin 2" tube tail after a Mayfly or shiner/shad hatch...I carry tubes and fish them probably more than any other style soft baits...All are basically the same except the solid body tubes..Fat Ika by GYB is a must have soft bait imo, and Damiki Hydra is deadly just deadsticking it.....Tubes also skip better than any soft bait and are awesome when fished like a fluke or walked under the surface, get creative, especially with rigging...You can put a float inside a tube and float it behind a c-rig and slay fish while everyone else is chucking big Norman DD22's.

I rarely use Senko's anymore or at least the traditional ways, I felt that they worked great up until a few years ago, now I only use them in water I know never gets fished....If you are in new water with un pressured bass, a Senko is hard to beat, but a trick worm will do the job just fine....I do like to punch with a senko since it is heavy and gets through anything.

The Drop Shot rig takes practice, I would still consider myself a relative Novice and I use it shallow so Iike to feel bottom and a heavier weight often helps me not move it too much, I found that my problem was I wanted to shake it like a shaky head, the key to the drop shot is barely moving it, and I also found the swivel hooks help with line twist...The Fish do not seem to mind too many swivels, plus Tsunami makes a swivel that is super strong and so tiny you can tie it to braid and barely see it..... I would suggest watching videos on how to tie it correctly, I found that the Owner Downshot hooks was good, but I never trust a Palmar knot on Fluoro, I only llike the Improved Clinch Knot personally, and I often drop shot with Mono and in weeds I have had success but I only use the drop shot when I know fish are in a spot, I never use it to find fish.....I also have found that the right bait is key, I do best with the KVD Dropshot Bait for some reason. Nose hooking seems to give the bait the best action, but for me, the Split shot rig is more useful in the water I fish than a drop shot for me.... Somebody who is good with the drop shot barely moves the bait, for me that is hard to do, I love to shake and move stuff, and it causes issues and never works as well for me...Not as easy as some make it out to be....The Mojo rig or split shot rig and floating soft bait is my answer. Bait is higher than weight so same principle and easier to cast and retrieve, I don't fish deep clear water much.

You can find videos on you tube how to drill out the rattles on a lure and I have seen it done with the Mann's wakes, and some other Minnow style baits, I give mine to a friend since mine always leek water when I try to turn them into one knockers or add weight etc....Practice on cheap Chinese baits from Ebay first...I forgot the Rapala DT-Flat, I think flash when I think flat sides as well as tight action, the glass shad rap is good for casting on heavier line since the shad rap is hard to cast...I have been throwing the Crème Mad Dad Minnow lately which has a weedless hook and for some reason is much better than all the other soft swimbaits with hooks in my opinion especially for the money..Something about that big eye, I like to buy the saltwater version or the 4.5" but the 3.5 is good, 2.5 is good as well but tough to cast, for $2, it feels like you are reeling in a rattle trap with the amount of vibration it puts off, I have never liked the Storm swimbaits or BPS soft swimbaits but the Crème Mad Dad Minnow is cheap and catches fish in places most traps or cranks can't go and they have cool colors..I would buy a few and try them, I just started using them and really like the bait a lot.

The Evolve bait I purchased the Soul is a flat sided square bill that looks great but I have not fished it yet, hooks look small.

Bomber Flat A-, Spro little John is flat, Daiwa has a flat sided shallow square bill, The Sebile Ratsler is flat but has a rattle, I would have to go through my box, I consider the shad rap to be flat same as the speed trap...but The Bomber Flat A is really not a square bill but is the flattest I can think of...The Sebile Flatt shad is either a one knocker or silent lipless bait depending on if it is a suspender or Sinking model and nothing I have seen is as thin as that lure, one of my favorites for any depth, cover etc...

I know Ebsco/Pradco is changing up a lot of their line up ever since buying Bandit....Bomber, Booyah, Exalibur, and Yum are all getting a makeover, same with Bandit...I am sure it comes back...Lurenet is the site for all the Pradco baits and if you call them they are helpful.

They Make a few swim Jigs with a Willow blade on the hook, I think War Eagle makes it....Or Hart, I have never used it myself but sounds like a good idea as it would be a spinnerbait/swim jig hybrid, I would think they would work well.

10 Pairs of braid cutters if you fish with anyone else...They get tossed around so much and misplaced, I would buy a large batch of them just to have and keep in storage because nothing is worse that having to cut braid and not having anything sharp enough, and if you get a bad cut, it is hard to tie knots at times.... Good Quality Needle Nose and Split ring pliers are a must, (find a way to tie down your pliers, I have had more than 1 pair bounce of the seat and into the water). I also carry a Hook removing kit/first aid combo, and I printed out the instructions from online how to remove a hook because it seems simple but you will be happy to have the paper there to give you instruction, it is actually quite easy. Good Pliers are worth every penny but a cord of some kind is advised from my experiences, same with buying a good pair of polarized glasses...I used to only use cheap glasses, but put on a pair of decent one's and you see why people pay big money for glasses, I always buy hand me downs when it comes to stuff like glasses as I just can't afford more than $50 personally. 1- Rain gear/Poncho or at worse something plastic to repel the quick storm. 2- bug Repellant is necessary if you ever stay later than planning and nothing is worse than being on fish only to have your friend complaining about bugs, actually a lit Cigar keeps bugs away for most part, but I don't like the smell of cigars... 3- Bring a Net, if you get a true Fish of a lifetime, you don't want to have to try to lip it or grab it, and if your partner or friend misses the fish, it caused tension that is not needed, a good net is easy to use and will give you comfort in those situations since getting a trophy to the boat is hard enough, a Net can save you an extra run or two the fish may make, and make sure you go over with who ever you fish with never to grab the line if the fish is still green, plus braid can cut you really good... Some type of push pole or any way to move quietly if fishing backwaters or shallow water....I also would suggest investing in a comfortable life vest that has the cord you pull if in any trouble, they are not as bulky and even if you fish small bodies of water, you never know what can happen.... Hope that helps, but removing hooks from skin on a boat is key otherwise you may have a day end early

I am super curious about the Bonnie, have been eyeballing it and it has been in my cart many times but I always remove it before checkout...I still am not sure what it is, or does, a review would be great...Even just letting us know the action, how it casts, and what it does that makes it so special, they market it as a hybrid ripbait/topwater and I have thought it could be a good lure for over grass, I like the fact it is in a clearance bin, that means people are not throwing it and so far nobody responded so it may be a sleeper.

I use the Manns Jelly worm in pressured areas I know people are using trick worms...Work It like a well...Trick worm or any other finesse worm, I use the augertail still as well in the blue translucent color on a shaky head just to mess around in a local pond everyone fishes and it works sometimes better than a ribbon but the zoom U tails are the same thing really, I like the colors manns has

The MJ rig on the Timmy Horton show a couple years ago was fresh and new.....No?