gobig

There are no absolutes. I have caught fish burning a bait up shallow in the winter.

I generally use the Gami hooks bought through paycheck baits. Comes with shrink tube. If it starts to move I just cut another piece and replace it. I have been trying out the Trokar hooks and really like them also.

For open water I have used the Gami drop/split shot hook with good success for a long time. For bubba shotting I have used the wicked whacky. But as of late I have been using the Trokar dropshot hook and wacky (weed guard). I like all of these hooks but I do have to say that those Trokars a sticky hooks.

What type of water are you fishing? Is it deep, clear, muddy etc... Just looking at your profile pic, looks like some pretty heavy vegetation.

Color can definately be a factor. But based on what I have learned and seen on the water, I will never be convinced it accounts for 90% of followers. When I throw a hollow body, it's a Basstrix. The colors I use are pretty basic and some what relitive to where I fish. I throw perch, pearl, hitch and baby bass.

I am in the swimbait / jig catagory also.

Put super glue on the first 5 to 10 inches of your braid. It will stiffen it up and won't tangle.

I believe it's something that is not discussed enough or in great detail. It's fairly difficult to explain with out video or illustration. This is something I am still learning but it has sky rocketed my swimbait success in the last few years. The cool part is that in many cases you can literally predict the point at which you get bit. Short of what Matt Peters in Southerntrout eaters and Bill Siemantle with is book and various videos have shared its hard to find good info on the subject. The only free info I have found is on youtube at the BBZ tv channel. Here is an example...

Pacman, You nailed it. Look at each bait and dermine where they excel and what the limitations are. Then select the best tool for the job.

If I had to choose one I would go with the head design like the CA Swimjig. Its kind of a cross between a arkie head and a grass jig. For those of you who know the North Star baits its like the flip/swim.

One thing that I have not seen anyone mention is casting angles. Even 6in swimbaits have a fair amount of drawing power. If you are not bringing the bait into ambush points but you are casting to them you very well could have been drawing fish into open water. When you do this the odds of a fish commiting to the bait go way down. I don't see followers as a negitive thing. For one if you pay attention they will help you understand how the fish are relating to a piece of structure or cover. Keep in mind the time of day. The suns position and the way it casts shaddows will play a huge roll. It helps to really familiarize your self with the area's you fish. There are the shadows we phisically see and there are the subsurface shadows we don't see. For instance if you had a rock pile 100 yards off the bank in open water. As the sun comes up in the morning there will be a shadow on the opposing side of the rock pile. You can't see it but its there. As the sun moves over head throught out the day the shadow tightens up. This can make the area much more spot specific shrinking the amush point.

The Alberto knot is the only way to go when connecting braid to a mono or floro leader.

Trolling is a very effective way to catch bass.

I am all for boater safety but licences sure don't make people drive better on the highway, I don't know what would be any different on the water. People still speed, cut others off, drink and drive ect... Sounds like it would be another tax to me. That's just what I want to pay for... another licence.

He is a fairly well known swimbait guy. I like the 9in M.S. Slammer and the 8in floating BBZ in the wind.

Chest-thumpfest? My understanding of a forum is to share ideas and opinions. You don't have to explore ideas or agree with the opinions. You have the right to be narrow minded, the only thing getting in the way is your ego. There are pro's using this style of hook set. It is becoming more popular. Fishing a football head jig is nothing new, its been around for many years. If the reel set was not a newer idea in fresh water fishing wouldn't we have heard of it a long time ago? For those that have fished salt water the reel set is nothing new. The first I know of this idea being used in fresh water was Bill Siemantle and Mike Jones. Who wrote an article called "Reel Force The Right Stuff" this article addresses the reel set technique. I did a quick search on youtube and found this video. This hook set is very similar by turning the handle at the same time more energy is created.

I would say I reel at 3/4 speed. When you feel the bite start to reel. As the rod starts to load, lift or sweep the rod firmly. There is no need to try and rip their head off, it's all about line movement. Let's say that with a standard hook set from the 8 O'clock to 11 O'clock position moves 25" of line. Now let's say your reel is a curado 200E5. The E5 moves 21" of line in one full turn of the handle. So one revolution of the spool in addition to the same hook set literally doubles the amount of line moved in the same stroke.

What webertime said.

Believe it or not a reel set generates double the PSI of a traditional hook set, at the hook point. I use this style of hookset and have been now for about 3 years. I miss very few fish and hardly ever loose one. Not only do I use this type of hookset with jigs, but I have rolled it into just about every other technique I use. There is no issue on bigger fish either. I have caught 4 over 5lbs in the last few weeks on jigs.

As mentioned those are generally big fish. They just slurp em down. This is why I have posted before that I set the hook as soon as I can't see the frog!!! I don't count to three or wait until I feel em. If you wait those fish will never end up in your net. Bigger fish will spit that frog out almost as fast as they took it.

They work just fine with the stock hook. I have caught 20 or so fish on this bait and not lost one that has hooked up. I have missed a few tail biters but thats it. The BB rig really comes into play as the weight of the bait goes up.

I feel the same way.

I have to disagree with this statement to some extent. Though there are times it seems a bass will hit anything, there are other times where realism is key.

I use the owner beasts also. But I have been using Trokars for some other applications and I got to tell ya those hook are sticky. I am waiting on some swimbait hooks now.

Based on his question reguarding punching, I don't think he has alot of experience fishing weeds like this. When I first started bass fishing my experiece was primarily salt water and trout fishing, I would have passed water like this over. I had no idea what to look for or how to go about it fishing in the weeds. You can pretty much go to the bank that there is open water underneath. It's pretty easy to tell, once the bait breaks through the mat you will feel the bait free fall. You could start by one of the holes in the weeds. Drop your punch rig in the hole and you can get a good idea of the depth. Then punch it through the weeds next to the hole that way you will know what it feels like to get it through the mat. There are a ton of baits you can throw in those weeds don't limit yourself. Break down the water column into thirds, top, middle and bottom. Work all three until you get bit. There are some suggestions to abandon top water after early morning. Don't be afraid to throw a frog or a buzz bait with the sun high over head. Many times you won't get a ton of bites but some of the best quality fish are caught this way in the summer.