gulfcaptain

Only bad part about them being mis-labeled although a great find, no warranty due to no proof of purchase. But then finding a $100 rod for $21 I guess that really isn't an issue if you break it. You are only out $21. They don't have the smartest people working in their fishing departments at all for sure.

Lip them, not a fan of flipping them in the boat especially if I'm gonna be throwing them back.

Grass/Weeds can make some crazy. It did with me until I read to use a heavier weight. Now I look forward to fishing these spots where I used to hate. 3/4 tungsten flipping weight and some bobber stoppers with any softbodied creatrure you prefer. Punching through the grass can be very productive. May give that presentation a try.

I second this, although use them on a few other umbrella rigs. Less hook, more action and dropshotting these are awsome. I would also look into some Mend-It to prolong the use of these as long as you have both pieces.

Matt, Tom, and Raul as well as CATT all catch big fish.....mind it in different ways. But Matt's point, " bigger baits" catch bigger fish regularly. Having only gotten back into bass fishing in the last 3 years, I can say, bigger baits catch bigger fish. But not all are on big swimbaits...yes some of them were caught on those, others on jigs. Main point, bigger fish eat bigger baits, and as stated, you want to know the size of some of the bigger fish where you fish. Throw a swimbait and see what shows up behind it. Will they always bite...no. But it is fun to see them. All four have one major thing in common with one another though, each are extremly confident in their presentations and bait selections that catch them bigger avg fish then the weekend or everyday "Barney". I would rather catch fewer fish of greater size then have a bunch of small fish. Am I trophy hunting, no, but I will up my odds using larger profile baits to target the larger fish in the populations I fish weather it be a jig or a swimbait. Both are tools and each have their places and times.

Maybe a plastic bead, but the glass bead cut into the braid causing it to cut the knot. And although I wasn't a big fan of tungsten when I first tried it, over the last few years I've really liked it due to smaller size. Mainy use it for punching through weeds but tried it with the glass bead to blend an old tactic of shaking a worm with a smaller punch bait.

Well tried a glass bead to use for noise and well that didn't work out too well. That's when I went to the bobber stopper. Rather loose a couple bobber stoppers then $5 punch jigs for sure.

Shaded areas, boat docks. Fish slow, pause rip, watch for followers. The fish will tell you what interests them. You just have to figure out what you need to do to get them to react and strike once they do follow it. I also paint all my hooks a flat black or white so there isn't any shine on the hooks. I don't know if it helps but I know it doesn' t hurt either.

Your swimbait wasn't too big, that bass was just too small.

Only thing I wonder about will you be able to thread straight braid through the shrink tube since it's pretty limp. I've had some issues with heavier tungsten weights with braid. Cure....a bobber stop between the weight and the knot. Finally found a use for those yellow bobber stoppers....lol

Digging in issues come more from it not being put on with correct tension and cheaper braid. If I have to pull a lure free from a snag I may encounter this slightly, but a quick cast out and reel in to repack the braid typically cures the problem and that is only when fishing lighter lures where there isn't as much drag and weight. But like stated above, you spool and pack it on correctly and use a quality braid, you shouldn't have this issue.

You would think so, but they look for the crayfish and other bits of goodness down in that stuff. Normally when you drop it in there they pick it up right away. Don't worry, they will find it. I don't have matted beds I fish, just grass beds and they tend to find the jigs just fine.

Randy Moss. But Rice is a great reciever as well as Micheal Irving. So guess I have 3 stand outs.

Great catch, but maybe time to upgrade those hooks so the next PB doesn't get the chance to straighten the hook.

Good to see some of today's youth wanting to be outside instead of video games. Last year mine begged to go fishing, now I have to drag him away from the electronics to go. Sounds like you two had a great day.

I get 6" bass chasing 8" swimbaits all the time. They don't know how big they are but I know how big they think they are.

If you get through the grass, a lot of times it's open below. You would think that it being up in the grass would work better and the thought of it hitting the bottom and disappearing into that mat would lesson your chances. The heavier the weight, the less it will hang up. Lighter weights get caught in the grass.You can work a bait easier on a 3/4oz weight thru grass then with a 1/4. The fish you are after look for the clear pockets that are open below the grass, That is where you want your bait, not in the canopy above. You peg your sinker/jig so your sinker doesn't end up at the bottom while your bait is stuck up in the weeds out of the strike zone. You want it to be pulled down to them. And be careful with the 7'6" XH H20, I have broke 2 of them. One was trying to flip a fish and grass up out of the water and the other I think was damaged during shipping. Broke right off the bat. Good rod, just be careful.

If you think when you cast the rod loads up, if you rotate the rod where the line is running through the guides where they are below the blank the lure or bait tends to carry the energy from the rod better as the energy from the blank has an upward force.. If you do this and try and cast with the reel on top the line slows as it runs across the guides with a downward force and causes the lure to have more of a straight shot into the water which will carry the energy of the cast causing a sudden stop. With the reel angle (rotating the rod to where it is below and using the force of the rod) the lure will have an ark which will carry the bait farther and slow as it starts it's way down and let the line spool off the reel in a more natural way. This works for long distance casting, it was a trick learned fishing with conventional reels in the ocean where getting a 2 to 3 oz surface jig 50+ yards away from the boat to skitish fish or being able to toss a 4"anchovy 20yds away with heavier gear. So when fishing casting reels, other then the line guide on the reel the techniques are pretty much the same. You get more out of your cast with less force which causes less over runs or backlashes. Pitching is a whole different topic though. Hope this helps some.

Budget Rod....if you have an Acadamy close by, the H20 Heavy rods will work 7' and over. Or BPS Graphite IM6 under 40 for a 7'6".. Check Wally World out and if you can find one of the Bucco 6'10Hvy's that would work as well. Mine, I went to a 7'11" Quatum Tour Tactical Hack Attack Moderate Action rod. Spent a bit more money but well worth the investement. Those big fish you yearn for you're gonna have to go in and get them. You can go bear hunting with a 22 mag, but I think I would prefer a 30/06. Same thing when you're fishing the cover you're talking about. You don't need a $200+ flipping stick or punch rod to get the job done....may be lighter and a tad more sensitive but fishing heavy jigs and straight braid you can get away with a lot less and be extremely successful.

I would suggest getting a heavy flipping stick, hit up Siebert Jigs and get yourself some 3/4, 1, and 1 /12oz tungsten punch jigs, some DB Craws, bobber stoppers, and start punching. Depth breaks, where 2 types of cover meet, etc what I said earlier. Go punching into the thick stuff with some 50lb or 65lb braid. Forget the worms, compact flipping baits. Go in and get them. Only need two rods right now, the frog rod and the punch rod. if you miss one on the frog follow it up with the jig.

Honestly if you're flipping and pitching into thick cover the chances of your line spooking fish are probably about 10%. Fish straight braid on clear ponds with lots of grass, no problems at all. Even a few I see attack a jig when it hits the water around 0 cover. Those fish are in an an agressive feeding mood when they hit it....Most of the time they hit the jig before it hits the bottom in less then 2ft of water with a 3/4oz jig. You have to have faith in your presentation and when you do hook that good fish deep in the grass you will be thankful you have one less connection to worry about breaking or being knicked.

Evolve or quit. If I only needed one bait then that would take away from my joy of figuring out which rod to use and what to fish with. Might as well get a cain pole, string, and a worm. Take one of my favorites away, oh well, I have 6 others I can fish just as easy. A good angler and fisherman uses several differnent techniques and baits to become successful. Just like a mechanic, he can't work on your car with just a cresent wrench. He needs tools to do his job right. And might as well forget about golf too....too many clubs, might have to make choices on which one to use....j/k

Sometimes when you load up the rod casting, turning the reel over helps with the line flowing out of the reel. You can achieve a greater distance. Also leads to less backlashes with that little bit of rotation since you change the angle the line coming off the reel.

Some larger older unhealthy skinny fish should be removed. Healthy fish not so much. But like it's stated above that's a whole different discussion as well as ones own personal preferences.

You don't want to flip with 8lb. Fish straight 20lb, I've moved up to using 30lb and have no issues of spooked fish...I choose not to fish heavier because it's mainly all grass and vegatation for me. If you're looking to finesse a jig like 1/4oz or something and drag a footbaill head then I would say 12-15lb FC with about a 4ft leader. Also, if you're worried about them seeing your line....take a marker and color a 6-12" area, then skip another equal space and color it again. This will break up the profile of the line. Does it work, I don't know, but I know it doesn't hurt.