Chris

psssst. deformed Florida fish.

The reason why it might get some hard looks is because people think when you say jig you are talking about a flipping jig with a weed guard. In the western world a football jig without a weed guard with a spidergrub is a standard lure. So trailer hook not needed.

Just place yourself in the same situation. OK I found a fish in 12 ft of water and I know not many other people will find the same fish so I got all the time in the world to catch it. I put my bait in the bed which takes some talent because it isn't as easy as 3 ft of water. I get a few bites but the bass is just moving it out of the bed and I can not seem to get a hook in it. I become impatient and tell myself that the next time that dang bass goes nose down on my bait if I even think the fish has the bait I will set the hook. The fish goes nose down to push a bluegill out of his bed and I think it is on my bait but because of the depth I can not see my bait and I feel a tick from the bass brushing against my line so I set the hook. Been there done that but I have never foul hooked a bass by doing it not to say it wouldn't happen.

Wow sight fishing with a dropshot rig on beds what where they thinking lol This is the most jam up rig you could ever use for site fishing or bed fish!

In stained water with the jig I would just use it pitching to targets. If you see a stump or heavy cover put the jig as close to the object as you can or in it. After the jig hits the water strip off about 3ft or so of line so that the jig falls on slack line. Engage your reel and reel down some so that the line is simi slack and then lift the rod so that at the 2 o'clock position your line is tight enough to feel the jig without moving it. You are also in position to set the hook if needed. I then work the jig by shaking it or I will hop it. I then let it fall or sit still for awhile then repeat action. I work the bait out away from the cover then pitch it again. If the jig is deep in the cover and I can yo yo the bait I may let it sit there and yo yo several times before moving the bait for the next pitch. Each time I let the jig fall I want it to fall on simi slack line as I watch the line for a tick or anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes the jig will just feel light or it will stop prematurely which means a bass has it. Plastic worms unless I am fishing heavy cover where the lead might get hung up most of the time I don't peg the sinker. Some guys put a bead behind the lead to make a clacking sound like a rattle. I use 2 different styles of worms the most but I will give you all four. Straight tail: Most guys use this style for super clear water. This style has the least amount of vibration. Any action that this bait has is because you worked it in a way that it has action. (no built in action) Hooktail: You have two styles on is a small hook tail the other is a gatortail. The small hook has a better vibration than the ribbon and the straight tail. The larger gatortail style people use mainly for flipping grass. It has a slow fall with a lot of vibration compared to a ribbontail. Ribbontail: This is more of a clear to slightly stained water worm that has some vibration but has the most action. This is more of an eye contact bait that has enough action from a slight twitch or movement to look alive. Paddletail: This has the most thump kinda like the Colorado blade of the plastic worm family. This is the style that I use in stained to muddy water but is effective in clear water also. This is a very popular style used in flipping and when reeling it steady like a shad. When you pitch this worm into cover it hangs up the least and when you hop this style it gives off a thump that the other styles don't have.

Sometimes I forget that some people don't know much about a rig and sometimes I throw more confusion in the mix taking the rig three steps ahead of the original purpose. Figure it out then when you got it down toy around with it trying other things

1/4 or 3/8 oz (whatever you can get away with depending on how thick the stuff is and how much weight the weeds will support) you can drag it and if it feels like it starting to hang up a little just shake it loose. Most of the time I just shake it loose and then hop it. This should free the bait from most weeds. The only time I just drag a Carolina rig is if I was fishing a point or sand weeds are a different story unless it is sparse weeds. The rattle bring attention to the bait.

The idea is to use enough weight to stay in contact with the bait but not heavy enough to dig in. The floating lure just keeps the bait out of the grass and in plain view of the bass. With a heavy Carolina rig the bait doesn't just lay on top of the grass the weight falls and the lure also. If the leader is long enough the weight doesn't drive the lure into the grass and it just sits on top. With a floating lure the bait will suspend just above the grass. The light weight is used just for casting distance and so that you can detect strikes. By using a light weight it doesn't have enough weight to fall deep in the grass and dig in. You can do the same thing with a dropshot rig but you might want to use braid to ****** the weight out of the weeds without breaking off the weight. Sometimes I would use a no snag weight as a dropshot weight because it is long and attached at the top to keep the weight up and lay flat on top of the grass. After you cast when you drag the dropshot the line is at and angle and it is easy keep it up on top.

If the grass is submerged I do well with a light Carolina rig and let it ride on top of the grass. I also use a floating lizard with a short leader to keep the bait just up off the grass. If your using a heavy rig a long leader is the way to go. If your just worm fishing try a belly weight so that the bait will lay flat on top of the grass and not dig in. If your pitching to holes in the grass use a heavy weight and make sure it is pegged to punch the bait to the bottom without having the weight hang up and get caught. Also you might want to go with a lure that don't have a ribbon tail or appendages that might hang up. Under the hydilla because of the way it grows there is tunnels that the bass will use close to the bottom. The stuff will grow up and top out leaving and open area under it. These tunnels become a highway for the bass. So if you can't get them on a Carolina rig here are other options.

Channel as in creek or river channel where the bottom is cut out from running water of a old creek or river. Ditch as in regular topography of the lake a depression in the bottom. drain as in caused by run off and was never a creek or river channel and only flows water after heavy rain.

Sometimes they bait areas with hog pellets for shiners.

Whole pickerel or bream (e.g., bluegill, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, warmouth) or parts thereof may be used as bait for sportfishing by he angler who caught them. Whole pickerel or bream or parts thereof may not be used as bait for trotlines or bush hooks or any method other than by rod and reel or pole and line. I stand corrected ;D they might have changed the laws. I know when I was growing up you didn't want to get caught using bluegill as bait and from what I understood was that it was considered a gamefish.

No, it shouldn't. Amoungst all the requirements of the IGFA for certification of a world record is the one that states the fish must be caught within the bounds of local game and fish laws. Clearly that was not followed here. According to CA law, a fish hooked outside the mouth is a non-catch. It must be released immediately. No weighing, no pictures, no length or girth measurements and certainly no sticking the thing on a stringer while you decide what to do with it. While the IGFA will consider a foul hooked fish, they won't consider a fish taken outside of local game law whether they had all the other requirements or not. And that's how it should be. no wonder BASS don't fish there you just ruled out 90% of my tackle box

oh yeah Matt here is a question for ya http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1143078157

I think the underlining point was that if a guy just went out with the sole purpose of ****** hooking a record fish should it be a record. Not knowing anything about the guy or how it was caught or foul hooked people just had the picture stuck in their heads that someone ****** hooked a record and should it stand. You have so many hoops to jump just for a record to stand and if the guy didn't go through all the motions it will not stand. Part of the reason for all the BS is because everyone wants that title and if they are going to give it they need to make darn sure. Measurements need to be taken, DNA, Certified weight, and when everything is said and done you might end up killing the fish. If the guy caught the fish and didn't snag it on purpose the record should stand. The problem is that the fish was not measured, weighed on a certified scale, had pictures taken verifying everything (length, girth, weight)or an official of some sort. We don't live in a world that will take a man at his word. I wish we did he deserves it.

Cheap list: topwater: spook, pop R, medium crankbait: Bandit, Bill Norman, Bomber shallow crankbait: Bandit, Bill Norman, Bomber spinnerbait: StrikeKing, jig: Strikeking 1/4 oz, 3/8 oz rattletrap: Stikeking diamond shad jerkbait: smithwick rogue soft jerkbait: zoom super fluke frog: scum frog buzzbait: strikeking stick bait senko: Yum dinger That should cover most situations with the stuff you already use. My list: Topwater: super spook jr., spit'n image shad, pop R "G" finish, Wake tail Luckycraft, sammy Medium runner: JM Woodcraft custom, DT, killer B, diving B Shallow Runner: plastic-Luckycraft BDS /wood- JM Woodcraft custom Spinnerbait: booya spinnerbait, zorro, Classic spinnerbait, custom Jig: all-terrain jigs Rattletrap: Sugar shad Jerkbait: Luckycraft pointer, Smithwick Soft jerkbait: Mr. Wiggly's Frog: Snag Proof Bobby's perfect frog/ Pro Tour frog Buzzbait: Lunker Lure stick bait: senko

http://www.finefishing.com/aaspecies/basslargemouth/recordlargemouth.htm

In Florida you are aloud to use non game fish as bait. A blugill is considered a game fish in Florida.

I don't know where you shop but, http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&No=0&Ntt=drain%20pipe&Ntk=i_building_products&N=0 $29.99 4" 100' @ lowe's (I was wrong about the diameter oops )

Get you some pvc drain pipe it's about 8" round black and flexible and loop it and tie it off with wire and then make another loop you want to make it look like a ball. then on one end tie it to a cement block and cut holes into it to get rid of any air.

What kinds of lures do you fish with?

My guess is that it is a custom mold.

jannsnetcraft.com http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/rubber-skirts/

Three baits; Jig: orange/greenpumpkin, electric/ blue, black/chart Spinnerbait: black, chartreuse Crankbait shallow: yellow, chartreuse, citrus shad Fish shallow if you have a creek channel that swings close to a shallow flat that has good shore cover hit it. The influx of muddy water will push the fish shallow if the water most of the time is clear or stained. The fish will be tight to cover so fish tight. When your fishing the crankbait make sure it bounces off of something like a lay down or stump. You might end up flipping most of the day.

In my opinion if the guy used a hook and a weight and snatched a fish that is snagging. If I have a spinnerbait with 12 trailer hooks attached or a jig with a stinger hook attached to a small length of braid that is not snagging. I think what they are talking about when referring to snagging is to use a bare hook with the intentions of just foul hooking a fish. Granted I don't know where the fish was hooked outside of the mouth but I do know that I hook many fish outside of the mouth and none where snagged. If it was a swim bait some do have a belly hook that can find its way outside of the mouth when a fish is hooked. If the fish was snagged in the tail or back and if there is no doubt what his intentions where based upon where it was snagged then flame on.