Mattlures

Nah you dont need to buy every color of every bait. I keep going back to"given a choice" Meaning while you are deciding which color to buy you should try and match the forage as best you can. If your bass are eating 4 in brown gobbies and your at the store looking at goby baits, you should buy one as close to a 4in brown goby as you can. However if all they have is a 3in black goby bait then try it. I look for every edge I can while fishing for big bass. Since I make my own baits, I have the luxery of any size and color I want. If I was on a budget I would pick the color and type of baits based on generaly matching the forage of the lakes I fished most. I probably wouldnt buy 3 differnt trout baits with different amounts of spots. Or a 6in,8in,10,12in of each. I would look for 1 or 2 that would be more universal in size and color. But after I chose the brand of bait the first thing I would consider is where will I throw this bait the most and which size and color matches what they are eating the closest. Again though just because the bait you have isnt a perfect match doesnt mean it wont get bit and possibly get bit well. I just like everthing as natural as I can get it

Raul we are not that far of from each other. I agree that a strange color or the wrong species can and will get bit on lakes that dont have those types of forage. We definatley agree on that. However I have seen it with my own eyes where small subtle differencec have produced bites for me. I have had two identacle trout baits and hade 1 with allmost no spots and anothe that was loaded with spots and had the spotted one get bit when the other wouldnt because the stocked trout were very spotted. I feel (given the choice) you should always match what the bass are feeding on as close as you can. size species and color. My opinion is sharred by many of the guys out here who catch big bass. we will just have to agree to disagree, kind of

You guys are too kind. My theory on matching the hatch with swimbaits is this. Always try and match the hatch as best as you can. If the bass are eating 10in trout, dont use a 5in trout colored bait. Get one as close to what they are eating. I always try and match the size and color to each lake I am going to. Now I have access to just about any size and shape and color and species of swimbait soo Of couse I choose the one that matches the best. However that would NEVER stop me from using a trout, crappie, shiner swimbait in lakes that dont have those forage fish. Think about it, what would happen if the hatchery truck dumper 1000 8in trout in your lake that has never had a trout in it. You think the bass would run and hide? Nope they would get fat. To sum it up, use what ever swimbait you have confidence in, but given the choice, match the hatch.

Raul you are correct but I wasnt even refferring to my baits. There are a lot of good baits in that price range. Just about all good soft swimbaits fall into that range. I actualy thought the 8in Hudd did too but Its $5 more. It can get confussing as there are a ton to choose from now. Price doest gaurantee a good bait. Look at the luckycraft swimbaits. They are expencive but I havent heard any good about them. The fist one wasnt thta bad but the others.... You can find deals on most of the brands you just have to do some searching.

I went through the same stages. But at the time there were very few good affordable baits. It was either all or nothing. Myself being a tight wad went the cheap route. I had very little success. However I knew all the big names were catching huge fish on swimbaits, Nobody talked back then you had to figure it out on your own. I couldnt afford the $100 baits so I made my own. Now there are a lot of good baits in the $15-$30 dollar range so its not that bad. I think Hudds are great baits and I would rather have one Hudd then 10 of those knock offs. Maybe if the lake has a bunch of pike or musky you could throw that bait and not worry about a good bait getting torn up? Or maybe throw it in the worst nastiest cover that you dont have the guts to throw a good bait into? Maybe saltwater fish will eat that thing?

Not a bad idea but I wouldnt want something like that taped to my rod. I would rather take a sharpie and make small dashes up the blank for each inch. i usualy have a tape with me and always a camera and scale so I dont have to guess but for those who dont carry these things, your idea is great.

Fourbizz is correct. I dont know if it will roll, but it definatley sinks like rock and it wont sit or fall leval. If you want a Hudd, buy a Hudd. When it comes to swimbaits, knock offs are rarley worth fishing. The problem is, sombody will buy one of these cheap baits and have little to zero success. Then they will not buy the quality bait because they dont think the original bait will be any different. It is better to just buy good quality proven swimbaits in the first place.

Guys I didnt give up in my opinions. I just knew I would start a fight.(a friendly fight) Yes I have never caught a smallie. I have seen them caught on TV many times and they do look like strong athletic fish. They also look like they have much more stamina then a LMB. They also look a lot easier to land. A little patients and good line and drag and you win. A big LMB is a much more worthy aponent. You have to make all the right moves durring the fight or you will loose. Good equipment only gives you a chance. You have to take controll and win the fight. Big LMB dont want to fight, they want to get away!

I am just having a little fun I know I will get flammed Ha Ha. Honestly when ever I see guys comparing the fighting abilites of fish the LMB is always ranked lower then the fish with more stamina or strengh. However those same fish are easier to land then the lowly LMB. (again only reffering to BIG LMB) PS I have also caught bone fish and Bonito wich NEVER give up and LB for LB they may be the hardest fighting fish. However I have caught both species over 5lbs on ultralight gear and the outcome was never in doubt.

A big trophy largemouth is one of the most difficult freshwater fish to land. Why? not because they fight harder then a smallmouth or a spot. Not because they make long strong runs like a carp or not because they can thump and cirlce like a gill. A big trophy LMB is the best fighter because they are the SMARTEST fighters. I have caught a 20lb carp on 4lb test. I have caught big teen cats on 6 and 8 lb test. I have caught 2lb gills on 4lb test. I have caught many big ocean fish on light line. How many LMB over 10lbs do you think I have caught on light line? None. I loose every time. I have even been straightened and snapped on 20lb test. Big old smart LMB may not have a ton of endurance but they make up for it with technique. The instinctively head for cover. They jump and throw baits, the surge at just the right moment. I believe they are possibly the hardest 10lb class fish to land. They find a way to get away. Think about it. How many big bass have you guys lost? I bet you all have a story. Now to be fair I have never caught a smallie but they dont look difficult to land. From what I have seen they kind fight like a big bluegill. Tons of energy but not soo smart. Alright smallie guys chew on that!!! ;D Oh yeah this only referres to big old smart LMB. The little ones are easy

Thats a good looking truck buddy. I was wondering if you had stopped posting. Glad to see your still around. Now go catch something real big

Hey Bizz do you do any saltwater fishing? Its been good down here for salty fish. I get spoiled and dont feel like working so hard in the lakes this time of year. If you ever come down this way, let me know I will take you out and I bet I can get you some Calicos on your 2x4

Verry Nice Randall. You need to take Glen out and get them a couple of trophies.

What lake, Perris? Oh man that sucks. It would make me sick to se a bunch of big bass dead.

I can gaurantee you I have secret baits, but this is the exception. I am very secretive on my waters. I dont mind helping all the members here but if you come by me while I am fishing I will quickly put my rod down and pick up a dropshot rod. I dont even fish tournaments either. I always store my rods in the locker before I launch and I put them back in before I come in. My standard answer when somebody asks how the bite is, "its tough" or "its slow" and if anybody asks if I caught anything I usualy say "a couple little ones" Now of course this is when I am targeting big fish. If I realy am dropshotting I will gladdly help people out that ask.

I used to swear by big power worms at night. Now they have been replaced by the Anaconda. They have a lot of vibration, and I have been producing

I would still eat Ramon noodles even if I was a millionare. I love Ramon. Beef is my favorite followed by oriental and the shrimp flavor coming in third. I dont care for the other flavors :)The Key is to not over cook them!!!!

Hunting. Thats why I would move there

Pretty cool that you shared this and can laugh at yourself. Gotta give you props!

My 3 biggest bags were a combined effort by myself and a friend. I am not even sure what my own personal 5 fish would be. Probably only 35lbs.

No disrespect meant at all. I was guessing she might be your daughter but I didnt say anything just incase she was your wife. Man having beautiful daughters must be verry stressful!! I have a 3 year old little girl and I am not looking forward to when she starts liking the boys. As for your mounts, I have seen bass with those colors. Bass come in many different shades from almost all silver to blck to bright green and everything inbetween. I see nothing wrong with the coloration of your mounts. If anybody is looking for world class work check out Lyon's and Ohaver's or Robert's fish mounts. They are about as good as they get but they cost a little more. Of course IMO they are worth it.

El Grande I looked at your picture but I dont see the fish? Oh wait I had to come back and edit my post. After staring at the pic for a couple more minutes I started to see some fish shapes in the back ground. I had to focuss realy hard and your right. There are fish in the pictures!!

Their work looks good. Not world class or competition winning good but respectable. When you consider the price I like thier product. I feel your getting a good value. You can definatly find better taxidermists but I highly doubt you will find much better at those prices. Also I have seen ALOT worse at higher cost. The one downside I have heard about them is thier mounts are generic. Meaning thepaint jobs all look the same and they dont realy match your fishes exact markings. Now in reality most taxidermists dont do a very good job of matching individual fish either. This does not mean that the mounts look bad at all. If I was on a budget I wouldnt have a problem with the Bass pro mounts.

This year a friend and I had 3 giant sacks just fun fishin. Each time I caught only two of the fish and each time they were the 2 biggest. The biggest sack was roughly around 60lbs. To be honest I dont remember the exact weights of ALL the fish we got in those 3 trips here is a pic of the 4 biggest fish in our "middle" sack. These four went a little over 40lbs and the fith fish would have put it around 46lbs but I couldnt hold 5 fish at a time. I was doing a "mad" face for fun. Aslo we had planned on taking a big group photo in advance. We had one of those giant coolers rigged with an areator and a pump that was pumping in fresh lake water the whole time. the cooler/livewell has an overflow hose and the fish were all very strong and healthy when released. I am standing on the cooler for the pic trying to hide the background. However there is still just enough background in the pick to recognize the lake so I had to white it out. Sorry if this bothers some of you. Fourbiz I sent you a PM

Not even close the Okuma wins hands down. The higher end Okuma spinning reels are better then Shimanos or Diawas around the same price. Actuly you have to go well over the Okuma price range to get a better reel from Shimano or Diawa. Now this is only for the higher end Okuma spinning reels starting with the Epixor. I havent used any lesser models then the epixors. I have about 5 of them and I use them in saltwater and have caught hundreds of salty bass and abussed the reels and they are still smooth and strong.