papajoe222

If you're the type that likes to upgrade gear every few years, they are okay for anglers that only fish a handful of days a month. Their crankin' stick may be the exception for one you might hang on to. They are a great combination of materials and although a bit more tip heavy than some, I've spent more for what I thought was an inferior rod. I still have and use mine along with a couple of rods with the power hump handle that I've used for spinnerbaits late in the season when my aches and pains start showing up.

I love to fish, don't get me wrong, but if I could go back in time there are a boat load of things I'd do other than fish. If the trip was solely to fish, it'd be any of the times when my dad only took me and not the family. Something very special about those times.

It's impossible to say why they go after a spinnerbait and not a chatterbait. I'd stick with the a reaction type bait by first adding a trailer hook to your s/b for the second pass. They may still be reacting, but not totally committing to it, or changing your presentation, pausing occasionally, or popping the rod tip to get the skirt to flair. If no takers, change lures, but stay in the same category (chrome lipless, underspin). Still no love? Ditch the flash and try a swim jig, paddle tail on a jig head, or a crank and again, vary your retrieve before moving down the bank.

Unpopping a popper, drifting a popper, casting a popper and eating a taco.......... I break out my poppers during the spring when water temps hit 55 or so and don't put them down until they hit 70. Unless I'm fishing at night, I switch to a spook as they are better at calling up fish IMO. We don't have many laydowns on my home waters and the weeds will top out in15FOW by July. I've literally seen the weeds part like the Red Sea 15ft from a spook as a bass charged out to grab it.

I keep a couple of extra reels in my bag this time of year. When one gets to the point where I want to scream, I cut off my jig and replace the gunked up one with a 'fresh one' and keep fishing. Once the seeds dry out, I just strip the line off and hold it between my fingers in front of the reel. Then it's just a matter of reeling in the line and tossing the seeds.

You don't set the hook when using circle hooks, you just reel and the hook point turns up into the upper lip as the eye exits the fish's mouth. When you do a normal hook set, it doesn't allow time for that to happen. OP,If your concern is the visibility of the braid, I don't understand why you would use it and not go straight fluoro. Quality fluorocarbon is cheaper than quality braid and you'd eliminate the knot problem. On a side note, 15lb. fluoro is too heavy for a .25oz. lure. It will inhibit the lure's built in action. 10lb. or 12.lb is more than strong enough for something that size, unless, of course, you're fishing heavy vegetation and then there is no need for a line with low visibility.

Ditch the swivel, it serves no purpose. Keep the the snap if you must. I just tie to the split ring on the crank. If I use a snap, I'll remove the split ring, but I rarely do that on deep divers.

For me, it isn't the line test, it's the line type. Fluoro, mono and hybrid lines look the same and I only use two weights, 10lb. and 12lb. I also swap reels constantly. I write down the weight, type and date spooled on the bottom of the reel with a Sharpie. If anything changes, I just wipe off the old info and write the new

This is very common with rising water. The fish will return to the same areas they normally inhabit over time unless the rising water is due to flood management and rises enough to cover alternate structure, in which case you should treat an area as you would a new lake. Some fish will remain shallow and some will look for deeper water homes in the summer the same as under any other condition.

Genetics, diet, age, forage availability and density of the bass in a given body of water all contribute to the weight of any individual fish. Bigger females are almost always loners and have a home zone or spot once the spawn is over, so I guess you could consider the availability of cover into the factors. If you could take two fry from the same bed and plant them in different bodies of water, the only two factors that would remain constant are their genetics and age. Chances are one would outweigh the other for most of its life. BTW, the fish that guy in the plaid shirt is holding isn't 18in.

As I gracefully age, I've come to enjoy fishing by myself more and more. As much as I enjoy having a friend or relative catch fish when they accompany me, the hassles they put me through far outweigh the enjoyment. I don't care how the boat gets launched, or loaded. I don't care how they land my fish. I don't care if they cast into the trees, constantly talk, smack me it the head with their lure when casting, complain about the fish not biting and wanting to head in. I do, however, care when a combination of three or more of those things happen within the first hour and the second hour on the water. In those instances there is no third hour on the water for them. The rest of the day I fish alone in my boat and really relish the solitude. Anyone else feel the same?

I use it on a jig head, but on a belly weighted hook, I either add a hitchhiker or run a toothpick through the plastic and hook eye. Another trick I learned is to place a barrel swivel up the line before tying on the hook, thread your plastic bait onto the hook and then run the hook through the other loop on the swivel.

I've taught half the guys in my club how to remove a hook using a looped wire leader. Half the times it was a hook in me when I demonstrated it and a couple of times I actually performed it on myself. One of the guys did it successfully on his first try, but the other treble on the lure stuck his victim in the neck. One reason to remove the hook from the lure first. I keep a few (loops) in my boat and another in my onboard first aid kit.

NOPE

The big difference is the belly weighted hook on a paddle tail swimbait will allow it to drop in a horizontal position. This avoids a nose down attitude when paused (recommended) vs. using a speed worm which is normally nose hooked. factor in the profile, etc. and you have your answer.

In the area you mentioned, What stage are the fish in? The flat you mentioned has potential if the bass are up and feeding on bluegill and the steeper side of the point could hold post spawn females if the spawn there was on the kast full moon. once you have the stage and location factors figured out, it’s just a matter of reading the weather conditions of a few days prior and their activity level to determine what to start with. If you’re able to pre-fish, try to locate a few spots a d use thecurrent conditions to help figure out if they’ve moved.

I guess it's different for baitcasters with magnetic braking systems as they come into play more toward the end of a cast. All of my casting reels are this type and the way I set the reel is with a little side to side play in the spool (backing off the spool tension) and turning up the magnets. The thumb never comes off the spool. I also stopped overpowering the cast. A smooth roll cast will skip pretty far and when skipping, distance isn't a top priority.

What you see on the screen as far as the size of the arches and balls of baitfish is dependent on how fast you are going and the chart speed and transducer cone angle. I'm not familiar with your Lowrance, but your transducer frequency is likely different from your previous unit, or switchable. Good advice I got from a member here when I got my first down/side scan unit was to leave it on factory default setting until you get comfortable with interpreting what you see on the different screens. Then you can start tweeking to your taste. There are a ton of good videos on the tube about setting up and using the different Lowrance units.

Welcome to BR. You didn't mention how may years you've been fishing, so we're not sure about your skill level. Are they not fully taking the bait, or are you not getting a good hook-set when you get a bite? If you're getting blow ups wit the plopper, you may just be setting the hook before you feel the fish. If you're getting good bites on the plastics, it could be one of two things; too quick of a hook set, or you need to change your presentation by speeding up, slowing down, changing the profile of the bait to a worm, or creature bait and lastly, try changing colors. The other thing I should mention is your equipment. A med.hvy power/fast action rod will drive the hooks home on most single hook baits and a low stretch line will help, too. You'll also detect bites easier with that combination.

Welcome to BR (don't forget to go to the introduction forum and tell us a little about yourself). Think of skipping a stone across the water and what shape of stone you would pick. The perfect one would be flat with no sharp edges and maybe a little upturn on the edge. The perfect skipping jig would have those same features. Just like skipping stones, a lot of different ones will skip just fine and so it is with jigs. Also, keep in mind the trailer you'll be adding to that jig. Some, those with fewer appendages, are better suited for the task. As for weight, your equipment and where you are presenting that jig will determine that. It is counter productive to attempt skipping a heavy jig that is above the rating of your rod, or under shallow water obstacles. The flip side is too light for your equipment and possibly for deeper water. If you're looking for a do all jig, one that you could use for different applications, a 3/8oz Arkie head jig is a good choice.

I agree, as that was the phrase used to describe the set-up. 'A sliding (unpegged) bullet weight in front of a weedless rigged worm.' Now it is considered rigging any soft plastic in that weedless fashion, weight, no weight, on a jig, or a belly weighted hook.. It's easy to figure out what someone is talking about, even the pros. Very similar to the word structure being used when one is talking about cover. The way one uses them is dependent on how they learned.

I only use the traditional Texas Rig with a sliding bullet weight. Otherwise it’s weightless or at the business end of a C-Rig. If I dont want the worm to move independently of the weight, I use some form of jig head.

IMO, a square bill will trigger strikes that a round bill wouldn't. I've been using a coffin bill and seem to do better with it and I attribute it to the bill design. I just feel that a square bill will work even better. Thanks to all that have suggested baits that run 6-7ft., but I'm looking to get a little deeper than that.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've used the SK and Spro baits and they don't get down quite deep enough on 10lb. fluoro. The only one that I know will is that behemoth 4in/ 1.5oz. that I actually have, but use for musky fishing. FYI ShirtFish, unless you weigh a lure down with SusupenDots to the point that it actually sinks, it won;'t get your bait to run deeper. Doing so would negate its ability to back out and up from a snag.

I'm looking for a square bill that runs deeper that 6-7ft. Many of the deadfalls I target reach down to 10ft and I'd like to try one rather than a traditional rounded bill crank.