Preytorien

I think it would depend on where you're swimming the bait. I use mine as a frog alternative many times, so I have mine on a 7ft Crucial M/XF because they'll hit the swimbait then make a beeline back down into the weeds so I need to have a rod with enough backbone to horse them out if needed.

That brings up the question of how lure companies create lures with the effect of the line being implemented into the bait's action. Similarly, I ride road bikes (Like Lance, without all the dope) and so many companies throw a set of aerodynamic wheels in a wind tunnel and publish observed values, but none of them put them on a few bikes and publish those "real world" results. I wonder what it would be like if lure companies reported lure diving depths and effects on action based on fishing lines as a variable

This is one I've been waiting for. Thanks Glenn!

If you fish Geist then yep we frequent the same waters. I don't get out there as much as I'd like. I don't own a powerboat so my fishing is usually from shore, kayak, or wading the White up by Perkinsville. But in agreeable with you, the 71 has been a game changer for me this year

I made the move from a 201HG like you did to the 71XHG, and it's been one of the best moves I've made. I'm a fan of the smaller size, but what sealed the deal was how much further I could throw weightless and other lightweight baits with the 71XHG - it's not even close. So to answer your question - yes, I think it's worth it

Nice - thanks for the info. Looks like I'm headed shopping for some glass beads!

I had a family friend who had some old fishing stuff laying around he never used give me a little bag of some 1/4oz brass worm weights. They're of course brass colored, and have a nice taper to them - something that would be good for using a t-rigged worm in heavy grass. I've never had brass weights, especially any weights that color. Does that affect the fishing? Is there some other purpose the brass color is used for? Any ideal rigging methods for brass weights?

I had a family friend who had some old fishing stuff laying around he never used give me a little bag of some 1/4oz brass worm weights. They're of course brass colored, and have a nice taper to them - something that would be good for using a t-rigged worm in heavy grass. I've never had brass weights, especially any weights that color. Does that affect the fishing? Is there some other purpose the brass color is used for? Any ideal rigging methods for brass weights?

I seem to have good luck with Strike King and RageTail baits, especially for weightless fluke type baits. I don't know what it is but I will use a Zoom fluke all day with no bites, then switch to a SK Caffeine Shad and KILL it, so needless to say I don't buy Zoom anymore.

I see on their website that Beinville Plantation has kayak packages for about $250 a day. There's some big fish in there, and isn't too far from where you're at.

If you get a chance could you post a picture of a rig you use with them on there? It might be just what I'm looking for.

I saw a really neat idea browsing some websites the other day. It's called a Paycheck Baits Head Case, which seems to be a copy of the Reaction Innovations Screwed Up Bullet Head. But I can't find anywhere that sells them, every place that did at one point says they're out of stock. Does anyone know where I can get some, or does anyone know of something that will work just like them? I plan on using them in front of a weightless SK Caffeine Shad pulled through some pretty weedy areas. I've tried the parasite clips and they tend to get weed snag pretty easy where I fish, they also collect a lot of slop from algae in front of the swimbait, so those aren't very effective in my waters. According to some folks talking about these two above products elsewhere on the web, there isn't as much slop collection in front of the bait with these screwed on.

Ha, that's a good idea. But the Spinbait 80 comes in at 3 1/8th already. But why switch? They chase that thing like it stole something. I guess I could downsize everything and just have an outing for bluegill but the size of the spinbait makes the ones I catch on the larger size of things, so it's actually pretty fun.

I fish one lake that is VERY clear, almost gin clear. It's clean and has very little vegetation. There are good sized bass in there, with a good range of smaller ones too. Also inhabiting the lake is a pretty healthy population of bluegill. Some of them get pretty big and they're pretty aggressive. In fishing it, I like to use a Duo Realis Spinbait 80, in bluegill color. It seems to be a consistent producer of bass in all sizes almost every trip. Lately though I've noticed a trend, and I'm not sure how to stop it. I fish the Spinbait, and the ONLY fish I catch are bluegill. I'm not sure if it's because they don't give the bass a chance to track it and swipe at it, or if maybe the bass are someplace else in the lake. But in the past four trips, I've caught a bass with spinnerbaits, Ned Rigs, senkos, and small poppers, but the minute I put on a spybait, the bass bite shuts off, and I start whacking bluegill. I'm not necessarily upset to catch bluegill, it's a good fun time, and I know I could just switch back to the other baits, but it's more the question of.... Any idea of where these bass went -or- why they don't bite the spinbait?

I live pretty close to that store. I'm only excited about it because it carries more variety than most stores, although I have seen an uptick in sales and in-stock items at the DSG in the same shopping center. A lot of times the DSG will have far more aggressive sales.

I'm a huge fan of the Ned Rig, it's been one of the most productive baits for me this year. Now I see that Z-Man released the Shroomz Finesse Jig at ICAST. Has anyone used these? Any feedback on them?

Yea these are mostly algae mats and milfoil type plants. Hopefully they die off soon!

Mine's been tough too save for a couple good days here and there. I just keep telling myself that the cooler it gets the better it will get. My best days seem to be the ones that are at the tail end of fall, when the weeds are dying off and the bass are scrounging for fill-ups before winter. Some of those days it's like I can't throw a buzzbait on shallow flats fast enough for them. I'm betting I'll have crazy success with a Whopper Plopper come that time. Before that though I'll try spinnerbaits, especially finesse spinnerbaits on a spinning rig. If that's too much for them I'll start throwing Spybaits, that usually does the trick.

Its one of the only lures that the FIRST time I ever used it I caught some incredible bass for my waters. I fish it just like a soft plastic. Mine was in the natural/green/brown color. I fished it with a Rage Craw trailer and without. Both were successful. I think I know what I'll be reaching for when these waters start cooling, I can see this as a good late fall choice.

These kinds of things rarely end up benefiting the consumer. I hope this is an exception to the trend. I wonder what will happen to the Cabela's Outpost closest to me? It's the only really good place for gear, although I don't ever seem to spend as much there as my wife thinks I do

A couple places I fish are obscenely overgrown with weeds, so thick it's almost impossible to fish. They extend from the shoreline out about 25 ft. Since they're shore fishing only bodies of water it makes your available presentations and techniques very limited. That said, I'm looking forward to when these grasses start to die off, the fishing really tends to heat up as I can explore different lures to use rather than just a few. When does the vegetation die-off start?

I used to have a Sea Eagle SE8 and loved it. I had a Minn Kota EnduraMax on it and had plenty of room and power. It was a lot of fun

Yep, that's the one I was talking about.

I'm over in Indiana, and my local smallmouth river isn't producing right now very well either. Might be some kind of weather/pressure/temp kind of thing

It happens to all of us. Some more frequently than others. I think just being careful about what weight lure you're throwing, and what kind of wind you're dealing with helps, as well as knowing your rod/reel setup and its limitations. One thing I do that helps drastically is to re-seat the line every so often on an outing. Cast as far out as you can feasibly do and reel back in steadily. Let the guide do it's thing and re-wrap the line and then your line won't have as many errant loops over itself. Then at the end of every trip I completely re-seat the line on my reels and re-wind them with some tension on the line. Really seems to help.....