Felix77

Does the bungee cause problems when casting or flipping?

Would it work for casting and dragging? Cast it out, let it sink, jiggle it a few, drag it out a bunch and repeat. Seems like for more of a stationary presentation using a drop shot.

Here's mine ... 5.89lb Smallie.

Has anyone in the forum used the Recoil Rig by Secret Weapon? Curious about how it's worked vs a traditional drop shot.

I drilled a hole into my computer desk, stick a pencil through it, put the spool on and hold it in place with hair tie's. With 4 girls in the house they won't miss 2 of them. The hair tie's work better than rubber bands because they allow enough movement in the spool to get your line tight to the reel but not too tight. Works perfect

Welcome to the party!

Yup ... sounds like your knot. When I was practicing knots I would tie them to a jig, hook the jig on a post and pull as hard as I could without compromising my equipment. That includes a few hard jerks like you are setting a hook. Confidence grew everytime I did it successfully. I toggle between 2 knots by the way. The Palomar and an Improved Clinch Knot with an extra loop. Both are extra strong. Besides that it's all be covered in the other posts. Good luck.

No hook slot for the UV Speed Worm. Now i'm curious about those bitters. Need to go find me some. :-)

Ray will be ready ... He's a beast! Are the bitters bait heavier in comparison to the Zoom UV? That's been my only problem with Zoom's fishing it weightless for me sometimes.

I was first introduced to these in Florida where you can buy them in every WalMart. In the clear waters we were fishing we used it as a buzzbait on the surface. When they struck it was awesome. If they missed it you just let it sink and they usually grab it then. I also use it as a search bait texas rigged with a 1/4 - 3/8 sinker. Swim it nice and smooth. For some reason they hate the "vibe" in the Ultra Vibe.

I am a huge fan of the Zoom UV Speed Worm. When I saw the design on the subwoofer I had to try them. The same tail action but in the shape of some type of baitfish. I quickly became a fan of these as well. Here's how I rig them. 1 - weightless EWG - Reel it on top for some awesome strikes. If you miss it let it sink and they usually gulp it down right away. 2 - Weighted spring lock hook - Swimming just above the grass/weed edges. Good reaction strikes. 3 - God old ball jig - Obviously for open water situations but it get's bites too. I have not tried it as a swim jig trailer yet. I find they do pretty well by themselves. :-)

Losing weight and the drop shot!

I have only been fishing for over a year and I have begun outfishing friends who have been doing it for years. They are amazed at the amount of knowledge I have on the subject. It's 110% because of this site. Especially the Glenn May video's who taught me a ton!

Right on! I use the same setup. I will go with a black Horny Toad at times as well.

I hear you! I am trying to lose over 80 pounds myself. Fishing related goals include learning the drop shot and jig. Need to devote some serious time to both this year. I think it will give me an edge in my league. :-)

Picked up a pack at last years BassPro Fishing Classic. Saw it demo'd in the tank and had to buy. Forgot which one I bought off hand. Think it was a ghost something (grey with a black back type). It's all about the drop shot with this. #2 and the weight (1/4 - 1/2) depending on depth. It's all about $$ versus value with them. If you can afford to spend money on them they will catch you fish. I prefer other lures with are less expensive (Zoom Fluke Jr, Meathead, & Fish Doctor, Roboworm stuff etc.) More than 1/2 the price and you get 20 of them in most cases.

Thanks for the welcomes from each of you. Yeah ... that "lunker" in my avitar struck a 3" Yamamoto senko on a 1/0 Straight Shank hook. Just in case you want to try catching one for yourself.

I use a 6.5 Medium Rod with a 300 series Abu Garcia. I spooled it with 10lb PowerPro braid and use an 8lb Fluoro leader. You feel everything with this setup and if you use a light wire hook on your jigs you can catch them with a simple reel set. Caught me lunker of the year (5.89 Smallmouth) last season. :-)

If you see the prices of Fluorocarbon you get what you pay for. The challenges with working with FL is the stiffness in the line which can result in bird nests if you don't put your line or manage your line properly. I started with Berkley FC lines, quickly upgraded to BassPro XPS and then finally settled on Seaguar InvisX because of how limp it is. It's in your budget and so far it's the best for the price in my opinion.

Hey everyone, I'm relatively new to posting on this site although I have a learned a ton for you already in the past year. I fish for the Albany Area Bassmasters as a co-angler. When I am not tournament fishing I am hiking one of a few lakes in the area fishing from shore or lugging my canoe out for some time on the water. Hoping to share my tips/ideas with all of you from time to time. It's the least I can do for helping me through my cabin fever. LOL

Green Power Pro. I have tried all 3 (Yellow Hi-Vis, Red and Moss Green) Yellow with a fluoro leader caught me fish but the yellow faded and it's not as hi-vis as I thought. I went through that line wicked fast to keep the bright yellow. Red was hard to see and tried it before the yellow for visibility. Green I can use with or without a leader. The moss blends in well around here. Will never change again.

Winter bites! I find that this site helps me deal with cabin fever. I also do the following ... 1 - Study new techniques. Learn all you can about a technique, see how your equipment stocks up against it and make a shopping list. My focus thus far has been on the drop shot and crankbaiting. :-) 2 - Read (and reread) about seasonal patterns. Books, DVD's (not reading I know) and magazines help keep your thoughts about fish locations fresh. 3 - Sort your tackle - I'm primarily a co-angler so I am revisiting my tournament bag to see how I can get more in there. Reorganize things so they are more accessible. Example Buy 2 Plano 3601's and replace them for one 3600. This get's more terminal tackle in there. You can never have enough. 4 - Clean your gear - Oil and lube reels. If you don't know learn how (videos on this site). 5 - Reply to posts. Helps to know you are not alone. Good luck

I do the same. I use 10lb Braid with a 8lb Fluoro leader. The leader is about the length of the rod. The key is in the presentation. You need to remember that braid has no stretch and Fluoro is a little more forgiving but not as much as mono. That means that every twitch needs to be even more subtle than you think or else you are jerking the weight around too much. I cast out, let it sink on a semi-slack line and then give it the most subtle of twitches. If no bite I may hop it into a new position and repeat the subtle twitches. Hope that helps. Good luck.

This was my first year as a co-angler. I fished about 5 tournaments and learned some valuable lessons which might help someone else. 1 - BOBA's (Back of Boat Anglers) need to be versatile. Even if you talk to your boater things change the day of the tournament. You need to have a little bit of everything in your tacklebox just in case. There is a fine line here too so be careful not to overwhelm yourself with choices. Fish things you have confidence in. 2 - Fish your fish. When you get to your spot make your own assessment about the conditions, depth etc. Fish what you think will catch fish in those conditions. Be persistent. 3 - Observe your boater. If your boater is killing them on a particular lure then it's ok to adjust to that lure and catch some behind them. In most cases however it may be a complimentary lure which may help you catch fish better. Example: Boater killing them on a Texas Rigged Craw. Follow up with a more "finesse" style texas riged senko, trick work , or finesse worm. 4 - Ike's "Never give up". I fished one tournament which started in 20 degree weather in the AM. We knew the bite was going to be tough. I ended up with only 2 bites for the day. My boater caught at least 6 - 8 keepers that day. I was frustrated and disappointed that I couldn't fill my limit and was really hard on myself about it. Well ... I get to the weigh in and place 6th with my 2 fish. Several boaters came in with no fish. It's truly all relative.