Dirtyeggroll

Fished Diamond Valley today and didn’t a big one I was hoping for. Ended up with a 4.34 and a 3. Kind of a slow day considering how much the trip has cost me. But that’s why it’s called fishing and not catching. Going out again tomorrow to a different lake in hopes of the DD.

Superglue

I really love the paint jobs on the 6th sense stuff. The paint actually chips off pretty easily and the bills on the squarebills break pretty easily. Both of. E crankbaits shown have only been cast about a dozen times (and caught 2-3 fish each! Including a 5+ with the bluegill color). Nonetheless, they flat catch fish so I still buy them.

Between the guy who was the boater and I, combined we probably caught over 100 bass, most right around a pound. (we stopped weighing after we got a limit of nicer ones). We found a rock pile offshore in about 5-7 ft of water and every cast with a jig that allowed the jig to drag over the rocks ended up in a fish. Felt the tap of the jig bouncing of the rocks then bam, jig got smoked. Every single time. Upgraded to a 2.15, 2.2 and 2.9 on some docks in a little man made bay. My best 6 were 15 lbs 5 ounces (mine is on the right) enough for a 3rd place finish! Sure made 25+ mph east winds with and chilly 40-50 degree air temps quite bearable. I also got to test the Huk NXTLVL Rain Gear @A-Jay sold me and I stayed nice and dry.

Correct, but it only takes one blistering sunburn to increase risk of Melanoma and 5 blistering sunburns over your life increases the risk of developing Melanoma by about 80%. Melanoma is not the only one to worry about, basal cell and squamous cell risk are increased each time you get a little pink. In fact, when applying for health and/or life insurance, many companies will ask about a SINGLE blistering sunburn at any point in your life as a factor in determining your riskiness as an insurance holder and your premium $$$. These kind of data are quite frustrating because getting a little tan seems to improve my mood. In contrast, I’ve found that since I’ve invested in and started wearing quality and breathable sun-protective clothing, I actually feel cooler and find that I am not nearly as exhausted after a day of fishing. If you have the option to wear quality sun-protective clothing vs. sunscreen, clothing is the better option. While sunscreen is effective if applied correctly, the fact is that sunscreen is high maintenance (you really have to apply it in regular intervals and make sure you cover all surfaces); frankly annoying (greasy and gets all over), and some people even believe fish have an aversion to it. Clothing on the other hand; you are probably going to put some clothing on so if it’s sun-protective you not really need do much else. It also doesn’t need reapplying. I know it’s hard, but instead of that next rod or reel or lot of baits, it’s a better idea for your health and overall quality of life to invest in some sun-protective clothing if you plan on spending any extended periods in the sun. *end soapbox*

Alternatively, where a had with a bill that shades your nose and move the buff down until it’s no longer covering your nose. or you can get some anti-fog for your glasses which will help a little.

1. It is indeed the lake dreams are made of. It’s public water in western Iowa and eastern Neabraska. If you ever are over this way I will tell you some good spots. I would invite you time come with me, but I fish out of a 10 ft plastic boat barely big enough to accommodate me. 2. I already have one and retrieve the Flat75 9 times out of 10. It just hangs up that much.

I mostly throw it into rip rap jetties. However, along these jetties sometimes are submerged logs or out on the end of the jetties submerged brushpiles. I've actually tried throwing both an SK 1.5 and 2.5 and was not able to produce a bite. Switched over to the flat side and game on. On another day when I was out fishing a buddy tournament, the guy I was fishing with was throwing a fat body crank and didn't catch a fish. I was throwing the Flat 75 and I caught all of the fish we weighed (we ended up 4th out of 27). That was a little earlier when the water was cooler (upper 40's - lower 50's) so I suspect, that had something to do with why the fish only wanted the tight wiggle. Now that the water has warmed up to lower 60's the fat body may work again. Just trying to find a work around for getting this bait through wood better. The fact just may be that the design of the bait doesn't really allow that. Will try @WRB's advice and use the Cover Strike guards. What size do the hooks look? What size CoverStrike should I get?

On 10-lb Invizx the bait will run almost 10 feet. I didn’t believe it until I was snagged and had to extend my lure retriever (15’) all the way to reach the bottom when it was snagged. This has happened several times. I think you are right that it is probably more about lure design than hooks for getting snagged (the angle it runs in the water), but I think it is at least worth a try with some different hooks.

Do you suggest any short shank hooks specifically?

I have had tremendous success throwing the 6th Sense Flat 75X flat sided squarebill crankbait so far this spring (I even caught a 26 lb 2 ounce bag using it so far). However, I have also lost about 6 of them due to snagging in brush. The way this bait is currently setup it comes through brush horrendously compared to a Strike 1.5 or even a Spro Little Jon. The stock hooks on this bait are pretty big so I am wondering if I can change them out to something different that might find snags a little less often. All I know about the current hooks are that they are VMC black nickel. I have included a picture of the hooks, maybe someone can help me identify/describe them a little better, as well as suggest an alternative that might not snag as much. Thanks! **I have both a hound dog plug knocker and a lure retriever pole and have still lost that many. Have saved way more.

Thanks @A-Jay for the sweet deal on the Huk NXTLVL rain gear. Fits perfect. I didn’t realize when you said they feel like fishing pajamas that you meant they were warm. Gonna be great for cold weather. Not so sure about summer rainy days though.

Thanks! Booked a 2-day back to back trip with Rusty. Will let you all know how it goes!

Considering the number of lures I have had chomped off there, especially near the north end of the lake on a warm summer day, it counts.

There are at LEAST two bass lakes within an hour of Omaha that have pike. One of them is a tough lake but has big bass (I have caught 23 and 24 lb limits out of it), and the other one is just a good bass lake with a mix of all sizes of bass. I’m not so much worried about the bass getting eaten as I am feeling a tick, starting to set the hook and then pulling up a line with the lure gone. I can’t count how many jigs, spinnerbaits and squarebills I have had munched off by one of the toothy critters (probably pike more so than musky). That being said I have adjusted by not throwing any expensive lures in these lakes.

Oh I know. The drag just barely slipped on that fish, just like it was supposed to. The adjustment I made completely stopped it from slipping. The rod was completely loaded up and I kept horsing. I just have a bad tendency to try to horse fish no matter what’s tied on. In other words, I’ve never really used the drag to aid in the fight. I lost a lot of fish that day. I think if I would learn to use the drag appropriately, I would probably have more success getting big fish in the boat. Of course, the lists of imaginative ‘could haves’ and ‘should haves’ for the one(s) that got away are endless.

Did the exact same thing earlier this year, which is probably one of the reasons why I reached for the drag on this fish.

What kind of idiot adjusts the drag on a big fish with a crankbait!?!? ?? let this be a lesson not to touch the drag when fighting fish with crankbaits. Speaking of, I’ve never thought about it, but how do you know your drag is set right? I just do it by feel, but there’s no real rhyme or reason. On the fight in the video, the fish starting taking drag (which actually was a good thing). Obviously my brain stopped working and I forgot the purpose of the drag was to soften the tension on the fish while keeping it tight. (In my defense, my drag sometimes gets knocked around on my little boat and I have made a terrible habit of adjust it after I have realized it changed). I was using a Dobyns Champion 735CB (graphite) with 10-lb Invizx, which probably gave my naïveté with the drag enough forgiveness to put any big fish in the boat at all (I caught several 4-5 lbers that day). I guess now I know boating the bigger fish requires more than a fancy combo setup, and requires a little user know-how. At what point do you want the drag to start slipping with crankbaits? I know a lot of guys say ‘25% of line break strength’. Does that apply for trebles?

Had a day that will go down in history for me. Found my new favorite lake inSouth Central Iowa. Caught 52 bass. Best five were 26 lbs 2 ounces. Started the day off with a 3lb and a 4lb on consecutive 1st and 2nd casts, respectively. I was wearing a GoPro so I wasn’t taking pictures. Then I realized at some point that the GoPro was in camera mode and not video mode. I also got hooked past the barb over the top of my thumbnail and after a small amount of wiggling it just came right out!!! I’m still not sure if I was dreaming. Here’s one of the many 5+ I caught. They were all munching on crappie in brush piles next to jetties as you can see by the crappie tail down the throat of this 5.31. They kept moving up on to the rocks on the jetty and I was whacking them with a 6th Sense Flat 75X in wild Lava Craw color. Water temp was 47. 47!!!!!! They were jumping on the retrieve like it was summer! Edit: When I downsized the image so I could upload it, it lost the resolution to distinguish the tail in the back of the throat. That dark spot down in there is the tail.

Monkey got me at Academy! 4 whopper ploppers, a couple lipless and I would've bought that 705CB but luckily it was gone.

I really like the way you have identified what you have thrown and where. I might have to adopt a similar recording scheme.

Not a large quantity caught at Harrison county on Saturday. The fish really seemed to have shut off with the cold front that rolled through. Evryone that caught fish caught them in the same muddy cove on squarebills or jigs in 1-4 feet of water that was about 4 degrees warmer (52-53) than down by the dam (48-49) There were a few big ones though. The big bass was 5-14 And they were at least three others over five. The winning weight was 14-4 and only a few caught a limit.

Sure, I’ll upload the video. When you see it you will understand. I did contact the local authorities. The guy was a total tool.

Serious enough to have been with the front of the boat, intentional and not in jest.

I had a guy in an old 17’ Tracker bump me in my little 10’ plastic boat and then proceed to anchor down and fish for crappie right where I had been working a dock. I asked him what the hell his problem was and I asked him if he realized how dangerous it was and he told me it wasn’t my lake and that I should respect my elders. It took everything I had not to tie on a 1 ounce tungsten weight and rocket it at him. He could’ve sunk my boat or knocked me over and I could’ve drown. I was running my GoPro so I got it all on camera and have reported him to the local coast guard authority, but it doesn’t seem like they are gonna take much action. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt or ingorancy, but some things are down right obvious.