sockey

Louisiana Resident Basic-$9.50, plus a Saltwater license for $5.50(I go to school right at the saltwater line)=all my bases covered for $15

Yeah, especially the price part. I always stock up on those things in a lot more numbers than I do certain other creature/craw plastics.

On Caddo, isolated trees and old duck blinds usually hold a decent fish or two apiece. I'd key on that stuff for starters.

Yup. All of that. Especially the "reasonably priced" bit. And the Ultra-Vibe Speed Craw bit . Was Soylent Green people? 8-)

I tried one of these this morning, was fairly impressed with the action(only threw it for a couple of minutes, no fish landed, however).

For me, if I say anything, it's a "there he is!" when I set the hook, then maybe a "SUCKUH!" a la Mr. T when I get that fish by the lip

Yup. Obviously, I'll try some different things to try to get the fish to stay buttoned up 'till I can grab it by the lip, but there isn't *too* much shame in a long distance release.

When it's the only fish of the day

I'm a jig newb myself, and the biggest difference for me is that with a t-rigged plastic I'll feel what's actually happening down there, be it a thump or a tick or even a wobble as the fish takes off. With a jig on the other hand, it's been all about what I don't feel. Have you ever been fishing a spinnerbait and had a fish pick it up and just keep swimming towards you? About the only way you can tell you've been bit is the lack of vibration coming up from the blade, and the line is coming at you just a little different than it has for the last couple of bite-free casts. For me, fishing a jig has been exactly like that. I expect it to hit the water, and head for the bottom at a certain pace, and when it doesn't I reel up the slack quickly and slam 'em. I haven't fished a jig for very long, so I haven't been "thumped" like I know fish sometimes do to a jig, but a couple times I hooked up because the jig just went weightless and the line went limp where it shouldn't have. I didn't feel the fish, but I still knew it was there because of what I didn't feel, namely the weight of the jig and the bottom.

x2

Awesome, thanks!

I'm going to be in BR next week, and was looking to find a couple places to hit, but nothing stands out on Google Earth. Does anyone know of some good places to fish in the area if you don't have a boat? Also, can you fish University Lake? I've driven by there a bunch of times, but never stopped to try to fish it.

Thanks for the responses! So, fishing that jig, I shouldn't worry too much about it getting hung up with the bare hook?

I'm going to be fishing a lake with some really heavy, topped out hydrilla, and I'm interested in trying to punch straight down through the middle of the mat(keying on holes, obviously). In the past I'd always just fished down outside edges of big weed beds. I know heavy braid is a must, as well as a stout rod and reel, but I have zero experience with pegging a t-rig sinker, which I assume I'll need to do to keep the sinker from shooting to the bottom, leaving the lure up on top of the weeds. What's the best way to peg a weight--a toothpick or some other system? Also, coincidentally, is a jig an option at all in the really, really thick stuff? How would I keep the hook clean down through the weeds?

All that. My favorite plastic right now. I use chartreuse JJ's when it's around, but it's not a must for me. For colors, I like either watermelon red or junebug.