Big-O

I'm still use the heavy wire Owner 5/0 Offset for flippin' most baits with great results. Big O www.ragetail.com

Glad y'all had a great time Simp and safe travels home....Wished I would've had a chance to sit down with you and your Dad for a visit. The Soldier Boys kept me burned down every day ;D Big O www.ragetail.com

Sounds like you're gonna start catching spawners any time Paul...great write up and keep'em coming Big O www.ragetail.com

I believe any and all soft plastics can be fished with weighted hooks effectively at one time or another. The only bait I've designed that I rarely use a keel weighted hook is the Eeliminator...and that's because it kills the side to side action. With most weighted hooks, I prefer the ones where the weight is more centered in the belly of the hook like the Moaner Hooks http://www.moanerhooks.com When you're looking for slow sultry fall, settling on top of the grass without getting buried in it, swimming a high action soft plastic, finessing shallows or no wind situations....a weighted hook gets the nod in my boat Come to think of it I have a couple of rods, 1 rigged with a 5/0 and the other with a 4/0, both 1/4 oz weighted hooks that stay ready 24/7. The Smokin Rooster and Anaconda are my favorites but the variety of Rage Craws, Monkey and Lizard will see action on a regular basis as well. Many of last years bigger fish in my boat, including a 13.43 were caught over grass rigged on Weighted hooks, fishing them with a slow lift and settle presentation. This technique could be the most overlooked yet most effective producer there is with soft plastics. The seductive and more perpendicular fall gives a fish a totally different look than they are used too seeing and the baits can be presented similar to a swim jig as well. Big O www.ragetail.com

Deb, You're so goooood None of us ever doubted you and were with ya all the way WTG Girl and congratulations Big O www.ragetail.com

You and your Dad fishin' together is enough to cure most ills that society can pile on you....Keep it up and congratulations to both of you Big O www.ragetail.com

That's terrific ETB Give her a Big O congratulations for me Big O www.ragetail.com

Those are fine looking fish Man Big O www.ragetail.com

I call it fishin' slower to catch'em faster Fresh moving water and fiesty Craws go together like warm socks on cold feet Big O www.ragetail.com

Submerged drift logs from out in the dredge channel....found'em with side imaging Big O www.ragetail.com

The Soldiers and I fished Sunday in that Storm and WOW what a day....131 fish with over 45 Smallmouth Was raining so hard for so long that my rig stayed full of water for hours even with both bilge pumps going. Several fish that came unbuttoned in the boat and were swimming around in the floor. In fact, it took Joe (Bassinsoldier) several minutes to run one of'em out from underneath the driver console ;D He got frustrated for a while there and said he was gonna flip a craw down there to see if he could catch'em again The next two days were very similar to the first, alot of slammin' and slingin' and a bunch of hoopin' and hollarin' to go with it What a Lake, I posted other info and photo's on the Fishing Trip thread and wished all of you could've been there....alot of the group are still there whackin'em. (Fishing Rhino) Tom caught a huge Smallmouth, heard Uncle Leo and Steezy caught a monster one too and BassinSoldier, BassinSargeant and myself all set new PB's on'em.....Don't get no better than that Thanks Kent (Roadwarrior) and Long Mike for setting up a great Roadtrip... WOOOO HOOOOOOO Big O www.ragetail.com

To say I had a great time at the BR Roadtrip would be a huge understatement at best. After 3 days of fishing with Joe (Bassinsoldier) and Brian (Bassinsargeant), we averaged well over 100 fish per day with our best day being 131 total including over 45 Bronzebacks Can't call'em Smallies 'cause some of'em "weren't small at all". I have to admit it, I was wrong when I anticipated far less results prior to the Roadtrip but my hat's off to Kent (Roadwarrior) and Long Mike for making such a terrific call on this one..."PICKWICK RULES" Fo Sho. Paul got to come and fish with us on Tuesday and we had more fun than ever. Just think....4 great friends in a boat, on an awesome lake, slammin' the fish, turnin' up a cold one now and then and sharing stories about GOOD TIMES. I'll remember this trip for years to come, one of the best ever. Joe, Brian and I all set new PB's on Smallmouth, and we caught some really nice Large mouth and Spots as well. I think it might take a world record for Paul to set a new PB so he just smiled at us. All of our other friends were having a terrific time as well and they were catching plenty of quality fish too. Tom (Fishing Rhino) came trolling up to us out on the river and asked if we could take some photo's for'em....then he lifted a big LM, a big Spot and a huge Smallmouth out of his live well and said all three came from the same area. My boat was having great success with the Falcon color Rage Craw until we ran out of'em, then we went to Watermwlon/red or Grn Pumpkin. When the sun got bright, we would tip them with Chartreuse JJ's . I'm sure there will be several other stories coming up soon 'cause most of the group is still out there fishing.....I came back a few days early to catch up on things but left the boys with plenty of stuff to snag a few more fish with Big O www.ragetail.com

WTG Pez, and congrats on the big Fish I'm sure your dad is equally proud of you Big O www.ragetail.com

I think that the first item to consider is that the Rooster is a slightly larger profile than the Monkey....and I will try my best to answer this question without prejudice ;D The Space Monkey has caught more fish than the Rooster but maybe because it's been on the market 1 year longer 4/0 Owner offset is hard to beat with both of'em. Have fun fish and let us know how you do Big O www.ragetail.com

BUCKETHEAD....and healthy fish for sure. Inserted weight huh.... Big O www.ragetail.com

Like Matt mentioned, it's a spawned out female. She was in 8 ft of water off of the main river channel. That was my main pattern but also found a big group of fish in 12 ft water at the front of a flat dropping quickly into 25 ft timber. They were holding on a small patch of grass. All of the fish we caught were spawned out but there will probably be another group move up in short order. Our weather here has been erratic much like the rest of the country. Big O www.ragetail.com

In lower wind conditions and water less than 8 ft, I'll use a 1/4 oz on it and it still has great action on the fall. Also when I'm flippin larger profile baits like the Lobster or full size jigs, I'll keep them very close to the water surface thru the entire flipping process and thumb it lightly at water entry to keep any noise or splash to a minimum. Like you mentioned, a bit more time is all it takes to get it down.... Big O www.ragetail.com

Beautiful Fish for sure Chris.... Big O www.ragetail.com

Yep, some nice fatties right there and nice color to'em as well Big O www.ragetail.com

On the Rage Shad, you can repair the tail by melting it back together but with the amount of torque there is on the tail during fishing, the repair will not last long. Probably 1 fish. Your cast is very important making sure not to whip the tip too much on repaired baits Big O www.ragetail.com

WTG, you two had a great day for sure Fished alot of those Ocala lakes back in the 70's and early 80's.....Looks like their still just as much fun. Big O www.ragetail.com

I think the flame/paper clip method would be even easier,cheaper and less messy than mend-it Mend it works well in some situations and I keep it on hand as well, but rarely use it where soft texture and flexibility is an issue. Big O www.ragetail.com

Looked like fun to me Big O www.ragetail.com

Considering Soft Plastics, if we're in a heavy bite on a particular bait and/or color, we can quickly run out of them due to tearing, bored out hook holes etc. Glues work well for some but my favorite tools for repairing them is a wind resistant lighter and a heavy guage paper clip. Melting softies back together when possible retains their softness and elasticity. Also the newer wind resistant flame lighters heat the plastic quickly and cause much less discoloring and/or burning smells. 1) Straighten out half of the the paper clip and use the other half as a handle. 2) Heat the last inch of the straightened end of the clip and insert it into a bored out hole, remove and lightly squeeze together. 3) Tears in the bodies can be repaired by opening the tear as much as possible then applying a quick flame to it. After it starts to melt, lightly squeeze it together or press with wet cloth. 4) Cool the bait by by dipping it in water. 5) Many torn appendages can be repaired in this fashion and still retain their natural action. A small peice of tin foil to do the repairs on also helps to avoid a possible mess. The longer the repair gets to set, the firmer it gets and longer it will last. I keep this group of tools in a zip lock baggie. These little hints might help us to stay in the bite a little longer and/or keep our confidence level up by continuing to use our favorite bait. Many who have fished with me have seen me do this often and I alway keep my wounded Baits, just for this reason Hope this helps Big O www.ragetail.com

That's a popular color and I'm partial to an Owner 5/0 offset Heavy wire hook with most applications. Big O www.ragetail.com