primetime

I have always had positive experiences with Mann's products. I am looking to order some on my next order as I like their Jelly Worms and Wake baits, plus the hard head series is actually a good idea my only issue is some of the designs are not so great but I have only tried a few, Mann's is a quality proven company so I am sure you will do well with them for a long time...I want to try their new Frogs which are huge but will cast a mile.

I always have some beetle spins in my boat or shore bag as they are super fun to fish on light line or ultralight gear and I have caught some good quality Bass on the smaller Beetle spins but I usually use the 1/8 or 1/4 oz size, and I like to do a change up and use a 2" grub or shad/curly tail minnow. I find that if I am not getting action in a pond or area that I think holds fish, I will usually throw a beetle spin to see if I can get some strikes on 4-6lb test & it does seem to catch everything from Catfish, Mudfish, Bass, Panfish, Pickeral, Gar, and Tilapia if you are good at snagging.... I would say the best bait for light line fishing for catching any fish that swims is a 2" Culry tail grub on a light jighead, small tube, or any of the panfish baits on a light jighead, and the cool thing is you can buy Jig Spinners in bulk and make them all sizes as the larger sizes are great for Bass and Redfish and Trout in Saltwater....

Baby Lucky 13 cause I can't see the lip and it is not the Heddon Pop'n image unless it is older than I am...

I like the Rage plastics just the way they come...Soft, Heavy, and adding the coffee scent was such a good idea, the car smells like Starbucks after a day of using rage plastics...Better than Garlic however I do like the Gambler and Bang scented baits as well....The Cut'r worm is the only worm I have not jumped on board with since I like to simply cut a power worm into a cut tail, but The Anaconda is my favorite big Summer worm, and the Rage Thumper is a great bait for flipping or swimming....The small KVD 4" finesse worms are great as well, you can cast them easily on casting gear and a small hook without weight, same with the caffeine shad which I would argue is the best fluke on the market for gliding & weight. The Shellcracker is a killer bait here in Florida right now, the bluegills are all about the exact same size, and they make some nice colors and it is a fantastic punch bait or pitching bait for fishing docks etc....Strike King really has a great line up of soft baits, I still love the Rodents, but the Rage Bugs, Menace, and Rage Toads are pretty tough to beat.

The Far Left is the G Finish Rebel no?

It looks like a re painted skitter pop by rapala, but there are so many out there that have copied each other, I think it is the sound that makes the Rebel and Heddon's so good....I have that same color Megabass, I could not walk past it when I saw it at Dicks sporting goods....I have only thrown it once on 50 lb braid, I am so afraid to lose it since they are so expensive...I promised myself I would never buy crazy expensive Japanese lures again after buying the Parabugs which were 3 cool looking silicone hairy bugs and they had awesome action, but my $15 lasted 5 minutes as they were torn to shreds by panfish...Didn't realize MM vs. CM while online....big difference...I love some of the Japanese colors, that white Skeleton color is my favorite pattern of all lures.

Is that the green and white color? Some colors are getting hard to find but we often get lucky here in Florida with older lures.....

The Zell Pop is the Rebel Pop'r, both were designed by Zell Rowland and I still throw the Zell Rowland Rebel Pop'r by Rebel which can still be found on Ebay for about $10 and you even get an autograph from Zell Rowland. They also seem to have a unique sound as I love both baits but if you want a Zell Pop and want to save money, the new G finish Rebels come with T3 trebles like the Zell Pops, and colors are good as I used to like the Zell Pop for the color patterns and larger hooks. You can sand down the mouth of the Rebel to match the Zell pop literally in a minute or 2, they modified the lip by a tiny fraction and I mean tiny.....But the Zell Pop is a great lure, I just can't see paying $10 and up for a Pradco lure that is the same when I can buy 3 Rebels for $10.....Just my 2Cents...

The Rebel Pop'R is the Zell Pop with a modified lip (and I mean barely modified..I still fish the Original Zell Rowland Rebel Pop'r's before they were disco'd and came back...Zell still throws both, two different baits but a piece of sand paper and 2 minutes you can turn a rebel Pop'R into a Zell Pop...Same company, same designer, same lure same sound.....if you like the Zell Pop, then just fish the Rebel to pop and not spit....

Great info, thanks, I know what you mean when you say you see them coming, it is awesome. I also like the Sea Eagle Harrison Hodge raft you have. I grew up with one since Harrison Hodge who makes Sea Eagle and the Bass Hunter boats and Panther Martin Spinners was in a town (Port Jeff) right near where I grew up on Long Island NY. I used to fish Tournaments with my older Brother and He was really good and I was lucky to win a Bass Hunter and a Sea Eagle and they handle really well with a small outboard and I have been debating selling my kayak and getting an Inflatable Sea Eagle Kayak to hit the backwaters instead of using a large boat....That is a big Sea Eagle, I know mine could only hold a 4hp but on long Island we only used a trolling motor, They last forever and are nice boats and I never was worried even in rough water.

I also like to throw the big 7" Senkos and wallk them aggressive on slop like that...I need to get a picture up of what I am dealing with...I am facing lilly pads with Milfoil and grass which is super shallow, and I lob a 1/2 oz punch weight with a Rodent or BB Cricket and it just sits...3/4 get's through but in 2' of water is that too heavy??? I know the biggest fish are under the heavy stuff during the day, and fish over 5lbs rarely seem to come to the surface during the day....So far I have flipped em up in deeper water where I can see weeds growing in sand, and a 1 oz weight is ok since I have over 4'. For some reason they seem to react best to compact smaller baits on top like the 3.5" paddle tail swimbaits, and a zoom speed worm cut down to 4"....I was thinking the Strike King Caffiene Swimbaits must be heavy since the flukes are heavy and I find buzzing without a weight is easier, grub guards, bullet weights all catch moss, but good job getting fish in that water in the picture, how deep is that area?

I have been fishing a new area which is a shallow muddy swamp with a few areas that are deeper than 2-3' and basically it's a flooded field full of grass and pads, and the other half is a flooded swamp of Cypress Trees. I have only had success flipping and punching in the areas with deeper water (3-6') & sandy bottom, but I have been experimenting with various soft baits worked over the cover, and was curious to see what other baits people use instead of frogs and toads when fishing similar areas. I have been having success with the Havoc Devils Spear, Subwoofer, Strike King Rage Bug, Damiki Hydra & Fat Ika Tubes, and the Power Team Swing Hammer Swim bait as they all cast well on heavy braid and casting gear without any weight or very little. Also, I was thinking about trying the New Structure Jigs or Jig Rig to get a lighter weight through the weeds during the day, and was wondering if they come through better than a standard Tungsten flipping weight, and figure maybe they would also allow the soft bait to float above the mud & soft bottom since the fish are in these areas as they don't have a ton of choices when it comes to shade during the day. The deeper sandy areas are few and far between. Thanks in advance, I am hoping to discover some new soft baits and jigs/rigs for this situation.

If you think they are then they are, if you think they are not then they are not....If you are not sure why a lure is so expensive, then I would say don't buy it, if you are just a casual topwater fisherman, then I would say the Zara Spook or Skitter walk will work as well as the Sammy, but if you love to fish topwater, sometimes a certain color or profile gives you more confidence and then it is worth it....If I was fishing super clear water all the time I would probably be more picky when it comes to lures, but since I am not, I tend to fish the same lures most guys throw....the One's that are in Bass Pro and Dicks etc.

Bass Pro makes a really nice slow riser, they are the old Lew's Speed Minnows, I believe the XPS minnows and they have an arched back for a nice erractic action like the Yo-zuri Crystal minnow. Adding a Suspend Dot will make any floater a slow riser, and also taking your favorite suspender and removing the ring or making it a bit lighter will also make it float slowly, instead of the split ring or oval ring to tie the line, I will just use the Rapala Loop knot on a Suspending jerkbait like the Pointer or Suspending Long A....The bass pro speed minnows come in 3 sizes and for $3 are a steal, they are deadly right now since the water is full of small fry and they make a thin 3" model that casts well and mimics the young fry in the water...The bass pro trebles are trouble if you fish braid and heavy equipment, if using light line they are fine....

I carry a box full of poppers from just about every make and model because I love buying and collecting topwater lures, but even with a box full of awesome looking Japanese lures, I still throw the Rebel 60 size Pop'r in Bone Color 90% of the time, and the other 2 I like are the Sebile Splasher in the smaller and larger sizes, and for walking I like the Heddon Pop'n Image and always add a streak of chartreuse down the middle or side for flash since I like to use a fluoro leader to get a different look out of them. I like the Zell Pop if I find them on sale, and the old Yo-zuri ZZ pop is another that I still use but only have a few left so I am afraid of losing them...I lose poppers more than any other topwater style lure since I am usually casting them toward a specific piece of cover or structure, so I am not going to spook a shoreline if I make a cast that is a bit off, I would rather cut the line.

The only times I have had problems with bills breaking off of lures is when I am banging them in the water to shake off weeds...I have never had issues with the Smithwick Rattlin Floating Rogues, but have seen some Rapala Dt Bills break, and also some original rapala minnows, but I figure it is because they are balsa and sometimes if you smack the water with any lure over and over, or even once, any bill can break I suppose...If you are banging the lure into structure etc. I would guess the plastic bills would not be all that durable, but I have never had problems with any Smithwick lures personally...maybe a bad batch? I know I am guilty of being too rough with many of my lures, so I usually blame any breakage on myself.

If I can get a Hard jerkbait like the Long A or Bagley's Bang O Lure over weeds or structure, or through a lane in the hydrilla, under some overhangs, or in between some cypress trees, I take the chance of losing the lure as I prefer a floating hard Rip bait over a fluke most of the time, but if you are getting a lot of snags then it either needs some modifications, or just go with a soft version...However, you would be surprised where you can fish treble hooks when you really want to, and the fish rarely see it.

The worms from the Flea Market in the large outside trays are a mix of Yum DIngers, Bass Pro Stik'o worms, Wave Worms, Ocho's, and Culprit. The Flukes are either Zoom, Yum Houdini Shad, and Bass assassin, but those older Yum Dingers and Sticko's are my favorite as well as the Old Bass Pro Knock out worms which are now called the Havoc Money Maker (The KO worm is heavy like Berkley so design is the same, but I am assuming they just picked up the design. The flea market also has the old Bass Pro Stick O swimbaits and because many have been soaking in salt and scent, and the worms on the bottom of the trays seem to have the best action... I have caught fish on stiff worms, then I have also done great with worms that were over salted and barely stayed on the hook. I think it matters if you are fishing them weightless on a slow fall, as you notice some are softer than others, some are stiffer, and the GYB Senko if you watch it sink has a nice "Pulsating action" when it sinks... Quick Tip..Go through the camo and green box of worms, the back left half are GYB stamped. They are also 12 grams and cast a mile and who cares if you get one fish per worm, they flutter while sitting on bottom. I think all stick worms work well and it is important to match the action of the worm to the activity of the fish, but I like the heaviest softest worm I can get on the hook and not have it crumble, when you see a heavy salted worm sink on a small hook compared to a stiff worm it is like 2 different presentations all together. If you like to swim them over grass, I would say grab the soft salted old soaked worms which are inexpensive yet have the best action and I love the green colors this time of year, some of the smaller stick worms are usually stiff which may be good at times, but more salt usually means better action, faster sink, more erratic, look alive at all times, and cast far without weight...With weight, I don't think it matters and all brands make good worms these days, rarely do I buy a pack of anything and think the bait is bad....