papajoe222

It depends on how buoyant your worm/trailer is. 3/16oz with a 6in floating worm is a good starting point. You’ll know right away if it’s too heavy. If you go lighter you can hop it off the tops similar to freeing a lipless crank, but the one I originally mentioned works the majority of times for me.

If you’re seeing the fish, you don’t need to get into the weeds to catch them. For targeting the tops of hydrilla, a light shakey head and floating worm is the ticket. You don’t want the combination of jig and worm to bury into the vegetation, just sit on top. Gently raising your rod tip and letting it fall with some tension on the line will keep it on top.

When rigging with a straight shank hook, enter the nose of the bait on a 45degree angle. Push through and turn 180. The hook point is now at 45 to the body and that is the angle you want to re-enter on. Don’t concern yourself with the weight not being in-line as, with the snell knot, that is what gives the cam action to the hook set. With worms and other soft plastics that you’re not rigging with a snell knot, cover the hook eye with the bait’s nose and your bullet weight will rest against the nose.

I had never fished this lake, but my favorite muskie lake had been pilfered by the local Indian tribe over the winter and after two days of nary a follow, I pulled up stakes. Not known for numbers, but the occasional trophy, I headed out after lunch. There is a single, public launch on the west end of the lake with parking for maybe six rigs. I launched and beat the water until my shoulder couldn't take it any longer and as the sun was going down I started working my way back to the launch, fishing for the abundant smallmouth. As I neared the launch and the sun set, I could see three rigs waiting their turn to load and decided to fish the saddle between the south shore and a small island. That's where she hit. My poor TDA was screaming for what seemed like minutes, but was likely less than one before I got her turned the first time. The splash sent up when she spotted the boat is burned in my memory. With next to no light, I was able to bring her boat side. I have a 40in. ruler decal along the side of the boat, got her tail positioned at one end and made a mark on the gunnel directly above her nose. It was too dark for a pic as my old phone had no flash and I didn't want to take her out of the water and chance injuring her, so I released her without feeling her weight. With the launch empty, I headed in, heart pounding with nary a sole around to share my excitement with. After trailering the boat, I measured from the mark I'd made back to the end of the tape on the boat. 12in............That added up to 52in.!!! even if I was a little generous with the mark, that was at least a 50in.MUSKIE! I sat in my car shaking for a good five minutes. What haunts me, you ask? The date was Sep.9,2001. I thought nothing could erase the smile from my face after catching her..............I was so wrong.

I have you beat for second place finishes including club AOY. Only one first place finish in 14yrs. I did manage big bass honors with regularity, but even then 2nd place seemed to be reserved for my name. As as for a movie title: The Rodfather sounds appropriate.

If you know the running depths of your crankbaits, pick on that runs at, or just above the level that you're marking fish. Don't think that just because a crank isn't bouncing off cover or the bottom, they won't produce. The most productive retrieve I've found in sub 60 degree water is to crank the bait down to its running depth and then work it with the rod tip in short to long sweeps until you figure out how they want it. BTW, the best baits for this are either suspending or slow rising cranks. This is also a situation where jigging spoons really shine. You can target both the suspended fish and those on the bottom and they really shine in the cooler water situations.

I, also, don't weigh my fish unless one is over 24in. or I think it may top my PB. My top five for this past season; 22in. 21in. 21in. 20.5in. and 20.0in. That 20.5in. likely weighed more than the 22 as she had been feeding heavily prior to succumbing to my offering. I'd guess total weight around 29lb. BTW, all these fish were caught in July or Aug and the two 21in. was actually the same fish caught three days apart.

Do you know what model the one in your post is Glen? I visited the site and couldn't find that one.

Megabass Katsuage Outtbarb Hooks. Super sharp and they hold like no other hook I've tried. I use them on my lipless cranks, too. They're light, but strong so they don't alter the action/flotation characteristics of your jerkbait.

I'd been searching for one of my Daiwa Fuegos (the older red ones) for a couple of months and finally reconciled myself to the fact that it was lost for good. Clearing out the boat prior to winterizing, my electronics go on a shelf above my work bench where my muskie tackle box sits. Guess where that gem was hiding? I'd put it in there as a spare for the only muskie trip I took this season. The wife thought we hit the lottery because I whooped so loud. She said it was my own fault because I have so much gear .........................women.

They're holding to the upper water column in the cold water here in the afternoon. That works great for me because deep cranking is out of the question because of issues with my left hand. In-line spinners and an occasional taker on a 1.5.

I've been doing this on and off for over 40yrs. I call it C-riggging a crank. It's a great way to present shallow diving cranks down deep which is something the fish rarely see. If I'm lucky enough to find open water in Jan. or Feb. I'll use a crappie sized crank or a #7 Rapala and just crawl it along with plenty of pauses.

When you don't have that second person with, match your bottom presentations to the color of the lake bottom to start. With soft plastics, you can experiment by adding a little contrasting color to the tips before switching colors all together. Those Spike It felt pens do the trick. If the water is murky, start with something dark or bright colored and work your way toward natural colors.

I have five days left before the lakes here close, so I’m not there yet. Talk to me in a couple of weeks when i have to deal with no fishing AND no baseball. Better yet, talk to my wife She’s the one that gets ghe brunt if it.

Early in the season, I'm a numbers guy. The long dry spell from Oct.-March has me chomping at the bit once my season opens and the addiction for catching becomes paramount. The same situation happens the last few weeks of the season. I'm looking to carry a high into the off season. The remainder of the season, I'm targeting big fish. Most days it's only two or three bites, some only one. I may get an occasional dink. Big baits/small baits are determined by the fish. Yea, I know what you're thinking: "If he's only getting two or three bites a day, how can he determine what the fish want?" I fish areas known to hold big fish and I start off with bigger baits, but before I move on to another area, I'll go small. (My bait of choice then is a hair jig and a 4in. straight tail that I also use with a drop shot} If I get bit on the big bait, I stick with it. If not, I switch to a smaller presentation before moving on. I landed two fish on my last outing. One on a 6in. paddle tail swim bait, the other on a hair jig. Four hours apart.

I'll do it in a couple of different situations. The first is when I want to bulk up my presentation. That's normally in the early spring and late fall and a Kalin's Lunker Grub is my trailer of choice. It slows the retrieve down similar to using one with a Colorado blade, but you still have the flash that the willow blade offers. Yes, I only use single blade, short arm baits for this. The other is when I feel the fish are hitting the blades and in that case, I'll throw a spinnerbait with the skirt removed and add a paddle tail swim bait. That big piece of plastic, I feel, will draw their attention away from the flash of the blades.

I've had smallies come up 15ft.-20ft. to inhale a spook and not had that happen. I've also had LM in 3ft. do exactly as you describe. I'm not discounting your theory, just speculating that the fish may just be hitting the lure just to get it out of the area. Normally, I'd recommend following up with a Fluke or weightless tube, but this is really the only situation where I'll throw the same lure back at them a few times and end up catching them. I don't know if it triggers a different reaction than their first and they end up engulfing the lure, but the majority of those second strikers have the entire bait in their mouth. Give it a try.

Try contacting Lucky Craft's customer service department. I'm not familiar with their warranty, if any, but it sure couldn't hurt.

You should get some nice logs with those. Oops, that was meant for log catcher

Don’t forget buzz baits. Calm water or with a chop, they can draw some violent strikes from inactive fish. As for colors, most fish, frogs, mice, etc. have white or light colored bellies and bass are looking up at your topwater lure. Something to think about.

Prior to buying baits, I’d check to make sure there is structure or cover out deeper than where you’ve been targeting. Then I’d choose a bait that runs deeper than what you find.

With cranks, I go with longer leaders because, for some reason, pike like to get them back in their mouth and I've had them bite of shorter 12in. leaders. I can't tell you what brand I use, but I will tell you they are made with quality ball bearing swivels and cross lock snaps. The last thing you want to happen is loosing a fish and your lure because the snap on your leader opened.

A Spook is always at the top of my list. I also add a split ring to the nose and I'll change out the hooks and add split rings there also. My gear is similar to yours; 6ft. shorter handle rod, but I go a little heavier with the mono. I've had bass (smallies) move 30ft. up to hammer them. I've also had fish miss on the initial strike and come back to get one. Why wait? During the dog days of summer, I've caught my biggest fish on a Spook, so I wouldn't wait for the water temps. to cool

I'm confused by the OP's wording that the knot if falling apart before he pulls the loop tight. I'm thinking that he is letting go of the tag end and it's pulling through the loop before it's cinched. If that's the case, it's the technique he is using, not he knot. I use the palomar for all three line types with no issues.

That explains why I’d never heard it. Except for some really small bass, I’ve never lifted fish with the rod. I cringe every time i see a pro do it.