Brian_Reeves

I'm glad flechero got pics up. I've been fighting with my camera. can't get it to focus up close. The rod gets its debut this weekend. Hopefully I have a working camera by then. If not, then I will catch fish anyway!! It's a small hole of a pond, so PB potential isn't there, but it will be a lot of fun to be back out on the water. Again, I can't thank y'all enough for this. I still look at that rod (which is kept in the bedroom, unlike the rest of the rods) and all I can say is wow.

The Ocho isn't really a senko knock off like so many other brands. For once, there is something notably different about it. The Ocho is an octagon. Having 8 flat sides, it doesn't cut through the water like a circular design would. Rigging it with a flat side down causes a bit of resistance that forces the body to move with the water trying to get around it. This slows the fall and gives it a bit of wiggle. I've been playing with the Ochos lately. I'm not a soft plastic cigar fan, but they work well. Durability with these types of bait isn't an issue to me anymore because it is not a primary technique or me. I only use them on carolina rigs, pegged texas rigs for punching mats, and finesse applications. I don't go through very many, so I don't feel the need to drop 500 bucks on them a year. They work well. Mixed with that coffee scent that I'm faling in love with, it has a place in my box.

I just started using the new Strike King Burner Spinnerbaits. They have a small, thinner blade and you can really move this thing in the water without it blowing out. It is perfect for what I use spinnerbaits for. Covering water and forcing reaction strikes!!!! I also have a bunch of other Strike King, Terminator, and Booyah spinnerbaits. All of them centralize on the aforementioned colors. However, I'm on the lookout for a special combination that I want for clear water. I want a clear or transparent smoke colored blade with a grey/white skirt for ultra clear water. I might have to suck it up and make my own on that one though. I have never seen one. Other than the occasional special color for special occasions, you can pretty much bank on white/chartruse, white, chartruse, and black. One thing I always recommend is downsize your blades!! You can get quality equipment from a number of online stores, but downsizing the blades seems to increase my catch ratio 100%. I also fish my baits very, very fast and those big blades have a tendency to lift the bait too high in the water and cause them to "blow out"

I've loaded up on some pointers, x-raps, husky jerks, and the bass pro shops jerkbaits. I've been leaning on my traditional crankbait colors. Gold black back, chrome blue back, and chrome black back. I'm going to throw in some bone whites and maybe another color or two, depending on what catches my eye. What colors seem to excel on jerkbaits? Jerkbaits are kind of an ignored class of bait for me. I'm not sure why, because when I do fish them, I generally do pretty decent. I think my main problem was fishing them with a spinnerbait rod and I'd get wore out from them after awhile. I'm wanting to try to use them on a few of the BFL tournaments I'm fishing next year as well as perhaps up in Kentucky Lake. I guess the question here is what kind of rod/reel seems to perform best with jerkbaits Jigs and soft plastics have been the only real compliment to my crankbait/spinnerbait apporach to bass fishing. Time to add in another class of baits. This is next year's project.

What they said

I guess this is going to be a thread full of thank yous. I am still stunned by this whole deal. Its hard to put into words the mix of emotions that runs through a guy shown this kind of gratitude and selflessness. You guys are simply awesome. I'm going to have to set up a new photobucket and get some pics up. I will do that when I get off of work later tonight. Long day today. I can tell you this though. I don't know where Keith got my dream rod specs from, but he did a fantastic job. He basically ripped what I pictured to be the perfect rod out of my head and made it real. It is a spiral wrapped, split grip, G Loomis 7 ft med heavy, fast tip jig fishing machine!! I put a Bass Pro Shops pro qualifier 7:1 reel on it until I can afford that Revo STX or Curado. A top knotch rod deserves a top knotch reel, after all. That rod is the most sensitive, furthest casting, and strongest rod I have dealt with. Keith, you are d**n good at your craft man. That rod exceeds the quality of any other rod I have ever seen. It is a piece of lip ripping art! A big thanks goes out to all of you who set this up and made it possible. I'll get the pics up as soon as I get home and remember how to put them up on here lol Thanks guys. This rod will be making a certain roadtrip with me in 09. Kentucky Lake baby!!

You're right. I noticed that same thing when I was practicing hitting styrofoam bowls in my back yard. Moving that rod can really make a lure cover some ground. The longer the rod, the more movement. I tend to fish jigs really fast, using heavy weight and high action trailers to cover water and trigger reaction strikes by erratic and aggressive movement. That technique works great when fish are active. But during the heat of the day or when fish are shut off for whatever reason, moving that jig oh so slow can be oh so sweet. That's one of the great things about a jig though. So much can be done with it. Great post and a good tip to keep in mind.

I agree 100% that it's who you're fishing with that can make all the difference in the world. Tournament angling gives you a chance to fish with a bunch of people. Especially events with the FLW co-angler format. You can learn a lot in a few days just by switching up and fishing with different pros. I'm hitting the co-angler trail next year and I hope to not only become a better angler through knowledge, challenges and experience, but also become a successful one as well. I can't wait to see how my unorthodox approaches to situations hold up on a trail. Learning that, in iteself, will make me a better angler.

I am becomming a fan of poison tail jigs for all purpose. They do well in rocks, grass, or brush and have both light and heavy sizes. GMAN and a few others on this site make them. I'll be making them soon too.

2.05 here is Jackson, MS. 2.35 at home in Baton Rouge, LA. It can be found around 2.25 at some places, but 2.35 is the average price. Probably gonna go down a bit more. I'm thinking it will hold up at the 2.00 mark. Who knows though. I don't care as long as it stays below 3.00 a gallon

I haven't caught a fish worth talking about on the Lucky Craft pointer that I bought. It's been over a year now. It's hard for me to invest any more money into that product line when the Bass Pro and Rapala Jerkbaits in similiar colors out produce it. But that's just me. Most of my crankbaits are the strike king line up and normans. I have a few mann's and rapalas in there. I do extremely well with them when I put down the jigs and soft plastics. I am not saying that Lucky Crafts don't work. Just like the GYCB senkos...just not a bait that has worked well for me. If you are going to get serious about square billed shallow cranks, then you will have to pick up a few different brands in the colors you need. That will help you decide upon which type of sound, profile, and action that works best for you. If it's the lucky crafts, then by all means, get a couple of them along with a lure retriever. But try a few others out too to see what really works best.

My first piece of advice is to get a lure retriever. If you aren't getting snagged, you aren't fishing crankbaits where they perform the best. A 12 dollar lure retriever will save you hundreds over the years. Right now, I'd be throwing a Strike King 1XS or Series 3 (if it's deep enough there) or half a dozen other brands in Sexy Shad, a chrome and blue, or a firetiger pattern in the backs of creek pockets. If there is none on the pond, then find any coves or indentions that offer quick acess to deep water. If there is cover in there, then pound it with a shallow crankbait and a spinnerbait. Crankbaits are best when they hit something. Whether its ticking the top of grass (best use for a lipless that I've found) or smacking them into trees, or having them dig ditches in the bottom...they work so very much better when they are constantly hitting or deflecting off of something. My favorite crankbaits are the Strike King baits, the Mann's Baby 1 minus, and anything made by Norman. I have a ton of all of them and working on getting more.

I went from being a smoking hot angler in LA to being a fishless one for quite some time in TX. It took me over a year to adjust and figure out how to work the deep structure and clear water that TX reservoirs offer. I'm glad I made that move though, because now I feel ready for the bigger circuits. I'll be fishing in several next year and I am close to finalizing some sponsorship deals. I'm expecting to take home some big checks. You're right. 100%. Leaving your confidence at home is the same as leaving your tackle there. Its good that you found yours again. Stick it to 'em and get those paychecks! Nothing better than getting paid to catch more big fish than the other guys!

I use oldham's jigs for flipping and pitching. Strike King's football jigs and bitsy bugs do the rest for me. I occassionaly use the little spot remover finesse jig. I want to pick up more of them and I am going to start pouring my own poison tail jigs soon. I have used some of the poison tail jigs and they are a good do-it-all type of jig.

I use rage tails year round. The Lobster or Anaconda gives a big profile and gets attention when its in the water. When it gets really cold and the fish are stubborn, I'll texas or carolina rig a senko style bait or a big tube and fish them SLLLOOWWW around ledges or breaks. Bulky hair jigs with pork trailers work well too.

I'm a big fan of the Oldhams jigs too. But honestly, I don't pay much attention to trailer life and I don't bother screwing them on the oldham's. I just shove them on there and if they get destroyed by a fish, then it has served its purpose. But the Oldham's jig holds them on there pretty good. So does that Evo jig. Different styles do different things. If you want to go through a minimum amount of trailers, you can try pork. One of those will last you all day. Longer if you can figure out how to get it off the hook and store it in that juice stuff. I hate pork.

I plinked through the search feature stuff, but wanted to get some fresh tips from you jerkaholics out there. I'm a big fan of Rapala's jerkbaits. Both the Husky Jerk and the X-Rap have done well for me. I have a few pointers hidden away for tournament use too. Let me in on some of the fine-tuned jerkbait tactics. The whens, wheres, hows...all of it. I know how to work them but they are definitely not my strong suite. Fresh advice is always good

The lobster is my favorite jig trailer for football jigs or any other jigs 1/2oz or larger. If I'm flipping heavy cover with it, I prefer a pegged tungsten 3/8oz weight. It is by far one of my favorite soft plastics and has many, many applications. It is not limited at all. They are effective as a subtle alternative to topwater frogs/buzzbaits, swimming, hopping, or worked as a trailer. It is a staple in my tacklebox. The other ragetail products are just as outstanding. Rondef is right on when he says that Big-O is the man when it comes to designing soft plastic lures. There isn't anything out there that compares with the action. I'm going to be using all of them on the BFL tournament trail next year.

They work wonders in frozen lakes. Just use a 300lb tungsten bullet sinker pegged with a broom stick. You have to cast it WAY up in the air and make sure that it lands nose down. Fish usually die upon impact and are washed up onto the ice by the tsunami. You may need to upgrade your terminal tackle a bit though. ;D

I'd say a half ouce jig. Specifically of a bullet head or poison tail design. You can swim them and easily control their depth. This is the technique that I favor over spinnerbaits 90 percent of the time. I can also keep one on and switch to flipping, pitching, dead sticking, hopping, dragging, stroking, popping, skipping, or probing deep, deep water bass. A half ounce jig stays tied on at all times every single day that I'm on big water. A smaller version for smaller ponds...same concept in mind. And Catt's right. Texas rigged soft plastics probably cover everything imaginable in bass fishing with slight changes to weights and hooks. Pinning down which soft plastics can be a daunting task.

I'm a big fan of the 7 or 10in Rage Tail Anaconda. Other favorites include the Rage Lobster, the Strike king versions of the trick worm (4 and 7in), and the coffee tube and the new ocho. Any color variation of watermelon suites me just fine 90% of the time. Berkley powerworms worked for me in the past, but last year was not a good year for them to me. Brush hogs and smaller craws work well throughout the year as well. The main thing I worry about is hook size and the sinker's weight. There are a million lures that will consistantly catch fish on a texas rig. But the weight of the lure and its action is critical.

I really don't pay attention to matching the hatch. I throw baby bass crankbaits year round and do well. I also do well on firetiger. Almost all of my soft plastics are either solid black or watermelonseed with a few others thrown in on specific lures. All of my jigs, every single one of them are solid black or watermelon. I have no other variations and I have no intentions of getting any more. I change my jig colors by changing my trailer's color. That is working WONDERS for me jig fishing. Now I do think that realistic is big time effective in places like Matt and others are fishing. California and Japan and a few other clear, managed reservoirs recieve a tremendous amount of angler pressure. Spinnerbaits probably send bass running for their lives on the clear california trophy lakes. Both techniques are effective and both have a time and a place. I'm not going to sit here and argue a fish's IQ but I do know that hey are survivors and predators. They will learn what is dangerous. They don't have a choice but to feed off of bluegill and baby bass, which is what makes Matt's stuff dynamite around the nation. It's hard to condition a fish against something so lifelike. But they aren't a cure-all for fishing either. I bet Matt will even tell you that.

My year was pretty weird. Granted I haven't fished very much since July or August, but before that, I was on a roll. No big fish this year at all. Biggest was probably 7 or 8lbs or so. My big producers are all in the Rage Tail line. Since I started using them early this spring I have been impressed. I am proud to be a part of Big-O's team, even though I haven't been on the water nearly as much as I would have liked. I have a bunch of nasty stuff to deal with right now in the real world keeping me from the lakes. That will all be settled by next year though. Anyway, here is my list of top producers: -Rage Tail Craw on a weighted swimbait hook -Rage Tail Lobster on a Football jig -Zoom Trick worm on a shakey head -the good ole never fail Hula Grub/* on a regular jighead (still my favorite search bait btw.) -Carolina Rigged trick stick -Texas rigged brush hog or Anaconda -Strike King 1xs shallow crankbait-sexy shad -Strike King bitsy bug jig with a rage tail chunk Things that didn't work well at all for me: -Tubes -Spinnerbaits -Topwaters -Senkos/trick sticks weightless -berkley power worms (not one fish on them all year) The baits that didn't work for me at all shocked me. Topwater bites were scarce and I have a pretty awesome supply of tried and proven topwaters. Berkley power worms were a go-to. Not anymore. Weightless senko baits caught maybe...maybe 15 fish. THat's being generous. Tubes were a complete strike out for me. Even on a carolina rig. I'm still not on the swimbait bandwagon. I have yet to land a good fish on a swimbait. I know the locations are right, because I'll follow them up with a hula grub/* on a regular ball jighead, hook exposed or a jig and rage tail. Almost always works for me. Swimbaits are something that is completely eluding me. That would be this year's biggest disappointment. I lost my mattlures to a flathead catfish that weighed in at about 60lbs or so though. Not exactly what I had in mind....

I'm heading to the BFL as a co-angler in the LA/TX division next year. By 2010 I should have the money to spend on a high end boat and I'll be hitting the BFL as a boater and the ABA as a co-angler. I still have a lot to learn, but I feel that I know enough to be competitive. A challenge is looking for sponsors to help take some of the financial pressure off. Lures, rods, reels, line, and entry fees are a big help. I'm on the hunt for a few right now and have targeted a few specific companies that I would like to be affiliated with before I start spamming my fishing resume all over the internet. As far as getting ready for the tournaments, new hooks and new line are a MUST for every single tournament. Checkign split rings, sorting out necessary tackle from the excess, organizing gear, and simplifying it (since you are fishing out of a stranger's boat you don't want to bring too much) is something that is going to be a bit different from weekend fishing. I recommend the BFL or ABA to start off with. Both seem like great organizations with good, localized competition. Joining a club is a good idea as well.

Spring: I like Strike King's Red Eye Shad, the Rage Tail Lobster/Craw on a jig, and a Zara Spook Jr. Summer: It's all about the 10" Anaconda and the Rage Lobster on a big Football jig. I also like a double buzz bait or a Rage Shad in the late evening or early morning to get those active fish in the shallows. Fall: Fall is anything's game, really. It really is all about location. If you can find small fish, chances are that there are big fish around. I target them by slow rolling spinnerbaits under pods of shad or by hopping a jig and craw on the bottom. Jerkbaits really shine this time of year too. Winter: Jerkbaits, hair jigs with pork, spoons, and drop shots work well for me this time of year. Overall, my favorite big fish tool is the jig and craw, favoring a homemade 3/4oz football jig with a lobster as a trailer.