hoosierbass07

Oh, I got lots of split shots because I plan on trying split shots for bass this summer.

I bought some Gulp Trout dough and small hooks. Is six pound mono to much for trout!

I just went to Walmart and bought those KVD Jika hooks. I only got two hooks with weights in a pack and they were almost five dollars! I will defiitly not be buying any more of those things. I hook them out of the pack when I got home and I'm shocked there are so many rings on that hook. lol.

I read about the Jika rig in In-Fisherman magazine a while ago. And I noticed one of the Walmarts had in some KVD Jika rig packs. It looked like it included four or five hooks and two weights. I thought it was sort of pricey though and have not purchased them yet. Can the Jika rig be used in open water? With the weight hooked right on the hook, doesn't that pull the lure/plastic straight more rather quick?

I'm going to buy a fishing life jacket soon since spring is getting closer. The one I'm probably going to go after is the Stohlquist fisherman high back life jacket. Here is my question: The life jacket comes in two colors: Green and yellow. When I'm sitting or standing in my kayak fishing for bass and I have a big yellow life jacket on, could they possible notice that and be spooked? Wouldn't a green colored life jacket be better? To be honest, I would like to get the yellow one for safety reasons and to be out on any water in a yellow life jacket seems stylish to me! But I don't want the yellow one if it's going to spook the fish away. Opinions?

100% agree. I'm going into my second year of bass fishing. I'm leaving all my big jigs (the one with weed guards) at home. I will still use those shaky head jigs (with no weed guards) but I'm not going to touch those jigs with weed guards. Two whole bass on jibs the whole season has taught me a lesson - no more wasting time on those things. I'm not sure about spinnerbaits yet. I only caught two bass on spinnerbaits last year too. I will say I banked fish 99% of the time. I have been reading books on bass and read in spring they like to chase things above them that are moving and moving fast, like a crank bait or spinnerbait. One of my last bass of last season came on a boat dock and casting a plastic worm in shallow water. Instead of jigging the worm up and down like I usually do I reeled it in slowly, stopped for a half second, reeled it in some, stopped, reeled, over and over. That caught me a small bass. Still it caught one. So that tells me I can use soft plastics to swim along fast just as well as crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

I just got my new fishing license and decided to get a trout stamp. There is a city pond close by that the state stocks bass and trout in. Also, at my favorite lake, there is a dam and behind it, the state stocks trout, once a year I think. From what I have read, tons of people line the banks of the creek behind the dam waiting for the trout to be released. I read they even wade in the water trying to catch them. I've never gone after trout before. I know when it comes to bass the best all around sure thing (if there is a sure thing) is a rubber worm or lizard. Is there a sure thing like that for trout? What are some good lures to use for trout that are effective and easy to use? I have spinning reels and all that. I just need lure recommendations and how to use them. Thanks!

All I did last year was use Texas Rigged plastic worms and lizards using 1/8 and 3/16 bullet weights. This year I think I'm going to skip the big bullet weights and use small split shot sinkers. If rate of fall is so important, and I think it might be, I want my soft plastics to have a very slow rate of fall, very very slow.

Ha ha. Sounds like me last week. I was after a new spinning reel for my birthday and I wanted to try a different brand besides Shimano. I've read some positive reviews the Lexa spinning reel from Diawa and looked them up on a site. I did find one bad review. But I went to Gander Mountain and bought it anyway. Yep, sometimes you have to bite the bullet. lol. I have not tried my Lexa yet but from playing with it, it seems nice and up to Shimano quality. It's going to get six pound mono and be one of my main bass reels for the spring and summer throwing soft plastics.

I was in Gander Mountain this evening and I was looking for medium light to light spinning rods and rated for 4 to 8 pound line. I found a couple but every time I picked them up I said to myself "Will a five pound bass break this rod?" So, can one of those slender rods rated for 4 to 8 pound line handle bass?

Easy - a plastic worm!

Non-lead sinker? What state is that? You mean I could not use little bullet weight led sinkers or little led BB split shot sinkers?

$120.00.

So I bought myself a new spinning reel Thursday - Daiwa Lexa 2000SH. I got this exclusively for light line - six pound mono and maybe take it down to four pound mono. Of course this will be for Large Mouth Bass. What I want to get know is a finesse spinning rod for it. Something that flexes/bends and is suited for light line in the four to six pound range. I will most likely throw soft plastics with it, Texas rigged and Caroline rigged and split shots. Any recommendations? From what I understand, if you use very light line, you need a rod that has a lot of bend to it (slow?). I guess that is what I'm looking for. Thanks!

OK, I did forget about the hook recommendation. That is nice. But I just got back from Walmart and looked at the Berkley packages again and I still say that aluminum color is a distraction.

What is the strongest four pound test mono, fluorocarbon or copolymer line that can handle decent sized bass? I'm talking about bass in open or mostly open water, not swamps or heavy junk. I was watching a fishing show, Jarrett Edwards, where he fishing in western states. I have seen a couple of episodes where he's using four pound test line to catch bass. I'm not sure what kind of line he uses though - mono or fluorocarbon or what brand. So if you were going to one of the major bass lakes (to fish mostly open water, not heavy junk/weeds) in the country and had to use four pound test mono, fluorocarbon or copolymer line, what would you pick? Thanks

Thanks a lot. I never heard of those before. When I looked them up and read about them I said - I have to get them now and add them to my collection!!!! Now I'm starting to get interested in Charlie Brewer Sr. Slider worms. lol.

I noticed at the first of the year that Berkley has new packaging for their soft baits. The packaging includes some kind of aluminum color. I don't know about anybody else, but I don't like their new packaging. When I look at the packages at Gander Mountain, the light reflects off the aluminum and overpowers the actual lures inside. What I'm saying is - the new packaging is not easy on the eyes. I have to look extra hard to focus on what is inside. The aluminum packaging makes my eyes focus on it before the lures inside. To put it simply - it's not a pleasurable viewing experience. The local Walmarts are getting the new Berkley lures in now and it's the same story - my eyes want to squint/shy away from those packages. Anybody else notice this?

I love soft plastics and have been buying a lot because - they work and are affordable. Now I'm going after expensive soft plastics from Japan! lol. After Japaneese soft plastics I'm not sure what will come after that - Austrailan soft plastics? Fiji soft plastics? French soft plastics made from fine wine? My search for soft plastics will never end! lol.

This winter I've been looking and ordering some soft plastics online, trying to build up a nice collection for summer. One soft plastic I have not seen around here in stores is the Yum YUMphibian. Well last night I noticed the local Walmart is getting in their new 2014 soft plastics. So I decided to check the two discount boxes sitting on the bottom shelf and I noticed a whole bunch of Yum soft plastics. I stuck my hand in deep and what did I pull out? YUMphibians! And they where only two dollars a pack, so I grabbed two of them. So has anybody out there use this lure? I've been wanting to get my hands on it for a while now. When I look for them on youtube I don't see too many videos on them. Actually, I only see one American video and one Japanese (I think) video. There is something about the look of these soft plastics that make me think I will have good luck with them. Maybe because it looks like a worm with two arms, two paddle tails and two curly tails, but it still looks somewhat like a worm and I can't wait to Carolina or split-shot rig this lure.

I want to start buying rod building equipment too so I can make my own spinning rod. What wrapper did you use? I noticed Mudhole has some hand wrappers for $80 and under. I'm not after a fancy motorized one, just something low cost that works.

Wow, I can't believe so few or all of you don't like split shot weights. I bought some and I'm going to try them out anyway. Here is my thinking - those split shots are tiny compared to bullets weights. Imagine that tiny little split shot up from the hook about five or six inches. I think that will produce a real slow presentation and the bass can focus on the plastic worm and hook and not the worm, hook, and big bullet weight. But if I get snagged more then I'll live and learn. In that famous bass book - In Pursuit of Giant Bass, Bill Murphy recommends split shot weights. Also, last week I went to a fishing expo and talked with one of the designers/owners of El Grande lures. He told me to take his small Gila Monsters lizard and use a drop shot weight with it when I fish it and it will be a killer. Anyway, I'm going to try split shot weights this summer and see what happens.

Here is my question - when it comes to using bullet weights and split shot round weights, which one is less likely to be snagged when fishing soft plastics? Last year all I used were bullet weights when using Texas Rigged soft plastics. This year I want to focus on Carolina rigging and I'm wondering about weights. I picked up some led round split shot weights a few nights ago. Since they are a lot smaller than bullet weights, are they less likely to become snagged in branches, rocks, grass, etc...? Thanks

I have three nice Shimano spinning reels and I need one or two more reels to add to my collection. I would like to shop around and try other brands. I'm going to try Daiwa spinning reels in the future. Now I'm wondering about Quantum spinning reels. I see Quantum pushed on TV programs a lot. They must be one of the biggest advertisers on some of the fishing programs I watch. So, are there any good Quantum spinning reels in the $120.00 and under range that are reliable and work good for bass fishing? Thanks!