Willzx225

I got to thinking about this Swimbait thing and did realize that it is nice to tell people at a tournament you caught them on a swimbait (3" shad body actually) and then see the number of Basstrix style baits showing up on the front deck the next morning ;D Its a good tactic to keep fellow competitors off of your pattern the next day

sUperrr! It really makes them SPARKLE! hahahaha ;D

Wow, By the time I answered 3 phone calls and 2 emails at work someone had posted almost exactly the same thing I did. Sorry for the redundancy guys. Deadeye seems to have had the same idea I did ;D

I totally agree. I caught a fish the other day on a small Sassy Shad and my partner looks at me and says "This is the first time I have seen anyone catch a fish on a swimbait". I let it go the first couple of times but I had to set him straight after the 5th or 6th time he said it. Something about a 2-3" piece of plastic being called a swimbait bothers me as well.

Is that you Rick (Clunn)? ;D That is an excellent post and I agree with it 110%. I always do best when I look at a new lake and start fishing it the way I would normally instead of what Jim Bob at the tackle shop fishes it. You are your own fisherman and there will never be another one like you so don't try to copy someone else because you will not do it like they do.

I will second the comment on the Coots and not being hard to do. They are everywhere!

Also keep in mind your rod angle. With a 7' rod you can change the depth the trap will run significantly by raising or lowering the rod. Another consideration is line size. Just like any crankbait, the smaller diameter line the deeper it will run.

Lucky craft Gunfish - you can do alot of different things with this bait. Walk the Dog or fish it like a chugger as well.

Put me down for the Owner Wide Gap Plus. Excellent hook! Works good on brush hogs and other creature baits as well.

I am not much of a braid user but I thought that braid floats instead of sinks? I use Fluro because in the clearer water I fish, I feel like I get more bites the faster my senko sinks. Plus, it allows me to cover more water.

Bobby Lane fished FLW for a few years before making the transition to BASS so he should have some experience to keep him near the top.

x36 I am jealous. I hope everyone has a great time! It will be a trip to remember!

X2 :'( x3 - Though I just got back last night from down there I am already planning a trip back. That place is unreal!

I agree that Bass Pros is a good one to watch As far as someone who opens my eyes and mind, other than KVD of course, is Boyd Duckett. It seems as if everytime he talks its more towards the mental side of fishing than throwing a spinnerbait on a windy bank.

Apparently BPS isn't doing as well as they had anticipated with this color since I just saw one of their bargin bins with nothing but that color in the Series 3. I'm not certain of the price they had them for but the bin was still overflowing (The fact that I did not notice the price should tell you that I really don't care for the "Sexy Shad" color that much!) I always believe that its not the bait but where that bait is that catches the fish.

You will not be disappointed in the HoneyBuzz!! That is an awesome bait!

Awesome fish man!!! I got my first swimbait bite Friday and now I know how addictive it is!!!! By the way it wasn't 10lbs but 7lbs is a good start! Once again though, awesome fish!!

Congrats Jimzee!! I just got back last night from Big G for the first time. All I can say is What a Lake!!! I went out with a guide Friday (Alex Davis - great guy and excellent fisherman! yeah yeah I know I cheated ;D ) and we caught some nice fish and a decent amount of them. Jimzee had me by half a pound but either way I guarentee that we both had fun! Friday I caught a 5 3/4 and 7 with our five best weighing 22-23lbs. Saturday my dad and I fished and I caught a 6 on the last cast as the sun was going down. It was amazing. In the first hour or two we caught 3 between 3.5 and 5 lbs but it go tough after that. Our 5 biggest Saturday went around 23-24lbs. All fish were caught in 3 to 5' of water on soft plastics. I hope this gets to some of the guys who are down there because it seemed to be pretty tough on most of the people fishing down there. On a side note - I did get to meet Road Warrior at the ramp a few minutes before we made the trek back to Charlotte. It was nice to finally meet someone off of the site in person!

Fishizzle - What do you mean by left CT hanging? If it is in regard to his sponsor bailing on him, I would be interested in just how many people wouldn't be able to make the 5k entry fees on their own. John Crews, KVD, Boyd Duckett, and Jason Quinn would be my favorites plus a few as well.

Don't discount the original bankline, especially in the lake with the lower water temp. Often in spring when the water comes up and its cold, they will not move to far. They tend to hang around the old bankline instead of hitting the banks like they would if the water was 50+ degrees.

Did Hackney give any names for this hook company that they are coming out with?

Yup just another couple of weeks and the fish will be on the beds here in NC Sorry guys I just had to. Hey Florida guys, how many months have they been spawning for down there? Sorry once again!

I agree with Marty. I honestly believe that there are so many ways to rig a senko type bait that nobody has even expolored yet.

Sweet Beavers, Speed Craws, Gambler BB Cricket, and I haven't tried it yet but I know it will be a killer bait. Zoom Grass Craw.

Captain - There already have been some Fat Ika sightings around the Charlotte/ Concord area ;D