annexation

I fished the Pompadour through the summer and, while it won't be replacing my spooks, it does drum up some angry strikes. My only gripe is that, compared to the spook, I've had too many instances where the fish come unbuttoned halfway to the boat, for no obvious reason. That's likely not the lure's fault, but something in my setup perhaps, or just bad luck. The ones I lost did feel like big fish, and the ones I boated weren't too bad either. I'll be throwing it a lot this season for sure. It's a fun lure and the amused looks I get from other anglers while it does its obnoxious little dance across the water is fun, too.

Don't give up on the Boss! At the very least, put the bag up and pull it back out during the next pre-spawn if you need to build confidence in them. Texas rig it like you would any other plastic and proceed to annihilate them.

I've been fishing 4 inch tubes in a, uh, let's call it "experimental" fashion lately. I've been putting a 1/8 egg sinker all the way in there, then sealing it it up with a chunk of senko (lube up a discarded 4" senko with megastrike, then push it all the way in. Cut the senko flush to the opening in the tube). Then I rig it backwards like you would a fat ika, but with a 1/0 EWG. It has a different action than an ika or a tube - it's pretty neat and the fish love it. It will sink slower than expected and it wiggles back and forth on a steady retrieve. It's also pretty darn weedless if you skin hook it. It's not without it's problems, though. You pretty much need some kind of fish attractant to lube the senko chunk, otherwise it's just too d**n hard to squeeze in there. Also, it's annoying to get the hook rigged up properly. Even worse, it's tougher to get a hook up on this rig than most others - they'll bite it all day long but the hook doesn't always want to set. A different kind of hook may help there... I just use the 1/0 EWG because it's short enough to not intrude on the egg sinker and it's weedless. Anyway, it's goofy and a lot of guys might find it more hassle than it's worth, but it's a fun way for me to fish something that generally collects dust otherwise.

[whistles] Sucker looks sharp. Let's call it the Ocelot! Or maybe the Osprey. Hey, I'm a sucker for predators that start with 'O'.

Same stuff I usually throw the spook on - heavy action rod with 50 lb. power pro. It's crossed my mind that the hook could be ripping out of them, but I'm not so sure.

I've had some terrific blow-ups and hookups on the Pomp this summer, but the good fish keep coming unbuttoned halfway to the boat - it's a big problem that I generally don't have with the spook. Might be bad luck on my part, but it's resulted in a lot of heartbreak for me so far.

It was always easy for me to work a fat ika that way, but I never had much luck enticing a bite in that fashion. The ol' rapala F7, though, gets inhaled when worked like a spook subsurface. It doesn't get as much love from me these days because I hate trebles and it's a little too light for long casts, but man did I get fish in the boat that way, especially when there was a decent chop up top.

The Ned helped me and my dad take 2nd place at a local tourney this past weekend. It's a deadly efficient tool in the arsenal; big or small, Ned catches whatever is there.

I forgot to mention I hooked into a pretty large Northern Pike right after this one and had a wild fight going until it decided to turn its head. *CUT* So even the lake monsters can't resist Ned!

Guys - I am *loving* the Ned Rig. It scoops them all up, and feels like cheating, but they're generally smallish. I finally netted a big one on it last night and now I feel my confidence in the rig's capabilities is complete. It's nice to see for sure that it can draw bigger strikes. And the open hook isn't nearly as limiting as I thought it'd be initially. It comes through grass surprisingly well, and it's pretty easy to shake the green stuff off when you feel it. Ned Rig 4 Life! Or, the rest of this summer, at least.

Yamamoto plastics have that one-two punch - high price and low durability - that make them tough for me to justify most of the time. I love how dense the senko is compared to some of the cheaper stick baits, but d**n if it isn't frustrating when they're falling off the hook before landing even one fish. That said, the senko holds a special place in my heart as it's pretty much what got me addicted to bass fishing. The grubs aren't so bad in that you get, like, twice as many per bag for about the same price. But they still get torn up like butter.

Tried mine out last night and wasn't doing too well the first hour. Cue 8:00PM, then it was like a dinner bell going off. It's a large-ish bait but I was pulling agressive 10" dinks off it left and right. I did catch a couple keepers, too. I fished mine as slow as I could while still maintaining that "Michael Phelps" swimming action it has, with occasional pauses. That's what worked best for me. Granted, it was only a one evening test, but the results were good! Really interesting action.

I've had to resort to a senko for most of my catching lately - which is bittersweet because I'd much rather catch them other things. Like this fancy Pompadour I just picked up. Ned has been good to me, too, for hitting them in deeper water.

Any time, any place, any way. But I usually have one texas rigged with a light bullet, 1/8 or 3/16, and I work it slow wherever I think fish are at. When the nose gets torn up, I save them for later use as a jig trailer. They are sized perfecty for most 4/0 EWG hooks. Bury the hook point back into the plastic after rigging to make it super weedless. Best of luck!

Vanish was my introduction to fluorcarbon - and I had some mixed results with it. Spooled up with straight 12 lb. I had zero issues with it. It was fine and acted exactly as I imagined fluorocarbon should. Using 8 lb. Vanish as leader material, though, I would break off all the time when the line should have held. Given that it was my first foray into fluorocarbon, I think it's more likely my inexperience in tying leaders and not wetting my knots that led to this happening. That said, I'm in no hurry to go back to Vanish - Seaguar has been doing me just fine, both on the spool and as a leader.

We went out for a little afternoon fishing fun and, on a whim, my dad tied on a 3/8 jig and started tossing it. Never having really fished them, I noticed he was throwing it without a trailer. I told him to tear the nose off that beat-up pit boss he just discarded and thread that sucker on, that he'd have better luck fishing it that way. And I was right! It inspired me to tie one on and I got in some good jig'n experience as well. We both caught a good number on jigs that day. Judging from his elation, I have a feeling he'll have one tied on from now on. His fish is the biggest I've seen in a while, measuring 21" and weighing 4 lbs. 5 oz. Huge fish for that lake, where dinks are the norm. Honestly, we didn't think they grew that big there. This is the first summer we've been able to fish with electronics, and we were able to locate a decent 15 foot step between drop-offs at 8 and then down to the bottom at 22 or so. I had a feeling a fish would be hugging it - dad just got to him first. I'm real happy for him, though - now I don't have to feel so bad for outfishing him all the time.

Keep at it - they're fantastic, especially for the price. All I can tell you is what works for me - texas rigged with an 1/8 or 3/16 bullet, thrown pretty much everywhere, but especially submerged grass. A fast or moderate retrieve will get them some of the time, but a slow retrieve gets them all of the time. Ocassional pauses and pops thrown in with slow downs. I also fish the green pumpkin varieties - not much beats green pumpkin around here, except for maybe black.

I just made a huge post about how the Structure Bug produced huge numbers for me, so I'll say it again - Rage Tail Structure Bug!

Tried out the Rage Tail Structure Bug last night, and couldn't keep them off. My elbow is sore this morning. At first I had them texas rigged, but noticed that they would occasionally flip on the retrieve. They were still hauling bass but I missed a few hookups and I assumed it was because the hook was probably upside down. So I looked in my tackle box for a an alternative rig. Dusted off some nice 3/0 screw-lock hooks with the tiny weight on the keel (I don't know how heavy but they were tiny - 1/16 at most, probably smaller) and tried them that way. It was awesome! They kept horizontal on the fall and the crawl. I was killing them in the shallows this way, retrieving slowly enough to tick every bit on the bottom with the occasional pause and twitch, and the lure would keep its position perfectly at all times. Skin-hooked, I was able to put the bug in the nastiest junk and see it through. Also, there was nary a missed hook up for hours. Just fish after fish after fish. Anyway, this probably isn't news to most of you, but I just wanted to pass on my experience. The Structure Bug is a new favorite of mine, and rigged this way it kills them in shallow water. The bag is gone (30+ fish will do that), but the memories are forever.

I haven't busted out my spinnerbaits all year - two seasons ago they were one of my hottest outfits. I've been so into plastics lately, I think I'd only bust out a spinnerbait now if I thought it'd be the perfect way to rig something else.

When the light is low, beads are a go. Well, when I'm feeling saucy, anyway.

A t-rigged creature is the closest thing to an all-conditions winner for me. Retrieved slowly always finds them. It also comes through the grass like a dream, which is great because most of my water is very, very weedy. Specifically, I tend to favor the Havoc Pit Boss with a 3/16 bullet weight. But I'll use heavier weight in wind or when fishing the 10 ft.+ zone a lot. I love learning new techniques, so I always make it a point to try something new every time I'm out. But when that isn't working and I just want to catch fish, I pick up my t-rig rod.

Right now it's the Havoc Pit Boss. Ask me again later and it'll probably be something else.

It was on one of these little guys - the perch colored one in the lower right They are tiny, too, like maybe two or two and a half inches or so

I hate days like that, where the temperature dropped by tens of degrees the day before. The bass are still there but they seem to hold so close to cover that you need to drop it right in their faces to get bit, sometimes over and over in the same spot. I'd say give them another shot when the bite is hot! My dad bought a ton of those craws and I thought they'd look good on the back of a finesse jig.