Matt Hardwick

I still got em. I'm sure there will be a time and place.

I'm not sensitive at all. If it came out that way my bad. I do like roboworm and all the baits but since I used the whole gamut of baits by zoom I to me at least realized I dont need anything else except maybe more abu Garcia reels and st croix rods

You are right I had a post but then I just re did my baits and this is the final outcome. Nothing odd about it. I still got the others, but just prefer my zooms again and as said in original post.... personal opinion so lets stay on topic please. I've got a ton of gear and baits and I'm up and down with all the baits ... I just so happen to prefer zoom. Why does it bother you? I use a regular old 4/0 ewg or same 3/0 ewg screw lock

What are yalls thoughts.... I go back and forth between storing and categorizing my soft plastics in Plano boxes and keeping them in their original bags in a tackle bag all organized. I like the tackle bag because its compact and unzip and file through bags to find what you want, but also I like the Plano boxes with all the baits organized by color and style and type to where you just boom pop t open and it's there ie: straight tail worms box, craw box, stick bait box ect..... if I use boxes I literally organize my worms by style then my creatures by style and craws ect..... but going back and forth gets annoying at times. How do yall store them? What do you prefer.... I only bank fish and kayak so no boat or big storage options here. Either way both options work...

We got a national warehouse for zoom baits here in Virginia and 2 shops cary only and every zoom product and color. If you ever need any let me know and I'll hook a fellow angler up lol. Plus to me I love the classic red and yellow bags sitting in my box!!

I'm a die hard Zoom fan!! I just put all my other plastics on the give away shelf and boxes.... now got a giant pile aka 2 huge boxes of strike king, netbait, culprit, Yamamoto, missle bait, BBB, and keitech collecting dust.... why? Well ZOOM is just cheaper and flat out catches fish!! My everyday fishing bag now consist of ZOOM trick worms, finesse worms, super vibe craws, Z hogs, baby brush hogs, Z drop shot worms, shakey head worms, mag shakey head worms, ol monsters, flukes, new swim baits, toads, top water frogs, and the new to me ZLINKY!! fair to say if zoom dont make it, I wont throw it.... now I understand everyone has a preference and what they like and this is just mine. So please be courteous and not take what I say as a jab to anyone or you. But back to the new to me Zlinky.... wow.... its light weight but it falls and acts just as good as my GY senkos and its durable as all get out. Caught 5 fish on just 1 zlinky but heavy enough to skip and cast a country mile. Works great on Neko rig, wacky rig, t-rig ect.... I absolutely fell in love with them. Needless to say ZOOM is now all I will throw 100% of the time. I know I'm going to get the "well your missing out" or "you need....." comments but after trying virtually every brand out I just always find myself going back to zoom. But if any of you guys haven't used the zlinky check em out. Get 10 for liken 3.98 my fave colors are blueberry, green pumpkin, watermelon red flake, Houdini, and ghost shad. But I love all the zoom baits and I think I pretty much have every bait they make. Also the new "elaztech" type frogs are top water and absolutely bullet proof. But I recommend a 5/0 EWG hook with 1/4oz hook weight to keep it up right. But they skip and pull through cover like no ones business. But regardless.... I just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings toward zoom baits and just an avg guy who really likes them. It's not a cost issue either.... I just like em.

Well guys.... I replaced every bait I ja e with the zoom version and the last three days have been nothing short of amazing!!! Rage tail replaced by speed craw and ultra vibe craw, drop shot robo worm by swamp crawler..... d bomb by a hog and brush hog and just nice to open up that soft plastic and see all and nothing but zoom again and well.... it feels like going home again hahaha. I'll say it again.... it's nice to try other baits but if zoom dont makeit I wont throw it

They are heroes to me!! Bass fishing saved my life, with my battle against depression and PTSD from my time in the Army and in the Iraq War and I learned how to fish from watching them and even my now fiance has gotten into it by watching his wife. I owe them alot.

Thanks Glenn!! Is the you tube Glenn that I watch religiously for tips and tricks?

Well I'll be..... I live in Richmond Chesterfield area too!!! I'm a HUGE ZOOM FAN. The only zoom I dont throw are missle baits d bombs. But 3 weeks ago I bought almost every category of zoom shops out here had. Trick worms, Ol Monsters, finesse, shakey head, flukes, centepied, zlinky ( not a fan )....craws, mag worms all types, brush hogs, zoom craws.... only thing I cant find that's killer is the z hawg I'd buy em all if i could fine em

Well today I was absolutley hammering them on culprit black ribbon tail t rig on 1/8 bullet and dame set up but with missle baits baby d bomb. Fist time ever I couldn't get a bite today on a black senko.... wierd right?!?!?!..... any ways I throw plastics 365 days year 8 to 10 hours a day.... today was definitely creature bait day and green pumpkin wacky..... of course my rage craws and dreamshot came in clutch too

Oh your right. I never had an issue with diawa minus cheap thumb bar/clutch but my tatula TV had 13.2 lbs and I watched a 8lber just pull line but I think it may ja e been defective and my buddy al.ost all his thumb bars /clutch broke. I searched threads thinking I don't understand.... apparently they are good at first buy..... deteriorate I guess I just had better exp with Abu but most people here love shima o or diawa so that explains my hate mail I get from guys on here

Alrighty guys!!! I fish nothing but plastics. Not a hard bait fan at all. With that said, we all know plastic companies come and go and some stay.... as of this year 2020, what brands are still quality and what has declined? I'm a die hard ZOOM fanatic and Strike king and Net bait fan. But I will never drop a line with out a few packs of robo worms as well. So far this year my ol faithfuls zoom trick worms have been getting hit on pink or black trick worm, June bug mag shakey head. My SK dream shot have been stellar on drop shot and my net bait baby pacas are earning there keep. But my rage craws, flukes, zoom finesse, missle bait d bomb, and zoom brush hogs are not producing as well as my space monkey or structure bugs. But my roboworm never let me down!! As well as only stick baits I ever use hands down are BPS stick-o Anyways I'm looking to clean house with my tons of plastics (maybe) and start with new styles and brands. I love my worms and creatures and craws. The colors I throw are both worm and creature are: Black Green pumpkin Watermelon red June bug Bubble gum For this year what styles worm and creature are working well and what brands are still maintaining and what brands are falling. The only Companies that have maintained for me at least are: Zoom Strike King /Rage Robo Worm Missle Baits Bass Pro Shops (stick -o) Big bite baits Ones that have gone down hill for me are: Yum Manns Jackal Keitech GYCB Lake fork Don Levino Bass Pro Shops (creatures) What are yalls opinions? Also looking for new/same style straight tail worm I rig only on t rig or drop shot And creatures because my ol faithful brush hog just quit producing. Let me know what yall think. I'm trying to keep it simple and stay with 2 or 3 brands only as I bank and kayak so hate dragging boxes of bait everywhere. My current bag set up for everyday fishing ( med retired army grunt ) fish 8 to 10 hours a day, contains following Zoom trick worms Zoom mag shakey head worms BPS stick-o Netbait paca craws SK/Rage craw and structure bug Sk dream shot Roboworm straight tail 6" Missle baits d bomb Thanks guys. Guess I'm just wondering why my old faithfuls are producing like they have been last few years. 2020 seems to be a off bite this far.

Not all of em broke. only ones that broke where Johnny Morris. The thumb bars had their issues on diawa but lots of people have that issue. Shimano was great but just sounded geary or grindy but every shimano I've seen sounds like that after a hot minute. I take good care of my reels and equipment but just bad luck or bad batches. Everything besides JM where bought at a local tackle shop so who knows how they handle the products

I thought so too but JM are cheap "duraluminum" that lews got ( same as my mach crush. All my abus have hardened brass. Plus over the years I've never had an Abu Break. I just seem to always like them better. You assumed I run full drag, I dont but again I'm speaking from my experience not yours or anyone elses. I could care less about the drag debate. Simply stating on my post, my experiences. Yes my revos have 24lbs but I got em set to around 13 and do fine. But fish where I fish again, AGAIN MY PONDS AND WATERS and you will see what I mean. If this hit a nerve sorry, not sorry but again my post, my opinion, my experience.

Sorry I had sick toddler climbing on me late last night Ive always had Revos as well. Just bought other brands to try along the way, so my Revos have lasted years thus far. But I'll pick up other brands and fish them hard as I do my revos. To do comparisons Windy days or gusts on a kayak while fighting a fish or super timber heavy ponds/swamps give bass a huge advantage. Also if 13 or less was good they wouldn't make drag heavy reels they'd all be 13lbs or less, also you forget people fish in all conditions as well...

Oh it'll be before that. I put about 60hrs a week on water fish literally everyday It's my theropy for my PTSD so it'll get hard use. I'm stuck on finding the limpest most sensitive fluorocarbon line I can find. I hate braid but my favorite mono is either trilene xl or big game all in 12lb

Well I've been on a journey the last couple years trying different brands. Here is my thoughts and what I ended up falling in love with!! I start with an Abu Ultra Max and loved it but wanted to upgrade, so I tried a lews MCR laser and absolutely hated the thing so after it blew up I switched to Diawa Tatula CT, it was okay but had issues with the drag as I like to throw baits into heavy cover and would catch fish fine , but never had enough power to get the big girls out and after a while started to slip, so I moved to the Shimano curado K and liked it till the hearing and grindy feeling or noise just started to annoy me so I gave that to a buddy not long ago. I bought 2 BPS Johnny Morris reels and rods April/may 2020 (for time frame.) There WERE amazing out the box but that's where it ended. The rods and reels where the carbon lite 2.0 and signature series. Well after 8 to 10 hours of use everyday for 3 weeks the first to go was the carbon lite 2.0 combo the rod was good but I hated hook keeper location and the reel was smooth on retrieve but sounded like a bad diesel truck on the cast and it only ever saw soft plastics weighted at 1/4oz at the most. Ended up being the duralumin gears or whatever they call it has cracked and crumbled. Next a few days after the Johnny Morris signature combo its looks amazing but.... it completely locked up mid cast and never worked again... the gears shattered and froze the reel, also the rod was beautiful but the actions fished way heavier than its ratings. Basically a broom stick for MHXF. Now my all time favorite reel is my Abu STX gen 4 but its 25ft down in water and muck next to snapping turtles den ( disabled vet, I had muscle spasms only yak) I cried that day lol watching her sink like the titanic. So any ways this morning I took my BPS Johnny Morris combos back to BPS with receipt, they have me full refunds and I ended up getting 2 Abu Garcia Gen4 revo SXs in 7:3.1 and paired them up with 2 st croix mojo bass in Medium power fast action handset me tell you what... the power is unreal as well as the sensitivity in the rods and my God are they accurate and the sx can cast a country mile!! I love this combo so much I'm go na but 2 more but in medium heavy. Now I can feel and see that this combo will serve me well for many years to come. Hell I still throw my old faithfuls an Abu pro max3 and black max that go to hell and back on pond hoping days. My rods have always been veritas or curado or dobyns fury rods. Of all the rods I have, I'd say the mojo bass is my favorite followed by dobyns then veritas and curado. I know this isn't a good blog as to why but... my general thoughts where Diawa and shimano are good but lack drag and power to get em out the cover and timber in the lakes and ponds I fish.... and diawa thimb bara break, shimano gets gritty even slx Lews both the MCS and mach series just didnt impress me and didnt like them at all. I tried quantum, nothing to write home about BPS Johnny Morris series lool beautiful but are IMO b.s. junk and no way has any reel I ever had blow up in 2 to 3 weeks. Now my abus ja e never ever failed me, maybe I'm lucky IDK.... but the SX feels just as good as my STXs and my pro max and black max just keep kicking. I clean and oil my reels once a month as I'm a disabled vet (Iraq) so I fish everyday 8 to 10 hours. So I'm def an Abu believe now. And will be all I throw. As far as rods go my favorite has always been dobyns till I got the mojo bass today wow I thought for the price it'd be hard to beat dobyns but I swear you can feel a fish fart with that rod. So that's my hear story for today. Been fishing for quite a few years now and each reel minus Johnny Morris had a good 6 month to 1 year run before i made a decision. Hope this helps some of yall. Also my criteria for reels are IPT OR LINE PICK UP DRAG/POWER ABILITY TO CAST weightless plastics. So as of now Abu is my go to and say croix is my new favorite rod. If this made no sense I apologize

I caught him in a private HOA pond I go to in richmond

I killed it today at pocahontas state park. Caught a lot of bass and a few pickerel. Biggest was 6lb on frog and rest where 2 and 3lbs on shakey head

Thanks man!!

Awesome !!! I really appreciate it Sir. So far that's been my luck in RVA this year is Google maps and drive lol. But I've had a good year minus the weather ( I still fish) have caught quite a bit so far this year. Some really good 5, 6, 8, 9, and. 10lbers this year so far . Bow are these places open with this fake covid out or....

Old thread I know!! Army Infantry 2007-2014 Iraq war veteran!! C.I.B !! Now just a crusty disabled vet who fishes life away

Hey guys,been an obsessed bass angler for a couple years now. Pb is 11.32lbs. I live in Richmond Virginia and fish a private pond the produces very well, along with local parks and lakes. Question I have for you guys is.... who know where the good pond for bank or kayak are in Richmond Virginia.?? I read through the posts in search feature but couldn't figure mich of it out as I'm moved here from Texas. Black bill dance and I follow each other on fish brain but either way I'd like some actual help on finding more spots in Richmond area. I dont mind driving an hour or two either. Thanks.!!