Limpinglogan

DT's Shad Raps Countdowns Husky Jerks Other ones versions I havn't used much are probably really good too. Rapala makes the best crank bait, they have great quality and run true out of the box, they catch fish...they are awsome...they just cost a lot!

I take it the 50MG is smaller then the 100MG? Is that just profile size? line capacity? Whats the difference? My problem is I do not know crap about baitcasters all I know is I want a good one that will be good for chucking cranks for a variety of species....I spend 90% of my time fishing for bass and walleye BUT in the fall I do spend a lot of time chucking plugs for King Salmon that run up the rivers near me so I am hoping for somthing with the finess to be a good bass reel and the power to deal with bigger fish (if that exists.) If I am going to spend $400 I am going to do my homework.

I am looking at getting a new crank bait set-up. I am looking at these two reels can any one give opinions? I know very little about casting reels and all I know about these is I like shimano and they look like the best ones in my price range...after that I am clueless. Shimano Core 100MG7 Shimano Calais Series A Shimano Calais 100A

I need some help with my next set-up and need some recomendations on reel, line and rod. Need a good baitcaster & pole for chucking cranks...and I have no idea were to start. This set-up would be only for casting plugs on both lakes and rivers for bass, steelhead, pike, walleye and even salmon...so I need it to have a little power...but at the same time I don't want it to be too bulky. Any suggestions? I don't even know where to start on this one.

HAHA thanks for the replies. If I had to bet it would be 4.8lbs. I wish I had my scale with me because I always mark a 5lb'er as a milestone...especially bass fishing in Michigan...this guy was pretty long and fat and it stacks up to 5lber's I have caught in the past. Like I said... I would bet 4.8 lbs...it might have been less and maybe it was between 5-5.5. who knows...

Thanks for the input guys.... The guys saying 2.5-3.5 are crazy...haha...just because I have weighed lots of 3lb'ers that were way smaller then this guy. It reminds me of a 4.9lb'er I caught last year but I think this guy is a lot longer than that one....

I did not weigh it. I was thinking 4.5-5.5lbs...just because I have caught lots of 3-4 lbers that were not as big and fat as this one.

I got this one last night...I took no measurements of any kind just a photo. I can't help wonder what it wieghed....Any thoughts?

Two weeks ago I caught a 5lb 21" bass on a stock hula popper at 6am...the night before I caught 4 nice fish at 11pm before my wife made come inside. Since then I took my hula poppers and stripped the hooks off...custom painted them...moved te back hook so that it is coming directly out the back and added owner stingers. Overall they look realy good! From what I can tell July and august the bite gets tough around me but they seem to like the top water stuff at night and really early in the morning. A big popper seems to single out the big ones too. I lost a giant last week on my custom popper. I thought I would try the jitterbug so I picked up too and they are half way through my custom paint job and hook modification. These are getting gammies but I think I like the owner stingers better. One jitter bug is going to be all black the other is getting all black with flecks of glow paint. I am going to be fishing at night during august! -Logan

Th hooks are terrible!! I am putting Gammies on them. I have been having good luck with big bass on hula poppers (I put new hooks on those as well) and I thought I would give the Jitter bug a try. I had an absolute monster nail my hula popper a couple days ago and jump three times until it shook me off. Is there anything I can do to prevent shake offs? I hate losing giants...especially when you get such a good look at them!

Night time jitterbug Question.. Should I do a slow constant retrieve or stop and go action...or try both?

Depends on the water...some spots I fish have bigger fish but less numbers...others have lots of dinks but really high numbers. Generally I shoot for double digits in a three hour trip...but If I catch only 1-2 big ones that is ok two. -Logan

I look at it like this...A big bass looking to eat is in most cases tucked away in brush, behind a rock, buried in weeds, slowly cruising ambush points like points etc... When I see a point I try and imagine where a big bass would be hiding in hopes of ambushing an easy meal...then I try and present an easy meal. So I might try casting over the point at different angles or a long side the contours of the point. I also look for rocks and brush in the equation to cast at or cast along side. -Logan

I caught a new PB last night... I didn't have a scale because I was beating the bank and only brought a small tackle bag. It measured 24"...and was healthy and fat. For a northern bass this girl is pretty big. Any guesses on its weight? I am not very good at guessing big fish weights. I know the pic isn't the greatest because I was alone and only had my phone. It was on a custom painted 1/8th bullet jig dressed with a 5" green GYCB green twin tailed hula grub.

Two days ago I headed to a local gravel pit to try my luck. This particular area has two small lakes separated by a land bridge...one lake is connected by a channel to a large river. Heavy rains caused the water to raise in the lake connected to the river and flow over the land bridge via a heavy current into the second lake. I fished for an hour using a black yamamoto twin tailed hula grub but didn't have any luck. I noticed The rising water had resulted in stained water and searched my bag for something with a little more color or flash. Unfortunately I did not anticipate the stained water and only had natural colored senkos and hula grubs with me....except one pack of 4" neon green worms. I was now facing a dilemma because the lure I had with the brighter color I wanted had to small of a profile for the muddy water. I ended up getting creative and adding both the 4" neon worm and the black hula grub to a 1/4 jig head. The first cast I got a nice bite and landed a nice keeper fish. Three out of the four next casts I landed a nice 14-15" fish right out of the heavy current caused by the rising water and breaching of this land bridge ...the same spot I had been fishing and not getting any bites with the black hula grub. With a little more confidence in my new lure I fished the edges of the current and an eddy and proceeded to catch 22 fish in two hours all in a 30 yard area. Every fish was over 14" and five where over 18". The biggest was a 21" fat one...I lost two fish and one of them I think was bigger then any of the others...it looked and felt bigger then the 21" fat female I caught 15 min prior. I tried the same spot the next day and only caught two dinks. I guess I learned timing is every thing and color matters. I just thought I would share this story because I have never caught so many nice fish in such a short time....and I thought the change in color and addition of a worm to my jig that brought on the bite was kind of interesting.

What is stopping me from having multiple hooks up my line so that I have a lure at several levels of strike zone. I could have a hook 12" of the bottom and 24" and still cast no problem and have double the odds? I might even be able to get a third hook on there but it would be hard to cast. Is this a bad idea? It seems like I can target more fish...just an idea any thoughts?

Troll this thing beehind your boat...your bound to catch somthing. http://www.panthermartin.com/lures/TrollingRigs/UmbrellaRig9lures.aspx

no the paint didn't come off yet. I can not remember how long I let them take before I set the hook. I thinkI remember a few of them just hit it and they where gone...one felt like I had it on for 2 sec...but in hind sight I am thinking it was never hooked it was just holding on and swimming away.

6" weedless hud I bought one and was trying it out this weekend. I am new to swim baits and was a little intimidated by its size. After a few casts I liked the action and how easy it was to fish. In two hours I had five good hits...they looked and felt like big fish but I couldn't hook them. It has the hidden hook...is that making hook-ups harder? The next day I tried running a line down its body and adding a treble to the back...but didn't get any bites... the added hook took a little of the desired action away. I like these lures but hate missing fish. Any suggestions on another bait...or somthing I can do differently.

My favorite bait! My buddy caught a 20" 5lb'er yesterday on one...and a 21" 5lber two weeks ago. I like black and black with blue specs...green some times too. Brown and red can be good in gravle pits and sandy bottoms. Silver single tail can be fished like a swim jig...I did good for high numbers on that last summer. I caught 90% of my big bass last season on a black twin tail on a 1/4 jog. I fish'em slow on the bottom, swim them fast, and pitch docks with them. Very good all around bait.

Am I the only one who thinks the fish in the picture could easily be a 22lb fish? I think it looks huge!

Small shallow lake. Water temps...45? Outside 45-55 degrees. Fishing for bass and pike. 1. Black GYCB TTHG 2. Drop shot - 3" black senko 3. 6" weedless Hud I am going to try and stick to these...I will mix it up if I need to but I think these three should do the trick.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s134/limpinglogan/Kelly2.jpg We were both fishing some gravel pits by my house in the same spot I caught a 21" last week. (I posted pics) He caught it on a black yamamoto twin tail grub. I know you southern guys think it is a dink but for Michigan I think it is a hawg.

I searched the forums but not the articals I try them now

What are the top things to throw on a drop shot for spring time bass? I am thinking 4" senkos rigged regular and wacky any other suggestions?