EastTexasBassin

I don't use anything fancy, just lots of layers. Last time out I wore 2 xl tshirts and 1 2xl tshirt, a long sleeve denim type shirt, a coat, and frogg toggs over that. For pants I wore some jeans with a pair of thick flannel pants over them, and frogg togg pants over that. 2 pairs of socks and some sneakers. Neoprene gloves. A hat, with the coat's hood over that and cinched shut to cover my ears. Once the sun came out I switched from the neoprene gloves to some 'batting' gloves that have the finger tips removed from each finger. Not quite as warm but far more mobility. I was comfortable enough and I caught some fish in freezing temps.

I got a big spool of 50lb power pro, a h20 Mettle baitcasting reel, a $25 Bass Pro gift card, and $50 Dick's gift card- which I used to get some Xcalibur lipless crankbaits, some pro-senkos, and a 7ft diawa spinning rod.

I'll 2nd the recommendation for some cavitrons. I caught a crapload of fish on them this past year. For the jig trailers and large soft plastics you've gotta try the ragetail Lobster. Lobster jigs have caught most of my bigger fish in the past 6 months. (like the one in my avatar) For topwater, the ragetail eeliminator has been a lot of fun. You can skim at along the top, and then slow it way down for a wide wobbling sub-surface retrieve. This has been great in and around surface grass and mats.

I'd also try a lipless crankbait. Run it over the hydrilla and every once in a while let it fall into the stuff and then rip it out.

Booyah boo jig or strike king hack attack jig with a ragetail lobster or gycb flappin hog. T-rigged ragetail craw ragetail spacemonkey baby brushhog and if all else fails...a ragetail baby craw on a finesse jig or a weedless shakey head jig.

Jimmy Houston and Hank Parker taught me what I needed to get started. Many years later, I learned the rest of what I needed to know from BR and a good fishing buddy.

In Texas, its illegal to shoot them but you can get a permit that allows you to shoot them on your own private lake or pond. Check with your local authorities. More and more states are realizing the problem and allowing some control to take place.

Hmmmm...I'd throw it. I'll have to get some when it warms up a bit.

They are the reason god gave us shotguns. Keep on shootin 'em.

Last year I set my focus for 2009 to be jig fishing. Its been a blast, and I think I'm going to have a hard time switching gears...but I must. The next thing for me is crankbaits. I've just never thrown one long enough to catch anything decent. I've got a few trays full of them. Each one was thrown a couple of times, and then put down so I could throw a jig or soft plastic. I've caught a couple of dinks on crankbaits, but nothing over a pound.

1/2 oz booyah boo jig with ragetail lobster trailer 3/8 oz booyah boo jig with gycb flappin hog trailer cavitron buzzbait ragetail baby craw on a shakey head white spinnerbait (strike king premier pro model plus)

I had one day when I was outfishing my buddies on the bbz1 shad, but it seems that it was the bait's only day of glory for me. I fished it several times before without a single hit, and many times since then. I get a fish on it here and there, but usually on a really fast retrieve. Since I'm just getting a reaction strike on it, I'm inclined to think that those fish would have hit anything that zoomed by them really quick.

I've had good luck with the 'original' chatterbaits, but the hooks are extremely dull out of the package. Always sharpen them. My best fish have come from this 3 step method. 1. remove the skirt 2. Put a Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shad on it. 3. Slow roll it with an occasional twitch or sweep of the rod

That's the dumbest thing I've seen in a while.

A larger trailer often means a slower fall, especially if its a ragetail lobster. Those big claws are like parachutes, making even my big jigs slow down a bit.

1. Ragetail baits 2. GYCB 3. Zoom 4. Roboworm

Benvenuti, è catturare qualche bel pesce. Si dovrebbe venire a Texas e catturare qualche pesce qui (sorry, my italian is pretty rough) Nice fish!

Booyah baby boo jig with a baby ragetail craw. Absolutely deadly.

I made a cast and the fish hit the instant my lure hit the water. I set the hook without engaging the reel first. My reel was swallowed by the biggest bird's nest I've ever made. I couldn't reel the fish in because of the big mess, so I pulled in the fish by hand.

When I'm froggin, I crank the drag down all the way. I don't want it to give at all. I use 65lb power pro and a heavy action rod. I don't see any reason for letting a fish pull drag. Thats just silly to me. The only concern would be possibly breaking my rod, but it hasn't happened yet.

same here

Too bad it couldn't be submitted to the Sharelunker program. Those are some super genetics. I'm glad she's still in there though. I'm gonna need some crappie swimbaits next time I go over to Fork.

Dang, I don't have a day off until after you leave. I've been wanting to fish with you, hopefully next time. I'm off today (Thanksgiving) but with family coming over I don't think I could get away with fishing today. (I would guess the same is true for you) Hey ctbassnut, I'm off next Thursday. I'll give you a call next week to see if you want to fish. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Nice fish paul. I'm thankful that there are anglers here that frequently remind me of how much I have to learn. It keeps me from getting comfortable and set in a few techniques. You guys make me strive to be a better angler and constantly change my game.

Almost anything will work, but my favorites are the roboworm and the regetail baby craw