airborne_angler

On the back of my local lake are some real steep,real tall bluff walls. Water is about 25-40 feet depending on where your sitting.I occasionally see some gray lizards running all over these walls. Im thinking that during a strong wind and other times,perhaps these lizards fall in the water. Any thoughts on throwing a plastic lizard up against these bluff walls. What would be the best approach C-rig,T-rig,Dropshot? What other technique with a lizard might work well?

I purchased one on Ebay,just because the price was ok and the design was neat/unique.I havent received it yet so I was wondering how this might be fished?Does it look like it would be good as a Popper/Chugger,or would it be best suited for another Topwater technique? What do you all think? http://cgi.ebay.com/310232313085?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4712.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D310232313085%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1#ht_500wt_952

So the local pond on the military installation has been there for a long time. Theres a dam and scratched in the concrete is the number 1922,This post dates back to 1877,so these numbers(1922) lead me to believe,this is the date the dam was constructed. This pond goes through a cycle. When its hot and we have a spell without rain,the water drops,almost to the point of drying up,(never has fully dried up since I started fishing it in 1980) it fills backup naturally when the rainy season comes.All is normally well,and the status of the lake is normally very healthy,although its not managed in anyway,shape or form. Last Thursday we got a decent rain(the first in a VERY long time).Today I went to the pond,it had filled up a little bit and I noticed gobs and gobs of Dead Bluegill on the bank,along with some Bass,a Tilapia and a pair of Koi that lived in the pond. This pond also has Yellow Catfish(Bullheads) Green and Hybrid Sunfish in it. I didnt notice any Dead Catfish out of all the fish that died.Why would that be? Are they more resilient then the Bass,Koi and Bluegill? In all the time I have lived in the area I have never seen a fishkill at any of the local bodies of water. Why now? What could have caused it? Contaminants in the Runoff from the rain? Would it be safe to say this pond is done for?

Look at some of the baits that the Havoc Line offers: Bottom Hopper and Bottom Hopper Jr: http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/soft-bait/havoc/bottom-hopper To me just another Finesse/Trick worm The Deuce: http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/soft-bait/havoc/deuce Just another Twin Tail Grub,IMO(Ho Hum) The Grass pig: http://www.berkley-fishing.com/products/soft-bait/havoc/grass-pig Almost exactly like the Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper The other Havoc baits that have been been produced,maybe Berkley has something there but these I have listed here,I just dont understand the hype behind them,other than maybe the price. Anyone else feel the same way?

I got pretty flustered yesterday on my local pond. Was throwing a Neko Rig for the first time and the bite was slow. Along comes a guy and starts chucking a HUGE crankbait. Im thinking "Yeah,sure your gonna catch something on that." After all was said and done he landed like 5 Bass on this HUGE crankbait.I couldnt believe it.This pond is almost dried up and well this guy showed me theres still a decent population of aggressive Bass in there. I did end up with 1 fish and another decent one came unbuttoned. I refused to switch my tactic,regardless if a crank was the way yo go on this day.I stayed with my Senko,my XRap and My Neko Rig and almost ended up with a Goose Egg. We all have our days!!! My local lake is currently closed due to the Fire Danger in the forest. The Lake wont reopen until theres "significant" rainfall. Who knows when that will be. This is the 3rd time this year that the lake has been closed for either an actual fire,or fire danger....

Tried this rig out yesterday with a Tiki Finesse Worm in Watermelon/Copper Flake. It works!!! Caught one(took it pretty deep,but was released unharmed) and stuck another good one that came unbuttoned. Lots of pecks from Panfish as well. Cant say yet if its my "go to" or that I have a bunch of confidence in it,but the proof is in the fish I landed and the one that came unbuttoned,Neko Rig does work!!! So now I have another piece of artillery to add to my arsenal. SWEEEET!!!

Anyone use this method of rigging? How successful is this style of rigging a worm? Whats the best retrieve for this style? Would it work well on a finesse worm with a nail weight,or does the weight need to be larger?

This subject will cover a broad spectrum,and I apologize about that but I just gotta know: Whats a sure fire,killer way to employ nail weights in soft plastics? I got a pack of them in an assorted lot of tackle I bought online. I know the skies the limit,and the limit is the sky with these weights,so Id like to get some info from those that have used nail weights with success. What bait does everyone like to use the weights in,and how does it help with the action,rate of fall ect? Just need some ideas that are known to produce,so im not just out there throwing will-nilly and potentially wasting these weights,as they cant be found anywhere locally.

Caught a Bass the other day on a T-Rigged Senko,out in open water.The color of the fish was a pale green(looked almost a gray color) The fish was a strong fighter and looked healthy overall.Fish swam off when I released it, with a great amount of energy,so I doubt the fish was sickly.No markings,scars or other wounds.The fish was proportional for its size(maybe 14 inches) What do the different shades of green indicate on a Bass when its caught as far as depth and cover?

Had an issue with a Rapala Knot today.Was throwing an XR6 Rapala Xrap and the knot came right out of the split ring.The line itself nor the knot never broke,the line just somehow slid out of the split ring leaving a nice loop on the end of the line.The split ring itself looks to be fine. Anyone ever experience this? Is this common,and if so how do you remedy it?

Water clarity is about 4 inches(if that),looks like muddy water.About only thing you can see is the algae and a little vegetation right at the bank and an occasional panfish dart off as your bait approches them.Skies are totally clear,no clouds whatsoever.VERY bright out.Good amount of wind at times.HOT!!! Typically in these conditions what's a good color to throw?

Ok I've done some reading on some other websites and I have some clarification to make. The whole "pre Rapala" thing comes from the original Storm baits that ran a certain way.They were erratic on the retrieve and would "hunt" making them great fish producers.Much like the SK KVD 1.5 and 2.5. Rapala saw this as a flaw and redesigned and tuned the bait the run straight as an arrow,just like any other Crankbait on the market.The Storm baits had a "Quirk" before Rapala picked em up,and anglers liked that quirk that Rapala did away with. So Rapala tried to "fix" the Storm originality but they actually shot themselves in the foot by doing so. Not saying this is Gospel,but its pretty much what I read on 2 different websites.

I read something about the quality of Storm baits right here on Bassresource a while ago. I've been told when you see "pre Rapala" is how you can tell its from when Storm produced better baits. There's gotta be some kind of difference,why would people selling the baits on Ebay refer to their Storm baits as "pre Rapala" Ill bet that if you look at completed listings on ebay,that "pre Rapala" baits sell for a lot more $$$ than the ones after Rapala acquired the company...From what I can see "pre Rapala" baits made by Storm are much more desireable.

So recently I have been really getting into Jerkbaits. I bought a Rapala XRAP XR6(suspending) on Clearance at Walmart,not thinking I would ever use it.If I had known these were such fish catchers,id have bought more,and now I cant find them in that size in my local area. I decided to give it a whirl at a local pond and WOW these things are a riot.Just sooo much fun to fish. First day I caught 1 fish and thats all she wrote,thats all I want to throw anymore.The strikes are amazing(at least for me) I would do an erratic Twitch and short pause.Its cool because ya never know if the bait will ride up,left,right or whatever. After a twitch,Id slowly reel up the slack and go for another twitch.The next twitch was meant to be a twitch but wasnt an actual twitch at all,It was actually me setting the hook,and never knowing a fish was even there!! Is this traditionally the way strikes come from Jerkbaits? And followers,thats another story in itself,Ive had more fish follow this jerkbait,than any other lure I have ever fished.Just a heart stopper!!! So now lets compare Soft and Hard Jerkbaits. The Hard jerkbaits are FUN,BUT $$$. I have no experience with soft jerkbaits like Sluggo's and Flukes. Are they just as effective as hard jerkbaits? Do they have the same characteristics and behavior as hard jerkbaits? With the exception of one being hard and one being soft,and the price difference,how are hard jerkbaits and soft jerkbaits the same and what sets them apart? Is one more effective than another? If one person threw a soft jerkbait and one person threw a hard jerkbait,same basic size and color in the same depth zone and they were both worked about the same speed,and action,which would likely catch more fish? Anyone done a comparison? Im into this jerkbait fishing and would like to have some well earned knowledge from those experienced in using them,both soft and hard...Im all ears!!!

The water is really low at the pond I caught it out of. Theres alot of mud along the bank. Because of this I wasnt able to get right at the water edge to lip it.I had to pull it up through the mud just a little bit,or else I would have sunk probably knee deep. The purple color is the sun hitting the mud.As stated,this fish swam off with no issues,and the mud is likely dissolved by now.

So I have heard alot of mention of Storm baits in the era prior to when Rapala acquired the company. The story that goes around is that Storm made some pretty decent baits prior to when Rapala picked them up and ever since Rapala got involved the quality has been lacking. This brings me to this question: Rapala (as far as I know) has always had a reputation for putting out a great product in the hard baits they produce. Why would they not apply the same craftsmanship to the Storm Hard baits and make them as good or better than Storm did originally? Why would Rapala be sub par in producing the Storm Baits,is it because Storm is a stepchild? Or is it because if they produce the Storm baits in the same manner that they do the Rapalas,that Storm sales and popularity might overtake Rapala?

Found a Suspending Storm Thunderstick the other day and I'm a little confused. The package has the label which reads "Storm Suspending Thunderstick" It also has a bright orange label that reads "Suspendots included" Now is this a suspending model all by itself,or is it a suspending model because of the suspendots that come in the package?

Been looking high and low for these Berkley Dropshot baits. Finally scored some on Ebay. These baits have accounted for a crazy amount of fish in the boat.Nothing huge,but these will make for a VERY productive day. Anyone else use them and like em? Now if only I could find some Dropshot size Berkley Power Pulse Worms,things would be even better

Caught this at a local pond on a Ultra light X rap.The guy that took the pic guesses its a solid 2.5# fish. Another guy I showed the pic to last night said the fish was at least a 5 lb fish. My guess...Im thinking at least 3#'s Whats everyone think? Regardless the fish was SOLID and had a very large head and mouth. Was photographed and released without any further incident.

Ya know,I have sold soo many Jerkbaits that I have acquired,never gave em a try until recently,I really regret selling em. I bought a Rapala XR04 X Rap that was on clearance at Wal Mart.Its an Ultralight model and I have been tearing it up at a local pond. Right now this bait is my Go To. Its all I use.Caught this fish(pictured)just today,after leaving the lake due to high winds. I ended up boating 2 small Bass on this bait at the lake in terrible winds.. Im lovin Hard Jerkbaits!!! I guess my approach(retrieve) is really aggressive,Im constantly twitching the bait,its actually a little fatiguing,but when a fish jumps on,its a blast!!

I always hear that versatility can be a great asset when Bass fishing. I first started Bass fishing and a Senko was all I would use. The following season I killed em on Baby Brush Hogs. Then after that I got hooked on Spinnerbaits. Just this year I have been slaying em on a hard Jerkbait. Through it all,I think a Dropshot has been my favorite. Knowing I have confidence in this many baits leaves me overwhelmed with what I should throw.I feel I can catch fish on all of the above,but can't decide what to throw first. Anyone have such issues? How do you handle it and plan your day? Do you just throw whatever to let the fish tell you what they want? The issue I have is second guessing myself.As I'm throwing a Spinnerbait,I think to myself "I bet a Senko would be killer right now" because of this I think my presentation of the spinnerbait may suffer because I'm not focusing on that technique.I'm always one technique ahead in my mind.

Theres a pond locally thats not managed or stocked,has some fish in it and occasionally he water gets really low. Been hitting that pond with a Rapala X-Rap (XRO4)Its basically an Ultralight X-Rap. Hooked up one one fish,nothing special,just a dink about 8-10 inches long. Had one area where I casted,and had a good fish (Maybe 2.5-3#) follow all the way to the bank. Fish hit it just as I was ready to pull it out of the water. Came unbuttoned Continued in the same area and maybe 5 casts later had the same thing happen,at the same exact spot.Again the fish came unbuttoned Likely the same fish. More than likely because I just wasnt ready for a strike that close to the bank. A couple of people were fishing an area on the other side,upon leaving,I decided to take their spot. About 2 or 3 Casts later,I hooked and released this healthy fatty. After that I only hooked into one more fish,that struck right at the bank again.Of course as I wasnt prepared,it came unbuttoned. That fish was easily larger than the one pictured. What is it with the fish following my jerkbait to the bank...Is that common?

I recently picked up a few packs.Got 2 packs in Plum and 2 packs in Green Pumpkin. All are the 10" variety Who has used these worms and what technique was successful? Anyone ever sever the tail to make em a "cut tail"? How's that work out?

Suppose around my waters,this jig would just be something "different" for the fish to look at. IE something theyve never seen before,as the Crawfish in my home lake look like this: http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/NewAstacidea/species.asp?g=Orconectes&s=virilis&ssp=

The head on this 3/8 oz jig is white,but has a rosy pearl shade to it. The skirt is a mixture of white and blue with black fleck and the trailer is an iridescent purple color.The Weedguard is white. This came as you see it in a package marketed by FLW. Under what conditions would this jig be effective? With those colors,is it still mimicking a Craw...? If not what creature does this color pattern mimic? Also the trailer seems a little on the long side...No? Ive never seen this color jig,wondering if anyone has used a color like this with any success