A-Jay

Pretty much the same deal. Except that Megabass (Type R) offering will not cast like a potato chip which IMO is one of the downfalls of the Original Rapala minnow. A-Jay

I've had a number of Denali's and I liked them. At the time they were the 'best option' available. But there was too much chrome and it's not really my style. The current AT4 is better for me & my needs, in all respects. No reason to go back at this point. A-Jay

Local Animal shelter is closed on Sunday so Finn & I both got a break. He seemed pretty excited when we met this morning though. The training continues. It rarely matters where or from what type of circumstances these guys come from. But where they are and where they are headed can be liberating. A-Jay

Now you're on to something. A-Jay

I would fish that bait in the same places and in a similar fashion as A Popper. Twitch, Pause & Repeat. Be careful though. You might get you're arm broke. A-Jay

Nicely Done ~ Very Smooth. A-Jay

Professional Grade and you might notice a theme ~ I tow the tackle box behind me. A-Jay

Took my scheduled day off as well an additional maintenance day. Back at it this morning with Total Body 2. Performed a useful warm up and then two working sets of 6 movements. #bornnfiftynine A-Jay

I use these baits in situations & conditions very similar to what Paul Mueller is seeing in the video link below. Big difference is I am fishing quite a bit north of CT and always fishing for brown bass. These baits can work all season but I do not do that. I fish them on gear similar to what's being used in the video as well. I totally crawl/drag these baits only inches at a time and them let them soak. Bait never comes off the bottom, by far my most effective presentation. https://youtu.be/OeFhZiWlyaw A-Jay

DHT Original Punisher Hair Jigs - I use 1/4 & 3/8 https://punisher.myshopify.com/products/the-punisher-jig And the trailer is a Reins Punching Predator Creature Bait 4" I shorten it by a little more than 1/2 inch https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Reins_Punching_Predator_Creature_Bait_4_6pk/descpage-RPP.html Got this one from Paul Mueller a few years ago https://youtu.be/OeFhZiWlyaw A-Jay

Favorite cold water jig offerings for me A-Jay

The Boston Bruins extended their NHL-record home winning streak to begin a season to 14 games with a 5-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at TD Garden on Saturday. With 20 wins in 23 games, Boston (20-3-0) also matched the NHL record for fewest games to reach 20 wins in a season held by the 1929-30 Bruins (20-3-0) and 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks (20-0-3). That was a fun. A-Jay

I use both regular/shallow & deep running jerkbaits. My 'retrieve' or how I work the bait is the same. I want to make the bait look like it's trying to get away, but not doing a very good job. So it's a short pull/jerk, a pause, followed by a longer pull and another pause. It's a cadence deal for me. So in my mind, if a bass is following the bait, which they will do, and I can stay consistent with my deal, she can actually 'time it" quite easily and get it. Seems to really come into play very early season for me when water temps are still in the low 40's and the biggest brown bass are chewing. I have used this with a very high level of effectiveness for a while now. Never had a problem with deep baits blowing out or not running right. (unless it needed to be tuned). Might be a brand or model thing but like I said, I'm not dealing with that. Finally, besides having quality hardware on Every Bait, and changing it often if there is a need, the manner in which the bait is work, the force, if you will, I feel is a HUGE deal. Since many of the bites come on a paused or still bait, the next time the bait is moved needs to be a hookset; as I might not get a second chance. So Each & every time I move or work the bait, I am expecting to be setting the hook and use the appropriate force to do so. Now when my gear is right, this IS NOT an exaggerated movement and one might not even be able to detect that this is what I am doing. But I most certainly am. This is what it looks like https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?t=403 btw - wish someone would come out with a deep running jerkbait that casted well but was SILENT. Fish Hard A-Jay

Go Bruins ! Grew up watching Booby Orr and that bunch in the 60's & 70's. Frequented the Old Boston Garden many times. Just epic ! My son & I went to watch them hang the banner in 2012 ~ (won 2011) This years been fun. Hope they stay healthy. Big game tonight at home. A-Jay

I know the feeling ~ But I've got plenty of time . . . A-Jay

Yup ~ Fishing from my canoe same deal. Also on the farthest end of the spectrum, during a week long & Epic RES bite south of the border, also from an aluminum rig, our guide was telling us to set the hook . . . . before we felt the strikes ! Pretty Crazy. I learned a lot that week. A-Jay

Finn & I are learning a little more about each other every day. Some one's going to get a new 'best friend' soon. A-Jay

Believing that you are in control of any aspect of any meeting with ANY LEO, is living in fantasyland. Might be sort of dangerous as well. A-Jay

If you've not ever fished a rattle bait like a blade bait or even fishing it like a jig (on cleaner bottoms), you could be missing bites. A-Jay

IME successfully 'Burning' a RES , like over shallow vegetation for instance, usually needs to happen at a somewhat slower 'speed' than some other rattle baits on the market. So while a reels gear ratio 'matters' some, slowing down the retrieve handle speed does as well. Certainly can be accomplished with an 8.2 or above reel but you might nod off during the retrieve as you'll need to turn the handle so slow. IMO, there are better choices for burning than than the RES. Still, the bait works well with a constant retrieve, but it just needs to be slower than some other baits. On the other hand, The RES has a great shimmy on the fall, one of the best in fact, and IMO, this is where it excels. So some type of stop & go retrieve can be very good in many circumstances. I fish RES with the rod and pick up line with the reel ~ moderate sweeping motion mostly. I want to give that built in shimmy deal every opportunity to do it's thing. Either way, considering my preferred reel cranking cadence, which is on the fast side, I use 6.3 - 6.6 speed reels for lipless baits quite a bit. Reels up to and including 7.3 (the fastest I fish) have their place, but this isn't one of them for me. YMMV A-Jay

Cool Bait ~ Thanks so much for taking the time. Means a lot. A-Jay

Strike King KVD Deep Jerkbait ~ A-Jay

What a Musky Hammer ~ That's like 20 fish in 3 weeks. Supremely Impressive ! Congrats Again Sir. #dialed A-Jay

Congrats on the killer day ~ And I hate to admit it but I am totally stumped. Looking forward the the 'reveal'. A-Jay

Put in a few more hours with Finn this morning. Trying to build & keep some momentum going with this little guy. As a true handful on lead, today we introduced Finn to the Dean & Tyler No-Pull Harness. When matched with a properly fitted martingale collar (with buckle) this is IMO, an effective tool and one tailor made for Mr Finn. We've had great success improving on lead manners with other fosters as well as own own dogs. Finn figured it out in short order and we went to work. Plan on working with him again tomorrow morning (Saturday). Should be able to get a few action pics or some video. A-Jay