Mattlures

If you glue your baits down and pour the pop on top you wont get any bubbles. If you are pressing them into the pop, hit the container on top of your counter a few times to help bring all the bubles out. You can also do thid if you are pouring the pop on top of your masters. the consistancy should be similar to ketchup

Do not listen to muddy. I have treid that and although the baits became straight they were far to stiff and would not wiggle as they fell. This only worked for a few hours and after that the baits were crooked again.

They might be right. Might be. I would be careful about heating the tungsten in a microwave. that might be your only problem. Instaed of asking if it would work you should just try it and find out. I am guessing if you heated your plastic on a stove or something similar instaed of a microwave it should work but since I have not personaly tried tungsten powder I am only guessing. Experimenting is the fun part of lure making. You will lern so much more from doing your own experiments than you will from other people. the exception is when you are first starting out. i would learn as much as possible from other pourers but that will only take you so far.

what he said. you can purchase floater bubles from the same places you buy your plastic suplies. They will turn your baits a very opaque white.

you can straighten non salted impregnated worms by boiling them. Boil them, lay them straight to cool. If you boil your senkos you will dissolve the salt and ruin your baits. .

fivebasslimit, a lot of the statements were in fact wrong. Opinions are neither wronr or right. Your post actualy backs up one of my ponits. If you try and go the cheap route you will get inferior quality. Low buget, I am familiar with Lake Fork taxidermy and I recomend them. They do outstanding work. lyons and Ohaver and Roberts fish mounts do world class mounts and Lake fork taxidermy isclose behind

My top ten fish all came by way of the swimbait

WOW I CANT BELEIVE HOW WRONG SOME OF YOU GUYS ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First off replicas are fiberglass not graphite. 2nd you get a generic paint job because you went the cheap route(Bass Pro) who does thousands of mounts and does not care about matching you fish. If you go to a good taxidermist (which most are not good) they can match your fish. Colors, body markings, fins and any other thing that makes your fish unique. 3RD A REPLICA IS A MUCH MORE ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF YOUR ACTUAL FISH !!!!!!!!!!!! Now of course your thinking that I am wrong becuase a skin mount is a real fish and is much more accurate than a molded replica, especialy since it is your fish, Well your wrong. Let me explain. A skin mount is just that. Its only the skin. its preserved and wrapped around a foam manikin. all areas that have had tissue and muscle and bone removed now need to be built up with clay or other material. Over time the skin warps and shrinks and rots and cracks and yellows and distorts. after all it is an actual piece of skin wich is slowly rotting away. The position of the mount is up to the taxidermist. Verry rarly are skin mounts mounted in natural positions. The mouths are usualy over extended, the throuts are usualy pushed in instead of flairing out. The fins are usualy over streatched and the eyes are usualy set incorectly. Also if you think skin mounts look beter because they arent painted well thats wrong to. Replicas and skin mounts are both painted. The quality of the paint job depends on the taxidermist. I will admit for a les skilled taxidermist a skin mount is easyer to paint, that would explain why some people think they look beter. but like I said earlyer most taxidermist are not very good. So to sum up a skin mount, usualy it is possed in an unnatural pose. It will yellow, it will warp and if you take measurements of your mounted fish and compare them to the actualy measurements of when you caught it you will most likely be suprised. A Replica is superior in every way. They are more natural. They are more anatomicaly correct. they also eliminate most of the errors that taxidermist make. The are molded from actual whole fish in a natural postion. They are not shrunken in around the head. They dont have incorectly positioned throats and over extended mouths. there fins are not over streached. Replicas are also much more durable and they are easyer to clean. They can also match your fish's measurements better than the streched skin. Here is a morbid way of comparing the two. Think of a wax replica of a person. If done right it looks just like a real person. now think of a mumified persons skin wrapped around a manikin. Which is going to look more like the real person? The wax replica of course. Another thing to consider is this, most world class taxidermist will not do a skin mount. They only do replicas. I have done many fish mounts in my time and many other big game mounts. I am good enough to recognize great taxidermy when I see it. I can aslo spot poor taxidermy easily. I know what I am talking about. I no longer do taxidermy because its too time consuming I am already too busy as it is but I can definatly recomend some great taxidermist. One thing you have to consider. If your getting a fish mounted it is most likely a very special fish to you. DO NOT TRY AND GO CHEAP!!!!!!. in Taxidermy you absoluty get what you pay for. dont expect beautiful customized mountes from Bass pro. it aint gonna happen. spend the extra $100 and get a mount that you will love fore ever. GET A REPLICA. Oh yeah, you also get to release the fish! I apologize if I have made anybody mad for saying they are wrong. My intention is to educate not chastize. I just cant help but get fired up about this subject.

This one kinda looks like a bluegill

Randall you got robbed! as great as that fish is, I feel sorry for you. Had that fish been healthy it would have been a mid teen. had it been healthy and spawning it would have been a high teen. Had that fish been here in CA and spawning you would be famous!

I have had a big fish eat my swimbait as it hit the water at least 3 times that I distinctly remember. Each time the bait made a big splash and my spool kept taking line. It always takes me a second to realize whats going on. Not only do I not care about making a big splash I have the advantage of watching guys like Mike Long and Butch Brown when they happen to be at "MY" lakes. The only time I have seen Mike not making a splash is when he was pitching to the shore under and along trees. he was able to lay the bait in there from about 50yrds without making a splash using a side arm cast. Every other time he is throwing the bait extremly far and making a big splash. I believe it only spooks the fish if they are already aware of you and are nervous to begin with. Also I think off my baby bass as a tiny bait. To me it barley makes a splash. You should see the splash a 10 inch 9oz trout swimbait makes and it gets bit.

You can always add a little super glue in each of the potential weak spots. Anyplace that has metal sticking out. Use a toothpic so you dont get too much glue on the bait. I sometimes will run a stinger hook on top behind the dorsal fin. I will tie braid directly to the bend of the hook and imbed the treble just behind the dorsal. I like small trebles. Size 4 is good. I do put a treble on the bottom when I am fishing where I wont get snagged. Also LRod is right. Make sure the bait is lubed up good.

The record will be broken in Cali. I know of 3 diferent lakes where a big enough fish lives. I know of two others that have fish that are verry close and could get there this year. These are all in southern Cali. The record will not be brkon by sombody getting lucky or by a regular bass guy. It will be broken by somebody who is hunting for that fish. I do believe if that Dixon beast is caught again and is still around 25 that record will stand forever or untill someone can grow one bigger in a controlled inviornment. Will it fall in 07? probably but maybe 08. I know alot of the guys who are hunting her and they all seem to think its coming. most think its coming from the lake Capt Cali' didnt mention. I will be hunting her about 20-30 days this year so my odds are not nearly as good as my competition but you never know.

If you know what you are doing you can catch the male using a rock with a hook on it. There is realy no challenge. Now the female is a diferent story. Ther is no 1 technique. Each fish is diferent. you must learn to "read" the fish. My only two baits for females are jigs and my bluegills. I always start with the gill on big fish and my tecniques vary. Some fish will go on an aggresive presentation and some will spook with it. You just have to figure each fish out. One other thing, i often hear guys say that a certain bed fish was not catchable so they moved on. Well if it lets you fish for it its catchable. If it spooks when you get within casting range its still catchable you just have to find a better way to set up on it. The big question is, is it worth your time. I will not spend any more then 10 minutes on a fish unless its BIG, or I have covered a particular lake and now I am going back to the best fish I previously seen. Catching males is fun and can be good practice if there are no females up. But dont go into it thinking there is one bait. Throw everthing you got at it and watch his behavior. You will see that some baits get more responce than others and some will spook. I apologize for this tip sounding like a comercial but the easyest way I have found to catch a tough male is to throw a bluegill swimbait in the bed for a few minutes and get the poor male all fired up then thow something small that sinks fast witha good expossed hook and he will usualy take it the first shot. The females you guys will just have to figure out on your own.

I get asked on a weekly basis for free baits. Guys want me to sponser them or their events. They usualy send some sort of resume listing all their fishing acomplishments. They usualy say they won this one and that one and how they like my baits and how they tell their frinds about them etc. If they only knew how many of these I (And I am sure every other fishing business and Co.) get. I will be honest, The only thing a business cares about is will you make them money. Unless you are one of the top 10 anglers in the world I have nodesire to sponser you for your fishing abilities. I relay dont care how good you are. BUT.............. I recently recieved an email from one of the members here. He said he talked my baits up durring a seminar he gave. He used a slide show and showed them on the screen to his audience. He also sent me pictures from the seminar showing my baits up on the screen with a packed room watching. Guess what That impressed me. I am sure he is a good fisherman but I still dont care if he is or isnt. The point is he did this with out asking for anything. AND HE DID IT FIRST!!!!!!!! I plan on sending him some baits just as a thank you. When your deeling with small companies like mine use his example. do something first. Go to some stores and get them to call the manufactures about carring the product you wish to be sponserd by. For example you get 3 stores to call Robo Worrm and palce orders. have the stores mention your name as the one that told them about the product. then send your email and resume to the company. Tell them How great of a fisherman you are but stress how you already got them a couple of new accounts. Then ask for some freebies. At that point you have already sold your self and made them money. They arent realy freebies anymore. Also dont be greedy. just ask for a little. i am sure when you show that you are an aset to them they will be more generous. Another thing you should do is make sure you know the product. If I ask a bunch of questions I am going to have a pretty good idea if my potential sponserees even know how to fish my baits. This will aply with all fishing related goods. Know your stuff! I hope I have not affendid anybody by sounding harsh but its just the way it is. If you use some of these tips you will get a lot more willing sponsers. just remember you have to do somthing for them before they will be willing to sponser you. One more thing. make sure you have proof. I have gotten tons of emails from guys saying they did this and they told them etc But how do I know there telling me the truth? look on the bright side, you dont have to be a pro to get sponsered, but you do have to work for it.

Fin S , I am not totaly sure I understand your list but it seems like you listed them by how many ways a bait can trigger a strtike. I like everybody else agree with the too many varaibles. I do have an interesting bit of info for you though. It has been my experiance that the order of your list was made for poor visability. As far as fish catching abilities, out here in clear water CA the baits with the highest scores are the worst. And the baits with the lowest scores are the best. Now fish the same baits at night or in a dirty water lake and they are reversed. Now Of course these only apply to smaller average sized fish. Big fish act diferently. Conditions determin how and when to use a bait. Also on any given day there are many diferent succesful patterns hapening at the same time. Just because your wacking them on spook doesnt mean you wouldnt have caught more dropshotting.

There is no diference. A swimbait is a soft plastic fish. All the hard baits are something else. They are called swimbaits because they are usualy made by the same guys who make swimbaits and they are usualy big. The term swimbait has become very generic. almost anything that is big is being called a swimbait. I got nothing againt hard baits. I might even release one real soon but the original term referred to a rubber bodied fish with a boot tail. (sassy shad)

Catt I must disagree with you. While some of what you say is correct one major part of your post is wrong. I have read Hannons's book and it was interesting. Some of it was right but a lot of it only applied to his situations. His theorys simply do not work in high pressured deep clear lakes. His book is simply out dated. 20 years ago when he wrote it, it was more relevant and so were your assessments. What I am talking about is bass intelegents. In a natural world with out fishing pressure the most aggressive bass will become the biggest bass in the lake. She will dominate the best feeding grounds and eat more than the other bass. In a natural world without fishing pressure this bass would be the easiest bass to catch. It would almost be considered stupid. Ok jump ahead 20 years to the world of modern day bass fishing where catch and release is the norm. All our big bass out here in CA have been caught many times and have learned to avoid danger. The older and more times the fish has been hooked the more it learns to fear humans and they're boats and their lures. I don't care what expert says bass are stupid simple creatures that can't learn anything, they are simple wrong period! We have all seen it with our own eyes. I have hidden behind bushes wearing camo to catch big bass and watched as a bass boat got within 100yards, not feet but yards and the fish took off. The smaller fish stayed. The fish would return when the boat had passed. That fish knew to avoid that danger. That giant 25.1 lb bass from Dixon is a perfect example. It has been documented caught 3 times. Every single time it was on a bed. No other time as a huge bass has that fish been caught. Dixon is highly pressured. It is only about 80 acres. That fish sees lures every day but it wont bite them, why? Because it is too dang smart. The only time that fish is vonerable is when its reproductive urges overpower it. Like a big buck in rut. I can give you many more examples but I realy dont need to. Hannon sought out areas that received little pressure. therefore the bass were uneducated. Modern day bass have to be smart to survive. Yes the biggest bass are the most aggressive but they are also the weariest. I have talked to our biologist many times and he has shocked all of our lakes. He has shocked up more big bass then any of us ever thought were in our lakes. There are more of them then you think. Yes there are less big ones then little ones but the reason they are rarely caught is not because they are so rare. Its because they are more difficult to catch. The swimbait is not a silver bullet but it does the absolute best job at imitating what big bass eat. They eat big bait fish be it trout, bluegill, baby bass, gizzard shad, Big shiners etc. They eat all the other things too but their main staple is a big baitfish meal. They don't get to be 15lbs by chasing little thredfin around. However they are opportunistic and if and easy little meal comes their way they will sometimes eat it. I have leaned this from time on the water and talking with guys who actually catch big bass consistently. They do everything they can to give them their best chance at fooling such a stupid fish; don't let their tiny brains fool you. There are in tune with there surroundings and the older they get the more they can recognize danger. I am not saying they are super intelligent but they are defiantly smarter then the little bass. Yes you don't have to use swimbaits to catch big bass and they are not always the best bait but compared to all other artificial baits they consistently give you the best chance to catch the biggest bass. You guys should all do yourselves a big favor and read in pursuit of giant bass by the late Bill Murphy. It is the bible of big bass. His techniques will still work today and can be applied to almost everywhere. Bill wrote his book before swimbaits became popular. They were mostly crude back then and he doesn't mention them very much in his book but he did troll large plugs and he did use them before he died. The big bass zone is another book about catching big bass. it tells you to change the way you think.

Great question! Some times I will just stick to swimbaits especialy if my partner is thrwoing other baits and not getting good fish. My second choice would be live bait. Crawlers, dads, and shinners. If they dont work than I have fished most of the day and if I try something else I am not realy hunting big fish anymore. I will throw a worm or a jig. Once I get a couple fish though I usualy go back to my big fish baits. I dont like getting skunked either but I have caught 1000's, probably 10,000 bass under 5lbs. they are still fun to catch but they just dont get me excited anymore. I spent 20 years learning how to catch small fish. I never broke 10. I did catch an ocasional 7-9lber and lots of 5-6lber but it wasnt untill I changed the way I thought that I started catching big bass. The results were almost emediate. I started catching many more big fish and a lot less small ones but it still took me 2 years to break 10. The single biggest adjustment I made was changing lakes. Out here we have smaller super clear lakes that produce BIG Bass, The problem is they are brutaly tough. A good worm guy could go all day from dark to dark and only catch 2-3 fish. But I go to these lakes because they give me the best odds. we have a few real nice numbers lakes that are loaded with decent bass however they only kick out about 2 or 3 fish a year over 10 and they are usualy are barely over 10. It was tough to stop fishing the fun lakes where 20lb limits were common for me. But I knew I had to.

Aint Texan, I am not Texan. I was born a raised in San Diego CA. Cody The answer to tour question is the million $ answer. Guys will tell you how but very few actualy get any of them to bite. I just mark that spot in my head and hit it later, maybe froma diferent angle or diferent bait. Swimbaits make great big bass locaters. Any body who fishes them knows what I mean. Some of you guys get it and some dont. Its not only about the bait. Its about changing the way you think. Once you do that then the swimbait becomes an obviouse choice no matter where in the country you happen to fish. Are swimbaits always the choice? No. but they should be used every time your out unless you KNOW the big fish are on something else. Even then it wouldnt hurt to make a few well placed cast with them.The reason I started this thread is because "how do I catch bigger fish" or something similar is probably the #1 question I see asked on the boards. The answers are always the same. Guys will catch 1-10 good fish a year out of probably 1000 and since they caught that incredibly small % of good fish on a worm or spinner bait they beleive those are the best big bassbait for them. I dont always hunt big fish. sometimes I just go to catch numbers(not verry often though) but when I do hunt, I play the odds. I do every thing I can to get that bigger bite. I think to myself what bait gives me the best odds of a 10lber. This doesnt mean I always catch 10lbers. Actualy I catch a lot of fish between 4-8lbs. I think when Is the best time and spot and depth. I aproach each spot like I am stocking a big buck. and I make my presentation with as few mistakes as I can. proir knowledge helps me eliminate water and not waist as much time. You learn with more time on the water. For thsoe of you that think swimbaiting is 1 bite a day, that is almost always not true. In my experiance I either get no bites or I get a few. I actualy have had more days when I got 15 bites than 1. Swimbaits are not always the answer. they are not a silver bullet, however I dont believe there is another bait that gives me a better chance at big fish consistantly. If I was in Florida I would probably use big shinners alot but I would still throw a swimbait. I do what gives me the best odds. I also know from the tons of guys who send me emails or pictures that swimbaits catch big bass in every state. But I honestly have not heard anything from Hawaii or Alaska. Maybe worms actualy do catch bigger fish there

For those of us outside of Florida, Texas, Georgia and California, I think jigs and soft plastics are the baits that will consistantly produce the biggest bass and the greatest number of "big bass". This statement is exactly what I am talking about. I resectfully disagree. You guys have no idea how many guys are sucsesfuly using swimbaits in just about every state and catch big bass. Some of them know they have that bite all to themselves so they keep it quiet. others post about it and talk. You will see over time. I think you guys missed the point. Jigs in general will catch a bigger grade of fish then most methods. Worms will not. I dont care if its a 12 power worm. Small fish eat them regularly. Do big fish eat them to? of course but the overall average fish caught on a worm would be less then 2lbs if you took all the bass ever caught on them and averaged them out. If you did the same with swimbaits the weight would be much heavier. The reason that jigs and worms do produce the biggest fish in other states is simple. I bet around 80% of all bass fishing is done with some type of plastic worms. So obviously around 80% of all bass are caught on them. This % is just a geustimate but I am sure I am in the ball park. When I speek of big bass its all relative to your area. I am not talking 10lbs. For most of you thats not too realistic. I am not posting this as a baitmaker. I am posting this as a fisherman. The baits that I have availible are small in the world of swimbaits but I do fish the big baits too. Also another common misconseption is that finding the particular spot is how you catch big bass. this maybe true with regular techniques but with swimbaits you cover water and pull fish to you. Every time I go to a lake I will try to hit my "spots" as corectly as I can but I am aslo casting as I work my way inbetween spots. I still get most of my fish from my known spots but I do get a few along the way. Feast or famin is an interesting theory. For beginners thsi is usualy true. I am not an expert but I am aslo not a beginner. When I feel like its a good time for a swimbait bite I almost always get bit. maybe only a couple bites or only 1 in a day but rarly do I go bitless when I thought I would get bit. There are guys like Mike Long who regularly catches numbers of good fish practicaly every time he throws the big baits. Over time you get a feeling for when its a good time to throw them. Every bait has the potential and at some point has produced a big bass. lok at Capt Cali. he stuck 2 of them on a little dropshot worm. does that mean its a good bait for big fish? No its probably one of the worst. I posted this with big fish in mind, not giants. I am talking about the upper 10% class of your fish. I do every thing I can do to increase my odds of getting a big one. There are times when that is a buzzbait at midnight. Its not always swimbaits. I fished for 20 years before I caught a double didget. I got very good at worming but it wasnt untill I decided I had to break 10 at all costs that I started to catch bigger fish. I simply stopped fishing for little ones. If you keep doing the same things you will get the same results. catching big bass consistantly is not getting lucky. Its about changing how you fish. Think of a big bass as a completly diferent species with difernt habbits and force your self to learn them. Then you will catch them.

Your screwed now! Thats how it starts then little by little you only use your stuff and you become completly obsessed with your next bait. You cary a notepad and pencil with you at all times incase you get an idea. You spend ALL your money on supplies. You lay awake in bed trying to solve the many little problems with your prototypes. You get no sleep. You find your self typing on mesage boards just to clear your mind. Yup your screwed!

I often see guys asking what to use to catch big bass on this and other boards. The answers are usualy the same. Big worms, jigs, etc. I always find these answers very interesting. I use these baits just like anybody else, or at least I used to use them alot but not as much anymore. Here is the way I look at it. If I am worm fishing, how many fish over 6lbs do I catch out of a hundred? I would guess about 2 or 3. Jigs would be around 10 out of 100. I dont use many cranks or blades so I cant say for those. But when I am throwing swimbaits I would say about 30-35 out of 100 are 6lbs or better. Also out of those hundres only a handfull of the small fish are under 3lbs but with the other baits 1.5-2lber are the norm. So next time you think about your favorite big fish bait consider how many small fish you had to catch before you got a good one. Of course it matters where and how you fish the diferent baits but I am always looking for big fish and all the baits are used in the same spots. Another way to look at it is like this. When I am worm fishing and I get a 5lber, I am excited, and I feel like I have caught a big fish. When I am throwing swimbaits and I get a bite I am excited at the possablities and I always assume its a BIG fish but as soon as I see or know its a 5lber I am emiediatly disapointed. Dang! its a small one, is going through my mind. Its simply a difernt mindset with difernt expectations. There is NO doubt in my mind if we knew the average weight of bass caught on the diferent baits, swimbaits(real ones) would have a significantly higher average weight. I would guess jigs would be #2 but after that I wouldnt know. Worms do catch big fish but they catch so many small ones that they would have a low average. When I am fishing for big bass I put as many factors in my favor as I can. I give myself the best possible odds. That doesnt mean that the guy dropshotting a 4in Robo wont catch a bigger fish than me but over the course of a year I know I will catch a lot more big fish than him.

That is probably about right for a healthy pond out where you live. If that was So Cal then that would be a small fish for its age. Out here 2lbs a year is normal.

Roadwarrior , yes and no. We catch big fish through out the year but not as big. Prespawn is usauly when it starts. Monsters are caught in the high teens but the majority of the giants are caught while spawning. I am talking about fish over 18lbs. Teens are regularly caught casting swimbaits durring the pre spawn through out post spawn but after that it gets reel tough. Your best bet becomes night time. most of the fish over 18lbs are caught on beds, not all of them but most. They are simply too smart to be caught any other time. not to mention that a regular 20lber when full of eggs will be over 23lbs. So most giants will be carrying a few extra pounds. Also just because the fish are caught durring spring doesnt mean they were caught while spawning, many are caught before or after they actualy are on or near a bed. They just so happen to be heavier this time of year. BUT... in general most of the big fish are caught durring the spring. Now 8-10lbers are caught through out the year. but still it gets tough after post spawn. the problem is our lakes are soo deep it becomes dificult to not only find them but to efectivly fish for them. Most of our lakes are over 100ft deep. and the fish tend to go deep durring the summer and fall, especialy the big ones. Night time they sometimes become vonerable again.