EastTexasBassin

The Flappin Hog is my favorite soft plastic bait. I always use it t-rigged or weightless. I've caught more bass over 5lbs on this bait than anything else. I've been going through several packs of GYCB Flappin hogs on each trip. I like that it is heavy enough to be used weightless. It has a very enticing fall- the appendages wave back and forth and when it falls alongside a rock or log it appears to be walking down it. My first (and only) ten pounder was caught on a t-rigged Flappin Hog, in color 301 (pumpkin seed with lrg green and purple flake)

GYCB Flappin hog is by far my favorite. There's something about this thing...its less than 4 inches long but I've caught more bass over 5 pounds with it than anything else in my tackle box. (including my first 10 pounder earlier this year)

The Kinami Palm Trees are the same bait, just under Yamamoto's son's brand. You got 'em...glad they worked for ya.

Keeping some fish has allowed the bass in my buddy's pond to get much bigger than they used to. Many years ago, we pulled 1 and 2 pounders out of there all day long but we never caught any big bass. A few years ago we started keeping bass and eating them and now we catch several 5 to 7 pound bass on a regular basis. I caught my first 10 pounder from this pond a few months ago. The number one thing that limits a bass population is OTHER BASS. In most cases, anglers aren't keeping enough bass to really hurt the population.

I'll 2nd the cavitron recommendation, its my new favorite topwater.

I had tried a jig here and there for a couple years, and didn't catch a fish so I didn't have any confidence in it. Then on one trip a buddy of mine made me use jigs and only jigs until I caught a fish, said he'd leave me there at the lake if I didn't catch a bass on a jig. After the first fish everything changed, I caught several more and now I use jigs all the time. I thank him all the time for making me use jigs that day, I wouldn't have stuck with it without all of his harassment.

I did a lot of reading about this some time back, I'll have to search again to find out where I found this...but apparently bass are more active when the pressure is falling or when it has been steady for a few days. When pressure is rising it causes bass to be less active because of the stress it causes on their swim bladder. (At least thats what the article said- I haven't done any direct research of course)

I love the cavitron! Very exciting action, the fish hate it with a passion. They attack with a fury!

Cavitron buzzbait, Fat Ika, and a 6 inch black senko did me well on my last trip.

same here, 4 to 10 feet

I'd start the morning with a buzzbait. Cast it right up on the bank and start the retrieve right from the water's edge. The bass are going to be up really shallow until the sun starts getting really bright. On my last trip I caught a lot of really nice bass in about a foot of water in the early morning hours. If there's cloud cover, keep throwing the buzzbait until 11am or so. Once the sun comes out, move a little deeper but not much. On the small lake I've been fishing (east texas) we've been catching most of our fish in 4 to 6 feet of water. Throw some Fat Ikas around deeper water structure during the hottest part of the day. (if you can stand the heat) Good luck!

First lure I caught a bass on was a black rooster tail.

I never would of tried the Fat IKA if it weren't for RW and his threads. It was way over there on an aisle at BPS that I never went down. (grubs and such) I sure am glad I tried them! They often produce when nothing else will. They are my go-to bait when conditions are tough. Thanks RW!

I've only seen them at Dick's Sporting Goods.

If there's a Dick's Sporting Goods near you then I'd check there first, or you could just order them online.

Before today, I had never caught a bass on a buzzbait. I've tried many different varieties during conditions that I thought were perfect for a buzzbait. I bought a Cavitron a while back and finally got to try it out this morning. Today was one of the best fishing trips I've ever had! I started fishing just as the sun was coming up and I threw a Cavitron in white and chart. On the second cast I caught a 3 pounder, and on the 3rd cast I caught a 2 pounder. I caught 26 more bass in the next 5 hours!!! It was insane. The largest one was 4 pounds 10 ounces. I've never caught so many bass in such a short amount of time. The Cavitron is much louder and slower than any of the other buzzbaits I've tried- the bass were hitting it with a fury. Of course, now I've gonna have to get one of each color since I only have one. Dang bait monkey....

On a pond that me and my buddies fish, it seems that some lures have been "worn out" They still catch small fish, but the larger fish have seen them so many times that they seem to remember them. Probably every bass over 4 pounds in the pond has been caught on a senko several times. Because of this, senkos only seem to produce small bass these days. Put on something different, and the big bass (over 5 pounds) can be caught again. On a lake, I don't see it being as much of an issue. The same bass probably haven't seen the same lure over and over.

t-rigged Yamamoto Flappin hog

My buddy's dad always backs off the drag on all of the reels after each trip. Its so funny to watch him lose his first fish on every trip because he forgot to set the drag. He sets the hook and I can hear the spool spinning...too funny.

Yeah, most reels in that range are very nice...but I'd lean towards the Abu Garcia Revo STX

There are several ponds around here that we don't visit without a gun. I'd hate to damage a fine rod over a stupid snake, thats what the shotgun is for.

There's a good picture here, rig the tube weedless 'tex-posed' http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?mode=article&objectID=32085&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

The first time I tried the Fat Ika I caught a nice fish on the first cast. I hopped it 3 or 4 times before I saw my line jump and I set the hook. I've been hooked on the dang thing ever since.

I started crawling soft plastics this past winter, with an occasional hop and it was a killer technique. Really nice for when the fish are inactive.

If you head slightly east of Dallas to the Canton area, there are countless ponds and small lakes full of bass. Most are on private property, but if you're really polite and you promise to clean up they will most likely let you fish. My first 10 pounder was caught in a pond outside of the city of Van. There are many other ponds in the area that hold some really nice bass.