Esoxfreak

My issue isn't only with river2sea.it was just my personal breaking point. I get upset when companies are doing something blatantly for the money. BPS says "wow we are these things are selling by the boat load, but we could make more money if we take everything that river2sea (I'm more upset about the dahlberg name.the dudes a legend and really worked hard innovating baits)did and cheapen it." And BPS is doing the whole line,with the single tail, the 130,90,and 190. It's blatant because the friggin paint jobs are almost identical too! Look what Tyrant did. Same thing. Matzuos doragon.same thing. They are taking other people's ideas and reaping the benefits. I don't care if I'm the only one who feels this way. so yes I will rip tyrant for capitalizing off the top Raider and several other baits. But the op was about the whopper Plopper.

I know that! I said plopper baits have been around a lot longer at least a hundred years, dahlberg developed the tail, just like Huddleston developed their tail AND owns a functional patent on that,it's what makes Hudds special, but there are other paddle tails on the market. The original whopper plopper was a 190. Sennets Been making wood ones for years, there's top raiders...tons of them. Thanks for the "FYI"

Oh I am they are equally responsible if they are in an agreement! I didn't want my original post to be to wordy and knew someone will ask that.They knew about this 2 years ago and did nothing(or couldn't because BPS saturated their warehouses with r2s product), I feel that they should have pulled all their products from bps. i know for a fact they weren't part of a production type agreement initially. I did say initially...now(present time) I can't say that for sure, but bps ordered tons of whopper ploppers,THEN dropped the bomb post order that they had a similar product due to hit the market. If r2s is in a contract with them to produce similar product then r2s will shoot themselves in the foot. I also know for a fact they have had another patent stolen (not really stolen but got the design schematics before r2s could get a patent...kind of a long story)from them about four years ago that a notable soft plastic company now produces. I assume, given the companies(r2s) past that this was done intentionally By BPS without foreknowledge, r2s isn't happy either.BUT money can corrupt them all. If that's the case than shame on them too for fleecing the angling community.

Forgive me, and I'd like to apologize upfront because I will know what I'm about to say will offend some people. I'm ashamed at bass pro, not surprised though. I will give them that they are different, but this is why I won't but from big box tackle stores. They only cheapen quality products. The r2s whopper plopper is a good bait, its good quality, and will last a long time if stored properly. I hope this dosent make them cut corners to compete with bps. It's principal for me, I can't stand knock offs. I'm tired of companies trying to make a quick buck pawning off junk and I think most real anglers will know they are looking at a cheap knock off. Yes,plopper style baits have been around for almost a century but dahlberg designed the "plastic" cupped tail so it wouldn't need tuned, as opposed to metal ones,and produced a particular tone. He made the bait by himself for decades and further developed it with river2sea so everyone could expierience fishing one. What makes me sick is that bass pro saw dollar signs. Millions of em. And capitalized on not the angler but the cash. They take advantage of anglers. Larry dahlberg built it, River 2 sea developed it, bps ripped it off and cheapened it. Did you know bps has a nearly identical river 2 sea s-waver also????? Yes, river 2 sea has had some total flops over the years, but when they started developing baits the company started to shine. But why focus on research and development when bps or some other thief of that ilk will just steal it? I will not get into the Chinese manufacturing debate on this thread, both baits are made in China. I wish River 2 sea would manufacture here, but a lot of people complain about a $10-$12 price tag for a 90 anyway,so I get it. It all boils down to quality control, and river 2 sea has that.Yes river 2 sea gets them for cheap, but your jaw would drop if you saw what bps buy their rip offs for! It's pennies...literally.

Thanks, I've decided to take the boat,lol! Monster stripers...current...high canyon walls, I'll take that any day.appreciate the input!

Thanks a ton, would it be right to assume the flow is controlled at Mohave? And have you fished mohave lake? I think that's the name of that lake...

I have a couple of questions about the bullhead city/Laughlin area. My mother in law just finished up a four year divorce and wants to stay in Laughlin for a few days to celebrate...yippee. I'll be there the first week of May 2017. I don't wanna hang around the hotel all day with the golden girls and have always wanted to fish it, however, the four or five times I've been there I've ran into some issues: 1. Never had a license therefore didn't fish(resolved) 2. Cannot find a local tackle shop. 3. Don't wanna fish lake mead.not taking my boat. 4. Really would like to tag a few stripers,don't even know if this is the time for them there, figured I'd start my research on this forum first. 5. I fish conventional gear, but I love fishing carp on the fly. I have found butt tons of carp in the river,but the big ones are spooky and the jet skis turn them off. 6. I'd love to dump my mother in law off there so if anyone is interested in a 55 year old narcoleptic Latina, I got one. thanks in advance.

S-crank in kinkuro, biggie poppa bumpin lemon drop...I'm kind of ashamed but I've never thrown a kvd2.5. Its terrible I know, I find a lot of em on the shore line, just never have bought one, no idea why,lol.

abu has a pretty wide range of sub $150 stuff now,and I've had the same two volatiles for years now, but they stopped production on them last year...but ya know come to think of it my buddy has a veritas 2.0 that's really versatile. Those are under a hundred bucks, and it's really clean lookin.

In my definition of "professional" it means that you can make a livable wage from fishing ONLY. Totally doable! But I read something recently how chances are greater of becoming a rockstar than a pro tournament angler. There are other ways to make money fishing, but they don't involve slinging overpriced baits on tv (helicopter lure anyone, you big sellout)and those tournament anglers grind it out. In southern fl you have a huge tourist market and a lot of those guys go there strictly to fish, I know I would. You got access to both salt and freshwater. You should start a guide service. Bear with me...especially if you are good with other humans.it's a great way to generate a bit of income but your chances are higher getting sponsors because they want to see that you are serious about their products, and use them( there is a well known cooler co. That straight up gives you their products,even the really good stuff just because they know you got potential customers on your boat everyday). You can also fill out pro forms at local tAckle shops...or after 2 years guiding you could buy your own shop(you would need more guides though lol). By guiding and owning a shop everybody that you want to know who you are will know you. Then you wrap your boat with YOUR NAME! Being known will help you become a pro too. And ditto everyone else about getting into the circuit. there are a lot of people who do make money off YouTube by signing up for Adsense but you need to be getting tens of thousands of views per video to make any money. Just video fishing trips, and all of it, even your failures we wanna see that too,if you do videos you have to keep our attentions too.dont be ashamed to promote yourself, too many people are afraid to put themselves out there for criticism sake but we all do things different. Do it how you do it and be proud of what you do. Watching a story of a guy who goes from just a guy to the cover of a fishing magazine would be kinda cool. I'd subscribe just to see if you could do it,even if it took years. good luck man In my definition of "professional" it means that you can make a livable wage from fishing ONLY. Totally doable! But I read something recently how chances are greater of becoming a rockstar than a pro tournament angler. There are other ways to make money fishing, but they don't involve slinging overpriced baits on tv (helicopter lure anyone, you big sellout)and those tournament anglers grind it out. In southern fl you have a huge tourist market and a lot of those guys go there strictly to fish, I know I would. You got access to both salt and freshwater. You should start a guide service. Bear with me...especially if you are good with other humans.it's a great way to generate a bit of income but your chances are higher getting sponsors because they want to see that you are serious about their products, and use them( there is a well known cooler co. That straight up gives you their products,even the really good stuff just because they know you got potential customers on your boat everyday). You can also fill out pro forms at local tAckle shops...or after 2 years guiding you could buy your own shop(you would need more guides though lol). By guiding and owning a shop everybody that you want to know who you are will know you. Then you wrap your boat with YOUR NAME! Being known will help you become a pro too. And ditto everyone else about getting into the circuit. there are a lot of people who do make money off YouTube by signing up for Adsense but you need to be getting tens of thousands of views per video to make any money. Just video fishing trips, and all of it, even your failures we wanna see that too,if you do videos you have to keep our attentions too.dont be ashamed to promote yourself, too many people are afraid to put themselves out there for criticism sake but we all do things different. Do it how you do it and be proud of what you do. Watching a story of a guy who goes from just a guy to the cover of a fishing magazine would be kinda cool. I'd subscribe just to see if you could do it,even if it took years. good luck man

Contrary to popular belief guides don't make a butt ton of money(some do but that's a different topic). It's expensive. You have permits, and insurance, boat maintenance, food ( providing lunch is a very good thing) all the safety stuff, lures,rods, line...there is a lot to consider. More than most think. There really ain't a whole lot of people who will pay you to help them drown worms,they wanna learn stuff too. YOU SHOULD NEVER FISH WHILE YOU ARE WITH CLIENTS EITHER! This is just the tip of the iceberg...but once it's done it's done and you can make a decent career, for however long your season is...you also need to consider that to. As a guide you only work hard 4 maybe 5 months. It will really be hard to do if you have a full time job though.

I fish a lot of swim and glide baits, so I generally only take one with me.and one rod. I hate changing baits/rigs all day. I fish how I like and I've been fishing this way for about 5 years, and I enjoy it. I don't really care about numbers (I'm lyin, sometimes I just wanna catch "something",lol) but fishing a particular method takes a whole lotta determination! It's got less frustrating over the years but I've learned I'm fishing for myself not to impress nobody on the shoreline.it really pays off in the end when you hook up on your terms. I still fish other ways occasionally but even then I still will only take a square bill and/or a good top water. I own a ton of baits but always select one or two and call it a day.

Trolling isn't cheating, and neither are water wolfs,mar-cums, nor side scanning sonars, things like that. With all those tools you can still get skunked,lol! You can't make a fish eat or attack if they don't want to. Cheating is snagging...on purpose. I will sometimes troll a few yards moving to the next spot with the trolling motor down and a bait out (I'll bet a lot of people do that), sometimes I tag one and sometimes I dont but ya can't catch fish if you ain't got a lure in the water

I use Pyrex and set them in a electric skillet to keep them hot. I found I couldn't do a lot of baits with the microwave because it would cool too quickly. Or I'd over heat it...or I got bubbles. This way I can just crank em out without having to fuss with inconsistent temps.

That biggie straight catches em! Too bad they discontinued lemon drop...loved it.

I've been fishing this set up for a few years, had no idea it had a name (thanks internets,lol). It's the cheapest fish finder I ever bought! And that's exactly what I use it for. It's great to use in new lakes When you don't know what they hold I found. Caught a ridiculous number of trout on it last week in a new lake (it looked bassy to me but no bass)it outfished my wife who is a fly fishing purist. Super suprised. It was probably just "my day" but whatever. I don't use a Yamamoto senko though, I use the savage gear 3D armor worms now. They work well for me.

Lunker punker-black dog baits s-crank. -megabass dardevle spoon- eppinger s-waver s-200 - river 2 sea weagle 5.5. - suick those five I don't leave without.ever...ever,ever.

Sorry I didn't mean to step on ya runt about the old line shelf life I didn't read close enough.

6 years 4 deployments with 1st ID, the big red one, and an IRR recall a year later lol!!! Shoulda stayed, almost be retired now...?

everyone is right about wetting the knot first. That's a key,if you don't,while tying the knot the friction will cause weak spots In the line just above your knot. Also I had an issue a few years back and found out I was buying line that was on the shelf for quite a while(3 years in one case), it will degrade on the shelf and become brittle. not a lot of people know that like does have a shelf life...even the expensive stuff.

Making your own eyes is totally worth it, it's one of those things that separate "arts and craft time" from being an actual lure maker. No it's not cheaper (I don't think...never sat down to figure it out,after about $40 in tools and materials I've made hundreds of sets and haven't spent anything since), but the builder has total control at depth,color and shape. It does mean a lot to some of us, but detail is everything...for us really...not sure if the fish care wether I made em or a machine pumped em out. But I do.

You should try a pistol Pete under a tuff bubble if you haven't already! You can add water to the tuff bubble to give it how ever much weight you need, that allows you to throw all kinds of tiny stuff, like pistol petes, Woolley buggers,nymphs and stuff without getting hung up all day.just cast and bring it back.plus you can adjust your leader to fish shallow or deep. And the whole setup should run under 5 bucks. You don't have to change out your mainline either, just run a couple feet of light line as a leader from the swivel to the fly/pistol Pete.

A FISH BASKET with the floating lid they stay alive a lot longer and you don't have to fuss with the stringer. Berkley make one for about 5 to 7 bucks. If you can fit it in a sandwich bag it really should be released,lol, sorry but there ain't much to a 9inch trout. Cut into fillets I can see but not whole. I see it too much, people with 5, 6inchers in a ziplock, breaks my heart, wait till they are at least 12(personally I will occasionally keep a 14-16 if I absolutely have to,everything else is sent packing).

Ditto, owner st-36 of 41! Saw the topic, had no idea these would be the only suggestion! Dependable, tough, and I love the shorter shank compared to other replacement hooks, keeps that bait close to their face making it harder to shake. btw I have several 168's ( 26 to be exact lol, and half that many 200's) the stock hooks ain't THAT bad, but the owner is leaps and bounds better, and the weight difference is so subtle most of us won't even notice.

Is an awesome bait and a great bang for the buck, no matter what style you got! I used to use the 8 in for tiger muskies but had to stop 3 years ago because they literally would inhale the lure deep, I mean deep with the entire bait past the maxillary, so after a couple hard releases I decided to retire them to the bass box. I fish them now once or twice a week and the 8 inch finds a lot of 5-7 pounders which is pretty good here, but fishing big swimbaits is all about targeting big fish the BBz-1 is a great introductory bait to method fishing, I've had both of mine for 8 years. The joints are getting a bit rusty and there ain't much paint left (I've probably spent 200 bucks re painting and making eyes but I cant let em go)but they are workhorses!