WolfyBrandon

Just fished the past 10 days in a row, and finally took a day off because I needed to restock baits... 92 Days Consistent Catching Bass, and counting... time to get back to it! WolfyBrandon

[ August 4th, 2016] - Day Before My Birthday 12lb 0oz, 39 Inches WolfyBrandon

Not wrong, just a different rig and presentation. Shaky Head - you usually want a floating worm so the worm stands up off the bottom. WolfyBrandon

The jig heads are for Grubs, this is how I rig them... Though the quality had downgraded, I still prefer the Luck"E"Strike brand because the hook has a long shank to it & it has heavier gauge wire - which puts the hook point closer to the tail, and is also less prone to bending which has lead to good hook-ups (usually through the side of the hard gill cover) leading to less lost fish. As far as worms go, I use a Texas Rig... I peg the weight so it pretty much accomplishes the same thing as using a Jig head, the Offset hook helps keep the bait straight (which I use Super Glue to keep it in place), and you can rig it weedless. WolfyBrandon

WolfyBrandon

I've used them with an 0-Ring & 1/16oz Wacky Rig Hook. My experience - both have very similar action, YamaSinko has slightly more action but less durable, & the YumSinko has slightly less action but more durable. Results: Both baits work and catch fish. WolfyBrandon

WolfyBrandon

Just some terminal tackle for Grubs & Powerbait Worms. WolfyBrandon

[ June 26, 2016 ] Second day using the Whopper Plopper 130 - I made a cast with it during the evening with a steady retrieve and this little guy crushed it... 11'', 08oz Yep, bass under 1lb will strike the 130 size. I believe in a philosophy called drawing power, larger baits present more of a sizable meal so bass are more likely to commit to it. I fished small baits for the longest time and kept going smaller to try and get "more bites", but when I followed that road for too long I began to see diminishing returns. Now if given a choice I opt for the slightly larger size for many reasons, one of which is what I mentioned above. Funny you mention this... I hooked that little guy good with the front treble... And he tried to hook me good with the back treble... It was a close call, I was lucky I didn't get poked. Will have to be extra careful from now on. WolfyBrandon

Just fished a Whopper Plopper for the first time yesterday (June 25, 2016) in the 130 size. Had two bass and one unknown (bass/pike) come up and swipe/turn on the bait, and later landed my first Whopper Plopper bass... 13'', 15oz So far my first impression is I really like the bait. Just need to figure out effective retrieves for it... I believe I was just doing a steady retrieve at a medium speed when I hooked the bass in the picture above. I was experimenting with fast, slow, stop-and-go, twitching it almost like a popper, etc (all look good). One of the bass that swiped at it I managed to catch on another bait, and it turned out to be a 11 & 3/4'', 10oz Smallmouth. I've caught many small fish on large baits, so I don't think size was the problem, I'm leaning more toward how I was retrieving it. Looking back on yesterday specifically - they seemed to like it better when it was constantly moving rather than stopped, and I was using a natural color since I'm faced with clear water (10ft+). The only issues I had with the bait were since it has two treble hooks, if any debris gets caught on the hooks it will hinder it's action. Secondly, (habit from using buzzbaits) I like to start retrieving it as soon as it hits the water, but it seemed to want to dive down for a second before starting to plop. All in all, very minor things and I still really like the bait. I look forward to using it more! WolfyBrandon

WolfyBrandon

I'm not the most experienced crankbait fisherman, but I have thrown my fair share of them. My go-to "currently" is the... Bomber Fat Free Shad I like it because it suspends, and has a good erratic action to it when twitched. It's been productive for me, and even caught my first double. Rapala DT-# I also like the Rapala DT series. They are made of balsa so they float, but can get damaged more easily. (I've had the lip come out of one, cracks in others, and puncture holes from toothy pike). It's still a good bait, you just need to be aware of it's limitations. Strike KIng #XD Fastest diving I would say is the Strike King XD series - which I currently have limited experience with. I've only recently built a collection of them, and used them a hand full of times (caught a few small bass on the 6XD and some large pike on the 10XD). Berkley Flicker Shad If your looking for a crankbait with a smaller profile I recommend the Berkley Flicker Shads. Size 7 dives to around 13ft, tons of colors to choose from, quality hooks, durable, and affordable. - - - (I do plan to incorporate more crankbaits into my bait selection once the spawn is over in my local area (depending on the fishing), so if you keep an eye out for my reports you should see my results.) WolfyBrandon

WolfyBrandon

(1/8th oz) Gamakatsu Premium Round Jig Head + Zoom Fat Albert Grub (Green Pumpkin) + a Drop of Loctite Super Glue Professional Liquid. "Bait of the Year" for me so far... absolutely deadly. WolfyBrandon

[ May 11, 2016 ] The spawn is approaching, the small male buck bass have taken over the shallows and soon will be creating beds. Caught 5 today, first of which turned out to be the largest (Fish of the Day), and I managed to capture the catch on video... Enjoy, WolfyBrandon

Thanks, one thing I forgot to mention is that the predictions I made only apply to my personal location, water, and fish... A lot of it has to do with my personal documentation of specific details from previous years and comparing them to learn what the difference is, and how the current year differs from the previous. If you would like me to explain in more detail let me know as it's a big subject. It rained cats & dogs last night/early this morning with lightning and thunder, today turned out to be nice so I fished and caught 13 bass, and now tonight it's thunderstorms again. Here is a interesting picture from today... WolfyBrandon

Thanks, here are two more pictures of that bass... WolfyBrandon

[ May 02, 2016 ] The pre-spawn fishing has been great this year, I've caught a lot of good sized bass - all of them so far have been over 12''. It is now the beginning of May (Late Spring), and the small male buck bass are moving shallow. In my fishing log I predicted that the last full moon would be when the small males start moving shallow, and I just recently hooked my first bass this year that was under 12''. The water temperature is in the mid 50's, and the air temperature has been in the mid 70's, but is now starting to near 80 degrees. The new moon is coming up on the 6th, and I believe the days after that new moon is when the males will start creating beds. The next full moon will be on May 21, and I believe around this time is when the spawn will take place. I made all of these predictions on fish movements and spawn phases according to the moon phases back on January 23, 2016 using data from my previous fishing logs and online research. Everything has come true so far from all of my observations and fishing results. I put everything together back then and have been using it like a map to guide me through the spring season. Ever since I caught my first bass this year on March 31st, I've consistently caught bass every day that I have fished so far this year (13 days). Fishing has been so good that I'm so far behind on the Latest Catch Pics thread, I caught 8 today - one being a nice 3lb-er smallie, I caught a 3lb-er smallie yesterday, and many more quality fish. Honestly, I'm only scratching the surface with this post, there is so much more to it than I can type right now. Take from it what you will, but a detailed fishing log can be powerful (Information is power), you will see when I have time to upload my latest catches. Anyway here is a picture I took today showing a school of baby crappie mixed with many small Largemouth Bass that just recently moved into the shallows, you can also see the pollen in the water. Pollen... oh and FYI - The fishing has been great! Today's "Fish of the Day" 3lb-er Yesterday's "Fish of the Day" 3lb-er WolfyBrandon

Walmart Special - - - - - - - - - - "Simple But Effective" WolfyBrandon

WolfyBrandon

I have noticed this as well, I'm a fan of the "original version" of the RC STX's, I don't like the look of the new ones... the paint isn't as detailed, and the body has a more pronounced scale pattern to it. You can identify the new versions as they have the blue Luck"E"Strike logo on the front bottom of the package, the old ones don't. +1 Just when I had a perfectly good cheap Megabass Vision 110 alternative they had to go and ruin it, thanks a lot... WolfyBrandon

WolfyBrandon

Honestly, I currently have very limited experience with stick baits as I started using them last year. I've caught fish on the Yum Dinger so I know they work. The last time I remember using them - I was struggling to get a bite, but later discovered the bait had a strong smell of gasoline (The bait somehow came in contact with it while I was fishing in the boat). So... It's a bait I still need to fish more to have a opinion of it. WolfyBrandon

Picked up some 1/8oz Gamakatsu Round Head hooks that have a longer shank and look stronger than the Strike King ones that I've been using. Also saw some YUM Dingers with the F2 Ferocity... I grabbed all they had. WolfyBrandon

Shimano Convergence 7'2'' Medium-Heavy, Fast Action, IM-7 Graphite - Baitcaster Rod (Dedicated Jig Rod) Berkley Trilene Professional Grade Braid (40lb) [Low-Vis Green] - My first ever braided line... for my dedicated Jig combo (the above rod paired with an Abu Garcia Orra SX2 Baitcaster. I decided on 40lb, because I wanted the 10lb dia. (The combo may also be used for Frogs, Swim Jigs, Bladed Jigs, & medium sized Swimbaits.) Line Review... WolfyBrandon