GrandSlamBasser87

Have you tried a Colorado bladed spinnerbait?? The vibrations given off by the colorado blades will often trigger strikes in stained and muddy water.

I think it is more personal preference when it comes to changing out hooks. I too have never changed hooks and still hook and land fish the same. However, I do like to go through my hooks and sharpen them every once in a while. I would say you can't go wrong with sharpening hooks every so often as opposed to buying brand new ones, thats just my opinion.

You could always take a two zoom ol' monsters or the 10" worms made by powerbait, cut a length off one and discard the tail, then melt it onto the whole one. I have done some experimenting by melting baits together, just something different for the bass to see.

I use a variety of trailers, such as the zoom super chunk and super chunk jr., yum wooly bug, and sabertail. It is also a spur of the moment call for me as they all accomplish a similar task in bulking up your jig. Gambler also makes the Ugly Otter which I will be giving a try next time out. Mix and match them until you find a winning combo, also, some jigs are tough to find a matching trailer color for, and for this I often conserve my old torn up worms and tear off the end and make it into a custom trailer, a good way to conserve and a money saver.

Check out the Ikey jig heads, they work very well for T-rigging tubes and come in a variety of sizes. The weight just depends on the conditions at hand, such as depth, current (if any), cover, etc...Tubes work very well for sight fishing bed fish, they see it as maybe a perch, shad or other bait fish trying to eat their eggs.

Buzzbaits have always been my "Ol reliable" topwater choices. Have 3 over 6lbs on them this year. When i switch things up, I will go with a chug bug or a zara puppy.

I normally go shark fishing every summer on the OBX of NC but never offshore. We normally get scraps from the marinas for bait with our favorites being Tuna heads and any type of Mackeral. My best from the surf so far was an 8 footer last summer. The Key is Lot's of line, atleast a 200-400lb mono leader for handling a fish in the surf or at the boat, a wire bite leader, and a Large J-Hook. On a boat you can get away with smaller reels with less line capacity as you can chase the fish, but for us on the beach, we use reels anywhere from 4/0 to 12/0 sizes, even fished with a guy once who had a 16/0 reel!!! Talk about huge! Sharkin' is a ton of fun for those who love a fight but SAFETY is the key and no hook is worth a limb!!!! Be safe

I have heard of Shrimp being very good catfish bait. I have not tried it personally but have a buddy of mine who has claimed to have caught many catfish with it.

That's a SLAB!!! Got some bug eye's on him that look like the size of a drinking glass!!! It would have been tough for me to make that one dinner rather than a trophy for the wall!!!

Has anyone tried out the new Strike King Red Eye Shad??? I was curious as to how anyone was doing with them and the best areas/ situations to use them in. I have seen the Pro Team Journal episode testing them and they were tearin' 'em up on the fall after contact with structure.

My personal favorites are the Yum Buzz frogs and Zoom horny toads. I have also heard good things about the ribbet frogs. As far as weather, as long as I'm workin' heavy cover such as lily pads or thick grass I have done well on frogs where my buzzbait won't work and a weedless presentation is essential; can't beat 'em in the thick stuff!!

Try the stright shank hooks and see how it works, I have gone from EWG hooks not getting the action I want, to straight shank with much better action. I have seen a similar rigging to that of what dsaavedra described on the commercials for the banjo minnow and it made that bait go crazy. Of course i'm a skeptic until I experience it for myself but def. looks worth a try!

This situation is depending upon a few variables, mainly the size of senkos you are using. My favorite senkos are the 6" yamamotos and also like the 4.5" Yum forked dingers. For 6" Yamamotos, I like atleast a 3/0-4/0 gamakatsu straight shank hook. For 4.5" Yum forked dingers, I like a 3/0 gamakatsu straight shank hook as it imbeds perfectly in line with the little weedless cut out in the bait. I tend to shy away from the wide gap hooks when fishing senkos; personal preference i guess, and I feel I get a more natural action on the fall.

Can't go wrong with a senko! I have had great success in rivers for smallies both wacky rigged and deadstickin' weightless T-rigged.

I have recently started using the new Mike Ike "Ikey" jigs that have the weight and hook together which allows the tube to be weedless and fall head first. Check 'em out! Pegged bullet weights were my go to before i found them and work just as well.

I have had some good success right before a storm hits and after its gets to raining. However, i too don't catch much after the thunder and lightning cranks up? I think that's probably due to the fact that I have high tailed it to cover!!! I'm not one to stay out there with a rod in the air playing "does god love me?"!!! ;D

Atleast you caught a few fish after the lay off, and you beat the heat! Weather has been the same here in VA and the only sensable times to get out there are early morning like your trip and late evening before dark.

Wading is the best way to make good presentations and often times to cast period in small creeks. tiny torps, small suspending jerkbaits, grubs, and inline spinners such as panther martins or roostertails are great. You can cover all the water columns when you come upon a good deep hole.

That's an awesome stringer and what could have been sounds insane!!! Must have been a good time on the water and get after 'em again next week!!

YEP, net boy would have definately gone for an unsuspected dip after that one!!!

I would second the inline spinners with my favorites being panther martins and rooster tails for small creeks, as stated by previous posters. Small jerkbaits, preferably suspending, work well also. Combine those lures with a 4ft UL and 4lb test, you can have some good fun in those backwoods creeks!

The old sayin' "You can't catch 'em if yer not fishing" comes into play here and whenever you get a chance to go is the best time. It can vary from place to place but here in VA, I can always rely on the topwater bite in the late evening before dark, my preference being buzzbaits. I have never tried night fishing for bass but am determined to give it a try this summer eventually. So depending on the amount of time available to you to get out there, if you are busy during the day and only have an hour 'til dark, make the best of it and throw a LOUD buzzbait and see what happens.

Sry, no pics...We decided to beat the dark at the last minute so we ran off and left the camera sittin on the living room table. One of those deals where your head is set on something else!! haha...I have left that pond alone quite a bit this year and doing so has produced the same numbers and maybe one kicker for an hour of fishing, rest assured that next time the camera is coming along!!!

Went out to a little private pond around my area here for a quick round of Buzzin' before dark and boy was it a good time!!! It was my first run with my new Strike King Bleedin' series buzzbait in Black/ Red and it produced awesome as I was able to lip 20 within' an hour, two of those being respectable bass: 1 6lber and 1 5lber! All in all, it was a great "last-light hour" of fishing and every bite was an absolute blow up, even the shrimpies!!haha

Sam, I would be very interested in any information you may have on Club fishing in the Richmond area if you get a chance. I appreciate any info you may provide.