Misconceptions About Catching Big Bass!!

[Paul Roberts]

I agree with a lot of this post, but that 10% ain't luck.  If you do everything right with location and presentation, then it is completely up to the bass after that. Either they eat it or they don't.  

 

Let me preface that this is all my opinion, none of it is to be taken as fact, come to your own conclusions.

 

There has been two fishing definitions of location in this thread;  location OF the water, and location ON the water.  

 

In the beginning of your pursuit of big bass, location of the water and  habitat conditions in the water are the only factors that matter up to this point.  Some regions of the world have climates more conducive to creating truly big bass, and if the habitats within these waters are not optimal, then you are handicapping yourself from the beginning.

 

Once you get those right, many other factors play into the percentages, with none, I think, being more important than the other.  Catching big bass requires a full effort on the anglers part to do/get everything right.  

 

I hear you on fishing waters that can grow big fish. I see "location" as meaning -within a given water body. It’s interesting that a lot of the thread is wrangling through the jargon. We anglers often coin our own language, adopt jargon, and use words interchangeably. 

 

I’m also aware of the multiple levels of time and place scaling involved when people talk fishing. Scaling is a tough thing to get a handle on. It’s easy to make the big broad predictions –like water body and season. But things get hairier the closer and finer we get in specific locations and timing.

 

My giving 10% away to "entropy” was my paying humble homage to the complexities inherent in fishing. Granted, it would have been less complicated had I just used 100% at each step. As I understand it, fishing is a lot about being in control, understanding, knowing where you’re at and what’s up. But to be brutally honest with my ego, I must concede to the fact that most often it’s my hindsight that’s 20:20. My foresight is not so finely resolved. There are too many things (I call them conditions and circumstances) that rear up and dash my best laid plans. So I re-think, adjust, adapt, and in the end, I have a cohesive story. But the story wasn’t written before I left the house. And my final story is always just a little piece of what’s really going on out there. I’m proud of what I do know, and that I know enough to predict at some level and, often, how to adjust. Yet I’m well aware that this works best when I can fish every day. It would work even better if I were an otter. But I’m not.

 

"They either eat it or they don’t”

 

Well… interestingly, one angler’s bad day can be another’s boon; even when they're sharing the same boat! We all start as one-trick wonders, and add versatility over time. I’m sure we’ve all had conditions and circumstances when we couldn’t catch a fish, and had someone show us how to do it, or we just figured out a new wrinkle. Some can be real eye openers. I’ve had all kinds of ideas as to why the fish weren’t biting. Many were and are true. But there are more ways in than I presently understand, or manage to decipher in the moment.

[WRB]

One of the best fish catching swimbaits that I have ever used was a lure called LA Slider by Megabait. This swimbait was inexpensive, had a unique lead head molded on a hook the slide into the soft plastic head of the swimbait. You could change wrights from 3/8 to 1 oz with the swimmer. The LA Slider was made in 6" and 71/2" sizes in trout colors.

The beauty of this swimbait was it cost about $6 for 3 swimmers and 1weight, plus you could buy separate weights. Unlike a Hudd you didn't worry about hanging it up and losing in the brush, so you fished in places that you wouldn't with a more expensive swimbait. Caught a lot of big bass on the LA Slider before they stopped making them due to a patent infringement suit. Still have a few and still catch bass on them!

My point being, you can't catch big bass if you are concerned losing an expensive lure because the lure stays in the boat and not in front of the bass.

Don't over think this thread, tie on a swimmer and fish it!!

Tom

[Mattlures]

Good info to digest. I guess I'm a cross between Barney and big bass addict. I've been fishing small tournaments for 30+ years and I have had trouble with the get a limit first mentality.

In many events I got big bass of the tournament because I use big bass baits. But I don't limit out all the time, sad but true. In many tournaments a limit will get you a check but I prefer to go after big fish and end up zero or hero.

I need to use swim baits more. I catch a lot of decent bass on Senkos and flukes, but all of my biggest largemouth have come on two baits: 10" PowerWorms and Strike King 6 XDs. (Off topic a little, I've caught hundreds of smallmouth between 5-8 pounds, 99% on sixteenth ounce Gitzits on 6-pound line.) Now that I live in Texas, I use mostly 20 or 25-pound line because I'm always hopeful for that next giant bass.

My question in all this discussion is what does water clarity do to catching swim bait fish? It seems that the clearer lakes have better reputations as swim bait lakes?

I believe swimbaits work better in dirty water then clear. One of the best times to throw a swimbait in clear water is during a storm when its dark and windy. Even if its not dark but windy, the waves brake up the light and camouflage most things under the water especialy your bait. The clear water thing is a huge myth. Ultra realistic swimbaits don't work better in clear water. They may be the only things that works when a big bass can get a real good look at the bait. The idea that, because they work well in clear water they wont on dirty water, makes no sence at all. It is just plain wrong. Think of all the pictures you guys have seen of swimbait fish caught at night. Those swimbaits push a lot of water. They are easier for the bass to find then most small baits when its harder for them to see them. To think that somehow an ultra realistic bait in appearance and action wont work well because the water is not clear is just not reasonable. even in clear waters guys fish deep a lot. The visability is limited the deeper you get. Best case scenario is to put your ultra realistic swimbait in front of a big bass that's willing to eat and have it so it cant see the bait perfectly clear. When a big bass eats a swimbait that it can get a real good look at, in crystal clear water(think deadsticking or a very slow retrieve), then the bait itself deserves credit.

[RoLo]

My question in all this discussion is what does water clarity do to catching swim bait fish? It seems that the clearer lakes have better reputations as swim bait lakes?

 

Good question.

Swimbaits are relatively quiet lures, but they produce strong vibration. Although vibration is very important,

it’s not as far-reaching as sound. I would say that water clarity of 2 feet or more is ample for swimbaits,

but it really depends on how you intend to fish the swimbait (distance below the water surface). 

If you're going to fish a soft swimbait deep on a heavy jighead, clear water is definitely an asset.

On the other hand, when it's fished just below the surface on a weighted swimbait hook,

the importance of water clarity falls off sharply. I feel comfortable with that statement because our favorite swimbait lake

for big bass has water clarity that normally ranges between 5 and 20 inches (about a foot on balance).

 

Roger

[Basseditor]

Thanks guys

My next tourney is on a semi clear grass lake. I have some HUD 68 weed less I'm going to try. (After the frog/top water bite slows.)

It's a good A-rig lake this time of year mid-day too. I've never tried Swimbaits there though.

[Mainebass1984]

Attention to detail is also very important when targeting big fish. Even the most subtle detail can make the difference between catching one big bass or 10.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Thanks guys

My next tourney is on a semi clear grass lake. I have some HUD 68 weed less I'm going to try. (After the frog/top water bite slows.)

It's a good A-rig lake this time of year mid-day too. I've never tried Swimbaits there though.

 

When you say "semi clear grass lake," I envision throwing a waking bait along weed edges and over submerged beds. Obviously, if it's a mat you're not going to fish a treble hook bait over it but if there is water over the weeds, you can bet a wake bait will call them up.

 

There are some BIG fish caught on Guntersville and other TN river lakes in the spring over emerging weeds using swimbaits. Brandon P (not even gonna try to spell his last name LOL) is pretty good with the swimbait stick. Watch what he does eventually.

 

Hope you do well in your tourney.

[Ginosocalbass]

Though WRB mentions some great info on the bravado of Northern Strain vs Florida Strain bass,  I cant stress enough how well a 13" pickeral catches 5lb+ bass. Though most of what he stated is spot on,  I'd still say if you are targeting a 5lb+ bass in the northeast, I'd throw a 8"+ swimbaits. fish slow, moving "rate of stall" style swimbaits, Though the fish are much more aggressive to lures, they do shy away from moderate to fast moving big swimbaits.

 

New Jersey namely has a healthy stocker trout program. And the big bass in those waters stage prior to the stocking just like they do in CA. I'm talking 40 degree water...They don't care. Once the trucks drop off, its game on. Yes, I do believe northern strain fish, are wired to target a smaller forage. They can be definitely be conditioned otherwise,    

[Fish_Whisperer]

Yes. 

 

Additionally I'd like to make two more points.

 

1.  My experience fishing swimbaits is minimal.  Though I have a rod, reel and plenty of big baits - I do not fish them any where near as much as others here and definitely less than other methods.

I have caught fish with them and believe them to be a very effective way to catch big bass.  So my limited experience & knowledge of the that technique continues to grow. 

 

2.  All the bass I've caught from systems I've traveled to and that have been larger than any bass I've taken from local waters (that means a lmb over 7 or a smb over 6)  has been taken on one of the following baits: 

Jerkbait, Spinnerbait, Lipless Rattle bait, Scrounger head w/ Flukes or Slugg-O, a weighted Fluke & a Jig.   

As mentioned, I don't fish Swim Baits that much, doesn't mean they wouldn't have worked as well -  I just didn't throw one. 

 

Admittedly, I do not consider myself in the class of many of the fine anglers and authors who are also BR members here. I do believe that if I'm able to put myself around the right fish enough times, sometimes I can catch a few.

So can you.

 

A-Jay

So I said I would come back to this, here it goes...

 

I found it interesting that the list of lures/baits you have caught big bass on have, at some point, been featured in an article where the author says to fish these for big bass.  

 

There's a lot of conflicting information in this thread in which all of it is neither wrong or right.  It is just our experiences as anglers.  If i have learned anything from this thread, it is that there is more than one way to skin a cat.  

[WRB]

Ginosocalbass,

I based my commit on personal experience, observation. As a teen living at Big Bear lake in SoCal mountains and working at boat landings, both Holloways as a manager and Pleasure a Point as a young teen trout were planted weekly. Both landings or marinas had a population of big largemouth bass in the 4 to 6 lbs range ( big for BB ). The bass would swim up to the planted trout and look at them, rarely did I witness a bass eat a planted trout, unless the trout was small under 8". Most of the trout planted in the 50's were over 12" the states minimum legal length back then. The Big Bear bass preferred eating 3" to 4" crappie over everything else including bluegill. 8 lb bass at Big Bear would be the lake record, even today.

Fishing at lake Casitas since '58 and catching NLMB up to 12 lbs at Casitas before FLMB were planted in the early 70's, I never witnessed a bass chasing a planted trout or caught a big 8 lb+ NLMB that had a trout in it's throat. During the late 70's-early 80's bass chasing planted trout became a daily event and catching big bass with trout in the throat became common. The change was FLMB and the fact smaller size trout were planted in the 6" to 10" length during the fall. Bigger FLMB and smaller size planted trout the perfect storm.

Fish_Whisperer,

Take away the fact that big adult size ( female ) bass prey preference differs from smaller size young adult bass. Knowing what prey the big bass are targeting is essential in consistently catching them. If the bass population are eating Threadfin Shad, keep in mind that all predators eat small size shad like crappie and trout, both are big bass prey. During a shad feeding spree big bass are often caught on live shad, big swimbaits and jigs that replicate crawdads feeding on dead shad.on the bottom.

The big bass angler has a lot choices when prey is plentiful, the choices narrow down when a specific prey source is preffered by the big bass. When big bass are looking for big prey use big swimbaits, If they are feeding on crawdads use jigs.

Tom

[paangler13]

I'm a Barney, so I'm staying quiet! 

 

I just got to say this is the best thread I have seen on here in years!

 

JIm

[hatrix]

When someone says I want to catch big bass they don't want someone to tell them to just go to some private pond down south and catch one, they want the satisfaction of catching it in the waters they regularly fish.

Whether or not a fish is big is relative to the waters you fish. A big fish in one lake may be 4lbs while another place might be 10lbs.

So I don't think your handicapping yourself by fishing anywhere... You just need to know what size bass you are targeting.

But don't expect every body of water to produce 15lb bass like stated above.

If you are talking like some kind of pay lake or place where they are pros at raising some monsters then I agree. With that being said I would not eliminate places that you don't consider to some big body of water or because you think it might be any less challenging. On the contrary some ponds or smaller lakes can be very rough to fish and it seems even more so when you know they are there but you just are not getting them. There are plenty of ponds that can be way more difficult then whatever lake and it might even have bigger fish. There are lakes or ponds that get fished every day all day and just produce and there there is total opposite. A place might rarely get fished or even never and it just doesn't produce for whatever reason.  There is also plenty of other challenges that can come into play you will never even face on a boat in the middle of a lake. Where is the place? Can you even get there? If so how? Or so now what when you cant hardly cast any thing. Then do you even have any room where your at to work a lure or even set the hook? I have missed so many fish and nice ones because i hit a little tree or branch setting a hook. It can be a real adventure are challenging to get somewhere you have never been. There might be some good places that are a breeze to cover but the really good ones usually are not and don't always come easy when everything about it is new. 

 

Also boots and a machete can really be game changers. Mostly the machete. I can deal with wet and muddy shoes if I really have to.

 

I'm interested in water claritys affect on swimbaits too, it seems like lots of people would be throwing them in everything but you only seem them really popular on clear water lakes.

I fish lakes with 1-3ft visibility and fish have no problem finding finesse soft plastics so I seriously doubt they would have any trouble finding a big ole swimbait cruising along... Especially one with those big ole thumping paddle tails!

EDIT: Maybe it has something to do with the fact they were developed in the west on clear lakes

 

I am not scientist on this one here but it seems and so I like to think most places will be a certain water type a lot of the time or almost always. Fish develop according to it and that becomes there natural way. Super clear places they use sight more or if it is dirty they use the lateral line more. Again I have no scientific data on this but it is a really good bet . Also clear water a hard bait will work better a lot of time and soft stuff in the dirty. It is kind of weird that when they see the best they go for the one with all the hardware hanging off it. Lots of the better places around me are really clear and have tons of weeds. Most of the places I even fish have a good amount of weeds or I try to find them. They are usually better for me then a place with low vis and some rocks scattered around and no weeds. I fish the heck out of some glides now a day over most other types and they draw fish like crazy. Lots of companies have come out with some sort of glide and quite a few of them are really good and the fish just love them. Not only that but they are the most fun to fish. You control everything it can or will do depending how you turn the handle or slightly move the rod. Just knowing how to fish them effectively is kind of a skill of it self and none of them are the same even though they might be similar. They really shine in the clear water where fish will see them from far and come right to it. Fish will literally follow those things the whole cast when that would of never happened. Out on a boat or something when you can see pretty good down I will get giants schools of bluegill and stuff following them. Sometimes there is like 30 of them just hanging out with my glide bait.

 

One of the best fish catching swimbaits that I have ever used was a lure called LA Slider by Megabait. This swimbait was inexpensive, had a unique lead head molded on a hook the slide into the soft plastic head of the swimbait. You could change wrights from 3/8 to 1 oz with the swimmer. The LA Slider was made in 6" and 71/2" sizes in trout colors.

The beauty of this swimbait was it cost about $6 for 3 swimmers and 1weight, plus you could buy separate weights. Unlike a Hudd you didn't worry about hanging it up and losing in the brush, so you fished in places that you wouldn't with a more expensive swimbait. Caught a lot of big bass on the LA Slider before they stopped making them due to a patent infringement suit. Still have a few and still catch bass on them!

My point being, you can't catch big bass if you are concerned losing an expensive lure because the lure stays in the boat and not in front of the bass.

Don't over think this thread, tie on a swimmer and fish it!!

Tom

 

I am pretty sure Savage Gear makes a lure exactly like this. You might already know that but i am just throwing it out there. I am sure I have seen it on there website before and I don't recall if it is on *** or not. It has a hollow type lead head and a swimbaits goes inside it. It is hearing shape and I actually think it has hearing its name also. It might be just the ticket unless this is old news.

[Catch and Grease]

I mean don't get me wrong id love to catch a big bass out of any body of water, but it would mean a lot more to me if I could catch it out of my everyday lake I fish....

[gulfcaptain]

I mean don't get me wrong id love to catch a big bass out of any body of water, but it would mean a lot more to me if I could catch it out of my everyday lake I fish....

Wasn't what this post started out as.....catching the larger fish from the populations we all fish?  

[Catch and Grease]

Wasn't what this post started out as.....catching the larger fish from the populations we all fish?

Yes it was, I'm just saying that in this thread and the thread I made a lot of people were saying things like "go to a private pond" and stuff like that.

[gulfcaptain]

I find it much more rewarding to pull bigger fish out of the public ponds I fish that people don't tap into.  They fish for the 12" fish and once in a while catch a 2-3lb fish, where I target the fish that normally run 3+ .  May not catch as many but would rather catch 2 4lb fish then 5 12" fish.

[hatrix]

I really am not particular in if they are in lakes or ponds or where ever. I do know though that if you pretty much only fish 1 lake and its all the time then it has some kind of place in your heart and that's like your home turf so you want to win the title for you home team not some visitors team. I understand that probably most people are like that and that makes sense. For me though I am on the hunt and always looking for whatever could be next. There are a places I fish way more then others but they are not my lake or pond even though the lake I fish most is on record according to the parks the best LMB lake they have in this system. I have just seen so many times over the years on here people talking about ponds being super easy to catch big fish and just in general looking down somewhat on them compared to some giant impoundment they fish every day. I would say that is not the case at all and it can go either way with the "difficulty" regardless of size. Also I guess because I am not really home bound it can be more rewarding to catch a nice fish out of a new place or one that has given me trouble even though I know there in there. On lakes you can mark for big ones and know the depth and search for bait and blah blah and eventually develop a system of points to hit just like Tom does his "Milk Runs" I am sure he has it down to a T and his success rate is d**n near as good as you could hope for. I do all that to but not at the same skill level thats for sure. He has been catching big fish for whatever it is 30 years or something thats as long as I have been alive. He was throwing big swimbaits and giant lures im sure before they even existed and were called swimbaits. It is like a accomplishment I guess to check off another spot you got a good one from. I have not really been doing this for long at all though so I have tons of places left to travel and so much more I need to try. Lots of people though are just fine where they are or maybe are already fishing a fantastic place and it is probably the best already so why change anything I guess. Lots of places are a little hike from me and I try to reach out as far as I can. Tomorrow I could find a place that i think would be great. Fix it for days and never really do much then pull a 10# or something like that out of it. I would come back and keep fishing it and it never really take off cause it was a hard spot to begin with. I was in the right place at the right time and had a good enough bait to get bit is all. There is no way of really know what could be in there except from past experience and you don't actually know where they are either. You can make some educated guesses but nothing is for sure. I might of got a 6# under some tree before but really chances are I am fairly unlikely to get it there again. They are only there for a short window of time and other then that your going from past experience there or at other places and what has been good.

 

It seems like ponds are looked down on and somehow a fish from one is lesser. I will admit that you for sure have a better chance to catch a "GIANT"  in regards to geography from a pond or something like that then the big lakes. But the bigger waters you have a way better chance of catching quite a few BIG ones in a day. That is usually pretty had to do and there is probably only so many in there to begin with. While it is all done on a "hunch" or whatever you would like to call it. You don't have sonar or sidescan or gps or 15 rods and 20 boxes of tackle and anything under the sun you could need.

 

One of the biggest fish I have actually caught in a while came from a pond That I have hardly caught anything at and I spent a insane amount of time trying with only a couple fish to show for it. It across the street from a friend and and totally covered in weed top to bottom. You can not really fish anything very well there. There is frogs on top of frogs there is so many literally along the shore when you walk up and all the time you see huge blow ups and giant holes open up where it happened or one did happen. No one ever fishes this place for a fact. My brother and I were probably the first people in 10 years and I even talked with a guy who's father actually build the house when he was a kid and dug the pond. I have caught like 5 fish there but they were all generally of good size and have super fat guts like the ate a base ball or bigger. My brother has like 3 or so and about the same but nothing really great like the one I got.the amount of time spent at this place to fish ratio is by far the worst ever of any place I ever fished. I have used everything you could imagine short of throwing dynamite in there cause I want to know what is down there so bad. But they never bite even though they have never seen a lure or had any one even walk up to this pond. The lady is like some recluse and all the windows are blinded up the grass is 4'  tall the houses is falling down and there is 2 corvettes and a couple mustangs and a charger sitting up on the drive way rusting away over the years. That doesn't have any thing to do with this but is so weird to me I can picture while i typed this.

[gulfcaptain]

Would love to fish the bigger bodies around where I live for sure.  Work schedule and parenting responsibilities keep me closer to home and thus smaller local city park ponds which have tons of pressure on them. Good point, once I do purchase a boat with all the toys, the skills I have from fishing the smaller bodies of water as well as experiences will benefit my quest for the larger fish in the populations.  Post was started as catching the larger fish in the populations which Matt addressed as well as Tom, Catt, and Raul.  All are great anglers with different approaches but all share one thing.  The pursuit of the larger fish in their given bodies of water they fish. You can have all the toys, the rods, the lures. But without the experience and technique as well as understanding the fish and reading the conditions that are put in front of you each day you fish then you will only give you half of the puzzle.  It doesn't matter the size of the water you're fishing, bigger fish in a system will be harder to catch for the everyday angler or "Barney" as they were labeled in this post until they have all the pieces and learn to put them together in order to produce larger fish from the population from any body of water on a consistant basis.

[hatrix]

Would love to fish the bigger bodies around where I live for sure.  Work schedule and parenting responsibilities keep me closer to home and thus smaller local city park ponds which have tons of pressure on them. Good point, once I do purchase a boat with all the toys, the skills I have from fishing the smaller bodies of water as well as experiences will benefit my quest for the larger fish in the populations.  Post was started as catching the larger fish in the populations which Matt addressed as well as Tom, Catt, and Raul.  All are great anglers with different approaches but all share one thing.  The pursuit of the larger fish in their given bodies of water they fish. You can have all the toys, the rods, the lures. But without the experience and technique as well as understanding the fish and reading the conditions that are put in front of you each day you fish then you will only give you half of the puzzle.  It doesn't matter the size of the water you're fishing, bigger fish in a system will be harder to catch for the everyday angler or "Barney" as they were labeled in this post until they have all the pieces and learn to put them together in order to produce larger fish from the population from any body of water on a consistant basis.

I agree totally that it takes a level of knowledge and dedication to fish for the big ones and actually catch them. Matt had even said that he fishes ponds and it makes no difference where it comes from as big ones are hard to catch no matter where its from. they dont just jump out of the water onto you hook because people never fish there. He also said he will use live bait to get a giant with no qualms about it and catching for crayfish to use has produced tons of nice ones and works great. How ever you can get it short of snagging for them or something is what you might have to do. 

 

Also I know your pain on the public lake and park lakes. Some of them are brutal and I know they hold good fish and I have caught some. It the access to places you can get or even can or are allowed to go that can make it super hard. You had better just hope there are some where in the area you are fishing since you cant reach anywhere else. Sometimes its like casting from the bank of a place that is 1000 acres + if they are not there you are just straight up waisting  your time. You are probably not going to get to them and had better hope they just find you.

 

Its mostly bobber fishermen or people catfishing. They dont catch bass often and on average the amount of people who actually go there for bass is really low overall. But they can make it hard and I think a lot of it is that bucket. There is a lake by me that used to be pretty good but now it is literally d**n near fished out totally. The amish totally ravaged that placed and its good size. They would fish that place all day every day in monsterous groups and keep any thing they caught no matter what. They dont follow any law or whatever might be in place. They make there own rules i guess and do what they want. 

[SirSnookalot]

I think the main reason the upper sizes of any species may be more difficult to catch is because there are less of them.  Secondly when targeting ambush type fish quite often the larger ones seem to be a bit more stationary, they may feed less because they don't require constant calories to fuel their metabolism.  A fish that roams is burning more calories and IMO more aggressive.

I do think more fish will be caught with smaller baits, after some thought I do think the chances of catching a really nice fish are greater with a larger lure, but it won't happen too often.  Timing is the most important factor, casting to the exact spot at the exact time is going to determine no fish, small fish or maybe a larger one, something I have no control over.  If I have no control then luck is playing a big part.

[gulfcaptain]

 

I do think more fish will be caught with smaller baits, after some thought I do think the chances of catching a really nice fish are greater with a larger lure, but it won't happen too often.  

I'm going to have to disagree. My PB this summer is just at 9lb, fished that body of water the day before and fished it as I normally would.  Out of frustration decided to throw a 6" swimbait.  First cast had a 6+ lb fish chase the bait right to the bank (follow) which showed me that I could get their attention.  If I had another 15ft I probably could have gotten her to bite as she came in aggressively.  Just ran out of real estate.  Next day came back with the swimbait gear...about 10am first fish I happened to see sitting off the bank was that 9lb fish.  One cast past her and she inhaled the bait.  Another area happened to have another 6-10fish in the 4-8lb range follow, nip and show interest in the bigger baits where there was none before.  Big baits draw bigger fish out of cover when they are looking for the biggest meal with the least amount of effort.  I've had 12" bass chase a 8" swimbait.....small baits will catch bigger fish, but day in and day out, larger offerings will produce a consistantly larger catches. And in the middle of July there aren't any trout in the ponds I fish, but the fish will still not pass up that chance to take a larger meal when it presents itself.  I just need Matt to make a baby duck swimbait now for those fish in the late spring and summer that target those yellow balls of goodness.

[slonezp]

I'm a Barney, so I'm staying quiet! 

 

I just got to say this is the best thread I have seen on here in years!

 

JIm

Apparently you've never read any of Raiders threads

[Catch and Grease]

Apparently you've never read any of Raiders threads

Let me correct him "fishing related threads"

[JustinHarantFishing]

That is great...awesome write up. Last Friday I was out and I wanted a big fish I picked up a 3/4 ounce jig and threw a rage tail lobster on their...big profile big bait big fish...now I live in maryland 3/8-1/2 ounce jig is regular but I stepped it up and ya know what...i caught one fish all day and my boat captain caught 0...but I got this Swamp donkey.

[JustinHarantFishing]

That is great...awesome write up. Last Friday I was out and I wanted a big fish I picked up a 3/4 ounce jig and threw a rage tail lobster on their...big profile big bait big fish...now I live in maryland 3/8-1/2 ounce jig is regular but I stepped it up and ya know what...i caught one fish all day and my boat captain caught 0...but I got this Swamp donkey.