Turkey sandwich

Those are some fatties!

Surprised to see the strike king coffee tubes and sluggos on here. Coffee tubes have caught me a lot of smallies, and I've landed 5lb Largemouth on sluggos. I was expecting this to be the "The Flying Lure" Anonymous thread. I was hoping to have more success this summer with Sebile Bull Cranks, but no dice. Most of my crankbaits fish have come on rattling baits, so maybe that played a role.

Gary Loomis is involved with their design and they've become his entry to mid level spinning, casting, and fly rods. I've never used them, but Loomis's reputation is one of the best in the industry. When I opened this, I was hoping it was actually a review.

I've never even heard of this. Interesting, I think.

I grew up near Wilkes-Barre and still make the drive up from Philly whenever I can to get on the Susquehanna. Depending where exactly you are, there's a ton of great water.

The next time out, try picking helgramites. For what you're doing, they're like flipping a switch that makes all of the fish catchable.

I guess I'll have to go cat fishin' with you guys some day and find out. Likely, I'll be the one bringing the braid, lol. But What impressed the hell out of me on that trip is just how strong 40-60lb mono is. Like, 60lb mono is really, really strong.

Wow. That's terrible.

Agreed. That was kind of my point. Here weren't fish going on long, screaming runs. These were fish trying to get to the bottom, tie us up on the anchor line, etc. We were able to turn them with 40lb test and 6' rods, and it didn't feel like that line was snapping u less it started rubbing on something. Like, physically, it didn't feel like he pull of two 200lb creatures at opposite ends of the line was going to be enough to break the line.

Also, consider how often you're going to get out for this and what you're most likely to use the gear for. Also, most gear is a hell of a lot stronger than we give it credit for. *( First, I'll mention this: Sand Tigers are protected and cannot be harvested. They can only be fished for catch and release) So, a few years ago, I chartered a boat to take my dad, brother, and some friends shark fishing. We spend two hours trolling and casting into boiling baitfish for blues to use as bait and then headed for the mouth of the Delaware Bay to drop cut plugs for sand tiger sharks. Once we did a little chumming and anchored, we dropped the plugs on something ridiculous like 8-10/O circle hooks and of course a wire leader (sand tigers have a pretty terrifying smile). The main line was something in the ball park of 50lb mono and the rods were short and stout (probably 6' and lots of backbone with a soft action up top, so the rod loaded pretty evenly). We caught fish that fought pretty similar to most catfish I've ever caught - big heavy, strong, and not in a hurry to budge off of the bottom, just much, much bigger. The sand tigers we were catching ranged from about 120-200lbs and were the most exhausting thing I've ever hooked. Fighting the bigger fish felt like continuously doing 200lb deadlifts (lifting the rod and then reeling down slack) for 20+ minutes. The captain was more concerned with us breaking rods by allowing the blanks to touch the edges of the boat, than he was with the line breaking. And really, we were mostly 190-200lb guys lifting as hard as we could to turn those fish, and that line wasn't coming close to breaking. My point being, if we (200lb humans) could keep pressure on and pull up 200lb sand tiger sharks wih 40-60lb mono, you should be able to control most catfish without 8+ foot rods and 100lb braid. If anything, I'd think a shorter rod may actually make it easier for you to "pump" those bigger cats up off of the bottom.

I think we've all had this happen. Someone brought up the Fat Rap earlier and d**n, do I miss the variety that used to be available. I still have a few stashed away. I remember Berkley used to make Powerbait worms (twister tail) in a color called "Christmas Cider" that were responsible for a lot of fish on my line, and several 5lbers. They were discontinued around 1999-2000 or so. This still makes me sad sometimes.

where are you located? The pond is still going to have some sort of insects/larvae, crayfish, and likely a bunch of species of small baitfish you had no idea existed. Bass will eat other bass, but they have to get big enough to eat other bass, first. Likely to find: panfish, some kind of catfish, and small fish like chubs, sculpins, dace, etc that you're never going to see from the surface.

Bingo. I remember a similar situation years ago. My first "good" Rod was a st. Croix Premier.... That my dad caught in the tailgate/back window, snapping it right at the tip guide. I was furious. Luckily, the local tackle shop were rockstar sat repairing rods and it was good as new the next day. One of the reasons I've been a big fan of St. Croix, Shimano, and Abu is that they provide support for when things go bad, and also seem to care about earning your business on your next purchase. Also, I really miss that tackle shop for the same reasons.

Welcome back! I've only been back on the water for a few years and remember going trough the same thing. (Maybe not quite as extensive) it's crazy how much things have evolved. Look no further than comparing those $80 Gander Mt. Rods to anything you had 15 years ago.

I kind of just think that less visible line rarely hurts any situation vs a high vis line (no leader) that may hurt certain situations. I also think that certain fish are more line shy than others. There's a reason Orvis, Sage, etc sell tons of 6x-8x flourocarbon tippets - if you try dropping even 6lb mono in front of spooky trout without some serious stealth, there's a good chance they're headed to the bottom of the pool. On the flip side, on opening day of trout, you could jam a hook through a matchbox car tied to parachute cord and still catch a limit. Having fished a variety of waters and conditions, I think it's reasonable to assume that bass aren't all that different. If they want to survive, they need to learn from surroundings. Not to say it's anything like how we think, but at least something like classical conditioning/Pavlov's dog. Here's the way I kind of think about it from an evolution standpoint... For bass (or any fish) to grow big, they need to out compete other fish for food and stay alive long enough to meet their maximum size. The drive to outcompete is what makes them aggressive. Throwing us in the mix messes the whole thing up because the same aggression that drives them to out compete other fish is the same aggression that leads to them smashing a crankbait, and thus potentially reducing their lifespan. Kind of a messed up Catch-22 for the fish. As time goes on, this would likely lead to the most aggressive fish being caught and either A ) harvested, removing genes that allow for fast growth and aggressive tendencies or B ) released and likely a lot more weary. This is kinda why I think bass, especially in clear or pressured waters can become line shy. Whether this is the case or not, I'd rather err on the side of caution and use the lighter flouro or mono vs direct tie to braid 90% of the time. As for the issues with creating a "weak link", with the exception of maybe in the heaviest cover, I think we should all be able to agree that a bass shouldn't be breaking off 12-15lb test with well tied knots regularly checked for kinks and frays.

I haven't fished either, but... For flipping, I might want something a little longer (I'm just about 6' tall and something more in the 7'6 range feels better to me for flipping). I can flip with my 7'1 MH, but I feel like I lose some distance and accuracy versus a longer stick and it has backbone, but it's not perfect for throwing into heavy hydrilla, lily pads, etc. For any other jig/worm application, I'd rather have a MH weight in 7'-7'3 because it offers more range for throwing lighter bullet weights and jigs if need be and it'll handle 3/4oz before it starts to feel like it's toward the edge of it's range. Are you looking for something to do both jobs? Do you already have either a good worm/jig or flipping stick?

This has been a really productive river technique for me for a long time (the light jig makes the grub look like it's struggling to even fight the current on the fall because 1/16 or 1/32 isn't going to be enough weight to get it down) and it looks like a weak baitfish "exposed" to current. In a lake, I'd assume the same thing would have to work pretty well, too. As for the panfish, if you follow up with it after the missed strike/follow, I would think the irritated bass would out out compete any bluegill or crappie for the grub. And remember - you're sight fishing with the follow up, so you decide what you're dropping it in front of. That's how it's always worked for me.

They're a lot of fun, man! As for size, I'll go from 2.5"-4" depending upon their activity and what they're feeding on. Worst case, a 3" grub in a color like pumpkin/chartreuse looks a lot like a wide variety of fry they'll be seeing all summer. It could look like everything from bluegill, to perch, to walleye, to smallmouth and a super easy meal after "striking out" on whatever they just missed. Colors to carry are just your standards: white, pumpkin, chartreuse, watermelon, etc. with follow up baits it really doesn't have to an exact match (the way it may be with matching crayfish colors) so long as it's right in front of hek and close enough. I suppose you could also fish them the same way with a drop shot, but the light jighead is much simpler and a lot of fun on a tiny rod with light line.

Wet wading rocks when it's hot. Though, if you're using a float, have you tried picking helgramites?

I'm a fan of braid with leaders. The sensitivity rocks, makes casting simple, and for finesse stuff, I like high vis line for line watching. You do, however, have to remember that you're using braid when it comes time to set the hook. As for brands - my casting reels are all spooled with 30-40lb 832, and I use 20lb Power Pro high vis yellow on my spinning rods. Leaders - I'm also a big advocate of longer leaders, not only to improve lure action and reduce visibility, but also to add a little stretch. To me, that's using 5-10' leaders. Finesse/drop shot has been FC Sniper 7lb, my MF Premier is typically 6-10lb XL (depends on conditions, what I plan on using it for that day, etc), and my casting rods are either 12lb Invisx (no heavy cover/rocks), 12lb Yozuri Hybrid (heavy cover, rocks. Also, it's much stronger and heavier than it's rated. Think 15lb diameter with 17lb abrasion resistance/knot strength), or 12lb XL.

Great color on those fish! And cheers on your first jig fish. Once you get better with it and start building confidence, you'll want to throw the, everywhere. A tip on following fish, and a short story... So, it's common to hear about throwing something different immediately after missing a fish - especially with topwater. Typically, it's something like a fluke, Sluggo, jerk bait, etc. When it comes to smallmouth, grubs just catch fish. Because of this, I'll keep a grub rigged on a light (no more than 1/8oz, but typically 1/16 oz-1/32) jighead tied on to an ultra light Rod with 6lb line (so I can cast the small jighead any distance I need to accurately). This is great for both, missed fish and follows that don't produce a bite. The way I rationalize it, if the fish is spending the energy chasing something (especially a reaction bait) and they come away with nothing, they're likely upset/missed opportunity/already in feeding mode and anything that presents itself immediately after (should be something that can subtly "die" or swim slowly "injured") is likely to immediately bcome the victim. Flash back to last weekend on the river... My buddy and I are both throwing reaction baits (lipless cranks, I believe) and I'd noticed I had 3 fish following a retrieve. I let the lipless crank fall, set the hook and handed the Rod off to Dave, and then immediately dropped the grub on the other two trailing smallies, landing a 12"er. I went on to drop the grub after Dave's next two casts and boated 2 more smallies. As it drops on light weight, it just looks like a bait fish that's not swimming worth a d**n and makes an easy target for a frustrated bass. Also, if you hook a decent smallmouth on an ultra light with 4-6lb line (especially in current), you've got a battle on your hands, and the art of playing the fish really comes into play.

We've been crushing numbers, but haven't gotten any monsters. I've been taking friends out that have never seriously fished or have never fished rivers for smallmouth and basically guiding them on drifts, so getting them on fish has been more important than me catching 4lbers. That said, I'd really love some 4lbers. Tubes and craw imitations have been really consistent producers this summer, but I've also noticed a lot of the better fish I've had on the river have come via perch pattern Crankbaits and poppers. I'm really hoping to get on the water more out your way next summer after I'm recovered from back surgery.

That's the attitude, man.

Good timing on the post. I was actually thinking about this today at Cabella's. I've been on the river mostly and have hardly thrown a Texas rig this year. This weekend I'm hoping to get on a lake and break out the Texas rig.

Great fish!