Latest Tackle Purchase Thread (Bait Monkey Victim Support Group)

[Mbirdsley]

Going to try and get into lipless fishing more.  So I picked up 3 lucky crafts. In the stock photos the ghost minnow and the aurora ghost wagasaki didn’t look so similar.  Seeing them in reel life and they are very similar.

 

 

 

now I just need to build my deep cranking /lipless rod 

 

2ndly my shimano slx hg DC came in the mail and looks good on my 7ft mh rod that I built a couple months ago 

 

[KP Duty]

Stumbled upon some Team Daiwa baits on the 'lbay with 'buy it now' prices of 2 baits/ $14.95.  

 

 

[WVU-SCPA]

Didn't pull the trigger on it last year and have been struggle to find it through my normal venues.  Finally found available at Susquehanna Fishing Tackle and added it to the team.

[gim]

On 3/3/2022 at 10:46 PM, PhishLI said:

I'm hopeful they're somewhat Pickerel proof with their Elaztec material. These monsters keep shredding some of my favorite discontinued bass slaying JDM swimmers.

I hear ya.  I've switched to Z-man Elaztec on many of my trailers too for this very reason.  I like the action of the Zako, but the durability is terrible.  Those small pike love to bite the tail and it doesn't take much to get a rip or tear in them.

 

My skirts take a beating too from the pike but replacing skirts is certainly a lot more reasonable than replacing an entire spinnerbait, chatterbait, or swim jig.

[thediscochef]

On 3/2/2022 at 12:51 PM, gimruis said:

Those things are a waste of money.

 

You essentially just added some very expensive Christmas tree ornaments.

Hey Spotted Bass like em ??

 

I picked up some new hardbaits at academy after the cold front came through yesterday. I caught my first ever lipless crankbait fish during the cold front, so I picked up a couple more of those. The red-eye sexy shad I caught the fish on has a shattered eye from hitting rocks on the opposite banks and may not be long for this world, so I got a backup cause it's now a confidence bait. Also picked up a googan squad, a yozuri 3DB 110 jerkbait, and an H20Xpress diving suspending jerkbait. I guess I throw hard baits now.

 

Gonna go to BPS and watch their bass tank, let the weather warm up a touch, and then head to the lake for some target practice ?

[walleyecrazy]

1 hour ago, WVU-SCPA said:

Didn't pull the trigger on it last year and have been struggle to find it through my normal venues.  Finally found available at Susquehanna Fishing Tackle and added it to the team.

 

I think you'll enjoy it. That has been one of my favorite, and most used rods since I picked it up a few years ago. 

[EWREX]

7 minutes ago, Dangerfield said:

Sold my entry-level combos that I've used over the last couple of years to fund some new refined rigs based on the ways I enjoy fishing. Out with my trusty Dobyns Furys, Daiwa Tatula & Feugo CT combos and about 40lbs of tackle, soft plastics that I experimented with but didn't have confidence using or just wouldn't. Posted some pics of the baits I'm most excited to use. 

 

I encourage all you junkies, to sell the gear you don't use and get it into the hands of friends, family and new anglers to grow our passion or load up on your favourite baits/rigs. Enough of that, here's the goods:

 

Mustad l Fastach Football Weight Green Pumpkin 1/4oz 
Mustad Fastach Clip 1
Mustad Fastach Football Weight Green Pumpkin 3/8oz 
Z-Man EZ-Skirt - 2-1/2 - White Silver Scales  x2
Z-Man EZ-Skirt - 2-1/2 - Spot Remover
Z-Man EZ-Skirt - 2-1/2 - Green Pumpkin Shad
BOSS Swim Jig Heads White 3/8oz x4
SK Jointed Structure Head White Shad 1/2oz
SK Jointed Structure Head White Shad 3/8oz
Z-Man TT Lures NedlockZ EWG Jighead - 1/15 oz. - Green Pumpkin x2
Z-Man Finesse Eyez Jighead - 1/4oz & 1/8oz. - Pearl x3
Z-Man Willowvibe Rapid-Vibration Bladed Jighead - 1/4 oz. - Pearl x2
Z-Man Bullzeye Spinnerbait - 1/4 oz. - Gold x3 
Z-Man Eye Strike ChatterBait Jighead - 1/4 oz. - 4/0 - Silver x2 
Z-Man Eye Strike ChatterBait Jighead - 3/8 oz. - 4/0 - Silver x2
Z-Man Texas Eye Jighead - 1/8 oz. - Chartreuse x3
Z-Man Texas Eye Jighead - 1/4 oz. - Pearl x3
Z-Man Goat Grub - 3" - Pearl x2
Z-Man Goat Grub - 3-3/4" - Pearl x2
Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ - 5 - Pearl
Z-Man RaZor ShadZ Soft Baits - 4-1/2 - Pearl x2
Z-Man RaZor ShadZ Soft Baits - 4-1/2 - Bad Shad
Z-Man RaZor ShadZ Soft Baits - 4-1/2 - Smokey Shad
Z-Man Diezel MinnowZ - 4 - Bad Shad
Z-Man MinnowZ - 3 - Bad Shad
Z-Man MinnowZ - 3 - Pearl
Z-Man Big T.R.D. Coppertreuse
Z-Man Big T.R.D. Goby Bryant
Strike King 3X Z-Too Jerkbait - 3-1/2 - Blue Glimmer Pearl Belly
Strike King Midsize Rage Bug Pearl 
Beast Coast Miyagi Swimmer Pro Pearl x2
Megabass Spark Shad Neon Pepper 4 x2

Megabass PopMax - 1/2 oz. - Bahama Milk Pear
Megabass Dog-X Diamante Rattling Surface Lure - 4-3/4 - Black Python
Megabass Giant Dog-X Surface Lure - 3-3/4 - White Python
River2Sea S-Waver Swimbait - Lite Trout - 6-3/4
Megabass Psychic Camo Mossy Hunter Snapback Ha
Power Pro Maxcuatro Spectra Line 65lb 150yd
Lew's Custom Lite Speed Stick casting MHF 6' 11" Spinnerbait +rod glove 
Daiwa Ardito TR Spinning MF 7'
Daiwa Tatula 100 7.3.1 reels x2
Daiwa Fuego LT 3000c 

 

you're going to love those beast coast miyagi swimmers ?

[Dangerfield]

1 hour ago, EWREX said:

 

you're going to love those beast coast miyagi swimmers ?

I'll be using those for Pike opener, which comes faster than Bass. Got some trokar beefy swimbait hooks for those left over from the magdraft freestyle. How do they hold up? 

[EWREX]

6 minutes ago, Dangerfield said:

I'll be using those for Pike opener, which comes faster than Bass. Got some trokar beefy swimbait hooks for those left over from the magdraft freestyle. How do they hold up? 

 

it's inevitable that they might get a little tore up by the toothy critters but they hold up very well with bass

[Derek1]

2 hours ago, Dangerfield said:

Sold my entry-level combos that I've used over the last couple of years to fund some new refined rigs based on the ways I enjoy fishing. Out with my trusty Dobyns Furys, Daiwa Tatula & Feugo CT combos and about 40lbs of tackle, soft plastics that I experimented with but didn't have confidence using or just wouldn't. Posted some pics of the baits I'm most excited to use. 

 

I encourage all you junkies, to sell the gear you don't use and get it into the hands of friends, family and new anglers to grow our passion or load up on your favourite baits/rigs. Enough of that, here's the goods:

 

Mustad l Fastach Football Weight Green Pumpkin 1/4oz 
Mustad Fastach Clip 1
Mustad Fastach Football Weight Green Pumpkin 3/8oz 
Z-Man EZ-Skirt - 2-1/2 - White Silver Scales  x2
Z-Man EZ-Skirt - 2-1/2 - Spot Remover
Z-Man EZ-Skirt - 2-1/2 - Green Pumpkin Shad
BOSS Swim Jig Heads White 3/8oz x4
SK Jointed Structure Head White Shad 1/2oz
SK Jointed Structure Head White Shad 3/8oz
Z-Man TT Lures NedlockZ EWG Jighead - 1/15 oz. - Green Pumpkin x2
Z-Man Finesse Eyez Jighead - 1/4oz & 1/8oz. - Pearl x3
Z-Man Willowvibe Rapid-Vibration Bladed Jighead - 1/4 oz. - Pearl x2
Z-Man Bullzeye Spinnerbait - 1/4 oz. - Gold x3 
Z-Man Eye Strike ChatterBait Jighead - 1/4 oz. - 4/0 - Silver x2 
Z-Man Eye Strike ChatterBait Jighead - 3/8 oz. - 4/0 - Silver x2
Z-Man Texas Eye Jighead - 1/8 oz. - Chartreuse x3
Z-Man Texas Eye Jighead - 1/4 oz. - Pearl x3
Z-Man Goat Grub - 3" - Pearl x2
Z-Man Goat Grub - 3-3/4" - Pearl x2
Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ - 5 - Pearl
Z-Man RaZor ShadZ Soft Baits - 4-1/2 - Pearl x2
Z-Man RaZor ShadZ Soft Baits - 4-1/2 - Bad Shad
Z-Man RaZor ShadZ Soft Baits - 4-1/2 - Smokey Shad
Z-Man Diezel MinnowZ - 4 - Bad Shad
Z-Man MinnowZ - 3 - Bad Shad
Z-Man MinnowZ - 3 - Pearl
Z-Man Big T.R.D. Coppertreuse
Z-Man Big T.R.D. Goby Bryant
Strike King 3X Z-Too Jerkbait - 3-1/2 - Blue Glimmer Pearl Belly
Strike King Midsize Rage Bug Pearl 
Beast Coast Miyagi Swimmer Pro Pearl x2
Megabass Spark Shad Neon Pepper 4 x2

Megabass PopMax - 1/2 oz. - Bahama Milk Pear
Megabass Dog-X Diamante Rattling Surface Lure - 4-3/4 - Black Python
Megabass Giant Dog-X Surface Lure - 3-3/4 - White Python
River2Sea S-Waver Swimbait - Lite Trout - 6-3/4
Megabass Psychic Camo Mossy Hunter Snapback Ha
Power Pro Maxcuatro Spectra Line 65lb 150yd
Lew's Custom Lite Speed Stick casting MHF 6' 11" Spinnerbait +rod glove 
Daiwa Ardito TR Spinning MF 7'
Daiwa Tatula 100 7.3.1 reels x2
Daiwa Fuego LT 3000c 

That’s a good haul

[Cdn Angler]

On 3/2/2022 at 1:51 PM, gimruis said:

Those things are a waste of money.

 

You essentially just added some very expensive Christmas tree ornaments.

 

Work like crazy around here. Most confidence I have in anything.

[Derek1]

6 minutes ago, Cdn Angler said:

 

Work like crazy around here. Most confidence I have in anything.

Bought one, caught a bunch one afternoon. Ran out and bought 3 more. Haven’t caught a fish on them since. 
 

No lol

[Cdn Angler]

Just now, Derek1 said:

Bought one, caught a bunch one afternoon. Ran out and bought 3 more. Haven’t caught a fish on them since. 
 

No lol

 

Regional and fishing pressure thing I think. 

 

I fish a lot of water with light fishing pressure (maybe 1-2 boats on a lake on a Saturday, some days zero) and a whopper plopper outfishes any moving bait most of the time: jerkbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits etc. 

 

Factor in that lakes have a lot of grass and a topwater lure is easier to work...and it outperforms so it is a no brainer. 

 

It's hard to put the thing down.

 

If anyone watches NDYak it's the same situation.

[Derek1]

50 minutes ago, Cdn Angler said:

 

Regional and fishing pressure thing I think. 

 

I fish a lot of water with light fishing pressure (maybe 1-2 boats on a lake on a Saturday, some days zero) and a whopper plopper outfishes any moving bait most of the time: jerkbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits etc. 

 

Factor in that lakes have a lot of grass and a topwater lure is easier to work...and it outperforms so it is a no brainer. 

 

It's hard to put the thing down.

 

If anyone watches NDYak it's the same situation.

Cool, it sure is a fun bite. 

[PhishLI]

6 hours ago, Dangerfield said:

I'll be using those for Pike opener, which comes faster than Bass. Got some trokar beefy swimbait hooks for those left over from the magdraft freestyle. How do they hold up? 

They'll tear, but they fix up great with Mend-it. I had so much success with them right away that I went nuts buying up a supply, but I keep fixing the ones in use over and over again, so I've barely dug into the new packs.

 

P.S. They really like at least a 1/4oz keel weighted hook to swim correctly. A 6/0 Beast weighted works great for it.

On 3/4/2022 at 11:29 PM, EWREX said:

i use these for chatterbait trailers. pike and pickerel approved!

It worked out great. I caught a honkin donkey pickerel on the diesel minnow/texas eye rig tonight. It grabbed the tail first and I felt the stretch, dropped it, then hit it hard when I ripped the rig fast. Not a mark on the elaztech

[JohnFromLisbon]

Just restocking on my two favorite colors, PB&J and Green Pumpkin Craw

 

 

Oh, and I have something else on the way from a little shop in a faraway land called California...

 

 

 

[NorthernBasser]

5 hours ago, JohnFromLisbon said:

Just restocking on my two favorite colors, PB&J and Green Pumpkin Craw

 

 

 

 

 

Such quality jigs. Love them. And for only $3.50 MSRP? Great deal.

[EWREX]

 

[JohnFromLisbon]

@NorthernBasser right? Over here it's a lot easier to get JDM stuff than regular USDM tackle and gear, but luckily these are now in pretty much every single store. And at pretty much the same price, I paid 3.49 EUR for each, that's like 3.80 USD.

 

Good hooks, solid colors... What's not to like?

[NorthernBasser]

1 hour ago, JohnFromLisbon said:

@NorthernBasser right? Over here it's a lot easier to get JDM stuff than regular USDM tackle and gear, but luckily these are now in pretty much every single store. And at pretty much the same price, I paid 3.49 EUR for each, that's like 3.80 USD.

 

Good hooks, solid colors... What's not to like?

Mustad 2X Strong Ultra Point hook. Hand-tied skirts. Just overall really nice quality. 

[Dangerfield]

16 hours ago, PhishLI said:

They'll tear, but they fix up great with Mend-it. I had so much success with them right away that I went nuts buying up a supply, but I keep fixing the ones in use over and over again, so I've barely dug into the new packs.

 

P.S. They really like at least a 1/4oz keel weighted hook to swim correctly. A 6/0 Beast weighted works great for it.

It worked out great. I caught a honkin donkey pickerel on the diesel minnow/texas eye rig tonight. It grabbed the tail first and I felt the stretch, dropped it, then hit it hard when I ripped the rig fast. Not a mark on the elaztech

I've had trouble sourcing Mend-it north of the border, but I may try to find an alternative. I checked my terminal tray and I've got Trokar 7/0 3/8oz hooks+Owner large centerpin, they seem to fit the belly slot. I'm hoping that's not too heavy for my jig rod. I do have some Gama superline keel weighted worm hooks that look to fit but will be a challenge to rig... and here I thought I could lock the bait monkey away until July.

 

Post some pics of the gator, I'm glad that rig worked out for you - I got some tail spin add on from zman to add some flash. Pike love that stuff, it's my value-friendly options when I know the smallies aren't biting.

[PhishLI]

37 minutes ago, Dangerfield said:

Post some pics of the gator, I'm glad that rig worked out for you - I got some tail spin add on from zman to add some flash. Pike love that stuff,

Will do. Flash is the reason I was pumped to find the Texas Eye jigs. I fish at night or in low light most of the time, but have had terrible luck with underspins here, but the flash provided by the stick-on eyes of all of the paddletail/boot tail swimmers I use seems to be just right.

 

P.S. If you do a search you'll find alternative home brew concoctions for plastisol bait mending. Might be worth a shot. Super glue sucks for it. Just wrecks the bait. Mend-it or an equivalent is the only way to go. Once applied you'd never know the bait had been torn.

 

P.S.S. I've caught these up to 30" around here, but this one at 26" was the tallest and fattest by far. It must be quite old. I could've fit my XL fist into its mouth. Their heads grow wider as they age. A bit sketchy on the release even though I held her by the tail and wagged her slowly.  She went down the bank and got caught up on some submerged branches. Disoriented and head out of the water. I went back in twice to get her going. One last tail grab and wag, and a few words of encouragement and she rocketed off.

 

 

 

My new Zillion G needed a new ride, so... My ARK Essence 7'6" MHF came in yesterday afternoon and last night it got a nice workout from this savage pickerel.

 

 

[hokiehunter373]

Got some turkey ammo from bass pro and needed to round out the order with a couple small things. Finally got an s-waver and some senkos to please @BrianMDTX

 

 

[Dangerfield]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

Will do. Flash is the reason I was pumped to find the Texas Eye jigs. I fish at night or in low light most of the time, but have had terrible luck with underspins here, but the flash provided by the stick-on eyes of all of the paddletail/boot tail swimmers I use seems to be just right.

 

P.S. If you do a search you'll find alternative home brew concoctions for plastisol bait mending. Might be worth a shot. Super glue sucks for it. Just wrecks the bait. Mend-it or an equivalent is the only way to go. Once applied you'd never know the bait had been torn.

 

P.S.S. I've caught these up to 30" around here, but this one at 26" was the tallest and fattest by far. It must be quite old. I could've fit my XL fist into its mouth. Their heads grow wider as they age. A bit sketchy on the release even though I held her by the tail and wagged her slowly.  She went down the bank and got caught up on some submerged branches. Disoriented and head out of the water. I went back in twice to get her going. One last tail grab and wag, and a few words of encouragement and she rocketed off.

 

 

 

My new Zillion G needed a new ride, so... My ARK Essence 7'6" MHF came in yesterday afternoon and last night it got a nice workout from this savage pickerel.

 

 

I didn't know there's a homebrew option, I'll do some research tonight. We used to catch a ton of pike but season over season the water levels in my fisheries have risen or drop upwards of 2.5' making some seasons way more productive.

 

My wife caught her PB on a dirty jigs 1/4oz guppy head with a 4" river2sea D-Walker, came in around 13lbs, can't remember the length. Honestly, I'd give those D-walkers a shot too, they're very durable compared traditional plastisol baits. And came be purchased prerigged. My brother in law will only use spark shads because they produce quality fish, pike largemouth and smallmouth but I can justify it for anything other than bassin.

 

That Zillion looks awesome, I hope I don't regret selling my fuego and tatula CT for the Tatula 100. It's feels a bit lighter, smaller and rigid than the CT, especially the Tatula. The newer handle knobs feel nicer and are almost identical to the knobs on the Feugo LT.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Dangerfield
Typo

[PhishLI]

9 minutes ago, Dangerfield said:

That Zillion looks awesome

It's turning out to be, and more than I thought at first. It's breaking in and improving quickly. The Z boost is different, and dial settings combined with braking profile is definitely providing next level stuff compared to Mag Z. Also, it feels like belt drive instead of gear driven, so that's neat. Zero regrets. It's special.