fishballer06

Is it mid-March or mid January right now?

KVD is catching them on the spinnerbait this morning. This could get interesting...

Today is the day, boys. Here's who I picked. Who does everyone else have?! Defoe Benton Swindle Roy Tharp

Chris Zaldain is on here creeping?! Expose yourself, Chris!!!

Wiggle Wart Shad Rap Jerkbait

The older models were 2 piece rods. The handle section was one piece, and then the main blank was the other part.

I'm going to stock up on some football jigheads. I watched a video recently with Mark Menendez and he said that a football head, because of the way the weight is distributed, stays down deeper better than a traditional swimbait head.

1/2 to 3/4oz swimbait heads with a 3.8" Keitech. Lake Erie, 20-35' normally. But I'll also use these heavy jigheads in as shallow as 3-4' and bang them off the rocks just like a crankbait.

Yep, I've done this for years. In fact, in the 90's and early 00's, I can remember Bill Lewis selling them with a willow blade on the rear. To answer your questions, yes, it helps with hangups. Especially whenever you're burning them over the tops of grass. Downside is hook up ratio. One less treble is three less hooks to grab that fish when they bite. It's a gamble to take because at times, it can give you more bites as well because of the added flash. For future reference, you could build these yourself for much cheaper than $2.50 for a 3 pack. You could probably buy a multi-pack of ball bearing swivels and willow blades for around $5-6 total, and be able to build yourself 20+ of these.

Gerald Swindle and Andy Montgomery have some great videos on YouTube (and they're probably the 2 best in the world at this). Go check out what they have to say. With that, I'm no master at it, but I can get the job done in a very amature manner. To get the motion down, yes, practice with a spinning rod and a senko/fluke just to see the bait skip and see how the angle of release effects how the bait will skip. From there, practice with your baitcaster in your driveway or an empty parking lot. Then try it on the water. From there, keep practicing it on the water for a few years. It's certainly an art form that takes time to master.

Get the Heavy, trust me. You'll enjoy having the extra power for whenever you need it. I have the 7'2" H Expride and I absolutely love that rod. That rod handles a 1/4oz Baby 1-, as well as 3/4oz swimbait jigs with a 4.3" Keitech on them. If you like jig fishing, that 7'6" H will allow you to fish 3/8-3/4oz jigs with a trailer on them with no issues at all. I don't see why you would want another MH rod whenever you already have two MH rods that do the same thing.

My guess is the bluegill and walleye are cleaning house in terms of available food. I'd start keeping every walleye and bass in that 14-16" range. The bass must be stunted from over population and not enough food to help them grow any bigger. If possible, talk to whoever is in charge of that body of water about either stocking some sort of baitfish or allowing you to keep some 10-13" bass.

Outside of punching 1.25 weights through heavy mats, or frogging in heavy vegetation, nope.

I either bought mine from The Tackle Trap or eBay. There are plenty of online stores that have them in stock though.

I picked up a perch Sonicside a few weeks ago and it was exactly what I was hoping that it wouldn't be. An impressive bait that I would want to fill an entire plano box up with. Very impressed with them, and the perch color is versatile enough that it could be a craw imitator too.

Awesome video, Glenn! I'm glad to see Hank answer my question and go really into detail on the mindset that he had back when he was competing and where he's at now.

WD-40 is a popular attractant used by the walleye guys on Lake Erie. They spray it on their crankbaits, spinners, and even worms. I've seen it's magic work first hand.

I've found over the past few years that the hooks (and even split rings) that Rapala puts on their jerkbaits are absolute garbage. I've straightened out both on the first or second fish I've caught on them. It's got to be a Rapala issue because I use the exact same setup with LC and MB jerkbaits and I don't have this issue. Your best bet is to swap out the split rings and trebles for something a little more stout. As for the hooks on the crankbaits like the DT's, they have a little more flex than I like but they work alright. Like Dwight said, I usually replace them after the first day or two.

I didn't receive any emails about this code. What is it good for?

I have a buddy here in Pittsburgh that does custom painting for a living. He's currently in route to Knoxville as we speak for the Classic. He's got a booth and is selling custom painted baits at the event (including a few warts that a few pro's ordered from him). Check out his website or any of his social media pages "Fulks Custom Cranks". He specializes in wiggle warts. I've probably had him paint over three dozen pre-rap Warts for me over the past few years.

I really want to try this new head that Siebert has. https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Mini-Swim-Jighead-1694.htm You also mentioned wanting a tungsten jig. This head design is very versatile. Great for pitching in and out of cover, or for swimming it over grass. https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Tungsten-Pitchn-Jigs-1104.htm

I thought I remembered Big O hinting about this bait last year at some point. Glad to see it's coming to fruition.

A little while back, I was talking to Mike with Siebert Outdoors about a jig color that I wanted. I wanted something for my local waters that are usually a little dirty, that could perfectly mimic a craw, shad, or bluegill all in one skirt color. After working with him and making a few different versions, we finally got it figured out and I couldn't be happier. Mike even liked the pattern so much that he made it his color of the month. https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Steel-Shad-1690.htm If you haven't already tried any jigs from Siebert Outdoors, what are you waiting for? These jigs are top quality and I highly recommend them.