arul

Hi Gang, My family is in town, and we have a chance to get on the Harris Chain this weekend. I have never been on the Harris Chain before. We are putting in on Lake Dora. I am assuming the water temperatures have dropped pretty well the past few days due to this cold weather... Where and how should I target some bass this weekend??? I am mainly just looking for nunmbers as I will be with my kids and folks, and mainly just want them to get a tug or two. thanks for any help!

cool...that video helped a lot. So, is Shaky heads mainly used for rock, gravel, or sand bottom? How would it work with a vegetated bottom?

Can someone please explain Shaky Heads to me please. (I tried a forum search, but get an error message). I don't understand how a shaky head is any different than a pegged weight t-rig... Or just a jig head attached to different types of plastic. Why all the rage in Shaky Heading??? What does Shaky Heads do that is so special? If I peg my bullet weight, doesn't it do the exact same thing a shaky head does? And isn't shaky head just the same thing as a good ol fashiond jig head? Please help me see what I am missing. Thanks!

I'm not a tournament fisherman and I don't watch them anymore so that being said . If it upset you that much then I have a simple solution. DON'T WATCH THEM ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is exactly what I was saying. It did upset me to see Coanglers landing the pro's fish, and I am not watching any more. That was my point. And the post was made so that perhaps an FLW rep would stick their nose in, see my displeasure with partners landing the fish, and perhaps change the rules to eliminate partner landing.

The point is that banging a fish on the floor of the boat is despicable! Flipping a fish into the boat is quite common on a number of fishing shows as well as tournament clips. Buy a rubber net and use it... p.s. If you use a rubber net, nearly every fish you catch and do not intend to keep can be unhooked and released without leaving the water. 8-) I agree that nets are fine. However, in a tournament situation, you should have to land or net the fish yourself. That is my main beef when watching the FLW.

Thanks for the additional thoughts. I guess after thinking about it some, it is not the "net" that I have problems with, so much as the Co-Angler doing the netting/landing of the pros fish. FLW should change the rule to simply be: "Each contestant must land their own fish with no assistance from the fishing partner. All netting and "fish-on rold holding" activity must be done by the person who caught the fish." If they make this change, THEN I will give watching the FLW Coverage a chance. ;)

So, how much "skill" is involved flipping a fish onto the floor of your boat? : Yeah, but at least you're flipping it in yourself, and are risking popping it off. I just tried watching more of the Cup coverage at lunch, and every catch, the coangler was doing the landing. It just doesn't seem right.... :'( I want to see my Pros land the fish themselves :'(

But equally exciting, in a different way is, "F'er came off!" ;D

So I was watching the broadcast of the Forrest Wood Cup on FSN this weekend, (my first time to see a FLW event on TV), and I was shocked and apalled to see NETTING being done by the Coangler for the pro... What the...!!??? Come on, that takes half the sport out of it, and I think it is total BS. If you can't land a fish by yourself, it aint your fish to land! Catching a fish is only 1/3 of the challenge. You also have to have the skill to find the fish, and land a fish, and by allowing netting by coanglers you are taking the skill out of landing a fish away. This is not fishing, in my opinion. One of the first clips it showed was this guy hooking up, and the fish gets wrapped around a submerged bush about 4 ft deep. The pro gets the net, and tries to scoop it from the deep, but then tells his Coangler, "Here, you get the net it is too heavy for me..." So the Coangler grabs the net and gets down on his belly to bring the fish up from 4 ft deep. Then catch after catch, I see the same shenanigans. Call me old school, but this looked like complete "Little League" kind of stuff. It was darn near unwatchable watching these guys fish for the largest tourney payout, where they aren't landing their OWN fish, without a net. I'm sorry, I just can't respect a catch made where you have someone else land it. You can be darn sure that when I hook into a trophy bass, I am the ONLY one landing it. If it comes off, then you know what? The fish won that time. I am not going to cheat myself on a trophy catch by having my partner net it. And these guys are professional fisherman...come on, grow a pair and LAND YOUR OWN FISH! Why don't you just have the camera man help you out as well. Professional tournaments should be "No nets, no assisted landing". What gives??? Am I off base here?

Thanks for the input. I will try a superline hook for better results. Also, I don't think my gear ratio on my reel is quite fast enough to get it to surface quickly. I will try it out a few more times though, then maybe check out some other brands.

So I had a post last week about soft plastic frogs (or toads as I later came to find out). I went with the Yum Buzz frog, but have not been happy with it's result. It seems the body is too narrow, and it easily flips upside down or "barrel rolls". Also, it takes a good 6-8 feet of cranking to get it to the surface after casting it out. I guess I could try superline hooks, but I am afraid the frog won't float it, as i am already having trouble floating it, it seems. BTW I am ussing Sufix performance braid, so that shouldn't be the problem. Do you guys think it is just a problem with the lure design? Do other brands like the ragetail or the Zoom horny toad float better, and stay belly down better?

Good stuff here guys! thanks! I ended up getting the Yum buzz frog. Now I will need to experiment with these different hook options.

So what kind of hook would I use to rig a soft plastic frog??? Would a 4/0 EWG work?

Good point- I guess I am thinking the horny toad types are like a weedless buzz bait. So you have to keep them moving though or they sink? Unlike the Bronzeye, which I know stays afloat when you let it sit there.

Which frogs do you guys like better? The soft plastic ones you use with EWG worm hooks, or the pre-rigged ones like Spro Bronzeye or Bobby's snag proof...? Explain. It seems like the soft plast rage tail types would have better action, but not as snag proof?

Hi Gang, I use a 4/0 EWG for riggin flukes and 4-6 inch senkos. What size/style hook should I use, if I move up to 8-10 inch power worms or zoom trick worms???

Yeah, I have heard that you have to stick with topwaters a little longer than other baits... Why is that?

If you arent getting bit after two hours how can you be confident you are throwing the right lure? Personally, early morning I am always changing. Typically I give a crank 20 cast or so before changing. Somedays I cant really establish a pattern and will catch one fish on different types of lures. My buddy is constantly changing and he does a much better job than me establishing a pattern. Yeah, I am starting to side more with changing it up after no bites a lot sooner... When watching "A day on the Lake" (ESPN Outdoors). When they are trying to establish the pattern, it seems like that are constantly moving from bait to bait to search out the pattern. And they are constantly running and gunning for new spots. Sure, once the pattern is set, they slow down and deliberately fish for extended times. I think next time I am on my normal sweet spots, and nothing is happening, I am going to change the baits a little more, and then head to a different type of holding area a lot sooner. Instead of wasting 2+ hours waiting it out...I'm going to give a spot 45 min then move on...

Just curious, How many casts without a bite before you guys either change up your lure to something different or change spots all together? -particularly when trying to locate where they are? Part of me thinks that if they don't bite in 3-4 casts, then they are either not there or will not go for that type of presentation. But then other times, I hang on for 10-15 casts at the same spot, and just when I am about to bail on the lure, or go someplace else, I finally get bit.... What is your all's rule of thumb? thanks.

Hi all, Would it be okay for me to use 10 lb Basspro XPS flouro on a spinning reel? Or would that lead to a lot of birds nests or unwinding...? If flouro would be okay to use on a spinning outfit, why would anyone not use it for most applications instead of mono? (topwater aside) thanks

I was really bummed at the news, until I saw no Florida Tournies for the next 2 years... So, I guess I won't be missing out anyways. If there had been a florida tourney, I would have been depressed no being able to co-anlger it....

Hello. Can someone please point me in the direction of the technique, materials, or equipment needed to custom paint manufacturer's hardbaits, such as crankbaits, jerkbaits, and swimbaits...? I am mainly just looking to add a little flare to my baits, like maybe add a shad spot, or red gills, or maybe a lateral line, or a different upper back shade, etc. Is there specific paints used? Could I use the acrylic based paints that I use for painting models? thanks!

I have always been a fan of the Megabass Vision 110, which is even more expensive than the LC. I fish the 110 in all kinds of conditions, with different techniques and it always produces. I have tried the X-rap during the same time, with no luck. I recently broke my 110 by smacking it on the back of my motor, not paying attention... :'( so I was forced to fish my X-rap for a week until I got a replacement, and it was brutal... only 2-4 bites on it a day, when I know the 110 would have easily been double digits. I have worked them both in a swimming pool and notice a big difference. The X-rap just seems too pronounced in its movements and the shimmy is really wide, and it looks gaudy in the water. The 110 is more subtle, but still flashy, and has a tight little shimmy, which I can work really slow and soft, or a crawling straight retrieve like, and still get it to work great. Go with a 110 if you got $20...

I just called them, and they said as long as I print the product page witht he price, I can take it in to the store and they will honor it. I will go check the combo out and see how it feels in meh hands...

Thanks. So if I am understanding correctly, then I need moderate action for most all cranking applications? -and depending on the size/depth of my cranking plans, I would go for medium power for the lighter surface water baits, and heavy power for the deep divers or big baits?