jimmyjoe

Met a guy today who t-rigs lots of stuff. He says he always puts a white or glass bead, big as the base of his nose weight, between the weight and the hook. I said, "Yeah. That's the clicker. Iovino sells them." He said no, it wasn't a clicker. A clicker moves; these are pegged. He says it's an eye. He says bass go for the eye, so he provides them an eye. I never heard of it like that. Have any of you done something like that, especially to provide an "eye" for the bass? jj

If you like the Premier, try the St. Croix Triumph line. They're business-like. And less expensive. jj

Unfortunately, this is VERY, VERY TRUE. Especially true on spinning setups. jj

Since I'm a shorecaster, I have no choice. First lure is a spinnerbait, retrieved parallel to the spine of the point. Then I go to a ribbontail worm. If the point is rocky, I go to a spoon. If it's weedy or brushy, I go to a senko, t-rigged at the depth you're talking about. I always work the base of the point first, gradually moving out deeper. If the wind is in the right direction, I may throw a slip bobber with a marabou jig under it, but by that time I better be getting fish, or I'll be movin' on. jj

Exactly the way I feel. Never done me wrong yet. jj

Hallelujah!! How did I not see that? That sounds like exactly what I'm looking for! So much for Google Search! ? Come Monday, Jimmy's piggy-bank is gonna be a little slimmer ...... ? Thnx, @Catt jj

Okay. I need to start from the beginning. This is in lakes, not the river. There are two areas, in two different lakes, of brush, dead downed trees and piles of limbs that top out shallow or stick out of the water. These areas hold niiiiice bass. They're a ways from shore (remember; I'm a shorecaster) and it takes all I can muster to hit them or cast slightly over them. If you let your lure drop into that mess, it's bye-bye lure. Believe me. I know. Even worms and flukes get hung up. Boatmen get fish out of this mess by pitchin' or flippin'. I can't do that. If I have a spinnerbait that doesn't sink fast, like my J-Mac double Colorados, I can cast out into this mess and retrieve the s-bait really shallow, essentially waking it. When I do that, I get fish and I get to keep my lures to cast again. That's always fun. ??? Even the J-Mac wants to roll if retrieved a tiny bit too fast, and sink too much if retrieved a tiny bit too slow. And yes, if I didn't have so much line out I could control the spinnerbait a lot easier. A high rod tip at this distance makes a little difference, but not much. ? Tandem blade s-baits generally have to be retrieved too fast, and I get lots of short strikes. If I put on stinger hooks, it doesn't seem to improve my hookup ratio. It can, however, improve my "snag ratio". ☹️☹️ The only thing that seems to work is a SLOW RETRIEVE. Then I get good fish, good hookups, and usually can pull the fish to me before he can get to the "inner sanctum" of the brushpile. I know there are good "waking" spinnerbaits out there, ones that are stable. And I hope that some of them can wake slow. I also know that there are scads of people out there who CLAIM they have the right spinnerbait, and they don't. One other thing; I use mono, not braid, for this. So now you know, as Paul Harvey used to say, " .... the rest of the story." Can you help me? And BTW .... don't tell me, "Get a boat". That ain't gonna happen. Last guy who tried to sell me a boat, the boat stunk to high heaven. His name was No-something-or-other. ☺️ jj P.S. I'll chk out the Zorro, @Big Rick. Thnx.

Thanks, @A-Jay jj

I've been using the spinnerbaits I already have. I have not used willow or willow/Colorado, because I had noticed that they had to be retrieved faster to maintain the same depth as a single or double Colorado. But I'm willing to learn, willing to change. Are there double willow or willow/Colorado spinnerbaits that can be waked and waked SLOW? The slower speed gets me better hookups over brushpiles and sunken trees. jj

Sometimes I "wake" a spinnerbait just under the surface. The spinnerbaits I have will cant (roll to the side) because I normally buy them for slower, deeper rolling. What are some spinnerbaits that do NOT roll like that when waked? (I prefer double Colorado.) Thnx. jj

Learned to handle a baitcaster in 1963. Before that, I used a fly rod - split cane - that my older brother brought back from the occupation of Japan. Friend of my Dad's was a flycaster, and he taught me to catch crappie with it. That was probably '59 or '60. Wish I knew then what I know now! jj

Without a doubt, my favorite and most-used lure. For pike, for walleye .... and for bass. Has to be a clear bottom, though. For bass, the 3/4 Dardevlet is favorite, in Pearl Clown, Grey Ghost and Purple Rain. Down the line come the Orange Crush, hammered nickel, hammered nickle/blue, Purple Haze and Potato Bug. The 2/5 size is good, but not like the 3/4. The 1/4 Trout Weight is good, too, just not like the others. I rarely retrieve these steady. If I wanted a steady retrieve, I use the 1/2 or 4/5 Cop-E-Cat. By far the most common spoon retrieve for me is the "dance". It's basically like the twitch-bait retrieve, but the cadence has to be adjusted for the weight and surface area (resistance) of the spoon. On the 1/4 oz., the cadence is twotchtwitchtwitchtwitch, with short and light twitches. With the 2/5, it's twitch ..twitch..twitch, with short but smooth twitches, maybe four inches long.. On the 3/4, you have to apply slightly more authority to the twitch, and it becomes more of a jerk. One fairly smooth jerk per heartbeat will generally do it, but you have to increase the stroke from 4 to 8 inches. The reason behind all this "dance" stuff is to make the spoon more attractive to bass. They commit faster on a dancing spoon than they do on a wobble spoon. I've noticed over the years that my take on a dancing spoon is about double what it is on a wobble retrieve. I imagine I could catch bass on the 1 oz., too. I just never tried. The 1 oz. is my pike and musky size. The dance it has is slower and has greater latency. I had mentioned that this was "over a clear bottom". I don't use spoons over brushpi..... excuse me, over habitat, because it's a sure snag-up. There, I use soft plastic and spinnerbaits. I use spoons around rip-rap, but parallel to shore, not perpendicular to shore I can't stress enough using a pool, school or private, to really see clearly the effect of your retrieve. And as always ......good luck. ? jj

I, too, was taught, "one shot, to the head". After many years of .22 rifles, my eyesight has gotten so bad that now I'm relegated to using a 12 ga. with light loads. I hunt by ear; if they move, I can hear (and see) them. You guys are lucky. jj

No. Is it moral? No. Is it common? Very. jj

I hate to tell you this, but my solution is to run only only one true topwater; a buzzbait. For those, I can use a cheap metal leader (usually Eagle Claw). Everything else I run is subsurface. I learned my lesson long ago. ???? jj

I live and learn. I've had Sufix Advance on for 2 weeks now. Thought it was great. Thought it cast far, and it does. Thought it was abrasion resistance ... and it was at first. But today I noticed several places along the line where there were "frayed" sections. I haven't been around rocks but 2 days out of the 2 weeks. Kinda disappointed. I'll re-spool and see what happens next. Maybe I should have stuck with Big Game. jj

At least we certainly hope no depth finders! Whoops! Beat me to it! jj

Good idea, but the OP said line goes out 10-20 feet, then stops. Doubt that tape would help him. jj

This is a good way to avoid the problem:

No, I'm not going way out to extremes here. I'm just saying that nylon is deader than Spectra or Dyneema, and that some nylon lines are deader than other nylon lines. I never figured that there was a problem for me feeling the vibration of a crankbait or spinnerbait. Those are constant-retrieve lures. For me, the problem was with flutter spoons, jerkbaits and senkos on the drop. Those can produce "soft" hits that are hard to feel. Hooksets are more of a problem too, especially with stretchier lines. In these flooded waters, I depend on those types of lures more than ever. This new Sufix Advance has helped a little. But yesterday I splurged and bought my first fluoro in more than 5 years; Seaguar InvizX in 12 lb. We'll see whether that's an improvement. Maybe yes, maybe no. jj

Maybe that's not what he means. Nylon is a shock absorber, so it absorbs vibrations and feels "deader". It's like the difference between brass pipe and lead pipe. The brass "tings", and someone a block away can hear those vibrations. The lead "thunks", and someone in the next room won't hear you hit it. Nylon is like lead. The same goes for fiberglass rods; fiberglass absorbs vibration much more than graphite, so it feels "deader". jj

I use long casts to reach targets in the river. Yes, I miss some hits because of the stretch of mono, but I try to keep tension on the line once I get the lure moving. That helps me get a good hook set on mono. Superlines improve that a lot. This is my first year really concentrating on lakes, but I find that they're the same. There are always targets just a little ways further out, that most shorecasters can't reach. They're usually pockets or man-made habitat. It feels good to get some nice fish at the end of a looooong cast when that's the only place producing. And the last reason for long casts is overcasting. When fish are spooked, cast way over them and bring your lure into them in a more controlled manner. I regularly cast long. I can, so I make use of it. As everyone else has said, sometimes the fish are at your feet. But sometimes they're not, too. You have to learn to suit yourself and your conditions. jj

Looking for low stretch mono is like looking for a skinny fat girl. That said, some is better than others. dodgeguy gave you one good line, and YoZuri Hybrid is another. Just remember; no line is perfect. jj

When bass are hitting worms under bobbers, use a wacky-rigged Senko under a bobber. By the time they figure out the difference .... they're hooked. jj

I'd throw the Fat Boy, which I have. It's the only one of the Norman lures that can be counted on to run true right out of the package. I've used Norman lures for over 30 years, and that's the way they've been for over 30 years.( I've heard that the Fat Boy isn't even a Norman design, but I don't know that for sure.) The rest of them are kinda like the rich uncle who's always drunk; you tolerate the bad points to get the birthday presents. As much as I've cussed them, Bill Norman's little babies have given me some really nice birthday presents. Pounds and pounds worth. jj