Sphynx

Both boxes delivered today, that's some pretty impressive work by these companies and transportation partners!

I believe we have our thread answer right here lol

Well, personally I like to look at it this way, would you rather eat your dinner off a plate with no hands, or try to eat it out of the mud with no hands?

Airtail Wiggler's and Airtail Rattlesnake's are two of my favorite T-Rig and Shakeyhead baits, they absolutely murder smallies on the river for me.

It'll get me through the summer and autumn, but those will be all gone by next spring

I go fishing when I have openings in my schedule to go, so I don't really think I can speak with huge amounts of authority, however I have caught fish at all hours of the day, all seasons of the year at one time or another...to me the big thing is comfort, I don't like sunburns, or dehydration, or heat strokes, I also don't like frostbite or hypothermia, so I tend to avoid going in miserable conditions, but for those who want to push through that stuff, it has been my limited experience that they are very, very predictable during the miserable times.

Seems that BioSpawn has very deceitfully released new products and made me aware of it only AFTER I had placed an order...I'm gonna beat that monkey one day.

I typically use 5/16 as a starting point for ball heads, but this is also in the Columbia River, and I have no way of knowing how the current in my river compares to yours, I tend to find the problem trying to go super finesse like that in the main river channel is that my baits get swept past the target area and end up places I don't want them to be, resulting in my getting too frustrated with the outing to continue. I don't really object to losing a bit of tackle in an outing, that is just part of fishing, but losing $3-$5 jigs every 3 or 4 casts gets me thinking about my wallet more than the fish. I will usually go with something like a 3/8 or so with a football head, and if your in gravel or other reasonably small rock, they are phenomenal, but when your talking boulders and stuff, your just going to lose jigs no matter what you do if you are dragging them instead of trying to go straight in and straight back out of a hole.

Honestly I enjoy the fact that I can keep in touch with the ever changing and evolving world of bass fishing and weed out a lot of the stinkers for the cost of reading a post or article or two. I also enjoy hearing about all the new techniques, and modifications to old techniques, and different ways to approach the sport because it constantly keeps me interested, and provides new territory to explore in my own fishing adventures...of course if I'm being completely honest I also enjoy the threads that take a Jerry Springer turn, because who doesn't like watching a good bit of drama unfold before their very eyes totally unscripted? ?

That's something I will have to try next time I get out and they have lock jaw on me, on most days where I fish, you'll miss tons of bites fishing a wacky rig because it's just too slow, but I guess on days where they aren't hammering power techniques, what do you have to lose?

I don't think I've noticed huge differences very often, that said it does occasionally work out to switch from a red eye shad to a one knocker version, or to grab a lipless with a different sound/action, when it comes to soft plastics I don't believe I have ever noticed any real difference as long as your staying in the same wheelhouse (i.e. one craw imitation works as well as the next) and basic area of the color spectrum (natural colors vs. Bold)

In response to my thread about buying soft plastics which are new to me...

Well hot d**n, it shipped already, can't say that I am unhappy with TW, even if I can secretly wish they had all available baits lol

Always fished flukes, but this year I have ordered a handful of different soft jerkbaits just to see how it goes, I think I grabbed flukes from 6th Sense, Strike King, Big Bite Baits and maybe one other one that escapes me for the moment. Why flukes? Because that was the only one I could find pretty much nationwide for years, kind of like McDonald's, it's never a surprise and you know exactly what you are getting

Smallmouth aren't "less tolerant" of most things comparative to bucket mouth, but temperature tends to be one area that they are not as adaptable, lots of your murky, shallow, still water tends to hold much less oxygen, and is much hotter than running, clear deep water, and since on average I would say smallmouth are much more active predators than largemouth, who tend to be ambush specialists, it makes perfect sense that they have evolved to need a more oxygen rich environment to support that. Rocks tend to hold lots of food for both craws and for baitfish, which inevitably means the bass will be interested, also by changing the distance from sun warmed rocks they have the option of regulating their body temperatures fairly easily.

?? I have the rare opportunity to say that living in Oregon is a good thing in this regard, it tends to get me stuff from TW in a couple of days rather than the usual nonsense...that all of course depends on when the order is processed and actually ships lol

Well, I just placed an order through TW for a ton of new to me plastics, should get through most of them before the winter...a few of them I can see making the grade for permanent additions to my arsenal if they perform like I think they will.

Spooks are good, lots of size options among the range, I like the Strike King Sexy Dawg too in both sizes, there's a couple of River2Sea options too, bubble walker or something if I remember right that can be great, honestly I'm trying to think of one I've fished that hasn't just gotten crushed, pretty simple lures really as long as it floats

I posted this above, but I suppose it bears stating again...I'm looking to simply indulge a whim, I have buckets of productive soft plastics, I'm just trying to find new things and shake up the routine of my fishing life.

No worries man, just figured if I was misunderstood by you guys, it may confuse others too, I will definitely be looking into the free and jika rigs as well

I pretty much agree entirely with this, my purpose in asking is intended for unabashed indulgence, it isn't that I don't have boxes and boxes of good soft plastics, it's just an attempt to try something new for the sake of it being new. I am 100% confident that I can go catch fish using a vile craw, a vile bug, or a sweet Beaver, but I have never used a rage bug or craw or a pit boss, for example. Not so much about needing baits, as just wanting to shake things up a bit.

Looking to branch out in soft plastics this year just for fun, not necessarily looking for the one that catches the most fish consistently, or the most affordable option, I'm openly embracing the idea that occasionally it's OK to admit that most of the things sold in our industry are designed to catch as many fishermen as fish, so hit me with some of your favorite soft plastic baits, colors, sizes, you name it, I'm stuck in a run and I'm hoping you guys can get me thinking in different directions, thanks!

I bank fish almost daily in the Columbia River (natural border between Oregon and Washington) in the summer/fall, and I catch hundreds (thousands? I will try to keep better records this year) of fish well within easy casting distance of the bank, rocky stretches with access to current, and deep water have been very, very productive for me.

If your running electronics and find a fee spots, target the ones with the most baitfish on screen, more food means probably more bass

Since nobody else has pointed it out that I saw, smallmouth like current and cooler water Tyan largemouth do, rocks, current, cool water, all these words are perennial favorites to describe smallmouth habitat. If you feel the need to change your bait grab a tube, though a senko will be perfectly adequate for the job.