RipzLipz

@Derek1 We’ll see if any bass like it. Probably going to T-rig it with an Owner Oversized Worm Hook. Will probably have to trim a couple segments off the tail for a jig trailer.

I fish a few waters where panfish are the predominant baitfish for bass. I prefer a big Colorado blade retrieved slow & steady. Single or double usually produce but the Booyah Blade spinnerbaits have been what gets bit for me. Budget is relative as if you buy cheap, the components are also of lesser quality. I’m delving into a different brand this year in Greenfish Tackle High Class Blade double Colorados & Cumberland Tackle spinners for night fishing - huge single bladed Colorados. We’ll see if they get any big bites or not.

TW sale damages again. Ledgerock 6" D-Craw:

Nice pig @Pat Brown

Late delivery. Sweet Fish on left & Silver Powdered Shad/Baitfish on right. Last photo above, Flashing Wagasaki on top, Dark Thunder Clear Bait on bottom. Flashing Wagasaki has a stronger pink to it than closeup shows. Sweet Fish on top, Powdered Shad/Baitfish on bottom. Sweet Fish looks more natural & closer to what I’d expect locally. The Powdered Baitfish is flashier. Powdered Ayu looked to be a good one as well but unavailable at the moment. The Ayu was similar to Powdered Baitfish but a bit darker with greens (to me) & a visible yellow dot just behind gill plate area.

More stuff my "financial advisor" said I needed. Those Keitech Clear Lake Hitch colors look good.

Baitwrx has 1000yd spools of 12, 15, & 17lb Tatsu fluorocarbon line for $150. 20lb is $180. That’s quite a deal, especially for the 15lb & higher. https://bait-wrx.com/collections/bargain-cove/products/copy-of-seaguar-tatsu-fluorocarbon-line-1000yd-spools?variant=42963525435617

@Blue Raider Bob Sorry to hear about your bad trip. Sounds like one of many out of state trips I’ve had in recent years. Still waiting on hearing back from injector rebuilder as to what’s going on with our 2008 Optimax.

@Otter17 You could also consider a weighted hook underspin, like an Owner Flashy Swimmer or equivalent. If the factory weight is not heavy enough, tungsten putty or lead wire can be added quite easily & diameter of swimbait is typically not an issue & rig is weedless. You could also T-rig a swimbait & peg the weight at the nose for same effect as a jig head minus the exposed hook, simple & tackle serves more purposes than a jig head might. For my SB jig heads, I like Picasso Smart Mouth (without underspin) with light enough weight options for A-rigs & a bevy of hook sizes without going too small plus your choice of Mustad or Gamakatsu hooks. A bit on the pricier side. Picasso also sells a separate underspin harness to slide onto most jig heads keeper area with hooks over 3/0: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Picasso_Single_Barrel_Underspin_Harness_Modified_2pk/descpage-PSBUSHM.html Use the non-modified version for hooks smaller than 2/0.

@Drawdown Answers are all over the place & typically are - nothing wrong with that. Some anglers like matching painted heads, some don’t care & use unpainted. I don’t believe it matters about the paint but what does matter is the hook & I feel you get what you pay for in that regard. Owner is my preferred hook of choice but Mustad, Gamakatsu, VMC, Eagle Claw/Trokar, just to name a few, are other well known/used brands that will probably work just as well as any. There are quite a few Japanese brands of which I’ve never used that might also be worthy contenders. Whichever brand you choose, get one with a good bait keeper so your bait doesn’t slide down the hook & I feel it’s reassuring to know the brand of hook being used in any jig not made by a known hook manufacturer. I don’t skimp on line or hooks. Just how I choose to roll, as I don’t wish for that potential PB to come off due to a dull or cheap hook that might bend out or break. With all that said, have your pick of the litter: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-SWBJGHD.html

@Creek Pirate Nice smallie bud! @ol'crickety Every day is getting closer to piggie time! 🐷🐽🐷🐽🐷🐽

In addition to the above, knowing what it feels like to drag through certain substrates (bottom composition) might add a piece to the puzzle in determining what is holding fish that outing. For example, if you know the difference between what a gravel bottom versus a soft or mud bottom feels like, this can assist in eliminating potentially unproductive areas more quickly. Bass can hold in certain areas that transition from one substrate into another. Being able to feel the change in composition might locate & put fish in the boat. Shell beds are popular areas to try & fish because in some bodies of water, they can hold boatloads of bass. Some anglers can tell the difference between gravel & shell beds just by dragging their jigs/weights through them. I am of the opinion that part of fishing is an angler trying to paint a more complete picture of what’s going on around them, especially below the surface of the water. The more complete the picture, the higher chance of success an angler might be able to achieve. Stack as many of the odds in your favor & positive things are bound to happen.

@Choporoz That bug sure gets bit. My favorite jig trailer. Claws need to be beefed up a bit where they join the body though. I have too many bluegill/redear bite them off. You think it hit you hard - we got 4-5 inches of snow in ~6-7hrs. Will be gone by Monday or Tuesday though. ~25°F today, ~40° tomorrow & ~50° Monday. Should be fishing Tuesday or Wednesday here. 😂

@fin Thanks for the info. Their website no longer exists & last post on Facebook was 2 years ago. I’m guessing like many small lure makers, they’ve gone out of business once the COVID surge ended. ETA: Ordered some of the 5" & 6" D-craws to try out. A lake I fish gets a lot of jig bites. Will see if some of the larger bass go for an oversized offering. I guess Ledgerock used to make a 7.5" version of the D-craw.

@thediscochef Get on some of this to help prevent it from turning into something worse if you haven’t already. I get ear & sinus infections if the sun rises or sets & this stuff helps keep it at bay or recover much faster more often than not.

Who makes oversized craw trailers, say 5" or greater?

He said "penetration".

@FrnkNsteen Thanks! We used prop baits with great success last year. They would just freight train them on the pause. Rapala X-Rap Prop Lucky Craft Kelly J Am going to try a Cotton Cordell Crazy Shad this year, as the Rapala might have been slightly too big of a profile for some fish that had more than likely been seeing lures more often. Stock hooks & split rings will be replaced with Owners. A tip for prop baits: Fishing line, regardless of type, often gets wrapped around front prop. Get a thin drink stirrer type of straw, like bars use but with a single hole through it & cut in 1.5-2.5" lengths. Slide straw onto line before tying knot & no more wrapping around prop.

@Carolina Pines I have 3 different sizes, unsure of their exact model numbers but essentially S, M, & L. It could be that I haven’t given them a fair shot, as I tend to stick with my confidence baits that produce bigger bites year in & year out.

I have no doubt. Same waters I’ve failed with WPs have produced bone jarring strikes with paddle legged frogs & jitterbugs which is why I’m surprised it hasn’t produced more than it has.

I should have bought flying lures, banjo minnows or Roland’s helicopter lure instead of a WP. Have caught 2 fish on them & probably should make room in my box for more productive lures. They sure do look & sound like they’d get annihilated. The plopper to me is like the spinnerbait to @TnRiver46.🤣🤣🤣

What fun would there be in fishing if all you did was buy your lure of choice, drive to a lake, cast off the bank, dock or boat ramp & catch any number or size of bass and go home? The vast majority of the fun & excitement is in the hunt, figuring them out & the anticipation of catching whatever is considered to be that of bacon by products (hawgs) for the areas in which we fish, not to mention hanging around with our great friend, the Bait Monkey. We’d miss all the little things - sights, sounds, feelings. The sound of the line stretching through the guides on a solid hookset, the feel of a good ‘un’s head shake, watching a tail dancing beauty breach the surface & cha cha cha across the water, creeping up on a pair of spawning bass & just observing, watching a school of baitfish getting annihilated on the surface or better yet, just below the boat & notice how the bass resemble tuna streaking through a school of sardines, that sound of a topwater lure being absolutely struck to be killed, the trees & all their colors, the calls of the loons or sights of eagles catching fish, the panfish or peacocks wearing their coats of color during spawning time, letting that wall hanger swim off to fight another day, the tear welling up in the eye afterwards because of the time & effort spent to feel that tug & rush of emotion & excitement. Those are memories which can define a lifetime. An angler who has enough sack to post their struggles in addition to their successes probably is more human than those just interested in chest pounding like a silverback. We’re human & far from perfect. Not every tournament angler wins every tournament in which they fish & certainly not every angler that fishes catches on every outing. That’s just life & not everyone wins, contrary to what modern sports is teaching those entitled spoilt snowflakes where everyone gets participation trophies & pros make more than educators, law enforcement or engineers. They call it fishin’ for a reason, otherwise it would just be called catchin’! If you can’t enjoy the rollercoaster, get in another line.

That’s why I mentioned the poachers - I’ve been to the area many times prior to HW existence. Figured someone wishing to lower the risk of being caught or observed could come back with an airboat at night - not much around to stop them from hopping a levy anywhere - or even a small aluminum boat with several PVC pipes (that’s how we did it from Big M into Stick Marsh to avoid the long drive). I can’t speak to what may or may not happen regarding the removal of shiners. I know some of the local bait shops were cast netting from the older lakes for decades & selling them in their shops. Big bass were still there but I’m sure the numbers dwindled, as it does anywhere with heavy pressure. Never quite understood what happened at Stick Marsh. A hurricane came through & did quite a bit of damage 20+ years ago. Prior to his death, Middleton told us it wiped out all the grass & went downhill from there. Who knows. Probably a combination of things. Pretty sad, regardless of what caused the drop off.

@Zcoker Just imagine what it would be like if all those canals were still open for non-airboats to run between Kenansville, Blue Cypress, Stick Marsh, Garcia & HW. Wonder why they don’t put a limit on number of shiner guides through some sort of licensing? Anyone with a brain should understand it’s not just catch & release that maintains a good fishery, especially in FL. I guess the tourism money speaks loudest. Could the cages be poachers looking to stock other waters with larger bass or for consumption? Catch during the day & come back at night on airboat possibly? I know when we used to camp over at Middleton’s 20-25 years ago we’d hear airboats running through the night.

@Blue Raider Bob @Pat Brown I’d say it’s got either some redbreast or longear going on with it as well due to the longer "ear". Might also have muted colors for early season or muddy/stained water.