papajoe222

I only use one trailer on my swim jigs and it isn't either of those you mention. I'm a graduate of the 'Show 'Em Something Different' school. All my swim jigs are minnow imitations and a Kalin's Lunker Grub adds almost transparent action that gives the illusion of a small compact bait, but one that moves a lot of water calling attention to it.

For weight choice, you want something heavy enough to get your bait to the bottom and keep it on or just off the bottom throughout your retrieve. Dont confuse structure with cover. You do want to cast past cover when possible and bring the bait to it. With the bullet weight of a Texas rig staying on the bottom, a fish can take the bait without feeling it. You can hop or swim the worm with occasional pauses. Keep an eye on where your line enters the water as many pick ups will not be felt through the rod.

Wipes are good if the temp. is 70 or more, but at 38 wet and cold....... I'll use my socks first!

Like A-Jay said, an original floating Rapala, I like the #7 for river smallies, in gold/black back twitched down a seam equals smallie on the hook most anytime.

Through the lips, you might get away with a 1/0, but through the back you'll want a 2/0. Remember, if you've never used them before, you don't set the hook with these. Hold your rod tip up around 11:00 and just reel. The hook pivots as it begins to exit the mouth, hooking them in the upper lip. I use them all the time when teaching kids to fish because they so often gut hook fish with regular hooks.

Flip the reel into the lake and get a baitcaster. Just kidding. For optimum reel life and the least amount of frustration due to line twist, closing the bail by hand is the answer.

Not knowing if you're dealing with corrosion, or just gunk build up makes it difficult to recommend anything. I'd start with a good scrubbing down with Simple green. That would get rid of any grease and grime. If it's corrosion, take the reel apart and soak the frame and side plates in CLR. Test it out on a spot on the underside to make sure it doesn't harm the finish.

I'm not a fan of fluorocarbon, but I believe in using the best tool available for the job. I'm also not a fan of spending money from my limited budget on something I haven't vetted. I have the opportunity to pick up some Stren Fluorocast at, what I consider, a good price. For those of you that have tried it, what's your take on it? Any better, or worse than the average fluorocarbon out there? Please, only responses from those of you that have tried this line. I know there are better, more expensive ones out there. I just can't justify to myself spending $20+ for it.

Specific lures. As an example, I have a Fat Free Shad that triggers strikes when an identical one stops producing. Some of the hard baits in that box have been customized by adding 3D eyes, adding or removing color to an area, or adding a feathered treble. For the most part, though, they are identical to the ones in my big box. I'm thinking of adding a second box for topwaters as it is full to the point of being over stuffed.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has a tackle box that they keep their favorite lures in? You know, the ones that almost always seem to produce when other, similar,even identical ones fall short. Over the years I've found that there is something about them that sets them apart from the majority of baits I own. I actually have two boxes. One for hard baits and one for bags of plastics. The plastics are chosen by brand. You may call them your confidence baits, but I have confidence in a type of lure in a given situation. What I'm talking about is a specific lure that separates it from others, even if it's only because I think it does. When I fished tournaments I'd often go to that box after getting my limit, or when time was getting short and I felt I needed to get one more fish to put me in the money. I don't consider them magic, but under the right circumstances that's the box I reach for.

When it comes to the hard baits, the first thing I do is switch out the hooks to quality trebles. Then, I put them in a box next to a similar lure I know produces. Then, when I'm getting bit with the one, I'll switch to the other. If I continue to catch with the budget lure, it stays in the box. I have a popper that I paid $1 for that has caught tons of fish and an identical one that hit the trash bin shortly after I tried it out this way. IMO, unless you're on fish, don't discount a lure because it hasn't caught you anything. That goes for soft plastics, too.

I'm not too familiar with when the sun sets out east, but I figure the majority of the time you'll be fishing will be under low light conditions. Personally, the drop shot is a presentation I would only choose under tough conditions. I'm a tube fanatic, but that is one condition where I opt for a soft plastic with a lot of action. A lizard, or creature bait will move a lot more water. A RageTail will also, Texas rigged, or as a swim jig trailer. As for tube rigging, Glen did a very informative video on just that not long ago. A quick search and you should find it easily.

If you can get the tail of the bait to sit a little lower, you'll not only get better hook ups (notice I didn't say more), but it will be easier to get it to walk and spit. Add an extra split ring or a 3X treble to add a little bit of weight.

So I've been without the use of my boat for a few weeks now and have done quite a bit of shore fishing to keep from testing out some single edge razor blades. Considering the limited amount of shore access on my home waters, I feel I've done extremely well. What the experience has shown me is something I learned long ago, but I've gotten away from: If a spot is worth checking out, do a complete job. I always break down the entire water column in areas of 10ft. of water or more of water, but when it comes to shallow water, I rarely do. My reasoning is that the fish will react to any bait that passes. I was re-educated to the fact that even in 3ft.-6ft. of water, a fish with a 1ft. strike window will only move 1ft. That leaves a fairly large area where my presentation will go unmolested. Maybe i should have a tattoo that reads: Top-middle-bottom.

What was said earlier applies. If it works for you, our opinion doesn't matter. Personally, I've never tried a jig with that type of weed guard and you know how I feel about an Arkie head. I always tell guys to work with what you have. If you struggle with it, then maybe look somewhere else.

I have a pair of Costas with the 580G green glass that I wear for driving and fishing. They're not as dark as most grey or brown lenses soI can wear them indoors without having to remove them, yet they're still dark enough to eliminate staining my eyes in direct sunlight. The only other glasses I've worn are a pair of Wiley-X. Not as pricey, but not the resolution you get from glass.

Like Catt said, everyone has their own idea of what's 'best' for a given situation. The reason is because we have become so familiar with how that jig acts when it contacts cover and the information we deduce from what is sent up the line from it when it approaches the cover. We have a history of what will get that jig, not only out of the cover, but how doing so will assist in getting bit. All of that comes from putting in a lot of time with a jig and is also why a seasoned jig fisherman relies on only a few styles of jigs. That said, a heavy cover jig works best when pitched, or flipped short distances. That angle of the line to the jig works to it's strengths. I prefer an Arky head with a horizontal line tie that will flip the jig over a branch when popped just right. That flip not only clears the jig of the branch but gets the reaction bite a crank or spinner bait gets when bumping cover. I put that jig hook in many a branch learning how to achieve that result.

What Scott said about a leader spooking pike, I agree. If you still think visibility is an issue, there are fluorocarbon leaders that, although thicker in diameter, will work just fine. They also have the advantage of not kinking the way wire does. Beware, the length/strength of wire leaders will affect the action of some lures as they weigh the nose of the bait down. Sorry, I should have just agreed with Scott, but I'm one of those guys that likes to hear myself talk.

If you're hooking the skin on the inside of the mouth, it's a hook sharpness issue. Your hook point penetrates the skin, but then follows the bone forward until the angle to penetrate it is too sharp. Easy to correct, sharpen the hooks.

Hands down,Rage Tail Craw and their Twin Tail Menace for punching. I have others and will sometimes use something else if I run out of them.

I trim the legs so they 'recover' quickly after a quick pull. Longer legs take longer to recover and you can't work the bait quickly.

You can't go wrong with a frog pattern when fishing ponds. Add a Spook and you have the perfect trio.

Great bait for hard bottoms, light cover. For color, keep it simple. Smoke, chartruse and green pumpkin. Rig it on a jig ball head jig of appropriate size and you're good to go. For retrieves, I use two basic ones; A steady retrieve with a quick pop of the rod tip every two or three revolutions of the reel handle. Start high in the water column and work your way down. The other is a hopping or jigging retrieve. I start with an aggressive pop of the rod and slow down to just a turn of the reel handle until I figure out what they want. BTW, Welcome to the forums.

If the deepest water is 7ft. and it's a good sized pond 10+ acres) lack of cover and structure= find the baitfish. Check the wind, even a light steady breeze will move the baitfish to the windy side. put aside the hard baits when they aren't working and wacky rig a stick worm with a#1 circle hook, weightless. All the kiddies need to do is reel with the rod tip held up to hook them. No gut hooked fish for you to deal with and it will catch fish

Famous: Ribbon tail worm, Arkie head bass jig, in-line and safety pin style spinnerbaits, walking and popping topwaters, fat body cranks. Flavor of the month: Ned rig, Umbrella rig, hard baits with soft plastic tails.