Dorado

Wal-Mart sells Zoom Grubs and they are only 98 cents. It's the only place in town that sells em and they have such wicked tail action

Do you mind sharing that color ?oxblood? I like......

Thanks for chiming in and nice hybrid! I live in Phoenix and it is lawful to use live bait in community waters, except Tucson down south FWIW. Plus, there is a bag limit of 10 for sunfish at lakes with no minimum size. AZ is pretty lax compared to other states.

Line cutter or braid scissors in your fishing PFD that's easily accessible. Over the summer, I was trolling from my kayak and this jack wagon in a big boat zoom right next to me. I'm talking 15 yards and had the entire lake. My line got snagged on his motor and my reel started peeling braided line. Without having that tool handy to cut my line, it could've been interesting because he was hauling the opposite direction. Kind of like how bikers feel the utter lack of respect and etiquette with automobile drivers, as a kayaker, I feel that way about a lot of motorized boaters.

Good suggestions so far. When I fish riprap areas, I'm a fan of throwing finesse soft plastics (crappie Jigs, Gulp Alive minnows, tubes) on slip bobber rigs. When you know the average depth, you can adjust your bobber stop accordingly to hover over snags.

It's a fun debate. There are no crappies in this pond so that's why I originally eliminated that species. However, the canals sometimes introduce nonstocked species in ponds which explains why a random flathead could end up in a neighborhood pond. Either way, it's catfish bait to me

@IndianaFinesse oops my mistake. Used a bluegill earlier that night but I think you're right on.

Using live Bluegills 2 feet under a float is my favorite way to catch channels! Last night........ By the way, Shimano OC Baitrunner is absolutely perfect for free lining livebait. One crank of the reel and you engage and lock for a fish on! Circle hooks prevent gut hooking for a nice catch-and-release.

I feel your pain. Never had that experience with a bass In that class but I have had that heartbreak with an estimated 28" walleye at Chatfied Reservior in Denver, Co. I extended the net from shore and she made a final run that got off due to a faulty Clinch Knot. I almost lost sleep that night because I tried for two straight years fishing to get a trophy walleye. Ever since that experience, it thought me to learn the trusty Palomar Knot and to retie often. That made me a better angler because I've never lost a fish since due to a weak knot. Learn and grow is my mantra but it's a tough pill to swallow. What's tough about your situation is that sign incident was beyond your control man. Tough one

@the reel ess dude solid response! You motivated me to build more confidence in this bait. Thanks again

@the reel ess I've noticed that you're a big fan of the weightless Trick Worm. I tried it for the first time at a friends pool to see what it does underwater. It's mesmerizing! How do you like to work it and what colors do you recommend for me to start off with? Do I treat it like a weightless tx rigged Senko? Thanks

1/8 oz is my jam too! I like throwing those roadrunners rigged with a 2.5" Gulp!Alive! Black Shad from my kayak and float parellel to and casting towards shore. Just jig it back. To this date, I have never fished such an effective multi- species bait than that. Funny you mentioned those Keitech Easy Shads. I literally bought a pack of the 3" Electric Blue/Chartreuse to pair with my 1/8 oz Chartreuse Roadrunners for the Crappie Spawn next Spring. If that doesn't work, there's always my trusty beetlespin

Thanks for this link. I used a slider head with a Zoom finesse worm (Junebug) for the 1st time during post spawn and it was instantly love at first sight.

For those who swim a ned rig besides mimicking a baitfish eating food off the bottom, what advantages does the ned rig have over small paddletails and single tail grubs?

I absolutely love grubs! Whenever I have someone join me in my tandem kayak and if they are a beginner fisherman...... I will rig them up with a chartreuse roadrunner and 3" white zoom or Powerbait grub. Largemouth bass of all size can't resist along with channel cats and slab crappie. Arguably Top 5 fishing lures of all time.

@Catt do crawdads spawn every full moon or during different seasons of the year? I had no idea that they go through the molting phases so frequently either. I like what @WRB mentioned about having a variety of skirts to interchange because it's going to get expensive and maddening trying to cover every stage especially region and species specific

Thanks all. So what I'm gathering is I need to grab tubes, Jigs, crawdad cranks, chunks, and other crawdad imitation soft plastic - one of every color. Ok! jk I get the theme in the answers. For an animal that can camouflage so easily the variables are endless. I vaguely recall hearing that crawdads get a blueish color in the winter then orange to reddish in the spring. Lure manufacturers make summer patterns that are geared towards the watermelon shades then the Fall is one big question mark. Man, Shad are so much easier!

After spending a couple years studying Threadfin Shad and picking lures to mimic their patterns and colors, it's time to focus on another common forage here in the SW. Please share your breakdown on crawdads. I'm interested in common colors from their yearling to adult stage. Traditionally speaking, what colors they take on in winter vs spring vs summer? Lures and soft baits that resemble their metamorphosis for a lack of better word?

Jig fishermen cult comment had me cracking up!!! OP, you forgot to add another common theme...... bass angler wannabes, like me, think what works for me should apply to everyone in all locations throughout the U. S. no matter what!

Fall is the time of the year where fast moving baits are king for me. I get them to chase on shallow water, similar to prespawn, except fall experiences a longer window of this aggreesiveness. Wake baits (Rebel Wake-R and micro Chatterbaits) are fun in ponds. Jitterbugs at night are a must in the early fall. Most common lures I use in Fall are squarebills. I like to burn them back and pause for exactly 2 seconds. Repeat. Lipless cranks and Chatterbaits are king too. I like to retrieve how I described with the square bills. Fall is my favorite season to fish AZ, especially for Channel Cats!

Channel Catfish have been my most common - Jitterbug (dead serious), grubs, gulp minnows slip bobber rigged, Roboworm, sassy Shad, lipless cranks

Pausing a black Jitterbug at night (in pitch darkness) near a weededge followed immediately by a crashing torpedo strike that scares the bejesus outta me

LMB - Mann's Baby One-Minus in fire crystashad Smallie - KVD 2.5 squarebill in red chili craw

What jig/Craw combos do you recommend?

@IndianaFinesse that was poetic