Cgolf

Snap to the split ring for me.

For my lake fishing I mostly use the 1/4 ounce heads, and on the river I use the 3/16 ounce heads because the current dictates that size. I have used the Lighter heads, but I rarely fish that slow anymore.

I use the spider classic heads, and the spider pro heads for all my weedless bassin. The only caution is the weights aren't exact, but they do go from lighter to heavier at least. Leaving some high salt baits rigged for a long time, you will see some rust on the classic hooks, but I haven't seen that happen on the pro heads. I have only had one classic hook fail and it was this year, in over 10 years of use, a rather large WI bass straightened the hook out on me, not sure what happened, because I have caught 5lb bass and pike on those hooks. I also like using these, because since they are over an inch, the likely hood of a loon or other water bird ingesting one and getting lead poisoning is very small. I honestly can't remember the last time I tossed a traditional Texas rig setup. The football head one has also done well for me as well.

Didn't one of the Midwest finesse guys come up with the TRD tube? That one looks like a winner.

I think they are going after the crowd that refuses to believe the a little TRD or half Zinkerz could catch anything of size. The only reason I might try it, is cut it in half you have a 2" bait vs a 2.5". Really don't see the need for a bubba sized TRD though, but I betcha they sell a lot of them. This will be for the Texas finesse club;) We Midwest guys and gals can continue to catch our smaller bass on the Ned rig.

The TRD Tubez which I had heard about a while ago, so hoping we don't have to wait to long for that one to hit the shelves. The trapper hook is intriguing, I can't figure out if if is legit or just another gimmick. I will probably pick some up to find out which it is.

Now I get to anger both sides of the arguement. I don't feel that there is any reason to allow a bass or any fish to munch on a bait before you set the hook. All that does is increase the risk for gut hooking a fish! This goes live bait and dead sticking baits or fishing baits like the Ned on slack line. If you set the hook at first tap and miss you have the wrong bait or presentation. I have had bass post a second cold front in 3 days just about swallow a RES while it was moving, right lure right time. It's not the lure gut hooking fish. It's generally has the lure is fished IMO. Thats me on my soapbox, stepping down now So to answer your question I'm on the old wives tail side of the arguement.

For me it depends on the year lol. This year the red eye shad is definitely cheating, I have caught 6 different species of fish on it, similar to what happens when you toss out a worm, you never know what is on the other end of the line:)

In my opinion and experience, I have had better luck with artificial vs live bait. Just last week I tried fishing leeches and crawlers on a jig around reeds and only picked up 1 largemouth bass. There was no bobber or slipfloat involved. This has been a consistent theme for me over the years. We always grab livebait for walleyes and on the last day or two of a trip I use the leftovers on bass. If I were targeting smallies the leeches may come into play a lot more though. So for me I have zero issue with it, but don't do it because it just doesn't work all that well for me.

So I guess I am not crazy when I thought that a desalted Zinkerz had more action than the TRD. I actually prefer the Zinkerz over the TRD because of this, they also feel softer too, not that the fish would notice that. All joking aside, I had the same issue, I had originally thought that they were supposed to be more buoyant than a Zinkerz, I got learned on that one.

I was able to finally toss this last week and surprise surprise I caught some fish with it. It seemed to do that job quite well, can't say it was heads and tails above anything else, but it was definately solid. Color request, while the bluegill color in the Strike King line is great, it was even better when it was set as clear base and not a smoke base. I have some old flipping tubes ordered in two different years, clear vs smoke base, I preferred the clear, not sure about the fish, but definately a confidence thing for me. I rigged it on a slider head and fished it primarily in reed beds. This means lots of bass and lots of pulling free from snags. Pros Liked the colors and it had a nice action in the water. It definately called in the fish. It seemed to cast well, and the flappers didn't throw off my accuracy at all. Cons This bait seems to be very fragile. Surprisingly the body is the weak spot. The first bait ripped slightly at the hook point, but then held together for a lot of fish. Not so lucky after that, they tore up pretty quick. Have had other grubs with soft tails that didn't see this issue with the same rigging. Maybe putting it on a swim jig, would allow it to hold up better with more hook in the bait? Bottomline For me I see this as a bait I would toss on docks, but wouldn't use in the reeds anymore. There I need baits that are tough and hold up, time spent rerigging means fishing spots missed. With docks it is less of an issue because you have time between spots to rerig. Also there is the cost issue, the price per fish is a bit high for me when fishing reeds in particular, I have other cheaper baits that whack them just as well that last. I will probably pick up a pack or two more to try different presentations, but will only get them on deals. They were good enough to use them in the future, but too many drawbacks to end up with a box full.

I may be able to post a pic later, the site is acting strange right now. I had an Akura , rippin rap, RES Xcalibur Xr50 in gold and a trap in gold of some kind but not gold black. Interestingly the Xcalibur was very gold followed by the Akura, RES, and the rippin rap was very weak. I will take your word on the trap, because I believe the color I have was meant to be less of s gold. I will say that the gold rippin rap has produced in green low visibility water, so I am a little less concerned with how dark or flashy the gold is.

Unless I am misreading your post, check out the Red eye in gold black or gold sexy, they should work for you.

A little late to this one because well I was out fishing and tearing up some plastics. For me I want a bait that lasts and will hold up to multiple fish, and has plenty of fish catching action. Yes part of it is because I am cheap, but the biggest reason I don't throw one and done baits is when fishing certain covers, rerigging means missed fish. I fish reeds a lot, and the bite is really hot and cold, and of course snagging up is a reality. For example this year I tried the Rage Menace grub. The first bait held up to multiple snags and fish despite tearing slightly on the first fish. Unfortunately after that the news wasn't as good for the bait. While it caught fish it isn't a bait for how I fish. Switched back to tubes and the catch rate was similar, but they just held up better. IMO you can find durable baits that catch fish as well as the one and dones, but it might just be a different style. If fishing them gives you confidence go for it, for me I want to be efficient as possible on the water.

This past week I fished the RES a lot due to it being to windy to effectively fish plastics and did really well. We got hit with two cold fronts during the week and it still produced bass and a couple of bonus Musky. My father in law fished a trap and caught fish too. Not to throw another in, but the rippin rap also produced, but not quite as good as the RES. I hadn't thrown the bait much over the years, but it will be a bait I have rigged on deck at all times now, versatile baits.

It is motor oil red light. I have 2 pics, both next to a water red zoom grub. When you hit it with a led flashlight, there is a small amount of green in it. Like motor oil it is a chameleon color. Until now I hadn't noticed the green in it.

Kalin's Ron's craw is close, it has been consistent everywhere for me for years. May not always be the best color, but man it is versatile. I really wish I could get other baits in the color. At least it is a grub so all is not lost.

I keep track of the baits/colors used for the last 5 years on the example I gave above and how many fish were caught on each and it is pretty clear what colors work. There are a few oddball colors that got bit, but had very low numbers of fish, so they weren't what they really wanted. It is interesting to look at the list, which was started to keep me from carrying to many baits, you can guess how that worked out for me lol.

I agree with Sam on matching the hatch and want to throw out the idea of tossing a yum Crawbug over the rip rap either on a standard jig head or something like a slider head. They are realistic and cheap so you aren't out much when you snag up solid on a rock. I use them a lot for smallies where their main forage is craws.

Depends on the lake, but one lake in particular that I fish color is huge. The thread riverbasser linked to helped get me thinking to figure out why. The lake is a moderately clear water lake in N. WI with about 10 feet visibility. The prime prey in the areas I fish are gills. Flat sunny conditions seem to hit only smoke some kind of flake, purple is my go to. This makes sense when you think of the sun reflecting off a gills scales it probably looks something like that. Water red or green pumpkin are a no go. sunny and choppy or just over cast, water red and green pumpkin are money and the smoke flakes get blanked. Under these conditions the gills green hues are going to stand out, because the sun won't be reflecting directly off them. So for clear water it is good old match the hatch, it just turns out that that might not be as straightforward as you would think. dirty water, I am not sure color matters all that much. Fishing the Ned rig quite a bit with lots of different colors, white may have a slight edge, but only slight. There it just seems that the bait is moving too quickly and with the stained water they really only see the profile to decide to crush it or let it pass.

At least for Musky on clear water lakes it was suggested to go with loon which is what I have in the 130. To be different I went with Bluegill in the 90. I will be tossing both on steel leaders around reeds for bass/muskie this year. Will be interesting to see which gets taken most by either fish.

Wonder if this should be a northern bass vs southern bass thing. Up here, I think of the 130 as a Musky lure and have it rigged up as such right now, have the 190 but the big girls are liking smaller stuff right now. The 130 seems a bit big for our bass up here, but now that I have the 90, it is really small. I would like to see a 110 plopper, to me that seems like it would be the right size for the bass up here.

I guess I took the OPs post the wrong way, based on my first answer. Based on forum chatter, I would say Ned and Whopper plopper. Based on what I see on the river, they don't read the forums and use the same old tackle they always use. I did show a guy the Ned rig and he caught an 18" Smallie in a matter of minutes, so I guess he has been converted to the school of Ned.

Strike King 1.5 square bill has been good this year. Ned rig had a decent start this year but really is not getting it done right now. It's been a strange year with our weather and bait selection, my confidence bait isn't producing and a bait I had no confidence in is hot right now. Just when you think you have it figured out you get thrown a curveball.

One thing that would be great is that the main line companies seriously take a look at cheap alternatives to lead. Tungsten while it works for many serious fisherman, the cost does not make it a direct replacement. What is needed is some options from just plain old split shot, drop shot weights, worm weights, small walleye and crappie jigs all the way up to bass jigs. I think if these companies jump in, a lot more people will use the alternatives and many companies will follow their lead. I see a lot of kids that still try to get out and fish a lot, many don't have a lot of money or gear and come from single families. That is the future of our sport and we need to keep the sport cheap enough to allow them to get hooked and continue fishing for the rest of their lives.