fishballer06

Jerkbaits were a killer for me last spring and fall. This year I have only caught one fish on a jerkbait. I don't know whats happened.

Texas rig will work well in cover. Wacky rig is better for open water.

I don't buy overly into the what wobble works best for what water temperature deal. I have a few brands that I like and each has something unique to them that can make them work/not work on any given day. Whats most important to me is the depth and the colors. Being able to effectively fish the water column is what makes crankbaits so effective in my opinion. If I want to bang the bottom, whether its 7' or 18', I can. If I'm in 25' of water and the fish are down 8', I can put the lure in their face. If there's weeds that come up 3-4' from the surface, I can bring it over the top if I want. Here's a few of my go-to cranks. Shad Raps (regular and RS, all sizes 5, 7, 8, 9) Wiggle Warts (regular and magnum, pre- Rapala preferred) Rapala DT (my go to, 4, 6, 10, 14, and 16) Norman DD22 Strike King series (1.5 & 2.5 squarebills, 3, 3xd, 4, 5, 5xd, 6, 6xd) Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps (my go to lipless crank)

I have no experience with Hi Seas, but I will say that the Pline Fluoroclear is an excellent line. I've been using the 15lb test for squarebills and spinnerbaits and it has performed great. I would say I prefer the Fluoroclear over YoZuri Hybrid.

Thanks for the tips guys. Headed to the lake now. I'll report back Monday.

A Shimano Curado I or a Diawa Tatula would both be great reel choices and run you in the $100-150 range a piece if you shop around. There are a number of great rods out there at the $100 price point (BPS has a few, Fenwick HMG, ***, Duckett Ghost, Abu Garcia Veritas). As for line, that can be preference or for your fishing style. 30 or 40 pound braid, 10-15 pound FC or mono. If you can, try out some reels in both right and left and see what feels more natural to you. Some guys can use both, some prefer one or the other. Me personally, I prefer a left handed reel.

If you have a friend with a left handed baitcaster, give that a try. Or if you can afford to buy another reel, buy a lefty and give it a whirl. I'm ambidextrous, but I feel most comfortable with my handles in my left hand (spinning and bait).

The lake was impounded in 1934. Forage: Crappie/Perch/Bluegill, alewife, shiners, suckers

It's hard, but you have to wait a second or two until you set the hook. Give the fish time to get down and get the lure fully in their mouth. Once you hook one, you'll see how good they get hooked.

I'm fishing a lake this weekend that has a bunch of old road beds and sunken bridges. Most of these roads and bridges are in 10-20' of water. Being that they're not that deep, I'm guessing that it leaves cranking them as an option. Obviously I have quite a few other spots on the lake that I want to hit, but if the bite is tough, these submerged bridges could be the ticket to a check. I've never really fished submerged bridges before, so I'm curious how some of you guys would approach these? Fish should be post spawn and the water should be around ~70*. I'm a big fan of cranking, but if I'm going to get hung up and spook everything down there, then I would probably be best to jig or dropshot (I'm guessing). Whats your take on this?

There is a custom mold maker who has done this. If you search ebay, you should be able to find them. They're called Predator baits. They make a DT10 that has a DT16 bill on it. So essentially, you have a DT10 that will run 16 feet. As a guy who fishes DT's a lot, a DT6 that dove 10 feet would also be nice to have as well.

Are you sure he isn't using a black Sharpie?

If you're using a bag that holds 4 of the 3700 boxes, do yourself a favor and go buy yourself 5-6 of the 3701 boxes. I bet you'll they'll all fit in your same bag.

"The dead sea" has been tough this year, but that doesn't mean there aren't still a few in there.

He got me for $50 from DSG, $165 from TW, and $100 from F&S...

Plano 3701 /Thread

If I were you, if you want one rod to upgrade to that will handle your two favorite techniques, I'd get a 7' MH fast action graphite rod. If you're trying to stay on a budget, look at rods in the $100 range. There's quite a few quality rods in that range (Abu Garcia Veritas, BPS Extreme, Fenwick HMG, Duckett Ghost, ***).

A black cavitron with a red blade was my top producing topwater bait last year. Does the blade make a difference? Who knows?! But the red blade outproduced any other color blade.

Squarebills - usually 40lb 832 braid with a 12-15lb FC leader, or 15lb Fluoroclear Anything deeper - Sniper 12lb FC, and I have one reel spooled up with 40lb 832 braid with a 12lb FC leader I know most guys will use 10lb for deep cranking, but I feel much more confident with 12lb.

Again, how small is small? And how weedy is weedy? The type of weeds matter as well. More often than not, if the weeds are too thick, don't fish through the weeds, fish OVER the weeds. Topwater lures can be a good start, regardless of size or weed types.

Yup, perfect.

Cool video. Too bad the music drowns out the talking so much.

!!!!!

Well, my grandfather is up there right now with a few of his buddies. Can't wait to hear a report back from him. I'll be leaving on the 6th.