papajoe222

I’ve bought them both and a number of other baits I see mentioned here. I do better with similar style lures. The Rock crawler has yet to produce for me. The same goes for a Whopper Plopper. I, too, will be selling off or giving away a ton of hard baits next year. Many I’ve caught fish on, but they’re just different versions of my go to ones.

I was thinking along those lines also. Maybe a nickel or black Colorado up front and a chrome/chartreuse willow on back. I find that willow blades that are only painted on one side don’t hold their attention as much and you don’t get them hitting the blades, which happens a lot to me when using all chartreuse blades.

Just wondering as I know there are a couple of trains of though regarding bait size for fall presentations. Many follow the line of thinking that in the fall, the young of the year are as big as they'll be until the water warms back up in spring. Others believe that smaller baits produce better in colder water. Personally, I prefer smaller baits once the water temps drop below 60, for numbers and size. I did an extensive search for smaller than average blade baits and found some that only measure 3/4in. but still weigh in at 1/4oz. Not only are they slaying the local bass, but the crappie and walleye really like them too. I'll drop down in size even more when the water temps drop below 40, but I ditch the blades for all but vertical presentation.

BIG BAITS=BIG FISH is a myth. Putting the right bait where the big girls hang out will get you more big fish than throwing big bait where they don't. You may catch fewer small fish as they might get spooked by those big blades though. Just my opinion. Believe what you want and stick to it. I've caught more big northern strain on small worms than I have on 10in.+ baits and I throw BIG worms a lot.

It's a safety measure to protect fishermen during waterfowl season. These lakes are flooded strip mines and in many areas are less than fifty yards wide. Others are closed to protect migrating birds from being disturbed.

Last year, as in some previous years, my local lake was 'treated' for weeds prior to Memorial Day. The result was no weeds until mid September. Fishing was tough for many of the locals because they relied on the weed beds for the majority of the fish they caught. In reality, the fish were still in those same general areas, but were using other forms of cover. That cover was sparse compared to the abundance of weeds, so it would hold multiple fish. I could pull five bass from a deadfall that I'd likely only catch one from when the weeds were present. Bass are great at adapting to their changing surroundings, but still relate to structure, weeds or no weeds.

I've never fished anywhere that has that much of an increase from rainfall. What I have found is that knowing lake's shoreline prior to the water rising is very beneficial, but knowing its (the lake) major structures is still the key. When the bass move shallow, as in your case, they need something to follow. A point, creek channel, bluff, any of which can point them to the newly submerged cover. A slowly tapering flat that now extends further inshore won't produce anywhere near as well as a flat that is close to a creek channel, or point no matter how much new cover there is. In short, the fish will be near those areas that were most productive prior to the water rising.

So for those of you that have and use different combos, which one of yours will see the most use throughout a season? For decades, I could answer that question without looking at the condition of the reel..... my jig combo. This year and possibly last, my Med. cranking combo saw more use than my jig combo. I did use it for more than just med. diving cranks though. 2.5 squarebills, Red Eye Shads and 4in. swimbaits were also tossed at one point or another. Of the nine combos that I normally keep on my deck, these two see the bulk of fishing time. The only other one that comes anywhere near to them is a med.light/mod fast rod paired with my Alphas 103.

No bumping allowed. If you could mention the older baits that you're looking to replace, it'd be a great help. Your request is too all encompassing to get any specific recommendations.

Cranks that have bills that are an extension of the body are the most resistant to breakage as everything is one piece. If you've broken the bills on Norman baits, I'm hesitant to say this, but you're likely using a bait that runs too deep for ticking the rocks, which is all you need to do to trigger strikes. Cranks are designed to be bumped into something and should do so without damage to the bait. However, if you abuse any tool, sooner or later it will fail you.

I do ALL of my home repairs and 'honey do's' during the off season. The only thing I do during fishing season related to house work is mow the lawn and back in August I found a kid that'll do it for $20. At the very least, find a retention pond close by and go wet a line for an hour or so. The wife will understand. If she doesn't, maybe you need to revisit that co-habitation thing.

The only time I’ve ever fished for musky has been early summer in northern, natural lakes. I plan on hitting a river nearby on Halloween. The river is up and moving and I’m wondering if I should target the deeper, slower moving sections, or move up close to the dam and fish the eddys and slacker water behind anything slowing the current?

Send them the pics with a request for a replacement.

I used the same 6ft. pistol grip rod and 6.3:1 reel for my spook fishing for years. I switched to another combo three seasons ago. Same reel, different rod.

I have a 3700 box for those times I don’t fish out of my boat. It contains two each…..shallow, med. and deep cranks, two blade bats, top waters, jigs and a small assortment of trailers. A spinnerbait is tied on to the only rod I bring.

I lnow there are many out there that have more ‘extra’ money than I do, but why would you spend a good amount of hard earned cash on a reel and proceed to let it get beat up? I still have my first Daiwa it’s easily 35yrs old. It has one nick and works as good as the day I bought it. I wouldn’t purchase a beat up reel. If the previous owner didn’t care enough to take care of the outside, how do you think he took care of the inside?

When I can’t find fish on my electronics, but I’m fairly certain they’re there a C-rig or a crank become my fish finders. I’ll also reach for one if a crakbait bite dies. Shorter leaders in colder water, longer in warmer, but 3ft. Is the max I’ll go.

No, other than it will catch more weeds than without one.

I keep a 3700 box filled to overflowing with each of the following in my boat all season: shallow, squarebill, med. diving, deep diving, lipless, silent and one marked secret weapons that I keep in my ‘carry on’ bag. Pick a brand that sells for under $10 and I bet I have at least one. Do I carry any pricier cranks? I’m related to the bait monkey (by marriage) and he visits regularly! Guess.

I rarely throw worms once the water temperature drops below 55. I will, however, add the last two inches or so of a floating worm to a hair jig. I’ve been experimenting with the RageTail Ned Rig the last couple of outings, but the Ned has been Dead ?as I haven’t caught anything on one.

A buddy and I had a running bet. The first to catch a fish, any species, had to buy breakfast he next day. i would start the day throwing yhe biggest, gaudy bait I had until he eventually caught something. LOL. it wasn’t until I caught a big pike one outing that he caught on. All bets were off after that, but when fishing was slow he’d always ask: why don’t you break out that bait you caight that big pike on in 86.

The first thing I do when I observe fish following my jerkbait, is change my presentation. Faster jerks, longer jerks (more of a quick sweep) more subltle twitches. If they still won't commit, I go to a smaller bait, or switch to a Fluke.

WE had a ton of rain fall the other night and I ended up switching out the willow blade for a Colorado. It didn't disappoint. Ended up catching three hogs, one of which was the biggest I'd caught out of that lake all season. I do like that Stan Sloane short arm. I may have to pick up a couple before I head south in Nov.

I voted for big swimbaits/glidebaits because of physical limitations, but jerkbaits are the hardest for me to master. I can catch them on a Fluke, switch to a jerkbait and come up empty. Go figure.

It's finally that time of year when the leaves start changing colors here. That change is a few weeks later than normal and I can usually get in three or four outings before the majority of the lakes here are closed to fishing. You can bet the farm that I'll have a short arm spinnerbait tied on a rod and I'll likely not put that rod down all day. There is something magical about a single willow blade short arm during this short time span, especially in the strip pit lakes I frequent a lot. This bait, when allowed to helicopter down a bluff wall, steep drop, or deep outside weed edge is just amazing. The problem is, you just can't seem to find them anymore, so I end up making my own out of a standard bait by cutting the arm about 3/4 of the way up from the 'R' bend, slipping the smaller blade and clevis off, and attaching the willow blade/swivel to a newly formed loop at the end of the shortened arm. I've used a number of different brands of baits to do this, but the ones with thinner wire arms seem to produce best. I believe it's because the shorter arm still retains plenty of the vibration characteristic. If you're looking to add a bait that is not only different from what the majority of anglers are throwing and is a proven fish catcher, look no farther. For the cost of a standard spinnerbait and a little time, you may just find out what I did almost 40yrs. ago. But keep the secret to yourself.