papajoe222

I'm partial to a blade bait (Gay Blade etc.) early in the year. Tight wiggle and no rattles. They're fairly snagless on a steady retrieve, but if that's a concern, you can clip off the forward facing hook on the front treble and eliminate a lot. Another great feature, like a spinnerbait, they can be fished almost anywhere in the water column.

Awesome fish and story to go along with it. Keep at it. It took me 16 years to break my previous PB, but I bested it by 1lb.9oz. If you can get half that on your next, you'll have your first double digit.

Mine is a tale about an expensive attempt to retrieve a 1/2oz. jig/trailer. Someone had lost, what I assume was, and anchor with the rope still attached. I hooked into the rope and after a couple of attempts at retrieval, I decided to cut the line (braid) and continue. To keep the lost line to a minimum, I positioned the boat directly above the snag. Holding the line as I went to cut it, a gust of wind pushed the boat away pinning my custom jig rod between the TM shaft and the bow. Before I could grab it and free spool, the rod snapped. I actually cried as I had painstakingly built that rod over the winter. I couldn't replace it as that blank was discontinued in the spring. Ended up loosing both the jig and a fantastic rod.

You may find a fish or two down deep, relating to the dock supports. If bass are using the docks for their cover, they will be close to the dock itself (upper water column). If you plan on targeting the supports, letting your jig fall on slack line is imperative. You'll either need to hand feed line from your baitcaster, or use spinning gear as even the slightest tension will swing the jig out toward you and away from the support. For deeper cover and structure, you could target them using a variety of lures, but I'd stick with a jig, jigging spoon, or blade bait fished directly below the boat. You could also try dragging a football jig, or tube along a structural element.

The whole idea of trimming the skirt and using a low action trailer is to downsize the presentation. A Rage Craw is a good chunk of plastic in both volume and length. Compare it to something like a Zoom chunk and you'll see a big difference in both.

If you're going to use a Med-Fast rod for worm fishing, Use thin wire hooks. Most 4/0 EWG (I'm assuming that's what you meant when you said #4) worm hooks are made with heavy gauge wire and require much more energy on your part, to penetrate past the barb. I'm not saying it can't be done, I know lots of anglers that use a similar set-up successfully. I'm only pointing out two things that inhibit your success with that combo; the hook and your hook-set. Try thin wire 3/0 worm hooks and work on a stronger hook-set.

Seaguar Blue Label has excellent abrasion resistance and is made to be used as leader. I haven't tried it in lighter weights, but I've been using 30lb. braid to 15lb. Blue Label and love it.

Well, I see what my biggest problem is; I was attempting to walk it like a Spook. I've been using walking topwaters for decades and just assumed you'd work the frog the same. Thanks all. BTW Tom, I did check out that video. ?

I love fishing a frog, but I feel I may be missing some fish once it gets to open water. This has likely been asked before, but is a loop knot used when you want to walk a frog? For a few seasons, I've been attempting to walk a frog, once it clears the vegetation, back to the boat. Is it all in what knot, or frog is used, or am I missing something?

For no particular reason, reels for me. There's something about handling a buttery smooth reel, or searching websites for one. I build my own rods to the characteristics I want, but finding a reel for it takes me on an enjoyable search . Plus, I can change components on a reel to achieve a desired effect. Not much I can do with a rod, but buy another one.

I think blade size has more of an effect on running depth than line diameter. Retrieve speed is another factor, but using a 6.3:1 reel with what most would consider a normal cranking rate, I'd say 8-10ft. I use a 1/2oz. if I'm targeting anywhere deeper.

Get ready for a workout, but when they're producing.........

Presentation, for me, depends on what type of grass or vegetation I'm targeting. Regardless, I will start with something that will lay on top and I can hop or pop off the weed tops. Some form of soft plastic with as little weight possible is my choice for that. The second is something that will tic, or catch the weed tops that I can rip free (my favorite). If the weeds are sparse enough to run a bottom contact presentation, Mr. Jig and his brother C-rig get the call. Check out the edges (the tops are an edge, too) along with points, cuts and any structural changes.

In your part of the country, you don't get water temps in the 30's like we do here, but I'm sure the same approach would work for you: Look for the baitfish. The question you need to answer is where the main forage in your lake winters. That's where I'd start. Unlike summer fishing when off shore fish will move to find forage, in winter, they'll be close to the food source. That could be shallow or deep, so don't limit yourself.

Keep in mind that no matter what trailer you decide on, the jig skirt should be short enough to expose the action part of the trailer. (see AJay's pics) That allows the water to flow over that section. A longer skirt will block the flow of water.

I use them when I need to force myself to slow down. For me, that's when they produce best. Never tried trolling one because I rarely troll.

Look for structure elements like Tom mentioned. Also, if you can determine the specie of trees, look for areas where there are two or more or where one ends and another begins.

I say go for both, though the bog sounds better for me. I try to take two trips to new lakes that require more than a four hour drive. I did miss out on one because of gas prices last season. I go for one in either upper Wisconsin, or Minnesota and the other in Missouri or Tennessee. I have one in MN already picked out and booked lodging. The other is still undecided. I may check out one in Kentucky.

In clear water during the post-spawn through fall transition, speed is your friend. I can't say that it's because the fish don't get a good look at your lure, but that seems to be the most common theory, I just know what works. I, personally don't like working a spook quickly as there are others that do the job easier for me. Ripping a prop bait quickly has produced plenty of smallmouth from deep, clear water.

I use a 5.9 for a couple of reasons. First, I don't just throw deep cranks for half an hour and switch to something else. Trust me when I say that using anything above 6.3 is going to wear you down. Second, IMO when bouncing a crank on the bottom in 15+ft. of water, the speed of the lure isn't going to get you more bites. Casts, yes. Now if you're cranking at 15ft. in 25ft. of water, speed is your friend as you don't have deflection triggering a strike.

Mann's 'Two-Fer' It's a topwater that tied on one way is a buzzer that floats and when reversed is a chugger similar to a Lucky13. If you're lucky enough to have one, I know a killer hack that will double its effectiveness under the right conditions.

My favorite: Remove wrapper prior to eating.

Only if they are directly under it. It depends on the angle they're viewing it from.

One of the fish attracting elements of a Carolina Rig, is the sound of the weight striking the glass bead. Pegging the weight eliminates that, so I never do it. Once you begin your retrieve, the weight stays on the bottom and won't slide up the main line. Years ago, using only mono, I found that pre-tying did save time, but I would have an occasional knot failure resulting in a lost fish. I attributed it to the lighter lb. test of my leader, but later figured out that the knots grew weaker over time. Now, I use a braid main line and the weight, bead and swivel stay tied on and I only add the leader/hook, or re-tie, when needed.

Purchasing my first Humminbird flasher back in the early 70's. I didn't even own a boat back then, but I wired a couple of lantern batteries together and took that thing with me whenever I rented a boat.