NinjaFishin

EXACTLY! ;D and welcome aboard

I'm a big fan of the rebel pop R. I find its just the right size for me. It's not too small to where I cant cast it, and its not too big to ward off the medium sized bass. I'd also recommend a Bill Dance topwater popper if for some reason a rebel pop-r isnt working for you, however it is rather large and wont get attention from smaller fish. Getcha some links here: the rebel pop R http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=2954&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults and the bill dance popper http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_44343_100005003_100000000_100005000_100-5-3 well that bill dance popper doesnt seem to be exactly like mine, maybe abit smaller, which I'd say is better. but its close enough

I have a short slide show of texas rigging flukes w/ an off-set shank. might help ya might not :-? (click the picture for more)

"well isnt that a fine howdy do" lol I love ol Bill Dance. I also think his bloopers are the best part of the show! But I must say the biggest bass I ever caught I caught w/ a bill dance topwater popper. So thanks Bill!

CHICKEN LIVER. I never use anything but and it almost always produces in the rivers where I fish. I've also heard peanut butter is supposed to work very well but I've never tried it myself.

wading is definitely something that would work well in this particular spot. The current isnt too strong and there are lots of small rocks to stand on. That day however I just found the place so I didnt really think about walking into it. In the future (when it gets abit warmer) wading would probably be a good way to go.

The gloves thing is just personal preference imo. Some people wont ever hardly use em and some people use em whenever available. After a couple catfish stings and sharing treble hooks with bass I now prefer gloves ;D The river in the background does have VERY steep banks. The banks constantly wash out from year to year. It gives the bass tons of cover in the trees that fall into the river but it doesnt give fishermen very many spots to fish from

I posted a slide show for texas rigging a super fluke and it might answer some ?s here too. (click the picture for more) There are two important things in texas rigging in my opinion. You must insert your hook in such a way that it will fit directly up to or on the hook's eye. The second is your hook's exit point from the plastic should push the loose plastic toward the eye to properly hold the bait in place.

This is how I reduce weeds w/ super flukes. Hope it helps (click the picture for more) Depending on the angle of your hook's tip it will reduce weeds on your retrieves. The hooks I use aren't perfect because they stick out slightly, but on the other hand it may help catch a bass lip too.

I'm gonna throw together a step by step to show you how I rig my super flukes. (which i notice we are talking about a few different types in this thread) This is how it will look when completely hooked, texas style. I have used Eagle Claw lazer sharp off-set hooks, size 1/0 for these flukes. Step one. Stab your hook into the very center, frontal part. Should have a small circle there. Doesnt need to go very far in, just around the barb. Poke your hook tip out the center of the bottom. Try to make this L shape bend match your hook's so that they fit eachother w/o moving around loosely. Now push the hook on through until only the tip of the hook's ring sticks out the front. You want your hook to be facing the top of your fluke too. Next you need to find where your hook meets the top of your fluke, as in where you will push your hook through to the top. I'm marking the spot w/ the tip of my thumbnail. Now the confusing part. You want your hook to poke up through the very center of flukes back, exactly where your hook met it when lined up side by side. Finally straighten the fluke out and see how it looks. 8-) Try to keep your hook centered as much as possible in the flukes body. If it is off balance it can spin your bait. (it will still work however) Hope that helps with rigging your flukes. Try to use a lighter line w/ as little line twist as possible, as this will also spin your fluke in the water. (Which may or may not be a good thing :-X )

For me the different colors are all about the conditions of the weather and water you are fishing. In a clear river on a bright day I would recommend either Smokin' Shad color or Baby Bass. These two are very bright and visible and the sun catches the small reflective specks in the plastic. However in over-cast weather and or murky water I would recommend the Watermelon Seed color. Here's a pic of the colors I prefer. (The colors that have worked best for me) Those are Smokin' Shad, Baby Bass, and Watermelon Seed.

congrats on your bass! Glad to hear you stuck w/ it and your efforts paid off 8-) Jerkbaits are an excellent all-round kind of lure and are a staple of almost all the fishermen I know. (but not a crutch!) It always feels good to use the advice you have gained and use it successfully. Building confidence and skill w/ your given tackle is what it is all about imo. Some lures and baits I wouldn't have even tried until I read of the success people in these forums were having while using them. So huzzah for the bass fishing resource community!

zomg you hijacked my thread! lol ;D and mw I'm not sure if you were directing that question at me or not but I do not eat what I catch unless I'm camping somewhere far from any town and I'm hungry

I'm with ya on that one catt My choices are plastics first, crank baits second, mostly because I dont mind losing plastics in trees and logs. Losing my precious Rapala shad rap however makes me mad! >

My suggestion would be to try a different size/style of hook. I'd reccomend off set shanks for texas rigging. also could you show us a pic of how you have them rigged? Maybe theres something off about it. :-? (we may have a better idea of what if we could see it)

I gotta reccomend using light colored super flukes. Their action in moving waters is excellent and works well for medium to large size small mouth 8-)

used the gloves for a better hold on the fish. I always feel like they are slipping outa my hand when i hold them w/o gloves I dunno why. One of my quirks i guess

I was fishing on the Hocking river bass-brat

am I the only one putting up a small mouth bass pic? :-? Got this fellow in Ohio. Fished the river using a shad colored super fluke, weightless texas rig.

Just wanted to share a fun experience today. Caught a pretty nice small mouth in SE Ohio. First cast nothing... Second cast, catch a little smouth... Third cast BAM! I was using a Shad colored Super Fluke, weightless texas rig. The fluke's action in the river current really set em off I guess This is the first lil guy. Then this beast! Holding him next to me for scale. (didnt have anyone around to shoot a pic ) And my favorite shot. Thanks super fluke!

I'd love to see his face when he reels in his first lunker. Thats probably what got all of us hooked on fishing!

yes you definitely need an offset hook for texas rigging. to answer you question, when the fish clamps it's mouth on the worm/softbait the hook will be pushed out the top side, exposing the hook. Well thats what is supposed to happen ;D

I've had moderate success using the yum craw baits but I only use them directly around rocks, and in rivers. They are dynomite in those conditions but they seem marginal elsewhere from my own experience.

I was also curious to see if anyones used these baits successfully. The Gulp Alive buckets popped up in our local bait shop but they seem rather expensive for just a heavily scented soft plastic lure. :-?

I've had success w/ the steady retrieve method recently. Caught a bass w/ a steady retrieve mixed with very small twitches to bounce the jig through the water, never letting it rest on the bottom. Very different from just letting them sink and jigging from there. Mix it up and find what works for the fish you're targeting.