Blue Streak

In this area the best swim bait is still a Kalin 5 inch grub. Largemouth and smallmouth, been a staple for many years. I have treid several of the new baits and cannot match the results.

This is starting to sound like the Roland Martin show. ;D

Berkley Power Worms in just about any size, junebug, camo, black and blue rigged Texas or Carolina style. They have been very productive for years.

The Sweet Beaver and the Paca craw are flat out the best soft baits I have ever used, I catch bass on them everwhere I go

I tried this the other day and did pretty well with it, I didn't have the Rage Tail craw so I used the Paca Craw because I have a ton of those, bass just can't leave them alone. Anyhow I was very pleased and I liked the feel of the rig and I am going to keep using it.

I only use paste scnts. Oil and water based disolve too quickly.

Thanks for the reply. I agree that the 5 inch bait looks like it needs a 4/0 or 5/0. Are you having any success with these baits?

I did a search for this and could not find the answer. I know these are supposed to be fished on a weighted hook. But has anyone used these long enough to determine what hook size works best?

I think the most important aspect of color is getting a bass to see the bait.

I have caught several big bass on the eel. You just have to crank it fast enough to get the rod tip to wiggle and stay with it. Like any other bait, it has a time and place. It took me a very long time to catch a bass on a Rat L Trap

That guy is a great fisherman and teacher. And it is not always about bass I have learned a little about catfishing and crappies from him also. His is the only show I try to make sure I don't miss. That crank bait remark probably does sound dumb to a guy with expierence, but just think about a newbie standing in front of a wall with crank baits hanging all over it. Must be pretty overwhelming.

I am just down the river from you in Ohio and lizards have always been a good bait in this area. I like the Zoom lizards the best.

I have had some good fishing with those baits for the past few years. I t rig them with a light weight and I have done best with dark colors like Junebug, black/blue fleck, and watermelon.

By the way, I think the YoZuri line is a key ingredient to the success of this method. It is outstanding line, 6# diameter with 11.9# test,soft with little memory. I use it on baitcasting and spinning equipment. I urge you to buy a spool of this and try it you're gonna love it

Well done RW this is a very informative post, you have covered all of the basics. If you are not a patient fisherman you will learn to be with this method, there is just not any way to rush it. Hope this inspires some of our other more expierenced members to share their knowledge.

I have not thrown my spinnerbaits away for sure, they are a great tool you can do a lot with them and none of it is wrong. It's just in my local waters they are not as effective as they used to be. I think that is because bass do learn to avoid lures that they have been caught on as one of you said. I have started to use the shallow running cranks for my search baits now and in applications where I used to throw a spinnerbait. I don't like them as well but they seem to be more productive at this time. I have the Hank Parker DVD and I learned a lot from it but it could have been better.

Do you think they are as effective as they were through the 80's and early 90's? Seems like they are dropping off a little in popularity.

This has been a very interesting and informative conversation and it has got a lot of people talking, including the mods. It sure beats looking at somebody's tackle or listening to what the ever loving bait monkey brought home.

I am shopping for a new locator and this one is priced at about 200 bucks. Seems to have some nice features and has a 5 inch display and 640 by 320 pixels. Anybody have any expierence with this model? And do you think it would be the best in that price range?

Sorry RW I am not attached to this place at all. It looked like a great sale and I was just passing on the information. Fishing wise we don't have a lot to be excited about in Ohio.

I have never been here but it looks like a good sale. Hope I don't get in trouble for posting this. http://www.another site.com/tacklestore/springtackleshow.cfm

I really like this forum it is my favorite. But it is loading so slow I can hardly read it. I have dial up but I am not having this problem any where else. Is any one else having the same problem?

I caught some big bass on the originals. It is a lure that you have to find the right speed of retrieve, too fast and it will roll, too slow and it will dead stick. You just have to have the right thump coming through your line. I have one of the new ones and it looks like it might be a better lure.

I used some last year. I fished them T rigged weight less. They have a shimmy on the fall like a Senko but a little different, I caught some bass on them but did not use them a whole lot. They are a good bait, well made and the colors are nice.

I was looking at these today and the package said to rig them with a 4/0 or 6/0 wide gap hook. I am wondering if they have a tendecy to roll or spin when retreived. Any one have favorite colors yet? They look like they could be a good bait.