BFBoy

I took my grandson out, this afternoon, so he could catch a few bluegils. I set him up with a slip bobber and some Gulp maggots. I tied on a 4/0 EWG Gammy hook and a Watermelon Zoom Trick worm on my spinning outfit. He caught three 9"+ gills that were as wide as they were long, and I caught 4 LMB. Unfortunately, two of the bass swallowed the hook and I wasn't able to save them. :'( The other two were hooked in the top lip. These were the first fish I caught with the Trick Worm, and, in the heat of the afternoon sun, it was a bit surprising. I'll be using this lure more often.

This may sound like a stupid question, and don't be offended by it, but, are you opening the bail before you cast it out? If so, are your casts going very high, like a popup in the infield. That could be caused by releasing the line early. That was the main problem I had when I first went to an open face reel.

A great casting, inexpensive outfit, (and one of my favorites), sold at Dick's is the Daiwa Capricorn 100 XTC reel. This one has 8 bearings and one of the best magnetic cast controls on the market. It sells for $59.99. My rod is a medium action Shimano Convergence rod, 6'6". Mine was a clearance rod that I paid <$20 for. I see them for $29.99, there. I have the reel spooled with 12# Hybrid US line. This outfit effortlessly casts unweighted super flukes and like lures. The rod has plenty of backbone and feel. I really like the Daiwa Magforce system, (I still have a PMA 10 from the 80s that I love). It is easy to learn on, as the highest mag setting makes it almost unbacklashable, (is that a word, it should be ). As you come to know the reel, backing down on the cast control will give you very long distances. Targeting is much more precise with a baitcaster than a spinning outfit, for me, so I prefer this type of setup. Good luck, and welcome to the world of baitcasting. 8-)

I fished the 1minus, last night, for about a half an hour. The second cast produced one of the biggest bluegills I've ever seen. I have rather large hands, and it completely covered my hand. It was as deep as it was long and more than an inch thick. Two bass were also landed, one while stop and go cranking, and one while twitching on top. (I had missed three others on top before hooking that one). Last week, I caught 6 on the same lure. This was one of the elite series in Ghost Minnow. It casts like a rocket. Good bait.

Good video. I noticed on the website that MegaStrike is now in Dick's Sporting Goods. I rushed right out and picked some up. I can't wait to try it out.

Good article, RW.

The other evening, while fishing the Super Fluke, the nose got torn off by the 4th bass. Since I was leaving, shortly, and rather than rig up a new one, I just turned the hook and buried the point in the center and cast out. I got the most vicious bit of the evening, and the largest bass. Now I know what to do when my flukes get torn up.

x2.

Daiwa. But my Quantums, Abus, and Shimanos are great, too.

x3. Sometimes with a bit of a chartreuse tip.

14. I really cut down. Not too many years back I had more than 35.

I'm using 30# PowerPro with a 25# Gamma Fluorocarbon leader.

I use a blood knot. I made a simple jig to help tie these, and it works great. I get very consistent knots that hold extremely well.

Tried some Super Flukes, tonight, for the first time, (Green Pumpkin) T-rigged weightless with a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG red hook. It was some tough fishing as another heavy storm had gone trough about 3 hours before. This is the fourth straight day of severe thunderstorms, in Mid-Ohio. As it was, I caught three bass in about 45 minutes, all on the super fluke. I lost four more before getting them into shore. I was really impressed with the action of these lures. I can't wait to use them again.

My first thought to downsize is after a front has come through. When the bite stops, it's time to downsize.

The Bitsy jigs are great "catch-anything" jigs. I use the Bitsy Flips since the hook is much better on them--how's the bleeding series hook? Count me among those who like the red hooks. BTW, the hooks on the bleeding bitsy jig are very sharp. The weedguard is a bit softer, too, which I like.

A 1/4 oz Bleeding bitsy jig in brown/green with a 3" pumpkinseed powercraw.

If it were me, it would be the black jig n' pig. Though, I usually use a green pumpkin/pumpkinseed color, I have a lot of confidence in the jig n' pig. My rod is a 7'6" flippin' stick with 30# Power Pro Braid with a 25# test Gamma Flourocarbon leader loaded on a Quantum Accurist Acs reel. Good luck. The only part with drinking too much, for me, is the need to empty myself of the beer too often. : As you get older, this will become more evident.

Almost. I'm able to fish at least four times a week, 8-)but I'm reading every day.

I'm using Gamma 25# Flouro as a leader on 30# and 40# Power Pro. I use a blood knot as a connector and have had excellent results. I mad a simple jig to tie the blood knot, and I am able to get very consistent knots.

Just an update. Both the Booyah boogie blade, and Pure Poison have worked without a hitch. Tomorrow, I'm going to tie on the Gambler Swim Blade. As I think, both instances of line twist came from the same spool of line. I had used a spool of 12# test Berkley Sensation to spool up both reels. The reel I'm using, now is spooled with 12# test Suffix Elite yellow. The reason I think the line is the problem is that I tied a leader onto the Suffix from the Sensation, and the line left on the spool was twisted. Hopefully, that is the answer.

Brand new line spooled up, so the line twist was not present. It does seem to helicopter when casting, but I'm not sure why. I have used the pure poison, and I picked up a Booyah boogie, last night. I'll try these to see if the problem persists. Thanks for the suggestions. BTW, I tried it on two different baitcasters, both with new line.

I've been using this lure for two days. So far, it has accounted for 8 LMB. The action is amazing, but I am experiencing a surprising amount of line twist. This is while using a baitcasting outfit. It does hang up in the weeds, quite a bit, so I imagine dragging the lure back with the weeds on it could be causing some of the problem. It doesn't seem to twist in the water when it is moving freely, but I don't know. Is anyone experiencing the same type of line twist with these or other chatterbait type lures? As an aside, 4 of the bass, yesterday, were caught with the trailer, and 2 without.

My first reel was a Pflueger Akron. This was a knuckle busting baitcaster. This was before monofilament line, and braided dacron was the line of choice, for me. It took quite a while to learn how to cast it without big backlashes. (At least I learned how to get them out). When I bought my first ambassadeur reel, things began to change. After many years of practice and technology, baitcasters became my reel of choice. I still get backlashes, now and then, but they don't annoy me too much. The control I get with them is worth the occasional overrun. With a new baitcaster, I make sure I have a lure that is streamlined, and set the spool so it drops to the ground just fast enough to overrun slightly. When I cast it, I don't whip it too fast, but try to cast smoothly. (one of the problems, people face, is watching the guys on TV whipping the rod very hard, and they try to replicate that move). My thumb is always close to the spool ready to slow it as the lure hits the water. This also allows for a good measure of distance control. Once I have become used to the particular reel, I can loosen it up a bit, and get longer, smoother casts. Practice and confidence are the keys.

1. A worm, 4 to 6", maybe a sinking worm, or a Bass pro 4" electric motor oil squirmin' worm. 2. A 3/8 oz spinnerbait, either pumpkinseed or blue/red, with tandem Colorado blades. 3. Jig n' Pig, or jig and craw, ~1/4 oz, in pumpkinseed, or something close. 4. Chatterbait, or some such, in pumpkinseed, or something close. 5. Almost any of the Rapala lures.