the reel ess

I'm using the size 40. I've caught quite a few more fish than I thought I would on this bait. I thought they would roll around laughing at it, but it really works! I was using it at a place that is overrun with stunted bass. I had hoped it would cull the babies and it helped, but it did get a lot of bites, even from smallish fish. I did not experience any fouling with the hooks and the body. I almost sunk a hook deep in my thumb though. It even cast a lot better than bigger swimbaits I've used. I've been using a 6-6 M rod for it with 15# mono. It does load the rod quite a bit but the combo seems to do a good job. At least a 7' MH with some tip would probably do a better job. I, too, am using a clip.

4" black with blue flake. It also tells you the hook type and size to use with it so you don't have to figure that out. I usually use a 3/16 oz bullet weight with a black bead between the weight and hook. I bought some in watermelon/candy flake color once and never got a bite so I packed them away in my "reserve box". I also bought a pack of Crazy Legs variety and didn't get any bites. Those have another appendage on them that seems to mess up the action and looks like a lobster to me. Even if you pinch them off it's not the same bait. It could be coincidental tjhat these others didn't produce for me, but the combo of black/blue original seems to really be the ticket for me. It's a confidence thing. And fish really will hold them a long time, giving you time to even make a mistake and still catch them. Big fish like them too.

Yes. Among all the lures, topwaters' color schemes matter the least. If not how could you explain the white frog? I think that is to allow the angler to see it.

My first was a white Mr. Twister brand white curly tail grub on an 1/8 oz. jighead. I wore the crappie out on it one day with my dad and his friend. All they had were poles and minnows. They bought the local tackle shop out on the way home. For bass it was probably a Rebel Deep Wee R. When I got a second combo it became the T rigged 6" worm. It always looked like the nerd of the tackle section, not to be taken seriously, like it was wearing a propeller beanie. But my older cousin wore me out at his little pond using one.

My first fav was the Zoom Super Speed Craw.I couldn't find them anymore in stores so I bought some Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craws and never looked back. Fish will hold these things until next week even if they feel you on the other end. They'll fight ya' for 'em.

My buddy uses a BPS crappie sized bubble gum crank over grass in a shallow lake. He'll just reel it down a few cranks and stop it and let it float up a bit. He has caught a few big gals on this method. I would think a smaller crank with less of an aggressive bill might work well. Like maybe the Bomber A.

In addition to the replies above, you can use a lipless crank in a lake like that with good results. Rat L Trap makes a floating model as well.

If you watch much of Bama Bass's Youtube channel you'll see a lot of that. He does a great job of editing videos and I think possibly even owns a trophy fishery. Either way, he has access to some very large bass. There are some videos of some other YT fishing video personalities going fishing with him to get a new PB. He has his own website with lures for sale. He specializes in frogs, swimbaits, topwaters and very large bass.

You can go but the whole store or you can "get by" with 2 baits for 3/4 of the year: 3/8 oz white 3/8 ox chartreuse I'd go with double willow leaf baits because they offer the drag to go slower. I even use these in the winter. Here's a secret for your 3rd bait: http://www.wareaglelures.com/g05-gold-shiner.html It's my favorite and has been tied on since early spring. It's a bit pricey, but considering it has basically replaced all others, not a bad deal. It flat catches fish. I ordered two more: One for my buddy and a spare for me.

I have had a fish carry around a Chigger Craw while I worked out a backlash. When I finally got it out the fish was buried in a laydown and I had paddle over to the tree and dig it out. I've caught quite a few fish on these that i probably shouldn't have. Big bass will sometimes bite and just sit still. So you don't know they're there until you pull and they bull back. The fact that they don't spit it out tells me a lot.

I recall a pro giving a talk at the local sportsman classic right after the wacky thing broke onto the scene. He talked about how easily a Senko is destroyed and he mentioned getting McDonald's drink straws because they are larger diameter than most straws, cutting them down and using them as a sleeve for the worm. I tried it and it works. My wife grabbed a lifetime supply of them one time she was in McD's and I still have some. I also took a worm with me to the hardware store and bought some heat shrink tube the right diameter to do the same. It works better and is flexible! It's some tough stuff and if you try, you can get a hook barely in and out of it without filling the gap of the hook with plastic.

My dad because he passed away unexpectedly on Mothers Day morning. He got me started fishing for bream, crappie and bass as early as I could stand still and hold a rod-earlier than I can even remember. My desire to fish surpassed his by the time I was 10 or 11. I would beg him to take me on the weekends and we would spend the week at the local lake when he was on vacations. I honestly don't know who I would be without fishing as a pastime or without my parents as role models. I miss him more than I ever thought I would. I got him to go once last summer to a really good pond and he caught a few before he got tired and sat on my tailgate talking to the landowner who is a family friend. I knew that would likely be the last time we ever fished together. Now I wish I had taken pictures.

Top: Topwaters like Spook, popper or buzzbait or a hollow body frog if it's a weedy place Middle: spinnerbait or lipless crank Bottom: T rigged worm/craw or crankbait These options give you access to the entire range of water depth. You can tweak them as you need with other lures, but when you think about covering the entire range of possibilities, you get a better idea of the type lures you need in each. If you only have 3 lures in your box, there might be days when you catch nothing. I fish from a kayak in smaller ponds/lakes. The deepest place I fish has maybe 25' of water at the dam. The shallowest, I could probably stand in.

Every time I ever cleaned a bass and decided to cut the gut open, it was full of shad, minnows or shiners. The minnows could have been any species of fish. I have caught a fish with a crawfish claw hanging out his backside. I hope you feel better soon.

As a famous fisherman once said, If they ain't concerned with the first 100' of your visible line, they won't care about the last 3'. That said, I've been trying leaders all this year and i can't tell a difference. I haven't caught any bigger than 3.5 lbs., but I can't imagine a leader is the cause of that. That's probably because of where I've fished most of the time.

I'm using that one. But, yeah, the screw in hooks should help, and I have some!

I'm always looking to improve techniques or make fishing more economical. And I usually order off the interwebs.

I've been having some success lately with the Zoom Super Swimming Fluke in Houdini color. The reason I bought this bait was actually the color. Gold works well around here. Well, fish love them, and better than average size fish. But they don't last long. I went through two bags quickly, not even catching a fish per bait sometimes. I even bit off the first 1/4" of bait to reiuse after they got What are some comparable soft plastic swimbaits that might be more durable? What are your favorites? I've been rigging them with an EWG hook and a 1/16-1/8 oz bullet weight.

Bubble gum is the BEST Trick Worm color I have found. I use a whole bag of them for every one worm of a natural color. I usually use the naturals for regular T rigs. If you ever wonder what the best color is, go to WalMart and see which one they're out of. Then order it off Amazon.

When I was a kid I'd always try out whatever bait I just bought because Bill Dance told me to. My dad would always use a T rigged worm, 6-8" with a 1/8 oz. bullet weight. He would say "they may bite this andnthey may bite that, but they'll always bite the worm." You're missing what they'll bite when they aren't biting reaction baits. Of all the baits, for me, the T rig has the best hookup percentage of them all.

Don't do what Bill Dance does. He wants you to see them flopping beside the boat until tired out. It takes some time, but you just counter what the fish does. If he wants to jump, lower your tip in the opposite direction of him. If he goes left, you go right. He goes right, you go left keeping pressure. Only get your rod tip up if he's just going deeper.

I don't know, man. Where I fish it makes a pretty good difference in visibility at least to my eye. It's stained here at best year round. these are pretty fertile waters. Even so, i can still see it. I have been using a leader on a green braid main line this entire year and I really can't tell any difference in number of bites or size. Well, actually, the size has been worse with the leader this year.

I tell them what I think I'm doing well. They can either do it or go another direction. Some won't do what you suggest. I know I've not taken someone's advice before. If you're keeping fish, split the take with them anyway. At least they can enjoy some fruits of the good fortune. Someone on this thread is lacking a sense of humor.

You're speaking my language. I like any bait that will come through shallow weeds, assuming you have weeds. My all-time favorite shallow pond bait is a Trick Work, weightless in the bubble gum color. Just toss it out and twitch it back. If you get no bites at all with this (unlikely) try the same thing with the Finesse size worm. As already mentioned many times, stick works are good. Lately I've used a Zoom Swimming Super Fluke with a 1/8 oz. bullet weight with some success. I love hollow body frogs. I'll throw almost any topwater bait in a shallow pond, but generally, the shallower the pond, the less noisy they need to be. Fish that are trapped in 3' max of water might get spooked by a buzzbait, but who knows? Another recent favorite is the SPRO rat. Of course, there is the ever-popular T rigged worm and craw. Good luck.

It looks very gimmicky, but so did the rat and I've caught a bunch of fish off the rat this year.