Bassin_Fin@tic

Thats a beautiful girl. Can I have her number?

Agree 100% with Burley but want to add a few things. Sometimes to get the female to bite you gotta get rid of the male first. Sometimes rattles help.You very lightly jiggle the lure in place and the sound will drive them nuts at times.Some times you don't want a rattle.Experiment. Sometimes you gotta change color.Like always, I have seen the fish respond differently to a color change and get more aggressive towards one. Upsize or downsizing can make a difference if you cannot get a fish to commit(as explained with the matts gill) I use a baby paca craw a lot, then sometimes throw the big paca or full brush hog in as a follow up and the larger bait is deemed more of a threat to the nest. Down size sometimes when they keep grabbing and blowing on it but not quite crushing it like you want them to. If you got one circling around very fast and getting aggressive.Try rapidly pitching in very rapidly twitch once or twice and pull out and do it again.Then proceed to knock the fish on his dome a few times and see what happens. Sometimes you gotta deadstick and back off for a big girl (patience is a hell of a virtue) Sometimes you gotta pop the bait aggressively or just very lightly wiggle it.Watch the fish for a reaction.If they spook out they will still be watching from a distance.working the bait in the nest for a few may get them to return. When you first pull up and see a bed with a fish nearby pay close attention to where the fish keeps putting its nose.A lot of times this is the sweet spot.Put the bait there a few time and watch their reaction. Try to avoid casting a shadow direcly on the target area. I have recently discovered that a drop shot with a minnow or small swimbait can be deadly.You raise and lower the bait over and over in the nest.A heavy sinker is a must to keep the rig in place. Baits I really like to use are jigs 1/2 oz. 1/2 oz texas rigged brush hogs,paca craws,lizards. 3/8 oz shakey head worms. White can be a great color as it allows you to the bait very well and also determine when the fish has grabbed it. When fishing really stained water or dirty water all you can do find the prime areas once you have determined that bass are present and literally pitch/flip every darn inch of it since you can't see the beds many times. Sorry if I am making it sound complicated.It really isn't. Just another one of those things that the more you do it the better you get at finding out what works best for you.

Fixed the first picture.It is a top view you can see how the hook sits.The point would be driven just about between the little eyes on the craw.Second picture is bottom view, just shows how it is skin hooked.The shape of the body allows an easy and perfect finish when hooked that way. For the hell of it I decided to show a few creations from the mad laboratory in the third pic. (yes those are a spinnerbait trailer and brush hog tails)

Keep on chuckin the lures out there.We ALL have our bad days and sometimes you can learn from failures too.

A 3/0 EWG(extra wide gap) is the perfect hook for the paca baby.When it comes to a short stout bait like the paca,which is essentially a tube bait,you need to have a wide enough bend on the shank of the hook.Too much plastic will clog it up on the hookset and the point will not pierce the fishs mouth. Trust us LOL i'll post a pic if you need it.

Spooning techniques is kind of a broad question unless of course you are looking for a variety of answers for different methods. Weedless spoons such as the Johnson silver minnow for example are can be absolutely deadly dragged through and over top of vegetation, brush,and lily pads.Stopping the retrieve and allowed to fall into holes.Generally using 3-4 inch grubs or pork frogs as trailers.The fish can show a particular preference for different trailers and colors on certain days. This technique can also be employed with pitching and flipping sparse cover pockets in trees,timber,brush, and hydrilla for a different look from a texas rigged plastic or jig. It's old school

I think one of my little shpos around here has them.I've actually been eyeballing them for a while.Will let you know for sure. PM sent

Easy solution.Just don't buy it in the first place : there are literally thousands of ways to catch bass without dealing with that crap. (sorry just my .02)

Why am I not surprised to hear any of that? :

I voted yes for the simple fact that the first album was killer.A very different sound compared to most bands.But as time went on all their stuff seems to sound the same.And I absolutely can't stand anything with that rap fusion s**t.

So that's your code too? :-?

You got a good point comaprison and for the most part I think this is true but remember the opposite can be true too.Sometimes very little or no action at all is the trigger.Sometimes they don't want to chase and just want something to fall right in front of them and play dead.

Or putting too large of hooks on it...

A note about the second picture: When choosing hook sizes on soft plastics you need to have a wide enough gap.As you pull the hook through the fishs jaw on the hookset the shank part rubs and protrudes the point outward to grab onto the inside of the fishs mouth.The plastic will pull down then ball up and clog the hook and not allow good penetration into the fish jaw if the hook is too small.In other words you must pay a little extra attention when using thicker baits.If the shank of the hook runs right against the plastic you need something bigger.Fish could be caught but you will miss a bunch.A good example of this is the Yamamoto fat ika.I can easily rig it with a 2/0 hook but will probably never get the hook into the fish.You need at least a 4/0 and it will run right to the very end of the bait When using particular brands of tubes it can be a little tough to find the right hook at times since some tube bodies are thicker or shorter than others.Two other hooks I found to be effective are the owner wide gap plus.It is a short shank with a real wide rounded hook gap.The other is the Gamakatsu g-lock worm hook.

That just ain't right ;D ;D

I am not too great with tubes, so I got a question too. With t- rig tube do you prefer a pegged weight or unpegged? I heard that unpegged causes an erratic spiral fall, but with a pegged weight I can skip it into ANY opening through brush or around boats and docks. Preferences?

I'll join the crowd to say black most of the time.White sometimes,especially when the fish are bustin shad,and occasionally chart/white in dirty water. Haven't found a good reason yet to get too elaborate on skirt colors.

Recently a Spro poppin frog.First cast during dark at around 6:30 am on the edge of a hyacinth mat and a 2.5 lber.Let tell any of the frog guys here that that bait is da bomb! I have continued to get pretty consistent action on it the last 2 weeks.

Exactly. Just like fishing with live bait or bottom fishing for cats or carp.If they feel that weight they will drop it.If a bass wacks the bait then no it doesn't matter. I know you weren't starting an argument.I am feeling cranky from getting up too early today As far as the pre rig getting snagged more.Yes and no. Around here in the phosphate pits and many of the retention ponds is nothing but shell rock ledges and drop offs.Try climbing a rig up a jagged shell rock ledge once with the pre rigs and you would notice it digs into any little nook and cranny and gets snagged way more often.

Thats a perfect specimen! Nice photos! They show off that girls curves very well.

Could you expand on this line of thought? I'm missing something I think. I dont understand how the sliding weight enhances the feel of the bite. Explain this line of thought? I thought I did.First and foremost not saying that it won't catch fish.Been there done that plenty of times and that is how I first started c-rigging. I don't know how to elaborate on it any more than I did.Either you understand DIRECT CONTACT WITH YOUR BAIT or you don't. Take the pre rig attached to your line and lay it on the table.Then pull on the hook.The whole rig moves.Now rig it up with a sliding weight and pull on the hook end.What happens? Your rod bends. I like to utilize every component of my tackle and setup for maximum effectiveness.Some people don't care, some do.However you want to fish, thats all. Someone asked I answered.

The difference with those goofy pre rigged wire thingys is that the fish has to pick up the whole thing and carry it off before you ever feel a tick.In other words, if it is done the right way the line slides through the weight thus allowing you to feel whats on the hook. They also snag worse. Also how hard is it to slide a sinker and bead or two on the line first.Either way you still have to tie 3 knots to complete the rig.

Yep.Think about it.You can put a boat right on top of a guarding male and catch him sometimes and briefly see the female circling nearby.Or even if you spook them then he and she will just scoot into the shadows just beyond view and stay there.What happens if you throw an eight foot spreader on top of the bedding area? Sorry I turned it into a rant.It just infuriates me that they can't or sometimes wont go after everybody.

Reminds me of some anal orfices we saw around here cast netting bedding bass. I called the FWC twice about it and was told they have to catch them in the act and basically if the act isn't in progress right this moment there is nothing they can do.Hey thats fine,whatever but I can't leave an anomymous tip so someone can watch out??!!i guess I will first approach the gentlemen look in their buckets and then make the call,then proceed to get shot the next time I go out. Truth is they don't care two sh--s if it isn't a state funded park or salt water violation.I mean netting bedding fish? Pretty sick They will however be the first ones to give me a ticket for not having a life jacket or a whistle in my POS jonboat : Sorry had to vent. I am glad that they followed up and caught those idiots.People like that have no place on the water.Too bad they won't come up with stiffer penaltys.

Live or cut bluegill were always tops for me when I used to fish cats a lot. Stinkbaits and chicken livers and such may catch some channels but don't work as well. If not fishing in real heavy current I like to use a large slip bobber sometimes referred to as a catfish pole float from 2 -5 feet off the bottom.