paul.

that's a nice one for sure. and real pretty colors too. congrats to ya.

and here's a pretty cool vid i found on youtube which shows the realism of the bait, its key features, and just a few of the colors.

61/2 ft. med. heavy rod. pfleuger trion reel. 20 lb. berkley big game line. actually i was fishing in some really shallow water. many times on late fall or early spring afternoons, fish will move in shallow to feed when the sun has been on the water for a while. particularly in small waters, where the shallows might actually be the warmest water in the lake. to be honest, i had only just started cranking when this fish hit. but my usual retrieve is just a slow to med. crank with an occasional pause or twitch. when i say occasional, i actually mean seldom. do not overwork or overthink this bait. you can twitch and pause too much if you're not careful and it will turn an interested fish off. you wanna just make it look like a little minnow on a casual stroll around the lake, minding its own business, oblivious to harm. most of the time, think "spinnerbait" with your retreive and you'll be o.k. keep in mind water temps and depth control as you determine optimum retrieve speed. but honestly, this little bait is WAY more versatile than just a "chunk and wind" presentation. experiment and have fun with it. don't be handcuffed to one particular retrieve or cadence. you can fish it like a t-rigged worm, hopping it off the bottom. this is especially effective if there is grass around and the bait suddenly pops up out of the grass and then disappears again as if hiding. you can also use a very erratic retreive at times like a fluke. and you might be amazed at some of the savage strikes you get burning the bait at breakneck speed sometimes. and i had probably better not say how deadly this thing can be on a bed in the spring sometimes. oops, i just did. so basically what i'm saying is let the fish tell ya how they want the bait, not me. like any other bait, what works one day might not work another. if i have missed something, i'm sure the more experienced swimbaiters on here can elborate. i'm still learning myself. good luck. i

thanks again for the nice words guys. i use these hooks, the kind without the screw. 4/0 and 1/4 oz. has been a good size for me. yes, they are a little harder to rig, but the bait swims better and looks a whole lot more natural. in fact, with this hook, you cannot tell there is a hook in the bait AT ALL if you rig it properly. it just looks like a real minnow with a fat little belly. ;D http://www.***.com/descpageDHOOKDVT-DBXS.html matt might have a different idea about what works best though. go with whatever he says.

thanks guys. she weighed 8-4. very nice little pot belly and very thick across the back. she might make it to 10 in a year or so if she eats well and nothing happens to her. of course a fish like this could easily gain 3/4 lb. in one big feeding binge too. i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

mattlures matt minnow that is. every once in a while, there is a sweet little bait out there that just seems to "fly under the radar" for some reason. either people just don't know how effective it can be, or they do know and decide to keep it a secret. i'm not sure which is the case with this bait, but this big ol' fatty here didn't take it so well when i broke the news to her about this cool swimbait. the matt minnow is ideal when you fish small waters where big fish reside, but might be accustomed to smaller forage. as with all of matt's baits, the realism is second to none which probably explains why this big doll was all over it. might be worth y'all's while to check 'em out. if ya don't know, now you know. you'll have to decide for yourself whether you wanna let your buddies know. ;D

that ROCKS! excellent. 8-)

i liked it a lot. some very nice ones in there. congrats on the vid and the toads.

my nomination for the t.r.o.y. award. (trip report of the year). glad the dude went to jail and nobody got seriously hurt. could have been a lot worse.

that's pretty amazing. and you tried other baits when they were biting the trap, not just when they weren't, correct? :-?

when your results are less than desirable in this or any other spot, common sense dictates there are only 3 possiblities. 1-either the fish aren't there or there are very few of them there. 2-there are fish there and they are unwilling to bite. 3-there are fish there and they will bite, just not what you're throwing. if common sense dictates to me that the fish "should" be there based on seen or unseen factors, i operate under the assumption that they are. if i cover that area thouroughly and the fish won't bite, i assume that they don't want what i'm throwing and try something else. if i cover the area thouroughly with a variety of baits throughout the water column and still no takers, it's fairly safe to assume that i was either mistaken about the fish being there to begin with or they just aren't gonna hit anything. time to move on. i think you basically answered your own question when you said : that pretty much universally applies doesn't it? as far as the idea of trap or nothing goes, i have a hard time with that one. usually fish that will bite a trap are active fish. being hot fish, they may prefer a trap, but they should bite other things too. but of course if they are smacking the trap, why would you be throwing something else? ;D unless it was to try to target a better grade of fish. interesting.

even as we consider this question, the bass in that cove ponder a similar dilemma. "you know, most of the baitfish in this lake are cool to eat. but for some reason the ones in this cove swim funny, make noise, and sprout hooks. what's up with that?"

very nice and congrats big time. rattle baits rock.

gibson co. lake? besides all the good ideas already suggested, i'd try a big willow leaf spinnerbait slow rolled through the timber close to prime structure. i am also a fan of rattlebaits, jigs, and plastics. of course i might be able to tell ya more if you'd take me to said honey hole.

excellent! these are the kind of posts we can learn from. liked the way you broke down your thought process. congrats.

excellent. told ya there would be another one soon. keep up the good work.

very nice. i'll take a day like that anytime. you smoked 'em.

white was the color. btw, i think a while eel is gonna be deadly for bed fishing next spring. between that and the baby craw, i think i'm set once the spawn gets here.

that'll be the first of many i'm sure. stick with it. a BIG bite is in your future.

great story and incredible pix. wow!

great fish Tony. i'll just say it's a big 'un for sure. great catch man. i know you were stoked. probably still are over a hawg like that.

you are a machine bro. still whackin' 'em as usual. fantastic pix. there's been plenty of days i woulda been happy with bass the size of that perch.

congrats to ya. that's a good 'un for sure.

here ya go Paul. these links from Big O's site should answer your question. http://www.ragetail.com/ragetalk/index.php?topic=1055.15 http://www.ragetail.com/ragetalk/index.php?topic=1068.15

i predict that one of three things will happen with the eeliminator very soon: 1. anglers who have discovered this bait's incredible mojo will start to horde and stockpile the eels making them almost impossible to find. very soon you will see people taking out 2nd mortgages on their houses, going hungry, or pawning wedding rings just to throw one more cast with these bass magnets. do not be shocked when you see a pack selling for 40 bucks on e-bay. 2. states will systematically start outlawing these baits so that it will become illegal to even have one in your possession. fish and game officials will search boats and anglers with specially trained "eel dogs" who can detect even a hint of coffee scent. 3. big o will realize that he has placed the fish population of the entire planet in jeopardy. his guilt-ridden conscience will force him to "dumb down" the eels so that they will only out-perform other baits 10 to 1. get them while they are still at "original strength" this has been a public service announcement. don't say you were not warned. here's a nice one from today with a circle hooked eel on my little spinning rod. hope y'all are catchin' some too.