MNGeorge

3/8 and 1/2 oz...I tie my own mainly because we like natural rubber for at least part of the skirt because the action seems better than plain silicone skirts . Hook size and strength vary depending on where I get the jig heads but all are 4/0 or 5/0 and at least standard strength...no light wire ever. We like Ragetail craws, Menace grubs, 5" single tail grubs and paddletail swimbaits for trailers. Rod is 6'6" med/fast and reel is Lew's Super Duty spooled with 30# braid and a 12# fluoro leader.

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen.

The set ups I use most often all have Lew's reels on them and I have no complaints with them. I'm looking at getting a Daiwa Tatula to try because of the T-Wing line guide feature. Has anyone fished both Lew's reels and Daiwa Tatula reels and if so, is the T-Wing everything the commercials make it out to be?

Try Lure Parts Online...I've gotten some "out of the ordinary" skirt material from them.

Cut the small appendages off a RI Sweet Beaver, then split the beaver lengthwise...nice subtle action that sometimes makes a big difference in results...can also be used on a Scrouger, spinnerbait, buzzbait or underspin when you don't want a real active trailer.

White with silver flake, by far most consistent producer for Smallmouth in the Mississippi River. It also has produced some nice LM Bass for us in lakes as has Bubblegum.

Tried many different brands of braid over the years and can't say any one of them outperformed the others to a great extent...been satisfied with them all. On the recommendation of a local tackle store employee, I switched from 20 lb. test to 30 lb. test a number of years ago and was quite surprised at the increase in casting distance with the 30 lb. It must have to do with the line digging issue talked about above so I'd say 30 lb. test is the minimum to consider.

Never tried it as a main line...use braid for almost everything. That said, to address your question about strength, I use it as leader material in 12 lb. test and have had no issues whatsoever with it. The Mississippi River is tough on leaders and the Hybrid holds up at least as well as if not better than the fluorocarbon I used to use and at a fraction of the cost. I use a Palomar knot to secure terminal tackle and a back to back Uni-knot to connect with the braid and have had no issues with knot breakage.

Getting older and less agile every year, I'm reluctant to have several thousand dollars worth of rods laying where I might inadvertently step on one...to me, the few extra minutes it might take to retie or dig another rig out of the rod locker is worth not having to worry about stepping on a rod or reel handle...just my $.02

We don't feel they need to float to be effective...we fish them in the river on swinging football heads or regular football heads weighing 3/8 to 3/4 oz. depending on depth, current and wind conditions and have enjoyed great success with them.

Totally agree on the BPS tubes...have had good success with them, the price is reasonable and they are pretty durable...another color to look at is "Puke"...works well in just about any color water.

Does it still count as a bite from the Bait Monkey if you sell some old tackle and then use that money to buy new tackle? If so, I just converted some old spinning reels into an assortment of SK squarebills and a couple of Livingston School Masters.

30's and 40's for me...have way fewer line twist issues with the bigger reels.

I have a 6'6" medium action Cabela's brand trigger stick rigged with an old BPS Supreme baitcaster I use solely for wading...don't care if it gets dunked or broken.

I sometimes rig the Menace Grub sideways to make the flapping tails appear more like a baitfish tail. Also, I tie my own jigs and have found swim jigs tied with natural rubber skirts have more action than ones tied with silicone skirts. In addition, make sure your skirt is not too full or too long as that can impede the action of the trailer. Swim jigs are definitely something you should have in your arsenal...good luck.

Bass can be legally fished for when Walleye season opens May 13th on a catch and release basis. My guess as to the reasoning for the earlier opening for Bass is to make life easier for Conservation Officers...under the old rules, guys would try to say they were fishing for Northern Pike when asked about using spinner baits in the reeds before Bass opener...wink wink.

In response to the swinging football head question, we use the Bass Patrol Deflection Jig or Biffle Hardhead in 1/2 oz. and 7/16 oz. respectively to fish the TRD on the Mississippi River in the Fall. It's an ugly looking rig with the TRD on a 4/0 hook, but the Smallies love it anyway. We're fishing water 15 to 25 feet deep and the bites come from the bottom so we use the heavy weight to get it there quickly and keep it there in the current. It's a great bait for numbers to be sure but the hippy old gals like it also...had numerous 50+ fish days on that rig last Fall.

With a few exceptions, we can't legally fish for Smallies until mid May here in Minnesota.

BPS and Cabela's have both gone downhill as Bass fishing suppliers IMHO...I use them only as a last resort or when they have a sale on something I use regularly. My experience with TW has always been more than satisfactory...love their customer service.

Sadly, situations like this are becoming more and more prevalent all the time. The one's that really irritate me are the one's who act like this with their kids in the boat...nice role model for them...NOT!

Their Boom R Ang soft jerkbait is a winner, especially in the Talapia color..check it out.

Oxblood has never produced one single bite for me, either plain or with some kind of flake in it. White, on the other hand, is a "go to" color for me in fluke type baits, grubs and occasionally tubes.

I can vouch for Romeo Dichoso...he's made a number of baits for me and they've all been very well done.

Several of us fish them on a Titleshot jig...pretty snag resistant setup. The Titleshot jigs come in several different colors, weights and hook size combination's so you can match your conditions easily. The Sweet Beaver is second only to a tube for river Smallies.

Good news...just got my Rage Tail Blue Craws. They look way better for real than any online depictions I've seen...absolutely awesome color. Kudos to SK and Big O on this one. Bad news...probably won't get to use them until Memorial Day 2012.