gobig

D&M makes a great double buzzer.

There are a few that a I throw. I like the 7in senkos texas rigged. Zoom O'l monster rigged just like turtle showed with a keel weighted hook and the yamamoto cut tail nail weighted.

Every lure mentioned here sounds different then its competition. The size and profiles are different. For instance the LV500 is 3/4oz and is the same size as a half ounce rattle trap. Which one do you think is better in the grass? If people payed less attention to the price or where its made and more attention to the characteristics of the bait, they would catch more fish. Another fun fact... not all lipless baits rest upright on the bottom. It is about choosing the right tool for the job.

I am an LV500 guy. Must be a west coast thing.

Tom, I totally respect your experience you have a lot of good information and will probably forget more than most people know about bass fishing. However just because you didn't see it does not mean its not happening. Why would a bass eat an 8in swimbait but not an 8in trout? I think all lakes are different. Some are good swimbait lakes and others are good jig lakes. I know of a lake in Oregon where the trout anglers complain about the big bass that steal the trout as they are fighting them. No Floridas there.

I don't for one second buy into the fact that northerns don't eat trout. I have caught smallies, spots, northerns and floridas all on big baits. In my opinion the key is a constant presence of trout. The lakes that seem to produce have a year round population of trout or consistent planting. As far as how fast the bass will key in on trout really depends on the body of water. The trout will go deep they like the cold water.

I set all the magnetic brakes in the on position. I loosen the spool tensioner until you can move the spool side to side slightly. I use a roll cast or a side arm cast with the bait almost at water level. As the bait starts to skip lift the rod tip in an upwards direction.

I am not familiar with a M1 that is 7'7". What power is the rod? You may not have enough power to really drive the hooks. The larger than average fish you will catch on a big bait have hard mouths. If they get it down in there crushers its hard to move the bait with a heavy power rod. You are using extremely light line. With a braid and leader set up the absolute lightest I would go would be 65lb braid with a 20lb leader.

The cool part about the float n fly. Very few people throw it, nor do they understand its fish catching capabilities.

There are several things you can do to improve your hook up ratio. I use several different frogs and I change all of the hooks on my frogs out to the wide gap gami frog hooks if they don't come with them. If the hook shank is not welded or tied in some way then it gets several raps of braid coated in super glue. There is to much flex in a standard frog hook. I tried to log into photobucket to show some some pics of what I am talking about but I am having trouble. If you can grab each hook and flex them apart its no good. I don't count or wait to see the line move when setting the hook. I watch the frog. If I can't see it, I swing and I swing like I am trying to break the rod. Like Mr Rojas said I swing straight up. As mentioned they will spit it if you wait to long. Its all about timing. Sometimes it helps to bend the hooks up ever so slightly. Not to far though or they will hang up. Braid is a must have. So is the right rod. If you do not have enough back bone you won't drive the hooks home. I don't mind a rod with some tip because it allows you to walk the frog and make longer casts but its got to have that backbone. I also trim the legs to the same approximate length of the body.

He is a great guy. Never had the pleasure of fishing with him but have hunted with him a few times. I think he is going to big things.

Deps 250. I have had some epic days on this bait. I took me a longtime to get dialed in with it and I lost a lot of fish early on. The big game would be a close second.

These are my three because of there versatility and the fact that I have caught pretty most every species in our western lakes on them. Float n fly ( can cover all of the water column, the sky is the limit.) Kastmaster ( can be used as a spoon or on a straight retrieve.) Kietech 3.3 ( every lake in the country has bait fish this size. )

ww2farmer pretty much nailed it. I don't throw a frog 90% of the time but it can draw more strikes in open water lakes than a spook, popper or similar bait. I throw them in foothill lakes that have virtually no weeds with good success. Anyone who thinks a frog has no action does not know how to throw it. As far as hookup ratios go... when you get dialed it should be close to 90% as long as the fish is actually taking the frog.

I can't support the idea of not having a bait knocker. The bow and arrow method works great and so does reeling up to the branch and snapping it. The other thing that works is going to the opposite side of the snag before you pull. But there are times when you flat out need a bait knocker. The one with the chains works best. I am throwing lures that are between $20 and $200 a lot of the time and I have saved thousands with a bait knocker. It has got to be real close to 100% retrieval rate. I can only think of one huddleston and a few crankbaits I could not get unstuck since since I bought my bait knocker about 3 yrs ago. I can't imagine not having one.

If your getting them on oroville its most likely a meanmouth which is a cross between a spot and a smallie.

Most of my hard baits get mustad triple grips.

One of the things I will do is rig a beaver style bait sideways. Gives a big profile like a bluegill.

I would have to say LV500. You can burn it, yoyo it, rip it out of grass, fish it like a jig, bang it along rip rap etc... Lipless baits are effective all year long and you can cover a good portion of the water column.

A dink is anything you could eat on cheese and crackers.

You can't really give a general answer to your question. The body of water that you are fishing is going to determine what a quality fish is. I would consider a quality fish to be one that would be part of a good tournament bag for that body of water. For instance if it takes 20lbs to win. A 3lber would be a good quality fish. If it takes 12lbs to win a 2lber would be a good quality fish. Something along those lines.

I don't know why people get hung up on the technicalities of calling a graph a depth finder or a fish finder. The truth of the mater is that they are both. Technology has changed, you no longer need a rock tied to a rope to find the depth and we no longer measure in cubits. With some of the new graphs you can see real time fish movement. We can tell when fish are suspended or hunkered down on the bottom. You can see schools of fish or bait fish to the side of you. You can see cover and structure with near perfect clarity. The blob that used to be on the screen is now a tree and you can actually see if fish are located in the tree. Obviously finding potential fish holding structure before you ever get on the water is key and so is graphing those locations when you get out there looking for specific changes. But the new graphs clue us in way faster.

I throw the trash fish also. I took one look at the sick fish and put it back on the rack. Way to stiff for my liking. If the bait is not running right its most likely in your rigging or its bent and needs to be boiled out.

As long as it took to read this thread I could have caught a fish on a senko.

Those definitely look like bluegill beds which means the bass are pretty much done. You might find a few on beds but they are done for the most part. Out west here we fish some of the clearest high pressured water in the country. Pressure definitely plays a roll but you can still catch fish if you make the right adjustments. The only thing you said you have been using is a jig and based on how you said you are fishing it you are not covering all of the water column. There is a top middle and bottom. In clear water with high pressure I am generally going with fast moving baits, swimbaits and finesse baits.