AlabamaSpothunter

Really appreciate the good vibes @Jigfishn10 ! There's a little backstory to this fish, and the current obsession I've had for 30 straight months now. I grew up fishing a lake that I dreamed about catching a DD on. Then I moved out and went to college, did the adult thing for years, and somehow the universe brought me back to that same lake where I could try to fulfill one of my true lifelong goals. Few things in my life have I ever pursued as much as this goal over the last 2.5 years. @Swamp Girl is best aware of the madness, frustration, and sometimes incredible highs I've had during this process. She's helped mightily along the way keeping my attitude in check, and showering me in positivity. At many points along the way I've felt there wasn't a DD in the lake including hours before I caught the 9.12 yesterday afternoon. To me that fish represented 2.5 years, and it was finally a fish big enough that if I never ended up catching an actual DD from the lake, I could sleep at night knowing I did everything in my power to make it happen. In some ways not having pics or a video doesn't erase that fact, but I'm the type that will absolutely stop fishing if I realize I don't have a scale or camera, so obviously capturing the memory is paramount to my fishing experience. Sounds stupid crying about catching a big Bass, but I felt I needed to vent to friends who actually understand what I'm talking about.

Thanks friend! The worst part is that I'm debating whether I wished I didn't even catch her yesterday, went from being on cloud 9 at the top of the world, to feeling like I want to vomit since last evening. Hopefully this serves a purpose and helps others in the future. Take pics from multiple sources, don't rely on technology.

Had an incredible yesterday and caught a 9lb 12oz absolute beauty of a fish. Also had close to a 26lb bag with another beautiful 5.5 fish. I was so in a hurry to let her go; I didn't bother with a cellphone pic because I had the Go Pro rolling. Get home and my computer corrupted the MicroSD card....... my best friend does IT for a living and tried some things last night to recover it but no luck yet. I'm praying and willing to pay or do whatever to get back those files. If anybody knows someone who can recover my data, I'll make it worth your while. Absolutely heart broken and gutted is an understatement, but hopefully I can recover the data 😰😱

You bought a top of the line $500 new in package rod.......you didn't buy a factory 'blem'. While blems might be petty to some, why buy a top of the line $500 rod if you didn't expect it to be flawless upon buying. I'd have Loomis make it right, and I'm positive they won't have a problem doing so. They should have caught those flaws in their QC process, but clearly didn't.

I can't speak for others, but no other technique specific rod was as needed or produced as dramatic and positive results as when I got a dedicated Chatterbait rod. As a side huge bonus, it terms out the chatterbait rod I bought was just as brilliant for basically any kind of moving bait. So don't struggle with letting fish take that extra second to get the bait fully in their mouth, but I did. I absolutely needed a slow glass tip to allow fish to eat the bait fully. Others in this thread are right though, before you do anything, might as well make sure you don't like or do like the current rod you intend to throw them on before making any decisions.

Honestly you want that long middle straight arm for a very good reason imo, and one that's never mentioned. The reason why you want that long middle arm is because 1.) It's the most likely to get bite, and 2.) That's the only arm of the A-Rig that doesn't required it to be bent initially, and then subsequentially, continuously fatigued by anglers having to re bend to adjust the arms and then bend them for storage. Ultimately this makes the outside of center arms significantly weaker with usage than the middle one.

Toledo Bend experiences the new lake effect quite often though given it's dramatic falling and raising pool levels. In regard to genetics.....no doubt but ask yourself if the world's greatest big Bass genetics would ever produce a record Bass without abundant forage. Kind of the chicken and the egg deal.

If you look at state records and the year they were caught.......there is an undeniable correlation between that and when a lake is impounded. It's called the new lake effect, and it's created more record Bass catches than any other single factor in my estimation. Those first 15 or so years after a lake is created is the best opportunity that lake will ever have to produce a record. Bulls Shoals Lake was impounded in 1951, and by 1961 the first class of Bass have had enough time to reach trophy sizes. By the 70s, the lake is already declining in terms of habitat, and ability to grow true outlier fish. It's quite depressing when you realize this fact and then realize that we as country are basically done impounding new lakes. Texas recently opened a new lake, and I suspect in the next 5-10 years we'll see a significant number of 13lb+ fish come from it. Outside of the new lake effect, another surefire way to produce record sized Bass is introduce a new abundant forage species like Gobies. This is the reason why I believe the best chance to break a WR Black Bass record stands with the SM. Gobies have been introduced to a number of new places in the last decade, including the SLR where that NY state record SM came from. I'm curious if Cayuga has had them introduced. I'd like to know why that lake become one of the best Bass fishing lakes on the planet the last several years, something must of changed.

Lol, I'll blame it on being up since 6 😁

Grew up with a kid whose dad was the best stair builder in Alabama, and now his son, my friend is considered one of the best stair builders in the state. They specialize in free standing staircases. The amount of skill, math, and ultimately talent that goes into making staircases for expensive homes is mind boggling. They make a ton of money but also work a ton. Interesting occupation.

That's pretty crazy brother, but there's something very commendable about your patience, and ability to not give up. Mark my words, in the near future you're going to have some electric days. It always works like that, just when you're about to give up and find a new hobby, the dam busts.

I've tried quite a few heads to include the Range Rollers which are excellent. The Deps MIDST (MID STrolling) is another purpose built rolling jighead, and they're weedless with a small wire guard. But the best jighead for purely rolling action that I've found is easily the Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin Jighead. It's a very unique jighead and line tie. The only downside to them is that a loop knot is recommended. I've haven't found the need for a loop knot outside of using this particular jighead. That said, my favorite strolling jigheads are Keitech Super Round Tungsten jigheads. They're fantastic with rolling action, and I've never had a minnow not roll on those. Obviously not all minnows roll equally, but every minnow I've ever tried which is quite a few has rolled. Nothing compares to a Drift Fry, it just rolls absolutely perfect. So if you want to rule out everything but your own technique, buy some Queen Tackle Rollin Strollin Jigheads, and a pack of Jackall 4" Drift Fry. If those don't roll, then it's your technique or equipment.

Caught a 6.4 on the Cue Bomb, and a 7.10 on the full sized Imo Kemushi last summer, these Geecrack fuzzy baits are pretty incredible. That said, they have some serious drawbacks, and are quite frustrating to fish with to some degree. As noted by @scaleface, if the hairs are orange, chartreuse, or other brighter colors, the Bream will constantly be ripping them out. Rigging these baits, especially the Cue Bomb requires creativity outside of using them on the Drop Shot like many do. Not a DS fan, so I neko rig them and use an Owner CPS spring tightened down around the hook along with a nail weight in the bottom. I tried them on a Core Tackle Whacky Shot but the hookup ratio isn't great and I think it's because of the gap the weight creates b/t the hook and the bait. If you rig those big Imo Kemushis Texas Rigged, they last a fish or two at most. I thread them on a big 5/0 flipping hook and try to stay away from the really heavy stuff. I'm also still learning how to actually hook the fish on the bait, it's very different than any other bait I've used in that way. You need to really set the hook like it's a jig or heavy T Rig, but at the same time you also need that wacky rig hookset where you reel into them and then apply a modest hookset. The little Imo Kemushi I rig like a combo of a neko and ned rig. Once I got the elastomer version, I started to really like the little Imo Kemushis. With the regular SAF material the things lasted for a fish or two. I use a CPS spring tightened down around the hook and then a nail weight. I need lots more practice and time with these baits, but their potential is only matched by their headaches.

93 Muskies is pretty dang insane brother, congrats! It was fun reading your reports and seeing all those beautiful dinosaurs. Here's to breaking 100 in 2025.........and then you must return from the dark side, and rekindle your love affair with Mr Green Fish 😁

I feel like the 3/16th BR Fish jigheads are like the goldilocks of the options they offer. I also feel like the 3.3" size BR Fish is a perfect place to start as I generally like to start out with the smaller options of a particular bait, and if they produce, I like to then upsize the bait to target bigger fish. In the beginning though I like the smaller option just to generate bites in order to evaluate if the bait is good or not. So, if it were me, I'd get the 3/16ths heads and a couple packs of the 3.3" BR Fish in colors that you think relate well to your primary forage you're fishing around. These work perfectly on your typical senko rod which to me is a 7' M Fast. I throw them on 7' M Fast rods, and fast 6 speed 3000 sized spinning reels.

Happy to help! I can't answer that question as I've only got the 3.3" sizes, but @webertime commented earlier in this thread about the lighter the head the better the drift, so maybe he can weigh in on how the various sized swimbaits effect action. Next TW order I'll grab some 4" to try and report back.

I've had it happened occasionally on a couple of different rigs from different makers like Yum and Picasso, but it's not the design of A-Rigs per say, rather how I was casting them. With any big bait such an A Rig or big swimbait, you have to be very smooth and deliberate to not tumble or helicopter the bait

My pleasure! For the first question, I don't see why it wouldn't work with a couple caveats.....first, that you use a similar weight BR fish as the senko or fluke you throw on that same setup. The jigheads come in a big range of weights, so the answer would change if you're using 1/10th vs 1/2oz jighead if that makes sense. Second caveat is that you have a reel fast enough to retrieve the line in between rod pops/twitches. It's important to remember that unlike a senko, fluke, or jerkbait, you can't really pause this bait. It doesn't stall out like a fluke or jerkbait, and it doesn't slowly sink like a senko, so you really do need a reel that allows you take up the slack generated from the rod twitches/pops. As for the second question, I think it would be great from the bank especially in the warmer water months. Combine the fact that fish are more prone to being closer to the bank with the fact fish often want a faster, more erratic moving bait in warmer water temps, you got a good bank bait in my book.

It's easily one of the most effective baits for schooling Bass that I've ever found. If you can see Bass schooling and busting baitfish, it's going to be a player for sure. So I'd say electronics of any kind aren't a requirement, but you still need to have an idea of where the fish are, but that goes for everything.

One of the biggest misconceptions about shaking a minnow is that you need FFS. This time of year, it's almost an unbeatable technique. We are however going on the third year of this technique taking over the Bass world, and I can't imagine the fish will stay dumb to it for much longer. On the big derby lakes, it's already getting much harder to catch them on it. The Spotted Bass on Smith Lake know more types of minnows than I do 😆 The Freeloader has won a ton of money, but you really need to try the Jackall Drift Fry and DEPS Sakamata Shad. Imho, those are the two best minnows made. Like the Freeloader, both have also won major Elite/BPT events.

Without having FFS, I can't really say exactly how well it stays at a particular depth in the water column, but I just count it down like a jighead minnow to where I think the fish are. Seems to be working well as I've already caught a few fish using 2D sonar and counting down to their depth.

If your talking about the jigheads, it depends on the size as for the quantity, but the price is for a pack. Duo Realis Bayruf BR Head | Tackle Warehouse I fish it more like a jighead minnow than a jerkbait. I just jerk the rod up from about 60degrees to 90degrees while reeling in the slack. Very much like strolling a minnow, but with a harder, and more exaggerated up and down motion. Hope that makes sense. The actual cadence underwater is every bit as fast as if you're working a spook, except I'll pause a spook but with the BR Fish you don't ever pause. Just a steady walk the dog action. My understanding is the actual jighead design is the reason this bait has such unique action. I'm not sure if that's solely because of the gliding fins on the sides or maybe the shape of the head. In time I plan to experiment with non BR fish plastics to see if I can get the same action but with different plastics.

@Darth-Baiter My viz is like 3-4ft so I'm not in real clear water, nor am I in real dirty water. I'd say if somebody can fish a fluke, jerkbait, or jighead minnow and catch fish, then those same fish will at least see the BR Fish.

Katie don't play in the offseason.....her and monkey start preparing for next season the day the water freezes 😁

You got it pal, it's really simple to make the bait dance side to side by just popping your rod up and down while reeling in the slack on each pop. I haven't tried jerking it to the side very much, but in some videos I see some doing it that way as well. It's one of those baits that looks so tantalizing in the water that it gives you confidence, one of those baits you say no way this thing doesn't get destroyed. Some folks rig the swimbait less than perfect on the hook because they said it yields an even more erratic motion, but I haven't tried that yet.