gulfcaptain

Use Power Pro original and super slick, also use Spiderwire Stealth, and recently tried Suffix 832.

Well first thing about fishing an umbrella rig, be patient. Some days are good, other days are well that's why we call it fishing. The rig you have I personally haven't fished, but have fished a few others. I started with a MH 7'6" Fast action rod but found out that I would pull hooks. Prefer to use 30lb braid with a 20-25lb mono topshot. I have although switched to a 7'6"MH BPS Crankin Stick. Like the softer tip action as it keeps me from pulling hooks which happened on the heavier flipping rod. I would also switch to a little slower gear ratio. My preference is a 5:4 as it lets me keep the bait moving and really like the bladed umbrella rigs so it makes it a bit easier with a lower gear ratio. But the biggest advice I have is in the first statement......be patient. Most I know have tried to fish these rigs and after about 2hrs of no bites quickly abandon it for something else. They tend to produce best in fall through the post spawn, so summer is a bit tough. I try and use as light a leadhead as I can as well as have different swimbaits and grubs I fish depending on what the situation calls for. If the primary forage of where you're fishing is about 3" long, try and match the hatch and you will have better success. Good luck.

I agree with Raul, topwater is a 24hr deal. Some decide to fish it at certain times but from my observations fishing bigger swimbaits, everyone of my fish I have caught on a bigger swimbait (8" or bigger) came between the hours of 10-3. Biggest was during the mid morning on a bright sunny day. But have caught many a bass during the day on topwaters and wakebaits.

Cast it out, and work it back in. You don't have to have a boat to dropshot. To vertical fish it yes. But it works good as you keep your bait up off the bottom as you work it in. Just a different presentation that can work on heavily pressured fish. Use a 4-5" straight tail worm, or curly, up to you. Can nose hook it or wacky...normally fish it with a 3/16-1/4oz dropshot weight. Did this in Louisianna at a buddys house that had a drainage pond behind it and lit them up. Normal worm fishing produced a fish or two, dropshotting produced over 40 fish in a 5 day period up to 5lbs.

and the c-rig is more then just a weight and a bead. It's a way to fish as well as feel what the bottom is with the help of that heavier weight. And the weight and bead dragging across the bottom can perk their interests as well, but then you have your bait anywhere from 12-36" back behind there kinda being flylined out and moving somewhat on it's own. Lets the bait rise up off the bottom and you can cover water pretty quickly since you're just dragging the rig along. The plastic you're fishing has it's own movement depending on what it does as you slowly bring it in.

If it's heavily pressured, I would try a dropshot rig or a Fat Ika depending on weed growth.

Look for edges, irregularities in the grass. Also, I've said this before, idle around and watch your depth finder. Make a note of what depth most of the fish are at. If most of the biomass is at a certain level that may give you an idea of how deep to start looking for the bass as well and help eliminate quite a bit of water.

I agree with with most of this as I do fish all braid with topshots of either mono or FC depending on my needs. But in order to get the shock absorption from the mono, you're gonna have to fish a longer topshot (20-30ft). The amount of stretch in a 3-6ft mono topshot isn't enough to absorb and stretch. A lighter drag setting will help with the lack of stretch.

I have found that around where I live the fish get blasted by the "spawn fisherman".....these guys can't catch anything the rest of the year, pound them with a jerk bait and fish the same fish day after day...the same fish...and say "yeah I caught 2 yesterday and a couple today". They were the same fish. I tend to stay away from the spawners, if I see one I may pitch a bait at them and if they respond and I get a reaction I may fish them, but quickly put them back ASAP to do their business and stay away from them after that. Found there are plenty of fish that are still in prespawn waiting to move up while some are spawning as well as later both pre and post spawn fish available as well as a few still spawning. Focusing on the other two have greatly increased my catch at this time of year as well as size as most don't target those two groups of fish.

I decided to put a few 3600 tackle trays to this use. Depending on what my plan is bank fishing I can take and put that one box in my bag and a binder with other odds and ends. Have a dropshot box, creature/flipping box, and a swimbait (swing impacts/ shads) for the umbrella rig. Any other plastics such as senko's or flukes I keep in a binder. Depending on what I wanna do, I just swap them out and leave the other in the trunk and ready to go.

Are you asking for opinions on what to get, or looking to try and get one on here. As for the first, I fish a frog on 2 different set ups but as far as what you're looking for I would suggest a 7'3" to 7'6" Hvy fast action with a 7:1 gear ratio and 40-65lb braid. My set up is a Falcon Bucco 7'3" Hvy with a Quantum Accurist (older model) with 30lb braid(lighter then most fish but my preference.) What brands do you like and what's your price range?

You can always go to a punch jig......tungsten flipping wieght with a skirt attached and use a bobber stopper. And if you get hung up in the grass, fish a heavier jig to push it through. And although I don't have any of the Sebert Jigs yet, will be placing an order within the next 2 weeks for some of his punch jigs.

Believe the jaw doesn't extend past the eye either when it's closed unlike the LM's do.

I have no doubt a jig, senko, or any other bait will catch big bass...just answered the question if I was going to target only larger bass what bait would I fish. But like WRB and Raul both point out, honestly have to fish where there are big bass in the population and the high percentage areas that will hold them. Guess the best answer is whatever bait will trigger and excit them into biting.

Larger swimbaits (8" and up) tend to curve your chances. I don't think I have caught one under 4lb, but have had smaller fish follow. But you're not fishing for numbers, you're fishing for those few quality bites.

Think Raul and the others that have the same sort of reply have it right. You are paying for an imported handcrafted swimbait that they make one at a time and they are works of art as well as fine tuned lures. As for greed, sorry, I don't see greed in the price. I see pride, commitment, and quality that they stand behind and continue to make them one at a time. The few that choose to fish them CHOOSE to. Nobody forced them to purchase that bait. If it wasn't in demand then TW or whomever would discontinue carrying them.

If you can get a good map of the lake which shows you depth, and bottom features, I would start there. Look for areas that would hold fish and focus on them. Eliminate a lot of the lake before you ever start. Then take you boat out WITHOUT any rods, do some recon work, look at the areas you found on the map, look for cover to go with the stucture you found. Find areas you have confidence in fishing and fish those first. If you're a better shallow water person, just because you have a boat don't go try and fish ledges and expect to knock it out of the park. Just remember now that you have a boat if you're fishing the bank you probably have the boat in the same water you would normally be casting to. May have to back yourself off and try and sit a bit farther out. And like others said, also start with seasonal patterns that should apply to the areas of interest you found on your map.

Remember when most casting rods were 5'6" and had a pistol grip and everyone was in amazement when Diawa came out with a 7:1 gear ratio when most were lucky if they were even 5:1. Think standard was about 4.7:1 Remember when before everyone fished a shakey head, there was shaking a worm...IE Western Worms Green Weenie, a glass bead, and a worm weight with 4-6lb test. I remember the Ryobi, had a small baitcaster that might have held 90yrs of 10lb line. Remember when plastic worms came in to basic colors....black or purple.

Just be prepared to be a bit frustrated at times, especially when you see a wolf pack of 4-7lb fish follow and then mouth the tail...kinda reminds me ofa shark taking a test bite....lol But it gives you a good idea of where they are roaming as it gives away their hiding spots.

In that color water if you're looking at fishing a plastic or jig, I would go with black/blue, blue craw,bama bug, or a green pumpkin/chart. Have a few ponds I fish that are a dark brown color, but still have about 2ft of vis and all these colors produce really well.

I'm sure the fish up north will eat them as well especially with the fall feed coming up in the next few months.

Then I don't think you have the problem of it digging into your spool, more then likely the knot is slipping. I've started leaving a bit longer tag end on mine as well as changing the my knot. If you do a lot of flipping, use a marker on the first 18" so you can see if you have wear from the sinker and check the knot if the hook isn't welded closed, sometimes you can get small knicks right where the hook closure is. I've had that happen a few times and it's just from not taking that few seconds to check.

I would invest in one of the auto inflatables for sure. Use one when I'm float tubing and hope that it never has to be inflated but feel better knowing I have one on and not about how am I gonna swim back to shore in waders and this cold water I'm in.

Some agree with biologists, some don't. Some are smarter then others. Here in S.Cal, I can tell you some of the Marine Biologists are idiots, having seen them try and catch rockfish to do surveys and want to suvey muddy bottoms they serveyed to close the rockfish as they felt it was overfished. And one wonders when they say "look there still isn't any rockfish here".....no sh#t, they don't live in the mud, that's why they are called rockfish not mudfish, but they went to school to tell us what's best. This example is of the ones that have more booksmarts then common sense and like their nice degree hanging on the wall. Now others that truly love the outdoors, fish and hunt themselves, as well as manage the fisheries I have all respect for as they both have the classroom knowledge but also know how to apply that knowledge to what they do and the habitats they manage. Rough fish are just as important to a fishery as gamefish. Without those fish the systems can crash...no forage base, no gamefish. If the bass eat all the rough fish that are native, you either have to thin out their population and replenish and protect the rough fish, or have to stock some other non-native fish to fill in the gap. Smallmouth have a certain lake condition that they prefer, and here in S Cal you have to head up to the mountains or northern part of the state to find them as they don't seem to take to well to some of the lakes that our LM love so much.

When I fished tournaments with my Dad back when I was 17-18, I would run the trolling motor and by mid afternoon he was a good six pack in. Good part though is he new he was buzzed(drunk) and other then putting the boat on the trailer, he left all the other driving up to me including the drive home....lol but we made it in one piece, and the emty cans stayed in the boat, not over the side.