matt lure male bluegill

[bocabasser]

i bought a male bg from matt lures about 6 months ago, and i still have not caught a fish on it. i am throwing it on 65# power pro. i usually just use a steady retrieve and vary the speed, but i still can't get bit. i am not so sure that they work here in florida. the canal system that i am fishing most of  my tournys out of is really starting to heat up with big fish. i know a monster will hit this bait. am i doing something wrong? i know fourbizzle fishes them a lot, please someone help.

[mike bat]

boca ,,, i fish matts baits too ... not the gill ,,, but i fish the baby bass series ... the olny thing id say is to try a different line .... the bass may be line shy .... if this is the case id recomened the p-line cxx (moss green) 20lb .... thats what ive been using and seem to have no trouble getting bit at all .... in fact the matt lure is becoming a confidence bait for me .... ;D  all i do is a steady retrive ( as slow as i can but make sure that tail is kicking ) and steady .... swim here where the big girls are .... ;D and HOLD ON

[fourbizz]

I have had the most success making them an easy meal. I know that sounds obvious but here is what I mean.

A big prickly bluegill just cruising along through the middle of the water column in open water is really not all that appealing.

Try swimming it as near the surface as you can. The bass like this beccause it is one less place to go for the bluegill. Also we have all seen bluegill finning along on the surface. I have also seen quite a few blowups happen on those schools of finning fish.

Another easy meal method is fishing it like a spinner bait or crank. Run it into whatever you can. Rocks, stumps, reeds, trees, whatever.

I also occasioanaly fish it like a worm. Because of the way it sits on bottom, you can make it look like it is feeding, and this is obviously a great way to fish the bait on beds.

You will get bit, its just a matter of time. Fish it with a purpose and try to avoid just blindly chucking and winding. I recomend 20lb pline CXX for those baits as well, but I don't think that the braid is really hurting you much.

Matt will likely have much more useful info shortly.

[Mattlures]

bocabasser You line may or may not make a diference but I would never use braid on swimbaits, never.

I know Fish Chris does but he is about the only succesful guy that I know of that uses it. I believe he catches all his big fish in spite of using braid. I think he would have many more if he used fluoro. Fourbizzle gave you excelent advise. I like to throw my gills where I think a real gill would be to smart to go. Kinda like when you see a slasher movie and sombody goes down in the basement. Bluegill know their suroundings and if they make a mistake then they die. I try ti visualize were e real gill shouldnt go and thats where I throw it. In general I like a slow steady retreive.

[jonnylee82]

I just got the Ultimate Bluegill from ***. I'm mainly going to use it for spawning bass; I know it works for that. Also, I'd swim it by ambush points and over weeds, not really in open water. Go with mono on swimbaits, fluorocarbon if they're really line shy.

I can't wait 'til it warms up a bit here. That thing looks so real I might fry it up.

Thanks, Matt.

[cpvenom]

Huge bass are pretty rare, so dont expect to get too many hits in a day. Catching a big bass is a test in patience, so just take it slow and remember you are going for quality, not quantity.

[burleytog]

Yep, fishing big baits (unless you're FishChris) is sometimes a patience-trying endeavor.

[fourbizz]

There will be plenty of quality fish to keep you entertained until that real toad shows up!

2-4's will eat that bait like it is going out of style, and so will the big girls.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1173771153

[Randall]

I use braid on swimbaits because I feel it helps me move the bait in the mouth of a big fish after it clamps down on it to set the hook and bring the fish straight to the boat when hooked so it can't throw the bait. If I am bed fishing though I use Fluro more often than braid. The thing I see most people doing that keeps them from getting strikes on swimbaits is reeling them too fast. I like to reel mine as slow as possible with the tail still kicking. To slow it down even more sometimes I fish Matt's BG like a jig on the bottom by just raising my rod tip to pull it up off the bottom and letting it fall back on tight line in deeper water.