the reel ess

Bandits are awesome. I like that Flat Max squarebill up in the flooded timber. And I like Bomber's craw pattern. I liked the Norman's L'il N and DD22 for big waters, but I usually fish ponds nowadays.

$14 and haven't used it yet. It's a hard, jointed swimbait and toward the bottom of the list as far as cost. I'm sure I'll buy more.

I accidentally ordered one of these in a batch of baits from Amazon. I decided to keep it. Do any of you use it with success? How does it compare to a full-size in terms of bites and quality fish? It doesn't look like the body will compress enough for good hookups.

I usually forget to eat whatever I took. But I'll take granola bars if I take anything. If I take my daughter, she always wants to have a picnic, complete with pork and beans and a snack cake of some kind.

I used to put out Christmas trees in front of my dad's dock every January. I did it for maybe 15 years. This is much better. But the trees were free.

LOL. Some of them are big a$$ baits too.

My wife had ACL (re)reconstruction. Yes, for the second time. I haven't been able to fish or do much else but care for her and get her to PT and doctor appointments. But she'll be mobile very soon. So I took this opportunity to order several big bass baits, including full-sized frogs and a Savage Gear Glide swimbait-most I've ever paid for a fishing lure. I fish mostly ponds and almost always from a kayak. Two are overstocked with small bass so you have to try to cull the small ones by using big fish baits. Another has bass over 8# in it. And another one I have yet to try is about 3 acres of lilies. I am dying to hit up one of these spots ASAP.

Well, I currently have a Trion 40 size reel on a M/Mod rod. That just won't do and needs to be rectified. It would require another rod for this reel and another reel for this rod. I have a BC reel that's getting worn out and needs to be replaced by a quality unit, but I'm not wild about the rod either. I have an UL spin reel on a light rod. I have an UL rod with a crappy (not crappie) Zebco 11 underspin with a frozen drag on it. Tsk-tsk!!! I yard-sold a couple old BC rods, so there are 2 new holes in the rod holder.

Always, ALWAYS, keep an imbalance so that you can later overcorrect it.

They're largemouth that have beeen in deep and/or cold water long enough to lose their dark green coloration. When they return to the shallows around the spawn, they'll turn green again.

If topwater and they're busting bait, a big popping lure like striper delite to get their attention. If they aren't chasing, but you still know they're near surface, a walking lure. Keep in mind, they'll break line and take your prized lure sometimes. A cheaper "topwater" is a big, weighted popping cork with a 3/4 or 1oz bucktail below. This makes it easier for them to take the lure in too because they aren't sucking air with it. You'll also lose fewer and have an easier time once in the boat with this rig because there are no trebles involved. A striper topwater blowup is heart-stopping. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=striper+delight+lures&view=detailv2&&&id=8E547E71ADA47577F46EB785FF2CF500CF4E63D9&selectedIndex=0&ccid=bSQliHKv&simid=607993290413510358&thid=JN.0GqoKS6iWxIkdGPi420mIw&ajaxhist=0 If below the surface: Bucktails, big grubs, big cranks, flukes big Rebel jerbaits, bass jigging spoons. I've caught them on live minnows, Shad Raps, Norman's DD22, Roster Tails and spinnerbait. White or natural shad is a good presentation for shad. Accents of chartreuse, red or orange can work. Firetiger works too. If they're really biting it won't matter much because they eat all fish. The last striper I caught was on a chartreuse Rebel Wee Craw with 6# mono. But the best presentations resemble fish. This is all assuming freshwater.

Sounds like it's suffering from extremely clear water as most quarries are. I watched Jimmy Houston using 1/8 oz RoadRunners on a quarry for crappie and he kept catching bass. I took his advice and used some on a friend's small pond and caught a lot bass-all smaller, but that's what his pond has. If the dropshot idea works, downsizing probably is the trick. Maybe even crappie jigs. The thing about RRs is you need to fish it very slow. The downside I find is in using thin mono. It stretches so much you will miss the hookset on some fish. The live nightcrawler is still on the table too.

I'm 6'2" and change, about 200-220, depending on whether I'm on a health kick or a good beer kick. I have a 12' Perception Pescador SOT that sells for $500 every day at Academy. It is toward the lower end of rigs that are pre-rigged for fishing. But it's right in the middle of quality. From what I understand, it's the same mold as an older WS Tarpon. It's pretty stable if you don't try standing. It's not the best seating arrangement, but it's not the worst. I think a throwable boat cushion would help a lot. The lower back support is good. The two things I dislike most about it are that I can't stand in it long enough to fish (or wouldn't try) and the seat, though padded and contoured for a man's posterior, gets hard after a couple hours. And the seat is situated low for better balance and has scuppers under it that will eventually lead to a soggy butt unless it's very calm where you're fishing. That's OK when it's hot, but not that great when it's cold out. Again, the throwable cushion is a solution. I just never remember to take it. Also it has no rudder, so wind is an issue, but I fish so many shallow places, I wouldn't use one much it I had it.

You can't use a small live bream? Is that illegal where you are?

I can only say what worked for me...once...20 years ago. Live bait. Actually dead. People said there were no bass in this quarry but there were catfish, so i caught a bream and cut into small pieces. I dropped the bait down maybe 30' deep and BAM! Bass, release, repeat. And there were people swimming in there at the time. So, maybe lower some live bait to the right depth. Or maybe a jigging spoon.

I've heard recently that if you reel down and feel the fish after they take it, set it. If you don't feel it, wait for it to float up so you can start twitching and not waste the cast. Interstingly, Snag Proof, who makes Ish's signature frog, say to wait 2 seconds, FWIW. http://www.snagproof.com/pro-tips.html

Limetreuse sounds like plum crazy. I was that way about Senkos, Trick Worms, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Jitterbug and several more. I came to realize if they have them in Walmart, they catch fish. At least they do in when used in the right situation.

Here's another good brand. http://www.potentbidness.com/product.sc?categoryId=3&productId=7if you can't find the TW in bubble gum. But these are 6". The Trick Worm is 7.5". And after you catch a couple and the worm is getting worn, you can bite a half inch off (tastes very salty) and reuse it. You can't do that with a 6" worm. I'm convinced the action gets better after you bite it off. LOL

Man, I thought they were such a gimmick until my buddy threw a couple at me. I was fishing with white and he was killing me maybe 3 fish to my 1.They flat out outproduce the other colors. If you can find them, Limetreuse works very well too. Cabela's has them, not sure about BPS, Academy does not. In fact, Academy is out of bubble gum a lot of the time. That's one way to know what's working. I bought some methiolate at Cabela's because I saw a guy on TV wearing them out with a c-rig and that color. They're good too. They used to sell a sherbet color. It has been discontinued, but some people still pour it and swear by them.

I agree with you. But then I'm fishing them a lot. I use them weightless in Bubble Gum and methiolate colors. I used to think 8" Culprit ribbon tail purple worms got the most. Lately I get more bites on T-rigged Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craws in black/sapphire. I suppose I should use a jig with this craw as a trailer to increase the size of the fish. But I just feel so confident about the t-rig with a 1/8 or 3/16 oz tungsten weight.

What kind of reel are you using? Line? A quality reel with quality line should fix that issue. If they'll chase a buzzbait, but won't bite, try a spinnerbait. They're sometimes shy about the surface lures but will bite the SB below the surface. You can also bend the arm down on the buzzbait so that the body rides lower at a slower speed. That will occasionally get a bite. Or you can use a smaller one like a Pond Magic. You can also replace the skirt with a grub or fluke to show them something different.

The closer you hold it to the camera, the more it weighs.

Just by the highest lb test of any of them and you'll have dang near the strongest. 65# ought to do.

Yes! I'm going to give that a try sometime soon. I know they'll bite it just because they haven't ever seen it. But I'm going to rig it with a Trick Worm. I even put some finish nails in my box for when I find the time to try it. I imagine this working around lilies or overhanging limbs.

I got a $50 Amazon gift card from work. I scoured it looking for quality swimbaits, but could only find one. I filled the rest out with frogs and topwaters.